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Current Operations

Defense Policy / Programs

• CIA Director Reveals Plan to Overhaul Spy Agency to 'Cover Entire Universe' Sputnik 07 Mar 2015 -- CIA Director John Brennan announced a massive reorganization of the spy agency he heads. Brennan said the effort will make officials more accountable and close espionage gaps.
• AF research will improve camera for targeting munitions AFNS 07 Mar 2015 -- In order for an imaging munition to find and make its mark, a variety of information is required, including high-resolution video imagery.
• US Troops Not to Be Stationed in Czech Republic Sputnik 07 Mar 2015 -- According to the Czech Republic's Ministry of Defense, US troops will not be permanently stationed in the country. NATO's Operation Atlantic Resolve works to hold more joint military drills between the United States and its European allies.
• 'Special Program' emerges to combat cyber insider threats AFNS 07 Mar 2015 -- It's not often that the public gets to hear about the Air Force's inner workings when pertaining to highly classified networks; however, a special programs team from Hanscom Air Force Base's Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence and Networks Directorate has recently emerged, making their presence known.
• Calling All Hackers! Pentagon Adds 3,000-Strong Army to Cyber Command Sputnik 07 Mar 2015 -- The Pentagon received congressional permission to fast-track the hiring of 3,000 civilian hackers to bolster the ranks of its understaffed United States Cyber Command.
• Iran to Unveil New Missile Defense System Sputnik 07 Mar 2015 -- Tehran plans to introduce a new missile defense system on April 18, on the occasion of the Army Day in Iran, said Brigadier General Farzad Esmayeeli, the commander of the Iranian Air Defense Force, according to Fars News Agency.
• NATO Maritime Group visits Varna, Bulgaria, during Black Sea deployment NATO 07 Mar 2015 -- VARNA, Bulgaria – Ships assigned to Standing NATO Maritime Group Two (SNMG2) arrived in Varna today for a scheduled port visit during the Group's deployment to the Black Sea.
• Remarks with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius US Dept. of State 07 Mar 2015

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• EU Ministers Discuss Ukraine Cease-fire VOA 07 Mar 2015 -- European Union foreign ministers met for a second day in the Latvian capital of Riga on Saturday, devoting most of their time to the crisis in Ukraine.
• Weapons pullback completed in E Ukraine: Pro-Russians Press TV 07 Mar 2015 -- Pro-Russia forces say they have completely pulled back their heavy weapons from the frontline of conflict in eastern Ukraine as part of the Minsk ceasefire deal with Kiev.
• Situation in Ukraine Improved After New Minsk Agreements - Mogherini Sputnik 07 Mar 2015 -- The situation in eastern Ukraine has improved since an agreement toward the Ukrainian reconciliation was reached in Minsk in February, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Saturday.
• Kiev Continues Third Stage of Heavy Arms Withdrawal in East Ukraine Sputnik 07 Mar 2015 -- Ukrainian army is continuing the pullout of heavy arms in Donbas, Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said Saturday.
• Iraqi forces expel ISIL from al-Baghdadi: US ISNA 07 Mar 2015 -- The US military has acknowledged that Iraqi forces have managed to force out ISIL terrorists from the western town of al-Baghdadi.
• ISIL militants destroying another ancient site in N Iraq Press TV 07 Mar 2015 -- The Takfiri ISIL militants have started destroying the 2,000-year-old town of Hatra in northern Iraq in their latest act of targeting the country's cultural heritage.
• Top U.S. General Confident About Iraq's Ground Assault On Tikrit RFE/RL 07 Mar 2015 -- The top U.S. general has expressed confidence that the combined force of Iranian-back Shi'ite militias and Iraqi government troops will prevail in a battle against Islamic State (IS) militants who control the northern Iraqi town of Tikrit.
• UN Chief Says Bulldozing Of Nimrud Is 'War Crime' RFE/RL 07 Mar 2015 -- A spokesman for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says Islamic State (IS) militants have committed a "war crime" by bulldozing the remains of the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud in northern Iraq.
• ISIL Destroying 2,000-Year-Old City of Hatra in Iraq - Kurdish Official Sputnik 07 Mar 2015 -- Islamic State militants on Saturday started destroying 2,000-year-old city of Hatra in northern Iraq, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a representative for Mosul branch of Kurdish Democratic Party told Rudaw news outlet.
• UN Mission says participants determined to 'bridge differences' as Libya dialogue proceeds UN News 07 Mar 2015 -- The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has said today that the country's political dialogue is proceeding in a positive atmosphere, with participants agreeing that important progress has been made so far.
• Christian villages in NE Syria come under attack by ISIL Press TV 07 Mar 2015 -- The Takfiri ISIL terrorists have attacked a number of Christian villages in Syria's northeast, triggering heavy fighting with Kurdish forces and their local allies.
• Army forces seize oil field in western Syria Press TV 07 Mar 2015 -- Syrian government forces have managed to wrest full control of an oil field after they engaged foreign-sponsored terrorists in the crisis-stricken Arab country's western province of Homs.
• Three bomb attacks kill 58 people, injure 139 in northeast Nigeria Press TV 07 Mar 2015 -- Three bomb attacks have hit Nigeria's northeastern city of Maiduguri in Borno State, leaving at least 58 people dead and 139 wounded.
• Boko Haram Allegedly Pledges Their Allegiance to ISIL Sputnik 07 Mar 2015 -- The Nigerian fundamentalist Islamic Group has pledged their allegiance to the so-called Islamic State according to an audio message. The message was posted on Boko Haram's Twitter account and appeared to be created by the group's leader but remains unconfirmed.
• Scores Killed in Multiple Maiduguri Blasts VOA 07 Mar 2015 -- More than 50 people are reported dead in a series of bombings in Maiduguri, capital of Nigeria's Borno state, where the Boko Haram militant group is active.
• Japan, China Lock Horns Over Disputed Islands Sputnik 07 Mar 2015 -- Fighter pilots stationed at the nearest Japanese base to a chain of islands both Tokyo and Beijing have claimed as their own, are on a round-the-clock stand-by to chase and warn off Chinese military planes entering Japanese airspace.
• Security Council condemns terrorist attack in Mali that killed UN personnel UN News 07 Mar 2015 -- The United Nations Security Council has condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist attack that took place today in Bamako, Mali, which killed five civilians and caused many injuries.

News Reports

• Russia Detains Two 'Caucasus' Men Suspected 'Of Committing' Nemtsov Killing RFE/RL 07 Mar 2015 -- Two suspects have been detained in connection with the killing last month in Moscow of Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov.
• Two Detained in Nemtsov Murder Probe VOA 07 Mar 2015 -- Russia has detained two suspects in the murder of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, the head of Russia's federal security service told state television Saturday.
• Germany says Iran N-deal possible by mid-year at latest Press TV 07 Mar 2015 -- Germany says a final accord over Iran's nuclear energy program could possibly be struck by the middle of the year.
• Tehnical deadlock in Iran-P5+1 nuclear talks broken: AEOI chief Press TV 07 Mar 2015 -- A senior Iranian official says the Islamic Republic and the P5+1 group of world countries managed to break the deadlock in technical issues between the two sides during the recent nuclear talks in Switzerland.
• Possibility of Iran-P5+1 nuclear deal over 50%: Zarif Press TV 07 Mar 2015 -- Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the removal of the UN Security Council's sanctions on Tehran is contingent upon 'political will,' adding the two sides are likely to clinch a final deal.
• Iran Nuclear Program Agreement Essential for Global Security - Mogherini Sputnik 07 Mar 2015 -- Reaching an agreement on the Iranian nuclear program is essential not only for security in the Middle East, but also for security worldwide, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Saturday.
• French FM Notes Progress on Iran Nuclear Program Despite Disagreements Sputnik 07 Mar 2015 -- Certain progress on Iran's nuclear program deal has been made, but persisting disagreements must be overcome, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Saturday.
• In Paris, Kerry Cites Progress on Iran Talks VOA 07 Mar 2015 -- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says it is up to Tehran to show the world and prove that Iran's description of its nuclear program as peaceful is 'indeed exactly' that.
• Peru Recalls Envoy to Chile Amid Spy Row Sputnik 07 Mar 2015 -- The espionage allegations against the three officers came up after several leading newspapers reported that the three junior Peruvian officers were suspected of having spied for Chile from 2005 to 2012.
• International Space Station 'Lost' Without Russia - NASA Chief Sputnik 07 Mar 2015 -- A top NASA official confirmed Wednesday that the US has no backup plan to maintain the International Space Station if Russia should decide to pull out of the joint operation.
• Georgia's Parliamentary Chief Says Relations With Russia Deteriorating RFE/RL 07 Mar 2015 -- The chairman of Georgia's parliament says Tbilisi's relations with Russia have deteriorated since start of the war in eastern Ukraine between Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed separatists.