Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Combined Force Detains Taliban Facilitator AFPS 14 May 2012 -- An Afghan-led, coalition-supported security force detained a Taliban facilitator and another insurgent in the Kandahar district of Afghanistan’s Kandahar province.
• Final Helmand district in UK operational area enters transition process UK MOD 14 May 2012 -- Nahr-e Saraj district in Helmand province, where British forces operate, has now entered the transition process whereby responsibility for security will be handed over to Afghan forces.
• NATO Summit to Focus on Afghanistan, Missile Defense AFPS 14 May 2012 -- Afghanistan will top the agenda items at the upcoming NATO Summit in Chicago as coalition members consider an agreement on a long-term strategic partnership that promotes security and stability.
• Pakistan Foreign Minister Says Time To 'Move On' With U.S. Ties RFE/RL 14 May 2012 -- Pakistan's foreign minister says his country "has made its point" by blocking NATO's supply route to Afghanistan and time has come to move on with U.S. ties.
• Pakistan Signals NATO Supply Routes Should Be Reopened VOA 14 May 2012 -- Pakistan has signaled that NATO supply lines to Afghanistan should be reopened.
• Obama Welcomes Afghan Security Transfer RFE/RL 14 May 2012 -- U.S. President Barack Obama has welcomed the latest transfer of security from NATO to Afghan forces, saying it is "an important step forward" toward achieving objectives in Afghanistan.
• Interview: Afghanistan 'Collective Issue' for International Community – Karzai RIA Novosti 14 May 2012 -- Lack of security in Afghanistan is a problem for the entire international community rather than of the country alone Afghan President Hamid Karzai said.
• Afghanistan Blast Kills 9 VOA 14 May 2012 -- Afghan officials say a bomb blast at a market in the country's north has killed nine people, including a local official.
• V Corps cases colors in Wiesbaden on way to Afghanistan Army News 14 May 2012 -- The V Corps colors will most likely not come back to Wiesbaden, but rather move to the United States to be stored until the corps is called back to service again at some future date.
• Gunship helicopters bombing kills 9 militants in NW Pakistan IRNA 14 May 2012 -- Pakistan Army gunship helicopters pounded various militant hideouts and killed nine militants in north western tribal region.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Air Force announces criteria for basing KC-46A AFNS 14 May 2012 -- After extensive internal review, the Air Force released its basing criteria that will be used to select candidate bases for the KC-46A formal training unit and first two main operating bases.
• NECC Announces Formation of Coastal Riverine Force NNS 14 May 2012 -- Navy Expeditionary Combat Command is establishing a new command, the Coastal Riverine Force, a merger of Riverine Group 1 and the Maritime Expeditionary Security Force, June 1.
• Leaders say Network Integration Evaluation improving Army acquisition Army News 14 May 2012 -- As the Army aims to balance budget cuts with critical modernization needs, the Network Integration Evaluation is setting the pace for a more efficient acquisition process, senior leaders said.
• Letterkenny Army Depot has Direct Impact on PATRIOT GTA Army News 14 May 2012 -- Letterkenny Army Depot's Major Item Division successfully completed the maintenance and fielding of the final PATRIOT GTA sell-back.
• Rodong Sinmun on US-Korean Exercises KCNA 14 May 2012 -- The US forces are busy floating the story about "the north's invasion of the U.S. and south Korea" and crying out for "careful examination" of a war strategy to cope with it.
• 2nd ID conducts revolutionary combined training in Korea Army News 14 May 2012 -- Soldiers from 1st Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, conducted a combined battalion Culminating Training Event with their ROK counterparts.
• 718th EOD Company assist JSA Security Battalion to improve their position Army News 14 May 2012 -- U.S. Soldiers assigned to 718th EOD Company in Yongsan put their training and skills to the test this last week in a Combined U.S. and ROK operation to improve visibility along the Military Demarcation Line.
• USS New Orleans and USS Pearl Harbor Arrive in Thailand NNS 14 May 2012 -- The USS New Orleans, the USS Pearl Harbor, along with embarked Marines assigned to the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, arrived in Phuket, Thailand May 14, for a scheduled port visit.
• USS Underwood Arrives in Peru NNS 14 May 2012 -- The USS Underwood arrived in Callao, Peru, in preparation for UNITAS Pacific 53-12, May 12.
• Utah Guard linguists bridge language gap for Beyond the Horizon Guatemala Army News 14 May 2012 -- Utah National Guard members from the 300th Military Intelligence Brigade are deployed as linguists in support of Beyond the Horizon Guatemala 2012.
• Russia ‘Will Attend’ NATO Summit in Chicago RIA Novosti 14 May 2012 -- A high-ranking Russian diplomat will attend a NATO summit in Chicago on May 20-21, the Kommersant daily reported, quoting diplomatic sources.
• Russian Charged with Passing Bulava Missile Secrets RIA Novosti 14 May 2012 -- An employee at a Russian defense firm has been accused of passing secrets on the Bulava missile to a foreign intelligence service.
• NATO Chief: First Test Of Missile Defense Successful RFE/RL 14 May 2012 -- NATO's chief says the first comprehensive test has been completed of the alliance's planned new missile-defense system in Europe.
• Defence Secretary balances MOD budget UK MOD 14 May 2012 -- The MOD's budget deficit has been wiped out for the first time in a generation, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has announced.
• NATO to Conduct Mine Clearing Drills off Estonia Coast RIA Novosti 14 May 2012 -- NATO will begin its Open Spirit 2012 mine clearing exercises in Estonia’s territorial waters.
• S. Korea Plans to Stage Field Tactical Exercise KCNA 14 May 2012 -- The 25th division of the south Korean army announced that it would stage a field tactical exercise from May 15 to 25 in the area of Kyonggi Province.
• U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing, May 14, 2012 US Dept. of State 14 May 2012

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for May 14, 2012

Other Conflicts

• Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, 14 May 2012 United Nations 14 May 2012
• Syrian Activists Say 23 Soldiers Killed in Fighting VOA 14 May 2012 -- Syrian activists say rebels killed 23 soldiers in battles near the flashpoint city of Homs.
• Scores Of Casualties Reported In Syria Clashes, Bombardments RFE/RL 14 May 2012 -- Activists say clashes in the central city of Rastan have left at least 23 Syrian soldiers dead and dozens wounded.
• Russian Foreign Ministry Says Al-Qaeda Behind Syrian Attacks RFE/RL 14 May 2012 -- Russia has accused Al-Qaeda of staging the string of deadly bombings that have recently struck Syria's largest cities.
• Al-Qaeda Behind Blasts in Damascus – Russian Foreign Ministry RIA Novosti 14 May 2012 -- Moscow believes that terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda, carried out recent suicide bombings in Syria, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said.
• Russia Warns Against Training Syrian Rebels in Kosovo RIA Novosti 14 May 2012 -- The Russian Foreign Ministry urged international bodies operating in Kosovo to prevent the region from turning into a training ground for Syrian rebels.
• Direct Talks in Syrian Standoff Unlikely - Russia RIA Novosti 14 May 2012 -- Moscow does not see any prospect of direct talks between the government and opposition in Syria in the near future, Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said.
• Syrian Christians Afraid of Possible Islamist Rule RIA Novosti 14 May 2012 -- Christians living in conflict-torn Syria are afraid that their community would fall victim of religious extremism if President Bashar al-Assad regime collapses and Islamists come to power.
• Statement by the Press Secretary on Uganda’s Capture of a Senior Commander in the Lord’s Resistance Army The White House 14 May 2012
• UN envoy on children in conflict urges Uganda to prosecute captured LRA officer UN News Centre 14 May 2012 -- The United Nations envoy for children and armed conflict urged the Ugandan Government bring to justice a senior commander of the brutal Lord’s Resistance Army.
• SOMALIA: Hundreds of Somalis complete military training IRIN 14 May 2012 -- Over 600 Somali troops completed six months of military training in southwestern Uganda on 10 May and are heading home to boost the forces fighting Al Shabab.
• Press Conference on Arrest Warrants for Crimes in Democratic Republic of Congo, 14 May 2012 United Nations 14 May 2012
• ICC prosecutor pushes for arrest of rebel leaders wanted for DR Congo crimes UN News Centre 14 May 2012 -- The Prosecutor of the ICC said he is seeking new charges against Congolese rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda.
• ICC Seeks to Arrest Ntaganda, Mudacumura for DRC Crimes VOA 14 May 2012 -- The chief prosecutor of the ICC says he is seeking arrest warrants for two warlords he says are responsible for crimes against humanity and war crimes in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
• Seven UN peacekeepers injured in DR Congo attack UN News Centre 14 May 2012 -- Seven United Nations peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo sustained bullet wounds during an incident at their base in the eastern part of the vast African nation.
• Kenya Refugee Camp Fills Again With Sudanese Refugees VOA 14 May 2012 -- Kakuma refugee camp in northern Kenya is filling up again with a new wave of refugees fleeing conflict in parts of Sudan and South Sudan.
• Airlift Begins for South Sudanese Stuck in North VOA 14 May 2012 -- A flight carrying the first group of South Sudanese nationals from Sudan landed in the capital Juba on Monday to cheering crowds.
• Palestinian Prisoners Agree To End Hunger Strike RFE/RL 14 May 2012 -- Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have agreed to end a long-running mass hunger strike.
• Analysis: Israeli government challenges the law to embrace illegal settler outposts IRIN 14 May 2012 -- Israeli settlers east of the separation barrier in the central West Bank occupy the land most critical for any future final status agreement under a two-state solution.
• Blast Kills Two Pakistani Soldiers In Quetta RFE/RL 14 May 2012 -- Pakistani police say two soldiers were killed and several other people wounded in a car-bomb explosion targeting a military convoy in the southwestern city of Quetta.
• Colombian Rebels ‘Agree’ to Release French Reporter RIA Novosti 14 May 2012 -- Colombia’s FARC guerilla group says it is ready to release a French journalist captured two weeks ago.
• Statement by the NATO spokesperson on Human Rights Watch report NATO 14 May 2012
• Rights Group Pressures NATO Over Libya Civilian Deaths RIA Novosti 14 May 2012 -- A leading human rights group called on NATO to investigate the deaths of 72 civilians in air strikes in Libya last year.
• LIBYA: Uneasy calm in Sebha after clashes IRIN 14 May 2012 -- A tenuous peace has taken hold in Libya’s southwestern city of Sebha more than a month after tribal clashes killed at least 70 people.
• UN envoy urges Serbia and Kosovo to overcome past feuds and seek stability UN News Centre 14 May 2012 -- The United Nations envoy in Kosovo called on both Serbia and Kosovo to put past disputes behind them and focus instead on promoting mutual prosperity and stability.

News Reports

• IAEA Presses Iran Ahead of P5+1 Talks VOA 14 May 2012 -- The U.N. nuclear agency has again urged Iran to give it access to sites, people and documents it seeks as part of its probe into whether Tehran is trying to develop nuclear weapons.
• Iran, IAEA Talks Begin VOA 14 May 2012 -- Talks between Iranian authorities and U.N. nuclear agency officials have started in Vienna.
• Iran, IAEA Open Vienna Talks On Access RFE/RL 14 May 2012 -- Iran and the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency have opened talks in Vienna about the Islamic republic's nuclear activities.
• Negotiations between Iran and IAEA to continue IRNA 14 May 2012 -- Negotiations between IAEA and IR of Iran would continue at Office of Permanent Representative of IRI at UN and other International Organizations Building in Vienna.
• Iran, IAEA representatives wraps up first day of negotiations on outstanding issues IRNA 14 May 2012 -- Representatives of Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency wound up the first day of negotiations aimed at removing outstanding issues about Iranian nuclear program.
• IAEA enjoys positive attitude towards Iran’s nuclear issue, official IRNA 14 May 2012 -- Deputy Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Hermann Nackaerts said his organization seeks a constructive solution to Iran’s nuclear issue.
• Germany eyes Iranian nuclear compromise ahead of Baghdad talks IRNA 14 May 2012 -- The German government voiced hope for a "compromise" on the Iranian nuclear issue ahead of the so-called P5 plus 1 talks in Baghdad on May 23.
• Russia calls for lifting of sanctions against Iran IRNA 14 May 2012 -- Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady M. Gatilov called for initiatives to be taken to lift sanctions against Iran.
• Bushehr to Begin Operations in 2012 - Rosatom RIA Novosti 14 May 2012 -- Bushehr, Iran’s first nuclear power plant, will start commercial energy production by the end of 2012, the plant's General Designer Valery Limarenko said.
• Kim Jong Un's Speech Encourages Koreans to Build Thriving Nation KCNA 14 May 2012 -- The dear respected Kim Jong Un stressed that by making the flames of the industrial revolution in the new century and the flames of Hamnam flare up more fiercely, the Korean people should take the road of building an economic power in a comprehensive way.
• Military, Technical Superiority Is Not Exclusive Property of Imperialists KCNA 14 May 2012 -- As was proved by the military parade held for celebrating the centenary of the birth of President Kim Il Sung, Korea is no longer what it used to be more than a hundred years ago.
• Iran MPs condemns proposed unification of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia IRNA 14 May 2012 -- Some 192 Members of Parliament in a statement on Monday condemned the plan to unify Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
• ECOWAS Threatens Mali Junta With New Sanctions VOA 14 May 2012 -- West African bloc ECOWAS says it will reimpose sanctions on junta leaders in Mali if they block efforts to restore civilian rule.
• ECOWAS Urged to Include Politicians to Resolve Mali Crisis VOA 14 May 2012 -- A prominent politician in Mali has called on West African regional leaders to include Malian politicians in efforts to resolve the country’s political and security challenges.
• Uighur Leader Accuses China of ‘Systematic Assimilation’ VOA 14 May 2012 -- Exiled representatives of the Uighur, an ethnic group that lives mainly in Western China’s province of Xinjiang, are meeting in Japan for their fourth annual conference.
• Exiled Leader Says Beijing Assimilating Uyghurs RFE/RL 14 May 2012 -- The exiled head of the World Uyghur Congress says Uyghurs face a continuing threat to their existence because of repression by Chinese authorities in the northwestern Chinese province of Xinjiang.
• Ban praises Algerian elections and greater representation of women UN News Centre 14 May 2012 -- Secretary-General Ban congratulated the people and the Government of Algeria for the peaceful conduct of legislative elections last week.
• Mubarak ‘Faking Bad Health’ at Court Appearances RIA Novosti 14 May 2012 -- Egypt’s former leader Hosni Mubarak has been exaggerating the extent of his medical problems at recent court appearances, Egyptian media said.
• Activists Protest In Baku, Demand Freedom Of Assembly RFE/RL 14 May 2012 -- Azerbaijani opposition parties have held an unsanctioned demonstration in Baku to demand that authorities permit them to hold public gatherings in the center of the capital.
• Ban voices concern over tensions linked to Nepal’s future federal system UN News Centre 14 May 2012 -- Secretary-General Ban is concerned at the rising tensions and disruption of daily life in parts of Nepal linked to the debate over its future federal system.
• EU Warns Greece to Follow Bailout Terms VOA 14 May 2012 -- European Union officials said they hope Greece will remain part of the eurozone but that it must live up to its commitments.
• Greek Unity Government In Serious Doubt RFE/RL 14 May 2012 -- Crisis-stricken Greece has entered a second week of political deadlock following repeated failures by party leaders to agree on a unity cabinet and avert new elections.
• Greek Coalition Government Talks Yield no Fruit RIA Novosti 14 May 2012 -- The first round of talks between Greek President Karolos Papoulias and political party leaders on the formation of a coalition government following last week’s general elections ended without a deal.
• Hollande and Merkel Face Berlin Showdown VOA 14 May 2012 -- They will try to overcome policy differences as the threat of a Greek exit from the euro looms closer.
• German Poll Deals Major Blow to Merkel’s Party RIA Novosti 14 May 2012 -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel called her party’s election defeat in the country’s most populous state "a bitter day."