Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF/OND Casualty Update 07 Dec 2012 [PDF]
• Wounded Afghan Intel Chief Treated at US Base VOA 07 Dec 2012 -- Afghanistan's intelligence chief, who was seriously wounded Thursday in an assassination attempt, is being treated at a U.S. military base outside of Kabul.
• Combined Force Arrests Haqqani Leader AFPS 07 Dec 2012 -- An Afghan and coalition security force arrested a Haqqani leader during an operation in the Mota Khan district of Afghanistan's Paktika province today, military officials reported.
• Swedish Aid Group Says NATO Raided Clinic RFE/RL 07 Dec 2012 -- A Swedish aid organization says an Afghan health clinic it supports was raided and occupied by NATO and Afghan troops who detained staff and civilians there for three days while using the compound as a combat logistics hub.
• Fatal Afghan Shooting Highlights Risks For Female Health Workers RFE/RL 07 Dec 2012
• Afghans lead operation with 1 SCOTS to clear insurgents UK MOD 07 Dec 2012 -- Troops from 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (1 SCOTS) have supported the Afghan National Army (ANA) as they planned and led a large operation to clear an area of Afghanistan of insurgents.
• No 7 Force Protection Wing takes control at Camp Bastion UK MOD 07 Dec 2012 -- The RAF's No 7 Force Protection Wing has taken over Force Protection duties at Camp Bastion in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Arrest of Queens Resident for the Export of Military-Use Items to Taiwan and Attempting to Export Them to China FBI 07 Dec 2012 -- Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Sidney Simon, the Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security’s Office of Export Enforcement New York Field Office (DOC); and George Venizelos, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), today announced the arrest of Mark Henry, a United States citizen and a resident of Queens, New York, in connection with a scheme to illegally export defense articles and goods with military applications from the U.S. to Taiwan and China.
• Navy Veteran Charged in 'Russia Spying' Sting: US Officials RIA Novosti 07 Dec 2012 -- A retired 20-year-veteran of the US Navy was arrested Thursday and charged with attempted espionage after trying to provide classified information on methods used to track US submarines to people he believed were from Russia, US authorities announced.
• Japanese aircrew learn advanced airlift tactics in Missouri AFNS 07 Dec 2012 -- A sky blue military aircraft with red Japanese flag markings is an odd sight in the Midwest.
• Panetta Briefs President on Dempsey Ethics Findings AFPS 07 Dec 2012 -- Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta has briefed President Barack Obama on Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey's recommendations about general/flag officer ethics, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said today.
• VA Seeks to Expand TBI Benefits AFPS 07 Dec 2012 -- The Department of Veterans Affairs is publishing a proposed regulation in the Federal Register that would change its rules to add five diagnosable illnesses which are secondary to service-connected Traumatic Brain Injury, according to a Department of Veteran Affairs news release issued today.
• Army program aims to protect Soldiers' hearing Army News 07 Dec 2012 -- The U.S. Army is evaluating commercial-off-the-shelf options for a new hearing-protection system that will provide Soldiers with the situational awareness to increase mission effectiveness and the safety and survivability they need, officials said.
• Navy Accepts Delivery of Future USS Arlington NNS 07 Dec 2012 -- The Navy accepted delivery of the eighth LPD 17 class amphibious transport dock ship, the future USS Arlington (LPD 24), from Huntington Ingalls Industries Dec. 7. Accepting delivery of Arlington represents the official transfer of the ship from the shipbuilder to the Navy and is a major milestone in the ship's transition to operational status.
• Space launch vehicle core purchases balance needs with lower cost, competition AFNS 07 Dec 2012 -- Purchasing core elements used to launch 28 rockets into space for National Security Space missions is the focus of negotiations between the Air Force and United Launch Alliance to establish a requirements contract, according to Defense Under Secretary Frank Kendall.
• Readout of Secretary Panetta's Meeting with Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Aleksandar Vucic DoD 07 Dec 2012
• Moscow Issues New Warning on Patriot Missiles in Turkey RIA Novosti 07 Dec 2012 -- The deployment of Patriot air-defense systems at the Turkish-Syrian border means NATO is getting involved in the Syrian conflict, Russia's envoy to NATO said on Friday.
• Russia Not Training Enough Military Pilots - Defense Minister RIA Novosti 07 Dec 2012 -- The Russian Air Force is not training sufficient numbers of pilots and other specialists, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Friday.
• Medvedev Defends Ousted Defense Minister in TV Interview RIA Novosti 07 Dec 2012 -- Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev defended recently-fired former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov on Friday, praising him for initiating "long-awaited and very difficult reforms."
• Russian NATO Rep Denies 'Re-Sovietization' RIA Novosti 07 Dec 2012 -- Russian NATO envoy Alexander Grushko refuted on Friday claims by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that Russia is aiming to "re-Sovietize" Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
• China test-fires Dongfeng-31A again: U.S. media CNA 07 Dec 2012 -- China test-fired a Dongfeng-31A intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) again on Nov. 30, according to an article on the Beijing-based huanqiu.com website.
• December 7, 2012 - U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 07 Dec 2012

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for December 07, 2012

Other Conflicts

• 7 December 2012 - DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 07 Dec 2012
• UN Chief Renews Plea for Syrian Refugee Aid VOA 07 Dec 2012 -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made an appeal Friday for additional international support for the hundreds of thousands of refugees who have fled conflict in Syria.
• Dy FM: Syria does not let irresponsive armed groups to use chemical IRNA 07 Dec 2012 -- Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Countries Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said here Friday Syrian Government does not allow irresponsive armed groups which are backed by foreigners to probably use chemical weapons.
• Clinton Urges 'Concerted Push' On Syria RFE/RL 07 Dec 2012 -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called on all international players with influence in Syria to make a 'concerted push' together to bring the 21-month-old conflict to an end.
• On visit to refugee camps, Secretary-General renews call for stop to killings in Syria UN News Centre 07 Dec 2012 -- Amidst a visit to a Turkish refugee camp for people displaced by the ongoing violence in neighbouring Syria, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today appealed once more to all sides in the conflict to stop the killing, according to his spokesperson.
• Hamas Leader Ends Exile, Visits Gaza VOA 07 Dec 2012 -- The exiled leader of the Islamist Palestinian militant group Hamas stepped onto Gaza soil for the first time in 45 years and kissed the ground after crossing from Egypt.
• Clinton Condemns Violence in Northern Ireland VOA 07 Dec 2012 -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has condemned recent acts of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland, as she concludes one of her last trips abroad as the top U.S. diplomat.
• MAC reiterates China's new passports unacceptable CNA 07 Dec 2012 -- The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) reiterated on Friday that China's new passports, which depict Taiwan as part of Chinese territory, were unacceptable.
• At meeting in Rome, UN officials stress link between food security and peace in Sahel UN News Centre 07 Dec 2012 -- Food insecurity in Africa's volatile Sahel region is closely linked to peace and stability there, the head of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned today, adding that short-term humanitarian efforts in the Sahel needed to be replaced with longer-term development.
• UN relief chief asks Myanmar Government to allow aid deliveries in off-limits area UN News Centre 07 Dec 2012 -- On a visit to Myanmar, the top United Nations relief official said today the UN's humanitarian arm is seeking the Government's permission to access people driven from their homes in parts of the country's north, in addition to asking for international donor support for people displaced by ethnic inter-communal violence in the west.
• US Sanctions Mali Islamist Group, Leaders VOA 07 Dec 2012 -- The United States has imposed sanctions against one of the Islamist groups that controls northern Mali and two of the group's leaders.
• DR Congo: UN peacekeeping chief presents Security Council with options after M23 withdrawal from Goma UN News Centre 07 Dec 2012 -- The United Nations peacekeeping chief said today that the Security Council reacted with "considerable interest" to proposed responses to the recent violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – including one that would see a new peacekeeping force deployed there in addition to UN peacekeepers.

News Reports

• Egyptian Opposition Rejects Dialog with Morsi RIA Novosti 07 Dec 2012 -- Egypt's National Salvation Front, a coalition of the country's largest liberal-democratic parties and movements, has officially rejected talks proposed by President Mohamed Morsi, local media reported on Friday.
• UN official voices alarm at Egypt violence, cites 'major' problems with draft constitution UN News Centre 07 Dec 2012 -- The United Nations human rights chief today voiced alarm at the rising tension and recent deaths and injuries during protests related to Egypt's draft constitution, while also drawing attention to a number of problems with the text.
• Egyptian Opposition Shuns Morsi's Offer of Dialogue VOA 07 Dec 2012 -- Egyptian opposition leaders are refusing a call by President Mohamed Morsi for a dialogue, insisting that he put off a Dec. 15 referendum on a new draft constitution and give up sweeping powers. Tensions in Cairo are also mounting as pro- and anti-Morsi demonstrators gather in different parts of the capital to protest.
• Egyptian Protesters Converge on Presidential Palace VOA 07 Dec 2012 -- Opponents and supporters of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi have taken to the streets of Cairo, converging on the presidential palace in another day of demonstrations that have gripped the capital.