Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• 316th Manas Team Beats Deadline Army News 23 Sep 2012 -- The number of U.S. Troops in the Afghanistan now stands at 68,000, Secretary of State Leon E. Panetta told reporters. The troop count is down from the peak of 101,000 U.S. forces last year and marks the end of a critical phase in President Barack Obama's war strategy.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Commander addresses military training investigation report AFNS 23 Sep 2012 -- Gen. Edward A. Rice, Jr., commander of Air Education and Training Command, released a statement Sept. 21 about the scope of ongoing criminal investigations at Air Force Basic Military Training as well as the external Commander Directed Investigation he ordered in June:
• US, Nepal build relationships, improve lives AFNS 23 Sep 2012 -- A multinational team led by U.S., Nepalese, and Australian military members and civilians treated more than 4,100 villagers, repaired and renovated three schools, and shared expertise Sept. 10-15, during Operation Pacific Angel 12-4 in Nepal.
• Fort Worth Commissioned in Galveston NNS 23 Sep 2012 -- USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) commissioned at the Port of Galveston in Galveston, Texas, Saturday, Sept. 22.
• Top Chinese Security Official Makes Surprise Visit To Afghanistan RFE/RL 23 Sep 2012 -- Chinese state media say the country's top security official has made the first high-level trip to Afghanistan by a senior Chinese leader in nearly 50 years.
• Two-day military exercises to be staged in Shahr-e-Rey IRNA 23 Sep 2012 -- The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) will hold 15,000-man strong maneuver in Shahr-e-Rey district of Tehran Province for two days from September 27-28, commander said on Sunday.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• UN-Arab League envoy briefs Ban on visit to Syria and Middle East region UN News Centre 22 Sep 2012 -- The Joint Special Representative of the United Nations and the League of Arab States on the Syrian crisis, Lakhdar Brahimi, today met with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York, to brief him on his recent trip to the Syrian capital, Damascus, and the Middle East region.
• Syria Opposition Conference Opens in Damascus RIA Novosti 23 Sep 2012 -- A conference of Syrian opposition forces has opened in Damascus amid an escalating armed conflict in the Middle Eastern country.
• Clashes Continue Across Syria As Rebels Move Command Center VOA 23 Sep 2012 -- Syrian activists say government and rebel forces continue to clash across the country, a day after the rebel Free Syrian Army announced it was moving its command center from Turkey to Syria.
• Protest in Taipei over Diaoyutais row recognized as patriotic action CNA 23 Sep 2012 -- The Presidential Office said Sunday that the demonstration held earlier in the day in Taipei and participated by hundreds of people to protest against Japan's recent purchase of three islands in the disputed Diaoyutai chain was a 'patriotic action.'
• Hundreds protest in Taipei against Japan's purchase of isles CNA 23 Sep 2012 -- Hundreds of people took to the streets of Taipei on Sunday to protest against Japan's recent purchase of three islands in the disputed Diaoyutai chain.
• Sudan, South Sudan Leaders to Meet for Talks in Ethiopia RIA Novosti 23 Sep 2012 -- The presidents of Sudan and South Sudan, Omar al-Bashir and Salva Kiir, are expected to meet in the capital of Ethiopia on Sunday to sign a final agreement on all disputable issues that have remained since South Sudan gained independence last year.
• Ban urges international community to bolster support for Palestinian Authority UN News Centre 23 Sep 2012 -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged the international community to strengthen its support for the Palestinian Authority, stressing that failure to do so could have a destabilizing effect in the Middle East.
• UNESCO chief alarmed by upsurge in killing of journalists in Somalia UN News Centre 23 Sep 2012 -- The head of the United Nations agency tasked with defending press freedom today expressed her concern and anger over the killing of five journalists in Somalia in the past week.

News Reports

• Parliamentary Elections In Belarus Declared Valid, Despite Boycott Calls RFE/RL 23 Sep 2012 -- Belarus's Central Election Commission has announced that the country's parliamentary elections are valid, as voter turnout passed the required 50 percent.
• Lukashenko Warns Opposition Not to March Against Parliamentary Vote VOA 23 Sep 2012 -- Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is warning the opposition not to march against Sunday's parliamentary elections, which opponents call a sham.
• Hostility has been growing towards Libya's Islamist armed groups RIA Novosti 23 Sep 2012 -- Shortly after military police and protesters routed militias from the Libyan city of Benghazi, a powerful militia in the country's east voiced its plans to disband, the BBC reported on Sunday.
• Libya President Orders Disbanding of Illegal Militias VOA 23 Sep 2012 -- Libya's interim leader has ordered the disbanding of all unauthorized militias, following large-scale protests and growing public anger over their existence.
• Libyan Army Begins to Disband Militias VOA 23 Sep 2012 -- Libya's military says it has raided several militia compounds in and around the capital, Tripoli, after the country's interim leader ordered the disbanding of all unauthorized militias.
• Pakistani Press Banned In Afghanistan Over 'Propaganda' RFE/RL 23 Sep 2012 -- Afghanistan has banned all newspapers from Pakistan in a move the Interior Ministry says is aimed to block the Taliban from influencing public opinion through the press.
• Protests Fuel Debate Over Obama's Foreign Policy Toward Arab World RFE/RL 23 Sep 2012 -- In 2009, just five months into his presidency, Barack Obama gave a speech in Cairo to signal what he hoped would be a fresh start with the Muslim world.
• Eight phases of South Pars to go on stream by next year-end IRNA 23 Sep 2012 -- Deputy Minister of Oil for Planning and Hydrocarbon Affairs' Supervision Mohsen Khojastemehr said on Sunday that eight phases of South Pars gas field will start production by end of next year (March 20, 2014).
• Former Iranian President's Daughter Begins Serving Jail Term RFE/RL 23 Sep 2012 -- The daughter of former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has been sent to jail for six months for a January conviction on charges of distributing antistate propaganda.
• U.S. Denies Iranian Officials Visas for UN General Assembly Meet RIA Novosti 23 Sep 2012 -- The U.S. has denied entry visas to Iranian officials, including two ministers, expecting to attend next week's United Nations General Assembly, the Iranian Fars news agency reported.
• Aung San Suu Kyi Calls for Reconciliation in Burma VOA 23 Sep 2012 -- Burmese democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi is in the United States on a 17-day visit. She spoke Saturday at a college in New York on the fifth day of her tour.
• Premier calls for 'resolute action' to make all necessary changes CNA 23 Sep 2012 -- Premier Sean Chen on Sunday urged his Cabinet members to immediately take 'resolute action' to make all necessary changes in their lines of duties.