Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Oct. 17 airpower summary: A-10s provide armed overwatch AFNS 18 Oct 2009 -- Coalition airpower integrated with ground forces in Iraq and ISAF in Afghanistan during operations.
• Diplomats Urge Karzai to Accept Election Results VOA 18 Oct 2009 -- Global pressure continues to mount Sunday on Afghan President Hamid Karzai to accept a possible runoff in Afghanistan's disputed election.
• Afghan Election Ruling Might Mean Runoff For Karzai RFE/RL 18 Oct 2009 -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai might face a runoff in the country's disputed presidential election when a UN-backed panel releases its findings on October 18 from its probe into fraud in the August 20 vote
• Pakistani soldiers kill 60 militants in South Waziristan RIA Novosti 18 Oct 2009 -- Pakistani soldiers have killed 60 militants since the start of a large-scale ground operation against the Taliban in South Waziristan, the country's armed forces said Sunday.
• Pakistan Troops Battle Militants in South Waziristan VOA 18 Oct 2009 -- Pakistani forces exchanged heavy fire on Sunday with militants defending their heartland in the mountains of the South Waziristan tribal region bordering Afghanistan.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Gates to Meet New Japanese Leaders, Talk Security With South Koreans VOA 18 Oct 2009 -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates heads to Japan and South Korea this week with North Korea's nuclear and missile programs and the new Japanese government's defense policies high on the agenda. The visits come just a couple of weeks before President Barack Obama will visit the two countries.
• Search for missing pilot turns from rescue to recovery effort AFNS 18 Oct 2009 -- The commander of the 20th Fighter Wing, Col. Joe Guastella, issued the following announcement Oct. 17 regarding Capt. Nicolas Giglio, missing since a mid-air collision Oct. 15:
• Operation BIG LIFT Army News 18 Oct 2009 -- In the early morning of October 22, 1963, soldiers of the 2nd Armored Division at Fort Hood, Texas, lumbered up with their gear and individual weapons to an assembly of large cargo aircraft from the Military Air Transportation Service
• Defender Visits Yakushima Navy NewsStand 18 Oct 2009 -- Mine Countermeasures ship USS Defender arrived in Yakushima for a three-day port call, Oct. 18. It was the first visit by a Navy ship to this small island located 225 miles south of the Japanese mainland.
• WASP Makes Port Call at Guantanamo Bay Navy NewsStand 18 Oct 2009 -- The multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Wasp departed Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba Oct. 11, concluding a two-day port visit.
• Russian Black Sea Fleet Objects To Ukrainian Checks RFE/RL 18 Oct 2009 -- In the early morning of October 22, 1963, soldiers of the 2nd Armored Division at Fort Hood, Texas, lumbered up with their gear and individual weapons to an assembly of large cargo aircraft from the Military Air Transportation Service
• Russian foreign minister speaks on missile defense, START, world situation RIA Novosti 17 Oct 2009 -- On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov gave an interview to editors-in-chief of RIA Novosti, the Voice of Russia radio station, and the Russia Today TV channel in which he discussed topical issues of Russian foreign policy and current global developments.

Defense Industry

• Nation’s Newest USAF Environmental Satellite Launched Lockheed Martin 18 Oct 2009 -- The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) F-18 Block 5D-3 spacecraft, built under contract for the U.S. Air Force by Lockheed Martin [NYSE:LMT], was launched this morning from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. at 9:12 am PDT.
• Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Powers 600th Launch of an Atlas Vehicle, Continuing Historical Partnership Pratt & Whitney 18 Oct 2009 -- Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne today helped boost a Lockheed Martin-built meteorological satellite for the U.S. Air Force into orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

Other Conflicts

• Israel's Cabinet Rejects UN War Crimes Report VOA 18 Oct 2009 -- Israel is brushing off last week's resolution of the United Nations Human Rights Council, which endorsed a report accusing the Jewish state of war crimes during the Gaza conflict.
• Hamas delays signing of Palestinian reconciliation deal RIA Novosti 18 Oct 2009 -- The Islamist movement Hamas has indefinitely postponed a visit of its delegation to Cairo designed to submit its final response on the Egypt-brokered Palestinian national reconciliation pact.
• Hamas to respond to Palestinian reconciliation plan on Sunday RIA Novosti 18 Oct 2009 -- A delegation of the Islamist movement Hamas will pay a visit to Egypt on Sunday to submit its final response on the Egypt-brokered reconciliation pact, a senior Hamas member told the MENA news agency.
• Darfur: UN-African Union peacekeepers shot in attack, two seriously wounded UN News Centre 18 Oct 2009 -- Unidentified gunmen shot and wounded three peacekeepers, two critically, from the joint African Union-United Nations mission in Darfur (UNAMID) in an attack on Saturday in the war-ravaged region on the western flank of the Sudan.
• Kidnappers Free Irish, Ugandan Aid Workers in Darfur VOA 18 Oct 2009 -- Two international aid workers have been released unharmed after spending over 100 days in captivity in Sudan's western region of Darfur.

News Reports

• Iran Blames U.S., Britain For Deadly Attack Against Revolutionary Guards RFE/RL 18 Oct 2009 -- Thirty-one people have been killed or wounded in southeastern Iran in an attack against the country's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
• Death toll in Iran suicide blast rises to 49 - media RIA Novosti 18 Oct 2009 -- The death toll in a suicide bomber attack in southeastern Iran has risen to 49, local news agencies reported Sunday.
• Several Iranian commanders killed in suicide bomb attack - media RIA Novosti 18 Oct 2009 -- A suicide bomber killed at least five senior Revolutionary Guards commanders and 29 other people in one of the deadliest attacks on Iran's elite military institution, local media reported on Sunday.
• IAEA chief says new sanctions against Iran to be ineffective RIA Novosti 18 Oct 2009 -- New sanctions against Iran over its controversial nuclear problem would be ineffective and the problem can be solved only by direct negotiations without preconditions, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog said on Sunday.
• Suicide Blast in Iran Kills Top Revolutionary Guard Leaders VOA 18 Oct 2009 -- Iranian state media report that a suicide bomber in the troubled southeast killed at least 30 people early Sunday, including six commanders of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard force.
• Venezuela’s Chavez Says Iran Aiding Uranium Exploration RFE/RL 18 Oct 2009 -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has said that Iran is helping his country explore for uranium, but stressed his government would only seek to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes
• U.S. billionaire probed for Sri Lanka terrorism financing - paper RIA Novosti 18 Oct 2009 -- One of America's wealthiest men charged as part of an insider-trading case surfaced in a separate probe into allegedly raising funds for a Sri Lankan terrorist group, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.
• Another Mysterious Explosion in Southern Lebanon Panics Residents VOA 18 Oct 2009 -- An explosion early Sunday in southern Lebanon, close to the Israeli border, caused residents to panic and reportedly prompted the Lebanese Army to fire anti-aircraft guns into the air. It's not immediately clear what caused the blast, although Hezbollah supporters are rushing to accuse Israel.
• African Union Backs Arms Embargo on Guinea VOA 18 Oct 2009 -- The African Union is backing a West African arms embargo on Guinea following last month's killing of opposition protesters.
• ZANU-PF Says Zimbabwe Gov't Will Operate Without MDC VOA 18 Oct 2009 -- Zimbabwe's ZANU-PF party says government business will continue despite the MDC party's decision to stop working with its unity government partner.
• Bongo Names Gabon Government VOA 18 Oct 2009 -- Gabon's new president Ali Ben Bongo has named his first government. Mr. Bongo is promising change after more than 40 years under his father, Omar Bongo.