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News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF/OND Casualty Update 27 Feb 2014 [PDF]
• Official Gives Congress Details on Fatal Helo Attack AFPS 27 Feb 2014 -- Two and a half years after 30 Americans were killed in what stands as the deadliest day for U.S. forces in the Afghanistan war, a top Defense Department official told Congress today no evasive action could have been taken that would have prevented Taliban insurgents from being able to fire at close range on an Army transport helicopter, an attack that killed everyone on board.
• McRaven: Special Ops Ready for Post-2014 Afghanistan AFPS 27 Feb 2014 -- Special operations forces will be prepared for any decision made on the post-2014 U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command told Congress today.
• NATO Begins Planning Afghan Force Withdrawal RFE/RL 27 Feb 2014 -- NATO defense ministers say the alliance is beginning to plan for a withdrawal of all NATO-led forces from Afghanistan by the end of the year.
• ISAF Ministers discuss Afghan mission progress and post-2014 planning NATO 27 Feb 2014 -- NATO Defence Ministers and counterparts from ISAF partner nations met with Afghan Defence Minister Bismullah Khan Mohammadi on Thursday (27 February 2014), to review ISAF mission progress and to discuss NATO's relationship with Afghanistan after 2014. "We are focused on completing ISAF, but we also need certainty and predictability to launch our new mission to train, advise and assist the Afghan forces after 2014," NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said after the meeting.
• Pakistan Denies Protecting Pro-Taliban Haqqani Network VOA 27 Feb 2014 -- Pakistan claims its "precision" air strikes against suspected militant bases in and around the volatile North Waziristan border region are "successfully" underway. It denies reports in the American media, however, that the country plans no action against the Haqqani network, a key ally of the Taliban in Afghanistan, which is entrenched in the tribal territory and known for staging attacks on Afghan and U.S. forces.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Transcom Commander Discusses Mission Priorities AFPS 27 Feb 2014 -- President Barack Obama's mandate to reduce U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan by the end of 2014 is U.S. Transportation Command's top priority, Air Force Gen. William M. Fraser III told Congress here today.
• Press Briefing by Secretary Hagel at NATO Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium DoD 27 Feb 2014-- Presenter: Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel
• Alexander: Laws, Policies Lag Behind Changes in Cyber Threats AFPS 27 Feb 2014 -- The threat in cyberspace is changing so rapidly that law and policy lag behind, the nation's top cyber commander said here today.
• AF improves its personnel reliability program AFNS 27 Feb 2014 -- Changes are coming to the Air Force's program used to ensure personnel who perform nuclear-related duties are of sound mind and body on the job.
• Hagel Highlights NATO Capabilities, ISAF, Ukraine AFPS 27 Feb 2014 -- Over two days of meetings here, discussions among NATO defense ministers focused on future alliance capabilities, the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan and NATO's defense relationship with Ukraine, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in his closing remarks here.
• Winnefeld: Budget Request Balances Security, Fiscal Realities AFPS 27 Feb 2014 -- The Defense Department's fiscal year 2015 budget request seeks to balance the nation's security needs with the realities of fiscal constraints, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said here yesterday.
• Hagel Meets With Defense Ministers of Spain, Italy, Denmark AFPS 27 Feb 2014 -- Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel met here yesterday with defense ministers from Spain, Italy and Denmark on the sidelines of the two-day NATO defense ministers conference, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said.
• Information Access Equals Mission Success, CIO Says AFPS 27 Feb 2014 -- Mission success depends on the ability of the Defense Department's leaders to act decisively based on the most timely and accurate information, DOD's chief information officer said here yesterday.
• DOD Enacts Faster, More Agile Technology Acquisitions Process AFPS 27 Feb 2014 -- Information technology programs represent a considerable portion of all acquisition programs within the Defense Department, the assistant secretary of defense for acquisition said here yesterday.
• Culminating event strengthens interoperability at Cobra Gold USMC News 27 Feb 2014 -- The roar of jets overhead diverts the attention of the crowd to the sky as aircraft drop various types of ordinance. The rumble of tanks approaching is heard at the same time as the crack of the explosion. The combined arms live-fire exercise has started.
• Exercise Cobra Gold 2014 concludes USMC News 27 Feb 2014 -- Exercise Cobra Gold 2014 concluded Feb. 21 following a multilateral combined arms live-fire exercise at Royal Thai Navy Tactical Training Center Ban Chan Krem, Kingdom of Thailand.
• USS Denver Departs Okinawa NNS 27 Feb 2014 -- The forward-deployed amphibious transport dock ship USS Denver (LPD 9) departed Okinawa, Japan, Feb. 27 after embarking Marines assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU).
• NATO Defence Ministers discuss ways to improve capabilities, training NATO 27 Feb 2014 -- NATO Defence Ministers agreed on Wednesday (26 February 2014) to move ahead with plans to improve a set of defence capabilities which are key to dealing with future security challenges. "Through our operations, including Libya and Afghanistan, we have identified the areas where our capabilities do not go far enough or too few countries have them," NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.
• Russia informs NATO on ad hoc military exercise, fulfills transparency conditions VoR 27 Feb 2014 -- Russia has informed NATO on ad hoc military exercise that began on its territory Wednesday, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said upon the results of the first day of the bloc's Defense Ministers meeting.
• Top Russian Army Officials Probed Over Corruption RIA Novosti 27 Feb 2014 -- Seven army generals and admirals were subjected to criminal probes last year, a chief military investigators said in an interview published Thursday in a government newspaper.
• Russian Fleet Poses No Threat to Ukraine – Senior Official RIA Novosti 27 Feb 2014 -- A senior Russian defense official said Thursday that the country's Black Sea Fleet poses no threat to Ukraine and its activities are in compliance with standing agreements between the two countries.
• North Korea launches four short-range missiles - media VoR 27 Feb 2014 -- North Korea has launched four short-range missiles toward the sea off the country's east coast on Thursday, a media official at South Korea's Defence Ministry said, while providing no information on the purpose of the firing.
• Chinese army relocates 10 airports, closes 457 drilling airspaces to support civil aviation development People's Daily 27 Feb 2014 -- A spokesperson with the air force said that in order to support the development of civil aviation, the Chinese army has relocated 10 airports and closed 457 drilling airspaces.
• Taiwan-U.S. contact on defense issues remains steady: official CNA 27 Feb 2014 -- Taiwan and the United States have been maintaining smooth communications on defense matters, a Taiwan's foreign ministry official said Thursday, in response to questions on a suggestion by a U.S. official that Taiwan increase its defense budget.
• Commander: Armed Forces ready to give crushing response to enemies IRNA 27 Feb 2014 -- Commander of the Army's Ground Force Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan once again reiterated the high preparedness of Iran's Armed Forces, and warned the enemies against any possible adventurism.
• Indian Sailors Killed in Accident on Russian-Built Submarine RIA Novosti 27 Feb 2014 -- Two sailors who went missing after an accident on board a Russian-built submarine off the coast of Mumbai on Wednesday have been confirmed as dead, India's navy said Thursday.
• Lebanon, France finalize arms deal: Report Iran Press TV 27 Feb 2014 -- Lebanon and France have finalized a major weapons deal aimed at boosting Lebanon's military capabilities, a report says.
• Daily Briefing by the Press Secretary, 2/27/14 The White House 27 Feb 2014
• February 27, 2014 - U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 27 Feb 2014

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for February 27, 2014

Other Conflicts

• 27 February 2014 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 27 Feb 2014
• Syria Slow in Meeting Obligations, DOD Spokesman Says AFPS 27 Feb 2014 -- Chemical materials designated for destruction are slowly being transported for consolidation at the Syrian port of Latakia, and the United States is urging the Syrian government to accelerate this process, Defense Department spokesman Army Col. Steven Warren told reporters here.
• Syria forces continue mop-up operations, kill 50 militants Iran Press TV 27 Feb 2014 -- Syrian government forces have continued mop-up operations across the country, seizing parts of Aleppo airport and killing at least fifty militants.
• Chinese negotiator meets Taiwan's mainland affairs chief CNA 27 Feb 2014 -- China's top negotiator with Taiwan, Chen Deming, met Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council Minister Wang Yu-chi at a hotel in Taipei Thursday afternoon.
• UN marks launch of 'Kwibuka 20' to 'remember, unite, renew' after Rwanda genocide UN News Centre 27 Feb 2014 -- Ahead of the twentieth anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today honoured the launch of "Kwibuka 20," a series of events commemorating the tragedy, and urged the international community to do more to fully internalize and implement the lessons learned from the killings of 800,000 people in 1994.
• South Sudan: UN humanitarian official describes 'shocking' scenes at Malakal hospital UN News Centre 27 Feb 2014 -- The top United Nations humanitarian official in South Sudan described as "shocking" what he saw during a visit to a teaching hospital in the town of Malakal, where he encountered nothing but dead bodies.
• Security Council 'appalled' at deadly bomb blast in Somali capital UN News Centre 27 Feb 2014 -- The United Nations Security Council said it is "appalled" by today's terrorist attack in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, for which the Islamic insurgent group Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility and which has killed at least 12 people and wounded several others.
• Conflict, migration contributing to food insecurity in Near East, says UN official UN News Centre 27 Feb 2014 -- Conflict, the flow of refugees and migration are worsening food security in the Near East, along with constraints on food production and a growing dependence on imports, the head of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) told a conference in Rome today.
• Little help for UXO victims in Laos IRIN 27 Feb 2014 -- Around 25 percent of villages in Laos are contaminated by unexploded ordnance (UXOs), mainly from US bombing missions between 1964 and 1973, according to the Lao National Unexploded Ordnance Programme, and while UXO casualties have fallen sharply in recent years there is little support for UXO victims, whose injuries can drastically affect their families.
• Hopes for reconciliation - the view from Timbuktu IRIN 27 Feb 2014 -- Residents of Timbuktu, Mali's cultural capital, are hopeful the city can draw on its long history of tolerance to heal social relations frayed by a 10-month Islamist occupation, which Arab and Tuareg communities are still being accused of having abetted.

News Reports

• Biden: U.S. Supports Ukraine's New Government VOA 27 Feb 2014 -- U.S. Vice President Joe Biden telephoned Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk to welcome the formation of a new government and pledge U.S. support as Ukraine undertakes reforms aimed at restoring the country's economic health.
• NATO-Ukraine Commission stresses continued engagement NATO 27 Feb 2014 -- A meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission (NUC) on Thursday (27 February 2014) stressed the commitment of its members to the values of democracy and the rule of law. The meeting was a timely opportunity for Allies to discuss the momentous events in Ukraine.
• Ukraine, West Warn Russia on Crimea Stand-off VOA 27 Feb 2014 -- Armed men seized the parliament in Ukraine's Crimea region on Thursday and raised the Russian flag, sounding alarm bells in Kyiv and the West, and prompting calls for Russia not to escalate tensions in Ukraine.
• Ukraine's Yanukovych asks Russia to ensure his security - statement VoR 27 Feb 2014 -- Ukraine's ousted President Viktor Yanukovich asks Russia to ensure his 'personal security' as he fears a radical backlash from extremists who, according to his statement, 'seized power in the country'. 'I am recieveing threats, I have to ask Russia to ensure my personal security,' he said in a statement.
• Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada confirms Yatsenyuk as Prime Minister VoR 27 Feb 2014 -- The Ukrainian parliament has elected former opposition leader Arseny Yatsenyuk as the country's prime minister. Yatsenyuk, a close ally of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, was backed by 371 of 417 participating MPs.
• Russia urges West, NATO to realize responsibility for Ukraine's failed peace deal VoR 27 Feb 2014 -- The Russian Foreign Ministry has called on foreign partners who encouraged opposition rallies in Ukraine to realize their responsibility to work towards an agreement on settling the situation.
• Ukraine: Crimean parliament sacks local gov't VoR 27 Feb 2014 -- The Crimean parliament on Thursday voted no-confidence in the Crimean Council of Ministers, said Olga Sulnikova, head of the information analysis department in the Crimean Supreme Council secretariat.
• Ukraine: Crimea referendum on region's status to be held on May 25 VoR 27 Feb 2014 -- The special session of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea has adopted a resolution on organizing and holding a Republican referendum concerning improvement of the status and powers of the ARC, the press service of the Parliament reported to the journalists.
• In Crimea, A Simmering Cauldron RFE/RL 27 Feb 2014 -- The emerging crisis pitting ethnic Russians seeking integration with Moscow and Crimean Tatars who wish to remain in Ukraine is emblematic of the smoldering tensions that have been a fact of daily life on the sunny Black Sea peninsula for the last quarter-century.
• Yatsenyuk Confirmed As Ukrainian PM, Calls For Unity RFE/RL 27 Feb 2014 -- Arseniy Yatsenyuk, one of the leaders of recent antigovernment protests in Ukraine, has been confirmed as the country's new prime minister.
• Who's Who In Ukraine's 'Kamikaze' Cabinet RFE/RL 27 Feb 2014 -- It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it. That was the message as Ukraine's parliament voted to approve a new cabinet that takes over a country still rocked by separatist clashes and spiraling into economic chaos.
• Ukraine's East-West Divide: It's Not That Simple RFE/RL 27 Feb 2014 -- The threat seemingly appears during every Ukraine crisis. In 2004, governors in eastern Ukraine warned that Russia-friendly regions in the east would split if Viktor Yushchenko became president.
• Armed Men Seize Crimea Parliament, Raising Tensions in Ukraine RIA Novosti 27 Feb 2014 -- Unidentified armed men apparently seeking closer ties with Russia on Thursday seized the parliament in the Crimean Peninsula in southern Ukraine.
• Defiant Yanukovych Requests Russia Protection RIA Novosti 27 Feb 2014 -- Ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych issued a defiant statement Thursday condemning the country's interim government and maintaining that he is still head of state.
• Ukraine Warns Russia on Troop Movements RIA Novosti 27 Feb 2014 -- The interim president of Ukraine warned Thursday that any movement by Russian forces outside their bases in the southern republic of Crimea will be interpreted as an act of military aggression.
• Ukraine's Parliament Confirms Government as Crises Loom RIA Novosti 27 Feb 2014 -- Ukraine's parliament on Thursday confirmed an interim government that includes leading figures of a protest movement that spearheaded the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych.
• Venezuela Protests Reveal Deep Divide VOA 27 Feb 2014 -- Venezuela's largest protests since the death of longtime leader Hugo Chavez nearly one year ago are sweeping the country. Rampant inflation, violent crime and chronic shortages of basic goods are fueling the outrage that is dividing the South American nation.
• Thai PM Given Deadline to Respond to Negligence Charge VOA 27 Feb 2014 -- Thailand's anti-corruption commission has charged the country's caretaker prime minister with negligence‚ an action that could force her ouster from office.
• Iran power deters foes from aggression: Rouhani Iran Press TV 27 Feb 2014 -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has lauded the Islamic Republic's enormous deterrence power, stressing that such power stops enemies from engaging in adventurism against Iran.
• Speech of Kim Jong Un at Conference of Ideological Workers KCNA 27 Feb 2014 -- Supreme leader Kim Jong Un made a speech 'Let Us Hasten the Final Victory through a Revolutionary Ideological Offensive!' at the 8th Conference of Ideological Workers of the Workers' Party of Korea.
• Agent of S. Korean Intelligence Service Interviewed KCNA 27 Feb 2014 -- Kim Jong Uk, an agent of the south Korean Intelligence Service (IS) who had been arrested while illegally intruding into the DPRK, was interviewed by domestic and foreign media persons at the People's Palace of Culture Thursday.
• Report: British Spy Agency Snooped on Yahoo Webcam Chats VOA 27 Feb 2014 -- A published report say Britain's communications spy agency intercepted and stored screenshots from hundreds of thousands of webcams, and says the multi-year operation yielded a huge trove of intimate photographs of unsuspecting users.
• Cuban 5 Spy Released from US Prison VOA 27 Feb 2014 -- A second member of the so-called 'Cuban Five' spy ring was released from a United States prison after being jailed for more than 15 years.
• FBI knew about Al Qaeda terrorist attacks on US years before 9/11 - report VoR 27 Feb 2014 -- An informant working for the FBI had contact with terrorist leader Osama bin Laden eight years before the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, a newspaper reported Wednesday. An FBI mole inside the al-Qaeda terrorist network met with bin Laden and knew that he wanted to finance attacks, NBC news and The Washington Times reported.