Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- October 24, 2014

U.S. President Barack Obama meets with military leaders from 21 nations to discuss strategy in the Middle East at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Oct 14, 2014. The discussion was part of a ongoing effort to build a coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and integrate capabilities. DoD photo by D. Myles Cullen

Iraqi Counteroffensive Months Aways; US Airstrikes Continue -- Stars and Stripes

MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. — American airstrikes have helped the Iraqi military stall the advance of Islamic State militants, but it will be months before government forces are ready to mount a counteroffensive to reclaim lost territory, U.S. officials said here Thursday.

That assessment, from military and defense officials speaking on the condition of anonymity, came the same day that Iraqi Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi told Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel by phone that his troops would go on the offensive against the insurgents who sent the Iraqi military fleeing earlier this year. Al-Obeidi offered no timetable for the offensive.

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Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- October 24, 2014

Iraqi and FSA Ground Operations Against IS Are ‘Months Away’: US Military -- RIA Novosti

US, Iraq plan offensive against Islamic State -- Washington Post

US Official: Iraq Army Not Ready To Repel Islamic State -- Defense News

Details of Peshmerga Fighters’ Passage Through Turkey Not Finalized Yet: Ambassador -- RIA Novosti

Ebola crisis rekindles concerns about secret research in Russian military labs -- Washington Post

Kremlin Threatens to Sue France Over Possible Mistral Contract Breach -- RIA Novosti

Report: Russia, China near cybersecurity deal -- The Hill

China criticizes U.S. missile defense radar in Japan -- Reuters

Second Chinese aircraft carrier to be completed in 6 years: Kanwa -- Want China Times

China To Debut Two New Fighter Aircraft At Zhuhai Air Show? -- Defense World

Intelligence: China Has F-35 Fever -- Strategy Page

Sweden’s Navy Believes Mini-Submarine Seen in Stockholm Archipelago Waters -- RIA Novosti

Well-‘red’: MI5 spied on prominent academics ‘for decades’, secret docs show -- RT

Niger buys "spy plane" to combat Sahel militants -- Reuters

US to Maintain Control Over Military Operations in South Korea: Secretary of Defense -- RIA Novosti

U.S. Navy Starting Work on New SSN(X) Nuclear Attack Submarine -- USNI

NO on Ohio Replacement Submarine: ‘We’re Going to Build It’ -- Sea Power Magazine

Navy readies for 1st F-35 carrier landing -- Stars and Stripes

BAE Proposes Rail Guns for Army’s Future Fighting Vehicle -- Defense Tech

Pentagon’s ‘Iron Man’ project blasted as waste by Sen. Tom Coburn -- Washington Times

Pentagon seeks to perfect technology behind mind-controlled drones -- Washington Times

Leahy: Ottawa shooting no reason to stop NSA reform -- The Hill

Intelligence: Sex Snares Secrets At High Cost -- Strategy Page

As number of youths eligible to serve shrinks to 3 in 10, Army adapts recruiting strategy -- Stars and Stripes/The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville (MCT)

Virginia subs to get berthing changes for female crew -- Navy Times

‘Black Hawk Down’ senior NCO, decorated hero Gallagher dead at 52 -- Stars and Stripes

Unfit for battle: America's military is growing tired, injured and overweight -- Thomas E. Ricks, Foreign Policy

Studies Link Mental Issues and the Rigor of the Military -- NYT

China patiently challenges US military superiority -- Rebeccah L. Heinrichs, The Hill