C U R R E N T NEWS
E A R L Y B I R D
October 8, 2012
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PANETTA TRIP
1. US To Update Defense Accords With Uruguay, Peru
(Agence France-Presse)...Agence France-Presse
The United States is seeking to update its defense accords with Latin American countries and has started talks with Uruguay and Peru to that effect, the Pentagon announced Sunday.
MIDEAST
2. Iran Targets Nuclear Agency
(Washington Post)...Joby Warrick
Iran is ratcheting up pressure on the U.N. agency responsible for overseeing the country's nuclear program, accusing its inspectors of engaging in spying and sabotage and threatening to restrict U.N. access to Iranian nuclear facilities.
3. Newsweek’s Iran War Game
(Newsweek)...Dan Ephron
Will America get pulled into another Mideast war? We hosted a 'war game' with former U.S. officials to find out.
4. Rebels Clash With Syrian Security Forces Near Lebanon
(New York Times)...Anne Barnard
Rebel fighters and security forces in Syria clashed near the border with Lebanon and fought over a military barracks in Aleppo on Sunday, while Turkish artillery fired into Syria for a fifth consecutive day in retaliation for cross-border shelling.
5. Saudis Line Up Against Syrian Regime
(Washington Post)...Kevin Sullivan
...
Abdullah, normally a discreet behind-the-scenes conciliator, has denounced the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with rare royal rage, and his people have joined in with gusto.
6. Syria Strife Lures In Militants From Libya
(Washington Times)...Rowan Scarborough
The arrival of Libyan fighters in Syria is raising questions about the motives of some of those seeking to overthrow the regime in Damascus. If Iraq is the model, the U.S. should be worried, national security analysts say.
7. Lebanon Says Israeli Planes Circled Its Airspace For An Hour
(New York Times)...Jodi Rudoren
The morning after the Israeli Air Force shot down an unidentified drone in the Negev Desert, the Lebanese government said that four Israeli warplanes spent an hour on Sunday illegally circling in its airspace.
8. US Officers In Israel For Military Exercise: Report
(Agence France-Presse)...Agence France-Presse
US army officers have begun arriving in Israel ahead of joint military manoeuvres between the countries' armed forces, an Israeli newspaper said on Sunday. The officers will supervise the arrival of hundreds of US troops on October 14 for joint manoeuvres that will take place the following week and last for three weeks, according to Yediot Aharonot.
AFGHANISTAN
9. Shadow Of The Infiltrator
(Time (Asia edition))...Mujib Mashal
The U.S. military may fear turncoat Afghans, but a more systematic subversion is at work.
10. NATO Weeds Out Suspect Recruits, Resumes Afghan Police Training
(Washington Times)...Kristina Wong
Special operations forces in Afghanistan have resumed training Afghan Local Police recruits after a suspension last month in response to two insider attacks by recruits on their international coalition trainers in August, U.S. officials say.
11. 'Surreal' Attack At Camp Bastion
(U-T San Diego)...Gretel C. Kovach
If not for actions of Marines, deadly Taliban assault in desert could have been much worse.
12. Afghan War Enters 12th Year
(Yahoo.com)...Amir Shah and Deb Riechmann, Associated Press
...
Yet as the Afghan war began its 12th year on Sunday, fears loom that the country will again fracture along ethnic lines once international combat forces leave by the end of 2014.
13. Afghan Government Could Collapse, New Report Says
(Agence France-Presse)...Agence France-Presse
The Afghan government could fall apart after NATO troops pull out in 2014, particularly if presidential elections that year are fraudulent, a report by the International Crisis Group said Monday.
PAKISTAN
14. Anti-Drone Caravan Blocked
(Los Angeles Times)...Alex Rodriguez and Nasir Khan
...
Khan held his rally anyway 25 miles short of the South Waziristan border, an event trumpeted as a demonstration against U.S. drone missile strikes on Islamic militants in Pakistan's troubled tribal areas. But among analysts and most political commentators, the rally was criticized as a poorly disguised attempt at revving up support for Khan's campaign ahead of national elections next year.
LIBYA
15. Libya's Prime Minister Is Dismissed
(New York Times)...David D. Kirkpatrick
The Libyan Parliament voted on Sunday to dismiss the prime minister it chose less than four weeks ago, deepening a leadership crisis at a moment when the country's transitional authorities are under intense pressure to catch the killers of the American ambassador, J. Christopher Stevens, and to stop the prevailing lawlessness that led to his death.
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
16. Panetta: Troop To The Polls
(Washington Times)...Shaun Waterman
The U.S. military is making one last push to get troops, especially those posted overseas, to register to vote, as the first state deadlines for absentee registration approach this week. The push, headlined by a video message from Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, comes as current and former officials are pushing back against reports that military registration is down compared with 2008.
17. As Military Suicides Rise, Focus Is On Private Weapons
(New York Times)...James Dao
With nearly half of all suicides in the military having been committed with privately owned firearms, the Pentagon and Congress are moving to establish policies intended to separate at-risk service members from their personal weapons. The issue is a thorny one for the Pentagon.
ARMY
18. Workers With Disabilities Welcomed At CECOM
(Baltimore Sun)...Gus G. Sentementes
Army command honored; federal agencies widen employment opportunity.
19. Helmet-Camera Combat Video From Ft. Carson Soldier Goes Viral
(Denver Post)...Kieran Nicholson
A video recording of a firefight in Afghanistan posted online by a Fort Carson soldier has gone viral, logging nearly 20 million views since it was uploaded to YouTube on Sept. 26.
20. General May Get Option To Retire
(Fayetteville (NC) Observer)...Henry Cuningham and Drew Brooks
Under military law, Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair may be able to ask the secretary of the Army for permission to retire rather than face possible court-martial for forcible sodomy. Fort Bragg officials declined to discuss whether retirement is a possibility for Sinclair or if he has made such a request.
NAVY
21. Lab For Amputee Veterans Expands
(Los Angeles Times)...Tony Perry
To meet the needs of an increasing number of amputees, Naval Medical Center San Diego is expanding its prosthetics lab where service personnel are fitted with artificial limbs and trained to use them.
NATIONAL GUARD/RESERVE
22. Guard Focusing On Cyber Security
(Tacoma News Tribune)...Adam Ashton
The Washington National Guard is leveraging a decade of investment in cyber security at Camp Murray in Lakewood into projects that could protect state and local governments, utilities and private industry from network attacks.
23. Honoring With Pride
(Tulsa (OK) World)...Jerry Wofford
As Spc. Jason Shorter and his colleague make each of the 13 folds in the American flag and his fellow soldier plays taps, he knows the family of a deceased soldier or veteran is watching and listening. Presenting that folded triangle of blue with white stars to the family to honor their loved one is one last show of appreciation for their service and sacrifice, one that family won't forget.
ASIA/PACIFIC
24. Seoul To Extend Missile Range
(Wall Street Journal)...Evan Ramstad
...
State Department and Pentagon officials said Sunday that South Korea needs the additional missile range to defend against the North Korean ballistic-missile threat. South Korea's "new missile guidelines are designed to improve their ability to deter and defend against DPRK [North Korean] ballistic missiles," said Lt. Col. Steven Warren, a Pentagon spokesman. "These revisions are a prudent, proportional, and specific response to the DPRK ballistic-missile threat."
25. Southeast Asia Splashes Out On Defense, Mostly Maritime
(Reuters.com)...John O'Callaghan, Reuters
Indonesia is buying submarines from South Korea and coastal radar systems from China and the United States. Vietnam is getting submarines and combat jets from Russia, while Singapore - the world's fifth-largest weapons importer - is adding to its sophisticated arsenal. Wary of China and flush with economic success, Southeast Asia is ramping up spending on military hardware to protect the shipping lanes, ports and maritime boundaries that are vital to the flow of exports and energy.
POLITICS
26. Romney Strives To Stand Apart In Global Policy
(New York Times)...David E. Sanger
...
In a speech on Monday at the Virginia Military Institute, Mr. Romney will declare that "hope is not a strategy" for dealing with the rise of Islamist governments in the Middle East or an Iran racing toward the capability to build a nuclear weapon, according to excerpts released by his campaign.
27. Military Times Poll: Romney Bests Obama, 2-1
(Army Times)...Andrew Tilghman
Economy, not military issues, is top concern.
BUSINESS
28. China Tech Giant Under Fire
(Wall Street Journal)...Siobhan Gorman
A Chinese telecommunications giant that has been attempting to expand in the U.S. poses a national-security threat and may have violated U.S. laws, according to a congressional investigation. The year-long investigation by the House intelligence committee concluded the firm, Huawei Technologies Inc., and a second firm, ZTE Inc., pose security risks to the U.S. because their equipment could be used for spying on Americans.
29. Nations Still Deadlocked On EADS-BAE Deal
(Wall Street Journal)...Daniel Michaels, Marcus Walker and Cassell Bryan-Low
Government officials negotiating terms of the proposed merger of Britain's BAE Systems and Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. remain deadlocked over critical issues including state ownership stakes and the location of the combined company's headquarters, according to several people close to the talks.
30. Sea Power For Robots
(Boston Globe)...Martin LaMonica
...
With a typical run time of about 24 hours, autonomous underwater vehicles, or AUVs as they are known, have so far been limited in use. If the industry can come up with a way to repower them at sea, these underwater robots could give the military powerful new tools and take on a broader range of commercial and scientific jobs.
COMMENTARY
31. Whose Revolution?
(Washington Post)...David Ignatius
Syrian rebels battle extremists' growing power.
32. Lifting Obama's Gag Order On Military Chaplains
(Washington Times)...Sen. Jim Inhofe and Sen. Roger Wicker
Military Religious Freedom Act defends conscience.
33. Romney's Missing Foreign Policy
(New York Times)...Danielle Pletka
...
Any new vision for American greatness in the world must flow from an understanding of how the country has changed since 2001. We are still one of the richest nations on earth, but Americans are poorer, war-weary and irritated with what appears to be the ingratitude of nations for which we have sacrificed a great deal in blood and treasure. There are substantial wings of both the Democratic and Republican parties that wish to wash their hands of the world's troubles.
34. No Escape From The Middle East
(Washington Post)...Fred Hiatt
...
But recent events suggest that the next president, whether Romney or Obama, will get drawn into messy, difficult dilemmas in the Middle East and Central Asia. The longer a president holds America back from its expected role as leader and shaper of events, the messier the dilemmas will be.
35. Generals, Make Way For Lawyers
(Boston Globe)...Juliette Kayyem
...
There are ways to assert American power and protect national interests that have nothing to do with the military or diplomacy. Move over, generals and diplomats. The lawyers are looking for a little action, and the next "war" may very well be in litigation.
36. EADS-BAE Deal Must Limit Foreign Stakes To Pass U.S. Muster
(Reuters.com)...Andrea Shalal-Esa, Reuters
BAE Systems insists there is "no magic number" for French and German government shares in a possible merger with EADS, but U.S. experts say anything over 10 percent could ruin the chances of winning approval from U.S. regulators.
37. Prepare For The Worst
(Defense News)...Editorial
...
No matter how you slice it, sequestration will only make a bad situation worse, and Congress has a responsibility to avoid it. Yet it has demonstrated a tendency toward nonpartisan irresponsibility. DoD leaders absolutely must do more to prepare for a worst-case scenario.
38. Beating A Retreat
(The Guardian (UK))...Editorial
As western forces eye the emergency exit in Afghanistan, not a month goes by without someone in charge lowering expectations.
39. Mali Burning
(Washington Post)...Editorial
...
Short of boots on the ground, however, more can and should be done. The collapse of landlocked Mali into another unhinged, failed state will threaten the region.
CORRECTIONS
40. Corrections
(New York Times)...The New York Times
An article last Monday about the mistaken faith that United States officials may have placed in the security at the American mission in Benghazi, Libya, because of an effective response by Libyan guards to a small bombing outside the mission on June 6 misidentified, in some editions, the date the United States announced it had killed Abu Yahya al-Libi, a top leader of Al Qaeda in Pakistan. It was June 5, not June 6.