Operations
Other Conflicts
Defense Policy / Programs
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 03 Dec 2003 [PDF]

• Coalition Provisional Authority Briefing 03 Dec 2003 -- "Ambassador Bremer continues to meet with members of the Governing Council as individuals and the entire group as we continue to work with them on implementation of the November 15th political agreement."
• Officials Stand by Number of Attackers Killed in Samarra; Operations Continue AFPS 03 Dec 2003 -- U.S. Central Command officials are standing by the claim that 54 attackers were killed in the Nov. 30 ambush at a bank in Samarra, despite Iraqi civilians who say the number is much lower.
• Iraq: U.S. Attempting To Stamp Out Remnants Of Hussein Regime RFE/RL 03 Dec 2003 -- The United States has been taking action to stamp out any remaining loyalty to deposed President Saddam Hussein, ordering the destruction of huge bronze busts of the ousted Iraqi dictator in Baghdad and carrying out new raids in the north of the country.

• AFGHANISTAN PAKISTAN U-S VOA 03 Dec 2003 -- Afghanistan is reporting greatly improved relations with neighboring Pakistan, following the latest meeting of a commission set up to settle disputes between the two nations.

Other Conflicts

• General Assembly passes six resolutions on Palestine and the Middle East UN News Centre 04 Dec 2003 -- The United Nations General Assembly today adopted six resolutions to demonstrate its belief that a final, peaceful settlement to the question of Palestine is essential to ensuring there is lasting peace in the Middle East.
• White House Supports Powell Meeting with Peace Plan Authors Washington File 03 Dec 2003 -- The White House said December 3 that Secretary of State Colin Powell decides for himself whom he will meet with, and the Bush administration supports those decisions.
• Former Israeli, Palestinian Peace Negotiators Propose New Initiative Washington File 03 Dec 2003 -- Drawing upon their experiences as negotiators during the Oslo, Camp David and Taba peace discussions, former Palestinian and Israeli negotiators Yasser Abed Rabbo and Yossi Beilin say their "Geneva Initiative" offers a practical and feasible solution to decades of Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
• Security Council calls for stricter implementation of arms embargo on Somalia UN News Centre 03 Dec 2003 -- The United Nations Security Council today called for greater international support for enhanced implementation of the arms embargo on Somalia after hearing a report that the lack of an effective central government provided opportunities for the activities of international terrorist organizations in the East African country.
• UN mission in DR Congo liberates prisoners and arrests militia leaders UN News Centre 03 Dec 2003 -- The United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) reported today that it has successfully liberated 37 people being held by local militias in the country's northeast.
• U-S / MIDDLE EAST VOA 03 Dec 2003 -- The Bush administration Wednesday reaffirmed its backing for the international "road map" to Middle East peace. But the White House also made clear it had no problem with Secretary of State Colin Powell's intention to meet Friday with the authors of an unofficial Israeli-Palestinian peace plan. The Israeli government has said a Powell meeting with the freelance negotiators would be a mistake.
• RWANDA/GENOCIDE TRIAL VOA 03 Dec 2003 -- Three Rwandan journalists were found guilty Wednesday of using broadcast and print media to help inflame Rwanda's 1994 genocide. Two men were jailed for life and the third for 35 years.
• FRANCE / IVORY COAST VOA 03 Dec 2003 -- The French government said Wednesday it was closely following the growing violence in Ivory Coast. Protesters have demonstrated in the commercial capital, Abidjan for the third consecutive day to protest French military presence in the country.
• Most Palestinians say "No" to the Geneva Accord IRNA 03 Dec 2003 -- As Israeli and Palestinian politicians were launching the so-called "Geneva Accord" in the Swiss city Monday, thousands of Palestinians took to the streets in the occupied territories to protest and condemn the "treacherous document."
• D-R-C / KABILA VOA 03 Dec 2003 -- Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila has outlined the new transitional government's first peacetime program of action after five years of civil war. But diplomats and analysts say the plan remains thin on detail.

Defense Policy / Programs

• MFO soldiers undergo combat training Army News Service 03 Dec 2003-- The Soldiers of Task Force Sinai serving in support of the Multinational Force and Observers are learning "stress shooting."
• Ingenuity, elbow grease improves Humvee protection Army News Service 03 Dec 2003-- Ingenuity and improvisation have been hallmarks of the U.S. Army since its inception. Whether it is making something faster, easier, deadlier or safer, Soldiers always find a way to improve upon what they are issued.
• George Washington CSG Begins COMPTUEX Navy Newsstand 03 Dec 2003-- Ships and aircraft of the USS George Washington (CVN 73) Carrier Strike Group (CSG) began their Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) Nov. 22. The exercise, scheduled to run through mid-December, uses operating areas and training ranges along the East and Gulf Coasts.

• DoD Assigns Legal Counsel for Guantanamo Detainee 30 Dec 2003 -- The Department of Defense announced today that Australian detainee David Hicks has been assigned a military defense counsel. Although he has not been charged, Hicks is one of six detainees President Bush determined to be subject to his Military Order of November 13, 2001. Military commission rules require that a Detailed Defense Counsel be available to an Accused sufficiently in advance of trial to prepare a defense.

• Missile Defense Boost-Phase Contract Awarded 03 Dec 2003 -- The Department of Defense announced today that the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has awarded a contract to Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems Corp. for the development and testing of a concept for the Kinetic Energy Interceptor (KEI) program designed to intercept and destroy a ballistic missile in its boost/early ascent phase, which is the period of flight lasting from three to five minutes after a ballistic missile is launched. The contract awarded today is approximately $4.5 billion over the next eight years.
• Air Force-Navy Combine Forces to Develop Joint Radio System AFPS 03 Dec 2003 -- The Air Force and Navy have agreed to merge their two formerly separate programs for the acquisition of improved radio systems.
• Military Works to Establish Modern Global Communications Network AFPS 03 Dec 2003 -- The U.S. military is working to establish a state-of-the-art global communications network that's designed to provide real-time information to warfighters.
• Looking for Technology, Doctrine to Transform the Face of War AFPS 03 Dec 2003 -- The chief of the DoD Office of Force Transformation wants to ensure that some future leader does not look back on today and regret the decisions made.
• Transformation Part of War on Terror, Myers says AFPS 03 Dec 2003 -- Transforming the U.S. armed forces while still fighting a global war on terrorism is the biggest challenge facing military leaders today, Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers said today.

• NATO "Enormously Important to the World," Rumsfeld Says Washington File 03 Dec 2003 -- "As Europe evolves, as NATO evolves, we have to manage it in a way that NATO remains strong and healthy," Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said December 2 during a roundtable discussion with European editors that focused largely on proposals for an EU military planning headquarters separate from NATO and on the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• NATO: Alliance Praises Efforts Of CSTO States, But Cool To Offer Of Cooperation RFE/RL 03 Dec 2003 -- The six countries which form the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have declared their intention to cooperate more closely with NATO. The CSTO states say their aims are basically the same as those of the Atlantic alliance.

News Reports

• SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 03 Dec 2003 -- NATO seeks to strengthen links with former Soviet republics / Georgia says NATO membership unlikely before 2010 / European security meeting ends in discord over Russian troops / Romano Prodi sees multi-speed EU after enlargement / EU says "ready to re-examine" arms embargo on China / Swedish, Czech and Polish leaders cautious about EU defence plans / Defence secretary says allies promise to keep troops in Iraq next year / Warlords hand over heavy weapons to fledgling Afghan national army / Loyalist militias give French deadline to pull back from cease-fire lines in Ivory Coast
• SHAPE News Summary & Analysis SHAPE 03 Dec 2003 -- Daily: NATO wants to significantly expand Afghanistan mission in 2004 / Afghan defense minister and warlord ready to hand over heavy weapons / Turkish Defense Minister Gonul on NATO transformation, NRF / Danish daily sees ACT as example of Alliance's "Americanization"

• State Department Noon Briefing, December 3, 2003 Washington File 03 Dec 2003 -- North Korea, Israel/Palestians, China/Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Georgia

• UN agencies ask for $288 million to tackle the effects of landmines UN News Centre 03 Dec 2003 -- United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) battling the scourge of landmines need $288 million next year to remove mines, educate people about avoiding them and help any victims, according to a joint report from the UN.
• ANNAN/L-A VOA 03 Dec 2003 -- United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says the United States should pursue international dialogue while confronting challenges like terrorism. The U-N official spoke in Los Angeles, Tuesday evening. He warned that new divisions in the world threaten the common goals of the United States and the United Nations.
• INDONESIA POLITICS VOA 03 Dec 2003 -- In Indonesia, one of the daughters of former President Suharto is set to make a bid for her father's old job. Some people are outraged, but she might be able to cash in on nostalgia for the certainties of her father's iron fisted rule.