Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Anti-ISIL Airstrikes Continue in Syria, Iraq AFPS 19 Aug 2015 -- U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq.
• U.S. Security Cooperation With Iraq US Dept. of State 19 Aug 2015
• US expands support role in Saudi war on Yemen: Report Press TV 19 Aug 2015 -- The United States has more than doubled the number of its military staff “providing intelligence, munitions and midair refueling” for Saudi Arabia’s airstrikes on Yemen.
• U.S. Soldier Showed Signs Of Violence Before Afghan Massacre RFE/RL 19 Aug 2015 -- A U.S. soldier convicted two years ago for slaughtering 16 civilians in Afghanistan, including seven children, exhibited warning signs of violent behavior.

Defense Policy / Programs

• 45 years on alert: Minot conducts Minuteman III test launch AFNS 19 Aug 2015 -- The 91st Missile Wing completed an operational test launch of an unarmed LGM-30G Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
• Whiteman B-2s, Airmen maintain readiness in Guam AFNS 19 Aug 2015 -- About 225 Airmen and three B-2 Spirits from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, deployed here Aug. 7 to conduct familiarization training activities in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.
• 20th CBRNE participates in Ulchi Freedom Guardian Army News 19 Aug 2015 -- The 20th CBRNE Command (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives) is participating in Exercise Ulchi Freedom Guardian in South Korea, Aug. 17 - 28.
• US Claims Sending Heavy Weapons to Europe Not Meant to Provoke Russia Sputnik 19 Aug 2015 -- Shipments of heavy weaponry from the United States to Eastern Europe and the Baltics is not a provocative move nor is meant to provoke Russia.
• HSC-7 Fires New Weapon System for the First Time NNS 19 Aug 2015 -- The "Dusty Dogs" of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 7 became the first helicopter squadron in the Northeast to fire an HSC Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) from an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter.
• USS Shamal CO Relieved NNS 19 Aug 2015 -- The commanding officer of USS Shamal (PC 13) based in Naval Station Mayport, Florida, was relieved of her duties Aug. 18, by Commander, Naval Surface Squadron (CNSS) 14 Capt. Glenn Kuffel.
• US anti-Iran bans no concern of Russia’s in S-300 sale: Lavrov Press TV 19 Aug 2015 -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Moscow does not care about the United States’ unilateral sanctions against Iran over the delivery of the Russian-made S-300 surface-to-air missile defense system to the Islamic Republic.
• US objects Russia’s sale of S-300 to Iran Press TV 19 Aug 2015 -- The United States has announced that it would object to Russia’s decision to sell the S-300 missile defense system to the Islamic Republic of Iran.
• Russia deploying new air defense system to Arctic border with US Press TV 19 Aug 2015 -- The Pentagon says Russia is deploying new air defense systems to strategic areas near its border with the US and Norway; weapon systems that are modified for the harsh Arctic environment.
• Georgia Criticizes Russian Military Exercises In Abkhazia, South Ossetia RFE/RL 19 Aug 2015 -- Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili has condemned Russia’s military exercises in Georgia’s breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
• Royal Navy's latest submarine arrives on the Clyde UK MOD 19 Aug 2015 -- Artful, the third of the Royal Navy’s new Astute Class attack submarines, has arrived at her Scottish base port from where she will carry out sea trials before entering service later this year.
• U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing, August 19, 2015 US Dept. of State 19 Aug 2015

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for August 19, 2015

Other Conflicts

• Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, 19 August 2015 United Nations 19 Aug 2015
• UNESCO chief deplores killing of two leading scholars of Syrian antiquities UN News 19 Aug 2015 -- Within one week, the Syrian cultural heritage community suffered two immense blows.
• Daesh beheads top archeologist in Syria’s Palmyra Press TV 19 Aug 2015 -- Members of the Takfiri Daesh militant group have decapitated a leading antiquities scholar in Syria’s ancient central city of Palmyra, and later hung his body from a column in the main square of the city.
• Statement by acting NATO spokesperson on the situation in eastern Ukraine NATO 19 Aug 2015
• Ukraine, Russia Trade Blame For Attacks RFE/RL 19 Aug 2015 -- Russia and the separatists are launching these attacks, just as they escalated the conflict last August," U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said on August 17.
• Ukrainian 'Cyborg': 'They Tried To Break Me, But It Didn't Work' RFE/RL 19 Aug 2015 -- Ukrainian paratrooper Oleksandr Mashonkin suffers from constant headaches and stabbing pains throughout his ribcage.
• Kiev Gathers Huge 65,000-Strong Army on Frontline Near Donetsk Sputnik 19 Aug 2015 -- The situation in eastern Ukraine's Donbass region remains extremely tense amid reports about Kiev's mass troop deployments in the area.
• Broader Response to Help Libya Debated VOA 19 Aug 2015 -- Libya’s internationally recognized government is urging Arab countries to launch airstrikes against Islamic State-affiliated militants.
• Libya: UN agency helps country upgrade response to boats in distress of its coast UN News 19 Aug 2015 -- Following a spate of deadly shipwrecks of the coast of Libya, the UN refugee agency has announced that it has set up a forum to improve the country’s response to boats in distress.
• Analysis: Libya Intervention Urgent but Risky VOA 19 Aug 2015 -- After the Arab League again called for a new strategy to fight the Islamic State in Libya, the need for action has never been more urgent, according to security analysts and some regional leaders.
• Security Council strongly condemns seizure of United Arab Emirates embassy in Yemen UN News 19 Aug 2015 -- The United Nations Security Council today condemned “in the strongest term” the storming and seizure of the United Arab Emirates embassy in Sana’a, Yemen, by the Houthis on the 17 August 2015.
• At Security Council, UN relief chief cites 'incomprehensible' scale of human suffering in Yemen UN News 19 Aug 2015 -- Just back from Yemen and “shocked” by what he saw there, the top United Nations humanitarian official told the Security Council that the scale of human suffering is nearly incomprehensible.
• Killing or maiming an average of eight children a day, ‘brutal’ Yemen conflict must end – UNICEF UN News 19 Aug 2015 -- An average of eight children are killed or maimed every day in Yemen as a direct result of the conflict that has gripping the country since April.
• UN reports new allegations of sexual misconduct by peacekeepers in Central African Republic UN News 19 Aug 2015 -- A series of new “disturbing” allegations of misconduct in the Central African Republic were announced today by the Deputy Special Representative and Deputy Head of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the country (MINUSCA).
• UN Troops in CAR Accused of New Rape Cases VOA 19 Aug 2015 -- The United Nations said Wednesday that it had received new allegations that peacekeepers in the Central African Republic have been accused of raping three young women.
• South Sudan Disappointed With AU Statement on Peace Deal VOA 19 Aug 2015 -- South Sudan’s government said it is disappointed with African Union Commission chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who reportedly warned South Sudan's warring parties will bring "disaster" on themselves and the region if no peace deal is signed to end the country’s civil war.
• South Sudan Sees New Fighting as Peace Efforts Falter VOA 19 Aug 2015 -- With peace efforts in South Sudan in tatters, fighting resumed in parts of the country between government troops and rebel forces, a South Sudanese military spokesman said.
• Security Council warned that ‘risk of escalation in Israel and Palestine is palpable’ UN News 19 Aug 2015 -- The top United Nations political official today warned the Middle East has recently witnessed “unconscionable” hate crimes, “reprehensible” retaliatory violence, provocations at Jerusalem’s holy sites, and a worrying increase in rockets launched from Gaza towards Israel, as he urged all sides to work together to reduce tensions and prevent extremist attacks.

News Reports

• Document: IAEA to Let Iran Inspect Own Site VOA 19 Aug 2015 -- The United States says it has confidence in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to probe Iran's alleged past efforts to build a atomic bomb.
• Iran’s IS Tough Talk Fails to Stem Fears About Regional Ambitions VOA 19 Aug 2015 -- Faint hopes for Tehran to help in the fight against the group known as Islamic State have yet to materialize.
• Turkey-Iran Tensions Are Increasing VOA 19 Aug 2015 -- The cancellation of a visit to Turkey last week by Iran's foreign minister has brought increasingly tense relations between Ankara and Tehran into sharper focus.
• White House Says Trusts IAEA After New Details About Iran Inspections RFE/RL 19 Aug 2015 -- The White House says it has confidence in the International Atomic Energy Agency.
• Iranian Ex-Prosecutor Acquitted Of Murder In Protesters' Deaths RFE/RL 19 Aug 2015 -- A former Iranian prosecutor has been acquitted of murder charges related to the killing of three antigovernment protesters in 2009, Iranian news agencies report.
• South Korea Slams North for Linking Military Drills to Family Reunions VOA 19 Aug 2015 -- The South Korean government slammed North Korea’s argument that divided family reunions will materialize once the United States and South Korea cease joint military drills.
• Conviction of Estonian Internal Security Service Employee in Russia US Dept. of State 19 Aug 2015
• Russia Sentences Estonia 'Spy' to 15 Years in Prison VOA 19 Aug 2015 -- Russia sentenced an Estonian security officer to 15 years in prison for spying in the latest in a series of politically charged trials.
• Russia Sentences Snatched Estonian Security Officer To 15 Years RFE/RL 19 Aug 2015 -- A Russian court has convicted of espionage an Estonian security officer who Tallinn and Brussels say was abducted in Estonia.
• Estonia Condemns Sentencing of National in Russia, Demands Release Sputnik 19 Aug 2015 -- Estonia condemns the sentencing of one of its nationals in Russia and demands his immediate release.
• Meet Putin's Hostages RFE/RL 19 Aug 2015 -- Meet Vladimir Putin's hostages, two men and a woman who have become victims of the Kremlin leader's jihad against international rules, norms, and law.
• Russian Prosecutors Seek 23-year Sentence for Crimean Filmmaker VOA 19 Aug 2015 -- Public prosecutors in Russia's Rostov region on Wednesday asked judges for a 23-year sentence against a Ukrainian film director.
• ICC to Reconsider Kenya’s Lack of Cooperation VOA 19 Aug 2015 -- The International Criminal Court will re-examine whether Kenya failed to cooperate in a case of crimes against humanity against Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.
• UN and partners urge resolution to crisis after Somali legislators approve motion to impeach President UN News 19 Aug 2015 -- Envoys from the United Nations and other international organizations today joined to express deep concern that a parliamentary motion to impeach Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud would impede progress on the country’s peace and State-building goals.