Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• US-led forces moved from western Iraq base to Ain al-Asad air base: Source Press TV 09 Mar 2020 -- An Iraqi security source says an unspecified number of soldiers from the US-led military coalition, which is purportedly fighting the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group, has arrived at the Ain al-Asad air base housing US and other foreign troops in the western Iraqi province of Anbar for unknown reasons.
• U.S. Official Says U.S. Troop Withdrawal From Afghanistan Has Begun RFE/RL 09 Mar 2020 -- A U.S. official says U.S. forces have begun leaving Afghanistan under the first phase of an initial troop withdrawal required under the newly signed U.S.-Taliban peace agreement.
• Joint Statement on the Signing of the U.S.-Taliban Agreement US Dept. of State 09 Mar 2020 -- The text of the following statement was agreed by Special Envoys and Special Representatives of the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, the United Kingdom, the United Nations and the United States of America on the occasion of the signing of the U.S.-Taliban Agreement on February 29 in Qatar.
• Afghanistan Swears in Two Presidents VOA 09 Mar 2020 -- Afghanistan's president-elect Ashraf Ghani and his election rival, runner-up Abdullah Abdullah, took part in parallel swearing-in ceremonies Monday, fueling political tensions and posing a fresh challenge to U.S.-led peace efforts.
• Afghan presidential rivals hold parallel inauguration ceremonies Press TV 09 Mar 2020 -- Afghan President-elect Ashraf Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah have held rival swearing-in ceremonies, suggesting that their US-brokered talks over a disputed presidential race have yielded no result.
• 'Tremendous Uncertainty' As Competing Presidential Oaths Plunge Afghanistan Deeper Into Crisis RFE/RL 09 Mar 2020 -- Afghanistan has descended into a full-blown political crisis after the two main contenders in a bitterly disputed presidential election - each claiming victory - were sworn in as president in rival ceremonies.
• Ghani Sworn In As Afghan President, As Rival Holds Parallel Ceremony RFE/RL 09 Mar 2020 -- Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has been sworn in for a second term.
• Afghanistan's Ghani Pledges to Release Captive Taliban in Inauguration Speech – Reports Sputnik 09 Mar 2020 -- Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has vowed to set free the captive members of the Taliban radical movement, Afghan media reported on Monday.
• Daesh Claims Responsibility for Attack on Inauguration Ceremonies in Afghanistan - Reports Sputnik 09 Mar 2020 -- Ashraf Ghani was sworn in as the Afghan president at a ceremony at the presidential palace in Kabul earlier today, while his rival Abdullah Abdullah held a parallel inauguration ceremony, defying his opponent.
• Afghan Forces to Launch Offensive Unless Taliban Stops Attacks Soon - Defence Ministry Sputnik 09 Mar 2020 -- The Afghan forces will go into the offensive unless the Taliban movement stops its attacks in the coming days, Defence Minister Asadullah Khalid said on Sunday.
• Afghanistan's Ghani, Abdullah, Delay Swearing-In Ceremonies VOA 09 Mar 2020 -- Afghanistan's president-elect Ashraf Ghani and his election rival, runner-up Abdullah Abdullah, had prepared for parallel swearing-in ceremonies Monday, fueling political tensions and posing a fresh challenge to U.S.-led peace efforts.
• Federal Government of Somalia, AFRICOM target al-Shabaab AFRICOM 09 Mar 2020 -- In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted an airstrike targeting al-Shabaab terrorists in vicinity of Janaale, Somalia, Mar. 9.
• US Strikes in Somalia Nearly on Par with Strikes in Iraq, Syria VOA 09 Mar 2020 -- The pace of U.S. military strikes against al-Qaida affiliate al-Shabab in Somalia this year is nearly on par with the number of strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Defense Department Press Briefing on Coronavirus DoD 09 Mar 2020 -- Mr. Robert "Bob" Salesses, Deputy Assistant Secretary Of Defense For Homeland Defense And Defense Support Of Civil Authorities; Brigadier General Paul Friedrichs, Joint Staff Surgeon, Joint Chiefs Of Staff; Jonathan Rath Hoffman, Assistant to the Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
• DOD Updates Coronavirus Situation, Guidance DoD News 09 Mar 2020 -- The Defense Department continues to issue guidance to commanders and directors to combat the coronavirus outbreak, officials said in Washington today.
• DOD Issues Flexible Instructions on Response to Coronavirus DoD News 09 Mar 2020 -- DOD has issued instructions to the armed services and department heads on how to respond to the implications of the growing coronavirus outbreak.
• DOD Awards Contracts for Development of a Mobile Microreactor DoD 09 Mar 2020 -- The Department of Defense has awarded three teams, BWX Technologies, Inc., Lynchburg, Virginia; Westinghouse Government Services, Washington, D.C.; and X-energy, LLC, Greenbelt, Maryland; contracts to each begin design work on a mobile nuclear reactor prototype under a Strategic Capabilities Office initiative called Project Pele.
• AWACS test rapid deployment capability at PSAB CENTCOM 09 Mar 2020 -- The E-3G, currently assigned to the 968th Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron at Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, recently returned to PSAB for an agile combat employment exercise March 1-7, 2020.
• Acting SECNAV to Commission Future Carrier 2030 Task Force NNS 09 Mar 2020 -- Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas B. Modly announced today he is commissioning a Blue-Ribbon Future Carrier 2030 (FC-2030) Task Force to conduct a six-month study to reimagine the future of the aircraft carrier and carrier-based naval aviation (manned and unmanned) for 2030 and beyond.
• U.S. Cements Position As Largest Arms Exporter, With Russia A Lagging Second RFE/RL 09 Mar 2020 -- The United States has supplied more than one-third of global arms over the past five years, cementing its position as the world's top weapons seller, according to a Swedish based research institute.
• NATO Secretary General discusses situation in Syria with President Erdoğan NATO 09 Mar 2020 -- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday (9 March 2020) in Brussels.
• Russia's Pacific Fleet Forms Two New Anti-Submarine Strike Groups Sputnik 09 Mar 2020 -- Consisting of five destroyers, two corvettes and a Slava-class cruiser, the Pacific Fleet is also home to eight ballistic and cruise missile submarines, nearly a dozen attack subs, and dozens of smaller ships, as well as aircraft and Naval Infantry units.
• Chinese Air Force intensifies jet training for pilots Global Times 09 Mar 2020 -- Jet fighter pilot cadets at a Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force flight school have received intensified training with the newly commissioned JL-10 Falcon, an aircraft designed to familiarize cadets with the country's top combat planes like the J-16 and J-20.
• DPRK fires 3 projectiles into East Sea - Yonhap People's Daily 09 Mar 2020 -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) fired three unidentified projectiles into the East Sea on Monday local time, a week after it fired two short-range projectiles, Yonhap news agency reported, citing military sources of the Republic of Korea (ROK).
• Two Killed, Several Injured in Blast at Indian Army Ammunition Depot in Kashmir - Police Sputnik 09 Mar 2020 -- The explosion took place at the Khundru depot in the south of the Kashmir district, a police official said. Khundru is one of the biggest ammunition depots in the Kashmir valley.

Defense Industry

• Contracts For March 9, 2020

Other Conflicts

• 9 March 2020 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 09 Mar 2020
• UN Commission Calls for Criminal Accountability for South Sudan VOA 09 Mar 2020 -- United Nations investigators accuse South Sudanese leaders of widespread corruption and of trampling on the rights and fundamental freedoms of their people. The U.N. Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan presented its latest report to the U.N. Human Rights Council Monday.
• China Calls Tibet's Stability Into Question With 'Show of Force' in Lhasa Radio Free Asia 09 Mar 2020 -- A military drill held on March 6 in Tibet's regional capital Lhasa to demonstrate China's control of the formerly independent country has instead revealed Beijing's anxieties over the stability of its rule, observers say.
• Myanmar Army Brings Defamation Case Against Lawmaker, Reuters Over Report of Killings Radio Free Asia 09 Mar 2020 -- The Myanmar military has filed a criminal defamation lawsuit against an upper house parliamentarian and Reuters news agency over the coverage of a shooting in Buthidaung township in western Myanmar's war-ravaged Rakhine state, according to police.

News Reports

• Sudanese PM Safe After Assassination Attempt VOA 09 Mar 2020 -- Sudanese Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok says he is safe following an assassination attempt Monday in Khartoum. Eyewitnesses say car bombs went off near the prime minister's convoy as he traveled to his office. Afterward, hundreds of protesters gathered at the scene of the blasts, condemning what they called a terrorist attack.
• Sudanese prime minister escapes assassination attempt Press TV 09 Mar 2020 -- Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has survived an assassination attempt targeting his convoy in the capital Khartoum.
• Sudan's Prime Minister Survives Assassination Attempt in Capital Khartoum Sputnik 09 Mar 2020 -- According to state television, the official has been escorted to a safe location. Local media reported that the prime minister's convoy had been targeted with an explosive device.
• Sudan Prime Minister survives attempted assassination UN News 09 Mar 2020 -- Sudan's Prime Minister survived a reported assassination attempt in the capital Khartoum on Monday, tweeting after the incident that he was "safe and in good shape".
• Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang's Regular Press Conference on March 9, 2020 PRC MofA 09 Mar 2020
• China Launches Coronavirus Propaganda Drive To Boost International Image Radio Free Asia 09 Mar 2020 -- The ruling Chinese Communist Party has launched an overseas propaganda offensive questioning whether the coronavirus originated in the country, while backpedaling at home on comments by a high-ranking official calling for "gratitude" from the inhabitants of virus-hit Wuhan.
• Chinese Police Accuse Dissident Xu Zhiyong of Subversion: Source Radio Free Asia 09 Mar 2020 -- China's state security police are investigating detained dissident Xu Zhiyong for subversion after detaining him in the city he fled to after calling on President Xi Jinping to resign.
• China successfully sent into space second to the last satellite of the BDS-3 constellation Global Times 09 Mar 2020 -- China successfully sent the 54th satellite for the country's domestically developed BeiDou Satellite Navigation System, or BDS, into designated orbit on Monday.
• Legislature plans video conference on coronavirus concern CNA 09 Mar 2020 -- If there are two legislators or more confirmed with COVID-19, the Legislative Yuan will use video conferencing for its sessions, Lin Jih-jia (林志嘉), secretary-general of the Legislative Yuan, said Monday, as the virus continued to spread globally.
• IAEA Demands Iran 'Immediately' Provide Access To Suspected Nuclear Sites RFE/RL 09 Mar 2020 -- The head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog has demanded that Iran stop blocking its investigation into three possible nuclear sites.
• IAEA: No change in Iran's level of cooperation with agency IRNA 09 Mar 2020 -- Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Monday that there has been no change in the level of Iran's cooperation with the IAEA in monitoring and verifying the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
• IAEA says Iran's cooperation with agency, JCPOA compliance not changed Press TV 09 Mar 2020 -- The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has once again confirmed Iran's compliance with its commitments as per the 2015 nuclear deal with the world powers, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), adding that the country continues to cooperate with the agency.
• Atomic agency cites concerns over Iran testing sites, offers COVID-19 assistance UN News 09 Mar 2020 -- Iran's nuclear capabilities moved back into the international spotlight on Monday as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that it had concerns about possible "undeclared nuclear material and nuclear-related activities" in unregistered locations there.
• Saudi crown prince wants to become king before G20 Summit: Report Press TV 09 Mar 2020 -- Saudi Arabia's ambitious Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is trying to become king before a G20 Summit planned for November in Riyadh, which he intends to use as a stage for his succession, the Middle East Eye reports.
• Kazakhstan To Cut State Budget Following Sharp Drop In Oil Prices RFE/RL 09 Mar 2020 -- Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev has ordered the resource-rich Central Asian nation's government to cut spending following a sharp drop in the price of oil.
• Georgian Parties Sign Election-Reform Memorandum After Months Of Talks RFE/RL 09 Mar 2020 -- Leaders of Georgia's ruling and opposition parties have agreed to a deal on election reforms after months of foreign-brokered talks and sometimes violent public unrest.