Official defends US monitoring of Syrian site
WASHINGTON – A senior intelligence official on Thursday defended U.S. efforts to monitor an alleged Syrian nuclear facility that the U.S. says was built with North Korean help.
It is SO difficult to keep up with all the supposed evildoers.

Retired general picked as IG for Afghan rebuilding
WASHINGTON – Retired Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Arnold Fields is the White House’s choice to lead a new office that will investigate U.S. reconstruction spending in Afghanistan.

Guantanamo judge dismissed in Canadian’s case
MIAMI (Reuters) – The U.S. military judge in the war crimes trial of a young Canadian prisoner at Guantanamo was abruptly relieved of further duties in the case on Thursday.

Military Recruits Thousands More Warbots for New Unmanned Surge
In December, after all the lawsuits, the private eyes and the backroom deals, iRobot finally wrestled away the biggest ground-robotics contract in military history from its former employee and his secret partner. This “unmanned surge” was worth up to $286 million and 3,000 machines. And it didn’t look like it would be topped any time soon. But appearances can be deceiving in the world of military robots. Turns out, there’s been a second unmanned surge. And [Wednesday], iRobot’s rival, Foster-Miller, announced that it had won the contract to supply it. The five-year deal is worth up to $400 million. And it will cover thousands of Talon bomb-handling robots and spare parts — maybe between 2,000 and 4,000 robots, F-M executive Bob Quinn tells Xconomy.

VA Secretary: Vets’ Concerns About PTSD Are ‘Overblown’ (Think Progress)
Over the weekend, Veterans Affairs Secretary James Peake [dismissed concerns about PTSD]: “[He] suggested some of the concern about post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury has been overblown…” On Saturday, Peake also said that many vets with PTSD may just need “a little counseling” and shouldn’t “need the PTSD label their whole lives.” Peake’s comments are disturbing, especially in light of new numbers released by the Pentagon this week showing that the number of new PTSD cases “jumped by roughly 50 percent in 2007.” Since 2003, “roughly 40,000 troops have been diagnosed with the illness.” Additionally, as Brandon Friedman at VetVoice points out, Peake’s comments are undermined by VA psychiatrist Jonathan Shay, who has stressed the seriousness of PSTD.

Marines to conduct urban warfare training in Indianapolis
U.S. Marine helicopters will land at the old Eastgate Consumer Mall, Brookside Park and other Indianapolis locations when the city becomes a mock battlefield next week. About 2,300 Marines from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C., will conduct urban warfare training from Wednesday through June 19 in and around Indianapolis. Most of the troops will be deployed at the Indiana State Fairgrounds and the Raytheon facility on Holt Road, said Debbi Fletcher of the Indianapolis/Marion County Emergency Management Agency.

Chertoff keen on Israeli airport security technology
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said on Thursday he will seek to adopt novel Israeli methods, like behaviour-detection technologies, to better secure America’s airports. Chertoff, at a conference in Jerusalem for public and homeland security ministers from around the world, signed an agreement with Israel to share technology and information on methods to improve homeland security.

34 Convicted in Display At U.S. Supreme Court
Thirty-four people were convicted yesterday of misdemeanor charges stemming from a demonstration at the Supreme Court in January in which they decried conditions at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The demonstration occurred Jan. 11, the sixth anniversary of the opening of the detention facility, which was set up to house [torture] terrorism suspects.

Former prosecutors challenge White House immunity claim
WASHINGTON — Twenty former U.S. attorneys, both Republicans and Democrats, urged a federal judge Thursday to intervene in a constitutional battle over whether two White House officials should be forced to testify before Congress about the firings of nine U.S. attorneys.

Court: Sect children should be returned to parents
SAN ANTONIO – In a crushing blow to the state’s massive seizure of children from a polygamist sect’s ranch, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Thursday that child welfare officials overstepped their authority and the children should go back to their parents.

NY governor announces plan for state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages. (Think Progress)
Today, New York Gov. David Paterson (D) held a press conference announcing his directive for all state agencies to begin recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions. At a meeting with LGBT leaders on May 17, Paterson called it “a strong step toward marriage equality.” Watch his press conference today: