Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• U.S., French Officials In Kabul For Talks RFE/RL 21 Jan 2012 -- U.S. envoy Marc Grossman has arrived in Kabul for talks with President Hamid Karzai on preliminary peace talks with Taliban insurgents.
• Data-based business dashboard drives project success in Afghanistan Engineer District-South Army News 21 Jan 2012 -- speed, fuel level, engine temperature, location and direction of travel -- you need to arrive at the right place at the right time. In much the same way, a 'dashboard' of statistics helps U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Afghanistan Engineer District-South move rapidly and efficiently toward completing its construction projects in Afghanistan on time.
• Pakistan to allow US forces to return: official IRNA 21 Jan 2012 -- US military trainers will be invited back into Pakistan 'as early as April or May,' but the nation has ruled out allowing CIA drones back into the country, local TV channels reported while quoting a foreign TV channel.
• President, Army Chief agree to keep NATO supplies block IRNA 21 Jan 2012 -- Pakistan Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kiyani, in a meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari, has proposed to keep NATO supplies blocked till the parliament takes a decision in this regard, a media report said on Saturday.

Defense Policy / Programs

• High-altitude fitness test rules reinstated AFNS 21 Jan 2012 -- Airmen undergoing their fitness tests at high-altitude bases can breathe easier during fitness testing thanks to the efforts of Air Force Academy leaders and the Human Performance Laboratory.
• Navy, EPA Negotiate on Kitsap Underground Storage Tanks Inspection NNS 21 Jan 2012 -- The U.S. Navy and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) negotiated a settlement resolving violations of the Washington State Underground Storage Tank (UST) regulations at Naval Base Kitsap (NBK)-Bangor, Jan. 11.
• Air Force denies wasting billions on rescue choppers CNA 21 Jan 2012 -- The Air Force denied a report Saturday that it had squandered NT$3.2 billion (US$106 million) by purchasing search-and-rescue helicopters that were not capable of fulfilling their missions.
• IRGC acting commander says wargames to be conducted as scheduled IRNA 21 Jan 2012 -- The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps navy will conduct warganes in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz as scheduled, Acting Commander of IRGC Brigadier-General Hossein Salami said on Saturday.
• Iran envoy criticizes UNSC silence over assassination of scientists IRNA 21 Jan 2012 -- Iran's Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Eshaq Al Habib condemned the silence of the United Nations Security Council over the killing of the Iranian nuclear scientists.
• Clinton Seeks EU Sanctions to Force Iran Back into Talks RIA Novosti 21 Jan 2012 -- The United States expect the European Union to take steps to pressure Iran back into negotiations on its controversial nuclear activity, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• U.S. Preparing to Shut Down Embassy in Syria RIA Novosti 21 Jan 2012 -- The United States warned on Saturday it may soon close its embassy in Syria over the worsening security situation there.
• 30 Killed in Syria, As Opposition Seeks U.N. Intervention VOA 21 Jan 2012 -- Syrian state media and activists say at least 30 people have been killed across Syria on Saturday as opposition groups appeal to the Arab League for United Nations intervention.
• At Least 131 Dead in Nigeria Bombings VOA 21 Jan 2012 -- A series of coordinated bombings in the northern Nigerian city of Kano has killed well over 100 people. Many of the victims were police or soldiers.

News Reports

• Iran envoy criticizes UNSC silence over assassination of scientists IRNA 21 Jan 2012 -- Iran's Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Eshaq Al Habib condemned the silence of the United Nations Security Council over the killing of the Iranian nuclear scientists.
• Clinton Seeks EU Sanctions to Force Iran Back into Talks RIA Novosti 21 Jan 2012 -- The United States expect the European Union to take steps to pressure Iran back into negotiations on its controversial nuclear activity, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said.
• No intention of sacking army chief, ISI chief, says govt IRNA 21 Jan 2012 -- The government has told the Supreme Court that it had no plans to sack Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Ahmed Shuja Pasha for filing replies in Memo case, media reported on Saturday.
• Pakistan clamps down on German spy office in Peshawar: DPA IRNA 21 Jan 2012 -- Pakistani police on Saturday cracked down on the Peshawar-based office of Germany's BND foreign intelligence agency, the German Press Agency dpa cited security circles as saying.
• Yemen Lawmakers Approve Immunity for President Saleh VOA 21 Jan 2012 -- Yemen's parliament has formally approved a law giving President Ali Abdullah Saleh immunity from prosecution that paves the way for him to step dwon after more than three decades in power.
• Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood Party Wins Sweeping Victory in Parliamentary Election VOA 21 Jan 2012 -- The party of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood has won a sweeping victory in the country's parliamentary election, taking 47 percent of the seats in the new assembly.
• US Senators Signal Conditional Support for Lifting Burma Sanctions VOA 21 Jan 2012 -- The United States is ready to lift economic sanctions against Burma if the country's civilian government presses ahead on political reforms including free and fair elections this April.
• Bird Flu Researchers Postpone Work Amid Bioterrorism Concern VOA 21 Jan 2012 -- Two separate teams of scientists trying to develop a vaccine for the H5N1 strain of bird flu have agreed to temporarily postpone their research because of growing concern that a highly-infectious version of the virus the researchers are working with could fall into the hands of terrorists or trigger a deadly pandemic.