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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Texas National Guard Responds to Winter Storm AFPS 10 Dec 2013 -- Citizen-soldiers with the Texas Army National Guard's 176th Engineer Brigade provided support to state and local officials during Winter Storm Cleon, as named by the National Weather Service, in north Texas Dec. 5-9.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Media Availability with Secretary Hagel at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar DoD 10 Dec 2013 -- Presenter: Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel
• Remarks to Troops by Secretary Hagel at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar DoD 10 Dec 2013 -- Presenter: Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel
• Tinian's North Field supports MH-60s FARP training, Osprey landing during FFII USMC News 10 Dec 2013 -- Navy MH-60 Seahawk Helicopters and MV-22B Ospreys landed Dec. 9 at the recently cleared Baker and Charlie runways on Tinian's North Field during Exercise Forager Fury II.
• T-38C Talon accident investigation complete AFNS 10 Dec 2013 -- Air Force officials announced Dec. 10 the accident investigation results of a T-38C Talon accident that occurred July 19 at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas.
• Yama Sakura Reflects New Approaches in Historic Alliance AFPS 10 Dec 2013 -- An exercise underway in Japan is giving U.S. forces an opportunity to apply the leadership and problem-solving skills they developed in Iraq and Afghanistan as they refocus on the Asia-Pacific theater.
• Hagel Concludes Six-day Troop, Partner Nation Visits AFPS 10 Dec 2013 -- Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel wrapped up a dual-purpose six-day trip to the Middle East and Southwest Asia here today.
• Readout of Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel's Visit to Qatar DoD 10 Dec 2013
• HSC-25 Detachments 1 and 6 Return from Deployment NNS 10 Dec 2013 -- Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 25 Det.1 and Det. 6 returned to Guam Dec. 9 after completing a seven-month and nine-month deployment, respectively.
• UN rights experts concerned about fate of Guantánamo detainee transferred to Algeria UN News Centre 10 Dec 2013 -- Two independent United Nations human rights experts have voiced concern about the fate of Djamel Ameziane, who was recently transferred by the United States from the Guantánamo Bay detention centre to Algeria, from which he fled two decades ago to escape persecution.
• Navy and Army Combine Forces for Joint Training NNS 10 Dec 2013 -- Helicopter pilots of the U.S. Army's 25th Combat Aviation Brigade (25th CAB) participated in training operations with the Pearl Harbor based guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG 70).
• Bataan ARG Begins Composite Training Unit Exercise NNS 10 Dec 2013 -- Sailors from the multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5) and Marines from 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) departed Naval Station Norfolk for a two-week underway in order to complete Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) off the East Coast of the United States.
• Russia to boost armed presence in North Pole Iran Press TV 10 Dec 2013 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the military to increase its presence in the Arctic amid Canada's bid to claim the North Pole and surrounding waters.
• Putin, Shoigu Outline 2014 Arms Procurement Plan RIA Novosti 10 Dec 2013 -- President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu laid out Russia's arms procurement roadmap for 2014 on Tuesday including new strategic missiles, tanks and aircraft.
• Putin Orders Strong Military Presence in Arctic RIA Novosti 10 Dec 2013 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian military on Tuesday to boost its presence in the Arctic and complete the development of military infrastructure in the region next year.
• Russian Military to Recruit 500,000 Professional Soldiers by 2022 RIA Novosti 10 Dec 2013 -- Russia's military will have 500,000 soldiers serving on professional contracts within a decade, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday.
• Iran-China navy cooperation will expand IRNA 10 Dec 2013 -- Iran Navy Commander Rear-Admiral Habibollah Sayyari and commander of south Chinese naval fleet, Vui Shuiy, called for development of cooperation between the two forces in Indian Ocean.
• Iran to accomplish construction of RQ-170 drone soon ISNA 10 Dec 2013 -- Lieutenant Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Hossein Salami said the country plans to accomplish construction of RQ-170 drone soon.
• Iran to unveil new sophisticated radar system IRNA 10 Dec 2013 -- Commander of Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Base, Brigadier General Farzad Esmaili on Tuesday said a newly built radar system dubbed 'Arash" is to be unveiled this week.
• Iran's indigenous Fateh submarine set for launch Iran Press TV 10 Dec 2013 -- The Iranian defense minister has announced that the construction and testing of the country's indigenous semi-heavy submarine Fateh (Conqueror) has been completed and will be delivered to naval forces upon being armed.
• UK plan to outsource military buying ditched: Defence secretary Iran Press TV 10 Dec 2013 -- The responsibility for buying 159 billion pound military equipment for the UK army will no longer rest with private companies, the country's defence secretary has announced.
• Military recruitment falls far short of target CNA 10 Dec 2013 -- Taiwan's armed forces have recruited 8,603 men and women in the first 11 months of 2013, just 30.15 percent of the Ministry of National Defense target of 28,531 recruits.
• Press Gaggle by Jay Carney and Ben Rhodes aboard AF1 en route Washington, D.C. The White House 10 Dec 2013

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• 10 December 2013 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 10 Dec 2013
• Syria army continues mop-up operations near Damascus Iran Press TV 10 Dec 2013 -- The Syrian army is pushing ahead with its mop-up operations to clear militants from the suburbs of the capital city, Damascus, Press TV reports.
• Syria: as harsh winter sets in, UN refugee agency begins aid airlifts from Iraq UN News Centre 10 Dec 2013 -- As the Syrian crisis passes the tragic 1,000-day mark, the United Nations refugee agency is working hard to meet the 'immense needs' of desperate communities there, including across lines in conflict zones and in neighbouring countries, while also bracing for what meteorologists predict could be the region's harshest winter in a century.
• France's Hollande Visits CAR After 2 French Soldiers Killed VOA 10 Dec 2013 -- French President Francois Hollande arrived in the Central African Republic Tuesday, just hours after two French soldiers were killed in overnight fighting.
• Two French soldiers die in Central African Republic Iran Press TV 10 Dec 2013 -- Two French soldiers have been killed in Central African Republic (CAR) where France has recently deployed more troops.
• UN scales up aid as number of displaced in Central African Republic tops half a million UN News Centre 10 Dec 2013 -- United Nations agencies are scaling up efforts to assist the scores of civilians uprooted by the surging violence in the Central African Republic (CAR), reported to number over 100,000 in the capital alone, bringing the total number of those displaced since the conflict began a year ago to over half a million.
• Somalia: crisis-response shows State institutions strengthening, UN official tells Security Council UN News Centre 10 Dec 2013 -- The top United Nations official in Somalia today, briefing the Security Council from Mogadishu, said that a comprehensive political, military and development approach is needed to tackle terrorism in the country, where despite challenges, the dawn of a new era is abundantly evident.
• Civilians caught up in Egypt's counter-terrorism operations IRIN 10 Dec 2013 -- Despite the Egyptian government's deployment of additional troops to its restless northern Sinai region, attacks by Islamist militants continue, and almost inevitably civilians are being caught in the violence.

News Reports

• World Leaders Honor Mandela Legacy In Johannesburg RFE/RL 10 Dec 2013 -- and of connecting people with each other...the true meaning of peace.'
• World Leaders Pay Tribute to Mandela VOA 10 Dec 2013 -- Tens of thousands of South Africans gathered Tuesday to bid farewell to anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, a man loved around the globe for his long, difficult fight to bring equality to South Africa. The event at a Johannesburg soccer stadium brought together dignitaries and celebrities from around the world -- as well as masses of ordinary South Africans who braved long waits and bad weather to pay tribute to the man everyone here knows simply as "Tata."
• Obama-Castro Handshake Draws Attention at Mandela Tribute VOA 10 Dec 2013 -- Tuesday's memorial service for Nelson Mandela generated some informal diplomacy and political controversy, alongside the praise for the late South African president.
• Western Diplomats Try to Break Ukraine Political Deadlock VOA 10 Dec 2013 -- As Ukraine's street protests marked their third week, American and EU officials arrived here Tuesday to try to break the deadlock with diplomacy.
• Russia slams West over Ukraine political crisis Iran Press TV 10 Dec 2013 -- Russia has criticized Western nations for interfering in Ukraine, saying protests against Kiev's decision to back away from an EU deal were destabilizing the former Soviet state.
• EU Envoy Holds Talks In Kyiv Amid Ongoing Protests RFE/RL 10 Dec 2013 -- EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has held talks with President Viktor Yanukovych in Kyiv in an effort to defuse the political crisis.
• Ukrainian President Tries to Defuse EU Crisis VOA 10 Dec 2013 -- Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has met with three former Ukrainian presidents and the EU foreign policy chief in an effort to defuse tensions over his refusal to sign a long-anticipated European Union trade deal in favor of closer ties to Russia.
• S. Korea: North Korea Engaged in 'Reign of Terror' VOA 10 Dec 2013 -- South Korea has called the recently announced political purges at the top of North Korea's leadership a "reign of terror" that could further destabilize their already shaky relations. Meanwhile, North Korean media continue to attack the uncle of leader Kim Jong Un who was very publicly removed from power.
• Afkham: Removal of all sanctions, final phase of talks IRNA 10 Dec 2013 -- Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham said based on Iran's proposed plan the final achievement of the nuclear talks should be the removal of all sanctions including the ones by the United Nations Security Council.
• Iran sees an end to sanctions as final step of nuclear deal IRNA 10 Dec 2013 -- Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said on Tuesday that Tehran considers lifting of the arbitrary sanctions as final step of the nuclear deal with the western governments.
• Experts: Iran-GCC Rapprochement Remains Elusive VOA 10 Dec 2013 -- Following its recent nuclear agreement with the six world powers, analysts say Iran is actively looking to mend fences with its Gulf neighbors. Foreign Minister Mohamed Javad Zarif recently completed a whirlwind tour of four of the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and secured promises of reciprocal visits. But mistrust of Iran runs high in the Gulf, particularly in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, and experts say Tehran's recently diplomatic initiative is unlikely to sway its wary neighbors.
• Concerns Grow Over Libyan Uranium Stockpiles VOA 10 Dec 2013 -- Inspectors from the United Nations nuclear agency will soon begin an assessment of the adequacy of security arrangements for thousands of barrels of yellowcake uranium stockpiled in Libya. The inspection comes amid rising anxiety among Western powers and Libya's neighbors at the lawlessness disrupting the transition from dictatorship to democracy since the ouster two years ago of Moammar Gadhafi.
• Canada set up spy posts for NSA: Report Iran Press TV 10 Dec 2013 -- Canada has set up covert spying posts around the world and spied on trading partners at the request of the US National Security Agency (NSA), a report shows.
• Bangladesh Set to Execute Islamist Leader VOA 10 Dec 2013 -- Bangladeshi authorities are preparing to execute a leader of the country's largest Islamist party, who was convicted of mass murder and rape during the country's 1971 independence war against Pakistan.