Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 24 Dec 2009 [PDF]
• Over 20 killed, some 100 wounded in Iraq explosions RIA Novosti 24 Dec 2009 -- Over 20 people were killed and some 100 injured in separate bomb attacks in Iraq on Thursday during the Shiite religious festival of Ashura, local media reported.
• 20 Killed in Central Iraq Bomb Attacks VOA 24 Dec 2009 -- Iraqi officials say at least 20 people were killed and 100 wounded in multiple attacks across Iraq Thursday, including Shi'ite pilgrims gathered for a religious ritual.
• Forces in Afghanistan Detain Suspects, Find Weapons AFPS 24 Dec 2009 -- Afghan and international security forces in Afghanistan detained numerous suspected militants and seized weapons stockpiles in various operations today, military officials reported.
• Soldiers Meet With Leaders in Remote Afghan Province AFPS 24 Dec 2009 -- Over mountainous terrain, a pair of UH-47 Chinook helicopters glided through the cold air to the remote village of Shaykh Ali in Afghanistan’s Parwan province Dec. 19, carrying nearly 45 Task Force Cyclone team members.
• Three British deaths in Sangin IRNA 24 Dec 2009 -- The situation in Sangin region of central Helmand, is “not as bleak as it might first appear,” the Ministry of Defence (MoD) insisted Thursday after announcing the death of a third British soldier in the area in as many days.
• Envoy Says Russia Seeks Greater Role In Afghanistan RFE/RL 24 Dec 2009 -- Russia's ambassador to Kabul has said his country will seek to boost its role in Afghanistan and praised the recently unveiled U.S. approach to ease security and other problems there.
• Suspected Taliban Commander Captured in Afghanistan VOA 24 Dec 2009 -- NATO says a suspected Taliban commander, wanted for a series of recent assassinations, has been captured during an operation with Afghan forces in Kandahar.
• Suicide bombers kill five in northwest Pakistan RIA Novosti 24 Dec 2009 -- At least five people were killed and some 20 were injured when two suicide bombers attacked a police checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan in the early hours of Thursday, local television channel Aaj News said, quoting police sources.
• Suicide Bomber Strikes Peshawar in Pakistan VOA 24 Dec 2009 -- A suicide bomb attack has rocked the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing at least five people and wounding more than 20 others.

Defense Policy / Programs

• CJTF-HOA Extends Itself to Djiboutian Businesses Navy NewsStand 24 Dec 2009 -- Contract and facilities managers from Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa and Camp Lemonnier took a major step toward advancing the economic development of Djibouti and region stability through one event called Vendor Day at Djibouti's Chamber of Commerce Headquarters, Dec. 22.
• Russia needs 'lean and mean' army RIA Novosti 24 Dec 2009 -- Russia needs a modern, efficient and well organized military, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday.
• Strategic bombers are crucial for national security RIA Novosti 24 Dec 2009
• Russia to retain nuclear deterrence, build new missiles - Medvedev RIA Novosti 24 Dec 2009 -- Russia's nuclear deterrence will always be strong enough to defend its interests, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday.
• Russia test-fires Voyevoda ICBM RIA Novosti 24 Dec 2009 -- Russia successfully test-launched a Voyevoda (SS-18 Satan) missile capable of carrying 10 warheads on Thursday morning, a Defense Ministry spokesman said.
• Russian defense minister insists on Bulava missile development RIA Novosti 24 Dec 2009 -- The Russian military will not abandon plans to develop the troubled Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), the defense minister has said.
• Medvedev: Russia to Develop New Nuclear Missiles VOA 24 Dec 2009 -- Russian President Dmitri Medvedev says his country will develop a new generation of nuclear weaponry, even as it works toward a new strategic arms treaty with the United States.
• U.S. to deliver Patriot air defense systems to Taiwan RIA Novosti 24 Dec 2009 -- U.S. Raytheon Company has announced it has received defense orders worth $1.1 billion to supply Taiwan with advanced Patriot air defense systems.
• U.S. firm wins contracts to produce Patriot system for Taiwan CNA 24 Dec 2009 -- U.S. defense manufacturer Raytheon Company said Wednesday that it has been awarded contracts worth a total of US$1.1 billion to produce new Patriot Air and Missile Defense System for Taiwan.

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for December 24, 2009
• Oshkosh Defense Awarded $54 Million Delivery Order for M-ATV Armor Kits Oshkosh 24 Dec 2009 -- Oshkosh Defense, a division of Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK), has received an order valued at more than $54 million from the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command Life Cycle Management Command (TACOM LCMC) to supply more than 970 add-on protection kits for the MRAP All-Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV).

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 24 Dec 2009
• Secretary-General expresses hope that Israel will allow more items to enter Gaza UN News Centre 24 Dec 2009 -- After Israel’s announcement that it will allow glass into Gaza following United Nations requests to repair homes damaged during last year’s fighting, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced hope that this will pave the way for other much-needed materials to enter the area.
• UN opens website detailing zero tolerance policy on sexual abuse by peacekeepers UN News Centre 24 Dec 2009 -- In keeping with its ‘zero tolerance’ policy on sexual exploitation and abuse by members of its multiple peacekeeping operations and special political missions, the United Nations is making publicly available its aggregated data on such misconduct over the past three years.
• CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Aid workers evacuated from north IRIN 24 Dec 2009 -- The US-based NGO International Medical Corps (IMC) has evacuated 13 of its staff from the northeast of the Central African Republic following two incidents in which the organization lost three vehicles to an armed group.
• Georgian leadership threat to regional peace - Lavrov RIA Novosti 24 Dec 2009 -- The Georgian leadership is a threat to peace and security in the region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday.
• Medvedev urges 'particular control' of situation in North Caucasus RIA Novosti 24 Dec 2009 -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday a special official should be appointed to coordinate efforts aimed at improving the standards of living in Russia's North Caucasus and assuring security in the region.
• Georgia, Russia agree to reopen border next spring RIA Novosti 24 Dec 2009 -- Moscow and Tbilisi have agreed to reopen a border checkpoint closed since July 2006, a Georgian deputy foreign minister said on Thursday.
• Yemen: 34 al-Qaida Suspects Killed in Air Strike VOA 24 Dec 2009 -- Yemeni TV says government forces have killed 34 suspected al-Qaida members in a dawn airstrike on rugged terrain 650-kilometers east of the capital Sana'a. Security sources say the al-Qaida operatives were meeting when the strike took place.

News Reports

• Iranian Court Sentences Prominent Reformist to 6 Years in Jail VOA 24 Dec 2009 -- An Iranian court has sentenced a former government spokesman to six years in jail for involvement in post-election protests against Iran's conservative government.
• Ahmadinejad: US Claims of Iran Pursuing Nukes Are Like 'TV Series' VOA 24 Dec 2009 -- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the British television network Channel 4 that the accusations have, in his words, turned into a "TV series." He was responding to Western allegations that Iran is developing nuclear weapons under cover of a civilian energy program - a charge Tehran denies.
• US: Iran Increasingly a 'Police State' VOA 24 Dec 2009 -- A U.S. State Department official says "Iran is increasingly showing itself to be a police state" in its harsh treatment of opposition protesters.
• China Sentences Five More To Death For Xinjiang Riots RFE/RL 24 Dec 2009 -- A Chinese court has sentenced five more people to death for their part in bloody ethnic rioting earlier this year in Urumqi, the capital of far western Xinjiang region, a local government spokeswoman said today.
• China Rejects International Criticism of Dissident Trial VOA 24 Dec 2009 -- Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu Thursday made it clear Beijing considers the case of Liu Xiaobo no one else's business.
• China Criticizes Argentina for Arrest Request of Jiang Zemin, Falun Gong Support VOA 24 Dec 2009 -- The case centers around Falun Gong, a spiritual group that was banned in China in 1999, after thousands of members surrounded the Chinese leadership compound in central Beijing.
• PAKISTAN: Nine swine flu deaths prompt fear IRIN 24 Dec 2009 -- The death of at least nine people from H1N1 influenza since May 2009 has led to rising public fear and concern, and experts are calling on the government to introduce more preventative measures.
• Guinea Military Trying to Avoid International Prosecution for Killing Civilians VOA 24 Dec 2009 -- Guinea's military government is trying to avoid international prosecution of security forces responsible for killing opposition demonstrators by vowing to purge the army of soldiers guilty of human rights abuses.
• Nigeria's Ailing President Under Pressure to Resign VOA 24 Dec 2009 -- A former minority leader in Nigeria's House of Representatives, Farouk Adamu Aliyu, is asking an Abuja high court to determine whether President Yar'Adua's four-week trip to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment constitutes permanent incapacity, under the constitution. He also wants the court to decide whether it is appropriate for the president to lead the country from his hospital bed.
• All members of ex-first family indicted again CNA 24 Dec 2009 -- Former President Chen Shui-bian and his three immediate family members were indicted again Thursday, along with 19 other people, on charges of corruption and money laundering --crimes that prosecutors said were carried out by manipulating financial reforms introduced by the Chen administration.
• Veterans Remember Soviet Invasion Of Afghanistan 30 Years On RFE/RL 24 Dec 2009 -- a KGB agent -- had dropped into a glass of Coca-Cola was neutralized by its bubbles. This time, the Soviets took fewer chances by deploying more troops to Afghanistan to make sure the government toppled.
• Medvedev Takes To Airwaves On Major Issues RFE/RL 24 Dec 2009 -- President Dmitry Medvedev has given an end-of-year interview to Russia's three major television channels in which he outlined challenges facing the country's economy, social ills, and Moscow's relations with Washington.