Af/Pak & Other News (12/8/2020)

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US-based group: Dramatic increase in Afghan gov’t airstrikes

https://apnews.com/article/kabul-afghanistan-qatar-taliban-5617abde575f7edac1ba6ddd5c5801d8



U.S. and Afghan forces target Al Qaeda in the south

https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2020/12/u-s-and-afghan-forces-target-al-qaeda-in-the-south.php



The Taliban are megarich – here’s where they get the money they use to wage war in Afghanistan

https://theconversation.com/the-taliban-are-megarich-heres-where-they-get-the-money-they-use-to-wage-war-in-afghanistan-147411



U.S. Leaves Behind Afghan Bases — and a Legacy of Land Disputes

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/08/world/asia/afghanistan-land-military-bases.html



Behind the Taliban’s ties to al-Qaeda: A shared ideology and decades of battlefield support

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/taliban-al-qaeda-afghanistan/2020/12/07/79d4bddc-3414-11eb-9699-00d311f13d2d_story.html



China sends warplanes, troops for drill in Pakistan

https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/china-sends-warplanes-troops-for-drill-in-pakistan/story-7feM7iIWrSak872pN0pcxK.html











US allies around the world are acting like Iran is going to attack Jewish sites as revenge for its nuclear scientist's assassination, and that it's happening soon

https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-allies-around-world-acting-171414369.html









IS Built up Arsenal After ‘Red Flags’ Ignored: Study

https://www.thedefensepost.com/2020/12/08/is-built-up-arsenal/



Aerial Assassinations Are Now Commonplace In Iraq And Syria

https://www.forbes.com/sites/pauliddon/2020/12/08/aerial-assassinations-are-now-commonplace-in-iraq-and-syria/



China Set to Bail Out Iraq with Multibillion-Dollar Oil Deal

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-08/iraq-picks-china-s-zhenhua-for-pre-payment-oil-supply-deal









Turkey orders 304 military detained over suspected coup ties

https://apnews.com/article/ankara-arrests-turkey-fethullah-gulen-6c3e9e939f3df09959ef00dd04ddfcd5









Egyptian Army Says Killed 40 Suspected Jihadists in Sinai

https://www.thedefensepost.com/2020/12/08/egypt-says-killed-40-jihadists-sinai/




Libya’s east-based forces seize Turkish-owned vessel

https://apnews.com/article/turkey-africa-libya-tripoli-north-africa-2f22db92d3d78d18dd54b3925cfa343f



Turkey condemns seizure of vessel by east Libyan forces

https://www.reuters.com/article/libya-turkey/turkey-condemns-seizure-of-vessel-by-east-libyan-forces-idUSKBN28I29E




Russia-Sudan Sign Agreement on Creating Logistics Center in Red Sea City

https://www.defenseworld.net/news/28495/Russia_Sudan_Sign_Agreement_on_Creating_Logistics_Center_in_Red_Sea_City




U.S. thinks Eritrea has joined Ethiopian war, diplomats say

https://www.reuters.com/article/ethiopia-conflict-eritrea/exclusive-u-s-thinks-eritrea-has-joined-ethiopian-war-diplomats-say-idUSKBN28I1OX









Russian Helicopters claims Ukrainian enterprises illegitimately overhaul Afghan Mi-17 helicopters

https://www.airrecognition.com/index.php/news/defense-aviation-news/2020/december/6733-russian-helicopters-claims-ukrainian-enterprises-illegitimately-overhaul-afghan-mi-17-helicopters.html



Russian Army to receive first batch of T-14 Armata tanks in 2021

https://defence-blog.com/news/army/russian-army-to-receive-first-batch-of-t-14-armata-tanks-in-2021.html



Thieves Broke Into Russia’s Il-80 Doomsday Plane

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/38010/thieves-broke-into-russias-il-80-doomsday-plane



Mercenary Says Kremlin's Wagner Group Recruiting Inexperienced Fighters

https://www.voanews.com/europe/mercenary-says-kremlins-wagner-group-recruiting-inexperienced-fighters



The NSA Warns That Russia Is Attacking Remote Work Platforms

https://www.wired.com/story/nsa-warns-russia-attacking-vmware-remote-work-platforms/



Sputnik vaccine aims to bolster Russia's geopolitical influence

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20201208-sputnik-vaccine-aims-to-bolster-russia-s-geopolitical-influence




NATO announces readiness of new special operations command

https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2020/12/07/NATO-announces-readiness-of-new-special-operations-command/2291607358863/




Turkish troops to take part in Karabakh victory parade in Azerbaijan

https://defence-blog.com/news/army/turkish-troops-to-take-part-in-karabakh-victory-parade-in-azerbaijan.html



Interview: Thomas De Waal On What's Next For Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenian-Azerbaijani Relations

https://www.rferl.org/a/interview-thomas-de-waal-on-what-s-next-for-nagorno-karabakh-armenian-azerbaijani-relations/30988513.html




Norway accuses Russian hackers of parliament attack

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20201208-norway-accuses-russian-hackers-of-parliament-attack




Counter-Terrorism: Image Of Death

https://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htterr/articles/20201208.aspx



France to build new nuclear-powered aircraft carrier

https://apnews.com/article/energy-industry-paris-emmanuel-macron-france-35a0b0a597db97b899108ec8a8c94856




Flooding Threatens To Put New British Carrier Out Of Action For Six Months

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/38002/flooding-threatens-to-put-new-british-carrier-out-of-action-for-six-months



Randy sailors blamed as Covid outbreak hits Navy’s Faslane nuclear submarine

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1369725/Royal-Navy-Faslane-nuclear-submarine-coronavirus-outbreak-Scotland-hms-vengeance









Post-Doklam, China developing military camps in depth areas along LAC

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/post-doklam-china-developing-military-camps-in-depth-areas-along-lac/articleshow/79624838.cms



Report to Congress on Chinese Naval Modernization

https://news.usni.org/2020/12/08/report-to-congress-on-chinese-naval-modernization-6



Red alert: Chinese boast of operatives 'inside America's core circle of power'

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/dec/6/china-agents-us-government-helped-influence-policy/



Report: China, North Korea trading coal in violation of sanctions

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2020/12/08/Report-China-North-Korea-trading-coal-in-violation-of-sanctions/8581607438915/





North Korea: Deadly Information

https://www.strategypage.com/qnd/korea/articles/20201208.aspx





Indonesian Air Force KAI KT-1 Training Aircraft Crashes In Yogyakarta region, Both Pilots Ejected Safely

https://fighterjetsworld.com/latest-news/aircraft-crash/indonesian-air-force-kai-kt-1-training-aircraft-crashes-in-yogyakarta-region-both-pilots-ejected-safely/24060/





Watch Crew Eject From An Australian Super Hornet After An Aborted Takeoff

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/38025/watch-crew-eject-from-an-australian-super-hornet-after-an-aborted-takeoff









Pilot Chuck Yeager Dies At 97, Had 'The Right Stuff' And Then Some

https://www.npr.org/2020/12/07/341894780/pilot-chuck-yeager-dies-at-97-had-the-right-stuff-and-then-some



The monolith mystery continues: More copycat structures pop up in Pittsburgh, England, California

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2020/12/07/monolith-structures-appear-england-isle-wight-pittsburgh/3855110001/



Here's What's In New Guidelines For Defending Infrastructure Against Drone Attacks

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/38013/infrastructure-security-agency-publishes-new-guidelines-for-defending-against-drone-attacks



Pot-Smoking Missile Engineer Accused of Leaking Secrets for Revenge

https://www.thedailybeast.com/former-raytheon-missile-engineer-james-robert-schweitzer-accused-of-leaking-classified-info



Suspected Chinese spy targeted California politicians

https://www.axios.com/china-spy-california-politicians-9d2dfb99-f839-4e00-8bd8-59dec0daf589.html



An ‘unprecedented’ number of people at Fort Hood will face disciplinary action in wake of report

https://taskandpurpose.com/news/fort-hood-vanessa-guillen-disciplinary-action/



Biden picks retired general Lloyd Austin as first Black Pentagon chief

https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20201208-biden-picks-retired-general-lloyd-austin-as-first-black-pentagon-chief



This Navy helicopter pilot has been chosen to be the first woman to command a US aircraft carrier

https://www.businessinsider.com/first-woman-chosen-to-command-us-navy-aircraft-carrier-2020-12



Defense Department Looking Beyond 5G

https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2020/12/7/defense-department-looking-beyond-5g



Battery startup QuantumScape claims breakthrough

https://www.axios.com/battery-startup-quantumscape-solid-state-549e0aec-6029-4bd4-9ce0-fe47608faecd.html



These Three Companies Will Build Drones To Carry The Air Force's "Skyborg" AI Computer Brain

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/38015/these-three-companies-will-build-drones-to-carry-the-air-forces-skyborg-ai-computer-brain



F-15 ACTIVE: This Frankenstein fighter was better than the Eagle

https://www.sandboxx.us/blog/f-15-active-this-frankenstein-fighter-was-better-than-the-eagle/



Space Force declares anti-spoofing GPS signal operational

https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2020/12/07/new-anti-spoofing-gps-signal-declared-operational/



First U.S. Air Force C-21A Aircraft with Delta Fin Modification Returns to Service

https://defpost.com/first-u-s-air-force-c-21a-aircraft-with-delta-fin-modification-returns-to-service/



These Bizarre Infrared Pods Put Missile Seekers And Countermeasures To The Test

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/37907/these-bizarre-pods-are-americas-keys-to-mastering-aerial-warfare-in-the-infrared-spectrum



Counterterrorism setback: ‘Armed Overwatch’ is stalled again

https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2020/12/08/counterterrorism-setback-armed-overwatch-is-stalled-again/



The Air Force's Brand New HH-60W Rescue Helicopters Already Need Major Upgrades

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/38005/the-air-forces-brand-new-hh-60w-rescue-helicopters-already-need-major-upgrades



Collins Aerospace Completes Modernization of U.S. Navy’s E-6B Block I Doomsday Plane Fleet

https://defpost.com/collins-aerospace-completes-modernization-of-u-s-navys-e-6b-block-i-doomsday-plane-fleet/



Navy Wants to go "Way Faster" Adding Lasers Weapons to Warships

https://defensemaven.io/warriormaven/sea/navy-wants-to-go-way-faster-adding-lasers-weapons-to-warships-h3Oo4xbicUWytpaNhhT2Ew



The US Navy wants to find ships to kill using aerial drones launched from submarines

https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2020/12/07/the-us-navy-wants-to-find-ships-to-kill-using-aerial-drones-launched-from-submarines/