Dozens of Israeli tanks have been deployed near Gaza border since Thursday. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has approved the summons of 30,000 reserve soldiers. The troops can be called into action by the military at any point, an IDF spokesman told Israel’s Channel 2 TV, as quoted by AFP. Brigadier General Yoav Mordechai said the army was in the process of expanding the Gaza operation. “The... 

Scores of Twitter users have flooded the social networking site announcing their plans to go on looting sprees once Hurricane Sandy makes landfall, as the New York National Guard announced it would put troops on duty in Long Island to prevent such activity. 1,175 New York National Guard troops have been mobilized to “provide command and control and logistical support” in New York City, Long Island,... 

French soldiers board an A310 airliner on August 9, 2012 at the Istres military airbase in southern France to be sent to the Syrian-Jordanian border. France has sent troops to the Syrian border with Jordan amid reports of escalating foreign support for the insurgents fighting the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. France said its soldiers have been deployed to ‘help refugees’... 

Syrian frontier guards are battling militants who have infiltrated from Turkey, as the army deploys troops to quash hostile forces trapped in the mountains. The clashes highlight claims outside forces are actively fueling the conflict in Syria. ­North to the Syrian city of Aleppo (340 kilometers from Damascus) frontier guards have eliminated several subversives, captured some and sent others fleeing... 

Bahraini anti-government demonstrators run during clashes between protesters and the Bahraini army during a demonstration in Manama, Bahrain. Soldiers opened fire Friday on thousands of protesters defying a government ban and streaming toward the landmark square that had been the symbolic center of the uprising to break the political grip of the Gulf nation’s leaders. Officials at the main Salmaniya... 

Even though on January 17, 2011 China denied plans to send troops into North Korea, yesterday on January 18, 2011 China sent troops into North Korea. A contingent of Chinese troops has reportedly been stationed for a month in the economic zone of Rajin-Sonbong in northeast North Korea. South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported a South Korean official as saying the People’s Liberation Army... 

The Netherlands became the first NATO country to end its combat mission in Afghanistan, drawing the curtain Sunday on a four-year operation that was deeply unpopular at home and even brought down a Dutch government. The departure of the small force of nearly 1,900 Dutch troops is not expected to affect conditions on the ground. But it is politically significant because it comes at a time of rising... 

In a previous story SHTFplan noted that Reports Surfacing of Multi-State National Guard Mobilizations. Further information made available after our report, much of which was published in the comment section by contributors who scoured the web for more information on the subject, suggests that the report was true and that national guard units had indeed been called up for training and possible deployment... 

Europe has demilitarized too much since the end of the Cold War and its underfunded defense budgets are undermining shared security goals, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Tuesday. Gates, addressing a NATO seminar in Washington, said too few helicopters and cargo aircraft for the NATO mission in Afghanistan were “directly impacting operations.” NATO also needed more aerial refueling... 

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed the United Nation’s General Assembly. Delegates from the US, Israel and EU stormed out as Iran’s leader was speaking.  Read More »