USA
U.S. Naval Update Map: June 15, 2011 | STRATFOR
U.S.: Naval Drills In South China Sea To Commence June 14, 2011
Vietnam will hold joint naval drills with the United States in July as U.S. Seventh Fleet officials confirmed that a U.S. destroyer would head to Da Nang for a search and rescue exercise in line with the pattern of annual drills with regional allies, AFP reported June 14. At the end of June, two U.S. destroyers and a salvage vessel will hold an exercise with the Philippine navy off the island of Palawan, close to the disputed Spratly archipelago. Meanwhile, the Japan-based carrier USS George Washington left its home port on June 12 for deployment though the region. A Fleet spokesman said the drills have long been scheduled and are part of an overall enhanced naval engagement strategy, not in response to increased tensions surrounding the South China Sea.
June 13, WQAD 8 Moline – (Illinois) Bettendorf man pleads guilty to terrorist hoax. A Bettendorf, Illinois man pleaded guilty June 10 for attempting to mail white powder to the IRS. According to the U.S. attorney’s office, the 59-year-old pleaded guilty to providing false information related to a terrorist hoax. On April 30, an envelope addressed to the IRS was discovered in the mail at Deere & Company on River Drive in Moline, Illinois. The envelope contained a suspicious white powder along with hostile and profane statements written on the man’s tax bill. After the discovery, the entire facility was locked down with the employees quarantined until a hazardous materials team responded. They tested the powder and determined it was harmless. The man admitted to concealing his information on the bill, writing the profane remarks, and placing it in the outgoing mail at the Deere & Company facility. He faces up to 5 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines. Source: http://moline.wqad.com/news/crime/bettendorf-man-pleads-guilty-terroristhoax/58346
June 14, msnbc.com, Reuters, Associated Press, and NBC – (Montana) ‘Armed and extremely dangerous’ ex-militia leader hunted after Mont. shootout. Federal and state agents searched a 30-square-mile swath of rugged Montana forest June 13 for a former militia leader following a shootout with sheriff’s deputies, authorities said. The 47-year-old exchanged gunfire with Missoula County sheriff’s deputies along a logging trail June 12 after a slow-speed chase near Lolo, officials said. No one was hurt. Known for his anti-government sentiments, the suspect previously told police “he wasn’t going to be taken down like last time,” the Missoula County undersheriff said. He told the Associated Press June 13 the former Marine may have planned the attack. Officials believe he may have placed caches of food and weapons along his planned escape route. Authorities seized two of three vehicles registered to him, including the Jeep Cherokee loaded with rifles that he abandoned June 12, but suspect he may have stashed another SUV in the Lolo National Forest, the Missoula County undersheriff said. Tactical agents from the FBI and agents from U.S. Marshals Service, Missoula police, Missoula County sheriff’s officers, as well as law officers from the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and the Montana National Guard assisted in the search. The incident began when deputies responded to a report that the operator of a car registered to the suspect was driving erratically at a rest stop near Lolo. When patrol cars arrived, the driver allegedly ran a stop sign. Officers pursued the car for 30 miles before it spun onto a side road near a trailhead. The former militia leader allegedly responded to commands that he surrender by shooting at deputies before disappearing into the forest. The suspect is the former leader of a Flathead County militia group known as Project 7, named for the number “7” on Flathead County license plates in Montana. Project 7 allegedly plotted to assassinate local officials, go to war with the National Guard, and overthrow the federal government. The week of June 6, the suspect was stopped by the Montana Highway Patrol for a moving violation. He told patrolmen then that “it would take a SWAT team” to bring him in. “He’s a danger to anyone he meets,” the undersheriff said. Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43389933/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/
EUROPE
Russia: U.S.-Ukraine Joint Black Sea Exercise Is No Threat - UkraineJune 14, 2011
Ukraine does not see any real or potential threat to Black Sea regional countries from the joint Ukrainian-American military exercise Sea Breeze 2011, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Dykusarov said, Interfax-Ukraine reported June 14. Dykusarov said all Black Sea countries, including Russia, were invited to participate in the military exercise.
U.S.: Czechs Step Away From Missile Defense Plans June 15, 2011
U.S. and Czech officials say the Czech Republic will not participate any longer in U.S. missile defense plans, AP reported June 15. Czech Defense Minister Alexander Vondra said his country wants to participate, but has stepped away because it was frustrated at a minor role in a new U.S. plan.
ASIA
Dispatch: Increasing Complications in India-Iran Relations | STRATFOR
China's High Inflation Problem | STRATFOR
Taiwan: Budget For U.S. F-16 Fighters Lowered June 14, 2011
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry lowered the 2012 budget for procurement of advanced U.S. F-16 C/D fighter jets, ministry spokesman Luo Shou said, AP reported June 14. Luo said Taipei remains committed to buying the fighters but adjusted the budget so that the Defense Ministry can allocate those funds elsewhere while the United States works on approving the deal domestically. He said the ministry can adjust the budget once Washington’s approval arrives. He did not specify the exact size of the budget reduction.
RUSSIA
Dispatch: Moscow Gets Ahead on Missile Defense | STRATFOR
IRAN
Iran: Intelligence Chief Removed From Monetary Council June 14, 2011
Iranian Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi has been removed from his position on the Supreme Monetary and Credit Council by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, ILNA reported June 14. Another member of the council, Hadi Qavami, confirmed Moslehi and acting Mining and Industry Minister Mehdi Ghazanfari had been removed. They were replaced by Cooperatives Minister Mohammad Abbasi and Labor and Social Affairs Minister Abdolreza Sheykholeslam.
IRAQ
NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT
ISRAEL
Israel: FM Rejects EU Peace Plan June 14, 2011
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman rejected the European Union’s peace plan which focuses on restarting negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority by convening a Middle East peace conference in Paris, Haaretz reported June 14, citing Army Radio. Lieberman said the plan was an attempt to distort current priorities in the international community, adding events in Syria and Iran should take precedence. He said giving top priority to the Palestinian issue was naïve. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton called for an urgent meeting of the Middle East Quartet in a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Egypt: Israeli Diplomats Meet With Accused Spy June 14, 2011
Israeli diplomatic officials met June 14 in Cairo with Ilan Grapel, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen who has been detained by Egypt on suspicions of being an Israeli spy, The Jerusalem Post and Reuters reported. A statement from the Israeli Embassy said Grapel appeared to be in good condition, and that it would continue to work for his release. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on June 14 denied that Grapel was a spy and said he is a student who may have been careless, but has no connection to any intelligence agency in Israel, the United States, or elsewhere. Lieberman said Grapel’s detention is a mistake by the Egyptians, and that Israel has provided clarification on the matter.
France: Gaza Flotilla Called Off June 15, 2011
An aid flotilla that planned to sail from France to the Gaza Strip has been canceled after Jewish communities in France successfully lobbied local authorities in Marseilles to pressure organizers to cancel the plan, Ynet reported June 15. Organizers released a statement thanking participants for their support and urging them to join similar ships departing from Turkey and Greece.
AFGHANISTAN
NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT
MIDDLE EAST
Saudi Arabia's Dual Crises | STRATFOR
Canada: Lawmakers Extend Libya Mission June 14, 2011
Canadian lawmakers voted June 14 to extend through September their mission in Libya under NATO, AFP reported. All except one member of parliament voted to continue the mission.
Democratizing Salafists and the War Against Jihadism | STRATFOR
Kuwait: Emir Warns Against Lawlessness, Protests June 15, 2011
Kuwait will not permit any more lawlessness or confrontations that threaten the nation’s security and resources, Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah said June 15, AFP reported. Al-Sabah said actions of some members of parliament breached the constitution. Youth activists have held rallies every Friday for four weeks demanding the resignation of the prime minister, and another rally is scheduled for June 17. Al-Sabah told the activists that he instructed the Interior Ministry to take measures to preserve security.
Yemen: Protests Held In Almost Every Major City June 14, 2011
Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis protested in almost every major city June 14, demanding a trial for the family and close aides of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, AP reported. Tens of thousands gathered outside acting President Abd Rabboh Mansour Hadi’s home and said they would stay until their demands were met. Similar demonstrations were held in Hadramawt, Hodeida, Ibb, Dhamar and Saada. In Yemen’s second-largest city, Taiz, demonstrators clashed with Republican Guard units guarding the presidential palace. Ambulances were seen rushing to the area, but there were no official casualty reports. Residents in Shabwa, an al Qaeda stronghold in southern Yemen, said overflights by U.S. drones are intensifying.
SOUTH OF THE BORDER
Mexico Security Memo: Los Zetas Take a Hit | STRATFOR
Ecuador: China To Loan $2 Billion June 14, 2011
China will loan Ecuador $2 billion in 2011 and a first tranche of $1 billion was finalized several days ago, El Comercio reported June 14. The second tranche will be secured in the second half of 2011. China has already loaned Ecuador $3 billion since 2010.
MISC
Intelligence Guidance: Week of June 12, 2011 | STRATFOR
Above the Tearline: Surveillance of bin Laden's Courier | STRATFOR
Except where noted courtesy www.stratfor.com
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