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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Unmanned helicopter makes first delivery for Marines in Afghanistan USMC News 23 Dec 2011 -- Unmanned systems have revolutionized combat aviation, providing a colossal advantage in the fight against terror with surveillance and close-air support.
• Combat engineers provide support for Operation Eagle Hunt USMC News 23 Dec 2011 -- These Marines are trained to lead patrols as point men and sweep for any improvised explosive devices, the enemy's favored weapon. They are also trained in construction and demolitions, making them a versatile force multiplier on the battlefield.
• Soldiers in Afghanistan Focused on Allen's 2012 Objectives AFPS 23 Dec 2011 -- As the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan looks to 2012 as a time to build on gains made and extend the security zone east of Kabul, the soldiers of Regional Command East know they have a vital role to play in making that possible.
• UK troops support Afghan led Operation WINTER SUCCESS UK MOD 23 Dec 2011 -- Nearly 1,000 British and Afghan soldiers and Afghan Police have taken part in a major operation to clear insurgents from a crucial area of Helmand province.
• Pakistan army dismisses NATO strike inquiry report IRNA 23 Dec 2011 -- Pakistan Army has rejected an investigation report into the last month's NATO strike on two of its border posts which had killed 24 Pakistani soldiers and injured 13 others.
• Pakistan Rejects US Findings on Border Attack VOA 23 Dec 2011 -- Pakistan's military has rejected the findings of a U.S. inquiry into last month's coalition attack that killed 24 Pakistan soldiers at Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.
• NATO blames 'both sides' for its deadly airstrike on Pakistan base RIA Novosti 23 Dec 2011 -- NATO said its airstrike on a Pakistani base that killed 24 servicemen and further spoiled ties between Islamabad and Washington, was a result of mistakes made by both sides.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Dempsey: Hazing, Bullying 'Intolerable' in Military AFPS 23 Dec 2011 -- Emphasizing that bullying and hazing undermine everything the military stands for, the top U.S. military officer said every member of the armed forces has a personal responsibility to uphold its 'zero tolerance' standard and intervene to stop any occurrences.
• Pakistan, India to hold talks on nuclear CBMs next week IRNA 23 Dec 2011 -- Pakistan and India will hold talks on nuclear and conventional confidence-building measures (CBMs) next week as part of the bilateral dialogue process, the Foreign Ministry has said.
• CTF 55 Ship Visits Iraq Strengthening Partnership NNS 23 Dec 2011 -- A Commander, Task Force (CTF) 55 ship conducted the first port visit since the end of Operation New Dawn, and the last port visit of 2011 in Umm Qasr, Iraq, Dec. 21.
• Russia successfully test fires Bulava missiles RIA Novosti 23 Dec 2011 -- Russia successfully test launched two Bulava intercontinental ballistic missiles on Friday, Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Igor Konashenkov said.
• December 23, 2011 - U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 23 Dec 2011

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for December 23, 2011
• Raytheon to Provide Improved Surveillance Capability for National Airspace System Raytheon 23 Dec 2011 -- Raytheon Company has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Air Force to incorporate Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) capability into its suite of APX-119 Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) transponders to support the Federal Aviation Administration's NextGen plan for transformation of the National Airspace System.

Other Conflicts

• 23 December 2011 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 23 Dec 2011
• 23 December 2011 - Press Conference on Russian Presidency of Security Council United Nations 23 Dec 2011
• Syria: Ban reiterates concern over worsening bloodshed as blasts claim more lives UN News Centre 23 Dec 2011 -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has voiced grave concern over the escalating violence in Syria, including today’s explosions in the capital, Damascus, which resulted in more deaths and injuries, and reiterated his call for an immediate end to the bloodshed.
• US Condemns Syria Terror Bombings VOA 23 Dec 2011 -- The United States is condemning Friday’s car bombings in Damascus and says it is crucial that the terror attacks not hinder the Arab League mission now arriving in Syria to monitor human rights abuses. Analysts say the monitoring force is too small given the widespread anti-government unrest in Syria.
• Suicide bombers kill dozens soldiers, civilians in Damascus attacks IRNA 23 Dec 2011 -- Two suicide bombers drove explosive-laden vehicles into Syrian security targets including the military court in Damascus on Friday. Damascus TV said 30 soldiers and civilians are killed and 55 wounded.
• Suicide Bombings Target Security Sites in Damascus, Dozens Dead RFE/RL 23 Dec 2011 -- Syria's government says two suicide attacks on security sites in the capital, Damascus, have killed and injured scores of civilians and soldiers.
• Syria Says 40 Killed in Twin Bombings VOA 23 Dec 2011 -- Syrian officials say twin suicide bombings in Damascus have killed at least 40 people and left 150 others injured.
• Syria Blames al-Qaida for Double Car Bombings in Damascus VOA 23 Dec 2011 -- Syrian government TV showed graphic images of burnt bodies and body parts from what it claims were two al-Qaida car bombs in front of the intelligence headquarters in the Damascus suburb of Kfar Sousa. Opposition figures, however, are claiming that the government perpetrated the bombings.
• MYANMAR: Displaced Kachin face grim Christmas IRIN 23 Dec 2011 -- As the winter winds sweep across Myanmar's northern Kachin State, there is little to celebrate this Christmas for the estimated 45,000 civilians in some 30 camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) along the Burmese-Chinese border.
• KENYA: Several thousand displaced as communities clash in north IRIN 23 Dec 2011 -- Several weeks of fighting between two rival communities in Moyale, near the Ethiopia-Kenya border, has displaced hundreds of families and disrupted transport services. The displaced have had no assistance, local sources and activists told IRIN.
• KENYA: Journey to the ICC IRIN 23 Dec 2011 -- This holiday season Kenyans will be watching the International Criminal Court (ICC), awaiting a decision - expected between 23 December and January 2012 - on confirmation-of-charges hearings against the first three of six high-level suspects who allegedly bear the greatest responsibility for violence that erupted after the disputed 2007 presidential poll, leading to the deaths of at least 1,200 people and the displacement of hundreds of thousands.
• Azerbaijan Criticizes French Parliament's 'Armenian Genocide' Bill RFE/RL 23 Dec 2011 -- Azerbaijani officials have expressed their disapproval of French legislation that makes it illegal to deny that the mass killing of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey nearly a century ago was genocide, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports.
• Nicaragua files suit against Costa Rica at UN World Court over border violations UN News Centre 23 Dec 2011 -- Nicaragua has filed suit against Costa Rica at the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ), citing violations to national sovereignty and major environmental damages to its territory due to the construction of a new road along the banks of the San Juan River.
• UN deplores murder of three aid workers in Somalia UN News Centre 23 Dec 2011 -- The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has condemned the killing today of two staff members and a colleague with a partner organization in Somalia, an act of violence the agency says illustrates the risks that relief workers face in one of the world's most dangerous places.
• Rwanda Criminal Tribunal Pleased With Progress VOA 23 Dec 2011 -- With the sentencing this week of two former Rwandan politicians for their role in Rwanda's 1994 genocide, the Tanzania-based International Criminal Tribunal continues its work of trying the masterminds of the violence. In its 17-year history, the tribunal has achieved a number of firsts.

News Reports

• Analysis: Worrying signs for Iraq's stability as USA pulls out IRIN 23 Dec 2011 -- Every day, the bleak concrete blast walls circling Baghdad's northern neighbourhood of Adhamiya trigger flashbacks in the mind of Sahib Awad Maarouf of the violence which plagued Iraq after the 2003 US-led invasion.
• Iranian Friday Prayers Leader underlines defeat of US troops in Iraq IRNA 23 Dec 2011 -- Tehran's provisional Friday Prayers Leader Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati termed US troops exit from Iraq another defeat for Washington, calling for complete withdrawal of the US troops from the entire region.
• Russia's space chief says industry in 'crisis' after latest failure RIA Novosti 23 Dec 2011 -- Russia's space industry needs an influx of new faces to overcome its current crisis, the head of the Roscosmos agency said on Friday, hours after a satellite crashed in southern Siberia.
• New crew arrives at international space station RIA Novosti 23 Dec 2011 -- The Russian Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft docked with the International Space Station on Friday with a new crew of three onboard.
• Russian communication satellite crashes shortly after launch RIA Novosti 23 Dec 2011 -- A Meridian satellite that on Friday was launched from the Plesetsk space center in northern Russia on board a Soyuz-2 carrier rocket crashed near the Siberian city of Tobolskminutes after liftoff , a Defense Ministry source said.
• Egyptians Rally Against Ruling Military Council VOA 23 Dec 2011 -- Thousands of Egyptians gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday, demanding that Egypt's ruling military council cede power to a civilian government.
• Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi Registers Party, Visits Parliament VOA 23 Dec 2011 -- p>Burma's democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi formally registered her National League for Democracy as a political party Friday, clearing the way for her to run for a seat in parliament.