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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Body of Missing US Soldier Found in Afghanistan VOA 11 Nov 2009 -- NATO says military divers have found the body of one of two U.S. soldiers who went missing in Afghanistan last week.
• Pakistan Seeks Role in US-Afghan Policy VOA 11 Nov 2009 -- A top Pakistani official says his country wants a role in helping the U.S. shape a new policy for Afghanistan.
• At Least 10 Soldiers Killed in Pakistan Clashes VOA 11 Nov 2009 -- At least 10 Pakistani soldiers have been killed in two incidents Wednesday near the country's border with Afghanistan.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Obama, World Leaders Honor Veterans VOA 11 Nov 2009 -- U.S. President Barack Obama has marked the first Veterans Day of his presidency with the traditional wreath-laying ceremony and speech at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington.
• Obama's Pledge: America Will Fulfill Obligations to Veterans AFPS 11 Nov 2009 -- America will fulfill its obligation to take care of and value those who have sacrificed for the country, President Barack Obama said here today.
• Gates Notes Poignancy of Veterans Day Observance AFPS 11 Nov 2009 -- The Nov. 5 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, provides a special sense of poignancy to this year’s Veterans Day observance, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said in his annual message commemorating the holiday.
• Bidens Host Veterans, Troops, Families at Naval Observatory AFPS 11 Nov 2009 -- Today’s military is the “best-equipped, best trained, best educated, and the most competent military in the history of mankind,” Vice President Joe Biden told 240 servicemembers and veterans at his home at the U.S. Naval Observatory today.
• Obama Pays Tribute To 13 Victims Of Military Base Attack RFE/RL 11 Nov 2009 -- U.S. President Barack Obama addressed thousands of soldiers, their families, and their commanders at a somber memorial service on November 10 for the 13 people killed last week by a man authorities have identified as an Army psychiatrist.
• Hood, Nation Pay Tribute to Victims of Post Shooting Spree AFPS 11 Nov 2009 -- The mournful and all too familiar scene of a bugler playing Taps occurred again here Tuesday as the Fort Hood community paid its respects to fallen warriors struck down last week allegedly at the hands of a lone gunman, who also happened to wear an Army uniform.
• Bonhomme Richard Amphibious Ready Group Departs 7th Fleet Navy NewsStand 11 Nov 2009 -- The Bonhomme Richard Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) departed the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations as part of its regularly scheduled deployment to the Western Pacific and Persian Gulf Nov. 10.
• USS Constitution Designated America's Ship of State Navy NewsStand 11 Nov 2009 -- USS Constitution became America's Ship of State Oct. 28.
• George Washington Stays Mission-Ready with MISSILEX Navy NewsStand 11 Nov 2009 -- USS George Washington (CVN 73) successfully completed a test of its NATO Sea Sparrow Missile System (NSSMS) during an at-sea missile exercise (MISSLEX) Nov. 8.
• George Washington Begins ANNUALEX 21G Navy NewsStand 11 Nov 2009 -- USS George Washington (CVN 73) and embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 began their participation in military exercise ANNUALEX 21G Nov. 10.
• Commander Naval Safety Center Visits CENTCOM Area Navy NewsStand 11 Nov 2009 -- U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) played host to Commander, Naval Safety Center (NSC) Nov. 9-12.
• Gates Discusses Reagan’s Role in Fall of Berlin Wall AFPS 11 Nov 2009 -- A flexible American strategy based on Ronald Reagan’s inflexible belief in liberty was key to the fall of the Berlin Wall, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here yesterday.
• Yemen, US Sign Military Cooperation Deal VOA 11 Nov 2009 -- Yemen's official news agency says the country has signed a military cooperation deal with the United States, as Yemen battles a growing Shi'ite rebellion in the north.
• Japan to Tell Obama It Wants Okinawa Marine Base Closed VOA 11 Nov 2009 -- The relocation of a U.S. Marine base on Okinawa is expected to be on the top of the agenda when President Barack Obama visits Tokyo this week. The United States and Japan agreed three years ago to move the base to another part of the island in five years. But the new Japanese administration wants that plan put on hold.
• French, German Leaders Commemorate Armistice Day VOA 11 Nov 2009 -- Two days after 20th anniversary celebrations of the fall of the Berlin Wall, German and French leaders met in Paris in another symbol of growing European unity, to jointly commemorate Armistice Day. This is the first time a German leader has attended the Paris ceremony marking the end of World War I.
• Pakistani Officials, Experts Say Nuclear Arsenal In Good Hands RFE/RL 11 Nov 2009 -- A report by a popular U.S. magazine that questions the security of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal amid rising insecurity has prompted angry reactions in Islamabad
• Engine failure could be responsible for Tu-142 crash RIA Novosti 11 Nov 2009 -- Engine failure could have caused Friday's crash of a Russian military Tu-142 plane in the Tatar Strait, the chief of the Russian General Staff said on Wednesday.
• Iran urges Russia to fulfill S-300 missile supply contract RIA Novosti 11 Nov 2009 -- Russia has to fulfill its contract on the supply of S-300 defensive surface-to-air missile systems to Iran, Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said on Wednesday.
• Russian Black Sea Fleet destabilizing relations -Yushchenko RIA Novosti 11 Nov 2009 -- Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko believes Russia's Black Sea Fleet stationed on the Crimean Peninsula is leading to instability between the two countries' relations.

Defense Industry

• ATK Awarded $21 Million Contract to Supply Non-Standard Weapons for Security Forces in Afghanistan ATK 11 Nov 2009 -- Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK) has been awarded a $21 million contract by the U.S. Army Aberdeen Contracting Center at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, MD, to supply various types of non-standard (non-NATO) weapon systems for the security forces of Afghanistan.
• ATK Awarded $100 Million Contract for Trident II Solid Rocket Propulsion Systems ATK 11 Nov 2009 -- Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK) has received a $100 million contract from Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) to produce solid rocket propulsion systems for all three stages of the U.S. Navy's Trident II (D-5) Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM).
• BAE SYSTEMS AWARDED SHARE OF M-ATV ARMOR CONTRACT BAE Systems 11 Nov 2009 -- BAE Systems has been awarded a multi-million dollar contract by Plasan North America to provide armoring solutions and components for MRAP All Terrain Vehicles (M-ATV) bound for deployment in Afghanistan.
• Boeing, Netherlands' World Class Aviation Academy to Provide Military Aviation Training Boeing 11 Nov 2009 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] and World Class Aviation Academy (WCAA) of the Netherlands today announced that they have signed a teaming agreement to provide customers in the region with military maintenance training on fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft.
• Lockheed Martin’s JASSM-Extended Range Missile Maintains Perfect Success Rate with Latest Flight Test Lockheed Martin 11 Nov 2009 -- The Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range (JASSM-ER) successfully completed its sixth flight demonstration in a recent test at White Sands Missile Range, NM. The JASSM-ER program is now six for six flight test successes.
• Northrop Grumman Awarded A-10 Thunderbolt II Total Life-Cycle Program Support Task Order Northrop Grumman 11 Nov 2009 -- The U.S. Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) a task order under the A-10 Thunderbolt Life-cycle Program Support (TLPS) indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity program to develop and test an anti-jam embedded GPS and inertial navigation unit (EGI) for the A-10C.
• SAIC Awarded Contract by Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment SAIC 11 Nov 2009 -- Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) (NYSE: SAI) today announced it has been awarded a prime contract by the Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment (AFCEE) to support environmental restoration, remediation, and construction programs. The multiple-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract has an eight year period of performance and a maximum value of $3 billion for all awardees. Work will be performed at military installations as required.
• Boeing Receives Study Contract for Submarine-Tracking Unmanned Aerial System Boeing 11 Nov 2009 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] on Sept. 28 received a $275,000 contract from the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) for a study of the magnetic noise associated with the heavy-fuel propulsion system on Boeing's MagEagle Compressed Carriage (MECC) Unmanned Aerial System (UAS). The MECC, designed and built to be magnetically quiet, is a special-mission variant of the company's ScanEagle Compressed Carriage UAS.

Other Conflicts

• Daily Press Briefing by the Offices of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General and the Spokesperson for the General Assembly President United Nations 11 Nov 2009
• Oshkosh Defense Receives $438 Million Order for Additional 1,000 M-ATVs Oshkosh 11 Nov 2009 -- Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK) announced today it has received an additional $438 million award from the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command Life Cycle Management Command (TACOM LCMC) for 1,000 MRAP All Terrain Vehicles (M-ATV). This is the fifth award Oshkosh has received to supply M-ATVs and brings the total number of vehicles Oshkosh will deliver to 6,219. The aggregate amount of the five awards is valued at more than $3.2 billion.
• Obama's Middle East Strategy Stalls VOA 11 Nov 2009 -- From the beginning of his administration, U.S. President Barack Obama said resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would be a top foreign policy priority. After nearly 10 months of diplomacy, however, the peace process appears to be stalled and no negotiations are on the horizon. Some Middle East analysts say the failure to make progress is due, at least in part, to missteps made by the Obama administration.
• Britain Offers Concessions to Push Cyprus Reunification VOA 11 Nov 2009 -- Britain has offered to give up half of the land occupied by its sovereign military bases in Cyprus if the divided island's leaders can seal a reunification deal.
• Universality of global pact on mines and other explosive devices vital, Ban says UN News Centre 11 Nov 2009 -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for greater efforts to expand the number of signatories, especially among developing countries and States in conflict, to a global pact banning the use of mines, booby-traps and other explosive devices against civilians.
• Council must do more to protect civilians in armed conflict – UN rights chief UN News Centre 11 Nov 2009 -- The United Nations human rights chief today called on the Security Council to put more muscle into protecting civilians in armed conflict, citing Israel’s war in Gaza and the situations in Darfur, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Afghanistan as examples of the need to end impunity.
• Talks on Russian-Georgian conflict resume in Geneva under UN co-sponsorship UN News Centre 11 Nov 2009 -- The United Nations and its international partners chairing talks on last year’s Russian-Georgian conflict in South Ossetia today voiced concern over a number of recent detentions but noted that the overall security situation on the ground remained “relatively stable.”
• Côte d’Ivoire: UN begins transporting provisional voters’ list for upcoming polls UN News Centre 11 Nov 2009 -- The United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) today began transporting the provisional voters’ list to polling stations around the country as part of the latest phase of preparations for the upcoming presidential elections.
• CAMBODIA: Coming to terms with a violent past IRIN 11 Nov 2009 -- Cambodia marked a milestone in its history when the first of a series of UN-backed trials began in February to hold five Khmer Rouge leaders accountable for crimes during their rule (1975-79).
• YEMEN: Hundreds displaced by fighting on Yemen-Saudi border IRIN 11 Nov 2009 -- Hundreds of civilians have been fleeing their villages along the border with Saudi Arabia following clashes between Yemen’s Houthi-led Shia insurgents and the Saudi armed forces, according to a UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) official.
• SRI LANKA: Interview with top government official on IDP camps, returns IRIN 11 Nov 2009 -- One of the more contentious issues in Sri Lanka this year has been the plight of hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the north.
• RWANDA: Group refugee status could be lifted by late 2011 IRIN 11 Nov 2009 -- The group refugee status of tens of thousands of Rwandans who fled their country in the wake of the 1994 genocide could be lifted by the end of 2011, according to UN and Rwandan officials.
• Abbas Renews Call for Settlement Halt VOA 11 Nov 2009 -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has repeated a call for Israel to halt settlement activity in order for peace negotiations to resume.

News Reports

• U.S. Sets N. Korea Talks, Looking For Positive Steps RFE/RL 11 Nov 2009 -- The United States said it had agreed to hold bilateral talks with North Korea in hopes of coaxing Pyongyang back into broader negotiations aimed at ending its nuclear arms program
• U.S. to send envoy to North Korea for nuclear talks restart RIA Novosti 11 Nov 2009 -- The U.S. has decided to send an envoy to North Korea to persuade the communist regime to resume denuclearization talks, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday.
• Clinton: Naval Clash Won't Stop Outreach to North Korea VOA 11 Nov 2009 -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says Tuesday's naval clash between North and South Korea will not derail plans to send a U.S. envoy to North Korea to try to revive nuclear negotiations. Clinton discussed North Korea diplomacy in meetings with fellow foreign ministers of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
• Iraq's Presidential Council Wants January 18 Election VOA 11 Nov 2009 -- The head of Iraq's electoral commission says the presidential council has called for the nation's parliamentary election to be held January 18 instead of January 21, as proposed earlier this week.
• Kurdish President Criticizes Baghdad's Oil Policy, Appeals For European Aid RFE/RL 11 Nov 2009 -- The president of Iraq's Kurdish regional government (KRG) described to European lawmakers on November 10 the differences his government has with the Baghdad government, RFE/RL reports
• Ukraine's Navy reports crew deficit over flu epidemic RIA Novosti 11 Nov 2009 -- A flu epidemic has forced Ukraine's naval command to discharge contract sailors with the fall recruitment campaign suspended, a source in the ex-Soviet state's Navy said on Wednesday.
• Ukraine reports 213 deaths from flu viruses RIA Novosti 11 Nov 2009 -- The number of deaths in Ukraine from flu viruses has climbed to 213, the country's Health Ministry reported on Wednesday.
• Two new swine flu deaths confirmed in Russia RIA Novosti 11 Nov 2009 -- Two deaths from swine flu have been confirmed in Russia's Urals, the sanitary watchdog in the Chelyabinsk Region said on Wednesday.
• Ukraine Reports More Flu Deaths, Infections RFE/RL 11 Nov 2009 -- The number of people in Ukraine who have died from flu and respiratory diseases has reached 174, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports
• Kyrgyzstan Reports More Swine Flu Infections But No Deaths RFE/RL 11 Nov 2009 -- The number of swine flu patients in Kyrgyzstan has reached 27, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports
• Russia threatens to cut supplies if Ukraine taps gas - Putin RIA Novosti 11 Nov 2009 -- Moscow will cut supplies if Kiev taps natural gas, the Russian prime minister said on Wednesday, pledging that gas deliveries will be uninterrupted if transiting countries honor their commitments.
• Cambodia Rejects Thai Request to Extradite Former Leader VOA 11 Nov 2009 -- Cambodia has rejected Thailand's request for the extradition of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. There now are suggestions that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations should intervene to reduce tensions that have risen between the two countries.
• UN ready to work with new Lebanese government, says Secretary-General UN News Centre 11 Nov 2009 -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today reiterated the readiness of the United Nations to work with the new unity government in Lebanon in tackling the challenges facing the country.