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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Islamic State Accepts Boko Haram Allegiance

Friday, March 13, 2015
The leader of the "Islamic State" militant group has reportedly accepted the allegiance of Boko Haram. Both groups appear to have suffered setbacks, with IS calling for some fighters to travel to West Africa.English
Country(s): 
Nigeria
Publisher / Source: 
Deutsche Welle
Tag(s): 
Terrorism
Terrorism

Sudan: The Prospects for “National Dialogue”

Friday, March 13, 2015
Prospects for an inclusive national dialogue President Omar al-Bashir promised in January 2014 are fading, making a soft-landing end to Sudan’s crises more doubtful. Sceptics who warned that the ruling party was unwilling and unable to make needed concessions have been vindicated.Unless both sides give ground, a continuation of intense war and humanitarian crises is inevitable.English
Country(s): 
Sudan
Publisher / Source: 
International Crisis Group
Tag(s): 
Conflict
Conflict Resolution

Three Pakistan Militant Groups Ally to Resist Government’s Military Campaign

Friday, March 13, 2015
Three militant groups in Pakistan say they have joined forces, potentially giving that country’s Taliban insurgents more heft to resist a military campaign by the government and stepping up the general threat from extremist organizations.English
Country(s): 
Pakistan
Central Asia Regional
Author(s): 
Saeed Shah
Safdar Dawar
Publisher / Source: 
The Wall Street Journal
Tag(s): 
Terrorism
Conflict

Top U.S. Military Official Repeatedly Warned Iraq About Troops’ Conduct

Friday, March 13, 2015
America’s top military official, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey, repeatedly warned Iraqi leaders about the conduct of both the Iraqi military and the militias that fight alongside them, a senior U.S. official told ABC News.
Country(s): 
Iraq
Syria
Author(s): 
James Gordon Meek
Brian Ross
Rym Momtaz
Alex Hosenball
Publisher / Source: 
ABC
Tag(s): 
Terrorism

Syria: How Far Will Barack Obama Go?

Friday, March 13, 2015
For much of the past four years, United States policy on Syria has been defined by reluctance. Neither the deaths of an estimated 200,000 people nor Barack Obama’s unswerving belief in the illegitimacy of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, roused a sense of urgency at home.
Country(s): 
Iraq
Syria
Author(s): 
Tom McCarthy
Publisher / Source: 
The Guardian
Tag(s): 
Terrorism

West Africa: A Huge Step Forward in Tackling Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea

Friday, March 13, 2015
On 13 March, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission will inaugurate the multinational maritime coordination centre (MMCC) for a maritime zone known as Pilot Zone E.Pilot Zone E is considered the most dangerous maritime zone in West Africa, and stronger protection efforts are needed in this area, which encompasses Benin, Niger, Nigeria and Togo.English
Country(s): 
West Africa Regional
Author(s): 
Barthelemy B.E.E.
Publisher / Source: 
All Africa
Tag(s): 
Conflict
Security

50,000 Tajiks toParticipate in Border-Zone Military Training

Friday, March 13, 2015
About 50,000 Tajik troops and civilians are participating in military preparedness exercises along the border with Afghanistan, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)'s Tajik service reported March 11, quoting the Defence Ministry.English
Country(s): 
Tajikistan
Publisher / Source: 
Central Asia Online
Tag(s): 
Military Exercises
Conflict

At Last, A Western Country Stands Up to Saudi Arabia on Human Rights

Friday, March 13, 2015
The Swedish government this week decided to scrap an arms deal with Saudi Arabia, effectively bringing to an end a decade-old defense agreement with the kingdom. The move followed complaints made by the Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom that she was blocked by the Saudis from speaking about democracy and women's rights at a gathering of the Arab League in Cairo.
Country(s): 
Saudi Arabia
Author(s): 
Ishaan Tharoor
Publisher / Source: 
The Washington Post
Tag(s): 
Human Rights

Two Dead in Protests Against Houthi Rebels in Yemen

Friday, March 13, 2015
Two people died and eight were injured Thursday after demonstrations against the rule of Yemen’s Houthis in the central city of Al Baitha turned violent, local officials said.
Country(s): 
Yemen
Author(s): 
Hakim Almasmari
Asa Fitch
Publisher / Source: 
The Wall Street Journal
Tag(s): 
Violence

Maybe Obama's Sanctions on Venezuela Are Not Really About his "Deep Concern" Over Supresion of Political Rights

Thursday, March 12, 2015
The White House on Monday announced the imposition of new sanctions on various Venezuelan officials, pronouncing itself “deeply concerned by the Venezuelan government’s efforts to escalate intimidation of its political opponents”: deeply concerned. President Obama also, reportedly with a straight face, officially declared that Venezuela poses “an extraordinary threat to the national security” of the U.S. — a declaration necessary to legally justify the sanctions.English
Country(s): 
Venezuela
Author(s): 
Glenn Greenwald
Publisher / Source: 
The Intercept
Tag(s): 
Security
U.S. Policy

Jihadists Strike as Mali Inches Towards Peace Deal

Thursday, March 12, 2015
After eight months of talks, the Malian government and Tuareg rebels are close to a peace deal. Now terror attacks are undermining hopes of an end to violence.English
Country(s): 
Mali
Author(s): 
Madeleine Meier
Publisher / Source: 
Deutsche Welle
Tag(s): 
Conflict
Conflict

Nigeria Drafts in Foreign Mercenaries to Take on Boko Haram

Thursday, March 12, 2015
Nigeria has brought in hundreds of mercenaries from South Africa and the former Soviet Union to give its offensive against Boko Haram a shot in the arm before a March 28 election, according to regional security, defense and diplomatic sources.English
Country(s): 
Nigeria
Publisher / Source: 
Reuters
Tag(s): 
Security
Terrorism
Military Operations

U.S. Blacklists more Ukrainian Rebels, Expands Non-Lethal Aid

Thursday, March 12, 2015
The United States announced $75 million in non-lethal aid for Ukraine on Wednesday and placed sanctions on a handful of Ukrainian separatists, a Russian bank and others after accusing Russian-backed rebels of breaking a European-brokered ceasefire.English
Country(s): 
Ukraine
Central Asia Regional
Author(s): 
Jason Lange
David Alexander
Publisher / Source: 
Reuters

With FARC Somewhat Off the Hook, ELN Embraces for Increase in Military Attacks

Thursday, March 12, 2015
Colombia's military forces will increase military attacks on the ELN, the country's second largest rebel group, after President Juan Manuel Santos order a month-long suspension of attacks on the FARC.English
Country(s): 
Colombia
Author(s): 
Alice Bradshaw-Smith
Publisher / Source: 
Colombia Reports

U.S. Defense Officials Weigh How to Protect Syrian Rebels After Training

Thursday, March 12, 2015
Moderate Syrian rebels will need some degree of U.S. support and protection after they have been trained, the top U.S. military officer said Wednesday, but added that the “scope and scale” of the protection is still being debated.
Country(s): 
Iraq
Syria
Author(s): 
Julian E. Barnes
Publisher / Source: 
The Wall Street Journal

Fixing ‘Broken Windows’ Policing to Make It Work for Latin America

Thursday, March 12, 2015
Of the 10 countries with the highest homicide rates, eight are in Latin America and the Caribbean. The region is likewise home to 34 of the world’s 50 most violent cities. The social and economic impacts of those levels of crime are massive, and, as a result, governments and private sectors in Mexico, Brazil and, more recently, Guatemala and El Salvador are looking for new solutions. They have sought advice from two familiar sources in American policing: former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and current New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton.
Country(s): 
Central America Regional
Author(s): 
Michael J. Jenkins
Michael Allison
Publisher / Source: 
World Politics Review
Tag(s): 
Violence

U.S. Backs U.N. Resolution on Boko Haram Regional Force

Thursday, March 12, 2015
The United States supports the creation of a West African force of up to 10,000 troops to fight Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram, a U.S. defense official said on Wednesday. U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for African Affairs Amanda J. Dory said on a visit to Cameroon that Washington, one of five veto-holding members of the U.N. Security Council, would back a U.N. resolution.English
Country(s): 
Africa Regional
Author(s): 
Tansa Musa
Publisher / Source: 
Reuters
Tag(s): 
Terrorism
United Nations
Foreign Policy

Government Neglect Drives Mexico's Poppy Farmers into Drug Trade

Thursday, March 12, 2015
The farmers blame the Mexican government for their role in Mexico’s multibillion-dollar drug-trafficking industry.English
Country(s): 
Mexico
Author(s): 
Matt Chandler
Publisher / Source: 
Al Jazeera
Tag(s): 
Drug Trade

Training in Uganda: Coping with Floods, Epidemic and Terror Threats

Thursday, March 12, 2015
An annual training exercise the U.S. Army conducts with east African armies Called Eastern Accord is designed to foster regional cooperation to deal with security threats and humanitarian crises, train U.S. troops to work in austere environments with their African counterparts, and provide U.S. and east African military officials the opportunity to develop friendly relationships.
Country(s): 
Uganda
Author(s): 
Nancy Montgomery
Publisher / Source: 
Stars and Stripes
Tag(s): 
Military and Police Aid
Military Exercises

Kyrgyzstan Takes Aim at Extremist Recruiting

Thursday, March 12, 2015
During the past year, Kyrgyz security forces have unmasked underground radical organizations, broken up transport routes for militant recruits trying to join the wars in the Middle East, and arrested suspected terrorists. But they are not complacent. English
Country(s): 
Kyrgyzstan
Publisher / Source: 
24.kg (Kyrgyzstan)
Tag(s): 
Terrorism

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