Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Six ISAF Troops Killed By Afghan Police In Latest 'Green-On-Blue' Attacks RFE/RL 16 Sep 2012 -- Four U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan were shot dead and two wounded on September 16 by at least one Afghan police officer -- the second such attack against NATO-led troops within 24 hours.
• Taliban Destroy Six Jets – ISAF RIA Novosti 16 Sep 2012 -- A September 14 Taliban attack on NATO's Camp Bastion in Helmand Province, where Britain's Prince Harry is reportedly stationed, resulted in the destruction of six jet aircraft and damage to two others, the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan said in a statement issued on Sunday.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Panetta Lists Goals for Asia Trip, Assesses Mideast AFPS 16 Sep 2012 -- Defense Secretary Leon E Panetta yesterday told traveling reporters about the importance of the three countries he's going to visit: Japan, China and New Zealand.
• Dempsey in Turkey to Discuss Syrian Crisis AFPS 16 Sep 2012 -- Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey arrived here today for talks with Turkish military leaders on the situation with neighboring Syria and the humanitarian crisis caused by the Syrian civil war.
• Dempsey: U.S. Must Remain Engaged with Muslim World AFPS 16 Sep 2012 -- The recent anti-American demonstrations that have occurred in many Muslim countries 'demands for us to be more engaged, not less engaged,' the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today during an aircraft flight from Sibiu, Romania, to Ankara, Turkey.
• IMCMEX 12, Largest Mine Countermeasure Exercise in Middle East Begins NNS 16 Sep 2012 -- Navies from six continents and more than 30 nations kick off the most widely attended international exercise ever held in the region here, Sept. 16.
• EOD Keeps VS12 Strike Group Mission Ready NNS 16 Sep 2012 -- Guam-based Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Mobile Battalion 503 is aboard the U.S. Navy's forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) conducting operations during the U.S. joint exercise Valiant Shield 2012 (VS12) Sept. 11 - 19.
• US Defense Secretary Addresses Tension in Asia, Mideast VOA 16 Sep 2012 -- U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says anti-U.S. protests and violence in the Muslim world, sparked by a privately-made video, will likely continue but he says it appears to be leveling off. Panetta has begun a week-long visit to the Asia-Pacific region.
• NATO Chiefs Examine Afghan Campaign, Post-2014 Posture AFPS 16 Sep 2012 -- The NATO chiefs of defense had a good discussion on events in Afghanistan and alliance plans in the region, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said today.
• South Korean Warships Visit Russia RIA Novosti 16 Sep 2012 -- Two South Korean destroyers on Sunday arrived to Russia's Far Eastern port of Vladivostok for a two-day friendly visit, spokesman for Russia's Pacific Fleet Capt. 1st Rank Roman Martov said.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• Ahmadinejad proposes forming contact group for Syria IRNA 16 Sep 2012 -- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday proposed that a contact group should be formed to build links between belligerent parties in Syria.
• Iran Admits Military Presence in Syria RIA Novosti 16 Sep 2012 -- Members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps are providing non-military assistance in Syria, the corps commander said at a press conference in Tehran on Sunday.
• Iran Says Its Elite Forces in Syria VOA 16 Sep 2012 -- Iran says advisers from its elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps are providing non-military assistance in Syria - and that Tehran may take military action if its closest ally is attacked by outside forces.
• Japanese stores in China shut down amid Diaoyutai protests CNA 16 Sep 2012 -- Some Japanese-owned department stores and supermarkets in China have suspended operations amid violent protests in many Chinese cities over the disputed Diaoyutai Islands, media reports said Sunday.
• Angst About Japan Island Dispute Builds in China VOA 16 Sep 2012 -- Thousands rallied Sunday in the streets of dozens of cities across China as public anger with Japan over disputed East China Sea islands swelled. In view of the protests Japan's prime minister has urged Beijing to guarantee the safety of Japanese citizens and businesses in China.
• Anti-Japan Protests Spread to Hong Kong VOA 16 Sep 2012 -- As tensions between China and Japan escalate, anti-Japanese protests have spread to Hong Kong. Pro-democracy activists in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory are taking a surprising lead in the pan-Chinese nationalism movement.
• Khmer Rouge leader granted provisional release by UN-backed genocide court UN News Centre 16 Sep 2012 -- A former Khmer Rouge leader found unfit to stand trial owing to medical reasons has been granted a provisional release by the United Nations-backed court in Cambodia that is trying those accused of genocide and crimes against humanity.
• New Somali President Inaugurated, al-Shabab Leaves Port City VOA 16 Sep 2012 -- Witnesses say al-Shabab fighters are pulling out of the southern Somali port of Kismayo, the largest city that was still in insurgent hands.
• President's inauguration marks 'new era' for Somalia, says UN envoy UN News Centre 16 Sep 2012 -- The top United Nations envoy in Somalia on Sunday hailed the inauguration of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as a 'new era' for the war-scarred nation and pledged the world body's continued support to help it move forward.
• Angola Still Riddled With Landmines, Despite Efforts VOA 16 Sep 2012 -- Ten years after the end of the civil war in Angola, the country still remains, despite its best efforts, one of the most unexploded mine-affected countries in the world. The African nation was due to finish the demining by 2013, but the Angolan government is requesting a five-year extension to complete the task.

News Reports

• Iran on Verge of Nuclear Weapons – Israeli PM RIA Novosti 16 Sep 2012 -- Iran will be capable to create nuclear weapons in six to seven months, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with the NBC channel on Sunday.
• Israeli PM: Iran Just Months From Nuclear Capability, Must Be Stopped VOA 16 Sep 2012 -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Iran is just months away from a nuclear-bomb capability, and preemptive military action is preferable to a nuclear-armed Tehran. Meanwhile, U.S. officials continue to insist that existing sanctions may yet convince Iran to change course.
• Iran Commander Offers Detail on Attack Retaliation RIA Novosti 16 Sep 2012 -- If the United States attacks Iran's nuclear facilities, Tehran may retaliate by launching missile strikes against U.S. military bases in the region or by shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of the world's petroleum passes, the top commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard warned at a news conference on Sunday.
• IRGC fully ready to confront any possible threat: commander IRNA 16 Sep 2012 -- Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Mohammad-Ali Jafari said Sunday that the IRGC was fully prepared to confront any possible threats against the country.
• Iran: Blasphemy does not warrant assassination of ambassadors IRNA 16 Sep 2012 -- Iran said on Sunday that sacrilege of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) does not warrant deaths of ambassadors.
• Libya, U.S. Give Conflicting Accounts Of Benghazi Attack RFE/RL 16 Sep 2012 -- The United States and Libya have offered conflicting accounts about the attack in Benghazi, Libya, last week in which U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed.
• Sudan Rejects U.S. Assistance With Embassy Security RIA Novosti 16 Sep 2012 -- Sudan has rejected a U.S. request to send a team of 50 marines to bolster security at the U.S. Embassy in the capital, Khartoum, following an attack on the building by Muslims angered by U.S.-made anti-Islam film, the state news agency SUNA reported.
• Pakistan Protesters March on US Consulate VOA 16 Sep 2012 -- Hundreds of Pakistanis protesting an anti-Islam video produced in the United States have clashed with police as they tried to march toward the U.S. Consulate in the southern city of Karachi.
• Ashraf camp in Iraq sealed off IRNA 16 Sep 2012 -- The base for terrorism and murder of Iranian and Iraqi people under Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, Ashran camp, placing members of Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) was sealed off by the Iraqi government ending state terrorism backed by Iraqi Baathist government, the US and France.
• UN envoy welcomes last major transfer of Iranian exiles from Iraqi camp UN News Centre 16 Sep 2012 -- The United Nations envoy in Iraq on Sunday welcomed the last major relocation of Iranian exiles from a camp outside of the capital, Baghdad, and called for a renewed focus on resettling the residents in third countries.