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. 

Date Range
***To filter by region, select a region from the View Site by Region menu at the top of the page

Syrian Kurds See Deeper Coordination with U.S.-led Alliance

Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Kurdish forces in Syria say deepening military coordination with the United States and its allies has helped them make rapid advances against Islamic State in an offensive under way in the northeast near the border with Iraq.
Country(s): 
Iraq
Syria
Author(s): 
Tom Perry
Publisher / Source: 
Reuters

Kazakhstan Takes Control Of Russian Military Testing Range

Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Kazakhstan has reached an agreement with Russia to take over most of a Russian military training facility in far western Kazakhstan. The deal represents the latest step in Kazakhstan's efforts to regain control over the many Soviet-legacy military and other strategic facilities that Russia still operates in the country.English
Country(s): 
Kazakhstan
Author(s): 
Joshua Kucera
Publisher / Source: 
EurasiaNet
Tag(s): 
Military

U.S. Aid Empowering Organized Crime in Mexico

Wednesday, March 4, 2015
While U.S. laws explicitly prohibit the delivery of aid to foreign individuals and units implicated in systematic human rights violations, internal reporting on the implementation of Mérida programs reveals that institutional connections to organized crime are consistently overlooked, ignored or kept hidden from public scrutiny as counter-drug money continues to flow.English
Country(s): 
Mexico
Author(s): 
Juan Carlos Hidalgo
Publisher / Source: 
Cato Institute
Tag(s): 
Drug Policy
U.S. Policy

The Child Soldiers of Yemen

Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Lured by money and a sense of purpose, a growing number of young boys are being recruited by Yemen's warring factions.
Country(s): 
Yemen
Author(s): 
Priyanka Gupta
Publisher / Source: 
Al Jazeera

Kyrgyz Intelligence Claims IS Penetrating South Of Country

Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Radical organizations like the Islamic State (IS) group have started to penetrate into southern Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan's Andijon region in the east of the Ferghana valley, Kyrgyzstan's State Committee for National Security (GKNB) has claimed. GKNB spokesman Rakhat Suleimanov said that the domestic intelligence agency had arrested a large number of individuals earlier this year who were suspected of involvement in terrorist activities. English
Country(s): 
Kyrgyzstan
Author(s): 
Joanna Paraszczuk
Publisher / Source: 
Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty
Tag(s): 
Terrorism

The Hardest (and the Most Important) Job in Afghanistan

Wednesday, March 4, 2015
This is no longer an American war, regardless of how many United States Special Operations forces continue to sweep the mountains for insurgents or how many American warplanes fire missiles into remote desert camps. That war, by most accounts, has been lost. In the face of endless violence, the Taliban have not been killed off. The nation is not pacified, the political future remains deeply uncertain and the death toll has never been higher. For the central government in Kabul, the real fight is to persuade the population, not to kill insurgents. And the police, local and national, are the only ones who can win it.English
Country(s): 
Afghanistan
Central Asia Regional
Author(s): 
Azam Ahmed
Publisher / Source: 
The New York Times
Tag(s): 
Terrorism

The 'New' Militants

Wednesday, March 4, 2015
The U.S. government, under the cover of the Authorized Use of Military Force (AUMF since Sept 14, 2001) in the last five years has managed to kill two TTP emirs (Baitullah Mehsud in 2009 and Hakeemullah Mehsud in 2013). Pakistani and Afghan forces have captured Faqir Mohammad and Latif Mehsud. The vacuum thus created is being filled by a younger, more brutal and ruthless generation of jihadis. They are more lethal as they are equipped with newer approaches for planning and executing terrorist attacks.English
Country(s): 
Pakistan
Central Asia Regional
Author(s): 
Farhan Zahid
Publisher / Source: 
DAWN (Pakistan)
Tag(s): 
Conflict

Turkey Mulls Military Support To Fight ISIL

Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Turkey's government and military leaders are weighing options for a possible Turkish contribution to a planned military offensive against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), officials here said.
Country(s): 
Turkey
Author(s): 
Burak Ege Bekdil
Publisher / Source: 
Defense News
Tag(s): 
Military Equipment

Fears of Growing Ugandan Police Brutality as Election Looms

Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Rights activists in Uganda have been voicing concern over police brutality towards journalists. Some detect a policy of coercing media outlets into reporting favorably on the government ahead of the 2016 elections.English
Country(s): 
Uganda
Publisher / Source: 
Deutsche Welle
Tag(s): 
Human Rights

Colombia Detains Cuba-Bound Chinese Ship Carrying Arms

Wednesday, March 4, 2015
About 100 tonnes of gunpowder, almost three million detonators and some 3,000 cannon shells were found on board the Da Dan Xia, Colombian media reported that the ship was also carrying pipes used in mining and had stopped in Cartagena to unload them. According to the reports, counter-narcotics police searched it after they had received a tip-off about the munitions on board. The ship was due to make another stop in the Colombian port of Barranquilla before sailing on to Cuba, its itinerary suggested.English
Country(s): 
Colombia
Publisher / Source: 
BBC
Tag(s): 
Military Equipment

Watchdog: Afghan Army Far Weaker Than Initially Believed

Wednesday, March 4, 2015
In January, General John F. Campbell, the top American military commander in Afghanistan, abruptly classified a number of key data points connected to the capabilities of the Afghan army that had been public for years. He might have had good reason to hide the numbers: now that the data has been released, it’s clear the Afghan army is far weaker than originally thought.English
Country(s): 
Afghanistan
Central Asia Regional
Author(s): 
David Francis
Publisher / Source: 
Foreign Policy

Boko Haram Fails to Unite African Allies as Chad and Cameroon Wait for Nigerian Support

Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Both Chad and Cameroon are desperate to defeat violent extremists Boko Haram. But they need Nigeria’s support. In an oil-rich country proud to be a major African power, it would be an embarrassment to President Goodluck Jonathan for a smaller nation to tackle Nigeria’s security problems, diplomats say.English
Country(s): 
Nigeria
Chad
Cameroon
Author(s): 
Daniel Flynn
Bate Felix
Publisher / Source: 
The Independent
Tag(s): 
Terrorism
Military Cooperation

Figures From U.S.-Led Coalition Show Heavy 2014 Losses for Afghan Army

Wednesday, March 4, 2015
The Afghan Army lost more than 20,000 fighters and others last year largely because of desertions, discharges and deaths in combat, according to figures to be released Tuesday, casting further doubt on Afghanistan’s ability to maintain security without help from United States-led coalition forces.English
Country(s): 
Afghanistan
Central Asia Regional
Author(s): 
Matthew Rosenberg
Azam Ahmed
Publisher / Source: 
The New York Times
Tag(s): 
U.S. Policy

Afghanistan Must Prosecute Government Officials Who Violate Rights: Group

Wednesday, March 4, 2015
The United States and other aid donors should press Afghanistan to prosecute government and security force officials guilty of serious human rights violations, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday.English
Country(s): 
Afghanistan
Central Asia Regional
Author(s): 
Jessica Donati
Mirwais Harooni
Publisher / Source: 
Reuters
Tag(s): 
Foreign Aid
Military and Police Aid

Uganda: MPs Block UPDF's Shs 470bn Weapons Deal

Tuesday, March 3, 2015
The parliamentary committee on the National Economy of Uganda last week rejected a request from the army to borrow $170m (Shs 470bn) to procure sophisticated military equipment.English
Country(s): 
Uganda
Author(s): 
Deo Walusimbi
Publisher / Source: 
All Africa
Tag(s): 
Arms Sales
Military Equipment

Algeria Calls for Launching Negotiations to Completely Eliminate Nuclear Weapons

Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ramtane Lamamra reiterated Monday in Geneva his call for the launch of negotiations to completely eliminate nuclear weapons as part of a phased program and according to a timetable leading to a Convention opposable to all.
Country(s): 
Algeria
Publisher / Source: 
All Africa

Iraqi Forces Try to Seal off Islamic State Around Tikrit

Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Thousands of Iraqi soldiers and Shi'ite militiamen sought to seal off Islamic State fighters in Tikrit and nearby towns on Tuesday, the second day of Iraq's biggest offensive yet against a stronghold of the radical Sunni Islamist militants.
Country(s): 
Iraq
Syria
Author(s): 
Ahmed Rasheed
Dominic Evans
Publisher / Source: 
Reuters
Tag(s): 
Terrorism

Against ISIS, Try Patience

Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Former CIA station chief in Islamabad, Robert Grenier, writes that “ultimate victory in the fight against violent extremism inspired by Islam will require wisdom and patience of an unaccustomed sort.”
Country(s): 
Iraq
Syria
Author(s): 
Robert Grenier
Publisher / Source: 
The New York Times
Tag(s): 
Terrorism

Afghan Troops Begin Offensive Against Taliban

Tuesday, March 3, 2015
The Afghan army is waging its largest-ever solo offensive against the Taliban, hoping to strike a decisive blow ahead of the spring fighting season and prove it can rout the insurgents without the aid of U.S. and NATO combat troops.English
Country(s): 
Afghanistan
Author(s): 
Lynne O'Donnell
Publisher / Source: 
The Fayetteville Observer
Tag(s): 
Terrorism
Military Operations

Figures From U.S.-Led Coalition Show Heavy 2014 Losses for Afghan Army

Tuesday, March 3, 2015
The Afghan Army lost more than 20,000 fighters and others last year largely because of desertions, discharges and deaths in combat, according to figures to be released Tuesday, casting further doubt on Afghanistan’s ability to maintain security without help from United States-led coalition forces.English
Country(s): 
Afghanistan
Author(s): 
Matthew Rosenberg
Azam Ahmed
Publisher / Source: 
The New York Times
Tag(s): 
Military

Pages