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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
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Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Department of Defense Press Briefing by Gen. MacFarland via Teleconference in the Pentagon Press Briefing Room DoD 01 Feb 2016 -- Presenter: Lieutenant General Sean MacFarland, commander, Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve; Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook
• Inherent Resolve Commander: Strikes, Indigenous Forces Grind Down ISIL AFPS 01 Feb 2016 -- Airstrikes in Syria and Iraq are wearing down the forces of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the commander of Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve said today while describing the coalition air campaign and the evolving train-and-assist mission.
• US General: End of IS 'Matter of Time' and More Help VOA 01 Feb 2016 -- The U.S.-led effort to destroy the Islamic State terror group in Iraq and Syria likely will require additional American troops, but the top commander on the ground wants to stick with the region's local forces as long as possible.
• US Commander Rejects Carpet Bombing in IS Fight VOA 01 Feb 2016 -- The commander of the U.S.-led effort to destroy Islamic State rejected the notion that American forces should carpet bomb the terror group in Iraq and Syria.
• Coalition Continues Anti-ISIL Strikes in Syria, Iraq AFPS 01 Feb 2016 -- 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.
• US expands war on Daesh beyond Iraq, Syria: NYT Press TV 01 Feb 2016 -- The United States has carried out airstrikes against the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group in Afghanistan, expanding Washington's military campaign against the militants beyond Iraq and Syria.
• French President Orders to Continue Anti-Daesh Airstrikes in Syria, Iraq Sputnik 01 Feb 2016 -- Francois Hollande ordered the French Armed Forces to continue anti-Daesh operations in Syria and Iraq.
• Afghan Authorities Say Drone Strike Destroys IS Radio VOA 01 Feb 2016 -- Islamic State radio has been taken off the air by a U.S. drone strike, Afghan authorities say.
• Deadly Suicide Blast Rocks Kabul VOA 01 Feb 2016 -- A powerful suicide blast targeting a major police facility in the Afghan capital has killed at least 20 police officers and wounded 29 other people.
• VOA Exclusive: Pakistan's Imran Khan Urges Taliban to Negotiate VOA 01 Feb 2016 -- Pakistan's former cricket star-turned-politician, Imran Khan, is urging Afghanistan's Taliban to negotiate a peaceful resolution to its conflict with the Kabul government.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Commissioners Discuss Report on Recommendations for Army's Future AFPS 01 Feb 2016 -- Three members of a commission on the Army's future shared their findings with defense reporters here last week.
• USS Abraham Lincoln Catapult Returns to Service with Tests NNS 01 Feb 2016 -- Sailors aboard aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) completed no-load testing on catapult one Jan. 28, marking another milestone in the ship's Refueling and Complex Overhaul (RCOH).
• Maintainers put the fight in fighter at Souda Bay AFNS 01 Feb 2016 -- Let's face it, things break. A kid's toy, TVs, kitchen wear, automobiles, and yes, even a couple million-dollar airplanes can break. That's when the maintainers of the 52nd Fighter Wing get called to fix what's broken.
• US, Japan Complete GUAMEX 2016 NNS 01 Feb 2016 -- The forward-deployed Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Mustin (DDG 89) and USS McCampbell (DDG 85) completed Guam Exercise 2016 (GUAMEX) with the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) Jan. 23.
• USNS Spearhead Arrives in Ghana NNS 01 Feb 2016 -- Military Sealift Command's expeditionary fast transport vessel USNS Spearhead (T-EPF 1) arrived in Sekondi, Ghana, for a scheduled port visit Jan. 30.
• Russia military censures Turkey over 'premeditated provocation' Press TV 01 Feb 2016 -- Russian Defense Ministry spokesman says the recent claim by Turkey that a Russian warplane had violated the NATO member state's airspace lacks any factual basis, describing the allegation as a 'premeditated provocation.'
• Russians Want Proof From Turkey Of Airspace Violation RFE/RL 01 Feb 2016 -- Russia's Defense Ministry has again rejected claims by Ankara that a Russian warplane violated Turkish airspace.
• Russia Comments on NATO's Alleged Evidence of Turkish Airspace Violation Sputnik 01 Feb 2016 -- The Russian Defense Ministry, commenting on the statement of a NATO representative regarding the 'classified images' of the so-called violation of the Syrian-Turkish border by a Russian jet, said that such allegations were expected from NATO as they are trying to withhold information from the public and media.
• No Proof of Russian Warplane Violating Turkish Airspace - Russian MoD Sputnik 01 Feb 2016 -- Turkey has not provided Moscow with any evidence supporting Ankara's claim of an alleged Turkish airspace violation by a Russian warplane, the Russian Defense Ministry said Monday.
• Russia's Cutting-Edge S-500 Missile System to Begin Tests This Year Sputnik 01 Feb 2016 -- The first prototypes of the next-generation S-500 air defense system will reach completion and begin its pre-tests in 2016.
• Supermaneuverable Su-35S Fighters Start Combat Missions in Syria Sputnik 01 Feb 2016 -- The advanced supermaneuverable Su-35S multirole fighters began combat missions in Syria, the Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said Monday.
• China's new 5 military regions officially established CNA 01 Feb 2016 -- China on Monday officially established five military regions to replace the seven military regions that existed previously at a ceremony in Beijing, according to Chinese media reports.
• China's military regrouped into five PLA theater commands People's Daily 01 Feb 2016 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday conferred military flags on the five newly-established theater commands of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).
• S. Korea drums up need for THAAD deployment after DPRK nuke test People's Daily 01 Feb 2016 -- South Korea's military and ruling party chief on Monday drummed up need to deploy a U.S. missile defense battery on its territory after the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s nuclear test in early January.
• Fire breaks out on LaFayette frigate CNA 01 Feb 2016 -- A fire broke out in the rear master cabin of a LaFayette-class frigate conducting a trial run in waters off Zuoying, with one officer suffering mild burns on his arms.
• Press Briefing by Press Secretary Josh Earnest, 2/01/2016 The White House 01 Feb 2016
• Background Briefing Previewing Secretary Kerry's Visit to Rome US Dept. of State 01 Feb 2016
• February 1, 2016 - U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 01 Feb 2016

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for February 01, 2016

Other Conflicts

• 1 February 2016 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 01 Feb 2016
• Don't just seek to resolve war once it erupts, prevent it in the first place, says UN chief UN News 01 Feb 2016 -- Speaking in a region that is witnessing widespread turmoil – from Syria to Yemen – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told Oman's National Defence College today that preventing conflicts rather than resolving them once they have erupted is the surest path to stability.
• US seeking maritime hegemony in South China Sea: Beijing Press TV 01 Feb 2016 -- China says the United States is seeking to establish a maritime hegemony under the pretext of "freedom of navigation" in South China Sea.
• China Once Again Calls on US to Cease Maneuvers in S China Sea Sputnik 01 Feb 2016 -- China has accused America of violating Chinese territorial waters by patrolling near the Paracel Islands archipelago, conducted by a US Navy destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur.
• Op-ed: China will never compromise to "paper tigers" People's Daily 01 Feb 2016 -- On Jan. 30, several U.S. media reported news regarding the USS Curtis Wilbur, a guided missile destroyer, entering the waters of China's Xisha Islands without prior notification. Relevant departments including the Chinese Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry responded immediately.
• Saudi Arabia pounds major airport in western Yemen Press TV 01 Feb 2016 -- Saudi Arabia has carried out several rounds of airstrikes on a civilian airport west of Yemen as it seeks to cut off the impoverished nation from the outside world.
• Al-Qaeda terrorists overrun town in Yemen Press TV 01 Feb 2016 -- Members of the al-Qaeda terrorist group have reportedly wrested control of a town in Yemen's southern province of Shabwah as Saudi Arabia presses ahead with its atrocious military aggression against the crisis-hit country.
• UN changes Syria siege list, adds Madaya and Yarmouk IRIN 01 Feb 2016 -- The UN has quietly added four areas to its increasingly controversial list of areas under siege in Syria, including Yarmouk and Madaya, the town that brought the issue of blockades into the limelight.
• UN-brokered Intra-Syrian talks officially start in Geneva with opposition meeting UN News 01 Feb 2016 -- The delayed intra-Syrian talks to end five years of bloody warfare officially started in Geneva today with two hours of talks between the United Nations mediator and the opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC).
• Syria: Ban condemns bombings in Damascus; urges progress at UN-mediated talks in Geneva UN News 01 Feb 2016 -- In the wake of a "heinous" terrorist bombing outside Damascus yesterday, which reportedly killed more than 60 people, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged Syrian Government and opposition negotiators at UN-mediated talks in Geneva to "agree on immediate improvements to Syria's dire humanitarian situation."
• Key US Lawmaker Skeptical on Syria Peace Effort VOA 01 Feb 2016 -- The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Republican Bob Corker, voiced skepticism that nascent Syrian peace talks will end fighting or lead to the voluntary departure of President Bashar al-Assad.
• US Envoy Meets with Syrian Kurds to Step Up Fight Against IS VOA 01 Feb 2016 -- U.S. Presidential Envoy to Anti-Islamic State Coalition Brett McGurk visited northern Syria during the weekend to meet with local leaders, Kurdish and U.S. officials said Monday.
• Iranian official cautions UN over terrorists' presence in Syria talks ISNA 01 Feb 2016 -- An Iranian official has cautioned the UN over terrorists trying to take advantage of Syria peace talks underway in Switzerland.
• Syrian soldier killed in Turkey shelling on Latakia: Media Press TV 01 Feb 2016 -- A Syrian soldier has been killed and five more have been wounded as Turkish forces purportedly shelled military positions in Syria's northern territories.
• Army troops capture village in northern Syria Press TV 01 Feb 2016 -- Syrian army forces have managed to establish full control over a town in the strategic northern province of Aleppo following fierce clashes with foreign-sponsored Takfiri militants.
• Oxfam Report Slams Russia, Other Countries For Lack Of Aid To Syria RFE/RL 01 Feb 2016 -- International charity Oxfam has criticized world powers involved in Syria, including Russia, for not helping the victims of the conflict that has lasted more than four years.
• Saudi-Backed Syrian Opposition Considers Jaish Al-Islam 'Moderate Rebels' Sputnik 01 Feb 2016 -- The delegation of the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) representing the Riyadh-backed Syrian opposition at Geneva talks does not view Jaish al-Islam and Ahrar ash-Sham as extremist groups, HNC spokesman told Sputnik on Monday.
• Russian Warplanes Destroy Over 1,300 Terrorist Targets in Syria in One Week Sputnik 01 Feb 2016 -- Russian warplanes have carried out 468 sorties, destroying over 1,300 terrorist targets in eight Syrian provinces in one week, the Russian Defense Ministry said Monday.
• Syrian Army Seizes Gateway to Major Terrorist Stronghold in Latakia Sputnik 01 Feb 2016 -- The Syrian Army and popular forces seized back a strategic mountain and a gateway to a major terrorist stronghold in the north of coastal Latakia province.
• UN Envoy Struggling to Get Syria Talks On Track VOA 01 Feb 2016 -- U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura struggled on Monday to keep peace talks on track in Geneva, where Syrian government and opposition representatives are present but not yet fully involved in indirect negotiations.
• Daesh terrorists suffer losses across Iraq Press TV 01 Feb 2016 -- Iraqi army troops, backed by volunteer fighters and receiving air cover, have successfully carried out a number of operations against Takfiri Daesh terrorists across the country, dealing major blows to them.
• Five Turkish soldiers killed in PKK attacks in southeast Press TV 01 Feb 2016 -- At least five members of the Turkish army forces have been killed in two separate attacks carried out by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants in the country's volatile southeast.
• Libya: $166 million UN-backed humanitarian appeal barely one per cent funded UN News 01 Feb 2016 -- Almost two months after its launch, a humanitarian appeal to aid 1.3 million vulnerable people in conflict-torn Libya is 99 per cent unfunded, a senior United Nations official for the North African country warned today, calling on the international community to step up to the plate.
• FARC rebels to enter Colombia's politics once peace deal is signed Press TV 01 Feb 2016 -- The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) says it will enter politics and build up alliances with other parties after agreeing on a peace deal with the government in Bogota to end the decades-long conflict in the South American country.
• Netanyahu Warns Hamas on Use of Tunnels to Attack Israel VOA 01 Feb 2016 -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday if Hamas dares to attack Israel through cross-border tunnels from Gaza, Israel will retaliate with force greater than the 2014 war.
• Dozens Killed in Suspected Boko Haram Attack in Northeast Nigeria VOA 01 Feb 2016 -- Suspected Boko Haram fighters attacked a village in Nigeria's volatile northeast over the weekend, burning huts and detonating a suicide bomb. An emergency services spokesman says around 40 people are dead.
• Amnesty Condemns Reinstatement of Nigerian General Accused of War Crimes VOA 01 Feb 2016 -- Human rights group Amnesty International has strongly criticized the reinstatement of a Nigerian army commander, who it says is implicated in war crimes during the country's battle with Islamist Boko Haram militants. The Nigerian government has denied the accusations.
• Taiwan's Opposition Parliament Expected to Review Dialogue with China VOA 01 Feb 2016 -- Taiwan's opposition party, historically an anti-China force, took the reins in parliament for its first time Monday with an agenda that could eventually slow dialogue with Beijing and shake up domestic politics.

News Reports

• UN Rights Chief Alarmed by Deepening Crisis in Burundi VOA 01 Feb 2016 -- United Nations human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said he is alarmed by the deepening crisis in Burundi and warns action must be taken to stop the country's descent toward a possible bloodbath.
• AU Summit Decision on Burundi Peacekeepers Pleases Govt, not Opposition VOA 01 Feb 2016 -- The government of Burundi is satisfied by the AU decision to hold off on sending a protection force to Burundi, while the opposition feels betrayed.
• African Union: No Peacekeepers to Burundi VOA 01 Feb 2016 -- At the African Union's 26th Summit in Addis Ababa over the weekend, Burundi was a primary focus of the group's agenda. During his opening remarks, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon urged action.
• Uganda Explains Arrest of Former Intelligence Chief VOA 01 Feb 2016 -- The government of Uganda says the country's former intelligence chief, General David Sejusa, who has called President Yoweri Museveni a dictator, was arrested Sunday in Kampala by the Uganda Peoples Defense Forces (UPDF) following a 2½-hour search of his home by the military.
• Zimbabweans Dismiss Mugabe's Call for Africa to Quit UN VOA 01 Feb 2016 -- Zimbabwe's main opposition and some citizens Monday condemned President Robert Mugabe's call for Africa to quit the United Nations. During the weekend the 91-year-old said if the continent was not given at least one spot as a permanent member of the U. N. Security Council, AU members would pull out of the world body.
• U.S. Senator Predicts Revelations Of Putin's Wealth Will Destabilize His Rule RFE/RL 01 Feb 2016 -- A senior U.S. lawmaker says revelations about Russian President Vladimir Putin's wealth will be "destabilizing" to his rule as the Russian population becomes increasingly aware of them.
• Russia Shrugs Off Allegations Against Putin VOA 01 Feb 2016 -- The story of Russian President Vladimir Putin over the last few years has been one of his steady descent from a leader welcomed and even feted around the world to one who has had allegations of murder and corruption levied at him.
• U.S. Sanctions Five More On 'Magnitsky List' Of Alleged Rights Abusers RFE/RL 01 Feb 2016 -- The United States has added five more Russians to its so-called "Magnitsky List," which sanctions alleged human rights abusers that have been linked to the death of whistle-blowing Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky and other violations.
• Myanmar Parliament Sworn In; Next President Unknown VOA 01 Feb 2016 -- New members of Myanmar's parliament, most dressed in traditional garb, took a joint oath of office Monday in the capital, Naypyidaw, as the prelude to installing the country's first democratically elected government in more than half a century.
• Institute Reports Sizable Drop in N. Korea-China Trade VOA 01 Feb 2016 -- Bilateral trade between North Korea and China fell nearly 15 percent last year in what appeared to be a reflection of a troubled relationship between the two countries, South Korea's state-run policy research institute said Sunday.
• JCPOA springboard for Iran progress: Salehi Press TV 01 Feb 2016 -- The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) has hailed the implementation of the historic nuclear agreement between Tehran and the P5+1 group of countries as a "springboard" for the further development of the Islamic Republic.
• Govt.: Iran's $100 billion 'fully released' Press TV 01 Feb 2016 -- The government says Iran can now access more than $100 billion in frozen assets after the implementation of a nuclear agreement last month.
• Iran Gets Access to Frozen $100Bln in Assets After Sanctions Relief Sputnik 01 Feb 2016 -- Iran can now access the previously frozen $100 billion of its assets over two weeks after implementing a landmark nuclear program deal, government spokesman Mohammad Baqer Nobakht told national media.
• US Seeking Details from Saudi Arabia on Reports of American Detainees VOA 01 Feb 2016 -- The U.S. State Department says it is seeking details from the government of Saudi Arabia about reports that nine Americans have been detained in the kingdom as terror suspects.
• Saudi to give millions of dollars to citizens who foil terror attacks Press TV 01 Feb 2016 -- Saudi Arabia says it intends to give anyone assisting the government in foiling terrorist attacks seven million riyals ($1.86 million) as a reward.
• Report: Saudi Arabia Arrests 9 Americans Among Terror Suspects VOA 01 Feb 2016 -- A Saudi newspaper reported Sunday that authorities there have arrested nine American citizens and 24 people as terror suspects during the past week.
• DEA and European Authorities Uncover Massive Hizballah Drug and Money Laundering Scheme Drug Enforcement Agency 01 Feb 2016 -- United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) today announced significant enforcement activity including arrests targeting Lebanese Hizballah's External Security Organization Business Affairs Component (BAC), which is involved in international criminal activities such as drug trafficking and drug proceed money laundering. These proceeds are used to purchase weapons for Hizballah for its activities in Syria. This ongoing investigation spans the globe and involves numerous international law enforcement agencies in seven countries, and once again highlights the dangerous global nexus between drug trafficking and terrorism.
• Indonesia Probes IS Leader's Contacts From Behind Bars VOA 01 Feb 2016 -- The Indonesian government says it is investigating how the imprisoned leader of the Islamic State group in Indonesia has been communicating with his followers from behind bars.
• Zika virus an 'international public health emergency,' UN health agency declares UN News 01 Feb 2016 -- Meeting today on the Zika virus outbreak, the World Health Organization announced that the recent cluster of neurological disorders and neonatal malformations reported in the Americas region constitutes a public health emergency of international concern.
• Turkey: UN rights chief concerned by actions of security forces and clampdown on media UN News 01 Feb 2016 -- The United Nations human rights chief today called on the Turkish authorities to respect the fundamental rights of civilians in its security operations and to promptly investigate the alleged shooting of a group of unarmed people after "shocking" video footage of the event.