Resources - News

This section includes the latest news relating to U.S. security policy around the world. Updated daily, the news provided in this searchable database highlights the most relevant security developments from around the world. 

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Saudi Arabia, Iran Fight for Africa's Loyalty

Monday, January 11, 2016
Sudan made headlines last week when it became the first African state to cut diplomatic ties with Iran following the attack on Saudi Arabia's embassy in Tehran, as tension escalated over the Saudi execution of Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr for terror-related offences. It was joined by Djibouti and Somalia, while Egypt condemned the attacks without going as far as severing diplomatic ties.English
Country(s): 
Sudan
Author(s): 
Tomi Oladipo
Publisher / Source: 
Africa Review (Kenya)
Wire Service: 
BBC News
Tag(s): 
Foreign Policy

When Civil Society Is Attacked, Kenya’s Democracy Is Imperiled

Monday, January 11, 2016
The government’s recent pressure on nongovernmental organizations threatens a central pillar of the country’s democratic system—and ordinary Kenyans appreciate what they stand to lose. In late November, at a meeting organized by the Kenya Human Rights Commission, Attorney General Githu Muigai lambasted nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) for acting “like teenagers out to externalize local problems” and failing to “look at themselves in the mirror.”English
Country(s): 
Kenya
Author(s): 
Mark P. Lagon
Eleanor Dickinson
Publisher / Source: 
Freedom House
Tag(s): 
Human Rights

Yemen Crisis: MSF-backed Hospital Hit by Missile

Monday, January 11, 2016
At least four people were killed when a missile hit a hospital supported by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in northern Yemen, the aid agency says.English
Country(s): 
Yemen
Author(s): 
BBC Staff
Publisher / Source: 
BBC
Tag(s): 
Conflict

Mexico Formally Launches Process to Extradite Guzman to U.S.

Monday, January 11, 2016
Mexican officials on Sunday formally launched the process to extradite drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman to the United States, starting what could be a lengthy road full of legal appeals and maneuvering.English
Country(s): 
Mexico
Author(s): 
E. Eduard Castillo
Publisher / Source: 
AP
Tag(s): 
Criminal Organizations
Drug Trade

Ukraine Desperate for U.S. Surveillance Equipment in Standoff With Russia

Monday, January 11, 2016
When Ukraine's border defense forces look east and south, they see nothing but Russian trouble. Yet for one of the world's most dangerous stretches of territory, the Ukrainians are woefully short of devices to spy on the other side to anticipate the next attack and spot intruders.English
Country(s): 
Ukraine
Author(s): 
Rowan Scarborough
Publisher / Source: 
The Washington Times
Tag(s): 
Military Equipment

Violence Surges in Central America, Threatening New Refugee Flood

Monday, January 11, 2016
Despite U.S. aid, El Salvador on track for world’s highest murder rate. English
Country(s): 
South America Regional
Author(s): 
Guy Taylor
Stephen Dinan
Publisher / Source: 
The Washington Times
Tag(s): 
Security
Refugees

Should Moguls Subsidize U.S. Military Aid to Their Favorite Nations?

Monday, January 11, 2016
The Obama “scandal du jour” in the Israeli press focuses on the US president having turned down a $1 billion donation to Israel’s Iron Dome program that billionaire Sheldon Adelson offered in 2012.English
Country(s): 
Israel
Author(s): 
Marsha B. Cohen
Publisher / Source: 
LobeLog
Tag(s): 
Military
Security Assistance

Exclusive: U.S., Mexican Efforts to Battle Gun Trafficking Falter - GAO

Monday, January 11, 2016
Efforts to combat illegal gunrunning from the United States to Mexico has stumbled in recent years, hampered by less cooperation between U.S. and Mexican officials, according to a report from a U.S. federal watchdog agency obtained by Reuters. The draft report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), to be released after the latest arrest of Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, also criticized U.S. law enforcement agencies for not ensuring they are effectively working together to fight arms smuggling by Mexico's ruthless drug cartels.
Country(s): 
Mexico
Author(s): 
Michael O'Boyle
Patricia Zengerle
Publisher / Source: 
Reuters (UK)
Wire Service: 
Reuters (UK)
Tag(s): 
Arms Control

U.N. Chief to U.S.-Backed Saudi Air Coalition: You May Be Committing War Crimes in Yemen

Monday, January 11, 2016
Ban Ki-moon, the U.N. secretary-general, warned Friday that a Saudi-led air coalition that is supported by the United States may have committed war crimes by using cluster munitions in heavily populated neighborhoods in Yemen. English
Country(s): 
Yemen
Author(s): 
Colum Lynch
John Hudson
Publisher / Source: 
Foreign Policy
Tag(s): 
Human Rights

Marine general: U.S. Advisors Should Embed with Iraqi Forces

Monday, January 11, 2016
Marine Gen. John Kelly, a four-star general who served three Iraq War tours, said Friday he believes U.S. troops should be allowed to advise Iraqi forces in the field as they fight the Islamic State. English
Country(s): 
Iraq
Syria
Author(s): 
Kristina Wong
Publisher / Source: 
The Hill
Tag(s): 
Terrorism

Kazakhs Unimpressed By Russian Air Defense Gift

Monday, January 11, 2016
Russia says it has completed the handover of air defense systems to Kazakhstan, part of the project of creating a joint air defense system across the former Soviet Union. But Kazakhstan's Ministry of Defense is complaining that the systems aren't actually yet delivered and are not in working condition. English
Country(s): 
Kazakhstan
Russia
Author(s): 
Joshua Kucera
Publisher / Source: 
EurasiaNet
Tag(s): 
Military Equipment

Saudi Arabia Reportedly Balks at U.S. Frigate Offer

Monday, January 11, 2016
Saudi Arabia has turned down a US Navy offer to build four frigates based on the Lockheed Martin littoral combat ship (LCS) design, sources familiar with the situation said, but the move is thought to be part of a continuing negotiation over price and schedule, not a rejection of the overall deal.English
Country(s): 
Saudi Arabia
Author(s): 
Christopher P. Cavas
Publisher / Source: 
Defense News
Tag(s): 
Security Assistance
Arms Sales

U.S. Approves Small Arms Sales to Morocco, Egypt

Friday, January 8, 2016
Boeing has received a $357.8 million contract to produce precision laser guided sets for the US military and foreign military sales clients.English
Country(s): 
Egypt
Morocco
Author(s): 
Defence Web Staff
Publisher / Source: 
Defence Web
Tag(s): 
Arms Sales

Oman Requests 400 TOW 2 Missiles

Friday, January 8, 2016
The Sultanate of Oman has requested more than 400 TOW 2 missiles as part of its ground defense integration program, according to the US State Department. English
Country(s): 
Oman
Author(s): 
Awad Mustafa
Publisher / Source: 
Defense News
Tag(s): 
Arms Sales

U.S. to Help Guyana Crack Down on International Gold Smuggling Operation

Friday, January 8, 2016
Authorities in Guyana say the U.S. government is helping the South American country crack down on a massive international gold smuggling operation.English
Country(s): 
Guyana
Author(s): 
Associated Press
Publisher / Source: 
Latin Correspondent
Tag(s): 
Criminal Organizations

Kazakhstan’s $64 Billion Question: Will Oil Fund Run Out?

Friday, January 8, 2016
Kazakhstan’s $64 billion oil fund could run out within six or seven years as slumping oil prices cut revenue and the government spends its savings, a central bank official said.English
Country(s): 
Kazakhstan
Author(s): 
Simon Clark
Publisher / Source: 
The Wall Street Journal

America May Have Unlocked a Key to Fighting Terrorism — And it Doesn’t Involve Drones

Friday, January 8, 2016
Last month Congress appropriated $175 million in CTPF funds for the State Department, a dramatic increase in the department’s discretionary resources for civilian counterterrorism capacity-building programs.English
Country(s): 
Saudi Arabia
Author(s): 
Matthew Levitt
Publisher / Source: 
The Washington Post
Tag(s): 
Counterterrorism
Security Assistance

Ethiopian Forces 'Kill 140 Oromo Protesters'

Friday, January 8, 2016
Ethiopian security forces have killed at least 140 people taking part in mass anti-government demonstrations since November, activists say, according to U.S.-based Human Rights Watch (HRW). The protests have been sparked by fears that a plan to expand the capital's administrative control into the Oromia region will displace Oromo farmers.English
Country(s): 
Ethiopia
Publisher / Source: 
BBC
Tag(s): 
Human Rights

Pentagon: U.S. Troops in 'Combat Situation' in Afghanistan

Friday, January 8, 2016
The Pentagon said Thursday that U.S. troops were in a combat "situation" — but not a combat role — in Afghanistan, despite a team of Green Berets getting pinned down in a firefight this week that resulted in one being killed and two injured. English
Country(s): 
Afghanistan
Author(s): 
Kristina Wong
Publisher / Source: 
The Hill
Tag(s): 
Military Cooperation

Cartel Continent:How Narcotics are Flooding Africa

Friday, January 8, 2016
Since the the early 2000s, crime syndicates have increasingly exploited the sub-Saharan region’s weak state institutions, relative poverty, and porous borders to funnel large quantities of cocaine and heroin into Europe and, to a lesser degree, North America. Narcotics trafficking has distorted the economies and politics of a number of African states while enriching violent nonstate actors, including groups linked to terrorism in the region. English
Country(s): 
Africa Regional
Author(s): 
Tom Woods
Publisher / Source: 
Foreign Affairs
Tag(s): 
Counternarcotics

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