US News
- The House passes bills to block all funding for war with Iran and repealing the 2002 AUMF. A few Republicans joined House Democrats in passing the bills. [Link]
- Congress plans to open an investigation into the deaths of six Marines during a training exercise in December 2018. An initial report blamed reckless airmen; however, a ProPublica investigation showed the Marines were denied requests for equipment and the required training hours. [Link]
- Lockheed Martin did $60 billion in sales in 2019. [Link]
- The Defense Department IG says officials increasingly target whistleblowers, and officials are not being held accountable. A recent survey found a third of employees say they are less likely to blow the whistle. [Link]
- The Army is seeking to acquire access to a social media exploitation service. The Army wants to datamine social media in an attempt to detect threats. [Link]
- The Army will lift a restriction that limited landmine use to Korea. [Link]
Nicaragua
- In Nicaragua, at least six people were killed and ten kidnapped by militants. The victims are members of an indigenous minority. [Link]
India
- Protests against a proposed anti-Muslim citizenship law in India continue. A gunman attacked protesters at a rally injuring one. [Link]
Middle east
- The US announces it will give sanction waivers to Chinese, Russian, and European countries working on Iranian nuclear facilities. The US did impose sanctions on Iran’s nuclear energy organization. [Link]
- The Syrian Kurds are setting up a tribunal system to try captured ISIS fighters. The Syrian Kurds hold roughly 10,000 accused ISIS fighters, and about 2,000 are citizens of western nations. The Syrian Kurds have been expressing frustration for over a year about western countries’ unwillingness to participate in bringing justice to the captives. [Link]
- The Houthi offer to hold a prisoner swap with Sudan. [Link]
Iraq
- The US is attempting to secure permission from Iraq to deploy Patriot air defense systems in Iraq. [Link]
- Iraq said it is resuming anti-IS operations with the US. The joint operations ceased after the assassination of Soleimani. [Link]
- The Pentagon reports the number of troops suffering from traumatic brain injuries from the January 8th Iranian missile attack increases to 64. [Link]
