Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Rockets Hit Coalition Base North Of Baghdad RFE/RL 14 Mar 2020 -- A number of rockets have hit a military base housing U.S. and other coalition troops north of Baghdad, injuring three American troops, two of them seriously, and critically wounding two Iraqi air defense personnel.
• Rocket attack hits US-occupied Taji base in Iraq for 2nd time in a week Press TV 14 Mar 2020 -- For the second time in a week, multiple rockets have struck US-occupied Taji military base in Iraq, Iraqi and US security sources say.
• Rockets Hit Base Housing US Troops for Second Time - Iraq Security Officials Sputnik 14 Mar 2020 -- The news comes just few days after two American soldiers and a British serviceman were killed by an attack on the Camp Taji base that resulted in massive strikes against the local Shia militia by the US-led coalition.
• US Official: 3 Members of Coalition Forces Hurt in Rocket Attack Near Baghdad VOA 14 Mar 2020 -- A U.S. military spokesman said a fresh round of rockets hit an Iraqi base Saturday where U.S.-led coalition forces were located, wounding three members of the coalition and two Iraqi troops.
• Afghanistan government postpones plan of releasing jailed Taliban members Press TV 14 Mar 2020 -- The Afghan government has postponed its announced plan of releasing jailed members of Taliban, a move that might plunge an already shaky peace process between Kabul and the militant group into deeper crisis.
• U.S. Africa Command cancels exercise Obangame Express AFRICOM 14 Mar 2020 -- After careful consideration with exercise participants and host-nation countries, exercise Obangame Express 2020 has been canceled.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Russia's Marshal Shaposhnikov Destroyer to Receive Cutting-Edge Sea Stealth Armament - Report Sputnik 14 Mar 2020 -- The Marshal Shaposhnikov destroyer of the Russian Pacific Navy fleet is currently docked and under repair. The large-anti submarine vessel will reportedly receive a cutting-edge upgrade of its formidable armament.
• Iraq military demands foreign forces swiftly withdraw following US air raids Press TV 14 Mar 2020 -- The Iraqi military has called for an immediate withdrawal of all American and foreign troops from the country in accordance with a parliamentary resolution passed earlier this year, and in light of a string of airstrikes carried out by the United States against multiple locations of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), better known by the Arabic name Hashd al-Sha'abi.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• US amphibious assault vessel, littoral combat ship intrude South China Sea Global Times 14 Mar 2020 -- US warships, regardless of their large displacement and advanced technologies, are actually "paper tigers" in the South China Sea, as China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) has the overwhelming advantage there, military experts said on Saturday after the US once again sent naval vessels to the South China Sea days after Chinese armed forces expelled a US warship that illegally entered the waters.
• 50,000 children die every year in Yemen: Ansarullah Press TV 14 Mar 2020 -- Yemen's Houthi Ansaruallh movement says the years-long Saudi-led war and blockade on the impoverished Arab country has increased the infant mortality rate alarmingly.
• Syria parliamentary elections adjourned to May 20 over coronavirus concerns Press TV 14 Mar 2020 -- Syria has decided to delay parliamentary elections, initially scheduled for April 13, in a precautionary step against the new coronavirus as the contagion continues its rapid spread around the world.
• Syria: 'The tragedy is deepening' as UN figures reveal nearly 5 million children have known nothing but war UN News 14 Mar 2020 -- Syria marks a grim milestone this weekend as the tenth year of war begins, prompting the UN Special Envoy to take stock of the incomprehensible scale of suffering there, noting that with nearly a million newly displaced in Idlib, "the tragedy is deepening".
• UN Reports Extreme Deprivation as Syrian War Enters 10th Year VOA 14 Mar 2020 -- As Syria's war enters its 10th year, the United Nations reports that alarming conditions of extreme deprivation and danger continue to engulf millions of people in the country.
• Turkey dispatches new reinforcements to Syria's Idlib prior to joint patrols with Russia: SOHR Press TV 14 Mar 2020 -- The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) says Turkey has dispatched a new military convoy to Syria's embattled northwestern province of Idlib, a day ahead of the first joint patrol by Turkish and Russian troops on the strategic M4 highway and establishment of joint coordination centers in the region.
• South Sudan: UN chief commends 'spirit of compromise and collaboration' as new cabinet is unveiled UN News 14 Mar 2020 -- Following the unveiling of a new unity cabinet in South Sudan on Thursday, the UN Secretary-General has commended the "spirit of compromise and collaboration" shown by President Salva Kiir and rival-turned-top deputy, Riek Machar, on what has been a rocky road towards forging lasting peace.
• UN Appeals for $1.3B for South Sudan Refugees, Host Countries VOA 14 Mar 2020 -- The U.N. refugee agency and partners are appealing for $1.3 billion to assist more than two million South Sudanese refugees and five major countries hosting them — Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

News Reports

• Putin Formally Signs Off On Constitutional Changes That Allow Him To Extend Power RFE/RL 14 Mar 2020 -- Russia's Constitutional Court convened for an urgent session on March 14 to launch a review of constitutional amendments that, among other changes, would allow Vladimir Putin to run again for president in 2024.
• Putin Signs Constitutional Amendments Into Law Sputnik 14 Mar 2020 -- The constitutional reform legislation put forward by Putin includes the expansion of the Parliament's powers, a ban on senior officials from having a residence permit in other countries, a limit on the number of presidential terms, the main law's precedence over international agreements, and strengthening the social obligations of the state.
• Washington Post hypes fake news on coronavirus 'burial pits' in Iran Press TV 14 Mar 2020 -- The Washington Post has turned to publishing fake news about Iran's response to the coronavirus outbreak, claiming that Iran has dug mass "burial pits" for victims of the disease and was covering the true number of deaths.
• Romanian Deputies Back New Orban Government RFE/RL 14 Mar 2020 -- Lawmakers in Romania backed center-right Prime Minister Ludovic Orban's government in a vote of confidence on March 14 to end a month of wrangling and allow officials to try and combat the global new coronavirus pandemic.