Further Reading

Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• US Envoy in Kabul to Advance Afghan Peace Efforts VOA 15 Jan 2019 -- Zalmay Khalilzad, the man responsible for overseeing America's negotiations with the Afghan Taliban, arrived Tuesday night in Kabul, after making stops in India, the United Arab Emirates, and China. He is expected to visit Islamabad next.
• Senior Afghan Taliban Member Reportedly Detained In Pakistan Ahead Of U.S. Peace Envoy's Visit RFE/RL 15 Jan 2019 -- Pakistan has detained a senior member of the Afghan Taliban, sources in the group say.
• Pentagon Extends Military Mission Along US-Mexico Border Through September Sputnik 15 Jan 2019 -- The US Department of Defense has extended until the end of September its support mission along the border with Mexico.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Gen. Townsend emphasizes importance of recruiting, maintaining professional, lethal force Army News 15 Jan 2019 -- A professional force that is lethal and representative of the American population is a vital strategic asset, and evolving to recruit and maintain that smart, fit, lethal all-volunteer Army is the most important thing that the Army's Training and Doctrine Command is working on, said TRADOC commander Gen. Stephen Townsend in remarks at a recent Association of the U.S. Army event in Arlington, Va.
• CIAT Trains its First Ship NNS 15 Jan 2019 -- More than 40 crew members of USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) were the first to pilot the updated Advance Warfare Training (AWT) curriculum inside the Navy's newest combat systems trainer, Combined Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD)/Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Trainer (CIAT), onboard Naval Base San Diego (NBSD), Jan. 8-11.
• SPAWAR Awards First IWRP Contract NNS 15 Jan 2019 -- Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) Systems Center (SSC) Atlantic awarded the first prototype project agreement (PPA) under the Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) for the Information Warfare Research Project (IWRP) Jan. 8 for $1.3 million.
• Carrier Strike Group 12 Welcomes Spanish Frigate Mendez Nñez To Naval Station Norfolk NNS 15 Jan 2019 -- The Álvaro de Bazán-class Spanish navy frigate ESPS Méndez Núñez (F 104) arrived at Naval Station Norfolk Jan. 14 to train and conduct group exercises as part of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 12.
• Travis, Army transport Black Hawks to Alaska AFNS 15 Jan 2019 -- Among members of the Air Force, there's a tendency to be interested in aircraft. More than just aircraft, though, aircraft in aircraft is the type of idea that has the potential to harken back to the science fiction imaginings of many early childhoods. But true to form, science fiction in the military scarcely stays fiction for long.
• CNO Visits China, Underscores Importance of Professional Interaction at Sea NNS 15 Jan 2019 -- Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. John Richardson visited China and met with senior Chinese defense officials, Jan. 13 to 16, to discuss professional interactions at sea, specifically addressing risk reduction and operational safety measures.
• VADM Brown kicks off SNA with a 'State of the Surface Force' address NNS 15 Jan 2019 -- Calling it "the most important task before us in Surface Warfare," Vice Adm. Rich Brown, Commander, Naval Surface Forces, urged the Surface Warfare community to drive toward a culture of excellence, reinvigorate mission command, and prepare to transition readiness into lethality to meet the challenges of a renewed Great Power Competition.
• US, Australia Kick Off Anti-Submarine Drills Near Guam - Pentagon Sputnik 15 Jan 2019 -- The US and Australian naval forces have begun their annual Sea Dragon maritime exercise in the Western Pacific, with a focus on anti-submarine warfare (ASW), the US Department of Defense announced in a press release on Monday.
• Trump discussed pulling US out of NATO last year: Report Press TV 15 Jan 2019 -- US President Donald Trump, who has made a reputation for abandoning a great number of important international pacts, discussed leaving the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) with his aides last year, according to a new report.
• US 'fully' responsible if INF collapses, Russia says Press TV 15 Jan 2019 -- Moscow has blamed Washington for the looming collapse of a key nuclear arms control deal after consultations between the two sides made no progress to reach an accord to save the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF).
• Russia, US: No Progress in Talks Over 1987 Nuclear Arms Treaty VOA 15 Jan 2019 -- Russia and the United States said Tuesday there was no progress in talks over Washington's intention to withdraw from a 1987 nuclear arms treaty because it says Moscow is violating its terms.
• Russia In 'Material Breach' Of Key Nuclear Treaty, U.S. Says RFE/RL 15 Jan 2019 -- Russia remains "in material breach" of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, the United States has said after a new round of bilateral talks ended with no progress.
• Russia to Complete Military Satellite Constellation Blagovest in April - Source Sputnik 15 Jan 2019 -- The communications satellites will be spread out evenly to provide seamless global coverage. They are equipped with modern Ka and Q-band transponders and support high-speed Internet, telephony and other broadcasting services.
• Defense Intelligence Agency Releases Report on China Military Power DIA 15 Jan 2019 -- The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) today released China Military Power, a product that examines the core capabilities of China's military.
• DIA's China Military Power Report Details Leaders' Strategy DoD News 15 Jan 2019 -- China's military rise is well-planned, and Chinese leaders are following a strategy they believe will lead to greater power and influence both regionally and globally, according to an unclassified report released today by the Defense Intelligence Agency.
• Upgraded J-20 fighter jet 'overwhelmingly superior' to US F-35: analysts Global Times 15 Jan 2019-- As South Korea became the latest country to buy and deploy US F-35 stealth fighter jets, Chinese military observers asserted that an upgraded Chinese J-20 fighter will gain overwhelming superiority over the F-35 in future and that China can fend off all potential threats from what media dubs the "US F-35 friends circle" in the Asia-Pacific region.
• S. Korea Removes 'Enemy' Reference to N. Korea in New Defense Report VOA 15 Jan 2019 -- South Korea has dropped a reference to North Korea as its "enemy" in the military's updated policy document, reflecting President Moon Jae-in's initiative in achieving détente with Pyongyang.
• Turkmenistan Said To Register Reservists As Tension Mounts On Afghan Border RFE/RL 15 Jan 2019 -- Turkmen authorities have launched a campaign to register army reservists -- nearly all men under 50 -- amid concerns about militants in neighboring Afghanistan, according to a Defense Ministry source and accounts by citizens.
• Remarks by President Trump Before Marine One Departure The White House 15 Jan 2019

Defense Industry

• Contracts for January 15, 2019

Other Conflicts

• 15 January 2019 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 15 Jan 2019
• Yemeni forces strike military base in southwestern Saudi Arabia: Video Press TV 15 Jan 2019 -- Yemeni army soldiers, supported by allied fighters from Popular Committees, have launched an attack against a military base in Saudi Arabia's southwestern Jizan region in retaliation for the Riyadh regime's atrocious military campaign against their impoverished homeland.
• Houthis dismiss Pompeo's accusations of Hudaydah truce breach Press TV 15 Jan 2019 -- A senior Yemeni official has hit back at US Secretary of State Mike Pomepo over his recent allegations that Houthi fighters are violating the UN-brokered ceasefire in the Hudaydah port city, criticizing Washington for keeping up its support for the Saudi-led war on the impoverished nation.
• First aid in six months reaches families in western Yemen, 'timelines' slip over Hudaydah ceasefire talks UN News 15 Jan 2019 -- Thousands of families in conflict-affected communities south of the Red Sea port city of Hudaydah in Yemen have received aid for the first time since last July, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday.
• Damascus ready to work with new UN envoy to rekindle inter-Syrian talks: Muallem Press TV 15 Jan 2019 -- Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem says the Damascus government is prepared to cooperate with the United Nations' new envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, to facilitate inter-Syrian peace talks aimed at finding a political settlement to the ongoing foreign-sponsored crisis in the country.
• US Wants to Keep Presence in Syrian Airspace After Troop Pullout - Ankara Sputnik 15 Jan 2019 -- The United States intends to maintain its presence in the Syrian airspace after the withdrawal of its troops from the country, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said Tuesday, citing an unofficial US action plan proposal.
• Syrian Settlement Must Include Withdrawal of Illegal Foreign Troops - Damascus Sputnik 15 Jan 2019 -- Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem has held his first meeting with new UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen in order to discuss a political settlement of the crisis in the country.
• Thousands of Syrians in 'life and death' struggle amid harsh conditions in remote desert camp, UN warns UN News 15 Jan 2019 -- Conditions in a makeshift Syrian camp near the border with Jordan are "increasingly desperate" and "have become a matter of life and death", United Nations officials warned on Tuesday, after at least eight children died there from extreme cold and a lack of medical care.
• Trump, Erdogan talk Syria 'safe zone' amid war of words over Kurdish militants Press TV 15 Jan 2019 -- US President Donald Trump has held talks with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on the establishment of a militant-free safe zone in northern Syria, shortly after he threatened to "devastate" NATO ally Turkey economically if it attacks Kurdish militants following Washington's military withdrawal from the Arab state.
• Turkey's Erdogan Announces Creation of Safe Zone in Syria Suggested by Trump Sputnik 15 Jan 2019 -- US-Turkish relations have been strained amid Ankara's plans to launch an offensive against Syrian Kurds following Washington's announcement that it would withdraw its troops from the Arab Republic.
• Iraqi Hashd al-Sha'abi forces stop US reconnaissance mission on Iraq's border with Syria Press TV 15 Jan 2019 -- Iraqi pro-government fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) have stopped a "suspicion reconnaissance mission" by US military forces to collect critical information about the movements and positions of the voluntary forces in the country's western province of Anbar and on the border with crisis-hit Syria.
• 'Historic' moment: Palestine takes reins of UN coalition of developing countries UN News 15 Jan 2019 -- Acknowledging "a long road ahead" on the United Nations ambitious agenda, Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed on Tuesday "the historic leadership of the state of Palestine" as the new Chair of the Group of 77's (G77).
• Russian Court Leaves Jailed Ukrainian Sailors In Pretrial Detention RFE/RL 15 Jan 2019 -- A Moscow court has prolonged the pretrial detention for 12 of 24 Ukrainian sailors detained by Russian forces who attacked three Ukrainian Navy vessels in the Black Sea in November.
• International Criminal Court acquits former president Gbagbo of war crimes in Côte d'Ivoire UN News 15 Jan 2019 -- Former President of Côte d'Ivoire Laurent Gbagbo has been cleared of crimes against humanity in Côte d'Ivoire by the International Criminal Court (ICC), it announced on Tuesday.
• ICC Acquits Ex-Ivorian President Gbagbo of War Crimes, Orders Immediate Release Sputnik 15 Jan 2019 -- The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday dismissed the war crime charges against former Cote d'Ivoire President Laurent Gbagbo and his co-accused former political ally, Charles Ble Goude, and ordered their immediate release over lack of sufficient evidence.
• Jubilation Among Gbagbo Supporters, but Rights Groups Lament Justice not Served VOA 15 Jan 2019 -- In a stunning decision Tuesday, the International Criminal Court acquitted former Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo of war crimes charges. The ruling amounts to another major setback for ICC prosecutors in the first case against a former head of state at the Hague-based tribunal. The ruling comes amid growing doubts about the effectiveness of the ICC as a court of last resort' against the world's most heinous offenses.
• Boko Haram attacks military base in Nigeria, kills seven people Press TV 15 Jan 2019 -- The Boko Haram Takfiri militants have attacked a military base and set fire to shelters for those displaced by the conflict in northeastern Nigeria, leaving seven people dead.
• Indian, Pakistani Servicemen Shell Each Other's Positions in Kashmir - Military Sputnik 15 Jan 2019 -- The Pakistani soldiers shelled on Tuesday morning India's positions in the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir, Lt. Col. Devender Anand, the spokesman for the Indian Defence Ministry, said, adding that the country's forces had retaliated.

News Reports

• Germany Detains Man Suspected Of Spying For Iran RFE/RL 15 Jan 2019 -- German authorities say they have detained a 50-year old Afghan-German dual national suspected of passing data to an Iranian intelligence agency.
• Military Staffer Arrested in Germany on Suspicion of Spying for Iran Sputnik 15 Jan 2019 -- The Bundeswehr has found itself in the centre of a spy scandal after the respected German weekly Der Spiegel reported that the intelligence service of the Islamic Republic of Iran recruited a German trooper years ago. The man with Afghan roots worked as a translator and had access to sensitive information.
• Huawei President Refutes Allegations of Spying for China - Reports Sputnik 15 Jan 2019 -- Huawei Technologies President Ren Zhengfei said on Tuesday that the Chinese telecommunication giant had never spied in favour of Beijing or granted access to "improper information" to any country, as cited by the Financial Times.
• No Force Can Reverse Advance of DPRK: Rodong Sinmun KCNA 15 Jan 2019 -- It is the truth proved by history that any obstacle and challenge can never check the just cause of the Korean people, Rodong Sinmun Tuesday says in an article.
• Outside Forces' Interference and Intervention Should Never Be Allowed KCNA 15 Jan 2019 -- We will never tolerate the interference and intervention of outside forces that stand in the way of national reconciliation, unity and reunification, said Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un in his historic New Year Address.
• High-level DPRK-U.S. talks expected to be held this week to discuss 2nd summit: S.Korean media People's Daily 15 Jan 2019 -- High-level talks between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States were expected to be held in Washington this week to discuss the second DPRK-U.S. summit, Yonhap news agency reported Tuesday citing diplomatic sources.
• US, North Korea to hold high-level talks this week: Sources Press TV 15 Jan 2019 -- Senior officials from the United States and North Korea are expected to hold a meeting in Washington later this week to discuss a second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, following a prolonged deadlock in denuclearization talks, sources say.
• Pyongyang Urges to Stop Foreign Military Exercises on Korean Peninsula - Envoy Sputnik 15 Jan 2019 -- Pyongyang calls for abandoning military exercises involving foreign forces on the Korean Peninsula, North Korean Ambassador to Russia Kim Hyun Joong said Tuesday.
• Trump Sends Letter to North Korean Leader Amid Preparations for Summit - Reports Sputnik 15 Jan 2019 -- US President Donald Trump last week sent a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un amid ongoing preparations for the two leaders' second summit, the CNN broadcaster reported on Tuesday, citing a source familiar with the matter.
• Iran not afraid of sanctions: President Rouhani IRNA 15 Jan 2019 -- Iran is not afraid of sanctions, won't retreat and won't let go of its goals, said President Hassan Rouhani in Gorgan, Golestan Province, northern Iran, on Tuesday.
• Iran govt. gets clearance for $5 billion Russian loan Press TV 15 Jan 2019 -- The Iranian government has been allowed to get a $5 billion loan from Russia for infrastructure projects, a parliamentary spokesman said on Tuesday.
• Rouhani: US attempts to undermine Iran's regional role will fail Press TV 15 Jan 2019 -- President Hassan Rouhani says the United States has been seeking to push Iran aside and take the matters of this region in its own hands, but that its attempts to undermine the Islamic Republic's regional role will certainly fail.
• Asia tackles last hurdles to resuming Iran oil shipments Press TV 15 Jan 2019 -- Asian buyers of Iranian oil have overcome final hurdles to resuming shipments from the country, with first cargoes set to arrive in Japan and South Korea as early as this month.
• Iran's Firing of Space Launch Vehicle Defies International Community US Dept. of State 15 Jan 2019
• Iran launches satellite into space Press TV 15 Jan 2019 -- Iran has launched a domestically-built satellite into space with an aim to collect environmental information to boost the country's forecasting system; however, technical problems that occurred during the final stage of the launch prevented the spacecraft from reaching orbit.
• Iran Announces Failure Of Satellite Launch RFE/RL 15 Jan 2019 -- Iran said it conducted a satellite launch but that the rocket failed to reach orbit.
• Iran Launches Satellite Despite Pompeo's Warning, But it Fails to Reach Orbit Sputnik 15 Jan 2019 -- The launch was previously criticised by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, while Tehran has stressed it does not violate UN Security Council Resolution 2231 pertaining to the country's nuclear programme.
• Explosion, gunshots rock Kenyan capital Press TV 15 Jan 2019 -- An explosion and gunfire have been reported in the Kenyan capital, leaving at least seven people dead, with al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab militants claiming responsibility for the attack.
• Al-Shabaab Attack Kills 3, Injures 1 at Hotel Complex in Nairobi - Reports Sputnik 15 Jan 2019 -- Somali Islamist militant group al-Shabaab attacked DusitD2, an upscale hotel complex in the Nairobi, Kenya's capital city, killing at least one person and injuring several others, Reuters reported.
• At Least Five Dead in Nairobi Hotel Attack VOA 15 Jan 2019 -- Attackers set off a bomb and opened fire at a hotel complex in Kenya's capital on Tuesday, leaving at least five people dead.
• Taiwan must cope firmly with changing circumstances: Tsai CNA 15 Jan 2019 -- President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said Tuesday that her administration will resolutely safeguard the sovereignty and security of the Republic of China (Taiwan), adamantly protect Taiwan's democratic and free life style and strengthen Taiwan in the face of constantly changing circumstances.
• Dragon Cargo Spacecraft Undocked From ISS, Returns to Earth Sputnik 15 Jan 2019 -- US cargo spacecraft Dragon left the International Space Station (ISS) after a month in the orbit and is expected to land in the Pacific later on Monday, the spacecraft's manufacturer SpaceX reported late on Sunday.
• Readout of Vice President Mike Pence's Call with Juan Guaido, the President of the National Assembly of Venezuela The White House 15 Jan 2019
• Venezuelan president calls Brazil's Bolsonaro modern times 'Hitler' Press TV 15 Jan 2019 -- Nicolas Maduro calls his Brazilian counterpart "a Hitler of the modern era" after Brasilia refuses to recognize his presidency over Venezuela.
• Trump Mulls Recognising Venezuela's Opposition Leader as President - Reports Sputnik 15 Jan 2019 -- Previously, the United States, namely Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, slammed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's new presidential term, calling it illegitimate and vowing that Washington will do its best to "restore real democracy to that country".
• Kenyan Government Faces Backlash After Chinese Contract Leaks VOA 15 Jan 2019 -- The Kenyan government is struggling to respond to revelations that a multi-billion dollar contract with China may imperil its sovereignty, according to The Daily Nation newspaper.
• PM statement to the House of Commons: 15 January 2019 UK FCO 15 Jan 2019 -- Prime Minister Theresa May's statement to the House of Commons following the Meaningful Vote.