USA
U.S. Naval Update Map: Jan. 5, 2011 | STRATFOR
U.S.: Officials Subpoena WikiLeaks' Twitter Accounts January 8, 2011
U.S. officials have issued a subpoena to gather information about WikiLeaks’ Twitter accounts, AP reported Jan. 8. Investigators went to the San Francisco-based Twitter Inc. to demand private messages, contact information and other personal details of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and other supporters, including Pfc. Bradley Manning, the Army intelligence analyst suspected of handing classified information to the site, Icelandic lawmaker Birgitta Jonsdottir, Dutch hacker Rop Gonggrijp and U.S. computer programmer Jacob Appelbaum.
January 6, C4ISR Journal – (International) Navy intel chief: Chinese missile is effective. The U.S. Navy’s intelligence director said January 5 that officials were surprised by China’s rapid development of a ballistic missile thought capable of striking ships at sea. “Their anti-ship missile — we underestimated when they would be competent and capable in delivering a technological weapon of that type,” said the vice admiral, the deputy chief of naval operations for information dominance and the Navy’s intelligence director. He was referring to development and testing of the Dong Feng 21D, a land-based anti-ship ballistic missile that officials now say has reached its initial operating capability. Analysts said the missile leaves U.S. aircraft carriers vulnerable to attack, as the technology the missile utilizes increases its probability of being able to hit a moving target. Source: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/2011/01/navy-intelligence-chief-chinese-missile-is-effective-010511w/
EUROPE
NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT
ASIA
Beijing Tells the Provinces To Slow Down | STRATFOR
U.S.: Aircraft Carrier To Make South Korean Port Call January 7, 2011
U.S. aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson will make a port call on Jan. 11 at the southern South Korean port of Busan as part of its regular visits, Yonhap reported Jan. 7, citing a statement from the U.S. Forces Korea.
U.S., Japan: Naval Drills Planned In East China Sea January 7, 2011
The USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier and other U.S. warships are deployed around Japan, and destroyers will carry out a joint drill with Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels soon, according to the U.S. Navy and other sources, Kyodo reported Jan. 7. The exercise will take place Jan. 10 in the East China Sea, west of Japan’s southwestern Kyushu Island, and will include communications drills and helicopter takeoff and landing practice by each side on the other’s ships. It is unclear if the Carl Vinson aircraft carrier will participate in the exercise.
Dispatch: Economic Effects of Australian Flooding | STRATFOR
RUSSIA
Russia and its Foreign Policy Dance | STRATFOR
Russia: Amendments Prepared For START Ratification January 6, 2011
Russia’s parliament prepared five amendments and two draft statements in preparation for the second and third readings of the draft START treaty, the head of the State Duma International Affairs Committee said Jan. 6, RIA Novosti reported. The amendments detail conditions for treaty ratification, action for the Russian leadership and the Federal Assembly, and circumstances enabling Moscow to withdraw from the treaty. One draft provides Russia’s interpretation of the term “strategic stability” as confirmation of mutual dependence between the strategic offensive armaments and missile defense, another addresses strategic nuclear systems development.
IRAN
Iran: Capable Of Producing Own Nuclear Fuel - Salehi January 8, 2011
Iran has completed the construction of a facility in Isfahan, Iran, which produces the fuel plates and rods that power nuclear reactors, Atomic Energy Organization of Iran chief and acting Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said Jan. 8, AFP and AP reported. Thus, Iran is now capable of producing its own fuel plates and rods, Salehi said. In addition, Iran has 40 kilograms (88 pounds) of 20-percent enriched uranium, up from a reported 30 kilograms in October 2010, according to Salehi
Iran: Plans To Change Ground Forces Approved January 6, 2011
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has approved plans for changing the Iranian army’s ground forces aimed at improving their preparedness for confronting threats, according to Brig. Gen. Ahmad Reza Pourdastan, commander of the Iranian army ground forces, Press TV reported Jan. 6. Khamenei has already given the order to implement the plans, Pourdastan said. The plans involve fending off potential attacks from all parts of the country as Iran’s enemies will not likely attack from only one front, Pourdastan added.
IRAQ
Al-Sadr's Return to Iraq and the U.S.-Iranian Entanglement | STRATFOR
ISRAEL
Israel: No Iranian Nukes Until 2015 - Mossad Chief January 7, 2011
In his retirement speech to the Israeli Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Mossad chief Meir Dagan said Iran will not be able to produce a viable nuclear weapon before 2015, approximately, Haaretz reported Jan. 7. Dagan said a series of malfunctions and failures have set the Iranian nuclear weapons program back by several years.
AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan: More Marines Bound for the Taliban's Home Turf | STRATFOR
Afghanistan, Iran: Demonstrators Protest Fuel Embargo January 7, 2011
Approximately 300 Afghans were demonstrating outside the Iranian Embassy in Kabul on Jan. 7 to protest the blocking of fuel trucks at the Iran-Afghanistan border, AP reported.
Afghanistan: Surge Fails To Reduce Taliban Strength January 6, 2011
The U.S. and NATO troop surge in Afghanistan in 2010 has failed to reduce the number of Taliban militants operating in the country, according to military and diplomatic officials, AP reported Jan. 6. A NATO official estimated the current number of insurgents at around 25,000 — the same number as a year ago — confirming figures provided by several military officers and diplomats. The figures are rough estimates, the NATO official said, because the militants are not readily available to be counted, and because the U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force has not disclosed official figures of enemy strength throughout the nine-year war.
Afghanistan: More Marines Bound for the Taliban's Home Turf | STRATFOR
MIDDLE EAST
NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT
SOUTH OF THE BORDER
China Eyes Spain to Expand its South American Reach | STRATFOR
Mexico: Mayor Of City In Coahuila Found Dead January 7, 2011
Mexican authorities discovered the body of Saul Vara Ribera, the mayor of Zaragoza, Coahuila state, in the municipality of Galeana, Nuevo Leon state, Milenio reported Jan. 7. Vara Ribera was shot to death and had been reported missing since Jan. 5.
MISC
Agenda: With George Friedman | STRATFOR
Except where noted courtesy www.stratfor.com
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