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U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Tuesday that the United States has no plans for imposing a no-fly zone over Syria as the government of Bashar al-Assad steps up air attacks on the city of Aleppo.

Army Pvt. Cory M. Perry, an infantryman with the Kentucky Army National Guard's Company A, 1st Battalion 149th Infantry Regiment, fast ropes from a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during a fast rope insertion training exercise at the Harold L. Disney Training Center in Artemus, Ky.

An aircrew from the Wyoming Air National Guard's 153rd Airlift Wing drop fire retardant from a C130-H Hercules aircraft equipped with Modular Airborne Firefighting Systems while assisting with suppression of the Squirrel Creek wildfire about 70 miles east of Cheyenne, Wyo., July 6. In response to increased fire activity in the western United States aircrews from the 153rd Airlift Wing operating MAFFS-equipped C-130s are set to resume operations Tuesday.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta says he is confident the United States could enforce a no-fly zone over Syria, but that a "major decision" needed to authorize such a mission has not been made.

The chairman of Kenya’s National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) said a two-day nationwide discussion on ensuring next year’s elections are free, fair and transparent begins Monday.

Botswana Defense Force engineers and engineers from the Illinois National Guard's 631st Engineer Support Company, improve an existing pond used for watering livestock and other agricultural needs, in a small village near Mkankake Range. The engineers are participating in Southern Accord 2012, an annual combined, joint exercise which brings together U.S. military and BDF to conduct various operations to enhance military capabilities and interoperability.

Air National Guard Maj. Jay Spohn performs pre-flight tasks in an F-35A Lightning II joint strike fighter in July during preparations to become the Guard’s first F-35 instructor pilot. He finished his last of six flights Aug. 3, 2012 to become a part of aviation history. Spohn is a Florida National Guard member and is embedded in the 33d Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base where he is responsible for training up the fighter pilots who will fly the fifth-generation F-35 and will carry the U.S. Air Force into the next 50 years of air superiority.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated the terrorist group Hizballah for providing support to the Government of Syria, pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13582, which targets the Government of Syria and its supporters. This action highlights Hizballah’s activities within Syria and its integral role in the continued violence the Assad regime is inflicting on the Syrian population.