C U R R E N T NEWS
E A R L Y B I R D
October 18, 2012
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MIDEAST
1. American Troops Arrive In Israel For Defense Drill
(New York Times)...Isabel Kershner
The first of 1,000 United States troops have begun to arrive in Israel to take part in a joint missile-defense exercise, which the lead American planner described on Wednesday as the largest in the history of the two countries’ relationship and a testament to the strength of their military ties..
2. Yemen: Suspected US Drone Strikes Kill 7 Militants
(Yahoo.com)...Ahmed Al-Haj, Associated Press
Yemeni security officials say suspected U.S. drone strikes have killed at least seven al-Qaida-linked militants in the country's south..
3. Syrian Rebels Get Missiles
(Wall Street Journal)...Nour Malas
Some Syrian rebel factions have obtained advanced portable antiaircraft weapons, according to rebels and regional officials, a development that could alter the Syrian war's trajectory and fan U.S. concerns that such weapons could end up in the hands of anti-Western Islamist militias..
4. Denial Slipping Away As War Rattles Damascus
(New York Times)...Janine Di Giovanni
...
The reality of war has crept into daily life, and there is a sense of inevitability. Even supporters of the government talk about what comes next, and rebels speak of tightening the noose around this city, their ultimate goal..
5. Alawite Strains May Test Assad
(Washington Post)...Liz Sly
Rumblings of discontent within Syria’s Alawite minority are presenting a new challenge to President Bashar al-Assad’s efforts to retain power in the face of an expanding armed rebellion, calling into question the loyalties even of his own sect in the conflict ravaging the country.
LEGAL AFFAIRS
6. Alleged 9/11 Mastermind Criticizes U.S. At Hearing
(Washington Post)...Julie Tate and Ernesto Londono
Wearing a camouflage hunting vest, the alleged mastermind of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, issued a blistering critique of U.S. defense policy during a court hearing at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Wednesday, saying Washington has wantonly used national security as a pretext to murder and torture..
7. Man Is Charged With Plotting To Bomb Federal Reserve Bank In Manhattan
(New York Times)...Mosi Secret and William K. Rashbaum
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn charged a 21-year-old Bangladeshi man with conspiring to blow up the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, saying he tried to remotely detonate what he believed was a 1,000-pound bomb in a van he parked outside the building in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday..
8. US To Hand Over Emails In WikiLeaks Soldier Case
(Agence France-Presse)...Dan De Luce, Agence France-Presse
A US judge ordered prosecutors Wednesday to hand over hundreds of emails by officers overseeing the detention of WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning, who has alleged he suffered mistreatment at a Marine Corps brig..
ASIA/PACIFIC
9. In Japan, Anger Over Alleged U.S. Rape Case
(Washington Post)...Chico Harlan
Japan lodged a protest with the United States on Wednesday over the alleged rape of a Japanese woman by two U.S. sailors on Okinawa, an island that long has bristled about the heavy American military presence there..
10. White House Review Finds No Evidence Of Spying By Huawei: Sources
(Reuters.com)...Joseph Menn, Reuters
A White House-ordered review of security risks posed by suppliers to U.S. telecommunications companies found no clear evidence that Huawei Technologies Ltd had spied for China, two people familiar with the probe told Reuters..
11. Besieged S. Korean Military Chief Replaces U.S. Visit With Video Conference
(Yonhap News Agency)...Yonhap
South Korea's military chief under siege for serious border security loopholes has decided to cancel his planned trip to the United States for annual defense talks, officials said Thursday..
AFGHANISTAN
12. Questions Raised In Deaths Of Afghan Children In Coalition Strike
(New York Times)...Alissa J. Rubin
The international military coalition in Afghanistan has confirmed that three children were killed in a coalition artillery strike in Helmand Province, expressing regret over the deaths and calling them “tragic,” but also raising the possibility that the Taliban had been using the children to place roadside bombs for them..
13. NATO: Afghanistan Drawdown Plans Unchanged
(Yahoo.com)...Associated Press
NATO's top official said Thursday the alliance remains committed to help enable Afghan forces assume full responsibility for the country's security after 2014, when coalition troops are due to end their combat mission..
14. ANSF Leaders Pull No Punches In The Pentagon
(The E-Ring (e-ring.foreignpolicy.com))...Kevin Baron
Afghan National Security Forces leaders from Helmand and Kandahar provinces visiting the Pentagon on Wednesday said they understand the seriousness of green-on-blue and insider attacks on coalition forces. But in an exclusive interview with the E-Ring, the Afghan officers also indicated there are two things worrying them more about the future of security in their region..
15. Afghanistan: The Taliban’s Dangerous New Munitions
(TheDailyBeast.com)...Sami Yousafzai
The insurgents’ truck bombs are using military-grade explosives now, not just homemade stuff. Some suggest Pakistan is the source -- and some say Iran. Sami Yousafzai reports..
16. Video Shows Drunk, Stoned US Defense Contractors
(ABCNews.com)...Cindy Galli, Rhonda Schwartz and Brian Ross
Cellphone video recorded earlier this year at an operations center of a U.S. defense contractor in Kabul, Afghanistan appears to show key personnel staggeringly drunk or high on narcotics, in what former employees say was a pattern of outrageous behavior that put American lives at risk and went undetected by U.S. military officials who are supposed to oversee such contractors..
CYBER SECURITY
17. Iran Renews Internet Attacks On U.S. Banks
(Wall Street Journal)...Siobhan Gorman
Iranian hackers renewed a campaign of cyberattacks against U.S. banks this week, targeting Capital One Financial Corp. and BB&T Corp. and openly defying U.S. warnings to halt, U.S. officials and others involved in the investigation into the attacks said..
18. Canada To Beef Up Its Cyber Defenses
(Wall Street Journal)...Alistair MacDonald and Paul Vieira
Canada said it will more than double spending on defense against cyberattacks, amid heightened global worries over cyber warfare..
PAKISTAN
19. In Swat, Shadows Of 'Mullah Radio'
(Washington Post)...Dana Priest
The Taliban leader who apparently ordered the assassination of a Pakistani schoolgirl last week may not be well-known outside the remote, picturesque Swat Valley. But there he is infamous for his long campaign against female education.
20. Pakistanis Remain Split Over Assaulting Taliban
(Philadelphia Inquirer)...Sebastian Abbot, Associated Press
Despite widespread outrage over the Taliban shooting of a female teenage activist, Pakistani leaders and opinion makers are divided over whether the government should respond by targeting the militants' last major sanctuary along the Afghan border..
LIBYA
21. Libya Singles Out Islamist As A Commander In Consulate Attack, Libyans Say
(New York Times)...David D. Kirkpatrick
Libyan authorities have singled out Ahmed Abu Khattala, a leader of the Benghazi-based Islamist group Ansar al-Shariah, as a commander in the attack that killed the American ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens, last month, Libyans involved in the investigation said Wednesday..
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
22. Panetta Wants Proof Voting Offices Are Working
(ArmyTimes.com)...Karen Jowers
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has directed military officials to provide him a report by Oct. 19 verifying that each of the 221 installation voting assistance offices is appropriately staffed to meet the needs of troops..
23. Personnel Chief Takes Leave For Health Reasons
(ArmyTimes.com)...Andrew Tilghman
The Pentagon’s top personnel official is taking a leave of absence for health reasons..
24. IEDs Replace Artillery As Battlefield's Biggest Killer, JIEDDO General Says
(AOL Defense (defense.aol.com))...Otto Kreisher
In almost every war of the modern era, artillery has played a decisive role. But the lowly IED, cobbled together explosives ignited by cobbled together detonators, has now replaced artillery as the greatest killer on the modern battlefield, according to Lt. Gen. Michael D. Barbero, head of the Joint IED Defeat Organization..
NAVY
25. New Littoral Ship Due To Arrive On Thursday
(UTSanDiego.com)...Jeanette Steele
A blown fuse in a communications system meant the Navy helicopter had to find the Fort Worth, the U.S. fleet’s newest littoral combat ship, by sight in the ocean off San Diego on Wednesday..
26. Navy Medicine Fights Rising Costs
(UTSanDiego.com)...Gretel C. Kovach
As health care costs threaten to overwhelm the defense budget, the Navy is increasing efficiency through Web-based care, preventive medicine, joint operations across services and fewer referrals to civilian providers, the service’s top doctor said Wednesday during a visit to San Diego..
27. Navy Secretary Won't Back Off From Renewable Energy Goals
(National Defense Blog (ndia.org))...Dan Parsons
Almost three years to the day after he laid out plans to achieve energy security for his service, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus on Oct. 17 doubled down on that promise..
AIR FORCE
28. Crash Drives Air Force To Restart CV-22 Pilot Formation Training
(AOL Defense (defense.aol.com))...Richard Whittle
The Air Force plans to reinstate substantial formation flight training for CV-22 Osprey pilots that it eliminated four years ago, AOL Defense has learned. Reinstatement of the training four years after the service ended it is an implicit admission, V-22 aviators said, that better training might have prevented the June 13 crash of a CV-22B in Florida..
29. Airman Killed In Training
(Northwest Florida Daily News)...Wendy Victora
An airman who was killed Oct. 11 during a four-day parachuting and water survival course will be buried Saturday in his hometown of Jackson, Mo..
DEFENSE BUDGET
30. Former Defense Official Calls Congressional Paralysis A Threat
(GovExec.com)...Kedar Pavgi
...
In an event at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, Michèle Flournoy, the undersecretary of Defense for policy from 2009 to 2012, said that Congress’ inability to pass a budget and set long term policy goals was detrimental to the government, especially in an “incredibly complex and dynamic security environment worldwide.”.
COMMENTARY
31. No Medal For Veterans Affairs
(Wall Street Journal)...Pete Hegseth and Paul Rieckhoff
Boasting about 'access' to services doesn't count. Veterans around Los Angeles wait an average of 377 days for a response to their claims..
32. Rethinking Syria Policy
(Washington Post)...David Ignatius
Left on its current course, America’s sensibly cautious policy toward Syria is unfortunately going to come to an unhappy end: The jihadist wing of the opposition will just get stronger and gain more power to shape Syria’s future.
33. US Army Motto: See No (Islamist) Evil
(New York Post)...Arthur Herman
"Know your enemy" is an old military adage. Now our Army wants to dump that invaluable advice when it comes to Islamic radicalism..
34. Brave Teenager, Cowardly Taliban
(Chicago Tribune)...Clarence Page
Did the Taliban overplay their hand when their gunmen shot a 14-year-old Pakistani girl simply because she wanted to go to school? We can only hope..
35. Mr. Putin’s Gift To Terrorists
(New York Times)...Editorial
There will be plenty of losers from Russia’s recent decision to end two decades of cooperation with Washington on cleaning up nuclear and chemical weapons sites left over from the cold war. Russia will now have to pay for such efforts on its own. The United States will lose the most cost-effective way yet found for reducing nuclear dangers. And the world must watch as Russia’s unsecured weapons and materials remain a temptation for terrorists of all varieties to buy or steal for use in future attacks..
36. Served In Afghanistan?
(Boston Globe)...Editorial
As a member of the Massachusetts National Guard, Scott Brown spent two weeks in Afghanistan in 2011 as part of his voluntary guard training. That time may have given him a better sense of the war effort, but he did not face the Taliban. So he was wrong to state, in last week's debate against challenger Elizabeth Warren, that he "served in Afghanistan." It might have been excused as a slip of the tongue, except that Brown himself has sought to make it a crime to exaggerate claims of military service..