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News

Operations
Other Conflicts
Defense Policy / Programs
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 03 Mar 2004 [PDF]

• Transcript: Coalition Provisional Authority Briefing 03 Mar 2004 -- Adviser to the CPA, Daniel Senor and Deputy Director of Coalition Operations, Gen. Mark Kimmitt
• Coalition Provisional Authority Statement on Tuesday Terrorist Attacks 03 Mar 2004 -- "Yesterday's terrorist attacks match any every perpetrated in their pure cynicism, in their pure evil. Their purpose was clear: incitement of sectarian violence among Iraq's Muslims. In spite of the death toll, in spite of the wounded, as Iraqis from across the political spectrum have made clear in statements, the effort to provoke sectarian violence has failed and it will fail. The coalition and the United States government are committed to helping Iraq win this war against terrorism. We offer our complete support to the Iraqi people and to their security forces."
• Officials Quash Rumors About Bombings in Iraq AFPS 03 Mar 2004 -- Coalition officials in Iraq today struck down rumors surrounding the capture of would-be, failed bombers connected to the March 2 attacks that killed scores and injured hundreds of Shiia pilgrims in Baghdad and Karbala.
• IRAQ / BLAST AFTERMATH VOA 03 Mar 2004 -- U-S officials say border security will be tightened following Tuesday's terror attacks on Shi'ite worshipers in Baghdad and Karbala. Iraq's Governing Council says the signing of Iraq's interim constitution, postponed to the end of a three-day mourning period for the victims, will take place Friday. The Council puts the death toll of Tuesday's attacks at 271, sharply higher than U-S coalition estimates.
• Iraq: Bomb Attacks Spark Debate Over U.S. Security Role RFE/RL 03 Mar 2004 -- The bomb attacks that killed more than 140 Shi'a in Iraq yesterday are sparking a fierce new debate over whether U.S.-led forces are able to provide adequate security in the country.

• Afghanistan: EU Urges Delay In Elections RFE/RL 03 Mar 2004 -- Citing logistical and security concerns, the European Union yesterday said elections in Afghanistan should be delayed until at least September. The European Commission also announced a further aid grant to support voter registration and said other donors need to contribute more.

• Cheney Says Aristide Made Own Choice to Resign as Haiti's President Washington File 03 Mar 2004 -- Vice President Richard Cheney says former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide resigned his office of his "own free will" and left his country voluntarily.
• HAITI / EMERGENCY VOA 03 Mar 2004 -- Haiti's Prime Minister late Wednesday declared a state of emergency and the country's interim president named a new national police chief to combat lawlessness and violence in the Caribbean nation.
• HAITI / REBEL LEADER VOA 03 Mar 2004 -- Haiti's rebel leader says he is laying down his weapons, two days after triumphantly entering Port-au-Prince following the resignation of former-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
• CONGRESS/HAITI VOA 03 Mar 2004 -- Bush administration officials have come under sharp questioning in a congressional hearing from lawmakers critical of the U-S role in Haiti in the days leading up to the departure of President Jean Bertrand Aristide.

Other Conflicts

• 22 Nepalese security personnel killed in fierce battle with Maoists IRNA 03 Mar 2004 -- At least 22 Nepalese security personnel, 17 from the police and 5 from the army, were killed in a gunbattle with Maoists after midnight Tuesday in the eastern hilly district of Bhojpur, 500 kms east of Kathmandu, the local media reported here on Wednesday.
• POWELL / SUDAN VOA 03 Mar 2004 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell told Congressmen Wednesday he expects to contact senior Sudanese leaders shortly over what he says is a "catastrophe" unfolding in that country's western Darfur region. Fighting in Darfur is overshadowing negotiations to settle Sudan's long-running north-south civil war, which Mr. Powell says are nearly complete.
• UN-trained monitors to document sexual violence during Liberian civil war UN News Centre 03 Mar 2004 -- Human rights monitors are travelling around Liberia documenting crimes of sexual violence during the country's 14-year civil war in a project backed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
• Ethiopia and Eritrea attend first meeting of UN area commissions UN News Centre 03 Mar 2004 -- Senior military officers from Eritrea and Ethiopia today attended the first meeting of several area commissions set up by the United Nations to promote better relations between the two countries, which fought a border war from 1998 to 2000.
• SUDAN: One million at "imminent risk" in Darfur, says US government IRIN 03 Mar 2004 -- One million people are "at imminent risk of life and livelihood" in Sudan's western region of Darfur, due a lack of civil order and the "refusal of local and national authorities to permit unrestricted access for humanitarian workers", according to the US government.
• SOMALIA: Controversy over extension of Puntland administration's mandate IRIN 03 Mar 2004 -- Controversy is brewing over attempts to extend the mandate of the administration of the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, northeastern Somalia, according to a local journalist based in Bosaso, the region's commercial capital.
• UGANDA-SUDAN: SPLM/A clash with LRA rebels in Sudan IRIN 03 Mar 2004 -- Fierce fighting has erupted in southern Sudan between the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) and Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels, a senior SPLM/A official told IRIN on Wednesday.
• BURUNDI: MONUC deploys 3,500 soldiers to Bukavu to help restore calm IRIN 03 Mar 2004 -- MONUC, the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, deployed 3,500 soldiers on Tuesday to the eastern city of Bukavu, South Kivu Province, to help restore calm following an eruption of hostilities, MONUC spokesman Hamadoun Toure said.
• DRC: High-level delegation pushes for disarmament in Ituri IRIN 03 Mar 2004 -- delegation comprised of members of the transitional government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the ambassadors of France, Norway and Spain, and William Swing, the UN secretary-general's special representative to the country, is currently on mission in the nation's troubled northeastern Ituri District to urge armed groups to disarm, demobilise and reintegrate (DDR), the UN Mission in the DRC, MONUC, reported on Wednesday.
• PAKISTAN: Authorities arrest suspect in connection with Quetta attacks IRIN 03 Mar 2004 -- Pakistani authorities have arrested a man suspected of being involved in a deadly attack on Tuesday on a religious procession in the city of Quetta, capital of the south-western province of Baluchistan which borders Afghanistan, according to the country's information minister.
• ISRAEL / SHARON VOA 03 Mar 2004 -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon denies he did anything wrong in arranging a prisoner swap with Lebanese guerrillas that included the release of a controversial Israeli businessman. The denial follows reports in an Israeli newspaper about Mr. Sharon's ties to the family of the released businessman.
• NEPAL / ATTACK VOA 03 Mar 2004 -- In Nepal, authorities say an attack by Maoist rebels has killed 28 soldiers and 10 rebels. It is the biggest attack blamed on the rebels since they walked out of peace talks six-months ago.
• PAKISTAN BOMBING VOA 03 Mar 2004 -- Officials in Pakistan say the death toll has reached at least 43 in Tuesday's attack on a Shi'ite religious procession. The dead include six police officers reported to have been killed in the cross-fire.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Jointness Vital in Transforming Training AFPS 03 Mar 2004 -- Transforming joint training in the Defense Department is a continual journey, Paul W. Mayberry, deputy undersecretary of defense for readiness, said at the Defense Transformation Efforts and Opportunities Conference here last week.
• Middle East Engaged in War Between Extremists, Moderates AFPS 03 Mar 2004 -- The coalition against terrorists is engaged in a war to ensure the will of the many prevails against the wishes of a few, said Defense Department leaders before the House Armed Services Committee today.
• Mine Warfare units flex muscles with Japanese counterparts 7th Fleet Release 03 Mar 2004-- Mine Countermeasures Division (MCMDIV) 11, USS Guardian (MCM 5), USS Patriot (MCM 7) and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) Five Det. 51 participated in Mine Warefare-Explosive Ordnance Disposal exercise (MINEX-EODEX) '04 off the coast of Shimonoseki, Japan, Feb. 14-25.
• Seventh Fleet, Blue Ridge anchor off Philippines 7th Fleet Release 03 Mar 2004-- The U.S. Seventh Fleet command-and-control ship, USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19), dropped anchor off Luzon, The Philippines, on March 3.
• 22d MEU (SOC) and WASP Strike Group pass through the Straight of Gibraltar Marine Corps News 03 Mar 2004-- Surrounded by orbiting helicopters akin to birds of prey, the ships of Expeditionary Strike Group 2 threaded their way through the Straight of Gibraltar in a long staggered column and entered the Mediterranean Sea after an 11-day voyage across the Atlantic Ocean.
• Focus: Strategic Communications leverages Army Story Army News Service 03 Mar 2004-- At a school career fair, students pick up a brochure that describes our Army at war, and how it remains relevant and ready while moving from the current to future force. An action-filled video plays on a television screen, showing the Army's new Stryker infantry carriers on the move.
• VS-32 Makes a Dream Come True Navy Newsstand 03 Mar 2004-- Sea Control Squadron (VS) 32 "Maulers" returned home from their six-month deployment aboard USS Enterprise (CVN 65) to the cheers of countless friends and family Feb. 25, but to Christina Brown, the homecoming had added meaning.
• Secretary briefs lawmakers in 'posture' hearing AFPN 03 Mar 2004-- The F/A-22 Raptor, sexual harassment, force blending and the tanker lease program were all topics of discussion as the service's senior executive testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on March 2.
• Air Force: Manpower unevenly distributed AFPN 03 Mar 2004-- Air Force leaders said manpower within the service is unevenly distributed.

• White House Daily Briefing, March 3, 2004 Washington File 03 Mar 2004 -- Iraq, Haiti, Faith Based Initiative/Jim Towey/Department of Health and Human Services/Department of Housing and Urban Development, Bush Cheney 2004 Fundraiser/campaign activity

• Baltics: Russia Sensitive to Any NATO Troop Deployment RFE/RL 03 Mar 2004 -- The Baltic states are scheduled to enter NATO in less than a month (2 April). As the date draws near, Russia has made it increasingly clear that it will not tolerate any NATO troop deployments in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Russian officials say they see no reason for a deployment so close to their border.

News Reports

• SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 03 Mar 2004 -- NATO brushes off Russian suspicions over Baltics / Hungary to abolish military draft by mid-2005 / Incoming Serb PM sends tough message to the West / EU says Afghan elections may need delaying / Arabs make progress on league reform / Israel near to joining EU Galileo satellite project
• SHAPE News Summary & Analysis SHAPE 03 Mar 2004 -- Italy urges bigger role for NATO in "greater Middle East" / NATO invites Russia to accession meeting / General: U.S. committed to German military presence