Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- April 2, 2016

U.S. special forces soldiers. (VOA)

Reuters: Exclusive: U.S. weighs ramping up deployment of special forces to Syria

The U.S. administration is considering a plan to greatly increase the number of American special operations forces deployed to Syria as it looks to accelerate recent gains against Islamic State, U.S. officials told Reuters.

The officials, with direct knowledge of the proposal's details, declined to disclose the exact increase under consideration. But one of them said it would leave the U.S. special operations contingent many times larger than the around 50 troops currently in Syria, where they operate largely as advisors away from the front lines.

The proposal is among the military options being prepared for President Barack Obama, who is also weighing an increase in the number of American troops in Iraq. A White House spokeswoman declined comment.

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Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- April 2, 2016

US military training 'dozens' of moderate Syrian rebels -- AFP

New US Military Program Training Anti-ISIS Fighters in Syria -- Newsweek

Get Ready, NATO: Russia's Cold War T-72 Tank Is Set for a Big Upgrade -- National Interest

Russia's new Yars ICBM system entering service with Irkutsk missile formation -- TASS

Russia Doubling Nuclear Warheads -- Washington Free Beacon

Obama says Putin's military focus has slowed nuclear arms cuts -- Reuters

Obama Blames Putin's Military Buildup For Slowdown In Arms Control -- RFE

Lessons in the Russian Drawdown in Syria for Ukraine -- Evelyn N. Farkas, Special to Defense News

China is putting the finishing touches on a nuclear missile that can strike the US -- Business Insider

Beijing May Keep Nuclear Missiles on Ready Alert -- Sputnik

North Korea to pursue more 'nuclear deterrence' -- Al Jazeera

Artillery: North Korea Steals From China What Was Stolen From Russia -- Strategy Page

Airbus A400M military transport plane hits more trouble -- DW

US to increase military presence in eastern Europe -- BBC

US Air Force Wants Smart Bomb Increase for ISIS Fight -- Defense News

F-35C Drops First 1,000-Pound GPS-Guided ‘JSOW’ Bomb -- Defense Tech

F-35 software problems -- Washington Times

Air Force: Boeing Tanker Issue Could Delay Production Decision -- Defense News

They're 400,000 drones and the Pentagon sees them as an emerging threat -- L.A. Times

FBI facing demands to share its claimed technique to unlock iPhones -- The Guardian

Spy office denies allegations that NSA data will be used for policing -- The Hill

Reddit’s big hint that the government is watching you is a missing “warrant canary” -- Quartz

To Modernize Military, Pentagon Turns to Hackers -- US News and World Report

The CIA's Problem: Subpar Spies -- Bryan Dean Wrigh, FOX

The Heat: US Special Forces in the global war on terror -- CCTV

Centcom, Socom have new leaders after historic change of command -- Tampa Tribune

Women in special forces: What the U.S. can learn from the Afghans -- Military Times

Top special operations snipers go head to head -- FOX News

Breaking the brass ceiling: The U.S. military's top women -- CBS News

U.S. military suicides remain high for 7th year -- USA Today

Nukes, ICBMs, and unreasonable fears of false alarms -- Peter Huessy, Special to Defense News

At once-stodgy VFW, a new portrait of America's changing military -- Anna Mulrine, CSM

6 Military Stereotypes That Are Just Plain Wrong -- Task & Purpose

Leadership: Can Popularity Save The A-10? -- Strategy Page