Operations
Other Conflicts
Defense Policy / Programs
News Reports

Current Operations

• Transcript: News Conference on Recent Cases of Pneumonia Among Deployed Servicemembers 05 Aug 2003 -- News Conference to discuss the recent cases of pneumonia among servicemembers deployed to the U.S. Central Command area of operations. Participating were David Tornberg, deputy assistant secretary of defense for clinical and program policy; Bryan Whitman, deputy assistant secretary of defense for public affairs; and Army Col. Robert DeFraites, Office of the Army Surgeon General
• Army Medical Teams to Investigate Overseas Pneumonia Cases AFPS 05 Aug 2003 -- The U.S. Army is deploying two medical teams overseas -- one to Germany and the other to Iraq -- to examine a spate of pneumonia cases within the U.S. Central Command region that apparently killed two soldiers.
• Army investigates pneumonia cases in Iraq Army News Service 05 Aug 2003-- The Army has dispatched two teams of medical specialists to Iraq and Germany to investigate why pneumonia killed two soldiers and put 13 other servicemembers in the hospital.

• Transcript: DoD News Briefing - Secretary Rumsfeld and Gen. Myers 05 Aug 2003 -- "With the deaths of Uday and Qusay Hussein last month, confidence is growing in Iraq that the Ba'athists will not be returning to power. As a result, more Iraqis are coming forward to help the coalition as the coalition works to get the country back on a path of stability and self-government. And the people coming in are providing helpful information as the coalition deals with the remnants of the Ba'ath regime that are seeking to undermine their progress."
• Combat Ops, Reconstruction Continue in Iraq AFPS 05 Aug 2003 -- Coalition forces continued operations against Baath Party loyalists, the Fedayeen Saddam and former regime supporters with raids, patrols and captures throughout Iraq, coalition officials said today.
• PENTAGON / IRAQ VOA 05 Aug 2003 -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is voicing fresh confidence that U-S troops will find deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. But Mr. Rumsfeld says it is impossible to know if Saddam's death or capture is imminent.
• IRAQ / ATTACK / RAIDS VOA 05 Aug 2003 -- An American civilian contractor working in Iraq was killed Tuesday when a bomb exploded under his truck north of Tikrit.
• COALITION AND IRAQI POLICE WORK TO MAKE IRAQ SECURE CENTCOM Release 05 Aug 2003-- In the last 24 hours, coalition forces conducted 25 raids, 885 day patrols and 709 night patrols and conducted 176 day patrols and 165 night patrols jointly with Iraqi police.
• Combat communicators keep airmen in touch AFPN 05 Aug 2003-- As the fourth aircraft touched down after the Army seized the airfield here, the base gained one of its mission essential teams -- combat communicators.
• NCWG-1 Warfare Reservists Provide Humanitarian Aid to Iraq Navy Newsstand 05 Aug 2003-- Reservists assigned to Naval Coastal Warfare Group (NCWG) 1 returned to the southern Iraqi city of Umm Qasr to deliver school supplies and child-sized picnic tables to children in this poverty-stricken community.

• UNSTABLE AFGHANISTAN VOA 05 Aug 2003 -- The Taleban have been defeated in Afghanistan, but they have not disappeared. They and like-minded groups are mounting increasing attacks on U-S forces and their Afghan allies. They are especially active in the southern part of the country and the lawless border lands between Afghanistan and Pakistan. A new survey by Human Rights Watch provides a grimly detailed account of the breakdown of law and order in a country far from pacified.

• With peacekeepers' arrival, all Liberians must cease hostilities at once - Annan UN News Centre 05 Aug 2003 -- Pleased with the speedy deployment of a vanguard West African peacekeeping force in Liberia less than three days after its authorization by the United Nations Security Council, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called on all parties in the country to cease hostilities at once and work for a comprehensive peace accord.
• Liberia: As peacekeepers arrive, UN gears up to help avert humanitarian crisis in Monrovia UN News Centre 05 Aug 2003 -- With the first contingent of Nigerian peacekeepers now on the ground in Liberia, United Nations and other relief agencies are taking advantage of a lull in the violence to rush food and medical supplies to hundreds of thousands of desperate and hungry people crowding the streets of war-ravaged Monrovia.
• U.S. Welcomes Arrival of Nigerian Peacekeepers in Liberia Washington File 05 Aug 2003 -- The United States welcomes the arrival in Monrovia of Nigerian soldiers who form the first element of an ECOWAS-led multinational force, deputy State Department spokesman Philip T. Reeker said August 5.
• LIBERIA / PEACEKEEPERS VOA 05 Aug 2003 -- The capital of Liberia enjoyed a rare day of peace on Tuesday, as government and rebel forces in Monrovia agreed to an informal cease-fire to allow an advance team of West African peacekeepers to assess the city's security situation.
• PENTAGON/LIBERIA VOA 05 Aug 2003 -- There has still been no announcement about the role U-S forces might play in Liberia, where West African peacekeeping troops have begun deploying to enforce a ceasefire and clear the way for the distribution of humanitarian assistance.
• LIBERIA / PEACEKEEPERS VOA 05 Aug 2003 -- Nigerian peacekeeping forces were expected to begin taking up positions in the Liberian capital, Monrovia, today (Tuesday). The troops arrived in Liberia Monday, sparking renewed hope among citizens and a further lull in the fighting.
• W-F-P/LIBERIA VOA 05 Aug 2003 -- The U-N World Food Program says it has enough food in Monrovia and in the region to feed the hungry, but it can't get to its warehouses, which are under rebel control.

Other Conflicts

• U-N / al QAIDA / ISRAEL VOA 05 Aug 2003 -- Israel says al Qaida terrorist network has recruited Palestinians and has set up terrorist links in Palestinian-controlled territories to carry out attacks against Israel.
• President Bush Authorizes $26 Million for Palestinian Refugees Washington File 05 Aug 2003 -- President Bush has requested that up to $26 million be made available to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to meet unexpected and urgent refugee needs in the West Bank and Gaza.
• EDITORIAL: BUSH ON MIDDLE EAST PEACE VOA 05 Aug 2003 -- The United States is committed to the security of Israel as a Jewish state. There is now, said President George W. Bush, an opportunity "to add to Israeli security and safety, and add to the hopes of the average Palestinian citizen, by making tangible progress towards two states living side-by-side in peace"
• U-S / ISRAEL / FENCE VOA 05 Aug 2003 -- The State Department said Tuesday administration officials are discussing the possibility of reducing U-S loan assistance to Israel because of the security barrier it is building in the West Bank. However officials say suggestions that such a decision might be near are premature.

• CONFLICT DIAMONDS VOA 05 Aug 2003 -- On August 1st, a new law aimed at preventing the illegal trade in rough diamonds from war zones went into effect in the United States. The trade in so-called "conflict diamonds" has been blamed for financing brutal civil wars in sub-Saharan Africa and for money laundering by terrorists.

• Annan lauds regional effort to bring stability to Solomon Islands UN News Centre 05 Aug 2003 -- United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today commended countries in the Pacific Islands region for their collective support to restore law and order in the Solomon Islands and voiced hope that a prompt return to normalcy will facilitate a peace-building process.
• U-S / INDONESIA COURT VOA 05 Aug 2003 -- The United States is expressing disappointment with the Indonesian tribunal set up to deal with violence surrounding the 1999 independence vote in East Timor. The trial phase of the tribunal's work ended Tuesday when a top Indonesian general was given a three-year jail term.
• IVORY COAST/ RECONCILIATION VOA 05 Aug 2003 -- Six months after the Ivory Coast government, rebels and political opposition signed a peace accord in Paris, there is growing impatience at the slow moving pace of the reconciliation process.
• PHILIPPINES / REBELS VOA 05 Aug 2003 -- The chief of the largest Muslim rebel group in the Philippines has died. But neither the rebels nor the Philippine government expect his death to derail upcoming peace talks.
• TIMOR/ WAR CRIMES VERDICT VOA 05 Aug 2003 -- An Indonesian court has convicted a senior general of human rights crimes in East Timor as the former province prepared for its 1999 independence vote. The verdict came as a surprise since prosecutors had requested an acquittal.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Navy Christens Guided-Missile Destroyer Momsen 05 Aug 2003 -- The newest Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer Momsen will be christened Saturday, Aug. 9, 2003, during an 11 a.m. EDT ceremony at Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine.
• O'Kane Comes Home Navy Newsstand 05 Aug 2003-- It was early Monday morning, but that didn't stop the family members of the guided-missile destroyer USS O'Kane (DDG 77) from gathering at the pier awaiting the ship's arrival. It had been six months since family and friends last saw the crew of the O'Kane.
• Vandenberg air tower goes civilian AFPN 05 Aug 2003-- The airfield tower here has become the first active-duty Air Force tower to be manned by contract civilian air traffic controllers. The switch took place Aug. 1.
• DoD Will Examine Options Before Requesting More Troops AFPS 05 Aug 2003 -- If needed, DoD will ask Congress to authorize more soldiers. But first officials at the department would like to see if there are other ways to handle deployments and not raise the troop ceiling, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said during a Pentagon news conference Aug. 5.
• Rumsfeld, Myers Praise Progress in War on Terror AFPS 05 Aug 2003 -- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld stressed the progress the coalition is making in Iraq in the security, political and economic spheres.
• TUP Team delivers first fully upgraded Harrier NAVAIR Release 05 Aug 2003-- Through the top-notch skills and efforts of its TAV-8B Harrier Trainer Upgrade Program (TUP) team, the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Depot Cherry Point delivered its first fully upgraded Harrier to the fleet on June 25.
• Essex training reemphasizes importance of force protection 7th Fleet Release 05 Aug 2003-- Before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, left an indelible impression in the minds of all Americans, an attack against USS Cole (DDG 67) in Yemen the year before sparked a renewed focus on force protection for the military.

• Bush Letter to Congress on New ATOMAL Agreement Parties Washington File 05 Aug 2003 -- Four members of NATO are becoming parties to the ATOMAL Agreement, which allows the transfer of atomic information within the context of NATO. President Bush has sent to Congress documents concerning his approval of these four participation in the ATOMAL Agreement.

• Central Asia: Shanghai Cooperation Organization Makes Military Debut RFE/L 05 Aug 2003 -- On 6 August, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will hold its first-ever military exercises, with troops from five of the six member states participating. Experts say the maneuvers are an indication of the importance China attaches to the SCO in its bid to counter the growing U.S. military presence in Central Asia.

News Reports

• SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 05 Aug 2003 -- NATO supreme allied commander arrives in Romania / U.S. general praises Czech military capabilities / UN policeman killed in sniper attack in northern Kosovo / UN nuclear agency experts begin talks with Iran / Iran says it won't hand over al Qaeda members to U.S. / Swedish arms experts say they found signs of prohibited weapons program in Iraq
• SHAPE News Summary & Analysis SHAPE 05 Aug 2003 -- In October NATO will have its first rapid fighting force / NATO could extend role across Afghanistan / EU troops not ready to take on Bosnian role, says NATO chief
• ZAMBIA / CORRUPTION VOA 05 Aug 2003 -- Former Zambian President Frederick Chiluba was arrested Tuesday and charged with stealing millions of dollars from public coffers. His arrest, along with a handful of others, is part of the current government's massive crackdown on corruption.
• ZIMBABWE / POLITICS VOA 05 Aug 2003 -- Hopes of dialogue between Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu P-F and the opposition faded Tuesday when both sides got into an argument over candidates for local elections.

• MALAYSIA PUTIN VOA 05 Aug 2003 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin is in Malaysia to cement an arms deal with the Malaysian government and further trade ties with Kuala Lumpur.