Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Military Strikes Continue Against ISIS Terrorists in Syria, Iraq AFPS 28 Oct 2017 -- U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting eight strikes consisting of 15 engagements, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Dunford Discusses Issues Confronting U.S.-South Korea Alliance AFPS 28 Oct 2017 -- U.S. and South Korean defense chiefs discussed the full range of issues confronting the alliance during two days of talks in Seoul, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today.
• Readout of Secretary Mattis' Trip to Thailand DoD 28 Oct 2017
• Readout of Secretary Mattis' Meeting with Indonesia Minister of Defense Ryamizard Ryacudu DoD 28 Oct 2017
• Readout of Secretary of Defense Mattis' Meetings with Republic of Korea President Moon Jae-in, National Security Advisor Chung Eui-yong and Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-Hwa DoD 28 Oct 2017
• Amphibious Allies: U.S., coalition forces refine amphibious capabilities USMC News 28 Oct 2017 -- Marines, Sailors and coalition forces integrated as one to demonstrate and increase combined arms operational proficiency during exercise Bold Alligator 17 at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Oct. 25, 2017.
• 26th MEU returns after lending hand in Caribbean Sea USMC News 28 Oct 2017 -- Marines and Sailors with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) returned to Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., from Puerto Rico, after conducting a Relief in Place (RIP) with the 24th MEU to support hurricane relief efforts, the week of Oct. 9, 2017.
• USS Nimitz first carrier to visit Sri Lanka in 32 Years NNS 28 Oct 2017 -- The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group arrived in Colombo, Sri Lanka, for a port visit Oct. 28.
• Mattis: U.S. Will Not Accept Nuclear-Armed North Korea AFPS 28 Oct 2017 -- Defense Secretary Jim Mattis reiterated that the United States will not accept a nuclear-armed North Korea.
• Mattis warns of 'massive military response' to North Korea Press TV 28 Oct 2017 -- Secretary of Defense James Mattis has said the United States would never accept a nuclear North Korea, warning of a "massive military response" to any use of nuclear weapons against Washington or its allies.
• US urges clear strategy before funding Sahel force Press TV 28 Oct 2017 -- The United States says it supports an African counter-terrorism task force known as the G5 Sahel but needs to see a clear strategy before considering funding the group.
• Xi calls for building a strong army People's Daily 27 Oct 2017 -- China's military should take solid steps toward a strong army as socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, said Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
• China's naval hospital ship assists 6,000 people in Angola People's Daily 27 Oct 2017 -- The Chinese naval hospital ship Peace Ark said it had consulted and treated at least 6,000 people during its eight-day stay in Angola.
• Iran's missile might not up for negotiations: Army commander Press TV 28 Oct 2017 -- A senior Iranian military commander says the Islamic Republic will never allow any inspection of its military sites, stressing that the country's missile capabilities are not up for negotiations.
• US senators write to Haley to push for inspection of Iran military sites Press TV 28 Oct 2017 -- Republican senators are urging the Trump administration to vigorously push for tougher inspections of Iranian sites, including military facilities, and better reporting by the United Nations atomic watchdog about the implementation of the 2015 nuclear agreement.
• Case of inspection of Iran's military sites closed forever: AEOI Press TV 28 Oct 2017 -- The case of the inspection Iran's military sites has been closed forever, says the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) as the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) arrives in the country.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• Wrapping up visit to Yemen, UN aid chief stresses need for all parties to facilitate humanitarian work UN News 28 Oct 2017 -- At the end of a five-day mission to conflict-torn Yemen, the United Nations humanitarian chief on Saturday stressed the need for more funding and better humanitarian access to help the population in need.
• Yemen humanitarian situation shocking: UN official Press TV 28 Oct 2017 -- The United Nations (UN)'s aid chief says the humanitarian situation in Yemen, which has been under a Saudi-led war for two and a half years, is "shocking."
• Deliberate Starvation of Civilians in Syria Could Be War Crime VOA 28 Oct 2017 -- The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein accuses the Syrian government of denying food and medical supplies to hundreds of thousands of civilians besieged in Eastern Ghouta, on the outskirts of the capital Damascus.
• Israel approves construction of 581 more settler units: Report Press TV 28 Oct 2017 -- The Israeli regime has reportedly approved the construction of 581 new units in Maale Adumim settlement north of occupied Jerusalem al-Quds.
• Malnutrition Crisis Grips Rohingya Refugee Children VOA 28 Oct 2017 -- The U.N. children's fund warns potentially life-threatening malnutrition is soaring among Rohingya refugee children who have fled to Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh to escape violence and abuse in Myanmar.
• At Least 20 Killed in Mogadishu Blasts VOA 28 Oct 2017 -- At least 20 people, including a Somali politician, were killed Saturday in a pair of car bomb explosions in Somalia's capital, two weeks after a huge bomb killed more than 350 people in the city.
• Three bomb attacks kill 18, wound 11 in Somali capital Press TV 28 Oct 2017 -- Three bomb attacks, along with sporadic gunfire, have killed at least 18 people and injured 11 others in the Somali capital Mogadishu.

News Reports

• Deposed Catalan Leader Vows to Continue Fight for Independence VOA 28 Oct 2017 -- Catalonia's deposed President Carles Puigdemont vowed on Saturday to keep fighting for independence after the Spanish central government ordered him to accept his cabinet's dismissal.
• Spain sacks Catalan government after independence declaration People's Daily 28 Oct 2017 -- The Madrid government sacked Catalonia's president and dismissed its parliament on Friday, hours after the region declared itself an independent nation in Spain's gravest political crisis since the return of democracy four decades ago.
• Sacked Catalan leader calls for resistance to Spain's rule Press TV 28 Oct 2017 -- Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, who was sacked by the Spanish government over the region's declaration of independence, has called for "democratic opposition" to Madrid.
• Catalonian Ex-Leader Vows Peaceful Resistance To Spain RFE/RL 28 Oct 2017 -- Catalonia's fired leader, Carles Puigdemont, has called for "democratic opposition" to direct Spanish rule, and vowed to continue "working to build a free country."
• At US Border, Dramatic Spike in Searches of Phones, Electronic Devices VOA 28 Oct 2017 -- U.S. border agents are searching nearly four times as many international travelers' smartphones and other electronic devices as they did two years ago, expanding the use of a little-known search-and-seizure authority that has sparked fresh legal challenges from digital rights advocates and defendants in several criminal cases.
• Federal Iraqi forces peacefully retake Kurdistan borders after deal with Iraqi Kurds Press TV 28 Oct 2017 -- Federal Iraqi forces have peacefully taken control of all border crossings ringing the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) following an agreement with Kurdish authorities.
• US calls counter-terrorism Iraqi forces 'terrorists' Press TV 28 Oct 2017 -- As an official branch of the Iraqi armed forces, the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), also known by its Arabic name Hashd al-Sha'abi, has been a bulwark against Daesh terrorism in Iraq soon after the terrorist group launched an offensive in the Arab country in 2014.
• Iraq's Kurdish Parliament to Redistribute Powers From Barzani VOA 28 Oct 2017 -- The Iraqi Kurdish parliament will meet Sunday to redistribute powers away from President Massoud Barzani, who is under pressure to step down following an independence referendum last month.
• Barzani won't extend term beyond Nov. 1: Kurdish official Press TV 28 Oct 2017 -- President of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Massoud Barzani will not extend his presidential term beyond November 1, says a Kurdish government official.
• US names 39 Russian entities under new sanctions law Press TV 28 Oct 2017 -- The US has named 39 Russian defense and intelligence-related entities under a new sanctions law over Moscow's alleged interference in the 2016's race for the White House.
• Ankara Mayor Resigns as Turkish President Continues Purge VOA 28 Oct 2017 -- The long-serving mayor of the Turkish capital, Ankara, has resigned after pressure from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In the last few weeks, Erdogan has forced out of office six mayors belonging to his ruling AKP party as part of efforts to revitalize the party ahead of looming elections.
• Soviets Claimed U.S. Right Wing Was Behind Kennedy Assassination, Files Show RFE/RL 28 Oct 2017 -- While the FBI was investigating possible involvement of the Soviet Union in the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the Soviet authorities were voicing suspicions that U.S. right-wing groups - and even Kennedy's own vice president - were behind the killing, newly released documents show.
• Did Oswald Really Meet KGB 'Assassinations' Officer Before Killing Kennedy? RFE/RL 28 Oct 2017 -- The U.S. government's release of a trove of previously classified documents related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy has brought renewed attention to contacts between his shooter, Lee Harvey Oswald, and Soviet intelligence officers in Mexico two months before the killing.
• Azerbaijani Opposition Holds Rally In Baku RFE/RL 28 Oct 2017 -- Hundreds of people have attended an opposition-organized anticorruption rally in Azerbaijan's capital, Baku.
• Kenyan Police Disperse Election Protesters in Nairobi a Day After Intense Violence VOA 28 Oct 2017 -- Kenyan police used tear gas Saturday to disperse election protesters in the impoverished Nairobi district of Kawangware, one day after a fire burned hundreds of businesses, and after men armed with machetes and sticks looted stores and homes.