Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Readout of the President's Call with General Allen The White House 25 Feb 2012
• Panetta Supports ISAF Personnel Recall After Kabul Murders AFPS 25 Feb 2012 -- Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta backed the decision to recall International Security Assistance Force-Afghanistan personnel working in ministries there.
• NATO Recalls Staff from Afghan Ministries After Shooting VOA 25 Feb 2012 -- NATO has recalled all staff working at Afghan government ministries after two U.S. officers were shot dead at close range inside a secure command center at the Interior Ministry in Kabul.
• NATO Recall As Afghan Protests Bring New Deaths, Storming Of UN Compound RFE/RL 25 Feb 2012 -- At least four people were killed when thousands of protesters surrounded a UN compound in the northern Afghan city of Konduz to condemn the recent burning of Korans at a NATO base.
• Obama Offers Condolences for U.S. Deaths in Afghanistan AFPS 25 Feb 2012 -- President Barack Obama called the commander of the International Security Assistance Force today to offer condolences for the “tragic killing of U.S. troops” in Kabul and to discuss the ongoing violence in Afghanistan.
• Afghanistan: UN mission deplores attack on its compound in Kunduz UN News Centre 25 Feb 2012 -- The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan deplored the attack on its compound in the north-eastern city of Kunduz.
• Two U.S. Officers Killed in Afghan Interior Ministry Attack RIA Novosti 25 Feb 2012 -- Two U.S. officers were killed in an attack by Taliban militants inside the Afghan Interior Ministry headquarters in Kabul.
• Eleven more Afghans Killed in Quran Burning Protests RIA Novosti 25 Feb 2012 -- At least 11 people were killed in Afghanistan on Friday, the fourth day of protests against the burning of Qurans by the U.S. soldiers.
• US Ambassador Complains About Haqqani Havens VOA 25 Feb 2012 -- A prominent U.S. newspaper says the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan sent a top-secret cable to Washington last month warning of "enemy havens" in Pakistan.
• Security Force Assistance Team Training at JRTC Army News 25 Feb 2012 -- The Security Force Assistance Team will become a key component in enhancing the strength and capabilities of the Afghan National Security Forces.
• Pentagon Boosts Strength In Persian Gulf RFE/RL 25 Feb 2012 -- The Pentagon has notified U.S. lawmakers of plans to boost U.S. strength in the Persian Gulf in response to Iranian threats to close the Straits of Hormuz.
• U.S. Beefs Up Defenses in Strait of Hormuz - Paper RIA Novosti 25 Feb 2012 -- The U.S. plans to strengthen its defenses in the Persian Gulf to repel any attempt by Iran to block the Strait of Hormuz.
• Demolition of Osama bin Laden's Compound Begins VOA 25 Feb 2012 -- Reports from Pakistan say security forces have begun to destroy the compound in the city of Abbottabad where al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden lived.
• Pakistan Demolishes Former Bin Laden Compound RFE/RL 25 Feb 2012 -- Reports in Pakistan say that authorities have begun demolishing the former compound of Osama bin Laden in the northern town of Abbottabad.
• Bin Laden’s Compound in Pakistan Demolished RIA Novosti 25 Feb 2012 -- A compound near the Pakistani town of Abbottabad where Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. special forces last year was demolished by Pakistani authorities.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Navy Successfully Launches Next Generation Communications Satellite NNS 25 Feb 2012 -- The Navy's first Mobile User Objective System satellite was launched Feb. 24 from Space Launch Complex 41.
• Technology advances defense, protects F.E. Warren AFB Airmen AFNS 25 Feb 2012 -- The Remote Targeting Engagement System is made up of several parts, including six separate M-240 machine guns, controlled remotely from command consoles.
• NCTAMS LANT Completes Critical Power Upgrade NNS 25 Feb 2012 -- Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station Atlantic completed mission critical power upgrades to its facility.
• Russia to Clear Military Base Lease Debt with Kyrgyzstan RIA Novosti 25 Feb 2012 -- The Kremlin confirmed that Russia would fully pay off its $15-million debt to Kyrgyzstan for leasing military facilities there.
• DRDO working on systems to detect nuke contamination zones IRNA 25 Feb 2012 -- DRDO is developing an array of ground-based and unmanned aerial systems to detect and map contamination zones.
• Australia to Use Military Drones to Protect Ocean Swimmers VOA 25 Feb 2012 -- Unmanned drones are to patrol Australian beaches to help protect swimmers against dangerous currents.
• Navy commandoes save Iranian oil tanker from pirates IRNA 25 Feb 2012 -- Iranian navy commandoes successfully rescued an Iranian oil tanker from a group of pirates in free waters.
• Iranian Navy's flotilla to continue mission in Red Sea ISNA 25 Feb 2012 -- Iranian Navy's flotilla returned from the Mediterranean Sea to continue its mission in the Red Sea.
• Kim Jong Un Inspects Units under Command of KPA 4th Corps KCNA 25 Feb 2012 -- Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army Kim Jong Un inspected units under the Command of the KPA 4th Corps stationed in the southwestern sector of the front.

Defense Industry

• Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Powers 200th Mission of Centaur Rocket, Places Communications Satellite for U.S. Navy into Orbit Pratt & Whitney 25 Feb 2012 -- Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne once again demonstrated the consistent reliability of its propulsion systems by successfully powering the Centaur upper-stage rocket on its 200th mission and placing the first in a series of Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) communications satellites for the U.S. Navy into orbit.

Other Conflicts

• General Assembly President calls for early conflict mediation to avoid violence UN News Centre 25 Feb 2012 -- The President of the General Assembly Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser stressed the importance of mediation in the early stages of conflicts.
• Growing Concern in Turkey Over Bloodshed in Syria VOA 25 Feb 2012 -- Ankara is turning up the pressure on Damascus over its ongoing crackdown on dissent.
• ICRC Negotiating Medical Evacuations From Syria's Homs VOA 25 Feb 2012 -- The international Red Cross tried in vain Saturday to get into the besieged Syrian city of Homs, to evacuate wounded.
• World Urges End to Syria Violence as Evacuation Bid Resumes RIA Novosti 25 Feb 2012 -- Delegates from more than 70 countries attending the inaugural "Friends of Syria" meeting in Tunisia have issued a declaration calling for an immediate end to the violence in Syria.
• Russia Doubts Credibility of London-based Syria Watchdog RIA Novosti 25 Feb 2012 -- Russia has doubts about the credibility of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
• Kremlin Dismisses Tunisian Proposal for Russia to Shelter Assad RIA Novosti 25 Feb 2012 -- A high-ranking Kremlin source criticized a suggestion by Tunisian President Munsaf al-Marzuki that Russia give asylum to embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
• Clinton Hopes Russia, China to Change Stance on Syria RIA Novosti 25 Feb 2012 -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she hoped the international society will help convincing Russia and China on changing their stance in regard to Syria.
• Iran rejects reports on weapons transfer to Syria ISNA 25 Feb 2012 -- Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast rejected reports that Iran has sent weapons to Syria.
• North Korea Vows 'Sacred War' in Response to US-South Korea Joint Drills VOA 25 Feb 2012 -- North Korea is airing bellicose rhetoric about upcoming U.S.-South Korean joint war games.
• No Limit to Striking Intensity and Range of Our Army and People KCNA 25 Feb 2012 -- A spokesman for the National Defence Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea issued statement.
• North Korea Threatens 'Sacred War' Over U.S.-South Drills RIA Novosti 25 Feb 2012 -- North Korea threatened to wage a "sacred war" over joint U.S.-South Korean military drills next week.
• Statement by the President on Yemen’s Transition to President Abdo Rabo Mansour Hadi The White House 25 Feb 2012
• Car Bomb Detonates, Kills 26 as Yemen Swears in President VOA 25 Feb 2012 -- Al-Qaida is claiming responsibility for a suicide-bombing Saturday in the southern Yemeni port city of Mukalla.
• Car Bomb Kills 26 in Yemen as President Vows to Fight Terror RIA Novosti 25 Feb 2012 -- At least 26 people were killed in a car bomb attack in southern Yemen just hours after the country’s new president vowed to crack down on terrorism.
• UN chief congratulates Yemen's new president UN News Centre 25 Feb 2012 -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today congratulated Yemen's new President Abbed Rabbo Mansour al-Hadi after he took his oath of office in parliament.
• Yemen Swears In Saleh's Presidential Successor RFE/RL 25 Feb 2012 -- Yemen's new president, Abed Rabo Mansour Hadi, has taken the oath of office before the country's parliament.
• Hadi Takes Oath as Yemen's New President RIA Novosti 25 Feb 2012 -- Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took the constitutional oath as Yemen's new president after winning a single candidate vote that ended Ali Abdullah Saleh's decades-long rule.
• Yemeni Sole Presidential Candidate Wins 65% of Vote RIA Novosti 25 Feb 2012 -- Yemeni Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, the sole candidate at the country’s presidential election this week, has garnered 65 percent of the vote.
• At Least 17 Killed In Nigeria Violence VOA 25 Feb 2012 -- A series of bomb blasts and shootings in northern Nigeria has killed at least 17 people, including five worshippers.
• Sudan: Two UN-African Union peacekeepers wounded in attack in Darfur UN News Centre 25 Feb 2012 -- Two peacekeepers serving in the joint African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur were wounded when unidentified gunmen opened fire on a bus in which they were travelling.

News Reports

• Iran says visiting Parchin nuclear site needs agreement ISNA 25 Feb 2012 -- Iranian envoy to the IAEA Ali Asghar Soltanieh said visiting Parchin nuclear site needs agreement under a framework.
• Soltanieh: New agency report proves again Iran's peaceful nuclear activity IRNA 25 Feb 2012 -- Iran's Ambassador and Permanent Representative in the IAEA Soltanieh underlined that new agency report has proven again that Iran nuclear activities are peaceful.
• Secretary Clinton Remarks Following Meeting With Tunisian President Marzouki US Dept. of State 25 Feb 2012
• US Supreme Court Will Hear Shell Nigeria Abuse Case VOA 25 Feb 2012 -- The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday on whether or not corporations can be held liable for complicity in human rights abuses outside the country.
• Senegal Votes Calmly in Contentious Poll VOA 25 Feb 2012 -- Voting is calm in Senegal, despite concerns of unrest following weeks of violent protests against incumbent president Abdoulaye Wade's controversial bid for a third term.
• AU/ECOWAS Call for Compromise in Senegal Presidential Vote VOA 25 Feb 2012 -- People in Senegal go to the polls Sunday amid uncertainty and continued calls from the opposition for elections to be postponed and incumbent president, Abdoulaye Wade, to withdraw his candidacy.
• Chavez Arrives in Cuba for Cancer Surgery VOA 25 Feb 2012 -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, 57, has arrived in Cuba where he will undergo surgery for removal of what he says is likely a cancerous tumor.