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News

Operations
Other Conflicts
Defense Policy / Programs
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 20 Aug 2004 [PDF]
• TWO MARINES KILLED IN AL ANBAR PROVINCE
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Marine Casualties
• DoD Identifies Marine Casualty

• 31st MEU deployment to Operation Iraqi Freedom USMC News 20 Aug 2004 -- The U.S. Marine Corps' 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, currently located in Okinawa, Japan, received deployment orders to the Central Command area of responsibility to support Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• AIR COMPONENT DATA CENTCOM 20 Aug 2004 -- In Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, Coalition aircraft on Aug. 19 flew 50 strike sorties in Close Air Support (CAS) for Main Supply Routes (MSR) and Alternate Supply Routes (ASR), and for Troops in Contact (TIC) situations. (...) In Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, Coalition forces flew 16 strike sorties.

• Iraqi Mosque Remains In Militia's Hands RFE/RL 20 Aug 2004 -- Militia loyal to radical Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr appear to remain in control of the Imam Ali Mosque in Al-Najaf today, despite earlier statements from Iraq's interim government that Iraqi police had moved into the shrine.
• IRAQ/ NAJAF VOA 20 Aug 2004 -- There are conflicting reports about who controls a shrine in the Iraqi city of Najaf, where militants have been holed up for weeks. The Interior Ministry says police entered the mosque and arrested hundreds of fighters, but sources in Najaf dispute that claim.
• Iraq: U.S. Warplanes Strike Al-Najaf, Al-Fallujah As Al-Sadr Remains Defiant RFE/RL 20 Aug 2004 -- After intense overnight bombing, the U.S. military has eased its shelling of insurgent positions in the southern Iraqi city of Najaf. U.S. forces pounded positions held by fighters loyal to Shi'a cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in and around the Imam Ali Shrine. The assault came after al-Sadr rejected an ultimatum by interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi for his fighters to end a bloody two-week standoff. Meanwhile, in the central Sunni city of Fallujah, U.S. warplanes are bombing suspected insurgent positions and are also conducting operations in Baghdad's Shi'a suburb of Al-Sadr City.
• Confusion About Who Controls Shi'ite Shrine In Al-Najaf RFE/RL 20 Aug 2004 -- There are conflicting reports about developments around the Imam Ali Mosque in Al-Najaf, which has been occupied for the past two weeks by militia loyal to radical Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
• Situation in Najaf Unclear VOA News 20 Aug 2004 -- There are conflicting reports on whether Iraqi police or Shi'ite militiamen are in control of the Imam Ali Shrine in the city of Najaf
• Iraqi Police, Shi'ite Religious Authorities Take Control of Najaf Shrine VOA News 20 Aug 2004 -- Iraq's interior ministry says Iraqi police and Shi'ite religious authorities have entered the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, and are in control of the site.
• 77 Iraqis Reported Killed in Najaf Fighting VOA News 20 Aug 2004 -- The Iraqi holy city of Najaf is reported quiet, after a day of fighting and a night of heavy bombardment of Shi'ite militia positions that killed at least 77 Iraqis and wounded 70 more.
• U.S. Eases Al-Najaf Bombardment RFE/RL 20 Aug 2004 -- After an intense bombardment lasting several hours, the U.S. military ended its shelling of insurgent positions in the Iraqi city of Al-Najaf shortly before daybreak.
• Al-Sadr Offers To Hand Over Al-Najaf Shrine RFE/RL 20 Aug 2004 -- Radical Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is offering to hand control of the Imam Ali shrine in Al-Najaf to the top Shi'ite religious authorities.
• New FOB Kalsu dining facility open for business USMC News 20 Aug 2004 -- Marines, sailors and soldiers here welcomed the opening of a new dining facility Aug. 15.

• 22nd MEU Afghanistan Recap: Operation NIGHTINGALE I-IV USMC News 20 Aug 2004 -- As the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) pushed deep into Afghanistan's Oruzgan and Zabol provinces in pursuit of Taliban and anti-coalition militia factions, it did more than leave behind a series of foiled ambushes, vanquished enemies, and scorched weapons caches.

Other Conflicts

• US / GEORGIA / OSSETIA VOA 20 Aug 2004 -- The United States Friday welcomed a withdrawal of Georgian troops from the breakaway South Ossetia region after a show of force by the Tbilisi government that had angered Russia, and raised U.S. concern.
• United States Urges Resumption of Peace Process in Sri Lanka Washington File 20 Aug 2004 -- In the face of continuing unrest in the South Asian nation of Sri Lanka, U.S. officials are calling on the Sri Lankan government and opposition Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to turn away from violence and return to peace negotiations as laid out in a cease-fire agreement reached in 2002.
• U.S. Welcomes Georgian Troop Withdrawal in South Ossetia Washington File 20 Aug 2004 -- The United States welcomed Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili's decision to pull his country's non-peacekeeping troops from the zone of conflict in South Ossetia.
• BURUNDI / MASSACRE VOA 20 Aug 2004 -- Following last week's massacre of at least 160 Congolese Tutsis at a refugee camp near Burundi's border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Burundian government is speeding up efforts to help the United Nations set up more secure camps in the country's interior for some 20-thousand remaining refugees.
• SUDAN / PEACE TALKS VOA 20 Aug 2004 -- Delegates from the Sudanese government and rebel groups operating in the Darfur region of western Sudan are preparing to attend peace talks scheduled to open Monday in Nigeria. Both sides say they go into the talks determined to reach peace.
• Georgia: South Ossetia Quiet Following Georgian Troop Pullout RFE/RL 20 Aug 2004 -- Georgia's separatist region of South Ossetia is reportedly calm today after more than a week of clashes. No fighting was reported overnight, and officials on both sides confirm that Georgian troops are withdrawing from positions they occupied during heavy fighting yesterday. The break in tensions comes after Russia issued a stern warning to Tbilisi about the risks of a new conflict in the South Caucasus region. But Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has been clear in his desire to see both South Ossetia and Abkhazia brought back under Georgian control.
• Russia, U.S. Welcome Georgia's South Ossetia Pullback RFE/RL 20 Aug 2004 -- Russia and the United States have welcomed Georgia's decision to pull back its troops from the separatist republic of South Ossetia.
• NEPAL / BOMBING VOA 20 Aug 2004 -- The Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, has been hit by bomb blasts on the third day of a blockade called by Maoist rebels. As Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, Nepalese business leaders are calling for a cease-fire between the government and the rebels.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Data-Mining of DoD Purchase Cards Leads to Multiple Indictments 20 Aug 2004 -- The Department of Defense and the U.S. Attorney's Office announced today that efforts by agents of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) and "data mining" by auditors have led to the indictment of four people, including a senior government contracting officer.
• US / SOKOR BASES VOA 20 Aug 2004 -- Talks between the United States and South Korea concluded Friday without Seoul winning a desired delay of a drastic American troop cut.
• Cope Thunder trains warfighters AFPN 20 Aug 2004 -- With more than 62,000 square miles of integrated training ranges, Alaska provides the perfect backdrop for Cope Thunder 04-02, a total-force exercise which runs through Aug. 27
• Rumsfeld Says U.S. Expects Limited Missile Defense by End of 2004 Washington File 20 Aug 2004 -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says the United States expects to have a limited ability to defend against incoming long-range ballistic missiles by the end of 2004.
• U.S. TROOP REDEPLOYMENT: 'THE COLD WAR IS OVER' US Dept. of State IIP, Foreign Media Reaction 20 Aug 2004

• White House Daily Briefing, August 20 Washington File 20 Aug 2004 -- President schedule, campaign/election, oil prices/energy bill, Iraq/American journalist held, Iran, week ahead

News Reports

• SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 20 Aug 2004 -- U.S. to keep strong presence, expand air base in Germany / Two Polish soldiers killed, eight injured in Iraq after ambush / Ambassador says international support needed to ensure security / Top NATO official praises military reforms in Macedonia (sic) / Top court orders retrial of eight Croats freed of war crimes against Serbs / Turkey and Serbia-Montenegro boost military ties / Official says Iran could make nuclear weapons in a few years
• SHAPE News Summary & Analysis SHAPE 20 Aug 2004 -- NATO training mission in Iraq underway / EUCOM to remain in Germany amid troop redeployment plan