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Defense Policy / Programs
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News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF/OND Casualty Update 11 Dec 2014 [PDF]
• US Senate Panel Approves Authorization for Fight Against Islamic State VOA 11 Dec 2014 -- U.S. lawmakers have taken the first step toward giving formal permission for the ongoing campaign against Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria. A Senate panel approved an authorization for the use of military force, or AUMF - a document that has virtually no chance of being adopted by the current Congress, but could inform deliberations next year.
• Teen Suicide Bomber Attacks French Cultural Center in Kabul VOA 11 Dec 2014 -- A teenage suicide bomber attacked a performance at the French Cultural Center in Kabul on Thursday, killing at least one person.
• US Shuts Notorious Bagram Prison in Afghanistan Sputnik 11 Dec 2014 -- The detention facility, on the peripheries of Kabul, has long been considered by some as Afghanistan's Guantanamo Bay. The prison held hundreds of detainees, reports Time.
• Al-Qaida Claims Attack on US-Yemen Airbase VOA 11 Dec 2014 -- An al-Qaida affiliate in Yemen says it carried out a rocket attack Thursday on an airbase used by the United States.

Defense Policy / Programs

• CIA Director John O. Brennan Response to SSCI Study on the Former Detention and Interrogation Program Central Intelligence Agency 11 Dec 2014
• Brennan Defends CIA Against Criticism in Torture Report VOA 11 Dec 2014 -- Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan, responding to a scathing government report, defended his agency’s use of extreme tactics to obtain information from detainees held abroad after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States.
• Bush Era Officials Claim Terrorist Torture 'Necessary' to Prevent Attacks Sputnik 11 Dec 2014 -- After the Tuesday's publication of the report on the alleged CIA torture of suspected terrorists, the most prominent figures of the George W. Bush Republican administration and some CIA leaders unite efforts in defending themselves from the risen wave of leftist criticism.
• UN Official Calls US Torture Practices 'Breeding Ground' for More Terrorism Sputnik 11 Dec 2014 -- The United States' post 9/11 interrogation practices revealed and confirmed in the Senate report released this week have served as a breeding ground for terrorist activities, the UN's Special Rapporteur on torture said Thursday.
• CIA Officials Campaign Against US Senate Torture Report Sputnik 11 Dec 2014 -- High-ranking CIA officials have launched a campaign, criticizing the US Senate's inquiry into the CIA's brutal torture methods, claiming the document was based on adjusted evidence, Wall Street Journal reported.
• After CIA torture revelations, United States must now recover moral high ground - UN expert UN News Centre 11 Dec 2014 -- The United States' use of torture when interrogating prisoners captured in its "War on Terror" has damaged the country's moral high ground and created a set-back in the global fight against the condemnable practice, a United Nations human rights expert has declared.
• Statement by Secretary Hagel on the Littoral Combat Ship DoD 11 Dec 2014 -- "After rigorous review and analysis, today I accepted the Navy's recommendation to build a new small surface combatant (SSC) ship based on upgraded variants of the LCS. The new SSC will offer improvements in ship lethality and survivability, delivering enhanced naval combat performance at an affordable price."
• Navy Moving Forward With LCS NNS 11 Dec 2014 -- Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has directed the Navy 'to move forward with a multi-mission small surface combatant based on modified Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) hull designs.'
• USS Norfolk Decommissioned NNS 11 Dec 2014 -- The Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Norfolk (SSN 714) was decommissioned Dec. 11 during a ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk. The submarine will remain in Norfolk until in leaves in January to begin the decommissioning process at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine.
• F-35 European Maintenance Sites Announced AFPS 11 Dec 2014 -- The F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter program office announced today the European locations for heavy engine and heavy air frame maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrade facilities.
• McChord aircrews put air power on display during exercise AFNS 11 Dec 2014 -- Aircrews from Joint Bases Lewis-McChord, Pearl Harbor-Hickam, and Elmendorf-Richardson departed from McChord Field, Washingotn, in five C-17 Globemaster III aircraft Dec. 6, to participate in realistic and complex training the Air Force has to offer during a joint forcible entry exercise over the Keno drop zone, Nevada.
• USS Fort Worth Refuels in Guam En Route to Southeast Asia NNS 11 Dec 2014 -- Littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) stopped in Guam to refuel before continuing on to Southeast Asia, Dec. 11.
• USS Paul Hamilton Rescues Missing Mariner NNS 11 Dec 2014 -- Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Paul Hamilton (DDG 60) rescued a stranded mariner Dec. 9 while operating south of the Hawaiian Islands.
• Sanctions, Oil Price Slump May Slow Russian Military Upgrade VOA 11 Dec 2014 -- Moscow, a major player in the global arms business, has worked to re-equip and modernize its armed forces in recent years as well as boost its international sales.
• U.S.: Russia In Violation Of Two Arms-Control Treaties RFE/RL 11 Dec 2014 -- The United States has accused Russia of violating two key arms-control treaties. Undersecretary for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller said at a congressional hearing on December 10 that Russia was in violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE).
• North Atlantic Council and Gulf partners discuss greater cooperation to deal with security challenges NATO 11 Dec 2014 -- The 28 members of the North Atlantic Council and its partners of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative discussed common security challenges and ways for closer cooperation to deal with them during a conference on Thursday (11 December 2014) in Doha, to commemorate the tenth anniversary of this partnership.
• NATO Secretary General hails Gulf partnerships in Qatar NATO 11 Dec 2014 -- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called for deeper political and practical cooperation with Gulf partners in a visit to Doha, Qatar on Thursday (11 December 2014). The Secretary General and ambassadors of NATO's 28 nations were joined by the 4 partners of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates) at a seminar to mark the tenth anniversary of this partnership.
• NATO Military Activity Near Russia Is Response to Moscow's Actions Sputnik 11 Dec 2014 -- NATO sees its increased military activity near Russia's borders as a response to Moscow's alleged part in Ukrainian crisis, Captain (N) Dan B. Termansen, spokesperson for the Chairman of NATO's Military Committee told RIA Novosti.
• Troops refuse to gamble with Macao's security People's Daily 11 Dec 2014 -- As the 15th anniversary of the region's return to the Chinese motherland approaches, Zhao Shengnan meets the men and women of the local PLA garrison.
• Australia to Provide $2Mln to Ukraine's Armed Forces: Kiev Sputnik 11 Dec 2014 -- Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Thursday pledged to provide over two million dollars to Ukraine's armed forces, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's press service said.
• Ukrainian Parliament Approves Increased Defense Spending in 2015-2020 Sputnik 11 Dec 2014 -- The Ukrainian parliament approved a government action plan for 2015-2020 Thursday, allowing for five percent of the country's annual GDP to be funneled into national security and defense.
• US hostility towards Iran not ended: Basij Commander IRNA 11 Dec 2014 -- The US hostility towards Iran has not ended and these animosities will still continue, commander of Basij popular forces said on Thursday.
• Germany May Send More Soldiers to Train Anti-IS Kurdish Troops in Iraq Sputnik 11 Dec 2014 -- The German government is planning to ask Bundestag, the lower house of the country's parliament, for a mandate to send a hundred of additional troops to train Kurdish peshmerga fighters combating Islamic State (IS) insurgency in northern Iraq, a German newspaper said Thursday.
• Background Briefing on Secretary Kerry's Travel to Lima, Peru and Bogota, Colombia US Dept. of State 11 Dec 2014
• Press Briefing by the Press Secretary Josh Earnest, 12/11/14 The White House 11 Dec 2014
• December 11, 2014 - U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 11 Dec 2014

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for December 11, 2014

Other Conflicts

• 11 December 2014 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 11 Dec 2014
• China Rejects US Report on Sea Claims VOA 11 Dec 2014 -- China rejected a U.S. government report detailing Beijing's maritime territorial claims in the South China Sea, saying the document violates Washington's pledge to remain neutral in the dispute.
• No End in Sight as South Sudan Conflict Enters Second Year VOA 11 Dec 2014 -- One year after South Sudan's political infighting deteriorated into a deadly conflict, the parties appear no closer to silencing their guns and getting back to the business of building the world's youngest nation.
• Security Council welcomes talks between leaders of Sudan, South Sudan UN News Centre 11 Dec 2014 -- Welcoming recent talks between Presidents of Sudan and South Sudan, the United Nations Security Council today called on both governments to hold a high-level security meeting as soon as possible and urged all parties to refrain from violence against civilians and to expedite humanitarian access for the timely delivery of aid to all civilians in need of assistance.
• UN envoy says international patience 'wearing thin' with warring parties in South Sudan UN News Centre 11 Dec 2014 -- Leaders on both sides of the conflict in South Sudan must inject "a new sense of urgency" into the peace process in order to reach a comprehensive peace agreement as soon as possible, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General said during a press conference in Juba today.
• 3 killed, 8 wounded in fresh east Ukraine clashes Iran Press TV 11 Dec 2014 -- Fresh clashes between the army and pro-Russia forces in east Ukraine have claimed the lives of three Ukrainian soldiers.
• Ukraine Says Three More Soldiers Killed Despite Truce RFE/RL 11 Dec 2014 -- The Ukrainian military said on December 11 that three Ukrainian soldiers were killed and eight injured in attacks by pro-Russian separatists over the previous 24 hours -- the first casualties since a fresh truce deal in eastern Ukraine went into effect on December 9.
• Poroshenko's Calls on Russia to Close Border With Ukraine Baffling: Moscow Sputnik 11 Dec 2014 -- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's call for Moscow to close the Russian-Ukrainian border is "baffling," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said Thursday.
• Poroshenko Once Again Lays Responsibility for Ukrainian Conflict on Russia Sputnik 11 Dec 2014 -- Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has once again laid responsibility for the situation in the southeast of the country on Russia, almost repeating his September speech word for word.
• Poroshenko Tells Russia To Pull Out RFE/RL 11 Dec 2014 -- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has called on Russia to end its support for separatists in the east of his country, including withdrawing any Russian forces on Ukrainian soil.
• Middle East: UN-backed reconstruction efforts continue in Gaza amid 'dire' conditions UN News Centre 11 Dec 2014 -- Reconstruction efforts in Gaza are continuing as thousands of people will soon have access to building materials for urgent repairs to their homes following last summer's conflict in the war-ravaged enclave, the United Nations special envoy in the region has announced.
• As Sahel faces mounting threats, UN envoy urges Security Council to remain engaged in region UN News Centre 11 Dec 2014 -- Amid a proliferation of militant groups and "disquieting" levels of food insecurity, the situation in the Sahel has become increasingly fragile, a United Nations special envoy told the Security Council today, as she urged the international community to ramp up its efforts towards helping the diverse and troubled region.
• Myanmar Offers to Restart Peace Talks With Ethnic Rebels VOA 11 Dec 2014 -- The government in Myanmar, also known as Burma, has offered to restart peace talks with ethnic rebels.
• Twin Blasts Kill 31 in Nigerian City VOA 11 Dec 2014 -- Twin suicide bombings Thursday in a crowded marketplace in the north-central Nigerian city of Jos left at least 31 people dead.

News Reports

• China reiterates opposition to British lawmakers' interference in Hong Kong affairs People's Daily 11 Dec 2014 -- China on Thursday reiterated that Hong Kong affairs are part of China's internal affairs, urging British lawmakers to stop badgering China for refusing to allow them to visit Hong Kong.
• Beijing Urges UK to Stay Away From Hong Kong, China's Internal Affairs Sputnik 11 Dec 2014 -- Parliamentarians from the United Kingdom should stop 'badgering' China over its decision to bar them from visiting Hong Kong, a spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry said Thursday.
• Hong Kong Clears Remaining Protest Sites VOA 11 Dec 2014 -- Authorities in Hong Kong removed barricades and encampments from streets outside government offices in the port city, drawing to a close more than two months of pro-democracy protests.
• Russia, India agree on construction of 12 nuclear reactors Iran Press TV 11 Dec 2014 -- Russia says it plans to speed up its energy cooperation with India by building 12 nuclear reactors for the South Asian country.
• Russia, India Sign Energy Deals On Putin Visit RFE/RL 11 Dec 2014 -- Russia has signed deals to build nuclear power plants in India and supply it with oil during a visit by President Vladimir Putin, who is trying to recharge a long-standing friendship amid severe strains in Moscow's relations with the West.
• Russia, India Agree on Construction of New Nuclear Energy Blocks: Rosatom Sputnik 11 Dec 2014 -- Russia and India have agreed on the construction of at least 12 new nuclear energy blocks within the next 20 years to include two new blocks for the existing Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in India's southern tip in 2016, Russia's Rosatom head Sergei Kiriyenko said Thursday.
• Ebola response must include efforts to bolster health systems – UN Economic, Social Council chief UN News Centre 11 Dec 2014 -- While the priority is to stop the Ebola outbreak, measures must also ensure that the emergency response is linked to longer-term efforts to strengthen health systems in those countries hit the hardest, President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) said today.
• Sierra Leone Hits Back at Ebola Outbreak Claims VOA 11 Dec 2014 -- The World Health Organization said a new Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone has killed dozens of people and sickened more than 100, but a Sierra Leone government spokesman said those numbers are too high.
• Final nuclear deal possible if Iran bans removed: IAEA envoy Iran Press TV 11 Dec 2014 -- Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says a "lasting" solution to Tehran's nuclear issue can be found if all the sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic are removed.
• Iran: UN atomic agency chief appeals for funds to extend monitoring mission until June 2015 UN News Centre 11 Dec 2014 -- The United Nations atomic agency has made an appeal today for 4.6 million euros so that it can continue to undertake its monitoring and verification activities in Iran until June 2015 under the Joint Plan of Action with Iran agreed to by China, France, Germany, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States last December.
• Money Troubles: Russia's Weak Ruble Pulls Down Neighbors' Currencies RFE/RL 11 Dec 2014 -- As the value of Russia's ruble tumbles amid low oil global prices and Western sanctions, it is taking the currencies of many former Soviet republics down with it.