Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF/OND Casualty Update 14 Jun 2012 [PDF]
• Combined Force Kills Taliban Leader AFPS 14 Jun 2012 -- An Afghan-led, coalition-supported security force killed the Taliban commander, Fayez Jan, and one additional insurgent during an operation in the Daman district of Afghanistan's Kandahar province today, military officials reported.
• AFGHANISTAN: Fears of northern violence after drawdown IRIN 14 Jun 2012 -- Recent violence allegedly sparked by the behaviour of local police and militia groups in northern Afghanistan has raised fears that the planned withdrawal of international forces could lead to renewed violence even in the generally more peaceful north.
• FM: Iran supports promotion of regional cooperation for sustainable development in Afghanistan IRNA 14 Jun 2012 -- Visiting Foreign Minister of Iran Ali-Akbar Salehi said Thursday that promotion of regional cooperation to help sustainable development in Afghanistan was one of Iran's principal stances regarding its eastern neighboring state.
• Karzai Urges Cooperation As International Conference Opens RFE/RL 14 Jun 2012 -- Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai has called on neighboring and regional countries to do more to strengthen stability and economic development in Afghanistan.
• Karzai Praises Cooperation Against Terrorism VOA 14 Jun 2012 -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai said international partners are cooperating to help his country fight terrorism and radicalism and bring peace and economic progress to the region.
• Panetta Backs Conditions For Pakistani Aid RFE/RL 14 Jun 2012 -- U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says Washington should consider putting conditions on aid to Pakistan.
• 2 die in US drone strike in Pakistan IRNA 14 Jun 2012 -- A US spy aircraft Thursday fired missiles on a residential apartment in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region and killed at least two people, sources in the region said.
• Report: US Expands Air Surveillance Across Africa VOA 14 Jun 2012 -- The Washington Post reports the U.S. military has set up small air bases across Africa to conduct surveillance of terrorist groups.
• Zardari tells US delegation drone strikes counterproductive IRNA 13 Jun 2012 -- President Asif Ali Zardari has told a visiting US Congressional delegation American drone attacks in his country's are counterproductive and undermined the cooperative equation of the two countries.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Joint Statement of the 2012 United States – Republic of Korea Foreign and Defense Ministers’ Meeting Released DoD 14 Jun 2012
• Osprey crash leaves five injured AFNS 14 Jun 2012 -- Five crew members aboard an Air Force CV-22 Osprey that crashed last evening on the Eglin Range, north of Navarre, Fla., were taken to local area hospitals.
• Air Force, Republic of Korea allies partner for potential CBRN attacks AFNS 14 Jun 2012 -- (AFNS) -- With the ever-present threat of North Korea so close, Pacific Air Forces and South Korean Airmen constantly train to respond to any potential attacks.
• Southcom Promotes 'Whole-of-Society Solutions' AFPS 14 Jun 2012 -- With the Defense Department now embracing broader, 'whole of government' approaches to national security challenges, officials here at U.S. Southern Command have taken the paradigm to the next level to encompass what they call 'whole-of-society solutions.'
• Navy Ships Participate in Flag Day, War of 1812 Commemorations AFPS 14 Jun 2012 -- Ten Navy ships, including USS Fort McHenry, are commemorating Flag Day today at the site of the historic battle that inspired the national anthem.
• Navy, Coalition Ships Arrive in Baltimore to Kick off War of 1812 Bicentennial NNS 14 Jun 2012 -- More than 40 ships arrived in Baltimore's Inner Harbor to begin the city's 'Star Spangled Sailabration,' the national launch of the bicentennial of the War of 1812 and the writing of 'The Star Spangled Banner,' June 13.
• Non-proliferation, arms control and disarmament – the focus of first big meeting with Partners after Chicago NATO 14 Jun 2012 -- The Annual NATO Conference on Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Arms Control, Disarmament and Non-proliferation, hosted this year by the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was opened in Budapest on 14 June.
• NATO, Australia announce plans to deepen security ties to meet common threats NATO 14 Jun 2012 -- NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard committed to deepening NATO-Australia security cooperation on Thursday (14 June) after they signed a new accord formalising bilateral relations.
• Putin Calls for New Long-Range Bomber and UAVs RIA Novosti 14 Jun 2012 -- Russia must start development of a long-range bomber aircraft, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday at a meeting on defense orders.
• Fourth T-50 Stealth Fighter to Fly This Year RIA Novosti 14 Jun 2012 -- Russia's United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) is to introduce a fourth Sukhoi T-50 stealth fighter into its test and development program this year, the company's President Mikhail Pogosyan said on Thursday.
• Putin: Russia Ready to Respond to U.S. Missile Defense RIA Novosti 14 Jun 2012 -- Russia has every possibility to provide a proper response to the projected deployment of a U.S. missile shield in Europe, though Moscow would like to see the U.S. plans revised, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
• Navy Commander: Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz important for oil exports IRNA 14 Jun 2012 -- IRGC Navy commander referring to flow of 19 to 20 million bpd from Persian Gulf said here Wednesday Persian Gulf's role in provision of world oil and role of Strait of Hormuz as an energy passage for region are of utmost importance.
• June 14, 2012 - U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 14 Jun 2012
• Press Gaggle by Press Secretary Jay Carney en route Cleveland, Ohio, 6/14/2012 The White House 14 Jun 2012

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for June 14, 2012
• Setbacks for New Russian Fighter Plane in India RIA Novosti 14 Jun 2012 -- Anatoly Isaikin, head of Rosoboronexport, Russia’s state arms exporter, was once again forced to address the string of setbacks plaguing Russian arms manufacturers in India over the past 12 months.

Other Conflicts

• 14 June 2012 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 14 Jun 2012
• Press Conference on Global Peace Index United Nations 14 Jun 2012
• 'Stench of dead bodies' in the air, UN team says on reaching Syrian town of al-Haffeh UN News Centre 14 Jun 2012 -- United Nations observers, having finally entered al-Haffeh today, reported that the Syrian town appeared deserted, with many buildings burned down and the “strong stench of dead bodies” in the air.
• US bolsters ties to fighters in Syria: Wall Street Journal IRNA 14 Jun 2012 -- U.S. intelligence operatives and diplomats have stepped up their contacts with Syrian rebels in part to help organize their burgeoning military operations against President Bashar al-Assad's forces, The Wall Street Journal said on Thursday.
• Russia, United States Spar Over Syria RFE/RL 14 Jun 2012 -- Russia and the United States have sparred over the violence in Syria.
• Syria Not Facing 'Civil War' – Foreign Ministry RIA Novosti 14 Jun 2012 -- Syria is not witnessing a 'civil war' but rather a struggle to uproot the plague of terrorism, abduction and payment of ransoms, aggressions and explosions,' the Syrian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday in the wake of recent claims by UN officials.
• Clinton Warns Russia on Syria Policy RIA Novosti 14 Jun 2012 -- U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton warned Russia that its support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime will have negative consequences for it.
• UN Observers Enter Battered Syrian Town VOA 14 Jun 2012 -- United Nations observers arrived in the Syrian town of al-Haffeh Thursday after government forces overran the opposition enclave, while Syria's envoy to Moscow denied that Russia is supplying Syria with attack helicopters.
• China Rejects Syria Sanctions VOA 14 Jun 2012 -- China says it does not approve of using sanctions to address the crisis in Syria, a day after France's foreign minister discussed possible measures to enforce a faltering cease-fire plan.
• SOUTH SUDAN-SUDAN: Thousands still stranded despite airlifts IRIN 14 Jun 2012 -- Thousands of South Sudanese remain stranded in Sudan or internally displaced en route to their homes or relatives in South Sudan, following the final International Organization of Migration (IOM) airlift of people from Sudan to South Sudan on 6 June.
• Ban urges support for Central African efforts to end Lord’s Resistance Army threat UN News Centre 14 Jun 2012 -- Noting the recent resurgence in attacks by the Ugandan rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in countries in Central Africa, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appealed for international support for regional efforts to eliminate this threat and address the impact of its activities.
• UN agency warns of catastrophe without massive aid scale-up for displaced Malians UN News Centre 14 Jun 2012 -- The United Nations refugee agency is warning of a humanitarian catastrophe unless there is a massive scale-up in responding to the needs of 320,000 people who have been displaced by the current political instability in Mali and the insecurity in the country’s north.
• UN agencies join in shared call for end to Israeli blockade of Gaza UN News Centre 14 Jun 2012 -- As the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip enters its sixth year, several UN agencies today joined a group of international charities in unanimously calling for the lifting of the blockade.
• Ongoing Clashes Impact South Kordofan Citizens VOA 14 Jun 2012 -- Fighting in Sudan's South Kordofan state has forced tens of thousands to flee to refugee camps. But what about those who stay behind?

News Reports

• Security forces arrest assassins of nuclear scientists IRNA 14 Jun 2012 -- Security forces arrested assassins of nuclear scientists Majid Shahriari, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan and Reza Qashqaei, Intelligence Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
• Iran Holding Suspects Behind Killings of Nuclear Scientists RIA Novosti 14 Jun 2012 -- Iran's intelligence ministry on Thursday announced the capture of a number of prime suspects in the killings of two of the country's nuclear scientists, and claimed the detainees were linked to Israel, IRNA news agency reported.
• Egyptian Court Ruling Sparks Anger, Election Doubts VOA 14 Jun 2012 -- Tempers flared and protesters took to the streets after Egypt's constitutional court issued twin rulings, sparking confusion just days ahead of a presidential run-off election.
• Egypt Court Voids Parliament Mandates, Clears Shafiq For Presidential Race RFE/RL 14 Jun 2012 -- Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court has issued a pair of rulings that are likely to have far-reaching repercussions on the country's fledgling post-Mubarak political scene.
• New Poll Shows Obama's Global Popularity Slipping RFE/RL 14 Jun 2012 -- The wave of worldwide affection that followed Barack Obama into the White House in 2009 has been replaced in many parts of the world by a feeling that the man hasn’t matched expectations, according to a new poll by the Pew Research Center.
• Nominee For U.S. Envoy To Azerbaijan Looks 'Beyond Pipelines' RFE/RL 14 Jun 2012 -- U.S. President Barack Obama's nominee for ambassador to Azerbaijan has told lawmakers that he will do "everything in my power" to help the Caucasian country become a "modern democracy" if confirmed for the post.
• Clinton Unveals New US Africa Policy VOA 14 Jun 2012 -- The Obama administration says it is launching a new partnership with sub-Saharan Africa to improve democracy, economic growth, security and trade in the region.
• Aung San Suu Kyi Calls for Rule of Law in Burma VOA 14 Jun 2012 -- Burmese pro-democracy Leader Aung San Sui Kyi says the development of democracy in her country hinges upon the implementation of the rule of law. In a major address to the International Labor Organization (ILO) in Geneva, the Nobel laureate pleaded for workers' rights and for foreign investments, which would advance Burma's economic and social development.
• Ivory Coast Official Denies Coup Accusations VOA 14 Jun 2012 -- A member of former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo's political party is denying government accusations that exiled military officers loyal to the former leader were plotting to overthrow the government.