Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Coalition Continues Airstrikes Against ISIL Targets in Syria, Iraq AFPS 15 Mar 2015 -- U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Defense Policy / Programs

• USS Lassen Successfully Completes New Payment Process NNS 15 Mar 2015 -- The guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen (DDG 82) successfully demonstrated the Secretary of the Navy's new initiative to pay husbanding service providers (HSP) using a new process, called procure to pay (P2P) proof of principle (PoP) process, during a port visit in Donghae, March 12-13.
• Poroshenko, Biden Discuss US Military Aid to Ukraine Sputnik 15 Mar 2015 -- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and US Vice President Joe Biden held a phone conversation late on Saturday to discuss US military aid to war-torn Ukraine, Poroshenko's press service said in a statement.
• Iran to Jack Up Missile Arsenal Sputnik 15 Mar 2015 -- Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh announced plans to replace the Fateh, Qiyam and Qadr missile series with a new generation of missiles next year, FNA news agency reported from Tehran.

Defense Industry

• German Rheinmetall Demands Compensation for Broken Deal With Russia Sputnik 15 Mar 2015 -- The company lost 120 million euro after German Minister for Economic Affairs prohibited Rheinmetall exports to Russia.

Other Conflicts

• Putin Was 'Ready For Nuclear Alert' RFE/RL 15 Mar 2015 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking in a prerecorded documentary about Russia's seizure of Crimea, said he was prepared to put Russia's nuclear weapons on alert during tensions over the crisis in Ukraine and Crimea.
• Crimea May Have Faced Armed Conflict With Kiev - Russian Defense Minister Sputnik 15 Mar 2015 -- Crimea could have found itself in a situation that is currently unfolding in southeastern Ukraine, where Kiev forces have been fighting independence supporters for almost a year, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in a documentary on Crimea's reunification with Russia.
• Putin Reveals Details of Russia-Crimea Reunification, Maidan in Documentary Sputnik 15 Mar 2015 -- Andrei Kondrashov's movie, titled 'Crimea. Way Back Home' highlights the much-discussed reunification of the Crimean republic with Russia after 60 years under Ukrainian rule.
• Ceasefire in east Ukraine not holding: Poroshenko Press TV 15 Mar 2015 -- The ceasefire deal between government forces and pro-Russia activists is not holding amid fresh clashes in the country's volatile eastern regions, says Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
• Poroshenko Says Minsk Agreement 'Does Not Work' Sputnik 15 Mar 2015 -- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko views the Minsk agreement, designed to resolve the crisis in the country, as highly fragile.
• Ukraine's President Presses Germany Ahead of Key EU Summit VOA 15 Mar 2015 -- Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko, seeking Western military aid to end a pro-Russian rebellion in his homeland, has arrived in Germany for talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel and key German lawmakers.
• Ukraine's Poroshenko submits Donbass special status bill Press TV 15 Mar 2015 -- Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has submitted a draft resolution to parliament that would grant special status to outlined parts in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk.
• Poroshenko Submits Bill Demarcating Special Status Zones in East Ukraine Sputnik 15 Mar 2015 -- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has submitted a bill to the parliament that outlines the boundaries of particular districts in the breakaway eastern regions that could be granted 'special status' within Ukraine.
• Iraq arrests dozens of ISIL members in Baghdad Press TV 15 Mar 2015 -- Iraqi officials say they have arrested dozens of ISIL Takfiri militants in the capital Baghdad as the country is gaining major advances against the terrorist group elsewhere in its territory.
• Iraqi forces retake region, police station in Anbar Press TV 15 Mar 2015 -- Iraqi army troopers, backed by volunteer forces, have managed to seize control of a region and a police station in the country's violence-scarred western province of al-Anbar as they continue to gain more ground in the fight against ISIL Takfiri terrorists.
• Iraqi forces clear most of Tikrit from ISIL militants Press TV 15 Mar 2015 -- Iraqi government forces supported by Shia and Sunni volunteer fighters have managed to clear most parts of the northern city of Tikrit from Takfiri ISIL militants as they press ahead with a major offensive aimed at retaking the strategic city from the terrorists.
• Hezbollah to Send Forces to Fight ISIL in Iraq Sputnik 15 Mar 2015 -- Hezbollah will send 800 men to fight alongside Iraqi forces in the battle against the Islamic State for the control of Mosul.
• Kerry: US Will Have to Negotiate with Syria's Assad VOA 15 Mar 2015 -- As Syria enters a fifth year of civil war, Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States will have to reach a deal with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to enable a political transition of power and stop the crippling conflict that has left thousands of dead.
• Kerry Says U.S. Will 'Have To Negotiate' With Assad RFE/RL 15 Mar 2015 -- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says Washington will have to negotiate with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to end the civil war in Syria.
• Lebanon army strikes militant positions near Syria Press TV 15 Mar 2015 -- The Lebanese army has pounded militant hideouts along the border with crisis-stricken Syria after being tipped off about suspicious movements by al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists in the area.
• Over 215,000 people killed in Syria conflict: Group Press TV 15 Mar 2015 -- A London-based monitoring group says it has documented the deaths of 215,518 people in Syria since March 2011, when the Syrian conflict began.
• US Not Sure Whether Its Airstrikes Harm Al-Qaeda Cell in Syria Sputnik 15 Mar 2015 -- US intelligence analysts disagree about whether the airstrikes have significantly reduced the Khorasan group's capabilities.
• Syrian Air Force Strike Kills 120 Nusra Front Militants in Golan Heights Sputnik 15 Mar 2015 -- Syrian Air Force jet fighters destroyed the Nusra Front militant group's headquarters and training camp near the Golan Heights, Al-Manar television reported Sunday.
• China: Action to be taken if deadly bombing happens again People's Daily 15 Mar 2015 -- No further deadly stray fire incidents should happen or the Chinese military will take 'firm and decisive action' to protect the safety of its people, senior Chinese military leader Fan Changlong said on Saturday.
• Boko Haram militants torch homes in Nigeria's Bama Press TV 15 Mar 2015 -- Boko Haram Takfiri militants have torched homes in Nigeria's northeastern town of Baga, forcing residents to flee, witnesses say.
• 15 Killed, 70 Hurt in Attacks at 2 Lahore Churches VOA 15 Mar 2015 -- Authorities in Pakistan said two suicide bombings outside Christian churches in the eastern city of Lahore have killed at least 15 people and wounded more than 70 others, and a militant gang allied to the outlawed Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility.

News Reports

• McConnell accuses Obama of planning to make 'very bad deal' with Iran Press TV 15 Mar 2015 -- US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has accused President Barack Obama of planning to sign a "very bad" nuclear agreement with Iran.
• Iran, US finish high-level technical talks in Switzerland Press TV 15 Mar 2015 -- Iran and the United States have wrapped up high-level technical talks over Tehran's nuclear program in the Swiss city of Lausanne.
• Kerry Says Political Deal Possible 'In Days' At Iran Nuclear Talks RFE/RL 15 Mar 2015 -- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on the eve of nuclear talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif that it is possible 'in the next days' to reach a framework political deal with Iran if Tehran can show its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes.
• Kerry: Challenges in Nuke Talks Are Political, Not Technical VOA 15 Mar 2015 -- With another round of nuclear talks to begin this week between Washington and Tehran, the top U.S. diplomat said the obstacles to an agreement are largely political, rather than technical.
• Mideast Concerned by Iran's Growing Influence in Region VOA 15 Mar 2015 -- Tehran's growing sway in the Middle East is stoking Sunni Muslim fears in the region.
• Aid Teams Arrive in Vanuatu, Find Devastation VOA 15 Mar 2015 -- Relief supplies began flowing into Vanuatu Sunday after a devastating tropical cyclone slammed into the South Pacific Island nation late Friday and Saturday.
• New Zealand Reportedly Spied on Solomon Islands Government Sputnik 15 Mar 2015 -- New Zealand's intelligence spied on government officials and an anti-corruption campaigner on the Solomon Islands, The Intercept reported, citing a leaked classified document.
• US to Shut Embassy, Consulates in Saudi Arabia Over Security Concerns Sputnik 15 Mar 2015 -- The United States is planning to shut down its Saudi embassy in Riyadh and two consulates general for the next two days over security concerns, the US diplomatic mission in Saudi Arabia said Sunday.