Operations
Other Conflicts
Defense Policy / Programs
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 11 Dec 2003 [PDF]

• No War Trophies Allowed from Iraq, Afghanistan AFPS 11 Dec 2003 -- Do not even think about bringing back to the United States war trophies from your service in Iraq and Afghanistan.

• PENTAGON: CIVILIAN KILLINGS VOA 11 Dec 2003 -- Even Pentagon spokesmen acknowledge it has not been a good week for the U-S military. First there was word of the accidental deaths of 15 children in two U-S anti-terrorist strikes in Afghanistan. Then an independent report was released by a leading human rights group claiming hundreds of civilian deaths caused by American forces in Iraq were preventable.
• Airmen control northern Iraq flights AFPN 12 Dec 2003-- With equipment older than many of its users, air traffic control services here present some unique challenges for the 32 people keeping Air Force and Army aircraft operating safely.

• IRAQ/BLASTS VOA 11 Dec 2003 -- Three or four loud explosions have rocked central Baghdad in or near the compound housing the U-S-led coalition authority early Friday. It appears to be a mortar attack.
• 82nd Paratroopers Nab Suspected Terrorists In Fallujah Raid AFPS 11 Dec 2003 -- American paratroopers with the Army's 82nd Airborne Division recently captured several suspected terrorists during a raid in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, according to a U.S. Central Command news release.
• IRAQ / ATTACKS VOA 11 Dec 2003 -- A car bomb has exploded outside a U-S military base in Iraq. There are no details yet on the number or extent of U-S casualties, but the military says three Iraqi men driving the vehicle are believed to have been killed.

• UN calls on Coalition forces in Afghanistan to learn from deaths of 15 children UN News Centre 11 Dec 2003 -- The senior United Nations official in Afghanistan said today he hoped lessons would be learned from the killing of 15 children in two raids by the United States-led Coalition forces in Afghanistan and "these tragic situations are not repeated."
• AFGHANISTAN POL VOA 11 Dec 2003 -- As delegates gather in Kabul to approve a draft constitution for post-war Afghanistan, the United Nations is pushing for an international summit to address the many problems hindering the country's political development. One of the chief obstacles is lack of security.

Other Conflicts

• POWELL / MIDEAST VOA 11 Dec 2003 -- U-S Secretary of State Colin Powell met late Thursday with the Palestinian co-author of an unofficial plan for an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement. The session with Palestinian educator Sari Nusseibeh was the second meeting of its kind for Mr. Powell in the span of a week.
• UN Security Council urges DR of Congo to upgrade security sector for elections UN News Centre 11 Dec 2003 -- Welcoming the improvement of relations between post-conflict Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and its neighbours, the United Nations Security Council today called on the DRC Government to turn its attention to promoting domestic human rights and accelerating the integration of irregular forces into military or civilian life.
• Middle East Road Map is distressed, but far from dead, says Annan UN News Centre 11 Dec 2003 -- The Road Map peace plan for the Middle East is in distress, but it is not dead, and a new mood in the region could inspire the leaders of Israel and the Palestinians to get back to the negotiating table, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today.
• ISRAEL / POPE VOA 11 Dec 2003 -- Pope John Paul has called on Israel and the Palestinians to take concrete steps toward peace. The pontiff met privately with Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom at the Vatican Thursday. Vatican observers see the meeting as a sign of thaw after several weeks of frosty exchanges between the Holy See and the Jewish state.
• ISRAEL / PALESTINIANS / POLITICS VOA 11 Dec 2003 -- Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says, under a plan backed by him and Prime Minister Sharon, Israel will unilaterally withdraw from some, but not all, Palestinian areas. However, the plan does not yet have the backing of the full Israeli Cabinet, and as Ross Dunn reports from Jerusalem, the Palestinian prime minister is warning that any unilateral act by Israel will increase violence in the region.
• SUDAN/PEACE TALKS VOA 11 Dec 2003 -- There are indications the Sudanese government and the country's main rebel group may reach a framework peace agreement within the next two weeks.
• SRI LANKA/POLITICS VOA 11 Dec 2003 -- In Sri Lanka, the prime minister and president have failed to end a month-old power struggle that is threatening a peace process with Tamil rebels.
• ISRAEL PALESTINIANS VOA 11 Dec 2003 -- Three Palestinians were killed and 12 were injured (early Thursday) in clashes with Israeli troops in a Gaza refugee camp on the Egyptian border.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Aegis Missile Test Successful 11 Dec 2003 -- The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the U.S. Navy announced today the completion of a successful flight test in the continuing development of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) Program, the sea-based element of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS). Flight Mission-6 (FM-6) involved the detection and tracking of an Aries short-range target missile launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF), Kauai, Hawaii at 8:10 a.m. HST (1:10 p.m. EST).

• Defense Auditors Investigate Potential KBR Overcharges AFPS 11 Dec 2003 -- Halliburton's Kellogg, Brown and Root, a long-time supplier of logistical support for the military, may have overpriced fuel provided to the Iraqi people by as much as $61 million, according to defense contract auditors.
• Transcript: Media Availability on the Kellogg Brown & Root Contract 11 Dec 2003 -- Participating were Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) Dov Zakheim; Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Lawrence Di Rita; William H. Reed, director, Defense Contract Audit Agency; and Senior Defense Officials

• TRANSCOM Commander Addresses Supply Chain Problems AFPS 11 Dec 2003 -- When boxes of bubble wrap, filing cabinets and DVDs show up among "Triple Nine" cargo -- a number that designates the Air Force's highest priority shipment that usually is assigned to military units in places like Iraq -- it tells Air Force Gen. John W. Handy there is a problem with the military's supply chain process.

• Grossman Consults in Berlin on U.S. Force Deployments Washington File 12 Dec 2003 -- Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman was in Berlin December 11 to continue consultations with allies on potential changes to America's global force posture.
• Feith Has Consultations in Bucharest on U.S. Global Force Posture Washington File 12 Dec 2003 -- Douglas Feith, the Defense Department's under secretary for policy, was in Bucharest December 10 for discussions on potential changes to U.S. overseas military deployments.

• Georgia: Troops Sent To South Ossetia In Antismuggling Move RFE/RL 11 Dec 2003 -- Georgia today sent special forces into its separatist republic of South Ossetia in an antismuggling operation.

• BRITAIN / DEFENSE VOA 11 Dec 2003 -- Britain's Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon today (Thursday) unveiled a plan for a major overhaul of the military to face the new challenges of the 21st century.

News Reports

• SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 11 Dec 2003 -- U.S. Secretary of Defence Rumsfeld seeks February NATO meeting / U.S. tells Russia plan to move bases is not hostile / Austria, Sweden and Ireland ready to accept proposal for common EU defence / UN unveils road map to Kosovo status talks / U.S. to increase non-military aid to Afghanistan / CIA plans Iraqi domestic spy service / One-third of new soldiers in Iraq's army quit just before starting operations
• SHAPE News Summary & Analysis SHAPE 11 Dec 2003 -- German daily on NRF and EU plans for rapid reaction forces / Daily sees U.S. searching for new ground for cooperation in NATO / French daily views negotiations on U.S. troop basing in Europe / NATO's role after start of Proxima mission explained / Pentagon Iraq contract bids delayed until Dec. 19

• State Department Noon Briefing, December 11, 2003 Washington File 12 Dec 2003 -- Homeland Security, North Korea, Iraq, Kuwait/Saudi Arabia, human rights, Egypt, Israel/Palestinians, Canada, Angola, Russia, Greece, Turkey, China/Taiwan, Venezuela, EU/airspace agreement,

• BRITAIN / EU VOA 11 Dec 2003 -- Britain's foreign secretary, Jack Straw, acknowledges the European draft constitution will have a tough time passing at the European Union summit in Brussels, which starts Friday.
• JAPAN/ASEAN VOA 11 Dec 2003 -- Japan, which is hosting a two-day summit with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, has pledged to begin talks on setting free-trade agreements with Thailand, Malaysia, and The Philippines.