Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Operation Sledgehammer brings smack down on Taliban Army News 10 Mar 2012 -- Operation Sledgehammer was the main effort of Regional Command-South and the main endeavor for all of Afghanistan, the week of Feb. 22 to Feb. 27. Sledgehammer is the largest operation ever held in RC-South, and nearly were 1,700 Soldiers actively involved.
• Key leaders come together to discuss governance, security, development in Nimruz province USMC News 10 Mar 2012 -- During a time of transition, provincial leaders from Nimruz province conducted a meeting March 9 with the outgoing and incoming commanders of Regional Command Southwest.
• 22 militants killed in Pakistani tribal region IRNA 10 Mar 2012 -- At least 12 militants were killed in aerial bombing and 10 in clashes with security forces in Pakistan north western tribal region on Saturday, security officials said.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Dempsey Details Fiscal Concerns Facing Department AFPS 10 Mar 2012 -- The environment facing the military today comes down to balancing strategic challenges with fiscal realities, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said during a Town Hall meeting yesterday on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.
• Naval Station Great Lakes to Participate in Navy-wide Exercise NNS 10 Mar 2012 -- Naval Station Great Lakes (NSGL) personnel may experience delays while entering and exiting the station from March 19-24 due to Solid Curtain/Citadel Shield (SC-CS) 12, an annual Navy-wide exercise.
• Vice President visits Service Members in Honduras NNS 10 Mar 2012 -- Vice President Joe Biden visited with forward deployed U.S. service members located at Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras March 6.
• Truman Supply Reopens Forward Mess Deck NNS 10 Mar 2012 -- The food service crew aboard USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) began serving meals on the ship March 1 after more than eight months of feeding the crew on the ship's temporary auxiliary barge.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• Syrian President: Terrorist groups blocking political settlement IRNA 10 Mar 2012 -- Syrian President Bashar al Assad told visiting UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan that 'terrorist groups' are stopping a political solution to the crisis in the country.
• Red Cross says carried relief operations with Syria's Red Crescent IRNA 10 Mar 2012 -- The Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the International Committee of the Red Cross have assisted thousands of people over the past few days alone, The Geneva-based ICRC said on Saturday.
• Assad Tells Annan 'Terrorists' Block Solution, As Violence Continues RFE/RL 10 Mar 2012 -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has told UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan his government is ready for "any honest effort" to end the violence, but blamed "terrorists" for blocking a solution.
• Russia, Arab League Agree Plan on Syria RIA Novosti 10 Mar 2012 -- Russia and the Arab League have negotiated a plan to settle the bloody political conflict in Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday.
• Joint UN-Arab League envoy urges Syrian President to act now to end crisis UN News Centre 10 Mar 2012 -- The Joint Special Envoy of the United Nations and the League of Arab States for Syria, Kofi Annan, today urged Syria's President Bashar al-Assad to take 'concrete steps' to end the current crisis in the Middle Eastern country.
• Fresh Fighting in Syria, Assad Backs 'Honest' Peace VOA 10 Mar 2012 -- Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, now in Syria as an envoy for the Arab League and the United Nations, met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Saturday in Damascus, as Arab foreign ministers gathered in Cairo to discuss the Syrian crisis. Mr. Assad is reported to have pledged an 'honest effort' to achieve peace in his country, but said he would not consent to any talks with his political opponents, whom he describes as 'armed terrorist groups, spreading chaos and violence.'
• UN Security Council to Focus on Syria Aid, Arab Spring VOA 10 Mar 2012 -- The United Nations Security Council will hold a ministerial level meeting on Monday to discuss the situation in the Middle East in the wake of the Arab Spring. It will also provide an opportunity to highlight the deteriorating situation in the latest Arab Spring battlefield, Syria.
• Israel escalates violence, killing 16 Palestinians in air raids IRNA 10 Mar 2012 -- Israel escalated violence against Palestinians for the second day in eight air strikes overnight and Saturday, killing a dozen civilians in Gaza Strip.
• Israel Launches Two Air Raids on Gaza RIA Novosti 10 Mar 2012 -- Israeli forces launched two airstrikes on northern and central regions of the Gaza Strip late on Friday as border tensions grew after the death of a Gaza militant commander earlier in the day.
• Deadly Violence Flares on Israel-Gaza Border VOA 10 Mar 2012 -- There has been a flare-up of violence on Israel's border with the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, leaving 14 Palestinians, most of them militants, dead and sending Israelis scurrying to bomb shelters.

News Reports

• Libya's New Government to Re-examine Contracts with Russia RIA Novosti 10 Mar 2012 -- Russian contracts in Libya signed under the rule of Muammar Gaddafi will be re-examined, Libyan Prime Minister Abd al-Rahim al-Keeb said during his visit to Washington.
• As Eastern Libya Calls for Autonomy A Middle East Analyst Warns of Crisis VOA 10 Mar 2012 -- A decision by a group of civic leaders in the Libyan eastern city of Benghazi to declare autonomy from central rule has raised fears that the country might break apart.
• Pakistan files cases against Osama's family IRNA 10 Mar 2012 -- Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik said Friday cases have been registered against family members of Osama bin Laden for entering in Pakistan illegally.
• Taliban Threatens Pakistan with Attacks over Bin Laden Widows RIA Novosti 10 Mar 2012 -- Pakistani Taliban threatens massive government attacks and attacks on government officials if Islamabad does not release the three widows of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, DawnNews TV channel reported on Friday.
• Al-Qaeda confirms death of leader IRNA 10 Mar 2012 -- Al-Qaeda has confirmed death of one of its commanders in Pakistan, Badr Mansoor, saying he was killed in an American drone strike last month, media report said here Friday.
• Dozen Arrested As Moscow Protesters Call For New Elections RFE/RL 10 Mar 2012 -- About a dozen protesters were arrested by the police on March 10 as several thousand pro-democracy demonstrators attended a rally to denounce the March 4 presidential election that was won by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.