Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- November 28, 2014

Iraqi security forces march on the outskirts of Najaf, south of Baghdad last week. The U.S. military has altered its plans to train and equip all Iraqi forces to fight ISIS and will instead focus on readying nine select brigades to take on the terrorist group

America Ditches Decade-Long Plan To Train A Full-Scale Iraqi Army In Favor Of Creating A Small Force Actually Able To Fight ISIS – Instead Of Running Away From The Militants -- Daily Mail

* 'The idea is, at least in the first instance, to try and build a kind of leaner, meaner Iraqi army,' a senior U.S. official said
* The U.S. military plans to create nine new Iraqi army brigades of up to 45,000 light-infantry soldiers over the course of the next two months
* They'll team up with Kurdish and Shiite fighters to fight ISIS
* 'I think we are winning, they are losing,' Iraqi finance minister Hoshiyar Zebari said Thursday

The U.S. military has decided against rebuilding the entire Iraqi army and will instead focus on training a handful of brigades to take on Islamic radicals, initiating a shift in the Pentagon's decade-long approach to the handling the country.

'The idea is, at least in the first instance, to try and build a kind of leaner, meaner Iraqi army,' a senior U.S. official told the Washington Post.

Officials who spoke to the Post on the condition of anonymity said the military plans to create nine new Iraqi army brigades of up to 45,000 light-infantry soldiers over the course of the next two months and team them with other Kurdish and Shiite fighters.

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Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- November 28, 2014

Pentagon aims to train 'leaner, meaner Iraqi army' -- Stars and Stripes/Washington Post

Ministers from coalition against Islamic State to meet December 3 -- Reuters

US, Coalition Executes more than 1,000 Airstrikes against ISIS -- Military.com

US in talks over Arab boots on the ground -- The Hill

Western media websites hacked by Syrian Electronic Army -- Reuters

How Syrian Electronic Army Pulled Off Thanksgiving Day Hacks -- ABC News

Armor: Kornet Clobbers Abrams -- Strategy Page

Russian battleships in the English Channel, say they’re training -- RT

Russian warships pass through English Channel, anchor off coast of France and do exercises -- Washington Post

Royal Navy catches up with Russian warships to 'keep an eye' on Putin's fleet sailing along the Channel -- Daily Mail

Russia Test-Launches Bulava Sea-Based Ballistic Missile -- Sputnik

Russia Ahead of Schedule in Modernizing Military Hardware: Defense Ministry -- Sputnik

Russia ready to share army modernization experience with Asian countries -- ITAR-TASS

MiG-31 fighter force to get $630 million upgrade -- Russia India Report

Afghan drug traffic most serious threat to post-Soviet states — Russian official -- ITAR-TASS

Electronic Weapons: NATO AWACS Depart Afghanistan -- Strategy Page

HMS Queen Elizabeth: The sensitive aircraft carrier issue -- BBC

British Tanks Practice for War with Russia -- Joe Trevithick, Real Clear Defense

India Denies Reports That it Will Cancel French Rafale Jet Deal -- Sputnik

Japan military chief urges early 'crisis management' pact with China -- Reuters

A U.S.-China War: A Battle between Networks -- Zackary Keck, National Interest

Navy LCS Replacement Hangs in Limbo with Hagel Resignation -- DoD Buzz

Lockheed Updates Unmanned U-2 Concept -- Aviation Week

Kodiak cleanup after aborted missile launch could extend into 2015 -- Stars and Stripes/Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (AP)

How The Navy's Latest Anti-Submarine Aircraft Sees Under The Waves -- Pierre Bienaimé, Business Insider

The CIA and Homeland Security want to delete almost all their emails -- Endgadget

Obama facing uphill battle in curbing NSA snooping -- Washington Times

New Clue Revealed for a Sculpture of Secret Code at CIA Headquarters -- Hyperallergic

Is White House Micromanagement Scaring Off Likely Defense Secretaries? -- DoD Buzz

Does anyone want this job? -- Austin Wright and Michael Hirsh, Politico

Dr. Strangelove’s Advice to U.S. and Russian Nuclear Planners -- Walter C. Clemens, Jr., The Diplomat