IBTimes: ISIS Update: Iran, Iraq Agree To Military Pact To Combat Islamic State Militants

WNU Editor: I guess the Iraqis do not have confidence in U.S./allied promises and commitments to train their military and to combat the Islamic State.

Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- January 1, 2015

Iranian military commander: We have forces in Syria, Yemen and Iraq -- Middle East Monitor

Iran Holds Navy Parade Marking End of Six-Day Military Drills: Reports -- Sputnik

US aims to quickly train Iraq forces for anti-IS fight -- AFP

US Ends 2014 with More Airstrikes in Iraq and Boot Camps for Iraqis -- Military.com

Official: Jordan halts ISIS strikes after capture -- The Hill

IDF war crimes probes threaten to tear military apart from within -- Jerusalem Post

France expects Ukraine crisis political solutions to settle Mistral dispute -- ITAR-TASS

Firm Truce in Ukraine Needed for Mistral Delivery to Russia: Paris -- Sputnik

Vladimir Putin Wants an Arctic Air Army for 2015 -- Motherboard

Chinese Special Operations Forces: Not Like “Back at Bragg” -- Dennis J. Blasko, War ON The Rocks

China planning three aircraft carriers and eventual path to nuclear carriers that will copy US supercarrier tech -- Next Big Future

China in search of naval base for its aircraft carrier -- Economic Times

Aircraft Carriers in the Taiwan Strait -- The Diplomat

The Philippine Navy’s Submarine Quest -- The Diplomat

Taiwan Kicks Off Plan To Build Its Own Submarines -- Defense News/AFP

Accountability sought for Canada’s secret soldiers: Special forces often shrouded in mystery -- National Post/Post Media News

Spies foil Taliban raid on UK base: GCHQ smashed plot to attack Camp Bastion after monitoring chatter between insurgents -- Daily Mail

Face of Defense: Pilot Reflects on Training Afghan Air Force -- US Department of Defense

While U.S. Negotiated Over Manas, Pentagon Intensified Kyrgyzstan Special Forces Training -- Eurasianet.org

Big year for US Navy ship retirements -- UT San Diego

FBI silently changes cell phone tracking policy -- RT

New documents reveal which encryption tools the NSA couldn't crack -- The Verge

NSA can wiretap Skype wholesale -- Boing Boing

If the Supreme Court tackles the NSA in 2015, it’ll be one of these five cases -- Ars Technica

U.S. Navy Preps for Next Generation Communications Satellite Launch -- USNI News

U.S. military seeks new UAV perception technology -- UPI

Working dogs are Marines' new 'force multiplier' on ships -- Marine Times

Corps surveys Marines about smartphone habits -- Military Times

U.S. military hardware still flowing to local police after Ferguson -- Washington Times

U.S. Changes Coming to Military Pensions -- NBC

Here’s How the Military Wasted Your Money in 2014 -- Matthew Gault, War Is Boring

World War II ski soldier, veterans group founder Earl Ervin Clark dies at 95 -- FOX News

The Military’s New Year’s Resolution for Artificial Intelligence -- Patrick Tucker, Defense One

Defense 2015 Preview: Downturn Ends but Industry Troubles Not Over -- National Defense

Semper Fi: Five Features That Will Keep The U.S. Marine Corps Busy In 2015 And Beyond -- Loren Thompson, Forbes