[Airbornelawyer]

A somewhat truncated summary, while my various deals percolate. We are trying to close about 7 transactions by the end of the year.

• Iraq: Security incidents in Iraq, Dec 7 (Reuters)

• Iraq: Ongoing operations – Miscellaneous releases from Multi-National Force Iraq.

• Middle East/South Asia: Ongoing operations – Miscellaneous releases from U.S. Central Command.

• Middle East: Qaeda will find oil targets tough to hit-analysts "Al Qaeda will find it hard to deal a deadly blow to heavily-fortified oil facilities in Gulf states that supply a fifth of global energy needs, security experts and analysts said on Wednesday.…" (Reuters Alertnet)

• Sri Lanka: Security Situation Report. (Sri Lanka Army)

• South Asia: South Asia Terrorism Update (South Asia Terrorism Portal)

• Afghanistan: U.S. says 22 Taliban killed in Afghanistan "Twenty-two Taliban guerrillas have been killed in two clashes with U.S. and local troops in Afghanistan, the U.S. military said on Wednesday. Thirteen militants were killed in an operation at the weekend in the southern province of Kandahar, it said in a statement. Three American, three Afghan and two other soldiers from the U.S.-led foreign force were wounded in the attack aimed at a cell responsible for carrying out attacks with improvised explosive devices, the statement said. …" (Reuters Alertnet)

• Pakistan: Pakistani militants clash with bandits, 15 dead "Islamic militants in Pakistan strung up bodies of bandits and displayed the head of one on a pole on Wednesday after clashes in a troubled region bordering Afghanistan in which 15 people were killed. The bloodshed began on Tuesday when militants attacked bandits extorting money on a road near Miranshah, the main town of the North Waziristan region, said a government official in the northwestern city of Peshawar, who declined to be identified. …" (Reuters Alertnet)

• Afghanistan/Europe: European Security Group approves Afghan deployment "A regional European security organization agreed Dec. 6 to deploy its forces to Afghanistan for a six-month peacekeeping mission, according to a statement released by the group. ... NATO had asked SEDM if it would provide troops to assume the mission as the headquarters of the Kabul Multinational Brigade of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. The brigade is now slated to begin a six-month tour in Afghanistan in February. Earlier in the day, Ukraine was formally admitted into SEDM, joining Italy, Greece, Turkey, Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Slovenia and Croatia. The United States helped develop SEDM, established in 1996, to promote peace and stability and enhance regional security cooperation in southeastern Europe. Some SEDM members, like Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Italy, Romania, Slovenia, as well as the United States, also are NATO members. …" (U.S. European Command)

• The Philippines: U.S. to reopen Manila embassy after bomb threat "The U.S. embassy in Manila will resume public services on Thursday, two days after closing its doors due to a bomb threat, with Philippine officials pointing to communist rebels as the main suspects in the security scare. …" (Reuters Alertnet)

• Indonesia: Indonesia police boost security for holiday season "Indonesian police are boosting security in the capital ahead of Christmas and New Year's Eve to avoid a repeat of past terrorist attacks during the holiday season, Jakarta's police chief said on Wednesday. …" (Reuters Alertnet)

• Ethiopia-Eritrea: Eritrea threatens to expel some members of UNMEE "United Nations officials say Eritrea is expelling United States, European and Russian staff working for the UN's peacekeeping mission which monitors the increasingly tense border between Eritrea and Ethiopia.…" (Reuters Alertnet)

• The Americas: USSOUTHCOM Headline News (Microsoft Word format)

• Colombia: Tres terroristas de las Farc abatidos por el Ejercito en Antioquia "En reacción al secuestro que se presento en Angostura tropas de la Cuarta Brigada entraron en combate con las Farc donde fue abatido en terrorista, dos más murieron en operaciones militares adelantadas por soldados para brindar seguridad ciudadana en Antioquia. …" (Ejército Nacional de Colombia)

• Colombia: Presidente de Colombia ascenderá a once altos oficiales del Ejército "En la mañana de hoy el señor presidente de la República ascenderá a los grados de General, Mayor General y Brigadier General a once oficiales del Ejército de Colombia, ..." (Ejército Nacional de Colombia)

• Ecuador: Ministro de Defensa Oficializó Adquisición de Lanchas Guardacostas "El Ministro de Defensa Nacional, General (r) Oswaldo Jarrín, oficializó la adquisición de tres lanchas guardacostas a España. La ceremonia de bendición de las lanchas se cumplirá en Bilbao. ..." (Fuerzas Armadas Ecuatoriana)

• Mexico: La Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional Continúa Obteniendo Satisfactorios Resultados en el Combate el Narcotráfico "En esta ocasión aseguró y destruyó más de 12 toneladas de mariguana y se erradicaron 143 hectáreas 3,948 metros cuadrados de sembradíos de enervantes; asimismo, se pusieron a disposición de las autoridades correspondientes a 20 civiles nacionales y un extranjero. ..." (Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional)