USA
U.S.: No Legal Guarantees To Russia Over BMD In Europe - Official November 16, 2011
Washington will not provide Moscow with any legally binding guarantees that the planned ballistic missile defense system in Europe will not be used against Russia, U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman said Nov. 16, RIA Novosti and The Moscow Times reported. In an interview with Russian daily Kommersant, Sherman said the system is a U.S.-NATO project that does not involve Moscow in any way, and that the project is designed to defend Europe against rogue states, such as Iran and North Korea, rather than Russia. Washington may negotiate political guarantees with Moscow, Sherman added.
U.S. Naval Update Map: Nov. 16, 2011
November 15, Government Security News – (Texas; International) Texas man who sought to help AQAP convicted. A federal judge convicted a 30-year-old former college student of trying to help support Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) November 14. After acting as his own attorney in a 4-day trial at a federal courthouse in southern Texas, the convict, a resident of Hempstead, Texas, and former student at Prairie View A&M University, was convicted of providing material support to AQAP. His conviction marked the end to a long-term investigation by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force that showed he acted as a recruiter for AQAP and pursued a goal of “violent jihad,” said a Department of Justice statement. He was arrested May 30, 2010, after he traveled to Houston for what he thought was a chance to stowaway on ship bound for Algeria and then on to Yemen to fight for AQAP. He was also convicted on an identity theft charge, stemming from the use of a fake transportation worker identity card, which he believed to be a card issued by the Transportation Security Administration, that he used to access the Port of Houston.
Source: http://www.gsnmagazine.com/node/24988?c=law_enforcement_first_responders
EUROPE
Problems Facing Germany's Designs for Europe
ASIA
U.S.: Military Activities In Australia To Increase 2012 November 16, 2011
U.S. President Barack Obama said the United States will increase its military activities in Australia in 2012 as part of a stepping up in U.S. commitments in Asia-Pacific, Xinhua reported Nov. 16. Speaking after a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Obama said the U.S. military increase will come in stages with around 250 marines to begin training in Australia’s Northern Territory in 2012, increasing to battalion strength groups of 1,000 by 2014 and a 2,500-strong Marine Air Ground Task Force by 2016. Gillard said the increased U.S. presence will reinforce stability in Asia-Pacific.
AFRICA
NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT
RUSSIA
Russia and Tajikistan: A Case Study in the Post-Soviet Dilemma
Poland, Russia Competing for Courtship with Germany
Dispatch: EU-Russian Energy Politics
IRAN
Explosion at Iran Missile Base: Accident or Sabotage?
Calculating Iran's Next Move
IRAQ
Iraq: U.S. To Donate Radar System, Still Developing Air Defense November 16, 2011
The U.S. military will give a sophisticated radar system free of charge to the Iraqi government, an Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman said Nov. 16, Aknews reported. Iraq has fighter jets, helicopters and surveillance aircraft to protect Iraqi airspace from external and internal aggression after the U.S. withdrawal, he added. However, Iraq still needs another 360 days to develop its air defense, a spokesman for the Iraqi Office of the Commander General of the Armed Forces said, adding that the Iraqi military is working with the Iraqi government to increase its capability.
ISRAEL
NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT
AFGHANISTAN
MIDDLE EAST
Dispatch: Turkey and the Free Syrian Army
Turkey: No Nuclear Power Plant Cooperation With Iran - Energy Minister November 16, 2011
Turkey does not plan to negotiate the construction of nuclear power plants with Iran, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said Nov. 16, Reuters reported. Iran is an important neighbor and the countries have an oil and natural gas trade, but nuclear power stations are not currently on Turkey’s agenda, Yildiz said
Syria: Opposition Confirms Attack On Intelligence Base November 16, 2011
Syrian opposition group, the General Commission for the Syrian Revolution, said defectors from the Syrian Armed Forces attacked the Air Force Intelligence compound in Harasta in the Rif Dimashq Governorate, Al Jazeera reported Nov. 16. The attack on the base was followed by a gun fight with helicopters seen hovering over the area. Clashes were reported in various areas of Al-Ghutah al-Sharqiyah, and explosions were reported in the towns of Zamalka, Irbin, Hammuriyah, Harasta and Duma with gunfire and explosions reported in Al-Qabum. Helicopters were seen in the Al-Barzah neighborhood in Damascus and rocket-propelled grenade fire was reported in the Al-Akrad neighborhood of the Rukn al-Din area in Damascus.
Kuwait: Thousands Storm Parliament November 16, 2011
Thousands of demonstrators stormed the Kuwaiti parliament Nov. 16 after police beat demonstrators as they marched on Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Muhammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah’s home to demand his resignation, lawmaker Mussallam al-Barrack said, AFP reported. Al-Barrack led the protest with other lawmakers and youth activists to call for the dissolution of parliament. Demonstrators broke the parliament’s gates, entered the main chamber, sang the national anthem and then left the building. Some activists said they will camp outside the building until al-Sabah is fired.
SOUTH OF THE BORDER
Mexico Security Memo: Authorities Arrest Suspected Zetas Paymaster
Mexico: Leader Of Knights Templar Cartel Captured November 15, 2011
The Mexican army captured Juan Gabriel Orozco Favela, a leader of the Knights Templar cartel, in Morelia, Mexico, the Mexican attorney general said Nov. 15, AFP reported. Orozco, nicknamed “El Gasca,” was wanted in connection with the abduction and murder of 21 people in Michoacan state. He was plaza leader for the cartel in Morelia.
MISC
Above the Tearline: Investigating Air Disasters
Intelligence Guidance: Iran's Next Move, Eurozone Crisis, Pressure on Syria
Except where noted courtesy STRATFOR.COM
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