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Defense Policy / Programs
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News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF / OND / OEF / OIR / OFS Casualty Update 19 Mar 2018 [PDF]
• DoD Spokesman Urges Focus on Humanitarian Issues, Defeating ISIS in Syria AFPS 19 Mar 2018 -- As the Syrian Democratic Forces continue to develop their defensive positions against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in the middle Euphrates River valley, it's important to stay focused on the key objectives, a Pentagon spokesman told reporters today.
• 10th Mountain Division Takes Command of OIR Ground Troops AFPS 19 Mar 2018 -- The Army's 10th Mountain Division today assumed authority today of Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command Operation Inherent Resolve from the Army's 1st Armored Division during a transfer of authority ceremony at Forward Operating Base Union III here.
• Dunford Arrives in Afghanistan to Assess Campaign Plan AFPS 19 Mar 2018 -- Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived here today to assess the campaign plan now that all personnel are in place and the South Asia strategy is in full swing.
• Nicholson: US Planning Religious, Diplomatic, Military and Social Pressure on Taliban VOA 19 Mar 2018 -- The top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan said a combination of religious, social, diplomatic and military pressure will be applied to the Taliban this year to force them to start negotiating for peace in the war-torn country.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Resumption of Combined Exercises DoD 19 Mar 2018 -- Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis and the Republic of Korea Minister of National Defense Song Young-moo have agreed to resume the annual combined exercises including Foal Eagle and Key Resolve which were deconflicted with the schedule of the Olympic Games. The exercises are expected to resume April 1, 2018, at a scale similar to that of the previous years.
• First For Finland: Lincoln Welcomes Partner Nation Pilot NNS 19 Mar 2018 -- A Finnish Air Force pilot made history for his country by becoming the first to land an F/A-18C Hornet on a United States aircraft carrier, March 17.
• 1/3 conducts CAAT mounted patrol during Exercise Bougainville I USMC News 19 Mar 2018 -- U.S. Marines with 1st Battalion, 3d Marine Regiment conducted combined anti-armor team mounted patrols during Exercise Bougainville I at Marine Corps Training Area Bellows, Hawaii, March 15, 2018.
• Navy, Coast Guard Divers Recover Torpedoes in Freezing Arctic NNS 19 Mar 2018 -- Divers from U.S. Navy Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) Two, Underwater Construction Team (UCT) One and the U.S. Coast Guard braved harsh Arctic waters to play a critical role during a torpedo exercise as part of Ice Exercise (ICEX) 2018.
• USNS Brunswick Starts Pacific Partnership 2018 NNS 19 Mar 2018 -- Sailors participating in Pacific Partnership 2018 (PP18) departed Guam aboard Military Sealift Command expeditionary fast transport USNS Brunswick (T-EPF 6) March 19, bound for the mission's first stop in Yap, Federated States of Micronesia.
• Joint press point with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson NATO 19 Mar 2018
• NATO begins the final phase of its move to a new home NATO 19 Mar 2018 -- NATO started today (19 March 2018) the last part of its move to its new headquarters in Brussels. Over the next 12 weeks, around 4000 people - NATO civilian and military staff, as well as 29 national delegations - will transfer to their new offices.
• Putin says Russia will decrease military spending Press TV 19 Mar 2018 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin says he will reduce its military spending during his new term as the leader of the country, a day after he was re-elected in a presidential election with a landslide.
• China plans ministry of veterans' affairs People's Daily 19 Mar 2018 -- China plans to improve the service and management system of demobilized military personnel by setting up a ministry dedicated to dealing with veterans' affairs, according to a government reshuffle plan made available to the media on Tuesday.

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for March 19, 2018

Other Conflicts

• 19 March 2018 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 19 Mar 2018
• Turkish Leader Vows to Expand Military Campaign in Syria, Risking Clash with US VOA 19 Mar 2018 -- Emboldened by the Turkish-led forces' capture of the Syrian town of Afrin, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is vowing to expand his military operation across Syria, raising the risk of a confrontation with Washington.
• Turkey Vows to Expand Syria Fight Against Kurds VOA 19 Mar 2018 -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed Monday to expand Ankara's military operations against more Kurdish strongholds in Syria, after ousting Kurds from their enclave in Afrin.
• Syria slams Ankara's capture of Afrin, wants 'immediate' Turkish withdrawal Press TV 19 Mar 2018 -- Syria's government has condemned the capture of Afrin by the Turkish military, calling on Ankara to "immediately" pull out troops from the northwestern Syrian city.
• Erdogan vows to expand Syria offensive to eastern regions Press TV 19 Mar 2018 -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to further expand military operations against Kurdish militants in Syria to the eastern parts of the Arab country, even threatening to send troops to northern Iraq if Baghdad could not clear the region of the militants.
• Turkish troops, pro-Turkey militia will not remain in Syria's Afrin: Ankara Press TV 19 Mar 2018 -- Turkey says its military troops and pro-Ankara forces do not plan to remain in Syria's Afrin as occupiers after they ousted Kurdish militants from the northern city, insisting that Ankara will leave the region to its "real owners."
• Damascus Demands Turkish Forces' Immediate Withdrawal From Syrian Lands Sputnik 19 Mar 2018 -- According to the Syrian Foreign Ministry, Ankara's seizure of Afrin in the course of its Olive Branch Operation in Syria violates the principles enshrined in the UN Charter.
• Turkish Army Seizes US Arms Left by YPG 'Terrorists' in Afrin - Deputy PM Sputnik 19 Mar 2018 -- Speaking about the success of Turkey's military operation in Syrian Kurdish-dominated Afrin, the country's deputy Prime Minister announced that Ankara had managed to reduce the significant threat on its border by capturing the city.
• Concern Over the Situation in Afrin, Syria US Dept. of State 19 Mar 2018 -- "The United States is deeply concerned over reports from Afrin City over the last 48 hours. It appears the majority of the population of the city, which is predominantly Kurdish, evacuated under threat of attack from Turkish military forces and Turkish backed opposition forces. "
• Civilians Who Fled Afrin Suffer from Dire Humanitarian Conditions VOA 19 Mar 2018 -- Thousands of civilians who fled the city of Afrin are enduring dire conditions after they reached Syrian-controlled areas south of the Afrin district.
• Civilians Who Fled Afrin Suffer from Dire Humanitarian Conditions VOA 19 Mar 2018 -- Thousands of civilians who fled the city of Afrin are enduring dire conditions after they reached Syrian-controlled areas south of the Afrin district.
• Syrian Army secures civilians in Saqba, Kafr Batna towns IRNA 19 Mar 2018 -- Syrian Arab Army units advanced further in the operation to liberate Eastern Ghouta in Damascus countryside from Jabhat al-Nusra terror organization and terrorist groups affiliated to it, eliminating terrorists in the towns of Saqba and Kafr Batna.
• Some militants may accept deals to withdraw from Ghouta: Syrian minister Press TV 19 Mar 2018 -- Some militants may soon agree to withdraw from the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta as Syrian government troops constantly shrink the militant-held areas of the flashpoint region.
• Thousands suffering amid harrowing conditions in east Ghouta and Afrin - UN UN News 19 Mar 2018 -- The United Nations in Syria is appealing urgently for help to ease the catastrophic situation for tens for thousands of people impacted by fighting in Eastern Ghouta, outside Damascus, and the northern town of Afrin.
• Iraqi army forces arrest two senior Daesh terrorists near Mosul Press TV 19 Mar 2018 -- Iraqi army troops have arrested two high-profile members of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group near the country's strategic northern city of Mosul as government forces, supported by allied fighters from Popular Mobilization Units, continue to hunt for the remnants of the terror network.
• Egypt military says 36 Daesh terrorists killed in Sinai clashes Press TV 19 Mar 2018 -- The Egyptian military says three dozen members of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group have been killed in the country's restive Sinai Peninsula over the past five days.
• Sri Lanka Lifts State of Emergency Imposed Amid Muslim-Buddhist Clashes Sputnik 19 Mar 2018 -- Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena lifted the state of emergency declared on March 6 as fighting between the majority Sinhalese Buddhists and minority Muslims subsided, according to the official notification issued on Sunday.
• Is safety and a small plot of land too much for DR Congo's beleaguered people to hope for? UN aid chief asks UN News 19 Mar 2018 -- The humanitarian crisis and the resulting suffering will only worsen in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) if persistent violence is not brought under control and there is no political transition, the top United Nations relief official warned on Monday.
• UN: $1.7 Billion Needed for DRC Humanitarian Crisis VOA 19 Mar 2018 -- International donors will meet next month in Geneva to address the growing humanitarian disaster in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the lack of funding for 13 million people in dire need.
• Lebanon: UN humanitarian fund to step up support for the most vulnerable UN News 19 Mar 2018 -- At a time when resources for refugees from Syria is declining, the top United Nations humanitarian official in Lebanon, the country host to some 1.5 million Syrian and several thousand Palestinian refugees, has launched a funding allocation to ensure that critical relief programmes can be sustained.

News Reports

• Trump Resumes Attack on Russia Probe VOA 19 Mar 2018 -- U.S. President Donald Trump resumed his attack Monday on the criminal investigation of his 2016 campaign's links to Russia, branding it "a total WITCH HUNT with massive conflicts of interest!"
• Putin Softens Rhetoric Toward West Amid Criticism Over Landslide Win RFE/RL 19 Mar 2018 -- Vladimir Putin has softened his rhetoric toward the West after winning a fourth term as Russia's president in a landslide victory the United States said it expected and international observers chided for giving voters no "real choice."
• Russians Asking 'What Now?' After Election VOA 19 Mar 2018 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said he is "not planning any constitutional reforms for now," even before the final tally in a presidential election that critics have dubbed a predestined spectacle.
• Russia, UK trade barbs over ex-spy poisoning Press TV 19 Mar 2018 -- Russia and the UK have engaged in a war of words over allegations of Moscow's role in the poisoning of a former spy and his daughter using a nerve agent in a British town, with President Putin dismissing the claims as "nonsense" and "absurd."
• EU, NATO Chide Russia On Skripal Poisoning, Slow Response RFE/RL 19 Mar 2018 -- EU foreign ministers and the head of NATO have strongly condemned the poisoning of a former Russian double agent in Britain, and offered London "solidarity" over the attack.
• Chemical Weapons Experts In Britain To Collect Toxin Samples RFE/RL 19 Mar 2018 -- International chemical weapons experts are scheduled to arrive in Britain on March 19 to get samples from the nerve agent involved in the poisoning of a Russian ex-spy in England.
• Theresa May: Russia Had Intention and Motive to Poison Skripal Sputnik 19 Mar 2018 -- The UK's certainty of Moscow's involvement in Skripal's poisoning has increased after last week's statement by UK Prime Minister Theresa May, claiming that it was "highly likely" that Moscow was behind the poisoning of the ex-Russian intelligence officer.
• EU Statement on Skripal Case Speculative and Unsubstantiated - Moscow Sputnik 19 Mar 2018 -- Earlier in the day, the EU has vehemently condemned a poisoning attack on ex-Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, stressing that the bloc takes the UK assessment of Moscow's possible involvement in it "extremely seriously."
• Op-ed: Sustain talks on Korean Peninsula until good outcomes achieved People's Daily 19 Mar 2018 -- The Korean Peninsula has entered into a critical period for dialogue, as a summit will be held between the Republic of Korea (ROK) President Moon Jae-in and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) top leader Kim Jong Un in late April, and US President Donald Trump has reportedly agreed to meet Kim by May.
• Swedish FM Calls Recent Talks With North Korean Counterpart 'Constructive' Sputnik 19 Mar 2018 -- Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Margot Wallstrom on Monday called the recent negotiations with North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho, held in Stockholm last week, "constructive," adding that the talks constituted an "important political dialogue."
• Readout of National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster's Meeting with National Security Office Director Chung Eui-yong of the Republic of Korea and Secretary General of the National Security Secretariat Shotaro Yachi of Japan The White House 19 Mar 2018
• Mogherini rejects new EU sanction on Iran IRNA 19 Mar 2018 -- The European Union (EU) Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini has refuted certain media reports suggesting new sanctions against Iran.
• France FM urges EU to adopt new Iran sanctions to appease Trump Press TV 19 Mar 2018 -- France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has urged the European Union to adopt new sanctions against Iran over its alleged role in Syria and Yemen, as well as its missile program.
• Newly-elected President Xi steers China toward prosperity People's Daily 19 Mar 2018 -- As ceremonial music echoed throughout the Great Hall of the People, Xi Jinping took his place on the podium.
• China's new cabinet members endorsed People's Daily 19 Mar 2018 -- The new lineup of China's State Council, nominated by Premier Li Keqiang, was endorsed by lawmakers at the ongoing national legislative session in Beijing on Monday.
• Low-Profile Official to Head China's New Powerful Anti-Graft Agency VOA 19 Mar 2018 -- China's largely rubber-stamp legislature has appointed the former head of its defunct Supervision Ministry as chair of a newly created and powerful anti-graft body that will oversee more than 100 million state employees.
• Xi's consolidation of power not beneficial to Taiwan: NSB head CNA 19 Mar 2018 -- China's recent constitutional changes that allow Xi Jinping (習近平) to remain as its president indefinitely will result in greater pressure on Taiwan, the head of Taiwan's top intelligence agency said Monday.
• MoU on Iran-Iraq intelligence cooperation approved IRNA 19 Mar 2018 -- Iraq's National Security Council in its Sunday's session discussed and approved a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by Tehran and Baghdad on intelligence cooperation between the two countries.
• UK, EU reach deal on post-Brexit transition period Press TV 19 Mar 2018 -- The United Kingdom and the European Union have reached a landmark deal on a Brexit transition phase that will last for nearly two years after Britain's departure from the EU next year.
• Israel Charges French Consulate Employee With Alleged Gaza Weapons Smuggling Sputnik 19 Mar 2018 -- The defendant used a diplomatic vehicle, which is exempted from thorough security checks, to transport the weapons through Israel's border with the Gaza Strip and is suspected of being part of a broader Palestinian smuggling ring, according to the Israeli security agency.