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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF/OND Casualty Update 19 Dec 2014 [PDF]
• Coalition partnerships key in Operation Inherent Resolve AFNS 19 Dec 2014 -- At the forward headquarters of U.S. Air Forces Central Command at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, U.S. Airmen work closely with their counterparts from 14 nations as they plan and carry out daily air operations against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
• Department of Defense Press Briefing by Rear Adm. Kirby in the Pentagon Briefing Room DoD 19 Dec 2014 -- Presenter: Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby
• Airstrikes Hit ISIL in Syria, Iraq AFPS 19 Dec 2014 -- U.S. and partner-nation military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria today using fighter and bomber aircraft to conduct four airstrikes, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported.
• LATEST: air strikes in Iraq UK MOD 19 Dec 2014 -- British forces have continued to conduct air operations to assist the Iraqi government in its fight against ISIL.
• Hagel Authorizes Up to 1,300 Additional Troops to Deploy to Iraq AFPS 19 Dec 2014 -- Up to 1,300 more U.S. troops, including approximately 1,000 soldiers from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, will begin to deploy to Iraq in late January, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said today.
• Hagel signs orders for more troops deploying to Iraq Iran Press TV 19 Dec 2014 -- US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has approved new orders for several hundred American troops to deploy to Iraq to train and assist Iraqi forces battling the ISIL terrorists.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Statement By The President on H.R. 3979 The White House 19 Dec 2014
• Statement by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act DoD 19 Dec 2014
• DON Ushers in the New Year with More Renewable Energy NNS 19 Dec 2014 -- The Department of the Navy (DON) announced, Dec. 19, the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA)-Energy issued two Requests for Proposal (RFP) to provide renewable energy for installations on the east coast.
• AMC relocates KC-135 simulator AFNS 19 Dec 2014 -- As Air Mobility Command fields the KC-46A Pegasus, displaced KC-135 Stratotanker pilot simulators will be relocated across the Total Force to maximize simulator access across the mobility enterprise.
• Russian Defense Data Center Outperforms US Facility Threefold: Official Sputnik 19 Dec 2014 -- The Russian National Defense Management Center's data-processing center calculating capacity exceeds that of a similar Pentagon facility threefold, the head of the NDMC said Friday.
• Putin: Russia Has No Plans to Militarize Arctic Sputnik 19 Dec 2014 -- Russia is not planning to militarize the Arctic but is taking measures necessary to ensure its defense capability in this strategically important region, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.
• Third Borey-Class Strategic Nuclear Submarine Joins Russian Navy Sputnik 19 Dec 2014 -- Russia's third Borey-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, the Vladimir Monomakh, was officially inducted in the Russian Navy on Friday, the Sevmash shipyard reported.
• Putin: Russia's Military Doctrine Remains Defensive Despite NATO Buildup Sputnik 19 Dec 2014 -- The Russian military doctrine will remain defensive despite NATO military buildup in eastern Europe, but Russia will make consistent and determined efforts to safeguard its security, President Vladimir Putin said Friday.
• Putin Orders to Fully Upgrade Russia's Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Arsenal by 2021 Sputnik 19 Dec 2014 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday ordered to fully equip the land-based component of Russia's nuclear triad with advanced intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) by 2021.
• Number of Professional Soldiers in Russia Nears 300,000, Sets Record Sputnik 19 Dec 2014 -- The number of professional soldiers serving in the Russian Armed Forces stood at record 295,000 people this year, setting an all-time record, Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov said Friday.
• Plan for Russian Military Equipment Import Substitutions for 2014 Complete Sputnik 19 Dec 2014 -- The plan for replacing foreign-made arms and equipment used by the Russian military is fully complete, a senior Russian Defense Ministry official told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
• Review into women in ground combat roles published UK MOD 19 Dec 2014 -- Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has today announced his hope to open up ground close combat roles to women in 2016.
• Iraq – M1A1 Abrams Tanks DSCA 19 Dec 2014 -- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Iraq for M1A1 Abrams tanks and associated equipment, parts and logistical support for an estimated cost of $2.4 billion. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.
• Iraq - M1151A1 Up-Armored High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicles DSCA 19 Dec 2014 -- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Iraq for M1151A1 Up-Armored High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicles and associated equipment, parts and logistical support for an estimated cost of $579 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.
• China opposes U.S. arms sale to Taiwan People's Daily 19 Dec 2014 -- China on Friday expressed resolute opposition after U.S. President Barack Obama signed a bill into law authorizing the sale of Perry-class guided missile frigates to Taiwan.
• Sale of US Warships to Taiwan Violates China-US Agreements: Beijing Sputnik 19 Dec 2014 -- The sale of four Perry-class guided missile frigates by the United States to Taiwan violates joint communiques signed by China and the United States, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Friday.
• Poland to Trade Arms with Nigeria Sputnik 19 Dec 2014 -- Poland is going to sell arms to Nigeria, which is currently involved in an active fight against militant Islamist organization, Boko Haram, according to Defense News.
• Remarks by the President in Year-End Press Conference The White House 19 Dec 2014
• December 19, 2014 - U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 19 Dec 2014

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for December 19, 2014

Other Conflicts

• 19 December 2014 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 19 Dec 2014
• Obama Orders Trade Ban on Crimea for Russian 'Occupation' VOA 19 Dec 2014 -- President Barack Obama has imposed a wide-ranging trade ban on the Russian-annexed Crimea peninsula, with an executive order that bars exports of key U.S. goods and services and blocks Crimean imports.
• UN: Children Bearing Brunt of Ukraine War VOA 19 Dec 2014 -- The U.N. Children's Fund reports that the conflict in Ukraine is having a terrible impact on more than 1.7 million children.
• Five soldiers killed in eastern Ukraine Iran Press TV 19 Dec 2014 -- Five Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and another seven wounded in a deadly clash with pro-Russia forces.
• Peshmerga regains control of Tal Afar Mountain in NW Iraq Iran Press TV 19 Dec 2014 -- The Kurdish Peshmerga forces have reportedly regained control of the Tal Afar Mountain in Iraq's northwestern Nineveh Province from the ISIL Takfiri terrorists.
• Iraqi Kurds Break IS Siege of Mount Sinjar: Reports Sputnik 19 Dec 2014 -- Peshmerga forces assisted by a US-led international coalition managed to break the siege of Mount Sinjar, where thousands of Yazidis have been trapped since mid-summer, Iraqi Kurds claim, according to AFP.
• Kurdish Forces Claim Victory on Mt. Sinjar VOA 19 Dec 2014 -- Kurdish forces in northern Iraq on Friday said they have broken the Islamic State's siege of Mount Sinjar, claiming their biggest victory yet against the militant group and building on the news that three IS leaders have been killed.
• Hundreds Killed in Eastern DRC Attacks VOA 19 Dec 2014 -- The U.N. refugee agency says weekly massacres of civilians are being reported in the DRC'S North Kivu Province. It says armed groups have been attacking since October, bringing fear, death and displacement.
• DR Congo: Amid spike in violence, UN refugee agency concerned about humanitarian situation UN News Centre 19 Dec 2014 -- Continuing violence and multiple attacks in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have sown widespread fear and sparked displacement of thousands of people, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) reported today, amid appeals for humanitarian access to help those in distress.
• South Sudan: UN probe uncovers targeting of civilians, abductions, sexual violence UN News Centre 19 Dec 2014 -- In a report issued today, the Human Rights Division of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has said there is reason to believe that at least 11 civilians were killed and several other serious rights abuses were committed during an attack by opposition forces on Bentiu, the capital of Unity state, in October this year.
• South Sudan Rebels 'Deliberately Targeted', Killed Civilians in Bentiu, UN Says VOA 19 Dec 2014 -- The U.N. Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) on Friday accused rebel forces of committing serious human rights abuses when they overran the Unity state capital, Bentiu, and attacked nearby villages in late October.
• Pakistan Kills Scores of Militants After School Massacre VOA 19 Dec 2014 -- Pakistan has intensified counterterrorism security operations near the border with Afghanistan, killing scores of Islamist militants since Tuesday's school massacre that left 149 people dead, most of them children.
• Pakistan Executes Two Militants After Reinstating Death Penalty RFE/RL 19 Dec 2014 -- Pakistan has executed two militants after it reinstated the death penalty in the wake of an attack on a school that killed more than 140 people, most of them children.
• Dozens of Taliban Killed in Pakistan After Peshawar Massacre Sputnik 19 Dec 2014 -- Pakistan's military says it has killed dozens of militants in the tribal area of the country. Air strikes and ground operations were carried out in the aftermath of this week's Peshawar school massacre, reports AFP.
• Central African Republic: Security Council appeals to armed groups to lay down arms UN News Centre 19 Dec 2014 -- The United Nations Security Council has strongly condemned the recent resurgence of violence in the Central African Republic (CAR) and reiterated its appeal to all parties to the conflict to "immediately and permanently" lay down their arms, release all children from their ranks, and embark upon the path of dialogue as the only viable means towards achieving lasting peace.
• 2014 Sees Dramatic Uptick in Boko Haram Abductions VOA 19 Dec 2014 -- Suspected Boko Haram militants kidnapped more than 100 people Sunday from the village of Gumsuri, Nigeria, after raiding the town and killing 35 other residents, according to survivors of the attack. They said those taken are primarily women and children. Kidnappings would not be a new strategy for Boko Haram, although no one has claimed responsibility.

News Reports

• Condemning Cyber-Attack by North Korea US Dept. of State 19 Dec 2014
• Update on Sony Investigation FBI 19 Dec 2014 -- Today, the FBI would like to provide an update on the status of our investigation into the cyber attack targeting Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE). (...) As a result of our investigation, and in close collaboration with other U.S. government departments and agencies, the FBI now has enough information to conclude that the North Korean government is responsible for these actions.
• Obama: US to Respond to N. Korea Sony Attack VOA 19 Dec 2014 -- U.S. President Barack Obama has vowed that U.S will respond 'proportionally' to the cyberattack on Sony Pictures that the FBI has blamed on North Korea.
• Arrest warrant issued for US-based Turkish opposition figure Iran Press TV 19 Dec 2014 -- An Istanbul court has issued an arrest warrant for the US-based Turkish opposition figure, Fethullah Gülen.
• Turkey Orders Arrest of Political Opponents VOA 19 Dec 2014 -- A Turkish court has ordered the formal arrest of a television station chief and three police officials on terrorism charges, but ordered the release of eight others, including a newspaper editor, connected to a U.S.-based Muslim cleric accused of plotting to overthrow Turkey's government.
• Kenya president signs controversial anti-terror bill Iran Press TV 19 Dec 2014 -- Kenyan president has signed a controversial security bill into law, saying it will be of great help in fighting the rising threat of terrorism.
• Ban visits Ebola-hit West Africa, says zero cases "must be everyone's goal" UN News Centre 19 Dec 2014 -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today that there is reason to be "cautiously optimistic" about defeating the Ebola crisis in West Africa, as he made a series of visits to countries most-affected by the unprecedented outbreak, which has sickened some 18,000 people and killed close to 7,000 others throughout the region.
• UN Chief: Ebola Fight in Liberia is Working VOA 19 Dec 2014 -- United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon is on a tour of West African nations struggling with Ebola, pledging continued U.N. help to fight the outbreak.
• Tusk: EU Needs Long-Term Strategy To Deal With Russia RFE/RL 19 Dec 2014 -- European Council President Donald Tusk says the European Union needs a strategy for dealing with Russia that lasts for years, not months.
• EU Leaders on Russia: After Sanctions, What Next? VOA 19 Dec 2014 -- It's a rare occasion when European Union leaders end a summit in just one day, but that's what happened Thursday when heads of state wrapped up their last big meeting of the year before midnight in Brussels.
• Russia's Glonass to Provide Brazil With Alternative to GPS: Coordinator Sputnik 19 Dec 2014 -- The Russian Global Navigation Satellite System (Glonass) will provide Brazilians with an alternative to the American Global Positioning System (GPS), giving them more localized data and stability, the Glonass project coordinator in Brazil told Sputnik.
• Russia Declassifies Satellite Earth-Sensing Data Sputnik 19 Dec 2014 -- The Russian government said Friday it will provide public access to previously classified Earth-sensing data received from domestic and foreign satellites.
• Strela Rocket With Kondor-E Satellite Blasts Off From Baikonur:Space Agency Sputnik 19 Dec 2014 -- Russia's Strela carrier rocket blasted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome with a Kondor-E radar imaging satellite, the country's space agency Roscosmos told RIA Novosti Friday.
• Adopting resolution, Security Council urges fight against nexus of transnational crime, terrorism UN News Centre 19 Dec 2014 -- Amid a proliferation of well-funded and well-organized transnational criminal activities in Africa, the Middle East and beyond, the United Nations Security Council today adopted a resolution spotlighting its concern over the ties between cross-border crime and terrorism and called on UN Member States to ramp up efforts in combatting the two activities.