Chuck Hagel

With striking optimism, Chuck Hagel said Saturday on his final visit to Afghanistan as U.S. defense secretary that he believes Afghans will successfully put down a surge in Taliban attacks in the capital and stabilize the nation.

An American photojournalist and a South African teacher held by al-Qaida militants in Yemen have been killed in a failed U.S. rescue attempt, authorities said Saturday.

On a trip to Afghanistan during President Barack Obama’s first term, Defense Secretary Robert Gates was stunned to find a telephone line at the military’s special operations headquarters that linked directly back to a top White House national security official.

To Saudi Arabia and its Arab partners of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the United States in six years of Barack Obama’s presidency has become as unpredictable and unreliable as it is indispensable. When President Obama passes the baton in 2017, it is likely that he will not be recalled fondly, but this is a distinction shared with most of his predecessors.

After a productive trip abroad, President Barack Obama headed home Sunday on a collision course with Republicans on immigration and an oil pipeline project, showdowns that threaten prospects for cooperation over his remaining two years in office.

Wary of a more muscular Russia and China, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Saturday the Pentagon will make a new push for fresh thinking and creative ideas about how the U.S. can keep and extend its military superiority despite tighter budgets and the wear and tear of 13 years of war.

The Pentagon warned Congress on Thursday that the long, drawn-out military campaign against Islamic State militants is just beginning and could expand to include modest numbers of U.S. forces fighting alongside Iraqi troops.

Get the latest news from across the nation for October 30.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered the military to prepare and train a 30-member medical support team that could provide short-term help to civilian health professionals if there are more Ebola cases in the United States.

At the tail end of an international security dialogue in Singapore recently, a top Chinese military propagandist took the opportunity of having the last word.

Chang Wanquan, China’s minister of defense, is claiming that China’s use of cyberattacks to steal intellectual property from U.S. businesses “pose no threat to others” and are legal. U.S. attempts to make China more transparent on its military use of cyberattacks have been unsuccessful.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the U.S. will send two missiled defense ships to Japan. He also restated U.S. commitment to defend Japan against territorial claims from China.

The Pentagon is overhauling its efforts to find and identify missing service members from past wars, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced Monday.

For months, the media has been all over the U.S. unemployment situation—keeping up the illusion that Americans are returning back to work.

The moment U.S. Army generals feared has arrived. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel proposed Monday to shrink the Army to its smallest size since before World War II.

A daylong symposium at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy discussed the tumultuous situation in the Middle East. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel gave no specific warnings to Syria or Iran.

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announces major reforms for defense while acknowledging many security challenges ahead including North Korea.

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel warned Friday that uncertainty surrounding sequestration was impacting U.S. defense capabilities, and if allowed to take its course would have far reaching effecs.