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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Don't Be Scared to Squeeze Pakistan

Thursday, June 9, 2016
Pakistan returned to the headlines last month, after a U.S. air strike eliminated Afghan Taliban commander Mullah Mansour inside Pakistani territory. Washington has touted the drone strike as an important victory for the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan. However, it will prove symbolic and short-lived unless it prompts more fundamental reform of America’s Pakistan policy. To effect real change, Washington must increase pressure not just on the Taliban residing in Pakistan, but on Pakistan itself.English
Country(s): 
Pakistan
Author(s): 
Jeff M. Smith
Publisher / Source: 
The National Interest
Tag(s): 
Security Assistance

U.S. Donates Vehicles to Tajik Border Guards

Thursday, June 9, 2016
The United States Embassy in Dushanbe, working in conjunction with the Export Control and Related Border Security program (EXBS), has provided seven new, all-purpose, 4-wheel drive, double cab pickup trucks to the Government of Tajikistan to enhance border security operations and prevent the smuggling of weapons of mass destruction, the U.S. Embassy said on June 7.English
Country(s): 
Tajikistan
Publisher / Source: 
The Times of Central Asia (TCA)
Tag(s): 
Border Control

Colombia: Striking Rural Workers Warn of Looming Crackdown

Thursday, June 9, 2016
Reports of violent repression by Colombian police takes place as lawmakers consider a controversial legislation that would violate civil liberties.English
Country(s): 
Colombia
Publisher / Source: 
TeleSur
Tag(s): 
Human Rights
Conflict
Security

The Enduring Toll of Civilian Harm

Thursday, June 9, 2016
The U.S. military was too slow to realize the full cost of “civilian harm”—the military’s term for killing innocent civilians and causing political, social, and economic disruption—in its war in Afghanistan. By the end of 2008, the United States and its allies caused nearly 40 percent of all civilian fatalities, according to UN data. Afghans judged them harshly: they expected the Taliban to be brutal, but international militaries, with their technology and “precision” weapons, should not have been doing such damage.English
Country(s): 
Afghanistan
Author(s): 
Rachel Reid
Publisher / Source: 
Open Society Foundations
Tag(s): 
Human Rights

Nigeria Waiting for U.S. to Approve Super Tucano Sale

Thursday, June 9, 2016
Nigeria is waiting on the green light from U.S. officials to complete the sale of Super Tucano jets to replace some of the aging jets currently employed by the Nigerian Air ForceEnglish
Country(s): 
Nigeria
Author(s): 
Jeremy Binnie
Publisher / Source: 
IHS Jane's 360
Tag(s): 
Arms Sales
Military Equipment

Artsakh Parliamentarian Briefs U.S. Legislators on Azerbaijani Aggression

Thursday, June 9, 2016
Nagorno-Karabagh Republic (Artsakh/NKR) parliamentarian Lernik Hovhannisyan briefed Members of Congress and their senior aides regarding Azerbaijan’s recent escalation of violence against Artsakh and Armenia, during a full day of meetings on Capitol Hill on June 7.English
Country(s): 
Armenia
Publisher / Source: 
The Armenian Weekly
Tag(s): 
Human Rights

Facing Crime Wave, Brazil Will Deploy 85,000 Police and Soldiers to Guard Olympics

Thursday, June 9, 2016
Authorities insist that the Olympic Games will be safe for visitors, with 85,000 armed troops and police guarding Rio’s streets. English
Country(s): 
Brazil
Author(s): 
Dom Phillips
Publisher / Source: 
The Washington Post
Tag(s): 
Law Enforcement
Civil Society

CIA and Pentagon Bicker While Russia Wipes Out U.S.-Backed Rebels

Thursday, June 9, 2016
U.S.-backed opposition forces in Syria’s largest city are facing a ferocious Russian-led assault, raising fears that the rebels could be eliminated in a matter of weeks.English
Country(s): 
Syria
Russia
Author(s): 
Nancy A. Youssef
Publisher / Source: 
The Daily Beast
Tag(s): 
Military Operations
Security

Court Rules El Salvador Prison Crowding Unconstitutional

Thursday, June 9, 2016
El Salvador’s high court declared conditions in the country’s overcrowded prisons unconstitutional in a ruling with implications for the government’s hard line policies aimed at defeating gangs.English
Country(s): 
El Salvador
Author(s): 
Sean Tjaden
Publisher / Source: 
InSight Crime
Tag(s): 
Human Rights
Criminal Organizations

Expanding the U.S. Military’s Smart-Power Toolbox

Thursday, June 9, 2016
Current laws are preventing the U.S. military from allocating funding to programs that AFRICOM claims are making great strides against the threat of extremism across Africa.English
Country(s): 
Africa Regional
Program(s): 
Counterterrorism Partnerships Fund
Author(s): 
James Stavridis
John Allen
Publisher / Source: 
The Wall Street Journal
Tag(s): 
Development
Civil-Military Relations

Mexico's Public Security Lost 13,000 Weapons in 10 Years

Thursday, June 9, 2016
Nearly 13,000 guns have been lost or stolen from Mexico’s public security agencies over the last ten years, according to a recent report, a telling reminder that the country's black market weapons don't just come from north of the border.English
Country(s): 
Mexico
Publisher / Source: 
InSight Crime
Tag(s): 
Arms Control

U.S. Military Assistance and Yemen

Wednesday, June 8, 2016
As the humanitarian situation in Yemen continues to deteriorate, the international community is increasingly questioning the involvement of external government actors there. Particularly under the microscope is the U.S. government, whose support to Yemen over the past decade has largely been in the form of military and police aid to fight al-Qaeda. English
Country(s): 
Yemen
Author(s): 
Colby Goodman
Publisher / Source: 
LobeLog
Tag(s): 
Military and Police Aid
Transparency
Counterterrorism

Army Steps up Partnerships in Africa Amid Growing Terror Threat

Wednesday, June 8, 2016
The Army has built critical partnerships across the African continent, but there is still work to be done especially as armies across the region continue to fight threats such as Boko Haram and al-Shabaab, the outgoing commander of U.S. Army Africa told Army Times. English
Country(s): 
Africa Regional
Author(s): 
Michelle Tan
Publisher / Source: 
Army Times
Tag(s): 
Military and Police Aid
Military Cooperation

If You Really Care About Sustainable Development, You Better Think About Defense

Wednesday, June 8, 2016
Opaque, unaccountable defense spending threatens to derail the global development agenda. If the United Nations and its member states are serious about implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, they’re going to have to abandon their exceptional treatment of the defense sector and start asking what countries really spend on their militaries. English
Country(s): 
Global
Author(s): 
Tobias Bock
Hilary Hurd
Publisher / Source: 
Forum on the Arms Trade
Tag(s): 
Military

IS Seizes Saudi Weapons from Syrian Rebels

Wednesday, June 8, 2016
The Islamic State (IS) has released evidence that weapons bought from Bulgaria by the Saudi Ministry of Defence have been diverted to Syrian rebel groups. A video released on 4 June showed IS fighters in action against rebel groups in the Azaz area of Syria's Aleppo province and their seizure of a cache of weapons and ammunition. English
Country(s): 
Syria
Author(s): 
Jeremy Binnie
Publisher / Source: 
IHS Jane's 360
Tag(s): 
Military and Police Aid
Arms Control

Officials: U.S. Assistance to Focus More on Georgia’s Self-Defense Capabilities

Wednesday, June 8, 2016
In its security assistance programs with Georgia, as well as in NATO-Georgia relations, the U.S. will be making more focus in helping the country to increase its self-defense capabilities, Pentagon and State Department officials said at Senate foreign affairs committee hearing on June 7.English
Country(s): 
Georgia
Publisher / Source: 
Civil.ge (Georgia)
Tag(s): 
Security Assistance

Afghanistan Needs a Settlement, Not Another Troop-Withdrawal Deadline

Wednesday, June 8, 2016
The new commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, Gen. John Nicholson, will soon complete an assessment that is expected to call for more U.S. troops than the Obama Administration has planned. Current policy calls for reducing the U.S. presence in Afghanistan from today’s 9,800 troops to 5,500 by the end of this year. Security has deteriorated sharply since the U.S. ended its official combat role in 2014, however, and Nicholson is expected to favor slower U.S. drawdowns. If so, the general is right. But what’s needed isn’t a slower timetable for withdrawals – it’s the end of timetables altogether.English
Country(s): 
Afghanistan
Author(s): 
Stephen Biddle
Publisher / Source: 
Defense One
Tag(s): 
Military

UN Whistleblower in CAR Sex Abuse Case Resigns

Wednesday, June 8, 2016
A whistleblower in the United Nations' human rights office has resigned, two years after leaking information to French officials about a U.N. investigation of accusations that French soldiers sexually abused children in Central African Republic. English
Country(s): 
Central African Republic
Publisher / Source: 
New York Times
Wire Service: 
The Associated Press
Tag(s): 
U.N. Peacekeeping
Violence

Egypt To Receive Advanced Fulcrum Fighters from MiG

Wednesday, June 8, 2016
An initial batch of Advanced Fulcrum lightweight multirole fighters for Egypt is in production at the Russian Aircraft Corporation “MiG” (RAC MiG), according to industry sources. The number on order and the exact type of aircraft is not yet known. English
Country(s): 
Egypt
Author(s): 
Vladimir Karnozov
Publisher / Source: 
Ain Online
Tag(s): 
Arms Sales
Military Equipment

The Last Remaining Pentagon-Trained Rebel Group in Syria is Now in Jeopardy

Wednesday, June 8, 2016
Throughout the fiasco of the Pentagon’s $500 million effort to train and equip a force of Syrian rebels to take on the Islamic State, one small group endured. Even this modest success is now in jeopardy, however, following an Islamic State suicide attack this month.English
Country(s): 
Syria
Author(s): 
Liz Sly
Publisher / Source: 
The Washington Post
Tag(s): 
Military and Police Aid
Military and Police Aid

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