Operations
Other Conflicts
Defense Policy / Programs
News Reports

Current Operations

• IED Attack in Fallujah Kills Soldier, Injures Three Others AFPS 15 Sept 2003-- An 82nd Airborne Division soldier was killed and three others were wounded Sept. 14 in an improvised explosive device attack on their convoy in Fallujah, Iraq.

• PAKISTAN-US-AL-QAIDA VOA 15 Sept 2003-- Pakistan is disputing allegations that its intelligence agency was providing aid to al-Qaida terrorists at the time of the group's September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States

• U.S. Diplomat Sees Regional Action Key to Liberian Peace Process Washington File 15 Sept 2003-- The recent Liberian peace agreement signed in Accra is more likely to hold because it was fostered by African leaders such as Ghanaian President John Kufuor and will be maintained by such regional bodies as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), says Bruce Ehrnman, a U.S. diplomat who observed the negotiating process.

• NATO looking into possibility of peacekeeping beyond Kabul IRNA 15 Sep 2003 -- EU`s special representative in Afghanistan, Francesc Vendrell, and General Jack Deverell, Commander of NATO-forces in Afghanistan, briefed Monday in Brussels a joint meeting of the EU Political and Security Committee with the North Atlantic Council, NATO`s top decision making body.
• AFGHANISTAN FIGHTING VOA 15 Sept 2003-- The U-S military says coalition forces in Afghanistan killed an estimated 15 insurgent fighters in a night-time clash

Other Conflicts

• UN: Campaigners Hope Bangkok Conference Will Help Eliminate Land Mines RFE/RL 15 Sep 2003 -- Campaigners against the use of land mines have gathered in Bangkok this week for a UN-sponsored conference on the international treaty against their use. A nongovernmental organization called the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997, has sent 250 delegates to the five-day event.

• Russia: Bomb Blast At Security Service Building In Ingushetia RFE/RL 15 Sep 2003 -- A truck packed with explosives blew up today outside the regional headquarters of Russia's domestic security service, the FSB, in the southern republic of Ingushetia.
• U-N / MIDEAST VOA 15 Sept 2003-- Security Council members are warning Israel not to "remove" Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat
• ERITREA-ETHIOPIA VOA 15 Sept 2003-- Officials involved in resolving a long-running border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea are preparing for what could be a key phase of the process, following an extension of the mandate of the U-N peacekeeping force monitoring the border.
• SOMALIA/PEACE TALKS VOA 15 Sept 2003-- Somalia's faction leaders have adopted a charter for the country, paving the way for the selection of a new interim government.
• GUINEA BISSAU/COUP VOA 15 Sept 2003-- The leader of the Guinea Bissau coup Sunday has called a meeting to create a national transitional council that would oversee the country's return to civilian rule
• IVORY COAST / CRISIS VOA 15 Sept 2003-- Ivory Coast's president, Laurent Gbagbo, and the visiting French defense minister met in an effort to rekindle implementation of the peace agreement. The defense minister said earlier that French troops would deploy across the country, but only if the ongoing reconciliation process produces results.
• RUSSIA BLAST VOA 15 Sept 2003-- A powerful truck bomb has exploded near the local headquarters of Russia's Federal Security Service in Ingushetia, which borders separatist Chechnya. Early reports say three people were killed and more than 20 injured
• Ending Terrorism Number One Mideast Priority, Negroponte Says Washington File 15 Sept 2003-- Tells U.N. Security Council U.S. does not support Arafat's elimination or exile
• ASIA - LANDMINES VOA 15 Sept 2003-- Asia is lagging behind the world community in signing onto an international treaty banning the production and use of anti-personnel mines
• U.S. Wants U.N. Condemnation of Mideast Terror Groups Washington File 15 Sept 2003-- The United States will not support a U.N. Security Council resolution on the Middle East that does not contain "a robust condemnation of terrorism" explicitly mentioning Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigade, U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said September 15.
• RUSSIA BLAST VOA 15 Sept 2003-- A powerful truck bomb has exploded near the local headquarters of Russia's Federal Security Service in Ingushetia, which borders separatist Chechnya. First reports say two people were killed and at least 15 others injured
• ISRAEL / PALESTINIANS VOA 15 Sept 2003-- Israel remains defiant in the face of widespread international criticism for its plans to force Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat into exile and statements by some ministers that killing him might be the answer. Palestinians warn of chaos if Mr. Arafat is removed. and the United States warns such action would incite rage throughout the Muslim world and elsewhere
• ISRAEL/PALESTINIAN PETITION VOA 15 Sept 2003-- While the Middle East peace process hovers on the brink of collapse, two prominent regional figures -- one Israeli and the other Palestinian -- are speaking hopefully of an end to hostilities. In many quarters, such talk might be described as a flight of fancy. But these two former implacable foes are gathering grassroots support for a simple plan that they believe can lead to peace.
• COLOMBIA/KIDNAPPING VOA 15 Sept 2003-- Colombian authorities have mounted an extensive search-and-rescue mission on the slopes of the imposing Sierra Nevada mountain, where suspected rebels kidnapped eight foreign tourists last week

Defense Policy / Programs

• Operation Iraqi Freedom Potential R&R Leave Support USAREUR Release 15 Sept 2003
• MCMDIV 31 Ships Receive Praise, Awards Navy Newsstand 15 Sept 2003-- Commanding officers of the four mine-hunting vessels stationed in the 5th Fleet area of responsibility were presented the Bronze Star Medal at an awards ceremony here recently.
• USS Stump Scores Again, Intercepts Smuggling Vessel in the Caribbean Navy Newsstand 15 Sept 2003-- Acting in concert with Maritime Patrol aircraft and the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Decisive (WMEC 629), USS Stump (DD 978) intercepted and destroyed a narcotics smuggling vessel while conducting counter-drug operations in the Caribbean Sea.
• Prototype goggles to give Army edge Army News Service 15 Sept 2003-- For years, the Army has used image intensification technology and thermal viewing technologies. Now, an experimental goggle may combine both technologies to give soldiers an edge on the battlefield.
• Navy receives new cargo ship: final ship in 19-ship program Military Sealift Command 15 Sept 2003-- USNS Benavidez, the final ship in a fleet of 19 new or converted civilian-crewed, non-combatant, cargo ships, was delivered to the U. S. Navy Sept. 10, 2003, in New Orleans, La. Benavidez is the last large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ship built or converted at U.S. shipyards since the mid-1990s to transport and preposition at sea U.S. combat equipment.
• Civilian-crewed cargo ships return I MEF gear to Southern California Military Sealift Command 15 Sept 2003-- The Navy's Military Sealift Command-operated roll-on/roll-off ship MV Cape Henry returned from Kuwait today carrying more than 150,000 square feet of battle-worn gear belonging to the First Marine Expeditionary Force and used in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• USS Curtis Wilbur in exercise Pacific Protector 7th Fleet 15 Sept 2003-- USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54) participated in the major maritime interdiction training exercise Pacific Protector, which began Sept. 13.
• FDNF Ships take next step in Training Cycle 7th Fleet 15 Sept 2003-- Having recently completed a crucible of ship specific training, the Sailors of USS Essex (LHD 2) and USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43) got underway from White Beach, Okinawa Sept. 6, to participate in a series of exercises. Those exercises will not only help forge the Sailors and embarked Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (31st MEU) into one cohesive fighting force, but will test new concepts in expeditionary warfare and help shape the future.

• Air Force reports success in producing laser navigation systems IRNA 15 Sep 2003 -- Air Force Commander Brigadier-General Reza Pardis said here on Monday that Air Force experts have been able to develop the technology for producing laser navigation systems for the first time in the country.

News Reports

• SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 15 Sep 2003 -- U.S. military's will retain "strong and vibrant" footprint in Europe under plans for redrawing forces / Iraqi handover will fail if hurried / In Norway, NATO's secretary-general calls for robust force in Iraq / Defense minister: Germany not obligated to make concessions to U.S. on post-war Iraq / NATO chief says bloc capable of wider Afghan role / "Few thousand" more troops needed in Afghanistan
• SHAPE News Summary & Analysis SHAPE 15 Sep 2003 -- Hungarian soldiers to serve in NRF Danish defense minister on NRF / NATO offers Bulgaria seats on sub-regional commands / Turkish foreign minister urges U.S. to crack down on Kurdish rebels / ICTY prosecutor demands handover of top war crimes suspects by year-end / Daily: U.S. still opposed to EU takeover in Bosnia / Swedes vote "no" to Euro

• HURRICANE ISABEL VOA 15 Sept 2003-- Forecasters say Hurricane Isabel will weaken slightly over the next several days, but residents of the U-S East Coast should prepare for a major storm when Isabel strikes the region later this week
• U-S-DRUG REPORT VOA 15 Sept 2003-- President Bush said Monday that Burma and Haiti have "failed demonstrably" to meet their international obligations to fight drug trafficking. In his annual assessment of cooperation by other countries against the drug trade, Mr. Bush removed Guatemala from the list of major offenders, while also expressing increasing concern about illegal drug involvement by North Korea