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Current Operations

• Transcript: DoD News Briefing with Colonel Mark Dewhurst and Conrad Tribble Via Teleconference From Iraq in the Pentagon Briefing Room, Arlington, Va. DoD 15 Dec 2008 -- Presenter: United States Army, Commander, 4th Brigade, 10th Mountain Division Colonel Mark Dewhurst and Team Leader, Baghdad-2 Embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team Conrad Tribble
• Soldiers in Iraq Detain Suspects, Seize Weapons AFPS 15 Dec 2008 -- U.S. soldiers detained five suspected terrorists in separate operations in Baghdad’s Rashid district in recent days, military officials reported.
• Forces Kill, Capture Enemy Fighters, Seize Weapons in Afghanistan AFPS 15 Dec 2008 -- Coalition and Afghan forces killed at least two enemy fighters, detained 32 suspects and seized weapons in Afghanistan during operations last week, military officials said.
• In Kabul, Bush Say Battle Against Taliban Will Be 'Long Struggle' RFE/RL 15 Dec 2008
• Bush pays surprise visit to Afghanistan RIA Novosti 15 Dec 2008 -- U.S. President George Bush paid a surprise visit to Afghanistan early on Monday morning after a five-hour stop in Iraq that saw a journalist hurl his shoes at the outgoing leader.
• Bush Predicts Tough Fight Against Taliban Following Surprise Visit to Afghanistan VOA 15 Dec 2008 -- President Bush has completed a brief surprise visit to Afghanistan where he predicted a tough battle against the Taliban. Mr. Bush said stabilizing the country will "take time" and must also involve Pakistan.
• ‘Good Progress’ Made, Challenges Ahead in Afghanistan, Bush Says AFPS 15 Dec 2008 -- Afghanistan is making progress, and despite challenges, it can rely on America to help it defeat terrorists and grow its fledgling democracy, President George W. Bush told Afghan President Hamid Karzai in the capital city of Kabul today.
• AFGHANISTAN: UN commits to preserving mass grave sites IRIN 15 Dec 2008 -- Amid growing concerns about a reported excavation at a mass grave site in northern Afghanistan, a senior UN official has said the organisation is committed to help Afghan authorities preserve such sites in order to protect evidence of crimes committed over the past three decades of war in the country.
• Guard Responds to Winter Storm in Northeast AFPS 15 Dec 2008 -- A round of winter storms that left several northeastern states covered in ice kept many National Guard units busy over the weekend.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Bush, Maliki Sign Security Pact in Baghdad AFPS 15 Dec 2008 -- With fewer than 40 days left in office, President George W. Bush signed a security pact in Baghdad yesterday, putting an end in sight for the Iraq war after nearly six years of fighting.
• Bush Pays Final Visit to Deployed Troops in Iraq, Afghanistan AFPS 15 Dec 2008 -- In his final trip to Iraq and Afghanistan as commander in chief, President George W. Bush brought season’s greetings from “a proud and grateful nation” to deployed U.S. troops yesterday and early this morning and thanked them for their service.
• General Schwartz sees full spectrum of fly, fight, win AFNS 15 Dec 2008 -- Gen. Norton Schwartz and his wife Suzie visited Creech and Nellis Air Force Bases, Dec. 13, to meet with Airmen and get a first-hand look at operations.
• Thermal curtains offer protection to B-52 aircrews AFNS 15 Dec 2008 -- Engineers here are designing a product to protect B-52 Stratofortress aircrews from a nuclear attack's blinding light.
• McChord Airmen fuel Operation Deep Freeze AFNS 15 Dec 2008 -- Airmen assigned to the 304th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron in support of Operation Deep Freeze completed the first operational C-17 Globemaster III airdrop Nov. 26 to the Antarctic Gamburtsev Mountain Province.
• Department of Defense Releases 2009 BAH Rates DoD 15 Dec 2008 -- The Department of Defense released today the 2009 Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) rates.
• Officials Set Military Housing Allowance Rates for 2009 AFPS 15 Dec 2008 -- Housing allowances for military members will go up an average of 6.9 percent in 2009, Defense Department officials announced today.
• Pentagon Sets 'Asymmetric' Warfare As High Priority VOA 15 Dec 2008 -- In Iraq, Afghanistan, and other trouble spots, the U.S. military has been confronted by guerrilla - so-called "asymmetrical" - warfare. Instead of confronting regular armies, American troops now typically face insurgents and terrorists who fight with whatever they have.
• Mullen Readies USO Tour to Central, European Command Areas AFPS 15 Dec 2008 -- Musician Kid Rock and comedian Lewis Black have signed up for another hitch.
• European Command Program Aims to Reduce Caregiver Fatigue AFPS 15 Dec 2008 -- Recognizing the risk of burnout among caregivers providing warrior and family support, U.S. European Command plans to kick off a program this spring that incorporates principles introduced by bestselling author and lecturer Dr. Stephen Covey.
• Army Broadens Arlington Military Funeral Honors for KIA Soldiers Army News Release 15 Dec 2008 -- A new Army policy will allow all Army Soldiers killed in action who are being laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery to receive full military funeral honors, which include a caisson, band, colors team, and an escort platoon
• 3rd Special Forces Group honors 19 with Silver Stars Army News 15 Dec 2008 -- In one of the largest awards ceremonies since the Vietnam era, the 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) awarded 19 Silver Star Medals, two Bronze Star Medals for Valor, two Army Commendation Medals for Valor and four Purple Hearts here at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, Dec. 12
• Fierce battle above Shok Valley earns Silver Stars Army News 15 Dec 2008
• New university to take lead in educating Army civilians Army News 15 Dec 2008 -- The new Army Civilian University is taking its first major step by assuming oversight of the Army Management Staff College at Fort Belvoir, Va.
• 2nd Tanks blast through range qualifications USMC News 15 Dec 2008 -- Of all the ground military tactical vehicles U.S. armed services use, tanks are arguably the most iconic
• Sludge and swamps fail to stop Marines USMC News 15 Dec 2008 -- A cold breeze whisked through the air as the Marines lined up in groups of four in front of the water-filled culverts
• ONR-Global Fosters Partnerships International Maritime Conference Navy NewsStand 15 Dec 2008 -- The Office of Naval Research (ONR) strengthened its message of international collaboration and partnership at the 6th International Maritime and Naval Exhibition and Conference for Latin America, ExpoNaval, in Valparaiso, Chile, Dec. 2 to 5.
• Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron 4 Returns Navy NewsStand 15 Dec 2008 -- Nearly 220 Sailors from Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron (MSRON) 4 returned home Dec. 15 to the Naval Station Norfolk Air Mobility Command terminal after completing a seven-month deployment.
• Afghan mayors visit Manas AFNS 15 Dec 2008 -- Mayors and deputy mayors of the six largest villages that surround Manas Air Base met the Airmen and learned the mission of the base during a Dec. 10 tour here.
• Congress authorizes paternity leave AFNS 15 Dec 2008 -- Eligible Airmen are now authorized 10 days of nonchargeable paternity leave following the birth of their newborns, courtesy of the 2009 Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act passed by Congress.
• Gates: Procurement System Must Be More Responsive to Current Requirements AFPS 15 Dec 2008 -- The military procurement system needs to broaden its focus beyond high-end, high-tech systems so it’s better prepared to meet warfighters’ current requirements, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates wrote in the January/February issue of Foreign Affairs magazine.
• Naval Aviators Conduct First Carrier Landings Aboard USS Abraham Lincoln Navy NewsStand 15 Dec 2008 -- For the first time since 2004, USS Abraham Lincoln's (CVN 72) flight deck served as a training ground for student pilots flying the Navy's advanced jet training aircraft, the T-45 Goshawk, Dec. 10-13.
• Southern Partnership Station Completes Mission in El Salvador Navy NewsStand 15 Dec 2008 -- U.S. Navy and Marine Corps training teams completed the first leg of their mission Dec. 12 in El Salvador as part of Southern Partnership Station (SPS) on board high speed vessel Swift (HSV 2).
• Russia hopes for deal on START-1, missile defense by 2010 RIA Novosti 15 Dec 2008 -- Russia is hoping to draft a new arms reduction treaty with the U.S. and reach a compromise on the U.S. missile shield in Europe by the end of 2009, a Russian deputy foreign minister said on Monday.
• Russian destroyer to visit Portugal December 19-22 RIA Novosti 15 Dec 2008 -- Russia's Admiral Levchenko missile destroyer and a support ship will begin a visit to Lisbon on Friday, a Navy spokesman said on Monday.
• Russian border patrol ships halt Arctic patrols over bad weather RIA Novosti 15 Dec 2008 -- The federal border service has suspended sea patrols in the eastern part of Russia's Arctic sector due to adverse weather conditions, a service spokesman said on Monday.
• Russian warships to visit Cuba Friday - Navy RIA Novosti 15 Dec 2008 -- Three Northern Fleet warships will arrive in Havana on Friday for the Russian Navy's first visit to Cuba since the Cold War, a Navy spokesman said on Monday.
• Russia, Ukraine to hold talks on Black Sea Fleet base in Q109 RIA Novosti 185Dec 2008 -- Russia and Ukraine have agreed to hold the next round of talks on the future of Russia's naval facilities in the Crimea in February-March 2009, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
• Russia, NATO to resume informal talks before Christmas - envoy RIA Novosti 15 Dec 2008 -- Russia's NATO envoy confirmed on Monday that he would hold informal talks with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer before Christmas.
• Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 15 Dec 2008

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for December 15, 2008
• First Lockheed Martin SBIRS HEO System Achieves USSTRATCOM Certification Lockheed Martin 15 Dec 2008 -- The first Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO-1) payload and ground system, built by a Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] team, has been certified for operations by U.S. Strategic Command.
• ROYAL NAVY’S SUBMARINE COMMAND SYSTEM INSTALLATION PROGRAMME COMPLETES AHEAD OF TIME BAE Systems 15 Dec 2008 -- Installation of the Submarine Command System Next Generation (SMCS NG) on HM Submarines Triumph and Tireless marked the early completion of the programme; the submarines are the final two of 12 to receive the updated command system
• General Dynamics NASSCO Awarded $940 Million Contract for T-AKE Ship Construction General Dynamics 15 Dec 2008 -- General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), has been awarded a $940 million contract from the U.S. Navy for the construction of two T-AKE dry cargo-ammunition ships and to purchase long-lead construction materials for two additional T-AKE ships.
• L-3 WESCAM Awarded $90 Million Contract from U.S. Air Force L-3 Communications 15 Dec 2008 -- L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL) announced today that its WESCAM subsidiary has been awarded a $90 million indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract from the U.S. Air Force Aeronautical Systems Center (ASC).

Other Conflicts

• Intensify peace talks, UN and top diplomatic partners tell Israel, Palestinians UN News Centre 15 Dec 2008 -- The United Nations and its diplomatic partners in the search for Middle East peace – the European Union (EU), Russia and the United States – called today for an intensification of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, urging both sides to take the necessary steps to reach this goal.
• DR Congo: UN deploys nearly all its 17,500 peacekeepers to strife-torn east UN News Centre 15 Dec 2008 -- More than 90 per cent of the nearly 17,500 United Nations peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are now deployed in the strife-torn east of the vast country, including over 6,000 in North Kivu province which has seen an upsurge of fighting between various rebels groups and the national army.
• UN Security Council Set to Back Annapolis Mideast Negotiations VOA 15 Dec 2008 -- The U.N. Security Council is preparing to vote on a resolution Tuesday that would put the world body on record as supporting the U.S.-backed Annapolis peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
• DRC-UGANDA: Anti-LRA offensive could backfire - activists IRIN 15 Dec 2008 -- Peace activists in northern Uganda have criticised a weekend air and ground assault by the armed forces of Uganda, Southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) against several Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) camps in north-eastern DRC.
• DRC: Guns into greenbacks IRIN 15 Dec 2008 -- Hundreds of people in Kinshasa have handed over illegal weapons for cash and cloth in a no-questions-asked campaign to reduce crime in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
• Somali Parliament Backs Prime Minister VOA 15 Dec 2008 -- Somalia's parliament has given Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein a strong vote of confidence, a day after the president said he was firing him.
• Uganda Says Rebels Damaged in Sunday Attack VOA 15 Dec 2008 -- Uganda's military says the rebel Lord's Resistance Army suffered "considerable damage" in the assault on its bases in the Democratic Republic of Congo Sunday.

News Reports

• As Officials Tout Success Of Turkmen Elections, Public Apathetic RFE/RL 15 Dec 2008 -- Turkmen state media are hailing the December 14 parliamentary elections as "a new step on the path of strengthening democracy" that offered voters a "wide range of choices."
• US, Britain Press UN Security Council To Engage On Zimbabwe Crisis VOA 15 Dec 2008 -- The United States and Britain pressed Monday for the United Nations Security Council to engage on the political and especially the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe, though diplomats said substantive action might have to wait until January when South Africa, which resisted even a non-binding declaration, will surrender its rotating seat.
• European Union naval escort boosts security for UN food aid en route to Somalia UN News Centre 15 Dec 2008 -- The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today expressed its gratitude to the European Union (EU) for protecting ships carrying vital food aid from rampant piracy off the coast of Somalia.
• Cheap Oil May Spark Russian Budget Crisis VOA 15 Dec 2008 -- The Russian economy has been among the hardest hit of any country, during the current global economic crisis. Russia - a major energy exporter - has not only suffered banking and stock woes, as in the rest of the world, but also a precipitous drop in the price of oil.
• Thai Opposition Leader Elected Prime Minister VOA 15 Dec 2008 -- Thailand's parliament has elected a new prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, ending a coalition government closely associated with a controversial former prime minister. Protesters battled outside the parliament building after the vote, a sign that the country's deep political divisions remain.
• China, Taiwan Start Direct Air, Sea, Postal Links VOA 15 Dec 2008 -- China and Taiwan have begun direct air, sea and postal links. The move Monday marks a historical milestone in cross-strait relations, after the two sides split following a civil war nearly six decades ago.
• Putin to return to Kremlin by summer - Russian political scientist RIA Novosti 15 Dec 2008 -- A Russian political scientist and Kremlin critic, Lilia Shevtsova, has told a German newspaper that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin could return to the Kremlin by summer.