US News

• Trump attacks Apple on Twitter for not giving the government a backdoor into iPhones. [Link]
• A Green Beret died during a training exercise. [Link]
• Amazon is filing an injunction against the Pentagon and Microsoft from starting work on the JEDI program. The JEDI program is a multi-billion cloud computing system the Pentagon awarded to Microsoft. Amazon points to corruption and conflict of interest between Microsoft and the Pentagon. [Link]
• The logistics system on the F-35 will have to be replaced. Lockheed is developing a new system that is scheduled to be in place in almost all of the F-35s by 2022. [Link]

Afghanistan

• The Inspector General for the Afghan War says officials have a “disincentive” to tell the truth about the situation in Afghanistan, and we have created a situation that basically requires people to lie. [Link]

Iran

• According to unnamed European sources, the US threatened a 25% tariff on UK, French, and German car imports if those countries did not trigger the dispute mechanism of the Iran Nuclear Deal. [Link]

Turkey

• Turkey will continue to produce parts for the F-35 through 2020. Turkey was removed from the F-35 project for purchasing the Russian made S-400 air defense system. The Pentagon is working to find companies to make the parts currently being made in Turkey. Removing Turkey from the F-35 production line is estimated to cost $600 million. [Link]
• Turkey detains 176 soldiers in connection to the 2016 coup. [Link]
• After two years, Wikipedia is available in Turkey. The government banned the site. A recent court ruling eliminated the ban saying it violated freedom of expression. [Link]
• Turkey claims Egyptian police raided the office of a Turkish news outlet in Cairo. [Link] 

Yemen

• The deal between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and southern separatists is falling apart. The Saudi war in Yemen is mostly targeted at the Houthi in the north of the country. However, power grabs by the Yemeni government have created conflicts with other groups in the country’s south. Several rounds of fighting have broken out between the Yemeni government and the southern separatists who want to break off southern Yemen. [Link]
• Twelve percent of Yemen’s population is displaced. [Link]
• At least 78 children have died from a dengue outbreak in Yemen. [Link]

Africa

• The head of the Joint Chiefs says the US is looking to reduce its military footprint in Africa. [Link]
• The French foreign minister will travel to the US out of concerns the US is withdrawing from northern Africa. France has 4,500 troops deployed to the Sahel region of Africa, fighting various insurgent and jihadist groups. [Link]
• Libya’s warring parties failed to finalize an agreement in peace talks held by Russia and Turkey. The Turkish backed government signed the deal, and the Russian backed government refused to sign the agreement saying he needed two days to consider it. Turkey has threatened to strike the forces of the Russian backed government. [Link]
• The Islamic State claims to have carried out an attack on a military base in Niger, killing over 80 soldiers. [Link]
• Former Sudanese intelligence officers under the former dictator Bashir seized buildings in the capital. Several people had serious gunshot wounds. The government regained control over all the buildings. The former intelligence officers were unhappy with their severance package. [Link]