Further Reading

Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• US has no timeline for troop withdrawal from Syria: Official Press TV 04 Jan 2019 -- The United States says it has no timeline for pulling its troops out of Syria but does not plan to keep troops there indefinitely either.
• Ambassador James Jeffrey Assumes Role of Special Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS US Dept. of State 04 Jan 2019
• US Eyeing 'Conditions-Based' Approach to Syrian Exit VOA 04 Jan 2019 -- More than two weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump declared victory over the Islamic State terror group in Syria and announced the withdrawal of U.S. forces, military planners are insisting the pullout be based on conditions on the ground and not an arbitrary timeline.
• Turkey to Host Trilateral Summit on Afghan Peace VOA 04 Jan 2019 -- Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan says "a much stronger effort" is needed to further ongoing peace talks his country is facilitating between the United States and Afghanistan's Taliban.
• Turkey To Host Afghanistan, Pakistan For Taliban Peace Talks RFE/RL 04 Jan 2019 -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country will host the leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan as part of efforts to end the Afghan Taliban's 17-year insurgency.
• Trump 'Evaluating' Whether To Withdraw Troops From Afghanistan RFE/RL 04 Jan 2019 -- U.S. President Donald Trump is in the "process of evaluating" whether to withdraw some troops from Afghanistan, said Vice President Mike Pence.
• U.S. Army Chief Of Staff Visits Kabul For Talks With Afghan Leaders RFE/RL 04 Jan 2019 -- U.S. General Mark Milley, chief of staff of the army, visited Kabul for talks with Afghan leaders, according to the Afghan president's office.
• U.S. army chief visits Kabul, meets Afghan president People's Daily 04 Jan 2019 -- The U.S. army chief of staff paid an unannounced visit to Afghan capital Kabul and held a meeting with President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani on Thursday, said a statement of the Presidential Palace received Friday.
• CJTF-OIR Strike Summary Dec. 16 – Dec. 29 CENTCOM 04 Jan 2019
• Letter from The President to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate The White House 04 Jan 2019
• US Strike Targets USS Cole Bombing Mastermind in Yemen VOA 04 Jan 2019 -- A U.S. airstrike in Yemen has targeted one of the alleged masterminds of the USS Cole bombing, which killed 17 sailors in 2000.
• USS Cole Bombing Mastermind Killed by US Airstrike in Yemen - Reports Sputnik 04 Jan 2019 -- Jamel Ahmed Mohammed Ali Al-Badawi, an al-Qaeda operative who helped mastermind the terrorist attack on the US Navy destroyer USS Cole while it was docked in Aden, Yemen, in 2000, was killed Friday in a US airstrike, according to reports.

Defense Policy / Programs

• SECNAV Names New Destroyer in Honor of US Senator from Alaska NNS 04 Jan 2019 -- Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer named a future Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer in honor of U.S. Senator Ted Stevens, who represented Alaska from 1968 to 2009.
• SECNAV Names Future Destroyer in honor of Navy Veteran, Vietnam War POW NNS 04 Jan 2019 -- Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer named a future Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer in honor of U.S. Navy Vietnam veteran, Navy Cross recipient, and former U.S. Senator from Alabama, Admiral Jeremiah Denton.
• Military Starting Trials of Russian Engineering Vehicle Impervious to Radiation Sputnik 04 Jan 2019 -- Russian armoured vehicle maker Uralvagonzavod first showed off its new engineering vehicle, based on the chassis of the T-90 main battle tank, at the Army-2018 military technical forum outside Moscow last summer.
• China unveils footage of own 'Mother of All Bombs' Press TV 04 Jan 2019 -- China's arms industry giant China North Industries Group Corporation Limited (NORINCO) has designed a large-yield bomb which Chinese media have dubbed the Chinese "Mother of All Bombs."
• China Unveils Footage of Own 'Mother of All Bombs' Dropped by H-6K Jet - Reports Sputnik 04 Jan 2019 -- The China North Industries Corporation (Norinco) has showcased for the first time a video of the country's own version of "Mother of All Bombs," the Global Times newspaper reported.
• President Bolsonaro willing to discuss hosting US base in Brazil Press TV 04 Jan 2019 -- Brazil's new far-right President Jair Bolsonaro says he is open to discussing the possibility of hosting a US military base, underlining a major shift in the Latin American country's foreign policy.
• Brazil's President Open To Possibility Of U.S. Military Base, Expresses Russia Concerns RFE/RL 04 Jan 2019 -- Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro says he is open to the possibility of the United States some day opening a military base in the South American country and added that Brazil was concerned about Russia's ties to Venezuela.
• Bolsonaro Not Ruling Out US-Brazil Military Cooperation Sputnik 04 Jan 2019 -- Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who was sworn in earlier in January, expressed concern about the recent drills carried out by Russian combat planes in Venezuela.
• India, Afghanistan Discuss Regional Security Amid US Pullout Sputnik 04 Jan 2019 -- India and Afghanistan have held a high-level security meet in New Delhi on Friday amid changing scenario in the war-torn nation. National security advisors of the two countries along with a large number of security officials discussed the regional stability, the democratic progress in a daylong meeting.
• Indian Firm Will 'Soon' Begin Production of Tejas MK-1 Light Warplane - Source Sputnik 04 Jan 2019 -- Impediments for the production of the Tejas MK-1 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) have been cleared and the manufacturer is set to begin production soon, a high-level source told Sputnik on Friday.
• India's Air Force Fighter Jets' Strength Fell by One-Fifth in Decade - Minister Sputnik 04 Jan 2019 -- Replying to the opposition charge of irregularities in the fighter jet purchase from France, the Indian Defence Minister has justified it while informing Parliament that the fighter jet strength of the country had fallen substantially during the last decade in contrast to China & Pakistan, who have been adding air power.
• Iran's warship to be deployed to Atlantic Ocean IRNA 04 Jan 2019 -- Deputy Chief of Navy Force of the Iranian Army announced that the army's naval fleet will enter the Atlantic Ocean in early 2019 on a five-month voyage.
• Iranian Navy Flotilla to Voyage Into Atlantic Waters Sputnik 04 Jan 2019 -- A senior Iranian Navy official has disclosed that a flotilla of Iranian warships will make a voyage to the Atlantic Ocean this year.
• US threats against Iran not important: Commander IRNA 04 Jan 2019 -- The US threats against Iran are not significant, a senior Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) official said.
• U.S. Warns Iran Against 'Provocative' Space Vehicle Launches RFE/RL 04 Jan 2019 -- The United States has warned Iran not to proceed with "provocative" plans to launch three space vehicles, claiming they are "virtually identical" to nuclear-capable ballistic missiles and would violate a UN resolution.
• S.Korea's navy conducts maritime drills in western waters People's Daily 04 Jan 2019 -- South Korea's navy on Friday conducted this year's first maritime drills in western waters, south of the maritime buffer zone which the country set with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to reduce military tensions.
• S. Korea releases video clip to rebut Japan's claim over radar threat People's Daily 04 Jan 2019 -- South Korea's defense ministry on Friday released a video clip to rebut Japan's claim that a South Korean warship locked its fire-control radar on a Japanese patrol aircraft last month.
• Seoul Posts Its Own Radar Row Clip, Urges Tokyo to Apologise for 'Warping Facts' Sputnik 04 Jan 2019 -- In late 2018, Tokyo released footage in a bid confirm its claim that a South Korean warship had allegedly locked its fire-control radar on a Japanese maritime patrol aircraft off the Noto Peninsula on 20 December.

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for January 04, 2019

Other Conflicts

• 4 January 2019 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 04 Jan 2019
• Fresh Saudi-led airstrikes leave seven dead in Yemen's Shabwah Press TV 04 Jan 2019 -- At least seven people have been killed when Saudi-led military aircraft carried out airstrikes against a residential area in Yemen's southern province of Shabwah as the Riyadh regime and its regional allies press ahead with their atrocious military campaign against the impoverished Arab country.
• UAE airstrike on Yemen kills 7 civilians IRNA 04 Jan 2019 -- The UAE helicopters' attacks on Shabwa Province of Yemen claimed the lives of 7 civilians, Yemeni TV Channel 'Al-Masirah' reported.
• 10 UAE mercenaries killed in Yemen IRNA 04 Jan 2019 -- At least 10 people were killed in a clash between militants under the protection of the UAE and the tribes of al-Shabwa province in southeastern Yemen, sources said on Friday.
• Russia Now Juggling Challenges of War-Wracked Syria VOA 04 Jan 2019 -- "You break it, you own it," Colin Powell once warned in referring to U.S. military interventions overseas and the possible fallout that comes with those decisions.
• Fresh US-led airstrikes leave 10 Syrian civilians dead in Dayr al-Zawr Press TV 04 Jan 2019 -- Nearly a dozen civilians, mostly women and children, have been killed after the US-led coalition purportedly fighting the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group carried out a series of aerial assaults in Syria's troubled eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr.
• Over 500 militants killed as infighting spreads in Syria: Report Press TV 04 Jan 2019 -- More than 500 terrorists have been killed, many of them summarily executed, after an infighting spread among the ranks of militant groups in Syria's Idlib province, pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV reports.
• Over 23,000 terrorists killed in Syria last year: Russia IRNA 04 Jan 2019 -- Russian Ministry of Defense affirmed that thousands of terrorists were killed in Syria and hundreds of their positions, weapons warehouses and heavy equipment have been destroyed during the war against terrorism last year.
• UN to Replace Expelled Diplomat in Somalia VOA 04 Jan 2019 -- The United Nations secretary-general said Friday that he "deeply regrets" the decision of Somalia's federal government to expel a top U.N. official, Nicholas Haysom, from the country, but that he will name a replacement.
• Somalia will not take back expelled senior UN envoy: President Mohamed Press TV 04 Jan 2019 -- Somalia's President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed says he will not overturn a decision about the expulsion of the top United Nations envoy to the war-ravaged country, diplomats say.
• Thousands of Refugees Flee Ethnic Clashes in DRC VOA 04 Jan 2019 -- Inter-ethnic clashes in Democratic Republic of Congo have sent some 16,000 refugees fleeing for their lives into neighboring Congo-Brazzaville, the U.N. refugee agency reports.
• DRC 'calm but tense' as country awaits presidential election result UN News 04 Jan 2019 -- The post-election environment in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is "calm but tense" as the country waits for the results of the presidential poll, the UN Human Rights office (OHCHR) said on Friday.
• Palestinian students 'compelled to drop dreams because of financial cuts' UN News 04 Jan 2019 -- For students attending schools funded by the UN relief agency for Palestine refugees, (UNRWA), uncertainty over the future has become a constant worry, said the agency's Director of Operations in Gaza, Matthias Schmale.
• Witness: At Least 48 Civilians Killed in North-Central Burkina Faso VOA 04 Jan 2019 -- Burkina Faso's government says at least 46 people were killed in intercommunal violence after jihadists attacked a town in the north earlier this week.

News Reports

• Trump: Shutdown could last 'months or even years' if border wall not funded Press TV 04 Jan 2019 -- US President Donald Trump says he is willing to keep the government closed for a year or more unless Democrats agree to fund his border wall with Mexico.
• Remarks by President Trump After Meeting with Congressional Leadership on Border Security The White House 04 Jan 2019
• US Vice President Mike Pence says If there's no border wall deal, there's no shutdown deal Press TV 04 Jan 2019 -- US Vice President Mike Pence has thrown his full support behind President Donald Trump's position on funding a wall on the US-Mexico border, warning congressional Democrats that "if there's no wall, there's no deal" to end the partial government shutdown.
• New US House challenges Trump over border wall, govt. shutdown Press TV 04 Jan 2019 -- The US House of Representatives has approved legislation that would end a 13-day partial government shutdown, ignoring President Donald Trump's demand for $5 billion for a wall on the US-Mexico border.
• 'I Can Do It if I Want': Trump Says Could Use Emergency Powers for Border Wall Sputnik 04 Jan 2019 -- US President Donald Trump told reporters in the Rose Garden on Friday that he has considered using emergency powers to build his vision of a border wall along the US' southern border with Mexico.
• Ex-US Marine detained in Russia holds UK passport: Moscow Press TV 04 Jan 2019 -- Russia's Foreign Ministry says a former American Marine recently detained in Moscow on spying charges is also a British citizen.
• Britain Warns Russia Against 'Chess Games' Over Alleged Spy RFE/RL 04 Jan 2019 -- Britain has warned Russia against playing "diplomatic chess games" following the arrest on spying charges by Moscow of Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who also holds British and Irish citizenship.
• US, UK National Whelan Detained in Russia Also Has Irish Citizenship - Officials Sputnik 04 Jan 2019 -- Earlier in the day, UK officials told The Times newspaper that Paul Whelan, who was detained in Moscow last Friday on suspicion of espionage, holds British citizenship.
• German Politicians' Data Hacked, Posted on Twitter VOA 04 Jan 2019 -- The private data of hundreds of German politicians, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, has been hacked and posted on Twitter, the government said.
• Berlin Asks Top US Spy Agency to Help Investigate Mass Governmental Hack Sputnik 04 Jan 2019 -- While Germany seeks assistance from the other side of the Atlantic, the hack is being investigated by a number of domestic agencies, including the Federal Office for Information Security, the Federal Criminal Police Office and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
• For Your Spies Only: Cold War Prisoner Swaps RFE/RL 04 Jan 2019 -- While Russia has detained and officially charged Paul Whelan - a dual U.S.-British citizen - with espionage, questions have arisen over whether this is a real spy case or just another move in a decades-old Cold War game.
• US wants Iranians to 'have better lives' with sanctions: Pompeo Press TV 04 Jan 2019 -- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says Washington's tough sanctions against the Islamic Republic are aimed at giving the Iranian people a chance to have better lives.
• Bolton To Travel To Turkey, Israel To Discuss Syria, Iran RFE/RL 04 Jan 2019 -- U.S. national security adviser John Bolton says he will travel to Israel and Turkey to discuss the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria and how Washington and its allies intend to counter Iran's "malign behavior" in the region.
• China calls for full implementation of Iran nuclear deal IRNA 04 Jan 2019 -- Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday urged all sides of Iranian nuclear deal to be bound to their obligations.
• Chinese Rover Making Tracks on Dark Side of the Moon VOA 04 Jan 2019 -- The Chinese Jade Rabbit 2 rover is making tracks on the soft, snowlike surface of the far side of the moon.
• First probe lands on moon's 'dark' side People's Daily 04 Jan 2019 -- A new chapter opened in mankind's exploration of the moon on Thursday morning as the first probe to land on the moon's far side reached its destination after a 26-day journey.
• KMT chief clarifies contents of '1992 consensus' CNA 04 Jan 2019 -- Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) took issue Friday with the characterization of the "1992 consensus" by both Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in recent speeches they made.
• EU expresses support for Taiwan's system of governance CNA 04 Jan 2019 -- The European Union (EU) reiterated Thursday that it will continue to develop relations with Taiwan and support the shared values that underpin Taiwan's system of governance, following a recent speech in which Chinese president Xi Jinping (習近平) said China retains the right to use force to achieve reunification with Taiwan.
• UN human rights office says Saudi Khashoggi murder trial 'not sufficient' Press TV 04 Jan 2019 -- The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) says it cannot assess the fairness of a trial underway in Saudi Arabia over the killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, emphasizing that in any case it is "not sufficient."
• Khashoggi trial in Saudi Arabia falls short of independent, international probe needed: UN rights chief UN News 04 Jan 2019 -- The criminal trial in Saudi Arabia of individuals suspected of being involved in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi does not meet the requirements of an independent and international probe requested by the UN's top rights official, Michelle Bachelet, her office said on Friday.
• India Working With China on NSG Membership Issue - Foreign Minister Sputnik 04 Jan 2019 -- New Delhi is closely working with China to overcome barriers hindering India from obtaining NGS membership - something the government has designated a priority.
• Ebola Operations Resume in DRC's North Kivu Province VOA 04 Jan 2019 -- Ebola control operations have been restored in Democratic Republic of Congo's conflict-ridden North Kivu province, following pre-election protests late last year, the World Health Organization reports.
• Sudanese police use tear gas against protesters seeking 'peace, justice' Press TV 04 Jan 2019 -- Sudanese police have fired tear gas to disperse anti-government protesters in Omdurman City, near the capital Khartoum.
• 4 South Sudanese Killed in Sudan Protests VOA 04 Jan 2019 -- At least four South Sudanese nationals have been killed during the ongoing protests in Sudan, according to South Sudan's embassy in Khartoum.
• Bangladesh elections: Hold those responsible accountable for 'violent attacks and intimidation' UN News 04 Jan 2019 -- Violence and alleged human rights violations in Bangladesh "before, during and after" 30 December elections have prompted the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to call on Friday for those responsible to be held to account.
• UN rights office urges Bahrain to release Nabeel Rajab Press TV 04 Jan 2019 -- The United Nations human rights office has condemned the latest verdict on Nabeel Rajab as "continued suppression of government critics," urging Bahrain to release the prominent human rights activist.
• Rights defenders jailed in Bahrain and UAE should be released unconditionally, UN urges UN News 04 Jan 2019 -- The UN human rights office, OHCHR, has called for the immediate release of a prominent human rights defender in Bahrain, after the country's highest court rejected a final appeal for his release on Monday. Nabeel Rajab was jailed in 2016 for tweeting criticism of Saudi Arabia's airstrikes on Yemen and allegations of torture inside one of Bahrain's prisons.
• Reform in Malaysia Still Beholden to Racial Politics VOA 04 Jan 2019 -- Since Malaysia's election of a new party for the first time in more than six decades in May, the new government has delivered on a number of once unthinkably progressive reforms, including abolishing the nation's sedition law and the death penalty.