Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• US Envoy: Taliban Must Renounce Terrorism to Participate in Talks VOA 22 Jan 2012 -- A top U.S diplomat has urged Taliban insurgents to denounce ties to international terrorists and support Afghan peace initiatives. U.S special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Marc Grossman wrapped up two days of extensive talks with Afghan leaders in Kabul.
• USS Halsey Gives Aid to Yemeni Dhow NNS 22 Jan 2012 -- USS Halsey (DDG 97) responded to a call of distress from M/V Albrouj, a Yemeni dhow that was en route to Somalia from Yemen, while the U.S. ship was conducting helicopter operations in the Gulf of Aden, Jan. 19.

Defense Policy / Programs

• SECDEF Tours Enterprise, Addresses Crew NNS 22 Jan 2012 -- Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) Leon E. Panetta visited the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) while underway in the Atlantic Ocean, Jan. 21 and 22.
• Navy, Coast Guard Integrate to Complete Successful Deployment NNS 22 Jan 2012 -- Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron (MSRON) 2 and U.S. Coast Guard Port Security Unit (USCGPSU) 307 returned home Jan. 20, after completing a successful deployment as part of Commander, Task Group (CTG) 56.5.
• Commander U.S. 5th Fleet Visits USS Makin Island NNS 22 Jan 2012 -- Commander, U.S. 5th Fleet met with Sailors and Marines assigned to amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8) during an overnight visit to the ship, Jan. 14-15.
• Airmen, Sailors participate in Bahrain airshow AFNS 22 Jan 2012 -- Airmen and Sailors from across the Air Force and Navy traveled here to represent U.S. military forces during the Bahrain International Airshow Jan. 19.
• Panetta Touts Carrier's Agility in Visit to Enterprise AFPS 22 Jan 2012 -- Aircraft carriers will continue to be important to U.S. military strategy, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta told the crew of the USS Enterprise yesterday.
• Russia Keeps 30 MiG-31 Interceptors on High-Alert Duty RIA Novosti 22 Jan 2012 -- More than 30 MiG-31 Foxhound supersonic interceptor aircraft are on round-the-clock high-alert duty every day protecting the Russian airspace from airborne threats, Air Force spokesman Col. Vladimir Drik said.
• Russian Destroyer Escorts Commercial Vessels in Gulf of Aden RIA Novosti 22 Jan 2012 -- A new task force from Russia's Pacific Fleet has escorted its first convoy of commercial vessels along the designated safety corridor after its recent arrival to the Gulf of Aden, the fleet's spokesman said on Sunday.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• Saudi to Withdraw Observers From Arab League's Syria Mission VOA 22 Jan 2012 -- Saudi Arabia says it is withdrawing its observers from Syria in protest at what it calls the Syrian government's failure to respect an Arab League plan to end a violent crackdown on a 10-month old opposition uprising.
• Abbas Pledges to Continue Peace Talks with Israel RIA Novosti 22 Jan 2012 -- The Palestinian authorities are ready to continue peace talks with Israel, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday.
• Israel to blame for talks 'fiasco' - Abbas RIA Novosti 22 Jan 2012 -- The responsibility for a failure to restart stalled Israeli-Palestinian talks will lie solely with Tel Aviv and its refusal to halt settlement construction, Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas said on Sunday in Moscow.
• Boko Haram's Rise in Nigeria Sparks Civil War Fears VOA 22 Jan 2012 -- Friday's deadly bomb attacks in Nigeria's second largest city, Kano, are the latest in a series of spectacular strikes by the radical Islamist sect Boko Haram. The coordinated series of assaults on police stations and other government offices killed at least 200 people. The rise of Boko Haram is sparking concerns that Africa's most populous country may be edging closer to civil war.
• Death Toll in Nigeria Terrorist Attacks Rises to 162 RIA Novosti 22 Jan 2012 -- The death toll in coordinated attacks by a radical Islamist group in Nigeria's northern city of Kano has risen to at least 162 people, The Telegraph reported citing local officials.
• Rights Group Says Iraq Falling Back Into Authoritariansim RFE/RL 22 Jan 2012 -- Human Rights Watch has warned that Iraq is falling back into authoritarianism and headed towards becoming a police state, despite claims from Washington that the United States has helped establish democracy in the country.

News Reports

• No justification of sanctions against Iran: MP IRNA 22 Jan 2012 -- A Parliamentarian and senior leader of a major Pakistani Islamic party on Saturday said that curbs on Iran have no justification and amount to slap sanctions on entire Muslim world.
• Amano says he is committed to constructive cooperation with Iran IRNA 22 Jan 2012 -- Director General of IAEA Yukiya Amano, in a statement by referring to dispatching a team from the agency to Tehran late January, underlined that he is committed to constructive cooperation with Iran.
• Spokesman lashes out at Sarkozy's remarks on Iran IRNA 22 Jan 2012 -- Foreign Ministry Spokesman expressed surprise over undocumented and unrealistic remarks of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and reiterated Iran's peaceful and transparent nuclear activities.
• Ahmadinejad: Iran will respond to any threat proportionally IRNA 22 Jan 2012 -- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said sanctions have no effect on Iran progressive and growing trend and any body who wants to threaten Iranians' rights, will be confronted proportionally.
• EU Set To Widen Iran Sanctions RFE/RL 22 Jan 2012 -- The European Union is set to widen its sanctions against Iran when the club's foreign ministers meet in Brussels on January 23.
• Libya's No. 2 Leader Resigns After Benghazi Anti-Government Riot VOA 22 Jan 2012 -- The deputy head of Libya's National Transitional Council has stepped down, a day after anti-government protesters stormed the ruling body's offices in the eastern city of Benghazi.
• Fresh Radioactive Water Leakage Reported at Fukushima Nuke Plant RIA Novosti 22 Jan 2012 -- About two liters of radioactive water leaked from the turbine building of the second reactor at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, Kyodo news agency reported on Sunday.
• Man Dies of Avian Flu in China RIA Novosti 22 Jan 2012 -- A resident of the south-western Chinese province of Guizhou died of avian flu on Sunday, China's Health Ministry reported.
• Islamist parties sweep Egyptian election RIA Novosti 22 Jan 2012 -- Egypt's Islamist parties have won an overwhelming victory at the first parliamentary polls since last year's uprising which led to the fall of the Hosni Mubarak regime, the country's election authorities said.
• Saleh Leaves Sana'a to Seek Treatment in US VOA 22 Jan 2012 -- The United States says it will allow outgoing Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to come to the U.S. for a limited time to undergo medical treatment.
• Tymoshenko calls Ukrainian opposition forces to unite RIA Novosti 22 Jan 2012 -- Yulia Tymoshenko, Ukraine's jailed ex-prime minister, has called on the country's opposition forces to unite in the face of 'the enemy from within'.