USA
NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT
EUROPE
NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT
ASIA
Philippines: Armed Forces Chief To Sign Logistics Deal With China December 6, 2010
Philippine Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Ricardo David Jr. will begin a five-day visit to China on Dec. 7 at the invitation of the Chinese military and Defense Ministry, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported Dec. 6. David will hold talks with the chief of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army and the head of the Ministry of Defense. A “logistics agreement” will also be signed, allowing China to give the Philippine military a logistics package. The visit is unlikely to have political implications for U.S.-Philippine military ties, David said, adding that his country’s armed forces were prepared to accept equipment and resources from any donor country.
RUSSIA
Georgia: Russia Deploys Missile System In South Ossetia - Report December 6, 2010
Russia has deployed a rocket artillery battalion near Tskhinvali in Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia, a Russian Southern Federal District military source said, Interfax-AVN reported Dec. 6. The “Smerch-type multiple rocket launchers” were deployed to prevent possible Georgian aggression, the source said.
The Russian Swagger is Back STRATFOR
IRAN
Iran: Self-Sufficiency Reached In Yellowcake Production December 5, 2010
Atomic Energy Organization of Iran chief Ali Akbar Salehi said Iran has become self-sufficient in the production of nuclear yellowcake, a uranium concentrate powder, Xinhua reported Dec. 5, citing a statement broadcast by Salehi on state television. Salehi said the first domestically produced yellowcake was shipped to Esfahan for processing, and that Iran will no longer have problems with producing its own yellowcake.
IRAQ
Iraq: Next Government To Have 40 Ministries December 5, 2010
The next Iraqi government will consist of 40 ministries, up from 37 ministries in the previous government, Al-Iraqiya reported Dec. 5. Iraqi lawmaker Nahida Daini said the National Alliance will control 18 ministries, including the oil ministry, the al-Iraqiya list will take 12 ministries, including the finance ministry, and the Kurdish Alliance and Centrist Alliance will control 10 ministries, including the foreign ministry. The al-Iraqiya List and National Alliance are currently in negotiations over the health and higher education ministries, as well as the water ministry.
ISRAEL
The Carmel Mountain Fires and Turkish-Israeli Relations STRATFOR
AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan: Ban On Private Security Firms Reversed December 6, 2010
Afghanistan reversed a decision to ban private security firms and instead introduced new restrictions on the firms’ operations, Afghan Interior Ministry adviser Abdul Manan Farahi said Dec. 6, AFP reported. All 52 licensed firms will continue to provide security for international forces, the Pentagon, the U.N. mission, aid and nongovernmental organizations, embassies and Western media companies in the country. However, the seven security firms in charge of securing NATO supply convoys will need to work with 50 Afghan police officers, and contractors will be forced to move their headquarters outside Kabul’s de facto diplomatic enclave. In addition, all guards must wear uniforms and are prohibited from carrying weapons in residential areas when off duty. They also cannot stop vehicles, search homes or block roads, Farahi said. Security for foreign development projects will gradually transition to Afghan forces, Farahi added.
Afghanistan: 60 Taliban Militants Surrender December 5, 2010
Around 60 Taliban militants surrendered to local authorities in the western Afghan province of Herat, Xinhua reported Dec. 5, citing a local official. The militants gave their weapons to local authorities in the capital of the province, Herat City, the official said.
MIDDLE EAST
Argentina: President Recognizes Palestinian State December 6, 2010
Argentina on Dec. 6 announced its recognition of the Palestinian territories as a “free and independent” state, AFP reported, citing a letter written by Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. In the letter, Fernandez said her country recognizes a Palestine as defined by the 1967 borders.
SOUTH OF THE BORDER
NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT
MISC
Dispatch: Somali Pirates' Eastward Expansion STRATFOR
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