Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Joint Statement on the Signing of the U.S.-Taliban Agreement US Dept. of State 06 Mar 2020 -- The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America and the Russia Federation on the occasion of the signing of the U.S.-Taliban Agreement on February 29 in Qatar.
• Report: US Intelligence Says Taliban Plan to Break Peace Deal VOA 06 Mar 2020 -- A U.S. media outlet reported Friday that the U.S. government had intelligence that the Taliban did not plan to abide by promises they made in the recent peace agreement with the United States.
• Red Arrow Soldiers in Afghanistan build on legacy Army News 06 Mar 2020 -- The Soldiers of the Wisconsin Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry, remain hard at work in Afghanistan.
• Gunmen attack Afghan gathering attended by senior figures Press TV 06 Mar 2020 -- Afghan political leader Abdullah Abdullah has escaped unhurt after gunmen attacked a ceremony in the capital Kabul, that left at least 27 people dead and dozens injured.
• Dozens Killed In Kabul Attack Claimed By Islamic State RFE/RL 06 Mar 2020 -- Gunmen have opened fire at a ceremony in Kabul, killing at least 32 people in the first major attack in the Afghan capital since the United States and Taliban agreed to a troop withdrawal.
• Trump: Taliban Could 'Possibly' Seize Power After U.S. Pullout RFE/RL 06 Mar 2020 -- U.S. President Donald Trump says the Taliban could "possibly" overrun the Western-backed government in Kabul after the United States withdraws from Afghanistan.
• Attack on Kabul Rally Kills 32; Top Afghan Politicians Unhurt VOA 06 Mar 2020 -- Officials in Afghanistan say at least 32 people were killed and around 60 injured Friday when gunmen opened fire on a gathering in Kabul, with high-profile opposition politicians in attendance.
• Federal Government of Somalia, AFRICOM target al-Shabaab AFRICOM 06 Mar 2020 -- In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted an airstrike targeting an al-Shabaab terrorist in the vicinity of Qunyo Barrow, Somalia, Mar. 5.

Defense Policy / Programs

• R-and-D experts test ideas in frigid Arctic Eagle 2020 exercise Army News 06 Mar 2020 -- About 70 research and development experts participated in the Alaska National Guard's Arctic Eagle 2020 exercise in Fairbanks to explore innovative ways the military and emergency responders can do their jobs in arctic conditions.
• DOD's Chief Management Officer Leads Servicewide Reviews DoD News 06 Mar 2020 -- The Defense Department's chief management officer is leading each of the military, departmentwide reviews with the aim of ranking programs needed for the fight against near-peer competitors, said a DOD official.
• Navy to Commission Expeditionary Sea Base USS Hershel 'Woody' Williams NNS 06 Mar 2020 -- The Navy will commission its newest Expeditionary Sea Base, USS Hershel "Woody" Williams (ESB 4), during a 10 a.m. EST ceremony Saturday, March 7, in Norfolk, Virginia.
• Partnership Revives H-53 Rotor Head Program NNS 06 Mar 2020 -- Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) is boosting readiness for the H-53 heavy-lift helicopter by breathing new life into the depot's H-53 rotor head program. A partnership agreement with Sikorsky is generating positive results.
• DOD's Cyber Strategy of Past Year Outlined Before Congress DoD News 06 Mar 2020 -- The 2018 Defense Department cyber strategy prioritizes the challenge of great-power competition and recognizes that DOD must defend forward to counter U.S. competitors' long-term, coordinated campaigns of malicious activity to gain political, economic and military advantage, a DOD official said on Capitol Hill.
• Six nations join in cyberspace training exercise in Bangkok Army News 06 Mar 2020 -- Multinational forces joined with the Royal Thai Armed Forces (RTARF) to conduct the second annual Cyberspace Field Training Exercise as part of Cobra Gold 2020 Feb. 24 - March 6.
• Precarious Lack of Engineers May Keep Norwegian F-35s Grounded – Report Sputnik 06 Mar 2020 -- So far, Norway has received 15 new F-35s, and three more are to arrive in May. Right now, Norwegian F-35s are on their maiden air policing mission in Iceland.
• Russian S-400 Air Defence Systems Will Enter Service in Turkey in April - Erdogan Sputnik 06 Mar 2020 -- Russian-made S-400 air defence missile systems will enter service in Turkey in April, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.
• Briefing with Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs R. Clarke Cooper US Dept. of State 06 Mar 2020

Defense Industry

• Contracts for March 6, 2020

Other Conflicts

• 6 March 2020 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 06 Mar 2020
• Yemenis eye Ma'rib as infighting rocks Saudi-led coalition Press TV 06 Mar 2020 -- A senior Yemeni official has said the country's armed forces are seeking to liberate the central province of Ma'rib after taking control of the neighboring strategic province of al-Jawf, which borders Saudi Arabia.
• EU Announces Syria Donors Conference for June VOA 06 Mar 2020 -- The European Union said Friday that it would host an international donors conference in June for refugees from Syria and surrounding countries, even as the bloc criticized Turkey for using asylum-seekers as political pawns.
• Cease-fire in Syria Largely Holds on First Day VOA 06 Mar 2020 -- Monitors in Syria said Friday that a cease-fire was largely holding on the first day of a truce between Russia, which backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces, and Turkey, which backs some Syrian rebel groups.
• 'Rare calm' returns to Idlib following ceasefire deal as Damascus secures strategic gains Press TV 06 Mar 2020 -- Syria's war-torn northwestern Idlib province has reportedly witnessed "rare calm" following the implementation of a ceasefire agreement allowing the government to secure two strategic routes running through the province.
• Turkish MoD Says 'Neutralised' 21 Syrian Soldiers on 5 March After 2 Turkish Troops Killed Sputnik 06 Mar 2020 -- Earlier, the Ministry said that two Turkish soldiers had been killed and three more injured as a result of the Syrian army fire.
• Terrorists must be eradicated first and foremost by Syrian forces, Moscow says Press TV 06 Mar 2020 -- It is the responsibility of the Syrian Armed Forces to eradicate the militants and terrorists operating in Syria, says the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman.
• Violence Hits Syria's Idlib Province Ahead Of Truce, Then 'Relative Calm' RFE/RL 06 Mar 2020 -- A Syrian rights watchdog and activists are reporting "relative calm" in Idlib Province after a cease-fire agreed to by the leaders of Turkey and Russia went into effect at midnight, although they said violence continued right up to the start of the truce.
• Iraqi forces cleanse rugged areas in Diyala province of Daesh Press TV 06 Mar 2020 -- Iraqi forces have now ensured security in several rugged areas in the eastern province of Diyala following an offensive to hunt down the remnants of the Daesh Takfiri terrorists.
• Myanmar Court Jails 15 Rohingya For Two Years For Trying to Flee Country Radio Free Asia 06 Mar 2020 -- A court in central Myanmar's Magway region on Friday sentenced 15 Rohingya Muslims to a maximum of two years in prison each for attempting to leave the country illegally, an immigration official said.
• Statement by the NATO Secretary General on MH17 criminal trial NATO 06 Mar 2020
• Armenia, Azerbaijan Trade Accusations Over Fresh Border Fighting RFE/RL 06 Mar 2020 -- Armenia and Azerbaijan have accused each other of violating the fragile cease-fire along their border for a second time in less than two weeks.
• DR Congo: Agencies appeal for funding for refugee support and Ebola response UN News 06 Mar 2020 -- Urgent resources are needed to support countries in southern Africa and the Great Lakes region which are hosting more than 900,000 refugees and asylum seekers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and partners said in a $621 million appeal launched on Friday.
• Security Concerns in Kenya Follow Unrest on Somalia Border VOA 06 Mar 2020 -- Kenyan authorities say one person is dead and 11 others injured after clashes in Somalia this week spilled across the border into Kenya. Now local leaders from Kenyan border areas are demanding action.
• Tibetans in Nepal Urged Not to Observe March 10 Uprising Anniversary Radio Free Asia 06 Mar 2020 -- The Tibetan Welfare Office in Nepal is urging Tibetan residents of the Himalayan country not to celebrate the March 10 anniversary of a 1959 Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule, saying Tibetans must follow local laws to avoid a crackdown by police.

News Reports

• Briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova, Moscow, March 6, 2020 Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs 06 Mar 2020
• The Week In Russia: The Not-So-Basic Law And The Goal In Syria RFE/RL 06 Mar 2020 -- The Russian Constitution is often called the Basic Law. It's about to get less basic.
• Amid Questions About Political Future, Putin Says He Doesn't Intend To Become Head Of State Council RFE/RL 06 Mar 2020 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he did not intend to head a newly empowered State Council once his presidency formally ends in 2024.
• Kremlin Critic Navalny Files Suit Against Russia At European Rights Court RFE/RL 06 Mar 2020 -- Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny and his Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) have lodged a complaint against Russia at the European Court of Human Rights claiming authorities are "unlawfully" impeding their political activities.
• Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian's Regular Press Conference on March 6, 2020 PRC MofA 06 Mar 2020
• Political motivation of some US politicians laid bare over comments on Jimmy Lai: commissioner's office of Chinese foreign ministry Global Times 06 Mar 2020 -- Office of the Commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) said on Friday that some US politicians' comments on the HKSAR government's legal action against Jimmy Lai and several others are attempting to sow trouble in Hong Kong.
• Hong Kong Transfers Protest Movement 'Spiritual Leader' to Top Security Jail Radio Free Asia 06 Mar 2020 -- A jailed Hong Kong politician who advocated "separation" between the former British colony and mainland China has been transferred to a maximum security prison after receiving a Christmas card from a supporter deemed to have "sensitive" content, local media and politicians reported.
• Wuhan Residents Heckle China's Vice Premier Over Lack of Food, Supplies Radio Free Asia 06 Mar 2020 -- Residents of a housing project in the central city of Wuhan heckled a top ruling Chinese Communist Party official on Thursday with shouts of "Fake!" after being told to stay home during his visit to their compound.
• China carrying out planned space missions amid virus outbreak Global Times 06 Mar 2020 -- China's scheduled space missions this year will not be affected by the novel coronavirus epidemic, the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province said Friday.
• Mainland spokesperson considers U.S. House passage of Taiwan-related act "unreasonable" People's Daily 06 Mar 2020 -- A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Thursday slammed the so-called "Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative (TAIPEI) Act of 2019" passed by the U.S. House of Representatives recently, saying the passage of the Taiwan-related bill is "unreasonable."
• North Korea 'Mobilizes' Workers, Then Collects Money When Work is Cancelled Because of Coronavirus Radio Free Asia 06 Mar 2020 -- Authorities in North Korea are making preparations to mobilize citizens for major state projects that require large amounts of labor, but sources say that the government has chosen to do this during the novel coronavirus crisis to encourage citizens to donate money instead.
• Experts Left to Decipher Kim Jong Un's Latest Letter to South Korea VOA 06 Mar 2020 -- North Korea is sending mixed messages to South Korea in the age of the coronavirus: Earlier this week, Pyongyang conducted its first short-range ballistic missile test in more than three months, then broke its hostile silence by sending well-wishes to the South Korean president.
• Zelenskiy's Big Move: Will 'New Brains And New Hearts' Revive The Same Old Problems In Ukraine? RFE/RL 06 Mar 2020 -- When Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a popular comedian with no political experience, won Ukraine's presidential election in April, many questioned whether he could stand up to the powerful oligarchs that have wielded power in Kyiv from behind the scenes for decades.
• WHO Urges Vigilance as Ebola Epidemic Appears to Near End in DRC VOA 06 Mar 2020 -- The World Health Organization urges continued vigilance to prevent flareups of the deadly Ebola virus as the epidemic in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo moves closer to being officially declared over.
• Tunisia Targets Terrorist Hideouts After Suicide Bombing Near US Embassy VOA 06 Mar 2020 -- Two assailants on a motorcycle Friday attacked a Tunisian security forces checkpoint outside the U.S. Embassy in Tunis, blowing themselves up, killing one police officer and wounding four others plus a civilian. Police launched raids on the homes of the suspected bombers shortly after the attack.
• In U.S. Hacker Trial, The Tangled Web Of Russia's Cyberunderground Is Further Exposed RFE/RL 06 Mar 2020 -- In March 2012, a 25-year-old Russian computer whiz named Yevgeny Nikulin sat with several others in a conference room in a hotel in eastern Moscow. A video taken by a Ukrainian named Oleksandr Ieremenko showed them discussing plans for an Internet cafe business and other matters.
• U.S., Britain Again Accuse Russia Of Cyberattacks On Georgia RFE/RL 06 Mar 2020 -- The United States, Britain, and Estonia have accused Russian military intelligence of conducting massive cyberattacks against the Georgian government and media websites in a bid "to sow discord and disrupt the lives of ordinary Georgians."
• Guinea-Bissau Crisis Deepens as UN Urges Peaceful Solution VOA 06 Mar 2020 -- An ongoing dispute in Guinea-Bissau over December presidential election results, is casting a military shadow over the West African country. After rival parties both inaugurated different presidents, troops this week occupied the Supreme Court building and shut down state broadcasters, raising concerns of a possible coup.