Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Afghan Massacre Families Paid Compensation VOA 25 Mar 2012 -- Afghan authorities say the United States has paid tens of thousands of dollars to the families of victims killed in a shooting rampage allegedly by an American soldier.

Defense Policy / Programs

• US President Peers Into North Korea VOA 25 Mar 2012 -- U.S. President Barack Obama began his visit to South Korea with a quick trip to the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, which technically remain at war nearly 60 years after an armistice.
• Obama Visits Korean Demilitarized Zone RFE/RL 25 Mar 2012 -- U.S. President Barack Obama has visited the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separates North and South Korea.
• Obama Praises U.S. Troops' Legacy in South Korea AFPS 25 Mar 2012 -- Visiting with U.S. troops stationed in South Korea near the demilitarized zone, President Barack Obama lauded their historic security role that assisted South Korea as it transformed itself into a democratic and prosperous nation in the years following the Korean War.
• Remarks by the President During Meet and Greet with Troops The White House 25 Mar 2012
• Remarks by President Obama and President Lee Myung-bak in Joint Press Conference The White House 25 Mar 2012
• Remarks by President Obama and Prime Minister Erdogan of Turkey after Bilateral Meeting The White House 25 Mar 2012
• Lessons from MEDREACH 11 strengthen U.S, Malawi partnership year later Army News 25 Mar 2012 -- Buildings and roads eventually crumble and the memory of construction quickly fades away, but when the healing arts are involved, people never forget the care and assistance provided.
• Panetta Visits NSA, Cyber Command Leadership AFPS 25 Mar 2012 -- Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta met today with the leader of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command, said Pentagon Press Secretary George Little.
• Summit on Nuclear Security Opens in Seoul RFE/RL 25 Mar 2012 -- More than 50 leaders from around the world gather in the South Korean capital Seoul today at the start of a nuclear security summit.
• N.Korea transports missile to launch facility RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2012 -- North Korea transported an object believed to be the main portion of a long-range ballistic missile to a missile launch facility in the country's northwest, Kyodo news said quoting diplomatic sources.
• Quality more important than quantity in military service: experts CNA 25 Mar 2012 -- The government needs to focus more on the quality of future military recruits than on their total number, a group of scholars said Sunday in a forum held to address Taiwan's current defense status and prospects.
• Taiwanese, Chinese militaries urged to start interaction CNA 25 Mar 2012 -- The relaxation in cross-Taiwan Strait tension in recent years offers chances for interaction between Taiwan's military and China's People's Liberation Army (PLA), a scholar said Sunday.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• Medvedev Says Annan May Be Last Chance To Avoid Civil War RFE/RL 25 Mar 2012 -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has warned Damascus that mediation on Syria's crisis by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan could be the last opportunity to avoid a protracted conflict.
• Annan Mission May be Last Chance to Avoid Syria Civil War – Medvedev RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2012 -- United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Syria Kofi Annan mission is, perhaps, Syria's last chance to avoid protracted civil war, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Sunday.
• US, Allies Considering 'Non-Lethal' Aid for Syrian Rebels VOA 25 Mar 2012 -- The White House says President Barack Obama is considering providing Syrian rebels with 'non-lethal' aid in their year-long uprising against the country's autocratic leader Bashar al-Assad.
• Peace Envoy Annan Presses Russia on Syria VOA 25 Mar 2012 -- International peace envoy Kofi Annan is trying to garner support from Russia to help stop bloodshed in Syria during the crackdown on an anti-government uprising.
• Israel to Block UN Mission on Settlements VOA 25 Mar 2012 -- Israel intends to block a United Nations mission to investigate settlement activity in the occupied territories.
• 7 Pakistani soldiers, dozens militants die in clashes IRNA 25 Mar 2012 -- At least seven Pakistani soldiers and dozens of militants have been killed in clashes in the country's volatile tribal regions, security officials said on Sunday.
• MYANMAR: UN convoy reaches Kachin displaced IRIN 25 Mar 2012 -- A UN convoy of urgently needed humanitarian assistance has reached conflict-affected areas of Myanmar's northern Kachin State.
  
  'This is a major step forward and follows sustained advocacy on the part of the UN with both the government and Kachin Independence Organization [KIO],' UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Ashok Nigam told IRIN in Yangon.

News Reports

• Obama Warns North Korea No More Rewards for Provocations VOA 25 Mar 2012 -- U.S. President Barack Obama warned North Korea Monday about its pursuit of nuclear weapons, saying there would be no more rewards for provocations.
• Senegal's Wade Concedes Defeat in Presidential Runoff Election VOA 25 Mar 2012 -- Senegalese state television reports that President Abdoulaye Wade has conceded defeat in Sunday's presidential runoff election.
• Egyptian Military Confirm Plans for Presidential Polls RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2012 -- Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF)on Friday confirmed its commitment to stage presidential elections and hold a constitutional referendum in the wake of doubts expressed by the country's Muslim Brotherhood.
• French Gunman's Brother Charged with Complicity VOA 25 Mar 2012 -- French prosecutors have filed preliminary charges against the older brother of an Islamist gunman who shot and killed seven people during a shooting rampage in the southwestern city of Toulouse earlier this month.
• India offers to launch satellite for South Korea IRNA 25 Mar 2012 -- Seeking to enhance ties with South Korea, India today offered to launch a satellite for Seoul and invited its businesses to invest in the country, particularly in the infrastructure sector.
• US Missile Shield Not Aimed at Russia – McFaul RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2012 -- The U.S. missiles planned for basin in Europe have no capability against Russian missiles, U.S. Ambassador to Moscow Michael McFaul said on his Twitter account on Sunday.
• Russia Launches Proton-M Carrier Rocket RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2012 -- Russia's Proton-M carrier rocket with a U.S. telecoms satellite was launched early on Sunday from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan, a spokesman for the Federal Space Agency Roscosmos said.