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News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF/OND Casualty Update 13 Mar 2014 [PDF]
• Department of Defense Press Briefing by Gen. Dunford on Operations in Afghanistan in the Pentagon Briefing Room on Afghanistan DoD 13 Mar 2014 -- Presenters: General Joseph F. Dunford Jr. (USMC), commander, International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces-Afghanistan
• Work Remains to Ensure Afghan Progress Endures, Dunford Says AFPS 13 Mar 2014 -- The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan gave a clear vote of confidence today for Afghanistan's national security forces, but he noted that an enduring mission will be necessary beyond this year.
• Canada ends Afghanistan mission after 12 years Iran Press TV 13 Mar 2014 -- Canada has ended its military participation in Afghanistan after 12 years, with the last of the country's troops scheduled to leave Kabul in the next few days.
• More Ships Equal More Drugs Seized, Southcom Commander Says AFPS 13 Mar 2014 -- Though drug interdiction looms large among U.S. Southern Command's responsibilities, it isn't the only national security role filled by the command, the Southcom commander said today during a media briefing at the Pentagon.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Detainee Transfer Announced DoD 13 Mar 2014 -- The Department of Defense announced today the transfer of Ahmed Belbacha from the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay to the Government of Algeria.
• US Gitmo detainees to be force fed under newly released standards VoR 13 Mar 2014 -- New US Guantanamo Bay prison guidelines issued by the Obama's administration describe hunger striking detainees as undergoing 'long term non-religious fasting'. The title of the new standard operating procedure, 'Medical Management of Detainees with Weight Loss', replaces 'Medical Management of Detainees on Hunger Strike' from March 2013.
• Department of Defense Press Briefing by Gen. Kelly in the Pentagon Briefing Room DoD 13 Mar 2014 -- Presenters: Commander General John F. Kelly (USMC), U.S. Southern Command
• Bataan Amphibious Ready Group Enters US 5th Fleet NNS 13 Mar 2014 -- The Bataan Amphibious Ready Group (BATARG) with embarked 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) transited the Suez Canal March 13, entering U.S. 5th Fleet's area of operations.
• Saharan Express Interagency Meeting Brings Maritime Security Experts Together NNS 13 Mar 2014 -- Military and civilian leadership met for the second annual interagency meeting during Exercise Saharan Express 2014, March 11.
• USS Truxtun Arrives in Varna, Bulgaria NNS 13 Mar 2014 -- Guided-missile destroyer USS Truxtun (DDG 103) arrived in Bulgaria for a port visit, March 13.
• US to prolong its warship's stay in Mediterranean due to Ukraine crisis VoR 13 Mar 2014 -- On Thursday, the Obama administration is expected to announce the Pentagon's plan to extend the presence of the carrier strike group led by the nuclear aircraft carrier George Bush in the Eastern Mediterranean in connection with the events in Crimea, the mediareport with reference to an informed source.
• Dempsey: Budget Balances Security, Fiscal Responsibilities AFPS 13 Mar 2014 -- The Defense Department's fiscal year 2015 budget request is a pragmatic document that balances America's national security and fiscal responsibilities, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told the House Appropriations Committee's defense subcommittee this morning.
• Northcom, NORAD Stand Ready to Defend Nation, Commander Says AFPS 13 Mar 2014 -- The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 provided an important reprieve by enabling short-term readiness fixes and selected program buybacks of significant importance, the commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command said today.
• Sequestration Would Cripple U.S. Military Strategy, Hagel Says AFPS 13 Mar 2014 -- If sequestration begins again in fiscal year 2016, the U.S. military will not be able to carry out defense strategy, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told the House Appropriations Committee's defense subcommittee this morning.
• Budget Shortfalls Reversing Southcom Gains, Commander Says AFPS 13 Mar 2014 -- After 50 years of battling drug trafficking alongside the nations of Latin America and the Caribbean, budget cuts are reversing hard-fought gains and forcing U.S. Southern Command to accept significant risks, the Southcom commander said today.
• USS Blue Ridge Conducts a Port Visit in Hong Kong NNS 13 Mar 2014 -- U.S. 7th Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) and the embarked staff arrived in Hong Kong for a port visit March 12.
• USS McCampbell, JS Takanami Demonstrate Interoperability During Goodwill Exercise NNS 13 Mar 2014 -- The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS McCampbell (DDG 85) participated in a goodwill exercise with Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) destroyer Takanami (DD 110), March 9-10.
• Ukraine parliament passes law to form army Iran Press TV 13 Mar 2014 -- The pro-Western parliament in Ukraine has adopted a legislation under which the country would create a 60,000-strong National Guard in an attempt to boost the country's defenses.
• Ukraine Forms National Guard to Boost Defenses RIA Novosti 13 Mar 2014 -- The Ukrainian parliament on Thursday voted to create a new military force to supplement the regular army and bolster the country's defenses.
• Ukraine Defense Chief's Report Paints Bleak Picture of Armed Forces RIA Novosti 13 Mar 2014 -- Ukraine's acting defense minister described the combat readiness of the country's armed forces as "unsatisfactory" in his report to the acting president, a source familiar with the report told RIA Novosti on Wednesday.
• Ukraine to Incorporate Ex-Protesters into New Military Force RIA Novosti 13 Mar 2014 -- A new military structure, National Guard, to be set up in Ukraine soon, will incorporate protesters, who took part in violent rallies in Kiev earlier this year, a source in the country's Cabinet of ministers said on Wednesday.
• Russia to 'Intensify' Military Exercises Near Ukraine Border VOA 13 Mar 2014 -- The Russian military is conducting exercises in several regions of the country near the border with Ukraine, as a state-run polling agency reports that President Vladimir Putin's approval rating has hit a new high.
• Russia Sends 6 Fighter Jets to Belarus RIA Novosti 13 Mar 2014 -- Six Russian Su-27 fighter jets and three military transport planes with ground support personnel arrived Thursday at an airbase in Belarus to boost the airspace defenses of the two countries' Union State, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
• Russian Military to Deploy Security Bots at Missile Bases RIA Novosti 13 Mar 2014 -- Russia is planning to deploy mobile security robots in 2014 to protect its strategic missile facilities, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday.
• Royal Navy warship welcomed home from operations UK MOD 13 Mar 2014 -- Royal Navy warship HMS Montrose was given a rapturous welcome when she returned home to Plymouth yesterday, 12 March.
• Air Force major indicted for selling military intelligence to China CNA 13 Mar 2014 -- An Air Force major and a karaoke club owner have been indicted for disclosing military secrets to China, prosecutors in Kaohsiung said Thursday.
• Australia to buy fleet of giant US drones Iran Press TV 13 Mar 2014 -- Australia has announced plans to buy a fleet of giant US drones to help patrol the nation's borders, monitoring energy infrastructure and attempts to enter the country illegally.
• Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jay Carney, 3/13/2014 The White House 13 Mar 2014

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for March 13, 2014

Other Conflicts

• 13 March 2014 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 13 Mar 2014
• UN Campaigns To End Recruitment of Child Soldiers VOA 13 Mar 2014 -- The United Nations is launching a campaign to end the recruitment and use of child soldiers by 2016. It says eight governments on a Security Council list of child recruiters have agreed to sign an 'action plan' to end these violations and to prevent them from occurring in the future.
• Syrian Election Could Jeopardize Peace Talks, Says Brahimi VOA 13 Mar 2014 -- As the Syrian conflict entered its fourth year this week, international mediator Lakhdar Brahimi warned that if presidential elections go ahead in the coming months, it could jeopardize peace talks between the government and opposition.
• Syria: UN-Arab League envoy says Security Council must push for productive peace talks UN News Centre 13 Mar 2014 -- The United Nations and Arab League Joint Special Representative for Syria today announced that he has appealed to the Security Council to assist him in pressing for a possible new round of negotiations bringing together the Syrian Government and opposition groups to end three years of bloodshed in the country.
• Rockets fired from Gaza hit southern Israel Iran Press TV 13 Mar 2014 -- Palestinian resistance groups have fired rockets into two southern Israeli towns in retaliation for Tel Aviv's deadly airstrikes on the besieged enclave, as tensions mount in the occupied Palestinian territories.
• Israel launches airstrikes on southern Gaza Iran Press TV 13 Mar 2014 -- The Israeli regime has launched airstrikes on the southern part of the besieged Gaza Strip in the latest round of tit-for-tat violence in the Palestinian territories.
• Rockets Strike Israel After Truce Declared VOA 13 Mar 2014 -- The Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad said an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire has gone into effect aimed at halting a two-day flare-up of rocket attacks into Israel and Israeli air strikes on the Palestinian enclave.
• Islamic Jihad Says Gaza Truce in Effect VOA 13 Mar 2014 -- The Palestinian Islamic Jihad group in the Gaza Strip says an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire has gone into effect aimed at halting a two-day flare-up of rocket attacks into Israel and Israeli air strikes on the Palestinian enclave.
• Israel launches intense airstrikes in Gaza Strip after massive rocket barrage VoR 13 Mar 2014 -- Israel launched intense airstrikes in the Gaza Strip Wednesday after militants there launched the biggest rocket attack on Israel since a November 2012 truce.
• East Africa leaders to send troops to S Sudan Iran Press TV 13 Mar 2014 -- East African states have agreed to send troops to South Sudan to help enforce a ceasefire deal between the government of President Salva Kiir forces and rebels led by his ex-deputy.
• AMISOM Expands Operations Against al-Shabab in Somalia VOA 13 Mar 2014 -- African Union forces said they have reclaimed more territory from the al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabab in renewed military operations across Somalia. Restoring the government's political authority remains a pressing challenge.
• UNMISS Denies Weapons Seized by South Sudan Included Landmines VOA 13 Mar 2014 -- United Nations officials have dismissed reports that landmines were found among weapons and ammunition seized last week on its way to Bentiu in South Sudan's Unity state, and insisted that the shipment was not bound for rebels.
• Central African Republic: Ban meets religious leaders, urges support for their efforts to unite communities UN News Centre 13 Mar 2014 -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was "honoured" to meet at Headquarters with three religious leaders from the Central African Republic (CAR), whom he described as a "powerful symbol of their country's longstanding tradition of peaceful coexistence."

News Reports

• Together 'we can pull Ukraine back from the brink', UN political chief tells Security Council UN News Centre 13 Mar 2014 -- The United Nations continued efforts on multiple fronts to de-escalate tensions in Ukraine, with a senior human rights official holding meetings today in the capital, Kiev, while in New York, the Security Council met in its sixth urgent session on the crisis, hearing the UN political chief stress that the path to a peaceful resolution is still open – "let us seize it."
• Remarks by Ambassador Samantha Power, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, At a Security Council Meeting on Ukraine, March 13, 2014 U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations 13 Mar 2014
• Ukrainian PM Seeks International Support at UN VOA 13 Mar 2014 -- Ukraine's interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk appealed to the U.N. Security Council Thursday for its support to help stop Russia from annexing its Crimea region in a referendum planned for Sunday.
• US Congressional Action on Ukraine Aid Delayed by IMF Disputes VOA 13 Mar 2014 -- A dispute over International Monetary Fund borrowing quotas is delaying efforts by the U.S. Congress to pass an emergency aid package for the interim Ukrainian government, which is facing a potential default and Russian military intervention in the Crimean peninsula. Secretary of State John Kerry is calling on lawmakers to include IMF reform as a critical part of a loan package to Ukraine, but some House Republicans are skeptical.
• Kerry: US, Europe Will Respond if Crimea Referendum Proceeds VOA 13 Mar 2014 -- The United States and the European Union will respond on Monday with a 'serious series of steps' against Russia if a referendum on Ukraine's Crimea region goes ahead on Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday.
• Many Crimea Students Oppose Splitting From Ukraine VOA 13 Mar 2014 -- Ahead of Sunday's referendum in Crimea over whether to join the Russian Federation, a split between young, educated Crimeans and those from older generations is becoming more obvious.
• Russia cannot ignore ongoing developments in Ukraine: Putin Iran Press TV 13 Mar 2014 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin says his country should not be blamed for the crisis in Ukraine, adding that Russia cannot ignore the ongoing developments in its western neighbor.
• Kerry: US, EU will respond to Crimea referendum Iran Press TV 13 Mar 2014 -- The US Secretary of State John Kerry once again threatens Russia over the crisis in Ukraine, saying the US and EU would take a 'serious series of steps' if a referendum on Ukraine's Crimea region passes on Sunday.
• Merkel uses strong rhetoric to warn Russia over Ukraine Iran Press TV 13 Mar 2014 -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel has once again warned Russia of massive consequences if it continues with its policy of ignoring calls for talks over the crisis in Ukraine.
• Explainer: What Do Russian Troop Movements Near Ukraine's Border Signify? RFE/RL 13 Mar 2014 -- Officials in Kyiv have warned that Russian military forces are massing on Ukraine's borders 'in an offensive manner' and suggested they could be preparing for an invasion in the country's east.
• Reviled In Kyiv, Heroes In The East, Berkut Veterans Lick Their Wounds RFE/RL 13 Mar 2014 -- Yury Sivonenko bristles with pride at the elite police force he was handpicked to train 25 years ago. Known as the Berkut, or "Golden Eagles," they were a special police unit geared for crowd control and special operations against organized crime.
• New Ukraine can't be built by radicals longing for power - expert VoR 13 Mar 2014 -- Revolutions are designed by romantics, implemented by fanatics, while scums use their results. That statement by Otto von Bismarck has been confirmed by history numerous times. Suffice it to recall that while the most progressive part of society was the driving force behind the Arab spring, Islamists got to power as a result of that uprising.
• Snipers shot people from buildings, controlled by Maidan protestors - Ukraine's ex-security chief VoR 13 Mar 2014 -- Snipers, who were killing people during the Euromaidan, were situated in the building of philharmonic society. At a point in time, the building was controlled by Andrey Parubiy, commandant of the Euromaidan, Alexander Yakimenko, former Head of the Security Service of Ukraine, told Rossiya 1 Russian TV channel. He thinks that Parubiy contacted with the US intelligence representatives.
• Kerry, Merkel Warn Russia Of Tough Response Over Crimea RFE/RL 13 Mar 2014 -- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have both warned Russia it would face a tough response over a breakaway vote in Ukraine's Crimea region.
• Russia Threatens Symmetrical Sanctions Against West RIA Novosti 13 Mar 2014 -- Russia does not rule out reciprocal action if sanctions are imposed by the US and European countries, a senior Russian economic official said Thursday.
• Russian Media Again Under Attack, This Time With Ukraine As Pretext RFE/RL 13 Mar 2014 -- Many Russia-watchers have grown accustomed to beginning their day with a quick run through 'Dorogaya redaktsiya,' the often-playful Twitter feed of Lenta.ru, one of Russia's most popular sources of independent online news.
• N Korea denies any responsibility for tanker loaded with crude at rebel-held Libya port VoR 13 Mar 2014 -- North Korea denied on Thursday any responsibility for an oil tanker that loaded crude from a Libyan rebel-held port and fled the OPEC member state's attempt to seize it, saying the vessel that carried its flag was operated by an Egyptian firm.
• Spokesman for U.S. State Department Assailed for His Invectives against Election in DPRK KCNA 13 Mar 2014 -- The spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry gave the following answer to a question put by KCNA on Thursday as regards the invectives let loose by the spokesman for the U.S. State Department against the election of the deputies to the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) of the DPRK:
• Obama renews 'National Emergency Act' against Iran Iran Press TV 13 Mar 2014 -- US President Barack Obama has formally renewed the so-called National Emergency Act with respect to Iran which keeps sanctions against the Islamic Republic in place for at least one more year.
• Chinese satellite spots three swimming objects - possible pieces of missing jet VoR 13 Mar 2014 -- China says that one of its satellites has detected three large 'floating objects' in a region of the sea where it suspects the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 had an accident. China's state science and technology administration said Wednesday that a Chinese satellite had seen the objects in a 'suspected crash sea area' on the morning of March 9, adding that the images were being analysed.
• CIA Chief: Agency Didn't Hack Senate Computers VOA 13 Mar 2014 -- CIA Director John Brennan has denied that his agency has hacked into lawmakers' computers, as the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee has charged. The dispute, made public on Tuesday, has been going on for years.
• Report: Obama withholding CIA torture records from investigators Iran Press TV 13 Mar 2014 -- The US administration been preventing the Senate Intelligence Committee and investigators from reviewing CIA records about torturous interrogation techniques carried out during the presidency of George W Bush, according to US media reports.
• UN review of global drug problem kicks off with calls for more effective, humane action UN News Centre 13 Mar 2014 -- The world community must do more, and do better, to tackle the global drug problem, senior United Nations officials stressed today in Vienna, kicking off a two-day review of efforts to address a scourge that poses a serious threat to human life and undermines development.
• New wave of protests in Venezuela: police fire tear gas, water cannon at scores of students VoR 13 Mar 2014 -- Police fired tear gas and water cannon Wednesday to push back scores of rock-hurling students in the capital Caracas, with protests also taking place in at least three other major Venezuelan cities.