Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• Bush Calls Iran's Confrontation With US Navy Vessels a Provocative Act VOA 08 Jan 2008 -- President Bush says Iran should not confront U.S. naval vessels in the Persian Gulf
• Gates Calls on Iran to Disavow Aggressors at Sea AFPS 08 Jan 2008 -- Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates called on Iran yesterday to disavow the actions of five high-speed boats that reportedly threatened to blow up three U.S. Navy warships in international waters in the Strait of Hormuz.
• Iranians Call Hormuz Incident 'Normal,' U.S. Begs to Differ AFPS 08 Jan 2008 -- Iranian officials called the buzzing by five Revolutionary Guard speedboats of three U.S. Navy ships "normal," but American officials insist the behavior was reckless and needlessly provocative.
• US Releases Video of Naval Incident With Iran VOA 08 Jan 2008 -- The U.S. Defense Department has released video and sound of the incident Sunday in the Persian Gulf, when small boats believed to be from Iran's Revolutionary Guard force menaced three U.S. Navy ships
• President Warns Iran of 'Serious Consequences' AFPS 09 Jan 2008 -- President Bush today warned Iran against attacking U.S. vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
• Bush Issues Warning to Iran VOA 09 Jan 2008 -- President Bush is warning Iran of serious consequences if it attacks U.S. ships in international waters
• Jan. 7 airpower summary: C-130s deliver troops, supplies where needed AFPN 08 Jan 2008
• Balad Airmen keep order, maintain security AFPN 08 Jan 2008 -- Maintaining a safe and secure base for deployed members would be impossible without the help of a group of Balad Air Base Airmen who took an oath, promising to serve and protect their fellow troops.
• Multi-National Corps - Iraq commences Phantom Phoenix MNF-I 08 Jan 2008 -- Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of Multi-National Corps - Iraq, today announced the beginning of Operation Phantom Phoenix.
• 'Phantom Phoenix' Operation Targets al Qaeda in Iraq AFPS 08 Jan 2008 -- U.S. and Iraqi forces today launched Operation Phantom Phoenix, a joint offensive designed to corral remaining al Qaeda-aligned terrorists and other insurgents in Iraq, according to a senior military official.
• Transcript: DoD News Briefing with Brig. Gen. Votel at the Pentagon, Arlington, Va. 08 Jan 2008 -- Presenter: U.S. Army, Deputy Commanding General for Operations, 82nd Airborne Division and Combined Joint Task Force-82 Brig. Gen. Joseph Votel
• Air Force Maintainers Improve Outlook for Afghans AFPS 08 Jan 2008 -- For the past year, a trio of airmen here has helped bring self-governance, security and economic growth to the people of Afghanistan's Paktia and Logar provinces.
• Marines Climb Mountains to Help Afghan Army AFPS 08 Jan 2008 -- Marines in eastern Afghanistan are climbing the mountains they currently call home to bring progress to the Afghan National Army soldiers they mentor.
• Combined Forces Disrupt Insurgents, Bolster Institutions in Afghanistan AFPS 08 Jan 2008 -- The international coalition in Afghanistan continues to make progress by disrupting insurgent networks, bolstering national security forces and strengthening Afghan institutions, a top military official said today.
• UK suffers more wounded casualties in Afghanistan than Iraq IRNA 08 Jan 2008 -- British troops are now suffering a higher wounded casualty rate in Afghanistan than in Iraq, according to new official figures.
• Afghanistan/Iran: Kabul Pleads With Tehran To Delay Refugee Expulsions RFE/RL 08 Jan 2008

Defense Policy / Programs

• Navy Joins Army in Safe Driving Course in Kuwait Navy NewsStand 08 Jan 2008 -- One of the most dangerous duty hazards in Kuwait comes not from bullets flying, but from unpredictable driving practices along Kuwaiti roads and highways.
• DESRON 31 Holds Change of Command Navy NewsStand 08 Jan 2008 -- Capt. Robert B. Stewart, commodore, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 31 was relieved by Capt. William Kearns III during a change of command ceremony Jan. 4 held on board Naval Station Pearl Harbor.
• CNO Visiting Navy Shipyards Around the Country Navy NewsStand 08 Jan 2008 -- Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Gary Roughead left the Pentagon, Jan. 7 on an eight-day trip to visit private and public shipyards throughout the U.S.
• Africa Partnership Station Arrives in Libreville, Gabon Navy NewsStand 08 Jan 2008 -- Africa Partnership Station (APS) aboard Amphibious Dock Landing Ship USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43) arrived in Libreville, Jan. 7.
• Lt. Gen. Honoré Leaving Legacy at First Army Army News 08 Jan 2008 -- Lt. Gen. Russell L. Honoré, commander of First Army, is retiring from the Army and will relinquish his command Jan. 11 in a ceremony at Fort McPherson in Atlanta, Ga.
• Ramstein Airmen help Burundi military deploy AFPN 08 Jan 2008 -- Members of the 86th Contingency Response Group here deployed to Burundi Dec. 1 to train the country's military for its deployment to support the United Nations.
• Personnel System Offers Workers Opportunities, Officials Say AFPS 08 Jan 2008 -- In its second year of implementation, the Defense Department's new civilian personnel system is meeting its goal of shifting the department to a performance-based pay system while giving employees the power to boost their own careers, two officials with the program said here yesterday.
• US Sanctions Iranian General for Aiding Iraq Insurgents VOA 09 Jan 2008 -- The United States Wednesday imposed sanctions against a general in Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps for helping insurgents in Iraq
• Russian Su-33 warplanes exercise in Mediterranean RIA Novosti 08 Jan 2008 -- Russian Navy carrier Su-33 aircraft and combat helicopters have launched a training exercise over the Mediterranean, an aide to the Russian Navy commander said on Tuesday.
• Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 08 Jan 2008
• Press Gaggle by Dana Perino The White House 08 Jan 2008
• Press Background Briefing on the President's Meeting with President Gul of Turkey by a Senior Administration Official The White House 08 Jan 2008

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for January 08, 2008
• Lockheed Martin Receives Contracts Totaling $556 Million for the Combat-Proven PAC-3 Missile Program Lockheed Martin 08 Jan 2008 -- Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has received contracts totaling $556 million from the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) for hardware and services associated with the combat-proven Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile program.
• Boeing Begins Production of Joint Tactical Radio System Ground Mobile Radios Engineering Models Boeing 08 Jan 2008 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has begun initial production of Engineering Design Models (EDMs) of its software-defined Joint Tactical Radio System Ground Mobile Radios (JTRS GMR), meeting an important milestone in the plan approved by the program's Joint Program Executive Office (JPEO).
• Boeing Opens F-15E Mission Training Center at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base Boeing 08 Jan 2008 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has opened a new F-15E Mission Training Center (MTC) at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C.
• Eurocopter signs sale agreement with the Spanish Government for eleven helicopters EADS 08 Jan 2008 -- Eurocopter España bade farewell to 2007 with the sale of eleven new helicopters earmarked for various bodies within the Spanish Interior and Defence Ministries
• Northrop Grumman and Oshkosh Truck Corporation Join Forces to Pursue Joint Light Tactical Vehicle Program Northrop Grumman 08 Jan 2008 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) and Oshkosh Truck Corporation (NYSE:OSK) have teamed to compete for the U.S. military's next-generation family of lightweight vehicles.
• Northrop Grumman and Oshkosh Truck Corporation Join Forces to Pursue Joint Light Tactical Vehicle Program Oshkosh 08 Jan 2008 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) and Oshkosh Truck Corporation (NYSE: OSK) have teamed to compete for the U.S. military’s next-generation family of lightweight vehicles.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 08 Jan 2008
• Bush, Turkish President Discuss Kurdish Rebels VOA 08 Jan 2008 -- U.S. President George Bush and Turkish President Abdullah Gul say their countries are working together to fight Kurdish rebels based in Iraq
• Abbas, Olmert Meet Before Bush Visit VOA 08 Jan 2008 -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held a final meeting Tuesday before their separate talks with President Bush this week during his visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories
• Rockets Fired from Lebanon Strike Israel Amid Heightened Security for Bush Visit VOA 08 Jan 2008 -- Two rockets fired from Lebanese territory struck northern Israel Tuesday, raising tensions before the Mideast visit of President George Bush
• Sudanese army elements attack UN convoy; Ban Ki-moon protests UN News Centre 08 Jan 2008 -- Elements of the Sudanese army attacked a supply convoy of the new joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force in Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region last night, and a civilian Sudanese driver suffered seven gunshot wounds.
• Two peacekeepers wounded as blast hits UN vehicle in south Lebanon UN News Centre 08 Jan 2008 -- Two peacekeepers serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were injured today after the vehicle they were travelling in was hit by a blast in southern Lebanon.
• Secretary-General appoints new deputy envoy for Kosovo UN News Centre 08 Jan 2008 -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Larry Rossin of the United States as his new deputy envoy for Kosovo, the Serbian province run by the United Nations since Western forces drove out Yugoslav forces amid inter-ethnic fighting in 1999.
• New round of UN-brokered talks on Western Sahara get under way UN News Centre 08 Jan 2008 -- As the third round of United Nations-led talks on Western Sahara began today in Manhasset, just outside of New York City, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Personal Envoy urged the parties to negotiate in good faith.
• Liberia: UN welcomes resumption of activities by truth and reconciliation body UN News Centre 08 Jan 2008 -- The United Nations has welcomed the resumption of activities by Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission which today opened public hearings on the human rights violations that took place during the country's brutal 14-year civil war that ended in 2003.
• Congo Peace Conference Suffers More Delays VOA 08 Jan 2008 -- A peace conference in the Democratic Republic of Congo is on hold until Wednesday as organizers try to cope with a large number of delegates
• Explosion Rocks Sri Lankan Capital, Hours After Minister's Assassination VOA 08 Jan 2008 -- A bomb went off in Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo Tuesday, just hours after a minister and his bodyguard were killed by a roadside bomb.
• YEMEN: Two NGOs move to reduce tribal, other conflicts IRIN 08 Jan 2008 -- Two international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are sufficiently concerned about the extent of tribal and other kinds of conflict in Yemen to have independently started programmes aimed at reducing them.
• SOMALIA: Calls for help for IDPs in Middle Shabelle IRIN 08 Jan 2008 -- Local government officials in Somalia are warning that thousands of displaced families who have sought refuge north of the Somali capital Mogadishu are facing water and food shortages.
• MAURITANIA: Heightened insecurity not hindering aid operations IRIN 08 Jan 2008 -- Aid operations in Mauritania are able to continue despite heightened concerns about the threat posed by terrorists associated with al Qaeda.

News Reports

• Musharraf vows to find Benazir's killers IRNA 08 Jan 2008 -- Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf Tuesday said his government is committed to finding those behind the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and bringing the perpetrators of the heinous crime to justice.
• Analysis: Kenya's Politics of Exclusion cfr.org 08 Jan 2008 -- The campaign for Kenya's presidential election, which included candidate "branding" and the widespread use of text messaging (WashPost), seemed to herald a new openness in Nairobi's politics. Postelection mayhem turned that perception on its head
• United States To Provide $200,000 for Emergency Relief in Kenya Washington File 08 Jan 2008 -- The United States will provide $200,000 to the Kenya Red Cross Society for relief supplies for people displaced by violence related to the disputed presidential election, according to a January 7 press release from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
• KENYA: After-effects of poll clashes hit northern Kenya IRIN 08 Jan 2008 -- Post-election violence has affected northeastern Kenya's vital livestock trade and resulted in increased food prices and shortages, local traders said.
• Now Is Time To Act in Burma, Under Secretary Burns Says Washington File 08 Jan 2008 -- The following piece by R. Nicholas Burns, U.S. under secretary of state for political affairs, first appeared in The Washington Post January 8 and is in the public domain.
• Georgian opposition alleges fraud in presidential vote RIA Novosti 08 Jan 2008 -- Georgia's united opposition has lodged a protest with the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) chairman over alleged rigging of Saturday's presidential election.