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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• 27 Afghan civilians killed in US airstrike IRNA 01 Dec 2018 -- UN said last week's attacks by the US jet fighters in Helmand, Afghanistan, killed at least 27 civilians.
• US Homeland Security Requests Troops Remain on Mexican Border Until January 31 Sputnik 01 Dec 2018 -- The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has asked the Pentagon to extend the deployment of troops currently stationed along the US-Mexico border through the end of January, Department of Defence spokesperson Jamie Davis said in a statement.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Remarks by Secretary Mattis on National Defense Strategy DoD 01 Dec 2018 -- Secretary Of Defense James N. Mattis; John Heubusch, Executive Director of Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute; Bret Baier, Fox News Anchor
• Defense Strategy Arresting Erosion of U.S. Military Advantage AFPS 01 Dec 2018 -- The world is awash in change, but the new National Security Strategy serves as a rock of stability for the nation and like-minded countries, Defense Secretary James N. Mattis said today at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California.
• Russia says NATO building up troops along border under guise of drills Press TV 01 Dec 2018 -- Russian Deputy Defense Minister Colonel General Alexander Fomin has expressed concern over what he has described as a NATO military build-up along the Russian border under the cover of military drills.
• Russia Successfully Tests Modernised Air Defence Missile Sputnik 01 Dec 2018 -- The Russian Aerospace Forces have successfully conducted a test-firing of a modernised air defence rocket at the Sary Shagan testing range in Kazakhstan, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Saturday.
• Iran Test Launches Ballistic Missile Violating UN Security Council Ban US Dept. of State 01 Dec 2018-- The Iranian regime has just test-fired a medium range ballistic missile that is capable of carrying multiple warheads.
• Iran army commander vows turning sanctions into opportunity IRNA 01 Dec 2018 -- Commander of the Army Ground Force Brigadier General Kiumars Heidari promised changing sanctions to opportunity for creating deterrence power.
• Most advanced West Asian destroyer joins Iran's navy IRNA 01 Dec 2018 -- As the state-of-the-art destroyer in West Asia, Iran's Sahand destroyer joined the country's navy fleet in the port city of Bandar Abbas on Saturday.
• Iran launches most advanced indigenous destroyer Press TV 01 Dec 2018 -- Iran has launched its most advanced military vessel which has radar-evading stealth properties and can sustain voyages lasting five months without resupply.
• Iran Reportedly Launches 'Stealth' Destroyer RFE/RL 01 Dec 2018 -- Iran has launched a domestically made destroyer, which state media said has radar-evading stealth capabilities, amid rising tensions with the United States.
• Iran Launches New Stealth Destroyer, Radically Increasing Naval Power Sputnik 01 Dec 2018 -- Iran has been building up its naval power in recent years to protect ships and oil tankers from pirates and deal with a growing hostile US naval presence in and around the Persian Gulf.
• Japan mulls order for F-35 stealth jets on aircraft carrier Press TV 01 Dec 2018 -- Japan plans to order about 100 US-designed F-35 stealth fighter jets with an option to take off and land vertically, which suggests Tokyo might be developing aircraft carriers for the first time since World War II.
• 'Sharpening Teeth': UK Warships Hold Anti-Sub Drills Amid 'Russian Threat' Fears Sputnik 01 Dec 2018 -- Last month, the UK's Royal Navy reported that its high-readiness frigate, the HMS St Albans, shadowed and monitored a Russian warship travelling through the English Channel, in an attempt to protect British waters.
• British Navy and Air Force Face Off in Dispute Over New F-35 Jets – Reports Sputnik 01 Dec 2018 -- After several years without a functional aircraft carrier, Britain introduced the HMS Queen Elizabeth to the Royal Navy in December 2017 and the HMS Prince of Wales is expected in 2020; the UK is in the process of acquiring 48 US F-35B naval jets for their flight decks. However, the Royal Air Force is interested in growing its own fleet.
• UK Will Build Its Own Satellite-Navigation System After Brexit Sputnik 01 Dec 2018 -- UK Prime Minister Theresa May announced that Britain would explore the possibility of building its own satellite navigation system instead of relying on the EU's Galileo, compelling another minister in her Cabinet to resign.
• Netherlands halts arms export to Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt over Yemen war Press TV 01 Dec 2018 -- With the ongoing deadly campaign led by the regime in Riyadh against Yemen, the Netherlands has said it will halt arms export to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• Beijing has 'stern' words with US over warship in South China Sea Press TV 01 Dec 2018 -- China has scolded the United States for sending another warship to the South China Sea near the islands which Beijing regards as sovereign Chinese territory.
• Conditions deteriorating alarmingly in Yemen, warns senior UN official UN News 01 Dec 2018 -- Conditions in Yemen have deteriorated alarmingly, and the country is on the "brink of a major catastrophe" said Mark Lowcock – Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator – on returning from his mission to Yemen on Saturday.
• Sharp Drop in Commercial Food Imports into Yemen Will Increase Hunger for Millions VOA 01 Dec 2018 -- The World Food Program warns that millions of people throughout Yemen who depend on the commercial import of food into the country will go hungry because of fighting around the port of Hodeida.
• Saudi airstrike on Yemen kills 7 civilians IRNA 01 Dec 2018 -- Seven Yemeni civilians were killed and 12 others were wounded in airstrikes on Al-Hudaydah and Saada provinces by the Saudi-led coalition on Saturday.
• Yemen's Ansarullah says fully ready for peace talks IRNA 01 Dec 2018 -- A senior negotiator for Yemen's Ansarullah has said Yemen is ready to negotiate with all parties and on all thorny issues during the peace talks scheduled to be held in Stockholm in early December.
• US to keep backing Saudi war on Yemen, Pompeo says amid humanitarian crisis there Press TV 01 Dec 2018 -- The United States will continue backing the Saudi-led war on Yemen, says Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, despite a humanitarian crisis in the impoverished country and outrage over the kingdom in the wake of Jamal Khashoggi's murder.
• Efforts to Rebuild Raqqa Continue After Islamic State VOA 01 Dec 2018 -- More than one year after its recapture from Islamic State (IS) militants, Raqqa, the former de facto capital of the Islamic State's so-called caliphate, is still struggling to recover from a war that devastated all aspects of normal life. Efforts are underway, though, to rebuild the city's major bridges.
• War to drag on with Ukraine's pro-Westerners in power: Putin Press TV 01 Dec 2018 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has made it clear that there would be no end to the conflict in Ukraine as long as the country is run by a set of pro-Western politicians.
• Putin, Merkel Discuss Sea Of Azov Crisis At G20 Summit RFE/RL 01 Dec 2018 -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged "freedom of shipping into the Sea of Azov" in a private talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires.
• Ukraine Stops 100 Russians From Entering Country Amid Ban RFE/RL 01 Dec 2018 -- Ukraine's border guard service says some 100 Russian male nationals were stopped from entering the country on December 1.

News Reports

• Bush's Legacy Includes Decisive Military Action AFPS 01 Dec 2018 -- His background was a little different than most who join the military at the age of eighteen, but his warmth, love of country and drive to serve made him a leader respected up and down his chains of command.
• Statement by Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis on the Passing of President George H.W. Bush DoD 01 Dec 2018
• Former U.S. President George Bush, Who Presided Over End Of Cold War, Is Dead At 94 RFE/RL 01 Dec 2018 -- George Bush, the 41st president of the United States, has died at the age of 94.
• Statement from President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump on the Passing of Former President George H.W. Bush The White House 01 Dec 2018
• Trump Defends 'Cool' Russia Business Links After Ex-Lawyer Admits Lying RFE/RL 01 Dec 2018 -- U.S. President Donald Trump has defended his decision to seek a business deal in Russia in 2016 even as he pursued the Republican presidential nomination.
• Austrian Ex-Officer Suspected of Spying for Russia Arrested Sputnik 01 Dec 2018 -- An Austrian court said Friday that it ruled to arrest a retired Austrian officer suspected of spying for Russia.
• UK Intel Alleges Putin Personally Behind Skripal Poisoning Order - Reports Sputnik 01 Dec 2018 -- Russian authorities have repeatedly refuted London's accusations of Moscow being behind the alleged March 4 chemical attack on the former Russian intelligence officer and his daughter as groundless. Moscow says that London has failed to present any proof confirming Russia's involvement in the case.
• ACLU Sues CIA to Find Body of Man Agency Tortured to Death Sputnik 01 Dec 2018 -- The ACLU filed two lawsuits on Thursday against the Central Intelligence Agency to gain more information on the agency's torture program.
• Iran, S Korea design mechanism for oil payments IRNA 01 Dec 2018 -- A mechanism has been set up for paying the price of Iranian oil exported to South Korea, the head of the Iran-South Korea Joint Chamber of Commerce told the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) on Saturday.
• Iran urges Security Council to condemn Pompeo's threat to 'starve' Iranians Press TV 01 Dec 2018 -- Iran's mission to the United Nations has called on the UN Security Council to condemn the recent "irresponsible" and "provocative" remarks by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who openly threatened to "starve" Iranian people.
• Pompeo Accuses Iran of Ballistic Missile Test Launch, Violating UNSC Ban Sputnik 01 Dec 2018 -- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran of a ballistic missile test launch on Saturday, claiming that the test was conducted in violation of the UN Security Council's resolution.
• Trump, Xi Talk Trade Over Dinner in Argentina VOA 01 Dec 2018 -- U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, over a Buenos Aires dinner of grilled sirloin steak, discussed their vast differences on trade that have led in past months to exchanges of significant retaliatory tariffs between the world's two largest economies.
• Pakistan to Put Radical Cleric, Followers on Trial VOA 01 Dec 2018 -- Pakistan's government has announced it will try detained leaders and activists of a radical Islamic party on "treason and terrorism" charges for instigating action against the state and for damaging public property.
• CIA finds MBS texted to Khashoggi hit squad leader Press TV 01 Dec 2018 -- Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sent about a dozen messages to the leader of the team that killed dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in the hours before and after the journalist's death in October, according to a top secret CIA assessment.
• MbS scrambles military amid coup fears: Report Press TV 01 Dec 2018 -- A new report says Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MbS, has scrambled the Saudi military fearing a coup by some royals to topple him.
• UK PM May urges Saudi Arabia to punish Khashoggi killers Press TV 01 Dec 2018 -- UK Prime Minister Theresa May has told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that he should take action to prevent the repeat of incidents like the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
• Saudi King Salman to invite Qatari monarch to next GCC summit: Report Press TV 01 Dec 2018 -- Secretary General of the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Abdul Latif bin Rashid al-Zayani is reportedly going to visit Doha to invite Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to attend the next summit of the regional grouping in Dammam city in Saudi Arabia this month.
• NASA Awards $196Mln Contract to Build, Maintain Infrared Telescope Sputnik 01 Dec 2018 -- The Harris Corporation has been awarded a contract worth nearly $200 million to build and service the optical assembly on the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), the proposed successor to the Hubble, NASA announced in a press release.
• EU Leaders Congratulate Zurabishvili, Warn Against Polarization In Georgia RFE/RL 01 Dec 2018 -- Senior European Union leaders have reportedly congratulated Salome Zurabishvili on her election as Georgian president and urged to her to combat "political polarization" in the South Caucasus country.
• Venezuelan Opposition Urges Bank of England not to Return Gold to Maduro Sputnik 01 Dec 2018 -- The call comes after reports emerged that the Venezuelan government is looking to repatriate gold bars worth about $550 million from the Bank of England out of fear that the holdings may be affected by US sanctions announced by President Trump early last month.
• Lopez Obrador to be Sworn in as Mexico's New President VOA 01 Dec 2018 -- Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador becomes Mexico's new president Saturday.