Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) Casualty Update 24 Mar 2015 [PDF]
• Coalition Airstrikes Hit ISIL in Syria, Iraq AFPS 24 Mar 2015 -- U.S. and coalition military forces have 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.
• Obama Won't Draw Down US Troops in Afghanistan in 2015 VOA 24 Mar 2015 -- U.S. President Barack Obama says the 9,800 American troops stationed in Afghanistan will remain there until the end of the year, despite earlier plans to cut them by half.
• U.S.-Afghanistan Joint Statement The White House 24 Mar 2015
• US, Afghan Leaders Discussing Pace of Troop Withdrawal VOA 24 Mar 2015 -- Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani is meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House on Tuesday, amid questions about the future U.S. military presence in the war-torn country.
• Official Says Gunmen Kill 13 In Afghan Highway Attack RFE/RL 24 Mar 2015 -- An Afghan official says gunmen opened fire at travelers on a highway in Wardak province early on March 24, killing 13 people.
• US May Lose All Gains in Afghanistan if Withdraws Troops - Senators Sputnik 24 Mar 2015 -- The departure date that US President Barack Obama is planning to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan is arbitrary and could put Washington's gains in the region at risk, US Senators Lindsey Graham and John McCain said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
• US to Support 352,000 Strong Afghan Security Force Sputnik 24 Mar 2015 -- Maintaining Afghan security forces at the 350,000 level has cost about $4 billion per year.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Stratcom Commander Emphasizes Need to Modernize Nuke Triad AFPS 24 Mar 2015 -- Stretching from under the sea to satellite orbit to cyberspace, U.S. Strategic Command's areas of responsibility cover the globe, Stratcom's commander, Navy Adm. Cecil D. Haney, said today during a news briefing at the Pentagon.
• Department of Defense Press Briefing by Adm. Haney in the Pentagon Briefing Room DoD 24 Mar 2015 -- Presenters: Admiral Cecil Haney, commander, U.S. Strategic Command
• Operation Atlantic Resolve Exercises Begin in Eastern Europe AFPS 24 Mar 2015 -- Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren announced two Operation Atlantic Resolve training exercises in a briefing with reporters here today.
• Uruguay Will No Longer Accept Guantanamo Prisoners Sputnik 24 Mar 2015 -- The new Uruguayan government says it will no longer grant asylum to prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay detention center.
• US deployment of nukes in Europe violates NPT: Russia Press TV 24 Mar 2015 -- Russia has called on the United States, as a NATO member, to withdraw its nuclear weapons from Europe, saying their deployment in the continent violates the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
• Washington Distorts Facts on US Nuclear Weapons Control in Europe - Moscow Sputnik 24 Mar 2015 -- The US State Department distorts the facts by saying that US nuclear arms in Europe remain under Washington's control and are never transferred to other countries, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement Tuesday.
• NMCB 11 Seabees Conduct Mount Out Exercise NNS 24 Mar 2015 -- Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 11 Detachment (DET) Guam conducted a 48-hour mount out exercise (MOX) at Camp Covington, Naval Base Guam, March 12-14.
• SECNAV Completes Partnership-Building Visit to Indonesia NNS 24 Mar 2015 -- Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus completed a partnership-building visit to Indonesia on March 24.
• Readout of Secretary of Defense Ash Carter's call with Singaporean Minister of Defence Ng Eng Hen DoD 24 Mar 2015
• Readout of Secretary of Defense Ash Carter's Phone Call with Republic of Korea Minister of National Defense Han Min-Koo DoD 24 Mar 2015
• Putin hopes for more snap checks in Russian army in 2015 TASS 24 Mar 2015 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday he hoped more surprise inspections would be conducted in the Russian Armed Forces in 2015.
• Motorized infantry military drills kick off in Russia's Southern Military District TASS 24 Mar 2015 -- The motorized infantry brigade of the Southern Military District stationed in Chechnya has launched field exercises at the Sernovodsky range in Russia's Stavropol region, the district's press service told TASS on Tuesday.
• Russia's Caspian Flotilla drills sea battle tactics TASS 24 Mar 2015 -- Russia's Caspian Flotilla launched naval drills on Tuesday, two days after large-scale command and staff exercises and a snap check of troops' combat readiness came to an end in the country.
• US says ready to continue dialogue with Russia on INF treaty TASS 24 Mar 2015 -- Under-Secretary for Arms Control and International Security at the US Department of State Rose Gottemoeller has said Washington is ready to continue the dialogue with Moscow on the observance of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF).
• US Policy on Ukraine Unchanged After House Resolution on Lethal Aid - Psaki Sputnik 24 Mar 2015 -- According to US Department of State spokesperson Jen Psaki, the US policy on the Ukrainian crisis has not changed after the US House has passed resolution on lethal aid provision to the country.
• Russian Parliamentarians Warns U.S. Not To Arm Ukraine RFE/RL 24 Mar 2015 -- Pro-Kremlin lawmakers say the Russian parliament should reinstate President Vladimir Putin's formal authority to send troops into Ukraine if the United States provides Kyiv with lethal weapons.
• US House Passes Resolution to Send Lethal Aid to Ukraine Sputnik 24 Mar 2015 -- The final results released on Monday night showed that 348 lawmakers supported the Resolution to provide Ukraine with military assistance, 48 voted against and 36 abstained.
• US Missile Defense Systems in S Korea Could Spark Asian Arms Race - Moscow Sputnik 24 Mar 2015 -- Moscow believes that the possible deployment of US missile defense systems in South Korea could spark an arms race and hamper negotiations on North Korea's nuclear ambitions, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Tuesday.
• Russia warns US over deploying missile system in S Korea Press TV 24 Mar 2015 -- Moscow has warned Washington against plans to deploy a ballistic missile system in South Korea, saying it may further complicate the situation of the volatile Korean Peninsula.
• Defence plans no longer address new threats House of Commons - Defence Committee 24 Mar 2015 -- The Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) and the plans to develop the Future Force 2020 no longer reflect the new threats to peace around the world, says the Defence Committee in its report: "Re-thinking Defence to Meet New Threats".
• Lawmakers urge Britain to boost military capabilities Press TV 24 Mar 2015 -- A committee of British lawmakers has called on the central government in London to urgently adopt measures aimed at enhancing the country's defense capabilities abandoned after the Cold War.
• UK Needs to Revise Defense Plans Amid New Threats - Parliamentarians Sputnik 24 Mar 2015 -- The British Parliament Defense Committee on Tuesday called for defense plans in the country to be altered because they no longer address new global threats.
• Dempsey: North Korea 'Somewhat Predictable' in Provocation AFPS 24 Mar 2015 -- North Korea is 'somewhat predictable' in its provocation during the annual military exercises held between the United States and South Korea, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today.
• India wants to lease another Russian nuclear submarine - source TASS 24 Mar 2015 -- India has asked Russia to transfer another nuclear submarine for lease, a high-placed source in the system of Russia's military and technical cooperation with foreign countries said on Tuesday.
• Latvia to Spend Big on Air Defense Sputnik 24 Mar 2015 -- Latvia is all set to develop its existing system of identifying security threats, including those posed by ballistic missiles.
• Poland Calls Military Reservists as US Armored Columns Roll Through Country Sputnik 24 Mar 2015 -- The Polish army has summoned its reserve forces for military exercises "immediately," the Ministry of Defense announced on Monday – the same day a high-profile United States military convoy arrived in the country.
• March 24, 2015 - U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 24 Mar 2015

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for March 24, 2015
• Nothing Super Hard About It': Mistral-Like Ships Could Be Built in Russia Sputnik 24 Mar 2015 -- Russia's United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) is ready to build assault ships similar to the Mistral-class helicopter carriers should the country's Ministry of Defense make such a decision, said USC president Alexei Rakhmanov.
• Russia's Irkutsk plant to deliver more than 40 Su-30SM, Yak-130 jets in 2015 TASS 24 Mar 2015 -- The Irkutsk aircraft-building plant will deliver 27 Sukhoi-30SM fighter jets and twelve combat training planes Yakovlev-130 for Russian military this year, Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov said on Tuesday.

Other Conflicts

• 24 March 2015 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 24 Mar 2015
• 10,000 flat-pack IKEA shelters for Iraqi displaced IRIN 24 Mar 2015 -- The UN refugee agency has placed an order for 10,000 flat-pack refugee shelters designed by a social enterprise arm of furniture giant IKEA, with first delivery planned within months to camps across Iraq, where some 2.5 million people have been displaced by conflict.
• Iraqi troops foil ISIL attack on northern city Press TV 24 Mar 2015 -- Iraqi government troopers have managed to thwart an offensive by members of the Takifiri ISIL militant group on a city in the country's conflict-ridden western province of al-Anbar.
• Fugitive Hadi urges [P]GCC to intervene militarily in Yemen Press TV 24 Mar 2015 -- Yemen's fugitive president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, has reportedly called on Persian Gulf Arab countries to intervene militarily in Yemen against Ansarullah revolutionaries of Houthi movement.
• Shi'ite Rebels Make Advances in Southern Yemen VOA 24 Mar 2015 -- Yemen's Shi'ite rebels made advances Tuesday in southern Yemen, clashing with rival militias loyal to the country's current president.
• As Yemen crumbles, civilians brace for the worst IRIN 24 Mar 2015 -- Abdu Hasan Dabwan is not willing to let it happen again. Twice before, the 54 year-old says, he waited too long, refusing to flee in the hope that the tensions in his home country would not tip over into chaos. Twice he was wrong.
• Yemen's Ansarullah fighters enter port of Mocha, two towns in south Press TV 24 Mar 2015 -- Yemen's Ansarullah fighters, backed by units of the army, have entered a strategic port city and two towns in the south as they press ahead with operations to take full control of the southern portion of the crisis-hit country.
• Clashes between Yemen's Ansarullah fighters, Hadi loyalists kill 30 Press TV 24 Mar 2015 -- Thirty people have been killed in fresh clashes between Ansarullah fighters and forces loyal to the fugitive President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi in Bayda Province.
• Senior UN official meets with Nigerian refugees in northern Cameroon UN News 24 Mar 2015 -- The United Nations refugee chief António Guterres began a two-day visit to Cameroon today to see the impact of the displacement crises in neighbouring Nigeria and Central African Republic (CAR), which have sent over hundreds of thousands fleeing for safety.
• North, South Korea Still at Odds Over Cheonan Sinking VOA 24 Mar 2015 -- North and South Korea have again exchanged words over the sinking of a South Korean ship in 2010.
• Inter-Korean Sunshine Policy Fading at Contentious Kaesong VOA 24 Mar 2015 -- A wage dispute underway at the Kaesong joint industrial zone in North Korea could end the last remnant of South Korea's Sunshine policy of engagement with the North.
• Pyongyang dismisses claims about sinking S Korean ship Press TV 24 Mar 2015 -- North Korea has once again denied any involvement in the fatal sinking of a South Korean ship in 2010.
• Security Council urges 'effective, comprehensive' steps to end tensions in South Sudan UN News 24 Mar 2015 -- The United Nations Security Council has voiced its "profound disappointment" at the failure of all parties in South Sudan to conclude an agreement that would bring the country closer to resolving its ongoing conflict and usher in a period of national unity and peace.

News Reports

• US Officials React to Allegations of Israeli Spying VOA 24 Mar 2015 -- U.S. President Barack Obama said when it comes to the negotiations to secure an agreement ensuring Iran does not get a nuclear weapon, the U.S. has been briefing the U.S. Congress on developments as well as Israel and other partners around the world.
• White House officials say Israel spied on Iran talks to sink nuclear deal Press TV 24 Mar 2015 -- Top White House officials have revealed that Israel began to spy on the closed-door nuclear negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 group last year in order to sink an agreement.
• Israel Denies Spying on Iran Nuclear Talks to Hinder Any Deal Sputnik 24 Mar 2015 -- Israel dismissed on Tuesday a Wall Street Journal report, which claimed that the country was spying on participants of closed-door talks on the Iranian nuclear program, CNN said, citing an unnamed high-profile Israeli official.
• US-Intercepted Data Reveals Israel Spying on Talks With Iran - Reports Sputnik 24 Mar 2015 -- Israel spied on the world powers' nuclear talks with Iran and was using the obtained information to urge the US lawmakers' opposition against a nuclear deal with Tehran, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
• Israel Reportedly Spying on Iranian Nuclear Talks VOA 24 Mar 2015 -- As the United States and a group of five other world powers held nuclear negotiations with Iran, U.S. ally Israel used espionage to glean details of the secret talks and work behind the scenes to scuttle any potential agreement, according to a report posted late Monday by The Wall Street Journal.
• Tehran asks Amano to avoid moving beyond IAEA reports on Iran IRNA 24 Mar 2015 -- A spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran denounced remarks made by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency on Tehran's nuclear issue, and asked Yukiya Amano to avoid commenting on Iran-world powers talks beyond the framework of the IAEA periodic reports.
• Analysts: IS Group Strategically Placing Foreign Fighters VOA 24 Mar 2015 -- On the Turkish border with Syria, Turkish lawmaker Mehmet Ali Ediboglu says he is in touch with the families of the 11 doctors and medical students that sneaked into Syrian territory held by the Islamic State (IS) group.
• China arrests spy suspect People's Daily 24 Mar 2015 -- Chinese authorities have arrested a taxi driver they accuse of selling military secrets to foreign spies.
• UAE Moves to Purchase Russian Spacecraft Launch Platform Sputnik 24 Mar 2015 -- The United Arab Emirates expressed interest in the purchase of the international spacecraft launch platform 'Sea Launch".
• Analysts: Turkey's President, PM Vie to Control Ruling Party VOA 24 Mar 2015 -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's efforts to maintain his dominance over his country's politics are causing splits with his ruling AK Party. The struggle for control of the party now centers on who will decide which candidates it will run in June's parliamentary election.
• Orphaned Dictator: The Making Of Uzbekistan's Islam Karimov RFE/RL 24 Mar 2015 -- Karimov has been called a dictator, and among Central Asia's "strongmen," he is likely the strongest, or at least the most ruthless. He rules a country of 31 million people, nearly half the entire population of Central Asia, and he exerts strict control over his country.