Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- June 26, 2014

CIA Let Iraq Spy Network Wither After Troop Withdrawal, Officials Claim -- FOX News/AP

WASHINGTON – CIA officers in Iraq have been largely hunkered down in their heavily fortified Baghdad compound since U.S. troops left the country in 2011, current and former officials say, allowing a once-rich network of intelligence sources to wither.

That's a big reason, they say, the U.S. was caught flat-footed by the recent offensive by a Sunni-backed al-Qaida-inspired group that has seized a large swath of Iraq.

"This is a glaring example of the erosion of our street craft and our tradecraft and our capability to operate in a hard place," said John Maguire, who helped run CIA operations in Iraq in 2004. "The U.S. taxpayer is not getting their money's worth."

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Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- June 26, 2014

Fox News Poll: Most expect combat troops to return to Iraq as Obama’s foreign policy rating hits new low -- FOX News

Syria Airstrike in Iraq Complicates ISIL Equation -- Defense Tech

NATO allies agree to boost military budgets -- Al Jazeera

US presses Nato members to increase defence spending -- The Guardian

NATO Promises More Funding for Ukraine -- WSJ

Russia Blinded By Loss of Missile Detection Satellite -- Moscow Times

Russian Navy plans on commissioning undersea reconnaissance drone in 2 years – newspaper -- RT

Russian Navy to Receive Four New Minesweepers by 2019 – Defense Ministry -- RIA Novosti

North Korea Replaces Top Military Minister -- Wall Street Journal

Britain's foreign spy master John Sawers to step down -- Reuters

EU wants stronger military industry -- EU Observer

Canada Is Selling Arms to Everyone It Can -- Motherboard

UK military cedes senior post in Kabul as troops pull out -- The Guardian

U.S. Navy Official Says China Military Relations Have Improved 'Modestly' -- WSJ

22 nations, including first-ever Chinese ships, set to begin RIMPAC -- Military Times

Pentagon view of China's military, South China Sea Situation and Possibilities -- Next Big Future

US ends Philippines anti-terror force -- Stars and Stripes

The U.S. Is Freezing the Thai Junta Out of Military Exercises -- Time

U.S. Chided for Delays Over Treaty on Weapons -- New York Times

White House to request $60B for Afghanistan in 2015 -- Military Times

Pentagon to Seek Warfighting Funds After Afghan War -- Bloomberg

JSF Fire Looks Like ‘Isolated Event’; F-35As Stay On Ground -- Breaking Defense

Boeing plots hybrid Super Hornet/Growler future -- Flight Global

US Navy to Retire T-39N Training Jets in August -- Sea Power

The swift, quiet rise of Lt. Gen. Joseph Votel, Special Operations commander -- Washington Post

Bergdahl debrief ends soon, has not admitted any wrongdoing -- Stars and Stripes

A finding of desertion might cost Sgt. Bergdahl his back pay -- Miami Herald/McClatchy News

In a U.S. Court, Iraqis Accuse Blackwater of Killings in 2007 -- New York Times

Veterans: Boycott Mexico over Marine arrest -- Washington Times

Air Force raises enlistee age limit from 27 to 39 -- Stars and Stripes

The Truth about Military Spending -- Christopher A. Preble, Cato Institute

Tracing the world’s weapons, one AK-47 at a time -- Washington Post

Why expanding NATO would deter Russia, stabilize Europe -- Tomas Valasek and Damon Wilson, Special to CNN

What Military Movies Get Wrong -- Takepart