SOFREP Daily Brief - 01-08-2016

Chinese Stocks Plunge

The market turmoil in China spread around the world on Thursday, as global investors grew more anxious about the country’s currency and the health of its economy. Major market indexes in the United States ended the day down more than 2 percent. Earlier, Chinese stocks plunged by more than 7 percent, forcing officials for the second time this week to halt trading for the day — in this case, after just 29 minutes. – The New York Times
Military Doctors Fault Pentagon for Loss in Medical Innovations

WASHINGTON—Top military doctors are warning that medical advances won on Afghan and Iraqi battlefields might be lost unless Secretary of Defense Ash Carter orders the Pentagon to make these techniques, drugs and devices mandatory for military physicians, nurses and medics. Fourteen years of combat gradually produced a system that generated survival rates unprecedented in modern warfare, from front-line first aid to helicopter… – The Wall Street Journal
Controversy over Special Forces Mission in Marjah, Afghanistan

An AC-130 gunship was allegedly prevented from providing air support to a group of U.S. special forces under heavy fire from the Taliban due to fears that it could cause collateral damage, according to a report from SOFRep.com and a congressman’s recent inquiry to the Department of Defense. The soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 19th Special Forces Group came under heavy fire from Taliban forces as they accompanied Afghan Forces on a mission in the town of Marjah in Helmand province as part of Operation Resolute Support Jan. 5. – The Daily Caller
The Moment Obama Decided Not to Intervene in Syria

US President Barack Obama decided to delay launching airstrikes against the Syrian government in 2013 during a walk in the White House garden with his chief of staff, Denis McDonough, according to an in-depth profile of McDonough from Politico Magazine’s Glenn Thrush. After Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces killed more than 1,300 Syrians in a 2013 chemical-weapons attack which crossed Obama’s self-imposed “red line,” Obama considered launching an air campaign in an attempt to depose Assad. – Business Insider

[Featured image: An investor in Chengdu, China, checks stock prices on his phone in a darkened brokerage hall after trading was halted Thursday. Credit Color China Photo, via Associated Press]

Chinese Stocks Plunge

The market turmoil in China spread around the world on Thursday, as global investors grew more anxious about the country’s currency and the health of its economy. Major market indexes in the United States ended the day down more than 2 percent. Earlier, Chinese stocks plunged by more than 7 percent, forcing officials for the second time this week to halt trading for the day — in this case, after just 29 minutes. – The New York Times
Military Doctors Fault Pentagon for Loss in Medical Innovations

WASHINGTON—Top military doctors are warning that medical advances won on Afghan and Iraqi battlefields might be lost unless Secretary of Defense Ash Carter orders the Pentagon to make these techniques, drugs and devices mandatory for military physicians, nurses and medics. Fourteen years of combat gradually produced a system that generated survival rates unprecedented in modern warfare, from front-line first aid to helicopter… – The Wall Street Journal
Controversy over Special Forces Mission in Marjah, Afghanistan

An AC-130 gunship was allegedly prevented from providing air support to a group of U.S. special forces under heavy fire from the Taliban due to fears that it could cause collateral damage, according to a report from SOFRep.com and a congressman’s recent inquiry to the Department of Defense. The soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 19th Special Forces Group came under heavy fire from Taliban forces as they accompanied Afghan Forces on a mission in the town of Marjah in Helmand province as part of Operation Resolute Support Jan. 5. – The Daily Caller
The Moment Obama Decided Not to Intervene in Syria

US President Barack Obama decided to delay launching airstrikes against the Syrian government in 2013 during a walk in the White House garden with his chief of staff, Denis McDonough, according to an in-depth profile of McDonough from Politico Magazine’s Glenn Thrush. After Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces killed more than 1,300 Syrians in a 2013 chemical-weapons attack which crossed Obama’s self-imposed “red line,” Obama considered launching an air campaign in an attempt to depose Assad. – Business Insider

[Featured image: An investor in Chengdu, China, checks stock prices on his phone in a darkened brokerage hall after trading was halted Thursday. Credit Color China Photo, via Associated Press]