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Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 29 Jun 2004 [PDF]

• Mosul area policemen receive 2,000 body armor vests Army News Service 29 Jun 2004 -- Iraqi police from the Mosul area received 2,000 vests with protective plates June 25.
• Iraqi Militants Free Turkish Hostages VOA News 29 Jun 2004 -- A militant group in Iraq led by suspected al-Qaida linked terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has freed three Turkish hostages it was threatening to kill.
• U.S. Soldier Reported Executed After Iraq Handover RFE/RL 29 Jun 2004 -- Militants in Iraq claim to have shot dead a U.S. soldier who was abducted near Baghdad in April.

• Karzai Thanks NATO for Troops, Requests Quick Deployment Washington File 29 Jun 2004 -- In giving the keynote address to the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council at the NATO Summit June 29, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai appealed for quicker deployment of more NATO troops in his country.
• White House Condemns Attacks on Afghan Voters Washington File 29 Jun 2004 -- Expressing support for Afghanistan and its upcoming elections, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan condemned recent acts of terrorism against Afghan citizens who have registered to vote.
• Army infantry battalion joins Marines in Afghanistan Army News Service 29 Jun 2004 -- Army infantrymen recently joined the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) in its continuing combat operations in central Afghanistan.
• Karzai Says Terrorism Shouldn't Delay Afghan Elections AFPS 29 Jun 2004 -- It's critical that Afghanistan stick to its September timetable for national elections despite security concerns, President Hamid Karzai told reporters here today at the NATO Istanbul Summit.
• AFGHANISTAN: NGOs disappointed with NATO deployment plans IRIN 29 Jun 2004 -- NGOs working in Afghanistan have expressed doubts over the effectiveness of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's (NATO) proposed plans for expansion in the north and west of the country, arguing that the expansion of the Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) - arranged as civil-military partnerships to facilitate the development of a secure environment and reconstruction in the country's regions - would not necessarily improve the security situation.
• NATO SUMMIT UPDATE VOA 29 Jun 2004 -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai has made an urgent appeal to NATO to quickly send troops to his war-scarred country to strengthen security in the run-up to September's elections. Mr. Karzai's call came a day after allied leaders agreed to boost NATO's troop presence in Afghanistan.
• Karzai Asks NATO For Quick Afghan Troop Deployment RFE/RL 29 Jun 2004 -- Afghan Transitional Administration Chairman Hamid Karzai has asked NATO to send the additional troops promised to his country quickly because "the Afghan people need that security today, not tomorrow.".

Other Conflicts

• Powell in Darfur to Seek Quick Resolution to Crisis Washington File 29 Jun 2004 -- U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell visited Sudan June 29 and 30 at the direction of President Bush to survey the humanitarian situation in the Darfur region and "find a quick resolution to the crisis," according to a White House statement by the press secretary, issued June 29.
• WEST AFRICA / U.N. VOA 29 Jun 2004 -- The U.N. Security Council delegation touring West Africa is finding greater stability in the region and wants the international community to help restore prosperity.
• THAILAND - SOUTHERN VIOLENCE VOA 29 Jun 2004 -- In Thailand's largely Muslim southern provinces, gunmen have killed a police officer and an official, as violence continues in the troubled region. The latest deaths came a day after the arrest of several men accused of planning attacks on officials.
• IVORY COAST / TALKS VOA 29 Jun 2004 -- Ivory Coast's president, Laurent Gbagbo, Tuesday resumed talks with the opposition to revive the stalled peace process. But rebels who control the northern part of the country are boycotting the talks. They are also refusing to disarm as long as the peace deal signed in early 2003 is not fully implemented.
• ISRAEL / PALESTINIAN VIOLENCE VOA 29 Jun 2004 -- Palestinian militants fired rockets into Israel for the second day in a row Tuesday, while Israeli forces launched an incursion into the northern Gaza Strip. One Israeli is reported injured in the rocket attack and at least one Palestinian has been killed in the Israeli raid in Gaza.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Kitty Hawk in Summer Pulse Navy Newsstand 29 Jun 2004 -- The USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) Carrier Strike Group (CSG) will be participating in this summer's simultaneous deployment of seven aircraft CSGs, demonstrating the ability of the Navy to provide credible combat power across the globe by operating in five theaters with other U.S., allied and coalition military forces.
• UNITAS Launches Largest Latin American Multinational Exercise Navy Newsstand 29 Jun 2004 -- Latin America's first multinational amphibious exercise launched June 24 with a record 11 nations participating: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, United States and Uruguay, along with observers from Colombia and Mexico.
• Military Commission Charges Referred 29 Jun 2004 -- The Department of Defense announced today that charges were referred to a military commission on three enemy combatants detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Appointing Authority John D. Altenburg, Jr. approved and referred charges on Ali Hamza Ahmed Sulayman al Bahlul of Yemen and Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al Qosi of Sudan and referred charges on David Hicks of Australia. Referral is the step in the military commission process where the appointing authority designates the presiding officer and panel members who will hear a particular case. A trial date has not yet been set.
• PENTAGON / DETAINEES VOA 29 Jun 2004 -- The Pentagon is moving ahead with its plans to put on trial three accused terrorists held at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Navy Base in Cuba.

• Chairman's statement NATO 29 Jun 2004 -- Meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission at the Level of Heads and State and Government held in Istanbul, Turkey
• Chairman's statement NATO 29 Jun 2004 -- of the meeting of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council at Summit level Istanbul, Turkey
• NATO Communique Supports PSI, Other Nonproliferation Regimes Washington File 29 Jun 2004 -- The year-old Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) was among the nonproliferation measures commended by NATO members at the conclusion of a two-day summit.
• NATO/Russia: Past Rifts Resurface As Both Sides Struggle To Build Ties RFE/RL 29 Jun 2004 -- Yesterday's NATO-Russia foreign ministers' meeting in Istanbul ended on a contradictory note. Neither side did much to hide longstanding disagreements over the interlinked issues of NATO expansion, the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty, and the continuing Russian military presence in Moldova and Georgia. On the other hand, however, there was a clear sense of mutual need, with Russia increasingly emerging as a key partner in the war against terrorism.
• NATO: Alliance Chief Says Details Of Afghan Troop Increases To Be 'Worked Out' RFE/RL 29 Jun 2004 -- NATO leaders yesterday announced a decision to increase troop levels in Afghanistan. Alliance officials indicated privately that the 6,500-man International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) for Afghanistan will grow to 10,000 men to help secure the presidential elections set for September. However, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer admitted today that details of the decision, or which countries will contribute, remain to be worked out.
• GW at Tip of Spear in Summer Pulse '04 Navy Newsstand 28 Jun 2004 -- USS George Washington (GW) (CVN 73) Strike Group found itself at the tip of the spear in the Navy's largest deployment evolution June 2, when the Navy simultaneously deployed seven aircraft carrier strike groups to five different theatres around the world in "Summer Pulse '04."

• Defense Department Report, June 29: Three Detainees Will Have Trials Washington File 29 Jun 2004 -- MILITARY COMMISSION TO HEAR DETAINEE EVIDENCE / LARGE NUMBER OF IRAQ ARMY OFFICERS COMPLETE TRAINING
• Centcom chief Gen Abizaid begins Pakistan visit IRNA 29 Jun 2004 -- US Central Command Chief General John P Abizaid arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday on a two-day official visit to Pakistan, military said.

• Statement from Kerry Advisor Rand Beers on Pentagon Plan to Utilize Troops from the Individual Ready Reserve John Kerry for President 29 Jun 2004 -- Kerry National Security Advisor Rand Beers issued the following statement today

• State Department Noon Briefing, June 29 Washington File 29 Jun 2004 -- Iran, Cuba, Canada, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, France, Kuwait, Libya, Iraq, Argentina, China

News Reports

• SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 29 Jun 2004 -- Romanian president hails first NATO summit / NATO welcomes Russian offer to contribute to expanded anti-terror patrols in Mediterranean / NATO set to disappoint Afghanistan over troops / U.S. presses for elite NATO force for Afghan vote / Russia urges confidence-building steps in Baltic / Russia plans military exercise in Kyrgyzstan / EU leaders to appoint Barroso-Solana tandem / President Chirac attacks President Bush's support for Turkish EU bid / Bosnia sees departure of NATO troops as sign of improvement
• SHAPE News Summary & Analysis SHAPE 29 Jun 2004 -- Focus switches to Afghanistan

• SIERRA LEONE / CRASH VOA 29 Jun 2004 -- A helicopter carrying United Nations staff has crashed in a remote mountainous area in Sierra Leone, killing all 24 people on board.
• SIERRA LEONE: UN helicopter crashes killing 24 IRIN 29 Jun 2004 -- A Russian chartered MI-8 helicopter has crashed in eastern Sierra Leone killing all of the three-man crew and 21 passengers on board, UN officials said on Tuesday.
• BUSH / TURKEY / EU VOA 29 Jun 2004 -- President Bush has reiterated a call for the European Union to admit Turkey, holding it up as an example of a Muslim democracy. Mr. Bush's renewed call for Turkish E.U. membership came after France criticized him for interfering in E.U. affairs.