Operations
Other Conflicts
Defense Policy / Programs
News Reports

Current Operations

• 'Different Elements' Behind Attacks in Iraq, Secretary Says AFPS 20 Aug 2003 -- The attacks on U.S. and coalition forces are coming from a mixture of "different elements," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said during an interview with National Public Radio Aug. 18.
• Separate Attacks Kill Two Americans in Iraq AFPS 20 Aug 2003 -- Two separate attacks today have claimed the lives of two Americans in Iraq.
• ANOTHER MEMBER OF "IRAQI TOP 55" IN COALITION CUSTODY CENTCOM Release 20 Aug 2003-- Taha Yasin Ramadan al-Jizrawi, number 20 on the coalition's list of most wanted government officials, is now under custody of coalition forces.
• Americans, Iraqis defeat blaze Marine Corps News 20 Aug 2003-- As impenetrable black smoke and scorching flames towered over the barren desert outside the city, local firemen, Marines and sailors prevented a potential environmental catastrophe after a calculated attack set a fuel pipeline on fire.
• ONE KILLED, ONE INJURED AFTER CONVOY FIRED UPON CENTCOM 20 Aug 2003-- One 3rd Corps Support Command soldier was killed and another injured in a two-vehicle accident while driving south on the main supply route southeast of the town of Ad Diwaniyah.
• 101st Airborne destroys three weapon caches, arrests man for anti-American activity Army News Service 20 Aug 2003-- Soldiers from the Fort Campbell, Ky.-based, 101st Airborne Division found three large weapons caches near Mosul Aug. 17-18.

• EDITORIAL: AFGHAN UPDATE VOA 20 Aug 2003 -- Afghan leaders came together to plan the future of their country in Bonn, Germany, in late 2001. Since then, they have made significant progress reclaiming their country from its recent history of war and oppression.

• LIBERIA/PEACE VOA 20 Aug 2003 -- Liberian government and rebel representatives meeting in Ghana are expected shortly to name members of a transitional government. Meanwhile in Liberia, thousands are reported starving as the food relief operation slowly gathers momentum, and continued fighting is reported away from the capital, Monrovia.
• UN envoy meets with Liberian President UN News Centre 20 Aug 2003 -- As humanitarian workers in Monrovia scramble to get desperately needed food, medicine and water to thousands of war-weary people, the United Nations envoy for the country met today with President Moses Blah and toured the outskirts of the shattered capital, looking for ways to get basic services up and running as soon as possible.
• LIBERIA/PEACE VOA 20 Aug 2003 -- Liberian government and rebel representatives are expected shortly to name members of a transitional government from talks in Ghana. Meanwhile in Liberia, thousands are reported starving as the food relief operation slowly gathers momentum.

Other Conflicts

• Bush Discusses Israel, Iraq Terrorist Attacks with Top Advisors Washington File 20 Aug 2003 -- President Bush the morning of August 20 discussed the August 19 terrorist bombings in Iraq and Israel with his National Security Council via a video conference call from his Texas ranch, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan told reporters in Crawford, Texas.
• U-S / MIDDLE EAST VOA 20 Aug 2003 -- The Bush administration is engaged in intensive diplomacy to try to keep the Middle East "road map" to peace on track following Tuesday's suicide bus bombing in Jerusalem. U-S officials are pressing Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas to act now against extremist factions.
• ISRAEL / PALESTINIANS UPDATE VOA 20 Aug 2003 -- Israel is reserving the right to respond militarily against Hamas if the Palestinian Authority fails to take action in response to Tuesday's suicide bombing in Jerusalem that killed at least 20 people. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met with his top security officials.
• ISRAEL/PALESTINIANS VOA 20 Aug 2003 -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is meeting with top security officials to discuss what action to take over Tuesday's suicide bombing in Jerusalem that killed 20 and wounded more than 100.

• Security Council updated on work of experts investigating Somali arms ban UN News Centre 20 Aug 2003 -- United Nations Security Council members today welcomed the mid-term oral report of the panel of experts commissioned to investigate violations of the arms embargo in Somalia and called on all concerned parties to cooperate with the four-person team in discharging its mandate.
• U-S-Rwanda Election VOA 20 Aug 2003 -- The United States expressed concern Wednesday about reported election campaign problems in Rwanda, where preparations are underway for the Central African country's first presidential polling since the ethnic violence and genocide there in 1994.
• NIGERIA / VIOLENCE VOA 20 Aug 2003 -- Nigeria has ordered troops into the town of Warri in Delta state following violent clashes between ethnic Ijaws and Itsekeris. The fighting in the town has killed dozens and prompted thousands more to flee.
• SUDAN / PEACE TALKS VOA 20 Aug 2003 -- Sudan's government is denying reports that peace talks with the main rebel group have broken down. The two sides are deadlocked on key issues, but are still negotiating.
• IVORY COAST / RECONCILIATION VOA 20 Aug 2003 -- Ivory Coast's Prime Minister, Seydou Diarra, says the president's failure to make key government appointments is contributing to the continuing tensions in the country.

Defense Policy / Programs

• U.S. Military Needs More People, Senator Argues Washington File 20 Aug 2003 -- This column by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Republican of Texas, who is chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and vice chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, was published in the Washington Times August 20 and is in the public domain.
• U.S.-Latin American Aerial Drug Interdiction Program Is Resurrected AFPS 20 Aug 2003 -- A U.S.-Latin American aerial drug interdiction program that had been conducted over the skies of countries like Colombia has been reinstated, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld announced here Aug. 19.
• CARTECH Looks to Future for CVN 21 -- Commonality Across the Fleet Navy Newsstand 20 Aug 2003-- Major aircraft carrier technology transition and transformation efforts can now be conducted in a more active and continuous manner, through a new technology management process called CARTECH.
• Essex selected restricted availability creates a better ship 7th Fleet Release 20 Aug 2003-- When USS Essex (LHD 2) got underway Aug. 14, it left for sea trials a better ship.
• Marine Corps receives first Unit Operation Center Marine Corps News 20 Aug 2003-- Marine Corps command and control operators will soon have an opportunity to evaluate a new capability as they begin to see the Unit Operations Centers that are now being delivered off the production line.
• Marines will soon have a new weapon for riverine operations Marine Corps News 20 Aug 2003-- The Small Unit Riverine Craft was approved for full production in early August and that means Marines will soon be seeing the replacement for the old Rigid Raiding Craft that have been in use since the mid-1980s.
• Osan airmen keep engines ready AFPN 20 Aug 2003-- There are at least five fluids required to keep the A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft's TF-34 turbofan engines running: fuel, lubricant, blood, sweat and tears.
• First UAV flight in Germany USAREUR Release 20 Aug 2003-- Something new is flying over Hohenfels these days - an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle or UAV. The first RQ-5A Hunter UAV took its maiden flight in Germany during a ceremony on the Hohenfels Army Airfield Aug. 15.
• Georgian soldiers head downtown Marine Corps News 20 Aug 2003-- Georgian soldiers, recently deployed to Iraq as part of the peacekeeping coalition, may be facing unexpected challenges in the urban environment, especially when dealing with the local population.

• U-S/AFRICA/URANIUM VOA 20 Aug 2003 -- A senior U-S military commander has visited Niger, whose leaders have been voicing fresh complaints over the now-discredited U-S and British claims linking the West African country to a uranium deal with Iraq.

• PAKISTAN US TERROR FORCE VOA 20 Aug 2003 -- Pakistan is forming a new anti-terrorism force with the help of the U-S government. The Pakistani war on terror is reaping unexpected benefits in the country's tribal region.

News Reports

• SHAPE News Summary & Analysis SHAPE 20 Aug 2003 -- Daily: Ankara receives unofficial answer from Gen. Jones to questions regarding troop request / Polish-led stabilization zone in Iraq shrinking at U.S. request / ISAF commander says terror threats remain / German reconnaissance team in Afghanistan ahead of possible extension of Bundeswehr's mandat

• Turkmenistan: People's Council Assumes Duties Of Parliament RFE/RL 20 Aug 2003 -- Turkmenistan's parliament appears to have lost some of its authority after the Halk Maslahaty (People's Council) last week was given the duties of parliament. It's not clear what the Turkmen parliament will do now or why the change was made in the first place. One possible explanation could be that the country's president does not trust parliament.
• RUSSIA/ HELICOPTER VOA 20 Aug 2003 -- Authorities in the Russian Far East have suspended the search for a missing helicopter carrying at least 16 people over the northern Kuril Islands, off Russia's Pacific Coast. A regional governor is among the missing.
• AUSTRALIA POL VOA 20 Aug 2003 -- One of Australia's most controversial political leaders, Pauline Hanson, has been jailed for three years for electoral fraud. The former leader of the anti-immigration One Nation Party had claimed the case against her was politically motivated. She was also found guilty of dishonestly obtaining more than 325-thousand dollars from election authorities.