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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Inherent Resolve Strikes Target ISIL in Syria, Iraq AFPS 21 Jan 2017 -- U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.
• Coalition Strikes Destroy ISIL Boats Fleeing From East Mosul AFPS 21 Jan 2017 -- In three days of operations that began Jan. 18, coalition forces struck 90 watercraft and three barges on the Tigris River in Mosul, Iraq, U.S. Central Command officials reported today.
• UN Seeks $550M in Aid for Millions of Vulnerable Afghans VOA 21 Jan 2017 -- The United Nations appealed Saturday for $550 million in humanitarian assistance in 2017 to meet the needs of Afghans affected by conflict, or natural disasters, and for those returning home from neighboring countries.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Air-launched cruise missile passes tests AFNS 21 Jan 2017 -- Air Force B-52H Stratofortress aircrews recently tested three unarmed AGM-86B air-launched cruise missiles, demonstrating the bomber force's ability to configure, load, fly and deliver the nation's only nuclear cruise missile.
• AETC loads, releases first live bombs from F-35A AFNS 21 Jan 2017 -- The 33rd Fighter Wing loaded and released the Air Education and Training Command's first live bombs from an F-35A here, Jan. 17, 2017.
• Atlantic Resolve Logistics: Life on the highway Army News 21 Jan 2017 -- Paper clips, computer screens, fuel, beans, bullets, and virtually everything that can be shipped has a National Stock Number or a similar label assigned to it for ordering and resupplying purposes.
• US military holds naval drills with S Korea, Japan to counter N Korea Press TV 21 Jan 2017 -- The US military starts joint naval missile-defense drills with South Korea and Japan to counter the "growing threat" posed by North Korea.
• Plan B: Russian Defense Ministry Considers Major Overhaul of Its Airliner Fleet Sputnik 21 Jan 2017 -- Following the loss of a Tu-154 plane in a tragic crash that claimed the lives of all 92 people aboard, Russia's Defense Ministry is pondering whether to replace its aging passenger aircraft with new domestically-manufactured models.
• PAK DA's Precursor, Russian Tu-160M2 Bomber to Get Universal Anti-Missile Shield Sputnik 21 Jan 2017 -- The newest incarnation of Russia's Tu-160 supersonic variable-sweep wing heavy strategic bomber/missile carrier, one of Moscow's most formidable weapons, is expected to have double the functionality of its current version.
• Lock and Load! Armata Endows Russia's Main Battle Tank With Deadly Cannon Sputnik 21 Jan 2017 -- The latest modernization of Russia's main battle tank, the T-90, will embrace the firepower capabilities of the advanced T-14 Armata. The Uralvagonzavod machine building company recently published the tank's photo for the first time.
• Russia to Keep Missiles in Kaliningrad Amid NATO Plans to Create Missile System Sputnik 21 Jan 2017 -- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Russia cannot withdraw missiles in its western Kaliningrad region without knowing that plans for creating entire missile system are to be abolished on the European continent.
• New leader takes helm of PLA Navy People's Daily 21 Jan 2017 -- The People's Liberation Army Navy has a new commander, 60-year-old Vice-Admiral Shen Jinlong, according to the Navy.
• PLA frigates, drone search for fishing boat crew in East China Sea People's Daily 21 Jan 2017 -- China's People's Liberation ArmyNavy has sent two frigates and a drone to search for a fishing boat that sank in the East China Sea on Friday evening, leaving at least one person dead, navy sources said Saturday.
• Taiwan expected to complete F-16 upgrades within six years: AIDC CNA 21 Jan 2017 -- Taiwan's state-owned Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. (AIDC) said it has begun an upgrade of the country's fleet of U.S.-manufactured F-16 fighter jets and that the work is expected to be completed within six years.
• Shock and Awe: What British Tanks Were Doing Under the English Channel Sputnik 21 Jan 2017 -- British troops conducted secret drills to deliver their five Challenger tanks to France and back through the Channel Tunnel; the goal was to test if the rail network could withstand a theoretical military conflict with Russia, media reports said.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• Russia sees Syrian talks in Astana as achievement for Moscow, Tehran and Ankara IRNA 21 Jan 2017 -- Russian Foreign Ministry deputy Sergey Ryabkov has said the talks on Syrian crises in the Kazakh capital is the outcome of the joint efforts by Moscow, Tehran and Ankara to put an end to the ongoing situation in Syria.
• Iran to participate in Astana meeting with high level of readiness ISNA 21 Jan 2017 -- Iran will participate in upcoming Astana meeting with the high level of readiness, Iranian deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African affairs, Hossein Jaberi Ansari announced.
• Astana talks aim to bring lasting peace to Syria: Iran Press TV 21 Jan 2017 -- A senior Iranian diplomat says the forthcoming Syria peace talks in the Kazakh capital of Astana are aimed at finding possible ways to establish sustainable peace in the conflict-stricken state and put an end to its nearly six-year crisis.
• Buffer Zone for Refugees Should Be Created in Border Areas of Syria Sputnik 21 Jan 2017 -- Yalcin Topcu, Chief Adviser of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that it is necessary to create a buffer zone for refugees in the border areas of Syria.
• Senior US Diplomat to Observe Syrian Talks at Astana VOA 21 Jan 2017 -- The United States said Saturday it will not send a delegation to preliminary Syrian peace talks next week in the Kazakh capital, Astana, and will instead send a leading diplomatic observer.
• Iraqi forces make fresh territorial gains against Daesh in Mosul Press TV 21 Jan 2017 -- Iraqi government forces have registered more territorial gains in Mosul as they are battling in joint operations with volunteer fighters and Kurdish Peshmerga forces to push Daesh Takfiri terrorists out of their last urban stronghold in the Arab country.
• Kyiv Urges Trump To Keep Sanctions On Russia RFE/RL 21 Jan 2017 -- KYIV -- Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak has urged U.S. President Donald Trump to continue providing his crisis-stricken country with political and military assistance, urging Trump to continue sanctions against Russia to deter "further escalation" of the war in eastern Ukraine by the Kremlin.
• Libya's Neighboring Countries Oppose Foreign Intervention to Resolve Crisis Sputnik 21 Jan 2017 -- Countries-neighbors of Libya supported communique that "rejected any foreign intervention in the internal affairs of Libya," as well as military solution to the crisis, as it could endanger Libya's stability and security.
• Libya, Neighbors Hold Talks in Cairo to End Country's Crisis VOA 21 Jan 2017 -- Rival Libyan leaders met Saturday in Cairo with diplomats from seven neighboring states to discuss forming a new government acceptable to all parties. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told journalists that further talks would take place in Algeria next week.
• Myanmar defies OIC call to stop atrocities against Rohingya Press TV 21 Jan 2017 -- Myanmar has defied a call by Muslim governments to stop atrocities against Rohingya Muslims, slamming instead Malaysia for hosting a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

News Reports

• Crowds for Women's March Pack Washington, Other Cities VOA 21 Jan 2017 -- Hundreds of thousands of people turned out for a protest march Saturday in Washington, D.C., President Donald Trump's first full day in office, and large crowds gathered in other U.S. cities to dramatize the extent of popular opposition to the new administration and its policies.
• Remarks by President Trump and Vice President Pence at CIA Headquarters The White House 21 Jan 2017
• Trump to CIA: 'I Am So Behind You' VOA 21 Jan 2017 -- President Donald Trump, who has sharply criticized the U.S. intelligence community, told workers at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on Saturday, "I am so behind you."
• Gambia's Jammeh Cedes Power, Flies into Exile VOA 21 Jan 2017 -- Defeated Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh flew into exile Saturday night, ending 22 years of strong-arm rule and a political stalemate that brought the West African nation to the brink of a regional military intervention.
• CIA Knew Economic Sanctions Wouldn't Halt North Korea's Nuclear Weapons Buildup Sputnik 21 Jan 2017 -- A declassified CIA document from the early 1990s reveals that the US intelligence community knew that economic sanctions against Pyongyang would not cause the country to back off its nuclear expansion program.
• Russia says it has lowered oil output by average 100k bpd Press TV 21 Jan 2017 -- Russia says it has lowered its oil output in the wake of a landmark deal struck in November by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to spur prices through reduced production.
• Taiwan looks forward to working with Trump's administration CNA 21 Jan 2017 -- The Taiwan government said Saturday that it has extended its congratulations to Donald Trump and Mike Pence on becoming U.S. president and vice president, respectively, and looks forward to working with the new administration to advance bilateral ties.
• Trump cannot 'sell out' Taiwan's interests: former premier CNA 21 Jan 2017 -- Former Premier Yu Shyi-kun (游錫堃) said Friday that he has asked about the possibility of U.S. President Donald Trump "selling out" Taiwan and got a reassurance from Edwin Feulner, a former president of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.
• Turkey orders over 400 arrests as post-coup crackdown widens Press TV 21 Jan 2017 -- Turkish prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for more than 400 people, including soldiers and security officers, over alleged affiliation to the network of US-based opposition cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of having orchestrated last July's failed military coup.
• Turkish Parliament Approves Draft Bill On Expanding Presidential Powers RFE/RL 21 Jan 2017 -- The Turkish parliament approved a draft bill early on January 21 that would dramatically expand the powers of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and pave the way for a referendum on changing the constitution later this year.
• In France Primaries, Dire Predictions for the Left VOA 21 Jan 2017 -- Five years after a triumphant electoral sweep that returned it to power for the first time in a decade, France's ruling Socialist Party is weak, deeply unpopular and ideologically divided ahead of the first round Sunday of presidential primaries. Some even warn it risks implosion.