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Current Operations

• OIF/OEF/OND Casualty Update 22 Oct 2013 [PDF]
• Hagel Urges Afghanistan to Approve Security Deal VOA 22 Oct 2013 -- U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is urging Afghan leaders to sign a bilateral security agreement, saying it is key to ensuring peace in the country after most international troops depart at the end of next year.
• An Afghan-led future UK MOD 22 Oct 2013 -- Senior British military officers described the progress made in southern Afghanistan this summer at a media briefing in London yesterday.
• Afghanistan announces presidential candidates Iran Press TV 22 Oct 2013 -- Independent election commission of Afghanistan (IEC) has declared at least tencandidates as eligible to run for 2014 presidential election.
• Former Taliban Leader's Release Fails To Revive Peace Talks RFE/RL 22 Oct 2013 -- Just weeks ago, his release was hailed by the Afghan government as the key to successful peace talks with the Taliban.
• USS Rentz Rescues Fishing Vessel in Distress after 10 Days Lost at Sea NNS 22 Oct 2013 -- Guided-missile frigate USS Rentz (FFG 46) and embarked U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) conducted a Safety-of-Life-at-Sea operation rescue Oct. 20-21 for a fishing vessel, 200 nautical miles off the coast of Ecuador in distress and stranded for 10 days.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Mexico Orders Investigation Into US Spying VOA 22 Oct 2013 -- Mexico is investigating allegations that the United States spied on President Enrique Pena Nieto before his election, and on his predecessor, Felipe Calderon.
• US on spying complaints: All nations spy Iran Press TV 22 Oct 2013 -- The Obama administration has brushed off other nation's complaints about recent revelations on the US spying activities, saying "all nations" spy.
• White House Says 'All Nations' Spy, Vows to Review Espionage Tactics RIA Novosti 22 Oct 2013 -- The White House on Monday brushed off French outrage over a report in Le Monde newspaper that said the US National Security Agency (NSA) had intercepted tens of millions of phone calls made by French citizens, saying "all nations" engage in espionage activities and vowing to review the way it spies on others.
• Kerry, French Counterpart Discuss Spying Allegations VOA 22 Oct 2013 -- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has met with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius to discuss recent revelations that a U.S. spy agency eavesdropped on millions of phone calls of French citizens.
• Rights Group Slams U.S. On Drone Strikes RFE/RL 22 Oct 2013 -- A new report by rights watchdog Amnesty International says that some U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan could amount to war crimes.
• US Drone Strikes May Be War Crimes – Rights Groups RIA Novosti 22 Oct 2013 -- The United States may have committed war crimes in its campaign of drone strikes on targets in Pakistan and Yemen over the past four years, killing civilians indiscriminately in its stated pursuit of terrorist targets, two prominent human rights groups said in reports released Tuesday.
• US Accused of Unlawful Killings in Pakistan Drone Strikes VOA 22 Oct 2013 -- The international human rights group Amnesty International said in a report released Tuesday that the United States "appears to have committed very serious" human rights violations with its drone program in Pakistan, some of which could even amount to war crimes. The rights group is now calling on U.S. authorities to end the secrecy surrounding the controversial program and bring to justice those responsible for civilian deaths in drone attacks.
• Army Undersecretary: Furloughs disservice to Army civilians Army News 22 Oct 2013 -- In the last six months, Army civilians have faced two work stoppages: one in July with six weeks of four-day work weeks, and most recently, more than two weeks of a government shutdown.
• Improvements to Army's new 5.56mm production lines help save government more than $20 million Army News 22 Oct 2013 -- The Program Executive Office for Ammunition's Enhanced Performance Round program shaved off more than $20 million dollars in a value engineering project aimed at renovating the bullet production lines and improving the program's purchasing strategies.
• War Eagles assume authority for Task Force Platinum Army News 22 Oct 2013 -- 93rd Military Police Battalion assumed authority of Task Force Platinum an organization that provides essential support through detainee and detention facility operations for Joint Task Force Guantanamo on October 16, 2013 at Bulkeley Field.
• AFMC 5-center construct reaches full operational capability AFNS 22 Oct 2013
• Harvesting the wind at Cape Cod Air Force Station AFNS 22 Oct 2013 -- It's not just the leaves that are changing at Cape Cod Air Force Station. The Air Force station is also changing the way it gets electricity as two new giant wind turbines are being installed at the 6th Space Warning Squadron.
• Centcom Chief: Middle East Decisions Will Have Wide Impact AFPS 22 Oct 2013 -- Decisions made today regarding the Middle East will have far-reaching impact on future security, not only in the immediate region, but also around the world, the commander of U.S. Central Command said here today.
• Navy Awards Contract for ex-Forrestal Scrapping NNS 22 Oct 2013 -- The Navy awarded a $0.01 delivery order Oct. 22 for dismantling and recycling ex-USS Forrestal (AVT 59).
• USNS Safeguard Begins Diving Exercise in Cambodia NNS 22 Oct 2013 -- Rescue and salvage ship USNS Safeguard (T-ARS 50) arrived in Cambodia Oct. 22 as part of the annual exercise series Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT).
• Hagel, NATO Defense Ministers Gather at 'Inflection Point' AFPS 22 Oct 2013 -- NATO defense ministers are meeting this week as the alliance faces what many here call an inflection point: how to preserve hard-earned NATO operational capabilities while winding down operations in Afghanistan over the coming months.
• Readout Of Secretary Hagel's Meeting With Hungarian Minister Of Defense Csaba Hende DoD 22 Oct 2013
• Readout of Secretary Hagel's Meeting With Afghanistan's Minister of Defense Bismullah Khan Mohammadi DoD 22 Oct 2013
• Readout of Secretary Hagel's Meeting With Australian Minister of Defense David Johnston DoD 22 Oct 2013
• Readout of Secretary Hagel's Meeting With Canadian Minister of National Defense Rob Nicholson DoD 22 Oct 2013
• Defence Ministers discuss ways to enhance NATO forces training, exercises NATO 22 Oct 2013 -- NATO Defence Ministers will discuss ways to bolster and improve the training, education and exercises of Allied forces at the start of a two-day ministerial on Tuesday (22 October 2013) which will also review progress on cyber defence, ballistic missile defence and capabilities. "We will discuss our approach to our training and exercises, to build on the lessons we have learned in two decades of operations as Allies as and with partners" NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.
• No NATO Membership For Georgia, Ukraine in 2014 – Official RIA Novosti 22 Oct 2013 -- Ukraine and Georgia will not accede to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) next year, its top official said Tuesday, dismissing speculation that two of Russia's most strategically important neighbors might be joining.
• Russian Nuclear Cruiser Departs on Atlantic Mission RIA Novosti 22 Oct 2013 -- The flagship of Russia's Northern Fleet, the nuclear-powered missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky, set off Tuesday from a naval base in northern Russia for the Atlantic on a regular tour of duty, a fleet spokesman said.
• Russia Retires Faulty Glonass-M Satellite RIA Novosti 22 Oct 2013 -- A satellite in the fleet of Russia's answer to GPS has been decommissioned because of a terminal malfunction, space officials said Tuesday.
• Russian Commandos to Adopt New Underwater Assault Rifles RIA Novosti 22 Oct 2013 -- Russia's army is set to adopt a new assault rifle that performs effectively both on the ground and underwater.
• MiG Begins Testing New Russian Navy Fighter Jets RIA Novosti 22 Oct 2013 -- Russian aircraft maker MiG has started flight tests of series-produced MiG-29K/KUB carrier-based fighter jets slated for delivery to the Russian Navy, the company said Tuesday.
• PLA in army civilian personnel drive People's Daily 20 Oct 2013 -- The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) is to run its first unified recruitment of army civilian personnel from the public, a move to attract talents and improve employment transparency, announced a circular on Saturday.
• Capabilities, cooperation with Russia, Afghanistan tops Defence Ministerial agenda NATO 22 Oct 2013 -- Improving capabilities, progress in Afghanistan and NATO-Russia cooperation will top the agenda of this week's two-day NATO Defence Ministerial which starts on Tuesday (22 October 2013).
• 'Nuclear provinces' prioritized in civil defense Iran Press TV 22 Oct 2013 -- Head of Iran's Passive Defense Organization Brigadier General Gholam-Reza Jalali says three "nuclear provinces" are prioritized in passive defense services.
• Iran Air Force unaffected by sanctions: Russia general Iran Press TV 22 Oct 2013 -- Russian Air Force Commander-in-Chief Lieutenant General Viktor Bondarev says the ability of the Iranian Air Force to manufacture spare parts, equipment and hardware necessary for military aircraft attests to the ineffectiveness of US-led sanctions on the military force.
• Iran Gives Drone Based on 'Downed' US Spy Plane to Russia RIA Novosti 22 Oct 2013 -- Iran's Revolutionary Guards have presented Russia with an unmanned spy plane that Tehran says was reverse-engineered from a US machine it claims to have captured last year, local media reported.
• Cabinet names new deputy defense minister CNA 22 Oct 2013 -- Taiwan's representative to Indonesia Andrew Hsia has been named the country's new deputy defense minister, the Cabinet said in a statement Tuesday.
• Press Briefing by the Press Secretary, 10/22/2013 The White House 22 Oct 2013
• October 22, 2013 - U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 22 Oct 2013

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for October 22, 2013

Other Conflicts

• 22 October 2013 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 22 Oct 2013
• 'Friends of Syria' Urge Opposition to Join Peace Talks VOA 22 Oct 2013 -- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is in Europe for talks on getting to a transitional government to end Syria's civil war. But there are divisions within the opposition and questions over Iran joining those talks.
• Syrians face bleak time in Bulgaria's broken asylum system IRIN 22 Oct 2013 -- In an abandoned schoolhouse outside the Bulgarian capital Sofia, 380 migrants and asylum seekers are living in squalid conditions. They are part of a new wave of migrants and asylum seekers, mostly Kurds from Syria, who have strained Bulgaria's inefficient asylum system to breaking point.
• Syria cooperative on chem. disarmament: OPCW-UN mission Iran Press TV 22 Oct 2013 -- The Syrian government has so far 'fully cooperated' in eliminating its huge chemical arsenal, the head of the joint Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and United Nations team says.
• No role for Assad in future Syria: So-called Friends of Syria Iran Press TV 22 Oct 2013 -- Foreign ministers of Western and Arab countries supporting militants in Syria say President Bashar al-Assad can have no role in the future Syrian government.
• Equipment Destroyed at 14 Syrian Chemical Arms Sites RIA Novosti 22 Oct 2013 -- A team of international experts working on a mission to eradicate Syria's chemical weapons has destroyed critical equipment at 14 sites in the war-torn country, the global chemical weapons watchdog said Monday.
• Syria has 'fully cooperated' with joint OPCW-UN mission to destroy chemical arsenal UN News Centre 22 Oct 2013 -- The Syrian Government has been fully cooperating with the destruction of its chemical weapons programme, the head of the joint mission of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the United Nations today said.
• Talks Only Way to End Syria Bloodshed, Kerry Says VOA 22 Oct 2013 -- U.S. and British officials are again urging all sides in the Syrian conflict to sit down and talk, adding Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will eventually have to step down.
• President denies sidestepping cross-strait political issues CNA 22 Oct 2013 -- President Ma Ying-jeou denied Tuesday an accusation that his government deals with China only on economic issues while avoiding anything political, saying there has been no attempt 'to deliberately sidestep issues that are politically sensitive.'
• DRC Goma Residents Worry Over Peace Talks' Suspension VOA 22 Oct 2013 -- Residents in the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) North Kivu province fear a resumption of violent clashes following the suspension of peace talks between the government and the M23 rebels.
• DR Congo: hit by funding shortfall, UN agency to cut some food relief operations UN News Centre 22 Oct 2013 -- Facing a $70 million funding shortfall, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned today that starting as early as November, the agency and its partners will be forced to scale back activities in strife-torn provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
• No Resolution in Sudan, South Sudan Talks VOA 22 Oct 2013 -- Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir and South Sudan's President Salva Kiir have reaffirmed their commitment to peace after talks in the southern capital, Juba. The former civil war foes described Tuesday's talks as "historic" but there was no movement on disputes over borders, contested territory, trade and oil.
• Ban welcomes discussions in Juba between Presidents of Sudan and South Sudan UN News Centre 22 Oct 2013 -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the meeting today between the Presidents of South Sudan and Sudan, at which the two leaders discussed the contested border region of Abyei.
• Fear of violence slows polio immunization drive in Kano IRIN 22 Oct 2013 -- Fear and secrecy have cloaked the roll-out of a polio campaign currently underway in northern Nigeria. Vaccinators are concealing their identities, hiding vaccinations under their veils and visiting some areas only with undercover armed guards, following the February murder by Boko Haram of nine polio workers in the northern city of Kano.
• In Wake of Attacks, Nigerian Army Intensifies Boko Haram Fight VOA 22 Oct 2013 -- In the wake of more insurgent attacks in Nigeria's countryside, the Nigerian army says it is increasing security along northeastern roads.
• Renewed talks offer opportunity neither Israelis nor Palestinians can afford to lose – UN official UN News Centre 22 Oct 2013 -- The top United Nations political chief today called for taking advantage of the opening that now exists with renewed negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians to achieve the long-sought vision of two States living side by side in peace and security.
• UN: New Strategies Needed to Cope With Crises in Sahel VOA 22 Oct 2013 -- The United Nations says it is working on an integrated strategy to deal with the recurring crises in Africa's Sahel region. The U.N. says new approaches are needed to make vulnerable people in the nine Sahelian countries able to cope with the humanitarian emergencies that keep them in poverty and dependent on the international community for aid.
• Abuse, marginalization of war-affected women in Sri Lanka's north IRIN 22 Oct 2013 -- A UK-rights group has accused the Sri Lankan government of failing to address the marginalization and sexual abuse of women living in the country's former war zones in the north and east, an allegation officials dismiss as coming from a "diaspora-led false propaganda machinery".

News Reports

• Salehi forecasts bright, progressive future for Iran nuclear industry IRNA 22 Oct 2013 -- Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Ali Akbar Salehi forecast a bright and even growing future for the countrys nuclear industry.
• Talks with 5+1 held in full coordination with top Iranian officials IRNA 22 Oct 2013 -- Talks with the Group 5+1 take place in full and constant coordination with top Iranian authorities, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham said Tuesday.
• Iran to launch UO2 production line in 3 months IRNA 22 Oct 2013 -- Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi said Tuesday that production line of the enriched Uranium Oxide (UO2) will be launched in the next three months to feed Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran.
• Iran to launch UO2 production line Iran Press TV 22 Oct 2013 -- The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) says the production line of natural and enriched UO2 (uranium dioxide) will be launched in full gear within the next few months.
• Iran won't succumb to West pressures: Cmdr. Iran Press TV 22 Oct 2013 -- A senior Iranian commander says Iran will never surrender to the West's pressure to abandon its nuclear rights during talks with the world powers.
• Libyan Islamists Call for Independent Inquiry into American Raid VOA 22 Oct 2013 -- Islamist opponents of Libya's hard-pressed prime minister are calling for an independent investigation into whether he gave approval for a U.S. Special Forces team to snatch an al-Qaida suspect from the streets of Tripoli. The demand for the probe is just the latest addition to Ali Zeidan's many political woes.
• 22 October 2013 - Press Conference by Special Rapporteur on Torture United Nations 22 Oct 2013
• Cygnus Spacecraft Heads to Fiery End After Leaving Space Station RIA Novosti 22 Oct 2013 -- The Cygnus cargo spacecraft developed by private US company Orbital Sciences undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) Tuesday and headed toward Earth, where it will break up as it re-enters the atmosphere Wednesday, successfully completing the inaugural flight by an Orbital spacecraft, NASA said in a statement.
• EU Ministers Tell Ukraine Time For Talk 'Over' On Tymoshenko Case RFE/RL 22 Oct 2013 -- former parliamentary president Pat Cox and former Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski -- are continuing their mission to secure a compromise.