Operations
Other Conflicts
Defense Policy / Programs
News Reports

Current Operations

• Supply Line To USS Tarawa Adds Spice to Deployment Navy NewStand 15 Apr 2003 -- Take 1,200 Sailors on a six-month deployment, stir in 1,400 voracious Marines, add a pinch of super management skills to oversee a supply line that stretches halfway around the world, and you have the ingredients for a well-stocked amphibious assault ship during wartime.
• Two Carrier Battle Groups Headed Home from Iraq Washington File 15 Apr 2003 -- Air Force General Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says U.S. carrier battle groups and combat aircraft are starting to return home from Iraq and "we have begun transitioning from combat operations to working with local Iraqis to stabilize and secure Iraq's cities and towns."
• Phone Center Opens in Camp Sledd, Improves Morale DefendAmerica.mil 15 Apr 2003 -- For Marines at an air base here serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom, keeping in touch with loved ones and friends became a little easier April 13.
• Fact Sheet: U.S. Has Given $185.8 Million to Help Displaced Afghans Washington File 15 Apr 2003 -- The State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) released a fact sheet April 14 detailing its efforts to help Afghan refugees, returnees, internally displaced persons, and other conflict victims since September 2001.

Other Conflicts

• Bush, Chirac Discuss Iraq, Syria, Middle East "Road Map" Washington File 15 Apr 2003 -- President Jacques Chirac of France phoned President Bush April 15 and the two leaders discussed Iraq, Syria, and the "road map" to peace in the Middle East, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said at his daily briefing.
• U.S. Has No Further War Plans, Powell Says Washington File 15 Apr 2003 -- Despite serious concerns about weapons of mass destruction in Syria and Iran, the United States has no plans for further military action in the region, says Secretary of State Colin Powell.
• U.S. to Vote Against Resolution on "Occupied Palestine" Washington File 15 Apr 2003 -- The United States, at the 59th Session of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, said it would vote against a draft resolution on the Palestinian situation that repeatedly "strongly condemns" Israeli policies and practices.
• POWELL-MIDEAST VOA 15 Apr 2003 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell said Tuesday he thinks prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace have been "enhanced" by the removal of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq. He reiterated the Bush administration's plan to release its long-awaited "roadmap" to a Middle East peace upon confirmation of a new Palestinian prime minister.
• BOSNIA/WAR CRIMES VOA 15 Apr 2003 -- A former commander of Bosnian Muslims, appearing before the War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague, has pleaded not guilty to six counts of war crimes against Serbs. Naser Oric is considered a hero to many Bosnian Muslims, but prosecutors in The Hague have charged him with murder, cruel treatment and plunder.
• D-R-C / RIGHTS INVESTIGATION VOA 15 Apr 2003 -- team of human-rights experts from the United Nations is going Wednesday to the Democratic Republic of Congo to begin an investigation into the massacre of almost one-thousand people earlier this month in Ituri Province.
• ISRAEL/U-N RIGHTS COMMISSION VOA 15 Apr 2003 -- The United Nations Human Rights Commission has voted to condemn Israel for alleged abuses in the Golan Heights and the Palestinian territories. The United States was alone in voting against the resolutions saying the criticism was one-sided and unfair.
• DR of Congo: UN pledges support for peace process in northeast UN News Centre 15 Apr 2003 -- A high-level United Nations delegation - including a top envoy of Secretary-General Kofi Annan and representatives of the Security Council - gathered in the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to welcome the creation of a power-sharing local administration that will manage the region until a new post-war national government takes over.
• ISRAEL/PALESTINIANS VOA 15 Apr 2003 -- Three Israelis, including a young army officer, and three Palestinians have died in violence in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. At least six Israelis were injured in the separate attacks.
• INDONESIA / PAPUA PLAN VOA 15 Apr 2003 -- Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri has recently ordered the independence-minded, resource-rich province of Papua to be divided into three administrative provinces. The move has generated much controversy and critics say it will undermine Indonesia's own autonomy plan for Papua - which is aimed at ending the decades-long separatist conflict.
• INDONESIA ACEH VOA 15 Apr 2003 -- There are signs that the peace process in Indonesia's northern Aceh province may get back on track with the Indonesian government and separatist rebels agreeing to meet to discuss their differences. But Indonesian government officials in Jakarta are also talking about the possibility of renewed military action in the province.
• TIMOR RIGHTS VOA 15 Apr 2003 -- Amnesty International is pushing the United Nations to hold a war crimes tribunal for atrocities committed in East Timor. The rights group says trials conducted by the Indonesian government have not been honest or fair.

Defense Policy / Programs

• White House Press Briefing White House 15 Apr 2003
• DOD COMPLIES WITH NEW HIPAA PRIVACY STANDARDS 15 Apr 2003 -- William Winkenwerder Jr., assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, announced today that all military medical facilities have implemented the privacy rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996.
• Operation Rota Comfort Underway Navy NewStand 15 Apr 2003 -- What began as concern from a Navy Exchange (NEX) Sight and Sound employee evolved into an outpouring of support from the Naval Station (NAVSTA) Rota, Spain, community.
• Albany's Maintenance Center becomes pace setter for DoD USMC News 15 Apr 2003 -- Albany's Maintenance Center is taking the lead as the benchmarking giant for the Department of Defense. Extending beyond just the Corps, the southwest Georgia depot has welcomed members of other services and contractors alike in a strong show of jointness.
• Program ensures NBC products' readiness USMC News 15 Apr 2003 -- One day the American military may face the gruesome possibility of a chemical or biological threat, the sole Joint Service Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense Equipment Assessment Program managed from MCLB, Albany, GA, ensures that Marines, sailors, soldiers, airmen and Defense Supply Center Philadelphia (DSCP) do not have to worry about the quality of their protective gear.
• Innovation group paves way to standard AOC ACCNS 15 Apr 2003 -- Developing and building a weapon system takes years of research and planning before the final product is ever declared fit for the fight.
• USS Crommelin Keeps Nearly Two Tons of Cocaine Off the Market Navy NewStand 15 Apr 2003 -- One day in the early months of USS Crommelin's (FFG 37) deployment, Seaman John Holme was standing watch as forward lookout when he spotted the outline of a small craft on the horizon.

News Reports

• SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 15 Apr 2003
• SHAPE News Summary Analysis SHAPE 15 Apr 2003
• CDC says SARS Breakthrough Could Lead to Medicines, Vaccine Washington File 15 Apr 2003 -- The cracking of the genetic code of the virus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), now achieved by both Canadian and U.S. research teams, is "critically important" in the development of diagnostic tests, antiviral medicines and a vaccine, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Julie Gerberding.
• CDC Breaks Genetic Code on SARS Washington File 15 Apr 2003 -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced April 14 that its researchers had analyzed the genetic code for the coronavirus believed to be the cause of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS.
• U.S., OAS Condemn Bombing of Site for Negotiations on Venezuela Washington File 15 Apr 2003 -- The United States has joined the Organization of American States (OAS) in condemning the April 12 bombing of a building in Caracas where negotiators had reached an accord that advances prospects for a peaceful solution to the political crisis in Venezuela.
• Democracy Can Work for Muslims, Powell Says Washington File 15 Apr 2003 -- Democracy can work for Muslims, and there is no reason to fear democracy in the Middle East, Secretary of State Colin Powell says.
• EDITORIAL: CUBAN CRACKDOWN ON DISSENT VOA 15 Apr 2003 -- In the most severe crackdown in years, the Communist regime of Fidel Castro is imprisoning dozens of journalists, economists, and political reformers.
• MEXICO/CUBA VOA 15 Apr 2003 -- Published reports in Mexico indicate that the government of President Vicente Fox is planning to vote in favor of a resolution criticizing Cuba at the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva this week. The Cuban Communist government has drawn worldwide condemnation for its recent crackdown on dissidents and the summary execution of three accused hijackers last week.
• SAF/RECONCILIATION VOA 15 Apr 2003 -- The president of South Africa has announced a one-time payment of about four thousand dollars to victims of the apartheid system. The news came as he presented Parliament with the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
• U-S / CUBA / REGIME CHANGE VOA 15 Apr 2003 -- With Saddam Hussein's removal from power in Iraq, many Cuban exiles say the United States should turn its attention to another dictator closer to U-S shores: Cuban President Fidel Castro. Cuban exiles wonder why Mr. Castro remains in power when the United States has forced regime change in another part of the world.
• E-U / SUMMIT PREVIEW VOA 15 Apr 2003 -- Europe's leaders are to gather Wednesday in Athens for a historic two-day summit that will see 10 new states accept provisions for European Union membership. But the gathering could be overshadowed by persistent divisions about the war in Iraq.
• BURMA / EUROPEAN UNION VOA 15 Apr 2003 -- Burma's military government says it is welcomes meaningful political dialogue, a day after the European Union toughened sanctions because of slow progress in talks between the generals and the repressed democratic opposition.
• CHINA SARS WHO UPDATE VOA 15 Apr 2003 -- World Health Organization officials say they have managed to inspect a Chinese hospital alleged to be treating unreported SARS patients. But the disease experts are saying little about what they found there. The visit follows charges that Beijing is covering up the true extent of the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.
• PAKISTAN / AFGHAN REFUGEES VOA 15 Apr 2003 -- Voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan is underway, with the United Nations planning to assist in the return of 600-thousand people this year. More than three-million Afghans had been living in Pakistan, some for decades, after fleeing the Soviet occupation or subsequent civil war.
• ASIA SARS VOA 15 Apr 2003 -- The number of victims of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome continues to climb in Hong Kong. One prominent doctor says the city's hospitals are beginning to feel the strain of treating hundreds of SARS patients - many of whom are in critical condition. .
• NIGERIA/ELECTIONS VOA 15 Apr 2003 -- With most of the votes counted, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo's party holds a clear lead following Saturday's legislative elections. The lead is providing hope for Mr. Obasanjo, who will seek re-election in next Saturday's presidential election.
• CHINA SARS MEDIA VOA 15 Apr 2003 -- After months of hiding evidence that a serious new disease was spreading in the country, China's government has unleashed a media campaign to warn the public about Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. Even top leaders are taking part in the effort.