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News

Operations
Other Conflicts
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 04 May 2005 [PDF]
• DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
• TWO TASK FORCE BAGHDAD SOLDIERS KILLED BY IEDS
• REMAINS OF SECOND PILOT FOUND FROM APPARENT F/A-18 CRASH

• Suicide Bomber Kills at Least 50 in Northern Iraq VOA 04 May 2005 -- A suicide bomber has killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 100 others at a police recruitment center in northern Iraq. The latest bloodshed brings to around 200 the toll from six days of insurgent attacks.
• Joint force eliminates lines at Iraq gas pumps Army News 04 May 2005 -- New gas pumps and gas stations, repairs and increased security have now eliminated long lines at Iraqi Government gas stations in Task Force Liberty’s area of operations in central Iraq.
• MWCS-28 keeps transfer of information reliable USMC News 04 May 2005 -- Communications are vital for commanders to direct their subordinate units on the battlefield.
• Kilo, 3/2 armed, ready to protect USMC News 04 May 2005 -- A Marine's weapon is his most important asset in a combat zone. It protects him and his fellow service members from enemy threats.

• Coalition helps rebuild mosque hit by insurgent rocket Army News 04 May 2005 -- The Khost Provincial Reconstruction Team is providing $22,000 to help repair a mosque and adjacent buildings damaged by rockets fired by insurgents.
• Afghan Forces, U.S. Servicemembers Clash With Insurgents AFPS 04 May 2005 -- An Afghan National Police officer was killed and five other ANP officers and six U.S. servicemembers were wounded May 3 in what military officials called "an unprovoked attack from approximately 25 insurgents" in Afghanistan's Zabul province.

• U.S.: Top General Says Iraq, Afghan Wars Weaken Armed Forces RFE/RL 04 May 2005 -- Two years ago, U.S. President George W. Bush stood on the deck of an aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean and declared that "major combat" was over in Iraq.

• U.S. House Passes $82 Billion Supplemental Spending Bill Washington File 04 May 2005 -- The U.S. House of Representatives easily approved an $82 billion 2005 emergency supplemental spending bill that would provide critical funding for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, foreign aid programs and humanitarian tsunami relief.

Other Conflicts

• CHAD-SUDAN: Twelfth camp opened for Darfur refugees IRIN 04 May 2005 -- A first group of almost 200 refugees from the fighting in Sudan's Darfur region have been moved into a new twelfth camp that was opened on Tuesday in eastern Chad by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) to decongest refugee camps nearby.
• NIGERIA: Oil giant admits aid policies helped fuel violence IRIN 04 May 2005 -- Oil giant ChevronTexaco is to rethink its community aid strategies after acknowledging that some of the policies implemented by its Nigerian subsidiary in the oil-rich Niger Delta have contributed in fuelling violence in the region.
• Mandate of UN peacekeepers in Côte d'Ivoire extended another month UN News Centre 04 May 2005 -- Welcoming the progress made by the leaders of Côte d'Ivoire in meeting the terms of the South African-brokered peace agreement, the latest in a series of accords, the United Nations Security Council today extended the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission there for another month, as it did in April.
• Security Council voices support for UN efforts in Georgian-Abkhaz conflict UN News Centre 04 May 2005 -- The members of the Security Council today voiced their continued support for United Nations efforts to build trust between the Georgian and Abkhaz sides for meaningful negotiations on a lasting political settlement to their conflict.
• Nearly 12,000 ex-militiamen in DR of Congo disarmed, UN peacekeeping official says UN News Centre 04 May 2005 -- With the number of former combatants taking part in disarmament programmes almost doubling in the past few weeks, nearly 12,000 ex-fighters have disarmed and the Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC) first national brigade incorporating former militiamen has been deployed, an official from the United Nations peacekeeping department said today.
• Uganda Delays Peacekeeping Mission to Somalia VOA 04 May 2005 -- Uganda says it has delayed the deployment of about 800 peacekeepers to Somalia. The announcement comes one day after an explosion killed nearly a dozen people at a rally in Mogadishu for the visiting interim prime minister.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Rumsfeld Pleased With Progress in Central, South America AFPS 04 May 2005 -- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld praised leaders of Central and South America in his address to the Council of the Americas here May 3.
• IED Conference Looks for Solutions to Save Lives AFPS 04 May 2005 -- Powerful improvised explosive devices set off by cell phones, doorbells, toy remotes and tripwires are the leading cause of death among U.S. soldiers in Iraq.
• U.S. Military Can Meet Any Mission Worldwide, General Myers Says Washington File 04 May 2005 -- The U.S. military can carry out operations worldwide and prevail in anything it is asked to do, says the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
• Munitions tracking going wireless AFPN 04 May 2005 -- Officials at the Operations and Sustainment Systems Group headquarters here said they soon will release a software update that will take the guesswork out of ordering munitions online.
• Air Force appoints task force to address religious climate at the United States Air Force Academy AFPN 04 May 2005 -- Acting Secretary of the Air Force, the Honorable Michael L. Dominguez, directed the Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff, Personnel, Lt. Gen. Roger A. Brady, to immediately stand up a cross-functional task force on the religious climate at the United States Air Force Academy May 3.
• Soto Cano getting permanent makeover AFPN 04 May 2005 -- After decades of living in wooden structures called “hooches,” troops at this small “temporary” base soon will get new homes as part of a military construction project.
• Army Announces Combat Action Badge Army News Release 04 May 2005 -- In keeping with the spirit of the Warrior Ethos and based on input from leaders and Soldiers in the field to justly recognize the actions of deserving Soldiers in combat, the Army announced today the eligibility criteria for a new combat award with the introduction of the Combat Action Badge (CAB).
• Army announces Combat Action Badge Army News 04 May 2005 -- A Combat Action Badge will soon be available to all Soldiers who engage the enemy in battle.
• Saipan Trains with AAVs Navy NewsStand 04 May 2005 -- Personnel from USS Saipan (LHA 2) Deck Department and visiting Marines were trained in the launching of Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAV) from the amphibious assault ship's well deck April 28 and 29 during a recent at-sea period.
• Naval Reserve Changes to Navy Reserve Navy NewsStand 04 May 2005 -- President George W. Bush signed a “Memorandum for the Secretary of Defense” April 29, approving the redesignation of the United States Naval Reserve to the United States Navy Reserve.
• Kitty Hawk Passes Through IA Microscope Navy NewsStand 04 May 2005 -- USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) began its latest preparations for an Underway Demonstration (UD) with the successful completion of its Initial Assessment (IA) April 2.
• Boxer: Fleet Response Plan in Action Navy NewsStand 04 May 2005 -- For the third time in three years, USS Boxer (LHD 4), commanded by Capt. Thomas J. Culora, left on deployment April 29 to support U.S. national security objectives overseas.
• Kitty Hawk - America’s Oldest Active Warship - Turns 44 Navy NewsStand 04 May 2005 -- USS Kitty Hawk (the Battle Cat) (CV 63), the Navy’s oldest active ship and only forward-deployed aircraft carrier, celebrated its 44th birthday with a cake-cutting ceremony on its forward mess decks April 29.
• Bataan Wraps Up Successful Fleet Week USA Visit Navy NewsStand 04 May 2005 -- USS Bataan (LHD 5) departed the South Florida region May 1 after participating in the 2005 Fleet Week USA festivities and the Air and Sea Show held in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., April 25-May 1.

• State Department Briefing, May 4 Washington File 04 May 2005 -- Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon/Syria, Brazil, Italy, Department/Rewards for Justice Program, Iraq, China/Taiwan, Australia/Japan, North Korea

Defense Industry

News Reports

• Kyrgyzstan: Follow The Money -- The Akaev Investigation RFE/RL 04 May 2005 -- Back in the 1970s, two young American journalists got a bit of simple advice from an inside source in the administration of President Richard Nixon: "Follow the money." They did, and the resulting scandal toppled the president. Thirty years later and a world away, Kyrgyz President Askar Akaev fled as a throng of enraged demonstrators ransacked his office.

• Thousands Demand the Release of Jailed Christian Leader In Beirut VOA 04 May 2005 -- Thousands of protesters marched in downtown Beirut to call on the government to release the former leader of the Lebanese Forces militia who has been in jail for more than a decade.
• Security Council welcomes 'significant progress' in compliance with Lebanon resolution UN News Centre 04 May 2005 -- The United Nations Security Council today welcomed that the concerned parties have made "significant progress" towards implementing some of the provisions of a resolution that calls for withdrawing all foreign forces from Lebanon but expressed concern that other requirements of the measure have not been met.
• UN Security Council Presses Lebanon VOA 04 May 2005 -- The U.N. Security Council has stepped up pressure on militia groups in Lebanon to disband and disarm. The 15-member council also stressed the importance of holding Lebanese elections on schedule beginning later this month.

• TOGO: Gnassingbe sworn in, opposition left with limited options IRIN 04 May 2005 -- As Faure Gnassingbe succeeded his father as president of Togo on Wednesday, a crushed opposition mulled its next move, with most observers predicting that eventually it would have to compromise and enter into some sort of unity government.
• Togo's President Takes Oath of Office Amid Tension VOA 04 May 2005 -- Faure Gnassingbe took the oath of office as president of Togo Wednesday, succeeding his father who had ruled the country for 38 years. He was elected in a controversial ballot mired by fraud and street violence.

• SOMALIA: Death toll in stadium explosion rises to 15 IRIN 04 May 2005 -- The number of people killed in Tuesday's blast at a stadium in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, has risen to 15, sources told IRIN on Wednesday.