Articles on Pentagon

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A woman touches a QAnon patch on her outfit during a Christian prayer gathering in Washington on May 17, 2026. AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

The long afterlife of QAnon conspiracy theories haunting American politics

Ideas from QAnon’s conspiracy theory have appeared on government social media sites during Trump’s second term and continue to divide America amid social and economic crises.
‘CE-5’ practitioners regard extraterrestrials as benevolent, highly intelligent beings physically present in space and around Earth. (Marcelina Pawlikowska/Unsplash)

Are UFOs inspiring a new religion?

People around the world are gathering in wilderness settings with the intention to initiate contact with UFOs using various techniques.
The Fort Gregg-Adams Religious Services Office held its first official Native American worship service at Heritage Chapel on the U.S. Army installation in Virginia on Aug. 10, 2024. Chad Menegay

Why removing a distinct religious code for Native American military service members will make their needs invisible

The Pentagon recategorized Native religions as ‘other.’ A scholar of Native American and Indigenous Studies explains the implications of that change.
A drone is seen during a suspected drone strike targeting an oil warehouse near Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on April 1, 2026. Gailan Haji/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Why the US military is stuck using $1 million missiles against Iran’s $20,000 drones

Bureaucratic hurdles mean the US military typically has to wait a decade between the time it sees a new threat and the employment of a new system to defend against it.
The wall between church and state appears increasingly thin. hayesphotography/iStock Getty Images Plus

Why Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon prayer services challenge traditional notions of separation of church and state – but might be blessed by the Roberts Supreme Court

When government officials hold prayer services, quote scripture and engage in religious proselytizing at the workplace, is it religious freedom – or an old-fashioned First Amendment violation?
Staff members watch as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a press briefing at the Pentagon on March 2, 2026. AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

Information is a battlefield: 4 questions you can ask to judge the reliability of news reports and social posts about the US‑Iran war

In the face of little information, or misinformation, about the war in Iran, media literacy can prove a valuable tool to assess what’s happening on the ground.
Members of the House Freedom Caucus speak to reporters on July 14, 2023, hours before the House passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images News/Getty Images

This year’s debate over defense spending threatens to disrupt a tradition of bipartisan consensus‑building over funding the military

The National Defense Authorization Act has long had bipartisan support in both houses of Congress. But that died in the House this year.

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