Operations

A new Afghanistan battle plan being drafted by the Pentagon will focus on building up bands of local militias in the country to help support Afghan National Security Forces once U.S. troops leave. 

Michelle Obama said veterans' unemployment rate had dropped since she launched her "Joining Forces" initiative.

U.S. forces launched a successful airstrike against al Qaeda targets in Yemen on Wednesday as government troops continue to hammer away at the terror group's sanctuaries in the south.

Lawmakers plan to grill Pentagon officials over a new agreement with Afghanistan governing U.S. special operations in the country. 

North Korea began fueling a rocket Wednesday for a launch that has exacerbated tensions with the United States.

The Associated Press reported that North Korea was injecting liquid fuel into the rocket Wednesday. Pyongyang says it is being used to launch a space satellite, but the Untied States and others say is being used to test a long-range missile.

Such a test would violate United Nations Security Council resolutions, U.S. officials say, and would set back a diplomatic agreement that the United States and North Korea had reached earlier this year in which the United States would give food aid and the North Koreans would stop nuclear tests.

Key vulnerabilities in the communication and computer networks among U.S. allies are hamstringing Pentagon plans to develop critical cyberwarfare capabilities with those partner nations. 

“It's not about the U.S. ceding responsibilities to the Afghans," Pentagon spokesman Capt. John Kirby told reporters Monday.

American intelligence agencies are ramping up intelligence and sabotage missions focused on Iran's nuclear program, just as Tehran prepares to renew talks with Western powers over the effort. 

The Chinese military has added sea-based unmanned aircraft to its rapidly growing arsenal, with the first of those aircraft already deployed. 

The People's Liberation Navy (PLN) has begun fielding unmanned surveillance aircraft aboard its fleet of warships, according to recent news reports. 

After being knocked offline for two weeks in an apparent cyberattack, one al Qaeada online forum was back up and running Wednesday.

The Shumkah al-Islam forum, one of two main al Qaeda sites, was back online, but another five sites associated with the terror group remain offline, according to The Washington Post.

The Shumkah site went live again Wednesday with a message that the cyberattack was “a failed, miserable campaign,” according to a translation of the message by security consultant Flashpoint Partners.