Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Statement by Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook on U.S.-Russia Video Conference DoD 18 Jun 2016 -- The Department of Defense today held a video conference co-chaired by Acting Assistant Secretary for International Security Affairs Elissa Slotkin and Lt. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie, director, J-5, Strategic Plans and Policy on the Joint Staff, with Russian Ministry of Defense counterparts.
• Pakistan Reopens Main Border Crossing With Afghanistan After Fighting Subsided VOA 18 Jun 2016 -- Pakistan reopened the busy Torkham border crossing with Afghanistan for traffic Saturday, a week after deadly clashes between the two countries prompted the closure, stranding thousands of travelers and trade convoys on both sides.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Two Carrier Strike Groups Double Down in Western Pacific NNS 18 Jun 2016 -- The USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) and USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) strike groups commenced dual carrier flight operations in the Philippine Sea June 18.
• Transnational Threats Need Transnational Solutions, Dunford Says at U.N. AFPS 18 Jun 2016 -- Transnational threats require transnational solutions, and the United Nations Peacekeeping Force is a key component of preserving stability, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said at the U.N. in New York yesterday.
• Cyber Guard 2016 Seeks to Manage Complexity in Invisible Domain AFPS 18 Jun 2016 -- Between 1 million and 10 million U.S. homes and businesses are without power. An oil spill from a near-shore refinery is gushing into the waters off Texas and Louisiana. The port of Los Angeles is shut down due to a network outage.
• Putin Calls U.S. Missile Shield 'Great Danger,' Vows Russian Response RFE/RL 18 Jun 2016 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has called the U.S. missile shield in Eastern Europe a "great danger" and vowed that Moscow will respond by enhancing its own missile strike capability.
• Russia to Respond 'Symmetrically' to Any NATO Military Build Up Sputnik 18 Jun 2016 -- Deputy Secretary of Russia's Security Council said that Moscow will give a symmetrical and effective answer to any NATO build up along the Alliance's eastern borders.
• India Inducts Three Women Fighter Pilots for First Time VOA 18 Jun 2016 -- The Indian Air Force has inducted three female fighter pilots marking the first time one of the world's largest militaries has opened the door to women in combat roles.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• China Refutes Intrusion into Japan's Territorial Waters People's Daily 18 Jun 2016 -- The Chinese government is brushing aside Japanese suggestions that a Chinese naval vessel broke international law by entering into Japanese territorial waters.
• UAE Withdrawal From Yemeni Conflict Comes as a Big Surprise for Houthis Sputnik 18 Jun 2016 -- The recent announcement of the United Arab Emirates to withdraw from the anti-Houthi military operations in Yemen came as a big surprise to the Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthis, one of the conflicting sides in the conflict, a member of Ansar Allah's delegation to peace talks in Kuwait told Sputnik Arabic.
• Terrorists kill seven in Syria's Aleppo Press TV 18 Jun 2016 -- Mortar attacks by militants in Syria's largest city of Aleppo have cost the lives of seven civilians and injured more than 15 others.
• Russian Defense Minister Orders Hmeimim Base to Increase Aid to Syrians Sputnik 18 Jun 2016 -- Russian Defense Ministry's spokesman said that Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has ordered the Hmeymim airbase command to increase assistance to the Syrian population, especially in the settlements blocked by terrorists.
• SDF Liberate Daesh-Controlled District Near Manbij City Sputnik 18 Jun 2016 -- Syrian Democratic Forces have liberated Manbij city in the Aleppo province from Daesh terrorists, a military source told Sputnik.
• US Memo on Syria Is Unusual, But What Does it Mean? VOA 18 Jun 2016 -- Within the Obama administration, disagreement over Syria policy is nearly as old as the five-year-old conflict itself.
• Larijani felicitates Iraqi counterpart on Fallujah liberation IRNA 18 Jun 2016 -- Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani here on Saturday congratulated the recent liberation of the central city of Fallujah in Iraq to the Iraqi government and people.
• Zarif felicitates Iraqi counterpart on Fallujah liberation IRNA 18 Jun 2016 -- Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif extended a message to his Iraqi counterpart Ibrahim al-Jaafari on liberation of Fallujah, a city in Iraqi province of Al Anbar in west of Baghdad.
• Iran's Larijani hails Iraq 'bravery' in Fallujah Press TV 18 Jun 2016 -- Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani has hailed the "brave and brilliant" victory of the Iraqi troops against Daesh Takfiris in liberating the strategic western city of Fallujah from the grips of the terrorist group.
• Car bomb kills four people in Iraq's Salahuddin Press TV 18 Jun 2016 -- A car bomb attack in Iraq's Salahuddin province killed four people and injured nearly 20 others Saturday, in the wake of the liberation of the city of Fallujah from the Takfiri Daesh terrorists.
• Iraq begins new anti-terror operation after Fallujah liberation Press TV 18 Jun 2016 -- The Iraqi army has launched a new operation in the north of Salahuddin Province and the south of Mosul, the capital of Nineveh Province, in their latest push against Daesh terrorists.
• 1000s of Iraqis celebrate Fallujah liberation from Daesh Press TV 18 Jun 2016 -- Tens of thousands of Iraqis have taken to the streets across the country to celebrate the liberation of the strategic western city of Fallujah from the grips of the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group.
• Iraqi Special Forces Announce Most of Fallujah Taken From IS VOA 18 Jun 2016 -- Iraqi Special Forces were continuing operations in Fallujah Saturday after announcing most of the city had been taken from Islamic State control a day earlier.
• Town Abandoned After Boko Haram Attack VOA 18 Jun 2016 -- Two weeks after an attack by the Islamist group Boko Haram left at least 30 people dead, the border community of Bosso, in Niger, has become a ghost town. Most of its population left and the area remains at risk to violence.

News Reports

• Former Egyptian President Sentenced to Life, Six Co-defendants Get Death VOA 18 Jun 2016 -- An Egyptian court has sentenced former president Mohamed Morsi to another life term in prison for allegedly leaking state secrets.
• Egypt's Morsi sentenced to life in prison in espionage trial Press TV 18 Jun 2016 -- An Egyptian court has sentenced ousted president Mohamed Morsi, along with two other defendants, to life in prison on the charge of spying for Qatar.
• Rights group slams Al Khalifah over crackdown on dissent Press TV 18 Jun 2016 -- A Bahraini human rights group has censured the ruling Al Khalifah regime over its heavy-handed crackdown on freedom of religion in the kingdom, saying Manama is increasingly targeting Shia Muslim clerics and religious figures.
• In Greece, UN chief urges global responsibility-sharing for welfare of refugees UN News 18 Jun 2016 -- On a visit to Greece, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today discussed the refugee crisis with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, urging States to address the root causes of displacement and more evenly share the responsibility for the welfare of migrants and refugees.
• One More Great Upswing Effected in DPRK KCNA 18 Jun 2016 -- All the people in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea have turned out in a 200-day campaign to make a breakthrough in implementing the five-year strategy for national economic development, set forth at the 7th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK).
• Putin & Renzi's 'Chemistry' Ushers in New Era for EU-Russian Relations Sputnik 18 Jun 2016 -- At a plenary session at the St. Petersburg forum on Friday, President Putin and Prime Minister Renzi offered visions for Eurasia that are in many ways complementary, Italian newspapers reported.