In the tech world, "hackers" are variously freedom fighters, poorly behaved geniuses, truth tellers, underground rock stars, and dangerous criminals where the objective is denial of service, identity theft, or exposure of private, even classified, data to the public. In the world of cyber warfare, the objectives are much bigger.

This week we learned that the U.S. economy contracted in the fourth quarter of last year, in large part because of severe defense spending cuts. If Congress and President Obama fail to reach a spending deal by March, those cuts will continue, with potentially disastrous effects for cities dependent on the defense industry.

Michael Hirsh, chief correspondent for National Journal, talks about the president's nominations of former Senator Chuck Hagel to be his new secretary of defense and John Brennan to head the CIA.

A lawsuit filed this week by four women alleges that the military's ban on women in combat is discriminatory. Kevin Baron, national security staff writer for Foreign Policy magazine's The E-Ring blog, explains how the Department of Defense is assessing a change to the policy toward women.

While the Pentagon is pinching pennies from its budget after cuts that it says could jeopardize its ability to fight wars, America’s top brass are feeling pressure from an unlikely source: politicians. Congressmen from Ohio are lobbying to keep defense projects on the annual budget which the Pentagon says it can’t afford and doesn’t want.

The U.S. is out of Iraq. President Obama made that point in last week's State of the Union address. But there are still eyes on Iraq particularly those places where there are still U.S. personnel — such as the U.S. Embassy In Baghdad. Those eyes are in the form of predator drones, watching over Baghdad according to Eric Schmitt terrorism correspondent for our partner The New York Times.

Elisabeth Bumiller, Pentagon correspondent for The New York Times, talks about potential cuts to the U.S. defense budget and what it means for the 21st century U.S. military.

Try The New York Times budget cutting tool here.

During a visit to Australian on Wednesday, President Obama announced that 2,500 U.S. troops will be sent to the country to boost security in the Pacific region. The move is seen as a strategy to counter China's increased influence. He spoke strongly on China's rising responsibilities and the U.S. perspective on its growing strength. China responded by saying that it "may not be quite appropriate" to expand U.S. military in the region.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta is considering drastic cuts in military spending, including slashing retirement benefits and a round of base closings. Panetta has been ordered to cut more than $450 billion of the Pentagon budget over the next decade and has been under intense political pressure to make the cuts. The yearly defense budget has doubled since the 9/11 attacks. Panetta said it is possible to reshape the military in order to reduce the budget while still defending national interests.

Following up on yesterday's conversation on the Brooklyn sexual attacks, Tracy Hobson, executive director of the Center for Anti-Violence Education, offers advice on self-defense strategies.

Federal authorities are still on alert after news of a "specific, credible" terrorist threat for New York City and the District of Columbia broke on Thursday night, as the tenth anniversary of September 11 approached. The memorial service at Ground Zero still went on as promised Sunday, with thousands of people coming to the site to pay tribute to those who died and those who survived in the 9/11 attacks. Meanwhile, on Saturday the Taliban took credit for a suicide bomb attack on NATO forces in eastern Afghanistan, injuring at least 80 people.

Tasked with fixing the nation’s economic problems, the bipartisan "super committee" of twelve Congressional members may be leading some politically sacred cows to slaughter. In the halls of Congress, there is now discussion of making cuts in defense, intelligence and military spending, including pensions for retirees with 20 years of military service. Is Congress really ready to change the course of our military spending, or, is this just another bargaining tactic?

McAfee, a leading cyber security company, issued a report on Wednesday that indirectly points to China as the source of a broad ranging cyber attack on more than 72 organizations throughout the world — including the United Nations, the Olympic movement and the U.S. government. As cyber attacks become a growing threat to the country, the National Security Agency has made a push to employ the best and brightest to combat these attacks. Often, the most qualified people to play defense are often the ones that were once on the offensive — former hackers.

The United States is suspending as much as $800 million of military aid to Pakistan, in a bid to change the behavior of one of America’s most crucial — and controversial — partners. The move is an effort to admonish the country for expelling U.S. military trainers, and show disapproval for terrorist activities, such as the slaying in May of Pakistani journalist Saleem Shahzad, whose death has recently been linked to Pakistan's powerful spy agency. 

Tomorrow, the Obama administration will shuffle its top civilian military position when Leon Panetta, 73, replaces Robert Gates as the secretary of defense. For a nation stretched thin by three ongoing military engagements, the new Secretary of Defense is going to have little time for on-the-job training. Instead, he can hope to learn from the example left behind by his out-going colleague.

President Obama is expected to announce this week new appointments for top posts in his national security team. Leon Panetta, the current director of central intelligence, will be named as defense secretary. General David Petraeus, who is currently the top commander in Afghanistan, is expected to be named as director of the CIA. These announcements come as Defense Secretary Robert Gates plans on stepping down from his post this summer. We talk with Mark Landler, reporter for our partner The New York Times, to help preview Obama's new national security team.

"There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns — the ones we don't know we don't know…"

That’s former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, talking about what we know and don’t know, with regard to weapons of mass destruction. But when it comes to the secretary himself, what do we know?

Monday evening residents near Lost Angeles, California saw something strange shoot into the sky, leaving a squiggly, smoky tail in its path. Some wondered if it was a missile launch, but after local military didn't take responsibility for the mystery incident, questions remain. Experts have mused that it might have been merely a jet, seen departing from a strange angle, while others wondered if it was a ballistic launched from a submarine. What do you think? Take a look at the CBS News video and tell us your theory. 

The Russian military has launched a new defense program to inflate the size of its military: pretend weapons. The military has stationed inflatable weapons, including tanks to entire radar stations. Our partners at the BBC share the story.