• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF/OND Casualty Update 25 Oct 2013 [PDF]
• Disqualification Of Afghan Presidential Candidates Sparks Row RFE/RL 25 Oct 2013 -- There are still months to go before Afghans go to the polls to elect a new president on April 5. But there are already questions over how credible the vote will be.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Africa Command Helps Partners Promote Maritime Security AFPS 25 Oct 2013 -- Capacity-building efforts being advanced by U.S. Africa Command are helping African nations confront maritime crime, including piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and events currently unfolding off the Nigerian coast, the Africom commander reported.
• Readout of Secretary Hagel’s Meeting With Lithuanian Minister of National Defense Juozas Olekas 25 Oct 2013
• Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel hosts Republic of Korea National Security Advisor Kim Jang Soo 25 Oct 2013
• Defense Department Successfully Conducts Warhead Sled Test AFPS 25 Oct 2013 -- The Defense Department announced yesterday the successful testing of an advanced conventional precision effects warhead, a critical part of a national effort to establish a conventional prompt strike capability. This capability will contribute to the country to defend its interests with precision weapons at hypersonic speeds.
• George Washington Reaches Out To Partners In the Pacific NNS 25 Oct 2013 -- Distinguished visitors and representatives from Singapore embarked aboard the U.S. Navy's forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), Oct. 24.
• TACRON 21 Holds Change of Command NNS 25 Oct 2013 -- Tactical Air Control Squadron (TACRON) 21 held a change of command ceremony Oct. 25 at the Brashear Conference Center on Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, Virginia Beach, Va.
• Rapid Equipping Force keeps Soldiers safe, effective downrange, Mobile lab teams solve tactical prob Army News 25 Oct 2013 -- right from a commander, right from a Soldier, or from Army leadership -- and we can develop a solution.'
• New S&T Roadmap Sets Course for Biological Response and Recovery Office of Science and Technology, The White House 25 Oct 2013 -- Today, OSTP released a Biological Incident Response and Recovery Science and Technology Roadmap to help ensure that decision makers and first responders are equipped with the information and tools needed to effectively respond to and recover from a biological incident—whether naturally occurring (such as an influenza pandemic), accidental (such as a laboratory spill), or intentional (such as a bioterror attack).
• Taiwan wants to buy submarines: president CNA 25 Oct 2013 -- President Ma Ying-jeou has reiterated Taiwan's desire to purchase submarines from the United States in an interview with an American paper earlier this week.
• Delegates Consider Deadly Use of Drone Technology as Third Committee, Hears More Presentations by Experts on Human Rights Obligations United Nations 25 Oct 2013
• UN rights experts call for transparency in the use of armed drones, citing risks of illegal use UN News Centre 25 Oct 2013 -- Expressing concern about the potential for illegal use of armed unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, two United Nations human rights experts today called on States to be transparent in their use, to investigate allegations of unlawful killings and to respect the full range of applicable international law.
• Chinese naval combat drill underway People's Daily 25 Oct 2013 -- Flotillas attached to the Beihai, Donghai and Nanhai Fleets started a confrontation drill in the west Pacific on Friday, according to the People's Liberation Army (PLA).
• October 25, 2013 - U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 25 Oct 2013
• Press Gaggle by Principal Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest en route Brooklyn, New York, 10/25/2013 The White House 25 Oct 2013

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for October 25, 2013
• India's Share in Joint Fighter Project With Russia Likely to Grow RIA Novosti 25 Oct 2013 -- India's share in research-and-development work for the joint Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) project with Russia is currently limited by India's domestic industrial capabilities but will gradually increase with the project's implementation, a Russian military expert said Friday.

Other Conflicts

• 25 October 2013 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 25 Oct 2013
• Working alongside UN in Syria, chemical weapons watchdog adapts to war, publicity UN News Centre 25 Oct 2013 -- After years of remarkable but largely unheralded success at ridding the world of mustard gas and deadly nerve agents like sarin and VX, inspectors from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) have now been thrown into entirely new territory – working amid Syria's bloody civil war and in the glare of the media following a surprise Nobel Peace Prize win two weeks ago.
• Security Council's leadership role vital to end 'appalling suffering' in Syria – UN official UN News Centre 25 Oct 2013 -- After its call on all parties in Syria for humanitarian access to relieve the plight of civilians trapped by heavy fighting, the Security Council must show leadership to ensure cooperation for delivery of food and medicines, and protection measures, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator urged today.
• UN Wants 'Humanitarian Pause' in Syria Conflict VOA 25 Oct 2013 -- U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos called Friday for "humanitarian pauses" in areas of Syria under siege so that aid convoys could reach those in need and evacuate civilians caught in the conflict.
• North Korea Returns South Korean 'Defectors' VOA 25 Oct 2013 -- North Korea has returned six South Korean men whom it says were defectors. Political analysts say the gesture may be Pyongyang's attempt to thaw cold relations after it abruptly canceled reunions of families separated since the Korean War.
• Troops to remain on two remote Kinmen islets: premier CNA 25 Oct 2013 -- Taiwan will continue to station troops on two of its frontline islets, although the number might be reduced, Premier Jiang Yi-huah said Friday, effectively rebutting earlier suggestions that the otherwise uninhabited islets will be turned over to control by the coast guard and the police.
• President Ma outlines vision for Taiwan-U.S.-China ties CNA 25 Oct 2013 -- President Ma Ying-jeou has outlined his vision for expanding constructive relations with both China and the United States in an interview with the Washington Post.
• Taiwan has not sidestepped cross-strait political issues: Ma CNA 25 Oct 2013 -- President Ma Ying-jeou has said in an interview with an American newspaper that his administration has not deliberately avoided political talks with mainland China and has been willing to discuss any pressing issue.
• DR Congo: UN mission on 'high alert' following clashes between Government, armed groups UN News Centre 25 Oct 2013 -- The United Nations stabilization mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is on "high alert" following early morning clashes between Congolese Government forces and M23 rebels in the vast country's restive eastern region.
• Myanmar: UN expert urges greater efforts to curb anti-Muslim sentiment UN News Centre 25 Oct 2013 -- The United Nations expert on Myanmar today cautioned that the situation in Rakhine State is feeding a winder anti-Muslim narrative in the country which threatens the ongoing reform process aimed at a more open and broad-based democracy.

News Reports

• At EU Meeting, France And Germany Push For New Spying Rules RFE/RL 25 Oct 2013 -- The European Union says France and Germany have urged Washington to agree rules for espionage after damaging revelations that the United States tapped German Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone.
• Report: U.S. Spied On Calls Of 35 Leaders RFE/RL 25 Oct 2013 -- A new report in a British newspaper says the United States monitored the telephone calls of 35 world leaders.
• Russia Says Snowden Leaks Won't Hurt US Ties RIA Novosti 25 Oct 2013 -- Leaks by former US security contractor Edward Snowden regarding US intelligence-gathering on Russia will have no impact on relations between Moscow and Washington, Russia's foreign minister said Friday.
• German, European Officials to Confront US Over Spy Allegations VOA 25 Oct 2013 -- Senior German officials and European lawmakers say they are going to Washington soon to confront officials about allegations the U.S. has been spying on its allies.
• US Nuclear Negotiator Calls for Pause in Iran Sanctions VOA 25 Oct 2013 -- The top U.S. nuclear negotiator is calling for a pause in U.S. congressional efforts to impose sanctions on Iran, weeks after accusing Iran of being deceptive about its nuclear program.
• Law Passed in Russia to Punish Terrorists' Relatives RIA Novosti 25 Oct 2013 -- Russian legislators unanimously passed a law Friday forcing the relatives of terrorists to pay for the damages caused by their attacks.
• Russia Mulls Development of New Super-Heavy Carrier Rocket RIA Novosti 25 Oct 2013 -- Russia's Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, is to discuss with leading Russian scientists development of a new launch vehicle capable of carrying up payloads to 70 tons, its head said Friday.
• Guinea: Security Council urges restraint, calm ahead of election certification UN News Centre 25 Oct 2013 -- The United Nations Security Council is urging Guineans to exercise restraint and calm as the Supreme Court certifies the results of the legislative elections held last month.
• ICC: Kenya's Ruto Must Attend Trial VOA 25 Oct 2013 -- The International Criminal Court has reversed a decision allowing Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto to be absent for parts of his trial. The decision, announced Friday, is a major setback for Kenya's leaders, who are seeking ways to avoid attending trial.
• Ukraine Not Ready to Free Tymoshenko Despite EU Ultimatum RIA Novosti 25 Oct 2013 -- Despite an ultimatum by the European Union's executive branch, Ukraine will not consider pardoning jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko until all judicial proceedings against her are completed, the country's justice minister said Friday.
• Ban notes 'generally peaceful' elections in Madagascar UN News Centre 25 Oct 2013 -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today noted the generally peaceful conduct of the first round of presidential elections in Madagascar, "after the political impasses of the recent past."
• Rising US Oil Production May Cut Saudi Influence In Washington VOA 25 Oct 2013 -- Economists say the United States is in the process of passing Russia and Saudi Arabia to become the world's largest oil producer. This means less dependence on oil imports, stronger economic growth, and more latitude in dealing with political problems with Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Middle East.