– Associated Press – The cacophony of gunfire and bombing that dominated this southern river valley in the fall has dropped to a whisper, but U.S. Marines who have paid a heavy price battling the Taliban in Afghanistan’s deadliest spot expect the insurgents to hit back hard.
Geopolitics / Middle East – Arab democracy and the return of the Mediterranean world
– Washington Post – Robert D. Kaplan writes that with the toppling of autocratic regimes in Egypt and Tunisia – and other Arab dictators, such as Libya’s, on the ropes – some have euphorically announced the arrival of democracy in the Middle East. But something more subtle may develop.
Dutch Navy – Three Dutch marines captured during rescue in Libya
– BBC – Talks are under way to free three Dutch marines captured in Libya as they tried to evacuate foreign citizens.
US Navy -The Decline of U.S. Naval Power
– Wall Street Journal – Sixty ships were commonly underway in America’s seaward approaches in 1998, but today there are only 20. We are abdicating our role on the oceans.
Iranian Navy – Iran seeks closer naval ties with Syria
– Associated Press – Iran’s navy chief says he is seeking closer naval ties with Syria.
Italian Navy – Italian nationals evacuated from Libya
– Press TV – As pro-democracy protests rage in Libya, the Italian navy assault ship San Giorgio has prepared to evacuate Italians and people of other nationalities in the North African country’s port city of Misrata.
US Navy – Shipshape? The San Antonio, finally, almost is there
– Virginian Pilot – After two years, multiple breakdowns and more than $40 million in fixes, the amphibious transport dock is nearly ready for sea tests. The ship’s troubles, estimated in the thousands, included major engine problems.
US Marines – Gates Accepts Marines' Future Plan
– Defense Technology International – The Marine Corps Force Structure Review Group reported to Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday of last week, and Gates endorsed its conclusions.
Chinese Navy – In unprecedented move, China sends navy ship to protect Libya evacuees
– Canadian Press – China is taking the unprecedented step of dispatching a navy ship to protect its citizens being evacuated from conflict-ridden Libya — underscoring the navy’s growing capabilities and Beijing’s need to protect its citizens abroad.
Iranian Navy – Iran hails warships' mission in Mediterranean
– Washington Post – Iranian officials on Tuesday hailed the passage of two warships through Egypt’s Suez Canal as a milestone in Iran’s effort to play a greater role in maritime affairs.
Geopolitics / Middle East – If Not Now, When?
– New York Times – Thomas Friedman on just how difficult a democratic transition will be for the Middle East.
US Navy – Deaths of four Americans reflect increasing violence of Somali piracy
– Washington Post – The deaths of a US couple, at the hands of pirates who had ostensibly entered into negotiations with commanders aboard the nearby USS Sterett, reflected the increasingly violent ways of Somali pirates who have been pushing further out to sea in search of victims.
Royal Navy – UK warship redeployed to aid Libya evacuation
– Associated Press – The frigate HMS Cumberland is being deployed off the Libyan coast in the event that it could be needed for a sea-borne evacuation of British citizens living there
Iranian Navy – Iranian warships enter Suez Canal amid Israeli concern
– BBC – Two Iranian warships have entered the Suez Canal to make a passage to the Mediterranean Sea, canal officials say.
Spanish Navy – Spain's Aircraft Carrier Begins Air-naval Certification Campaign
– Defense Technology International – The Juan Carlos I, Spain’s amphibious aircraft carrier launched on September 30, 2010, is undergoing year-long sea trials and last week started the process of gaining its air-naval certification.
US Navy – X-47B Sorties Ramping Up
– Aviation Week and Space Technology – The U.S. Navy is building on the successful first flight of the stealthy, tailless Northrop Grumman X-47B demonstrator as a pivotal step toward the long-held goal of marrying persistent, autonomous unmanned intelligence and strike aircraft with the reach of its fleet of aircraft carriers.
Chinese Navy – Russian sold secrets for China’s first carrier
– Washington Times – Ukrainian authorities have imposed a six-year prison term on a Russian man convicted of spying for China who was assigned to steal military secrets for Beijing’s program to build and operate aircraft carriers.
Chinese Navy – Who rules the waves?
– Economist – China’s ocean scientists will soon start exploring a controversial patch of sea.
Iranian Navy – Iranian warships' plan to use Suez Canal 'cancelled'
– BBC – Plans by two Iranian warships to pass through the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean have been cancelled, says an Egyptian official.
US Navy – Admiral: China’s ‘carrier killer’ missile won’t stop U.S. Navy
– Associated Press – A new “carrier killer” missile that has become a symbol of China‘s rising military might will not force the U.S. Navy to change the way it operates in the Pacific, a senior Navy commander told the Associated Press.
Geopolitics – Wanted: A Grand Strategy for America
– Newsweek – Niall Ferguson on Obama’s Egypt debacle and the vacuum it exposes.
US Navy – US submariners learn to live without smokes
– Associated Press – As if life on a submarine wasn’t already stressful enough, with its cramped quarters, long work hours and weeks at sea, thousands of smokers on the U.S. Navy’s submarine fleet recently got an unwelcome ultimatum from Uncle Sam. As of last month, all submarines in the U.S. Navy are officially smoke free — and it’s been a tense transition.
Danish Navy – Nato seizes 'pirate mother ship' off Somalia
– BBC – A Danish warship has captured a suspected pirate mother ship off Somalia, Nato’s counter-piracy mission has said.
US Marines – Looking Beyond the EFV
– US Naval Institute Proceedings – It’s time for the Marine Corps to examine its role across the broad expanse of national strategy rather than the narrow focus of a single-purpose mission.
US Navy – The future of seabasing
– Armed Forces Journal – Like a ship’s hull with too many barnacles, seabasing is laden with unnecessary conceptual debris that has obscured its central tenets and confused its core strengths. As the Navy ponders its roles and corresponding force structure for the coming decades, it is worth putting seabasing in dry dock and stripping it clean. Only then will a vision appropriate to the 21st century emerge.
NOSI - Naval Open Source Intelligence™ 
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