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GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba - The chief of the U.S. military said Sunday he favors closing the prison here as soon as possible because he believes negative publicity worldwide about treatment of terrorist suspects has been "pretty damaging" to the image of the United States. "I'd like to see it shut down," Adm. Mike Mullen said in an interview with three reporters who toured the detention center with him on his first visit since becoming chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff last October.

A national defense analyst says it's absolutely crazy that Pentagon officials will push the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to recommend the quick ratification of the U.N. Law of the Sea Treaty. Cliff Kincaid, president of America's Survival, has already expressed his concerns that the Chinese have been using their huge trade advantage with the U.S. to build up their navy, while the U.S. Navy plans to further reduce the number of ships in its fleet. (See earlier article) But Kincaid says instead of changing course and rebuilding to counter the Chinese threat, top Naval officials, including Chief of Naval Operations...

Mike Mullen's Surprise Promotion By Tom Bowman CNO will carry a reputation as a pragmatist and problem-solver to the JCS Chairman’s office. When American Airlines Flight 77 slammed into the Pentagon on 11 September 2001, Admiral Mike Mullen was talking budgets with then-Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Vern Clark. Suddenly he felt something that reminded him of an earthquake in his native California. His office down the hall was closer to the impact. It quickly filled with smoke. His staff said the plane, slicing into the Pentagon some four floors below, appeared to roll under their feet. “It was a...

American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, June 28, 2007 - As he nominated his picks for the nation's top two military posts, President Bush said today they will succeed "two of America's finest military officers," Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Navy Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani, vice chairman. Bush named Adm. Michael G. Mullen as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Marine Gen. James E. "Hoss" Cartwright as vice chairman, subject to Senate approval. Flanked by Mullen, Cartwright and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates in the White House Roosevelt Room, the...

The Navy admiral tapped to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday he favors a diplomatic approach in dealing with Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons, yet he offered few clues on how he would handle the war in Iraq. Adm. Michael Mullen accused Iran, without being more specific, of giving aid to insurgent forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Still he called diplomacy "the right path." "I'm concerned about what Iran's doing in Iraq and Afghanistan, you know, broadly providing capability to which we are losing American soldiers on the ground and Marines on the ground, and I...

WASHINGTON, June 12 (UPI) — Associates of Adm. Michael Mullen, the Bush administration's pick to lead the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he thinks current wars are straining the military. Longtime military associates of Mullen, who currently serves as chief of naval operations for the U.S. Navy, said he is concerned that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are straining the U.S. fighting force and if he accepted as chairmen of the Joint Chiefs he would likely push for political solutions to the conflicts, The Washington Post reported Tuesday. He's concerned the Army has been carrying the heavy load for...

Pace’s not being renominated has nothing to do with his performance as chairman of the JCS. It has everything to do with what he symbolizes (American leadership while fighting a difficult war in Iraq) to the usual salivating suspects on Capitol Hill. And it was clear to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and surely to President Bush, that Pace’s reconfirmation hearings would have been turned into a congressional circus: With poll-driven politicians focusing less on Pace’s performance and plans for the present and future prosecution of the war, and more on what has gone wrong in Iraq for the purposes of...

By recommending Adm. Michael G. Mullen to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has chosen a low-key pragmatist without a well-established stake in the Iraq strategy to be the country’s next senior military adviser. Unlike the two previous chairmen, Admiral Mullen, 60, was not in a top Pentagon post when the Bush administration made the decision to invade Iraq. Those who know him say that if confirmed as chairman, he has little reason to stick with a policy if he decides it is not working. “He will be pragmatic about Iraq,”...

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration sidelined Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Friday, announcing plans to replace him as the nation's top military officer rather than reappoint him and risk a Senate confirmation struggle focusing on the Iraq War. "It would be a backward looking and very contentious process," Defense Secretary Robert Gates said at a Pentagon news conference where he announced he would recommend Adm. Mike Mullen to replace Pace. Mullen is the chief of naval operations, and Gates praised him for having the "vision strategic insight and integrity to lead America's armed forces."...

It really is a privilege and an honor to be here. I was with the all hands call this morning – saying my time in Pittsburgh has actually been fleeting. I grew up on the other side of this country. As a kid I hadn't spent any time on the East Coast. My first time in the area was to come up here for the Navy football game in 1964, for those of you who were here then. I don't remember who won the game but I do remember how fun the reception was and it certainly translates to what's...