The Pentagon’s reliance on foreign countries for parts and raw material is a national security threat, a new report from the manufacturing industry argues.

The report, released Wednesday by the Alliance for American Manufacturing comes as companies are concerned about the U.S. industrial base shrinking as defense budgets decline.

The report, which was authored by Guardian Six Consulting, tries to make the case that the health of the manufacturing sector is intertwined with national security. It calls for strengthening the U.S. manufacturing industry, with 10 recommendations to cut down on the reliance on foreign nations.

NATO leaders are launching an inquiry into allegations of misconduct by the alliance's special forces in southern Afghanistan. 

The DOD quashed reports it was pursuing new regulations on religious freedom, after questions were raised by GOP senators.

Navy leaders are pushing to get the service's shipbuilding workforce off the hook from looming furloughs. 

Senate Appropriations Defense subcommittee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said the revelations that 17 Air Force officers were stripped of their responsibilities to control nuclear missiles “could not be more troubling.”

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that 17 officers at Minot Air Base in North Dakota had their authority to control nuclear weapons stripped following a poor review — in an unprecedented move — which prompted the group’s deputy commander to say it was suffering “rot” in its ranks.

"We are, in fact, in a crisis right now," the commander, Lt. Col. Jay Folds, wrote in an internal email that was obtained by the AP.

Pentagon officials have rejected a request from Rep. Buck McKeon for classified information.

The decision by the United States and Russia to put their differences aside and jointly host a peace summit between Syrian rebels and the Assad regime earned plaudits from the United Nations' special envoy to the war-torn country.

“This is the first hopeful news concerning that unhappy country in a very long time,” Lakhdar Brahimi said in a statement Wednesday. “The statements made in Moscow constitute a very significant first step forward. It is nevertheless only a first step.”

Secretary of State John Kerry made the announcement late Tuesday after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. He said the two countries have agreed to host an international conference “as soon as is practical,” perhaps by the end of the month.

“The specific work of this next conference,” Kerry said, “will be to bring representatives of the government and the opposition together to determine how we can fully implement the means of the communique, understanding that the communique’s language specifically says that the Government of Syria and the opposition have to put together, by mutual consent, the parties that will then become the transitional government itself.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said President Obama has used drone technology in the "most effective" way of any president.

President Obama on Tuesday said he had “no tolerance” for sexual assault in the military.