Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Biden Administration To Review Afghan Peace Deal With Taliban RFE/RL Gandhara 23 Jan 2021 -- The United States intends to review an agreement reached with the Taliban last year in order to determine if the militant group is meeting its commitments under the Afghan peace accord.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's Call With Republic of Korea Minister of National Defense Suh Wook DoD 23 Jan 2021
• Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's Call With Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi DoD 23 Jan 2021
• Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's Call With U.K. Secretary of State for Defense Ben Wallace DoD 23 Jan 2021
• U.S. Senate confirms Lloyd Austin as 1st African American secretary of defense People's Daily 23 Jan 2021 -- The U.S. Senate on Friday approved retired Army General Lloyd Austin, President Joe Biden's nominee, to serve as the nation's first African American Secretary of Defense.
• Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group Enters South China Sea US Navy 23 Jan 2021 -- The Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group (TRCSG) entered the South China Sea January 23 to conduct routine operations.
• U.S. Navy Conducts Interoperability With NATO in Black Sea US Navy 23 Jan 2021 -- The U.S. Navy and NATO Air Command conducted 2021's first joint maritime and air training mission in the Black Sea Jan. 23.
• Fleet Forces Establishes Vaccination Cell to Expedite Delivery to Fleet US Navy 23 Jan 2021 -- U.S. Fleet Forces Command (USFFC) is taking the lead in the fleet's fight against the novel coronavirus with the stand-up of a Fleet Vaccination Cell (FVC), Jan. 11, 2021.
• NATO welcomes US intention to extend New START with Russia Global Times 23 Jan 2021 -- The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Friday welcomed US President Joe Biden's newly announced intention to extend by five years a bilateral treaty with Russia on the reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms.
• IAF and FASF Conclude Ex Desert Knight 2021 India PIB 23 Jan 2021 -- The Indian Air Force and French Air and Space Force participated in Ex Desert Knight 2021 at Air Force Station Jodhpur.
• Readout of President Joseph R. Biden Call with Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom The White House 23 Jan 2021

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• China authorizes coast guard to open fire on foreign vessels in disputed waters Press TV 23 Jan 2021 -- China has introduced a new law that allows its coast guard, for the first time, to open fire on foreign vessels deemed to pose threats, a move that could make the contested waters around China more turbulent.
• China adopts coastguard law, safeguarding sovereignty in Diaoyu Islands Global Times 23 Jan 2021 -- China passed its coastguard legislation on Friday, and experts said China will safeguard sovereignty regarding the dispute with Japan over the Diaoyu Islands.
• Saudi Arabia intercepts 'hostile air target' going toward Riyadh Press TV 23 Jan 2021 -- Saudi Arabia says it has intercepted an apparent missile or drone strike over Riyadh, after a blast was heard in the Saudi capital on Saturday morning.
• Three killed after bomb blast hits US Hummer in Syria: SANA Press TV 23 Jan 2021 -- A powerful bomb blast has hit a US military vehicle in Syria's oil-rich eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr, killing at least three people.
• At least 11 PMU fighters killed in Daesh ambush north of Baghdad Press TV 23 Jan 2021 -- At least 11 fighters from Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), better known as Hashd al-Sha'abi, have been killed in an ambush by Daesh terrorists north of the Iraqi capital, according to security sources.
• Nujaba warns Daesh supporters after reports of plots to hit Baghdad, Najaf, Karbala Press TV 23 Jan 2021 -- Iraq's Harakat al-Nujaba resistance group has warned about plots by the terrorist group of Daesh to carry out attacks in the capital Baghdad, as well as the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, threatening the regimes supporting the Takfiri group that they will cause the war to drag into their own lands.
• Internal Displacement in the Sahel Tops 2 Million as Armed Conflict Intensifies VOA 23 Jan 2021 -- The U.N. Refugee Agency, or UNHCR, is warning that countries in the Sahel have reached a breaking point as unrelenting violence in the region has caused more than 2 million people to become displaced inside their own countries for the first time ever.
• Ugandan Airstrikes in Somalia Kill 189 Al-Shabab Fighters VOA 23 Jan 2021 -- Somali officials and the Uganda People's Defense Forces (UPDF) claimed killing 189 al-Shabab fighters late Friday and in the early hours of Saturday in an operation in southern Somalia.
• Ugandan peacekeepers kill 189 al-Shabab militants in Somalia Press TV 23 Jan 2021 -- The Ugandan army says its peacekeeping forces have managed to eliminate 189 members of the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab Takfiri terrorist group in Somalia during an offensive against one of the group's camps.
• WHO Warns of Diseases Spreading in Tigray Because of Conflict VOA 23 Jan 2021 -- The World Health Organization is warning that conflict in Ethiopia's northern Tigray province and the consequent disruption of health services could lead to the spread of deadly diseases there.

News Reports

• NYT: Trump, Justice Depart. Lawyer Tried to Oust Acting Attorney General VOA 23 Jan 2021 -- The New York Times reported Friday that former President Donald Trump allegedly planned with a Justice Department lawyer to oust acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and replace him with an official more inclined to investigate claims of election fraud.
• Statement from Acting Secretary Pekoske on the 59th Presidential Inauguration DHS 23 Jan 2021 -- The Acting Secretary released the following statement commending the men and women of the U.S. Secret Service for their efforts to secure the 59th Presidential Inauguration:
• US State Department starts to revisit Trump terrorist designation of Yemen's Ansarullah Press TV 23 Jan 2021 -- A spokesperson at the US State Department says Washington has started a review of a decision by the administration of former US President Donald Trump to designate Yemen's popular Houthi Ansarullah movement as a foreign terrorist organization.
• Some 140,000 Chickens to Be Culled in Japan's Toyama Prefecture Over Bird Flu – Reports Sputnik 23 Jan 2021 -- Some 140,000 chickens will be exterminated in the western Japanese prefecture of Toyama over an outbreak of bird flu, Japanese media reported on Saturday.
• Russia warns US against encouraging protests by Western-backed blogger Press TV 23 Jan 2021 -- Moscow has warned the US embassy against encouraging unauthorized rallies in support of Western-backed blogger Alexi Navalny, saying the move will be regarded as "gross interference" in the country's internal affairs.
• Anger Over Corruption And Navalny's Jailing May Be Redefining Russian Politics RFE/RL 23 Jan 2021 -- "Putin's a thief!" The chant rang out in cities across Russia on January 23, as crowds took to the streets from Vladivostok in the Far East to Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea and were met with a forceful police crackdown as opposition leader Aleksei Navalny's showdown with the Kremlin entered a new phase.
• More Than 3,000 Detained In Russia By Police Amid Violent Clashes With Protesters Demanding Release Of Navalny RFE/RL 23 Jan 2021 -- Russian riot police cracked down hard on some of the biggest anti-government protests in years on January 23, detaining thousands of demonstrators calling for Aleksei Navalny's release at nationwide rallies that raised the stakes in the jailed opposition leader's showdown with President Vladimir Putin.
• Protests in Russia US Dept. of State 23 Jan 2021 -- The United States strongly condemns the use of harsh tactics against protesters and journalists this weekend in cities throughout Russia.
• Pro-Navalny Rallies in More Than 60 Russian Cities VOA 23 Jan 2021 -- Russian police are arresting supporters of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny as they take to the streets of more than 60 Russian cities Saturday to demand the Kremlin critic's immediate release, defying the measures taken by police to break up the protests, which they have declared illegal.
• 13 Chinese warplanes intrude into Taiwan's ADIZ in single day CNA 23 Jan 2021 -- Taiwan's Air Force scrambled fighter jets as 13 Chinese warplanes intruded into Taiwan's southwest air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Saturday, the highest number observed in a single day this year, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND).
• Taiwan's Defence Ministry: 8 Chinese Bombers, 4 Fighters Have Breached Island's Air Defence ID Zone Sputnik 23 Jan 2021 -- The People's Republic of China and the Republic of China (the island nation better known as Taiwan, which Beijing considers to be a renegade province) have overlapping air defence identification zone claims in the East China Sea, with this overlap regularly sparking tensions.
• PRC Military Pressure Against Taiwan Threatens Regional Peace and Stability US Dept. of State 23 Jan 2021 -- The United States notes with concern the pattern of ongoing PRC attempts to intimidate its neighbors, including Taiwan. We urge Beijing to cease its military, diplomatic, and economic pressure against Taiwan and instead engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan's democratically elected representatives.
• Iran isn't interested in direct talks with US yet: Deputy FM Araghchi ISNA 23 Jan 2021 -- Iranian deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Seyyed Abbas Araghchi stressed that there is no other alternative for Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
• Biden administration has fundamental choice to make: Zarif ISNA 23 Jan 2021 -- nian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif stressed that US President Joe Biden can choose a better path by ending Trump's failed policy of "maximum pressure" and returning to the deal his predecessor abandoned. If he does, Iran will likewise return to full implementation of our commitments under the nuclear deal. But if Washington instead insists on extracting concessions, then this opportunity will be lost.
• Iran urges U.S. to "unconditionally" remove sanctions as 1st step to revive nuke deal People's Daily 23 Jan 2021 -- Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif urged U.S. new administration to "unconditionally" remove sanctions as the first step to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), stressing the necessity to limit the deal scope to nuclear issues.
• Iran not interested in 'direct contact' with Biden administration for now: Senior diplomat Press TV 23 Jan 2021 -- A senior Iranian diplomat says the Islamic Republic has had no contact with the administration of new US President Joe Biden, stressing that any possible talks could only be held within the "right format" of a 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement signed between Tehran and major world powers.
• Head of Mossad to Outline Israeli Demands to Biden for Rejoining Iran Nuclear Deal - Report Sputnik 23 Jan 2021 -- During his presidential campaign, Joe Biden laid out his plans to rejoin the Iranian nuclear agreement after the Trump administration withdrew in 2018, claiming that Tehran was not acting in accordance with the deal's demands to limit the development of nuclear material.
• Iran's Domestic, Diaspora Critics Differ on How Biden Should Counter Tehran's Behavior VOA 23 Jan 2021 -- Prominent Iran-based and Iranian diaspora critics of Tehran's Islamist rulers have differing expectations about how far U.S. President Joe Biden will go to implement his promised new approach to dealing with Iran's objectionable behavior.
• Kosovar Election Authorities Put Main Opposition Leader's Candidacy In Doubt RFE/RL 23 Jan 2021 -- Kosovar election authorities have not verified the party lists of three parties in the upcoming parliamentary elections on February 14, potentially dashing former Prime Minister Albin Kurti's bid of taking up the post again.