Maggie Ybarra

Expansion of visa waiver program raises security fears

Congress is considering the expansion of a visa waiver program that would let people from more countries travel to the U.S. freely, despite security concerns and proposals that those countries include nations that support the U.S.-led war against the Islamic State.

March 17, 2015

Jeffrey Williams, a repeat fugitive, has bond set in Ferguson cop shootings

A county judge has decided to allow a man accused of shooting two policemen at a protest rally outside police headquarters in Ferguson, Missouri, potentially to post bond even though that man has a history of failing to appear in court.

March 16, 2015

Air Force suspected of intentionally delaying rocket to thwart lawmakers

Top lawmakers are angrily accusing the Air Force of slow-walking a congressional mandate to stop using Russian rocket engines for spy satellite launches up through 2019, a move driven by Capitol Hill outrage over the Kremlin's actions in Ukraine.

March 16, 2015

U.S. soldier gets wounded at Iraqi training site

A U.S. soldier has been wounded at a training site in Iraq after an unknown individual fired upon him with a small arms weapon — marking the first time a member of the U.S. military has been injured in a multinational war against the Islamic State.

March 13, 2015

Martin Dempsey: Syrians training to fight Islamic State need protection

Pentagon officials are undecided on how to best protect Syrian moderate opposition fighters after they have been trained and equipped by international security forces to fight Islamic State militants who are terrorizing the country.

March 11, 2015

Drone pilot pool grows after Air Force sounds alarm

The pool of drone pilots who have been spying on Islamic State terrorists in the Middle East and keeping tabs on Boko Haram militants who have been kidnapping schoolgirls and killing Christians in northern Africa is starting to expand.

March 11, 2015

Defense contractor sues Navy over damage to high-tech blimp in hangar collapse

A defense contractor is suing the Navy for refusing to pay for damages caused to a high-tech blimp after a part of a World War II-era hangar collapsed on the blimp and destroyed it.

March 10, 2015

Jordan expands Islamic State bombing raids into Iraq after pilot burning death

Jordan has expanded its bombing raids against Islamic State militants from Syria to neighboring Iraq, adding another dynamic to a U.S.-led multinational military operation intent on defeating the extremist group.

March 9, 2015

Saudi Arabia supplants India as top U.S. weapons buyer

Saudi Arabia has trumped India as the largest defense market for the United States.

March 9, 2015

Iraqi forces, coalition retake western town of al-Baghdadi

A multinational coalition that has been tracking and destroying Islamic State militants operating in Iraq and Syria claims to have won a battle against those militants over the western Iraqi town of al-Baghdadi.

March 6, 2015

Campbell-Sopko feud on public Afghan audits spills to hearing

A spat between the four-star general who oversees the U.S.-led mission in Afghanistan and the special inspector who audits U.S. government activity in the country spilled onto Capitol Hill on Wednesday.

March 4, 2015

U.S. Yemen evacuation weakens relations, terrorist fight: Mideast commander

The departure of U.S. personnel from Yemen has exacerbated the deteriorating relationship between the two countries and undercut a joint effort to fight Islamist terrorists, according to a U.S. four-star general.

March 3, 2015

Pentagon starts inquiry into Iraq war-plan briefing

The Pentagon has launched an internal inquiry into a military official who briefed reporters in detail on the strategy that Iraqi forces planned to use to free Mosul, Iraq, from the grip of Islamic State militants.

March 3, 2015

Egypt gearing up for major attack on militants in Libya

The Egyptian military is preparing to attack Islamic State militants operating in Libya for a second time just as U.S. military leaders are seeking an expanded mandate to stamp out the extremist group in any country where its members reside.

March 2, 2015

U.S. military helps Afghan National Police recruit, train women

Saying the effort plays a key role in the battle against Taliban insurgents, U.S. military and Afghan officials are moving ahead with the latest phase of a cash and training plan to recruit more women to serve in Afghanistan's national police force.

March 1, 2015

U.S. ramps up program women cops in Afghanistan

U.S. military and Afghan officials are moving ahead with the next phase of a cash-and-training plan to recruit more women to serve in Afghanistan’s national police force.

March 1, 2015

Pentagon: Syrian rebels to begin training to fight Islamic State as soon as March

Pentagon officials expect to begin training a few hundred Syrian rebels at various international training sites as soon as next month.

February 27, 2015

Vincent Stewart, DIA director, doubts readiness for Mosul invasion to oust ISIS

Senior intelligence officials appear to be distancing themselves from a tentative timeline that a military officer established last week for invading Mosul, Iraq.

February 26, 2015

James Clapper: Libya a ‘magnet’ for terrorism

The U.S. spy chief says the intelligence community has cast a wary eye on "troublesome" Libya and may work hand-in-hand with France to track terrorists who are strengthening their grip in the region.