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Defense Policy / Programs
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News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF/OND Casualty Update 23 Jul 2014 [PDF]
• DOD Identifies Units for Upcoming Afghanistan Rotation DoD 23 Jul 2014 -- The Department of Defense today identified three units to deploy as part of the upcoming rotation of forces operating in Afghanistan.
• Afghanistan to resume election audit on Thursday, UN confirms UN News Centre 23 Jul 2014 -- The physical audit of the votes cast in Afghanistan's run-off presidential election is due to resume tomorrow, the United Nations today confirmed after a meeting with Afghan electoral commission officials.
• Afghanistan: Pakistan's Anti-Haqqani Offensive Ineffective VOA 23 Jul 2014 -- Afghan intelligence officials say Pakistan's military has made little headway in its offensive against the Haqqani network and other militant groups along the Afghan border.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Sequestration Chips Away at Readiness, General Says AFPS 23 Jul 2014 -- The effects of sequestration spending cuts may seem overstated, but their cumulative impact affects the military's readiness and its ability to respond to future contingencies, the commander of U.S. Army Materiel Command said here today.
• Southern Partnership Station 2014 Continues in Guatemala NNS 23 Jul 2014 -- Military Sealift Command Joint High-Speed Vessel USNS Spearhead (JHSV 1) moored to the pier in Puerto Barrios, Guatemala July 22 to commence the offload of gear and personnel in support of Southern Partnership Station 2014 (SPS-JHSV 14).
• CNO Visits Italian Counterpart NNS 23 Jul 2014 -- Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Jonathan Greenert conducted a two-day visit to Italy to visit the chief of the Italian navy and attended the Naval Forces Europe change of command ceremony this week.
• CLB-15 conducts pre-deployment training with Special Operations Training Group USMC News 23 Jul 2014 -- "We need food and water," chanted the crowd loudly in Filipino as they grew more and more restless. The few dozen Marines and sailors in the medical aid station did their best to keep the peace while providing treatment to casualties caused by a typhoon that ravaged the area.
• VMGR-234 Joins Special-Purpose MAGTF USMC News 23 Jul 2014 -- Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 234, Marine Aircraft Group 41, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing is preparing to join the aviation combat element of Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Central Command operating in the Middle East.
• Budget Cuts, Growing Threats Affect Space Operations AFPS 23 Jul 2014 -- Until recently, space was a peaceful domain where orbital and flying craft were unprotected, but adversaries now are developing systems designed to counter advantages gained by those using such space capabilities, the commander of Air Force Space Command said here yesterday.
• Marines test tomorrow's concepts today at RIMPAC USMC News 23 Jul 2014 -- The Marine Corps Warfghting Laboratory, headquartered at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, conducted their Advanced Warfighting Experiment during the 24th iteration of the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, the world's largest international maritime exercise, hosted in Hawaii.
• USS Halsey Makes Guam Port Call, Sailors Volunteer in Community NNS 23 Jul 2014 -- Sailors from Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Halsey (DDG 97) volunteered at Inarajan Elementary School in Inarajan, Guam July 18.
• AF satellites to contribute to space neighborhood watch AFNS 23 Jul 2014 -- The Air Force plans to launch two operational satellites and one experimental satellite into near-geosynchronous Earth orbit July 23.
• Russia boosts Black Sea Fleet in Crimea Iran Press TV 23 Jul 2014 -- Russia has begun expanding and modernizing its Black Sea Fleet in Crimea with new ships and submarines, just months after the peninsula rejoined the Russian Federation.
• France to Fulfill Mistral Contract with Russia as Scheduled – Foreign Minister RIA Novosti 23 Jul 2014 -- Paris doesn't call into question compliance with its obligations under the Mistral helicopter carriers deal signed with Russia, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told TF1 TV-channel Tuesday.
• France Criticized for Warships Contract with Moscow VOA 23 Jul 2014 -- France's contract to sell a pair of Mistral aircraft carriers to Moscow has come under fire in recent months, as relations between the West and Russia have deteriorated over Ukraine. Last month, President Barack Obama said it would be preferable if France pushed the 'pause button' on the deal.
• Ukraine Halts Financing Warships Due to Budget Savings RIA Novosti 23 Jul 2014 -- The Ukrainian Defense Ministry has halted financing the program envisaging the construction of four Korvet-type warships by 2021, due to budget savings and large-scale austerity measures introduced in the country, Ukraine's acting Defense Minister Ivan Rusnak said Wednesday.
• Press Gaggle by Principal Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz -- En Route Los Angeles, California The White House 23 Jul 2014
• July 23, 2014 - U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 23 Jul 2014

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for July 23, 2014

Other Conflicts

• 23 July 2014 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 23 Jul 2014
• MH17 Victims' Remains Arrive in Netherlands VOA 23 Jul 2014 -- The first of the caskets bearing the bodies of victims of the Malaysian airliner were flown to the Netherlands for identification. At a short, solemn ceremony in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, Dutch diplomat Hans Docter addressed the victims directly.
• Downed Malaysian Airliner's Voice Recorder Intact VOA 23 Jul 2014 -- As the Dutch paid their respects Wednesday to victims of the Malaysian airliner shot down over eastern Ukraine, an international team of investigators is examining the Boeing 777-200's voice and flight recorders for clues about its demise.
• DoD Spokesman: Russia Continues to Arm, Train Separatists AFPS 23 Jul 2014 -- Despite questions about its possible role in last week's downing of a commercial airliner over Ukraine, Russia continues to arm and train pro-Russian separatists in the region and has dispatched more than 100 additional pieces of military equipment across the border in recent days, a Pentagon spokesman said today.
• Two Ukrainian military jets shot down over East Iran Press TV 23 Jul 2014 -- Ukraine says pro-Russia forces have shot down two of Kiev's jet fighters in the country's restive east, where government forces are holding military operations against the pro-Russians.
• War Crime Question Hovers Over Malaysian Airliner Tragedy RFE/RL 23 Jul 2014 -- Countries seeking to prosecute those responsible for downing a Malaysian airliner over eastern Ukraine last week face a complex legal question: Is the tragedy a war crime?
• Planes With MH17 Victims Arrive In Netherlands RFE/RL 23 Jul 2014 -- Two military planes carrying 40 coffins bearing victims of a downed Malaysian airliner have landed in the southern Dutch city of Eindhoven.
• Ukrainian Separatist Commander Admits Having Buk Missiles RFE/RL 23 Jul 2014 -- In an exclusive interview with Reuters news agency, pro-Russian separatist commander Aleksandr Khodakovsky has admitted the separatists had the type of antiaircraft missiles Washington says were used to shoot down a Malaysian airliner over eastern Ukraine.
• Dutch Authorities Take Charge of International Probe into MH17 Crash RIA Novosti 23 Jul 2014 -- The Dutch Safety Board (DSB) has formally taken over the investigation into last week's Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crash in eastern Ukraine, according to the official statement released Wednesday.
• As civilian casualties rise in Gaza, UN Rights Council agrees probe into alleged ‘war crimes' UN News Centre 23 Jul 2014 -- The United Nations Human Rights Council today decided to launch an independent inquiry into purported violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.
• Kerry to Stay in Middle East Amid Progress on Gaza Cease-fire VOA 23 Jul 2014 -- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will spend another day in Egypt Thursday as he works with regional foreign ministers and heads of state to end violence in the Gaza Strip that has killed nearly 700 Palestinians. Thirty four people, mostly soldiers have died on the Israeli side.
• 597 Palestinians, One-Quarter Children, Killed in Israel's Military Op in Gaza RIA Novosti 23 Jul 2014 -- Israel's Operation Protective Edge and ground invasion into the Gaza Strip has killed at least 597 Palestinians, including 152 children and 82 women, Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights, a nongovernmental organization based in the Gaza Strip, said in its most recent reports.
• In Jerusalem, Ban meets with Israeli, US officials, reiterates call for Mid-East ceasefire UN News Centre 23 Jul 2014 -- The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with Israeli and United States officials today in Jerusalem and called for an immediate ceasefire as the war enters its 16th day.
• Kerry Pushes for Gaza Truce VOA 23 Jul 2014 -- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is having separate talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on ending violence in the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 600 people.
• UN Debate Condemns Israel's Military Incursion into Gaza VOA 23 Jul 2014 -- U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay is warning Israel that targeting civilian facilities in Gaza may amount to war crimes, and she called for an end to the 16-day war in Gaza, which has resulted in hundreds of civilian casualties.
• Iraq Must Do Its Heavy Lifting, Pentagon Official Says AFPS 23 Jul 2014 -- Though the United States must protect its people and is helping Iraq to face the threat posed by the extremist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, it is up to Iraq to do the heavy lifting, a senior Defense Department official said today.
• Iraq: UN envoy demands Islamist forces end ‘horrific terrorist acts' UN News Centre 23 Jul 2014 -- The top United Nations official in Iraq called today on the Security Council to demand that the Islamist forces – in control of more than a third of the country's territory – cease all hostilities and to ensure that those responsible for 'horrific terrorist acts' are held to account.
• Mosul Expulsion Ends Centuries-Old Christian Community RFE/RL 23 Jul 2014 -- The expulsion of Mosul's Christian community by Islamic extremists on July 18 put an end to nearly 2,000 years of Christian life in Iraq's second-largest city.
• Libya: Security Council condemns ongoing violence and its use to pursue political gains UN News Centre 23 Jul 2014 -- The United Nations Security Council today condemned once again the continued violence in Libya, including the fighting around Tripoli International Airport, and reaffirmed that violence must not be used to pursue political goals.
• Twin bombings in Libya army base kill 4 Iran Press TV 23 Jul 2014 -- Twin bombing attacks on a military base in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi have killed at least four soldiers amid continuing clashes between rebel and government forces in the major port city.
• Double Suicide Attack Kills 4 at Libyan Army Base VOA 23 Jul 2014 -- A double suicide attack on an army base in Benghazi killed at least four people, a Libyan special forces commander said early Wednesday.
• Ethiopia faces wave of refugees from South Sudan, warns UN relief official UN News Centre 23 Jul 2014 -- South Sudan is the most rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis in the world today, according to a senior United Nations relief operations official who made an urgent appeal for desperately-needed funding for Ethiopia, which hosts 180,000 mostly women and children South Sudanese refugees.
• Running from 'Tigers' in South Sudan VOA 23 Jul 2014 -- Henry Lugale has spent the week since he got to Nairobi thinking about the nightmare that life has become back in Juba.
• ANALYSIS: Conflict dynamics on Kenya's coast IRIN 23 Jul 2014 -- A string of attacks by gunmen on communities in Kenya's southeastern Coast Province over the past six weeks has left more than 100 people dead, and the real fear of yet more violence to come.
• NGOs against MONUSCO drones for humanitarian work IRIN 23 Jul 2014 -- International NGOs have rebuffed a recent offer by the UN Stabilization Mission (MONUSCO) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to use drones for humanitarian information gathering, saying this could represent a dangerous "blurring of the lines" between military and humanitarian actors in the conflict.
• UN allocates $75 million to boost aid operations in the Sahel, Horn of Africa UN News Centre 23 Jul 2014 -- The United Nations humanitarian chief today allocated $75 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to bolster desperately needed relief operations in two of the world's most neglected regions: the West African Sahel and the Horn of Africa.
• Witness: Nigeria Blasts Kill Dozens VOA 23 Jul 2014 -- A pair of explosions rocked the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna on Wednesday, killing at least 25 people.

News Reports

• Leading Russian NGOs Muzzled By 'Foreign Agents' Label RFE/RL 23 Jul 2014 -- Russia's Justice Ministry has included five more Russian nongovernmental organizations on the so-called black list of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) acting as 'foreign agents.'
• Russia's Leading Defense Industry Enterprise Says Not Afraid of US Sanctions RIA Novosti 23 Jul 2014 -- The biggest research and development enterprise of Russia's defense industry, Central Research Institute Burevestnik, is not afraid of the US sanctions, its CEO Georgy Zakamennyh said Wednesday.
• US Senators Call for New Sanctions on Russia RIA Novosti 23 Jul 2014 -- US senators called on their President Barack Obama to impose new sanctions against Russia, specifically the energy, finance and defense sectors of Russia's economy, a letter from the senators addressed to the US president said.
• Iranian Satellite Jamming Causes Storm Of Controversy RFE/RL 23 Jul 2014 -- The Iranian regime has long used signal jamming to disrupt the flow of information into the Islamic republic, but it couldn't have forecast the strategy's deadly consequences.
• Iran to West: You don't have eternity for nuclear deal ISNA 23 Jul 2014 -- Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the P5+1 group has no "everlasting chance" to reach a final agreement with Iran over its nuclear energy program.
• Iran, P5+1 to resume nuclear talks in September: Tehran Iran Press TV 23 Jul 2014 -- Iran and the P5+1 will resume their negotiations to discuss ways to reach a final agreement over Tehran's nuclear energy program in September, Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham says.
• Thai Junta Unveils Temporary Constitution VOA 23 Jul 2014 -- Thailand's military junta has unveiled an interim constitution that allows the army to retain sweeping powers. And the army chief, who currently has total executive and legislative oversight, could become the kingdom's next prime minister.
• Subianto to Challenge Widodo Victory in Indonesian Election VOA 23 Jul 2014 -- Former army General Prabowo Subianto, who lost Indonesia's presidential election, said he would challenge the result at the country's Constitutional Court.