Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• CENTCOM senior enlisted leader visits Afghanistan, talks insider threat Army News 29 Sep 2012 -- Dealing with the insider threat in Afghanistan can sometimes be thought of as an Afghan problem, dealt with by coalition forces serving in theater. Command Sgt. Maj. Frank A. Grippe has a different perspective.
• Afghan Security Forces plan and execute joint operation Army News 29 Sep 2012 -- Afghan National Security Forces continue to provide safety and security for Afghan locals.
• Moscow Hopes NATO to Use Russian Planes for Afghan Transit RIA Novosti 29 Sep 2012 -- Moscow hopes that NATO will be using Russian aircraft for its cargo deliveries to and from Afghanistan via the Ulyanovsk transit base in the Volga area, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said.
• 3rd Infantry Division takes command of Regional Command-South Army News 29 Sep 2012 -- Command officially handed over to U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Robert "Abe" Abrams, commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Division, during a Transition of authority ceremony at Kandahar Airfield, Sept. 2, 2012.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Detainee Transfer Announced DoD 29 Sep 2012 -- The Department of Defense announced today that Omar Ahmed Khadr was transferred from the detention facility at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to Canada.
• USS George Washington, USS John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Groups Patrol Western Pacific NNS 29 Sep 2012 -- YOKOSUKA, Japan - Two of the U.S. Navy's global force aircraft carrier strike groups (CSGs) are currently conducting operations in the vital Asia-Pacific region.
• Deputy Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Navy Visit USS Makin Island NNS 29 Sep 2012 -- Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus met with several flag and general officers in the area on board USS Makin Island (LHD 8) for a leadership breakfast and to tour the ship Sept. 27.
• Tajik Base Deal to Be Signed By July – General RIA Novosti 29 Sep 2012 -- Reaching a new agreement on Russia's military base in Tajikistan may take up to nine months despite earlier reports that the deal is near clinched, the commander of the Russian Ground Forces said on Saturday.
• Russia Tests 'Future Soldier' Uniform RIA Novosti 29 Sep 2012 -- Russian military equipment sets Ratnik, nicknamed 'future soldier uniforms,' performed well in recent tests, paving the way for their implementation, a senior army official said on Saturday.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• Lavrov Tells UN That Backing Syrian Rebels Deepens Strife RFE/RL 29 Sep 2012 -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has criticized countries that are backing opposition groups fighting to overthrow Syria's leader Bashar al-Assad, saying that was pushing the country "even deeper into the abyss of bloody internecine strife."
• Clinton Calls Iran 'Lifeline' Of Syrian Regime RFE/RL 29 Sep 2012 -- mainly communications technology -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the most important lifeline keeping Syria's regime headed by afloat is Iran.
• Battles Rage in Syria's Aleppo for Third Day VOA 29 Sep 2012 -- Battles are raging in Syria's most populous city, Aleppo, as rebels continued their offensive to take the city that began three days ago.
• Al-Shabab Withdraws From Kismayo VOA 29 Sep 2012 -- The Somali militant group al-Shabab says it has withdrawn from its last major stronghold in southern Somalia, following a military strike led by Kenyan armed forces. The militant group says its retreat from Kismayo is a tactical decision and warns that they will continue to fight in the city.
• US: Al-Shabab Will Continue Fighting VOA 29 Sep 2012 -- East African troops have driven the Somali militant group al-Shabab from its last stronghold in the southern port of Kismayo. The United States believes the al-Qaida affiliated group is seriously degraded but will continue fighting.
• Calls by Japanese for rationality over islands row welcome: lawmakers CNA 29 Sep 2012 -- Lawmakers welcomed Saturday calls from the Japanese public for rationality over the Diaoyutai Islands dispute following reports of several prominent Japanese authors' criticizing Tokyo's handling of the dispute.
• At UN, Sudan's Foreign Minister highlights recent cooperation pact with South Sudan UN News Centre 29 Sep 2012 -- Addressing the United Nations General Assembly, Sudan's Foreign Minister, Ali Ahmed Karti, today highlighted, among other issues, his country's role in reaching a key framework agreement for cooperation – particularly in security, the common border and economic relations – with South Sudan, at talks this week in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital.

News Reports

• Iran demands IAEA supervision over Zionist regime nuclear programs IRNA 29 Sep 2012 -- Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has requested International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to supervise the Zionist regime's nuclear programs.
• Salehi discusses continuation of Iran-5+1 talks with Lavrov IRNA 29 Sep 2012 -- Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi discussed continuation of talks with the 5+1 with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
• Iran's ground force, one of uncontested world powers: commander IRNA 29 Sep 2012 -- Commander of Army's ground force Brigadier General Ahmad-Reza Pourdastan referred to the force Saturday as one of the world's uncontested forces capable of appropriately safeguarding the country's territorial integrity.
• Velayati: Iran always ready for talks with 5+1 IRNA 29 Sep 2012 -- Supreme Leader's Advisor for International Affairs Ali Akbar Velayati said Iran has never refrained from talks with the 5+1 and is ready for negotiations any time they ask.
• Iran Condemns US Decision to Take Exiled Group Off Terror List VOA 29 Sep 2012 -- Iran has condemned the U.S. government decision to take an Iranian militant opposition group off its terrorism list.
• China wants to settle Bo case prior to party congress: scholars CNA 29 Sep 2012 -- China's announcement of the date of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the expulsion of disgraced former party chief Bo Xilai from the party and public office Friday means China has cleared the remaining hurdle before the party congress, which will see a once-in-a-decade party leadership transition, according to local scholars.
• Chinese Politburo Hopeful Purged from Parliament RIA Novosti 29 Sep 2012 -- Bo Xilai, once a rising star of Chinese politics, was stripped of parliamentary status on Saturday, paving the way to his criminal persecution, the country's media said on Saturday.
• Chinese Public Doubts Beijing's Pledges to Fight Corruption VOA 29 Sep 2012 -- By detailing the extent of disgraced politician Bo Xilai's abuses, China's communist leadership has taken a hard stance on corruption, but many commentators in China say they doubt whether the case will lead to fundamental change in China.
• Report: Surge in U.S. Gov't Electronic Surveillance RIA Novosti 29 Sep 2012 -- U.S. law enforcement surveillance of emails, text messages and phone calls are at an all-time high, according to government documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union.
• Tymoshenko Makes Video Appeal To Ukrainian Voters RFE/RL 29 Sep 2012 -- Jailed Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko has appealed to Ukraine's voters to cast out members of President Viktor Yanukovych's Party of Regions in parliamentary elections on October 28.
• Tymoshenko Calls for Yanukovych Ouster In New Video RIA Novosti 29 Sep 2012 -- Jailed Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko urged her compatriots to 'overthrow the gang' led by President Viktor Yanukovych during the country's upcoming parliamentary elections.
• Fukushima Radiation Down 20% – TV RIA Novosti 29 Sep 2012 -- Radiation level in the 80-kilometer zone around the imploded Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan has decreased 23 percent between November and June, NHK television reported on Saturday.
• Nuclear weapons are no 'guarantee of security,' Kazakh Foreign Ministers tells UN debate UN News Centre 29 Sep 2012 -- The inability of nuclear weapons to guarantee a country's security or independence was highlighted in the speech of Kazakhstan's Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kairat Umarov, to the United Nations General Assembly today.
• Tens Of Thousands Turn Out For Opposition Rally In Tbilisi RFE/RL 29 Sep 2012 -- Tens of thousands of opposition supporters have rallied in Georgia's capital in a show of strength two days before parliamentary elections.
• At debate, Tajik Foreign Minister voices need for UN reform, engagement in Afghanistan UN News Centre 29 Sep 2012 -- The need for reform of the United Nations, illicit drug trafficking and the situation in Afghanistan were among the topics covered in the speech by Tajikistan's Foreign Minister, Hamrokhon Zarifi, to the UN General Assembly today.
• Syrian crisis makes UN reform ever more urgent, European ministers tells debate UN News Centre 29 Sep 2012 -- The year and a half of deadly violence in Syria is clear testimony of the need to reform the United Nations to strengthen its preventive capabilities, European ministers told the General Assembly today.
• Zimbabwean PM Warns Mugabe Against Rigging Elections VOA 29 Sep 2012 -- Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai Saturday said his party will not allow President Robert Mugabe to rig another election. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party leader made the comment a few days after President Mugabe announced that Zimbabwe would hold elections to end the country's coalition government next March. made his remarks as recent surveys show his party losing ground.
• Venezuela Launches Second Satellite RIA Novosti 29 Sep 2012 -- Venezuela launched its second ever satellite into space on Saturday, according to the Venezuelan press.
• Europe's ATV-3 Spacecraft Undocks from Space Station RIA Novosti 29 Sep 2012 -- European Space Agency's ATV-3 cargo spacecraft has undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) after a previously unsuccessful attempt earlier in the week, the Mission Control said on Saturday.