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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
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News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF/OND Casualty Update 23 Dec 2014 [PDF]
• Military Airstrikes Continue Against ISIL in Syria and Iraq AFPS 23 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 seven airstrikes. Separately, U.S. and partner nation military forces conducted three airstrikes in Iraq today using fighter, bomber, and attack aircraft against the ISIL terrorists.
• LATEST: air strikes in Iraq UK MOD 23 Dec 2014 -- British forces have continued to conduct air operations to assist the Iraqi government in its fight against ISIL.
• US, Afghan Generals in Islamabad for Border Security Talks VOA 23 Dec 2014 -- Top Afghan and U.S. generals have visited Pakistan amid heightened security concerns following last week's Taliban-led school massacre in Peshawar.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Six post-Soviet states set to build collective air force Iran Press TV 23 Dec 2014 -- The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) military alliance, consisting of six former Soviet Union countries, is set to establish a collective air force, Press TV reports.
• Putin: New Angara-A5 Rocket to Enhance Defense Capability of Russia Sputnik 23 Dec 2014 -- Russia's new Angara-class rockets will be used to enhance defense capability of Russia and its security partners by putting military and dual-purpose satellites into orbit, the Russian president said Tuesday.
• Russia Plans to Deliver New Aircraft to Belarus Air Base: Defense Minister Sputnik 23 Dec 2014 -- Russia will increase the number of airplanes and helicopters at its base to be opened in Belarus, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday during a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart Andrei Ravkov.
• Ukraine's Parliament Drops Non-aligned Status VOA 23 Dec 2014 -- Ukraine took a further step toward seeking NATO membership Tuesday, when the country's parliament passed a law abolishing Kyiv's neutral, non-aligned status.
• Ukraine Votes To Abandon Neutrality, Set Sights On NATO RFE/RL 23 Dec 2014 -- Ukraine's parliament has voted to abandon the country's neutral 'non-bloc' status and set a course for NATO membership, a move immediately denounced by Russia as 'unfriendly.'
• Ukraine's Decision to Cancel Non-Aligned Status Big Mistake: Moscow Sputnik 23 Dec 2014 -- The Verkhovna Rada's (the Ukrainian parliament), vote to waive Ukraine's non-aligned status is a serious political mistake that could have dire consequences for the settlement of the crisis in the country, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said Tuesday.
• Ukraine's Decision to Cancel Neutral Status 'Unfriendly': Diplomat Sputnik 23 Dec 2014 -- The Ukrainian parliament vote to renounce the country's non-aligned status and work toward NATO membership is an unfriendly step in regard to Russia, a senior Russian diplomat said Tuesday.
• About 50,000 Ukrainians to Be Called Up for Army Service From 2015 Sputnik 23 Dec 2014 -- Ukraine's Ministry of Defense plans to bolster its military by calling up some 50,000 people during a new wave of mobilization, the ministry's spokesperson Viktoria Kushnir said Tuesday.
• Lavrov: Ukraine's Scrapping Non-Alignment Status Counterproductive Sputnik 23 Dec 2014 -- Ukraine's passage of a bill to drop its non-aligned status is counterproductive and will not settle the country's internal crisis, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday.
• Ukrainian Parliament Passes Bill to Waive Non-Aligned Status Sputnik 23 Dec 2014 -- The Ukrainian parliament passed a bill on Tuesday cancelling the country's non-aligned status and confirming Kiev's determination to join NATO.
• Iran's might on display in Mohammad Messenger of Allah (P) war game IRNA 23 Dec 2014 -- Commander of IRI Navy said here Tuesday Islamic Republic of Iran's might is to be put on display in a joint war game of country's Army, Navy and Air Force, titled the Mohammad Messenger of Allah (P) war game.
• Iran's Armed Forces to stage massive maneuver: Commander Iran Press TV 23 Dec 2014 -- A top Iranian commander says the Iranian Armed Forces will stage a massive maneuver backed by Khatam al-Anbia Air Defense Base to display Iran's military prowers.
• UN rights chief hails entry into force of landmark global arms trade treaty UN News Centre 23 Dec 2014 -- United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein today hailed the imminent entry into force of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) as a landmark step in curbing human rights violations that stem from the poorly regulated international trade of weapons.
• December 23, 2014 - U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 23 Dec 2014

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for December 23, 2014
• BAE Systems Awarded Contract to Begin Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle Program BAE Systems 23 Dec 2014 -- BAE Systems was awarded a contract worth up to $1.2 billion from the U.S. Army for the Engineering, Manufacturing, and Development (EMD) and Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) of the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV).

Other Conflicts

• 23 December 2014 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 23 Dec 2014
• Luhansk Not Invited to December 24 Reconciliation Talks, Sends Envoy Anyway Sputnik 23 Dec 2014 -- The chief negotiator of the self-proclaimed Ukrainian people's republic of Luhansk (LPR) said Tuesday that he was not invited to the reconciliation talks in Minsk on December 24, but will travel to Belarus 'to prevent the talks from disruption.'
• Leaders Agree On More Ukraine Peace Talks In Minsk RFE/RL 23 Dec 2014 -- The leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany have agreed to call another round of Ukraine peace talks this week.
• Amnesty: IS Fighters Using Rape as Weapon VOA 23 Dec 2014 -- A human rights group says Islamic State militants are using 'rape as a weapon' against ethnic Yazidi women seized from northern Iraq in what amounts to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
• As winter hits displaced Iraqis, UN appeals for boost in humanitarian funding UN News Centre 23 Dec 2014 -- The United Nations today called for a surge in humanitarian funding to help cover the basic needs of close to one million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Iraq's Kurdistan region amid plummeting temperatures and wintry conditions.
• Iraqi Kurdish forces continue mop-up operations in Sinjar Iran Press TV 23 Dec 2014 -- Iraqi Kurdish forces who recently liberated Sinjar from ISIL militants continue mop-up operations against the Takfiri militants in the flashpoint northwestern Iraqi town, Press TV reports.
• Water Shortages in Lebanon Hit Syrian Refugees Hard VOA 23 Dec 2014 -- In a region choking from dwindling water supplies, Lebanon has long been regarded as one of the few places where there is enough. But in recent years, half the people in the country have faced severe shortages. And the more than 1 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon are hit worst, making the country's most vulnerable people increasingly impoverished and sick.
• ISIL militants, Kurdish fighters clash in Syria's Kobani Iran Press TV 23 Dec 2014 -- Clashes have erupted between ISIL Takfiri militants and Kurdish fighters in the southern and southeastern regions of the Syrian town of Kobani.
• Army troops kill dozens of ISIL militants across Syria Iran Press TV 23 Dec 2014 -- Syrian army soldiers have killed over 30 militants in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, as the military continues its operations against the ISIL Takfiri group.
• WHO Prepares to Deliver Medical Supplies to Syria VOA 23 Dec 2014 -- The World Health Organization said it is preparing to deliver medical and other relief supplies to several rebel-held suburbs of the Syrian capital, Damascus, and suburbs of the country's largest city, Aleppo, following an agreement between the U.N. and the government.
• UN: Libyan Factions Agree on January Peace Talks VOA 23 Dec 2014 -- A top United Nations official says rival factions vying for power in Libya have agreed in principle to hold a new round of peace talks in early January.
• Libya: UN warns of human rights violations as factional fighting continues UN News Centre 23 Dec 2014 -- Libyan civilians have been subject to targeted killings, forced displacement and acute humanitarian conditions amid an escalation in fighting in the North African country, a new United Nations human rights report has warned.
• CAR Politicians Step Forward; Voters Hang Back VOA 23 Dec 2014 -- In the past few weeks, several Central African Republic political parties have named candidates for presidential elections, while some independent politicians also announced presidential ambitions.
• Threatened Muslim Minority in CAR Seeks Refuge VOA 23 Dec 2014 -- The U.N. refugee agency says hundreds of Muslims in the Central African Republic threatened by mainly Christian militias must be urgently relocated to safer areas.
• Muslim group trapped by Central African Republic violence face dire situation, warns UN UN News Centre 23 Dec 2014 -- The United Nations refugee agency voiced concern today over the "deteriorating situation" facing more than 400 members of a Muslim minority group trapped by the ongoing violence fracturing the Central African Republic (CAR).
• Aceh redux: The tsunami that helped stop a war IRIN 23 Dec 2014 -- When the earthquake struck, Irwandi Yusuf, a leader in the armed separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM), was startled in his prison bunk. He began to pack his possessions into a plastic bag. "The earthquake was strong, I thought there might be a tsunami," he said. "I knew many people would run toward the main door, and the prison guard would shut the gate to stop the crowd because he didn't know the tsunami was coming."
• Egypt Boosts Army Presence in N Sinai Amid Series of Gas Pipeline Attacks Sputnik 23 Dec 2014 -- Egypt has enhanced its military presence in Arish, the capital of the Egyptian governorate of North Sinai, which borders Israel, following yet another attack on a gas pipeline on Tuesday, the Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported, Tuesday.
• Putin Submits Cooperation Agreement with Abkhazia for Ratification Sputnik 23 Dec 2014 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has submitted an agreement on cooperation and strategic partnership with the former Georgian republic of Abkhazia to the Russian parliament for ratification, the Kremlin said Tuesday.
• Former Radio Preacher Now Leads Violent Pakistani Taliban VOA 23 Dec 2014 -- Mullah Fazlullah, leader of the Pakistani Taliban, has seen his Islamist ideology change profoundly. From a fiery village preacher, Fazlullah has morphed into heading a faction that has added one brutality after another to its list of attacks.
• Only Hospital in Sudan's S. Kordofan Struggles to Treat Patients VOA 23 Dec 2014 -- The rebel-held areas of Sudan's Nuba Mountains have been under blockade since the start of a civil war in 2011 — with the Sudanese government denying all access for food, supplies and humanitarian aid. At the only hospital in the region, deaths due to preventable illnesses are on the increase.
• Indonesia Declares War on Illegal Foreign Fishing Vessels VOA 23 Dec 2014 -- New Indonesian President Joko Widodo is utilizing the country's military to capture and destroy foreign vessels that do not have permission to be in the country's exclusive economic zone, and the actions are raising the stakes in waters already fraught with friction.

News Reports

• Eurasian Economic Union on Shaky Ground at Outset VOA 23 Dec 2014 -- The Eurasian Economic Union is headed for a rough start. Officials from members of the economic alliance, which was modeled on the European Union and officially comes into effect January 1, met Tuesday in Moscow under the pain of Russia's collapsing economy and the absence of Ukraine.
• UN Vote on Rights Abuses Keeps Pressure on North Korea VOA 23 Dec 2014 -- North Korea has denounced a U.N. Security Council vote on Monday to address human rights abuses in the country. The vote increases international pressure on North Korea's leaders. Given the angry reaction so far from Pyongyang, it could also escalate the possibility of confrontation.
• North Korea Internet Service Restored VOA 23 Dec 2014 -- North Korea emerged Tuesday from a complete Internet outage Monday lasting nearly 10 hours.
• Pakistan to free leader of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi terror group Iran Press TV 23 Dec 2014 -- Pakistan is set to release the leader of outlawed terrorist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi after the Punjab provincial government removed an appeal to extend his detention under public order laws.
• Successful Angara-5 Launch Opens New Page in Russia's Space Exploration Sputnik 23 Dec 2014 -- The successful launch of Russia's newest heavy rocket, the Angara 5, from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, is a significant milestone in the history of Russia's rocket industry, providing the state with independent access to space.
• Russia's Angara Rocket Delivers Dummy Payload to Orbit in Maiden Launch Sputnik 23 Dec 2014 -- Russia's newest ecologically friendly heavy-class Angara-A5 carrier rocket has successfully delivered a dummy payload to the geostationary orbit after its maiden launch, a source in the space industry told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.
• France ups security after 3 attacks in 3 days Iran Press TV 23 Dec 2014 -- French Prime Minister Manuel Valls says Paris is stepping up security nationwide following three successive unrelated bloody attacks.
• German Security Services Warn of Highest Terrorist Threat in Decades Sputnik 23 Dec 2014 -- The terrorist threat level in Germany is currently very high, with Germany's involvement in the anti-Islamic State (IS) war a justification for a terrorist attack, the Bild reported Tuesday citing unattributed security services documents.
• Australian Authorities Detect Increased 'Terrorist Chatter' VOA 23 Dec 2014 -- Australian authorities say they have detected increased 'terrorist chatter' in the days following last week's deadly siege at a Sydney cafe.
• Haiti: UN and partners welcome consensus on appointment of interim Prime Minister UN News Centre 23 Dec 2014 -- The United Nations and its international partners today welcomed the designation of Florence Guillaume as Haiti's interim Prime Minister.