Af/Pak & Other News (1/12/2021)

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Why Afghanistan-Taliban peace talks have not reached breakthrough

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/1/12/why-have-the-afghanistan-taliban-peace-talks-stalled



Afghan Forces Foil IS Plan to Assassinate Top US Envoy

https://www.thedefensepost.com/2021/01/12/afghanistan-foils-plan-assassinate-us-envoy/



Number Of Suicide Attacks Falls Again In 2020 And They Are Becoming Less Deadly

https://www.forbes.com/sites/dominicdudley/2021/01/12/number-of-suicide-attacks-falls-again-in-2020-and-they-are-becoming-less-deadly/



Pentagon presses ahead with Afghanistan troop drawdown despite law barring it

https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-afghanistan-military-exclusive/exclusive-pentagon-presses-ahead-with-afghanistan-troop-drawdown-despite-law-barring-it-idUKKBN29G2L3









India will send 100 troops to Russia for S-400 training

https://www.defenceaviationpost.com/2021/01/india-will-send-100-troops-to-russia-for-s-400-training/









Pompeo confirms No. 2 al-Qaeda leader killed in Iran, asserts Tehran giving 'home base' to terror group

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2021/01/12/mike-pompeo-confirms-al-qaedas-abu-muhammad-al-masri-killed-iran/6637242002/









U.S. designates Iraqi PMF chairman for human rights violations

https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2021/01/u-s-designates-iraqi-pmf-chairman-for-human-rights-violations.php









Is Turkey’s Procurement Of Russian S-400 Missiles Really Comparable To Greece’s Past Procurement Of S-300s?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/pauliddon/2021/01/12/is-turkeys-procurement-of-russian-s-400-missiles-really-comparable-to-greeces-procurement-of-s-300s/



150 Somali special forces training in Turkey

https://www.africanmilitaryblog.com/2021/01/150-somali-special-forces-training-in-turkey









Syria: Brutal And Hated Shia Overlords

https://www.strategypage.com/qnd/syria/articles/20210112.aspx



Israel stepping up airstrikes against Syrian troops in recent weeks

https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2021/01/israel-stepping-up-airstrikes-against-syrian-troops-in-recent-weeks.php




Interpol issues notices over Lebanon’s massive port blast

https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-lebanon-arrests-beirut-explosions-00f28fba54994a1212ba9324c04fa0c2









Niger receives C-130H Hercules aircraft from US

https://www.africanmilitaryblog.com/2021/01/niger-receives-c-130h-hercules-aircraft-from-us









US Hits Back at Russian Election Disinformation Ring

https://www.voanews.com/usa/us-hits-back-russian-election-disinformation-ring



Russian Caspian flotilla to form naval aviation squadron

https://www.airrecognition.com/index.php/news/defense-aviation-news/2021/january/6813-russian-caspian-flotilla-to-form-naval-aviation-squadron.html



Russian Stealth Attack UAV "Okhotnik" Drops Bombs from Internal Bay

https://www.defenseworld.net/news/28742/Russian_Stealth_Attack_UAV__Okhotnik__Drops_Bombs_from_Internal_Bay



Russian Navy Commander Stole Two 13-Ton Bronze Propellers From His Own Destroyer

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/38659/russian-navy-commander-stole-two-13-ton-bronze-propellers-from-his-own-destroyer




EU seeks space alliance to defend against U.S. and Chinese ambitions

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-space/eu-seeks-space-alliance-to-defend-against-u-s-and-chinese-ambitions-idUSKBN29H1J2




French army orders 150 new Parrot micro-drones for reconnaissance and intelligence missions

https://www.armyrecognition.com/defense_news_january_2021_global_security_army_industry/french_army_orders_150_new_parrot_micro-drones_for_reconnaissance_and_intelligence_missions.html




Leonardo delivers Miysis DIRCMs for UK Shadow fleet

https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/leonardo-delivers-miysis-dircms-for-uk-shadow-fleet



British military looks to the ‘Eurotank’ as it weighs its hardware options

https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2021/01/11/british-military-looks-to-the-eurotank-as-it-weighs-its-hardware-options/









U.S. State Dept. returns Cuba to state sponsor of terrorism list

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2021/01/11/US-State-Dept-returns-Cuba-to-state-sponsor-of-terrorism-list/1631610404373/









China's WJ-700 Falcon armed reconnaissance UAV makes maiden flight

https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/chinas-wj-700-falcon-armed-reconnaissance-uav-makes-maiden-flight



China’s J-20 Stealth Fighter First Flew 10 Years Ago Today. A Two-Seater Could Be Next.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/38655/ten-years-ago-today-chinas-j-20-stealth-fighter-first-flew-a-two-seater-could-be-next



China pulls 10,000 troops from India border, source says

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3117419/china-pulls-10000-troops-india-border-source-says



Chinese Sea Wing (Haiyi) ocean glider

http://www.hisutton.com/Chinese-Sea-Wing-Submarine-Drone.html



ASW-capable variant of Z-20 helo may soon enter PLA Navy service

https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/asw-capable-variant-of-z-20-helo-may-soon-enter-pla-navy-service





Divers recover first black box from crashed Indonesia plane

https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20210112-divers-recover-first-black-box-from-crashed-indonesia-plane



Explainer: How black boxes of crashed Indonesian jet will be handled

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-crash-blackbox-explainer/explainer-how-black-boxes-of-crashed-indonesian-jet-will-be-handled-idUSKBN29H1LY










Lawmaker asks military to check inauguration troops for terrorist sympathies

https://www.businessinsider.com/lawmaker-asks-military-to-check-inauguration-troops-for-terrorist-sympathies-2021-1



Security in D.C., state Capitols tightened amid inauguration threats

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2021/01/11/Security-in-DC-state-Capitols-tightened-amid-inauguration-threats/3041610398966/



Discovery of pipe bombs in DC obscured by riot at Capitol

https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-joe-biden-inaugurations-capitol-siege-8828a6a920198d0ea1ee0c73a49d8847



Why Marine One Was Making All That Commotion Near The Vice President's Residence Today

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/38662/why-marine-one-was-making-all-that-commotion-near-the-vice-presidents-residence-today



FBI warns of pro-Trump 'armed protests' before Inauguration Day

https://www.businessinsider.com/fbi-bulletin-warns-pro-trump-armed-protests-capitol-inauguration-day-2021-1



House to vote on calling for Pence to invoke 25th Amendment

https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20210112-us-house-to-vote-on-calling-for-pence-to-push-trump-out-of-office



National Guard inauguration deployment: twice as large as troop levels in Afghanistan and Iraq combined

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-army/2021/01/11/national-guard-inauguration-deployment-twice-as-large-as-troop-levels-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-combined/



IAI Completes Delivery of WindGuard Radar Systems to U.S. Military

https://defpost.com/iai-completes-delivery-of-windguard-radar-systems-to-u-s-military/



New Sci-Fi Looking Pistol Packs 50 Rounds Of High-Velocity Personal Defense Weapon Ammo

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/38639/new-sci-fi-looking-pistol-packs-50-rounds-of-high-velocity-personal-defense-weapon-ammo



Underestimating The FBI

https://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htintel/articles/20210112.aspx



Airbus Zephyr Solar HAPS Concludes New Test Flight Campaign in Arizona, USA

https://defpost.com/airbus-zephyr-solar-haps-concludes-new-test-flight-campaign-in-arizona-usa/



Can New ‘Magnetic Shield’ Stop Drone Attacks?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidhambling/2021/01/12/new-magnetic-shield-to-stop-drone-attacks/



A small bureaucratic change at the Pentagon hints at a major shift for US special-operations units

https://www.businessinsider.com/pentagon-bureaucratic-change-sign-of-military-return-to-irregular-warfare-2021-1



Lockheed Martin’s SR-72 Mach 6 Darkstar: What We Know

https://www.19fortyfive.com/2021/01/lockheed-martins-sr-72-mach-6-darkstar-what-we-know/



Northrop Grumman Selected To Demonstrate A New Electronic Warfare Suite For The F-16

https://theaviationist.com/2021/01/12/northrop-grumman-selected-to-demonstrate-a-new-electronic-warfare-suite-for-the-f-16/



F-35 Flies With 871 Flaws, Only Two Fewer Than Year Earlier

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-12/f-35-flies-with-871-flaws-only-two-fewer-than-a-year-earlier



Marines, Navy Moving Quickly on Light Amphib, Anti-Ship Missiles to Create More Warfighting Options

https://news.usni.org/2021/01/11/marines-navy-moving-quickly-on-light-amphib-anti-ship-missiles-to-create-more-warfighting-options



Lockheed Martin delivers HELIOS laser weapon to U.S. Navy

https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2021/01/11/Lockheed-Martin-delivers-HELIOS-laser-weapon-to-US-Navy/2291610385689/



U.S. Navy Amphibious Warship To Deploy With Anti-Ship Missiles Next Year

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/38651/u-s-navy-amphibious-warship-to-deploy-with-anti-ship-missiles-next-year



“USS Ford EMALS failed after 181 launches. It was required to work for 4,166 launches before failure,” Pentagon tester says

https://theaviationgeekclub.com/uss-ford-emals-failed-after-181-launches-it-was-required-to-work-for-4166-launches-before-failure-pentagon-tester-says/