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News

Operations
Other Conflicts
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 25 May 2005 [PDF]
• 4 Task Force Baghdad Soldiers Killed
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• TASK FORCE LIBERTY SOLDIER KILLED IN VEHICLE ACCIDENT

• Iraqi Forces Arrest Key Zarqawi Aid VOA 25 May 2005 -- The U.S. military has confirmed the arrest of an aid to the al-Qaida chief in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, by Iraqi forces near the city of Baquba.
• Iraq: Website Suggests Leader Of Al-Qaeda In Iraq Wounded RFE/RL 25 May 2005 -- A website controlled by the Al-Qaeda Organization for Holy Struggle in Iraq has claimed that the most wanted opponent of the United States in Iraq, Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi, has been wounded. The message did not include details but called on Muslims to pray for his recovery.
• Purple Foxes speed to casualties throughout Al Anbar Province USMC News 25 May 2005 -- The Purple Foxes of Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 364 spend their days here working to increase the chances of survival from injuries sustained on the battlefield.
• MSSG Marines maintain 26th MEU capabilities USMC News 25 May 2005 -- Intense heat, blowing sand, miles of unimproved roads... these conditions would spell disaster for the hardiest equipment if not for the efforts of the Maintenance Platoon, MEU Service Support Group 26, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable).
• Reserve helo squadron serves second OIF tour USMC News 25 May 2005 -- Remaining true to their motto, “Putting grunts in their place since 1958,” Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 764 is back in Iraq for a second time in two years supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

• Last 25th ID Unit in Afghanistan Prepares to Redeploy to Hawaii AFPS 25 May 2005 -- After a year in Afghanistan, the soldiers of Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, Combined Task Force Thunder are preparing to redeploy to Hawaii.
• Afghans Cautious On U.S. Military Bases RFE/RL 25 May 2005 -- During a meeting in Washington on 23 May, U.S. President George W. Bush and visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai signed a memorandum of understanding towards establishing a "strategic partnership" between Washington and Kabul.
• Afghanistan/U.S.: 'Strategic Partnership' Seen As Move Toward De Facto Rights For U.S. Bases RFE/RL 25 May 2005 -- The strategic partnership agreed to at the White House on 23 May by U.S. President George W. Bush and Afghan President Hamid Karzai seeks to ensure long-term cooperation between the two governments. In their memorandum of understanding, Bush pledged continued help to strengthen security forces, democracy, and the Afghan economy.

Other Conflicts

• GUINEA-BISSAU: Kumba Yala stages token occupation of presidential palace IRIN 25 May 2005 -- Kumba Yala, the former president of Guinea-Bissau, staged a symbolic occupation of the presidential palace during the early hours of Wednesday morning to press his demand for immediate reinstatement as head of state.
• SIERRA LEONE: Special Court needs $30 million to see war crimes trials through IRIN 25 May 2005 -- Sierra Leone's Special Court needs international donors to stump up around $30 million so that the trials of suspected war criminals from the country's brutal civil conflict can be completed, registrar Robin Vincent said on Wednesday.
• COTE D IVOIRE: Pro-government militia hand over token weapons as disarmament starts IRIN 25 May 2005 -- Cote d'Ivoire's shaky peace process moved forward on Wednesday when four pro-government militia groups took a first step towards demobilisation by each handing in a token Kalashnikov rifle.
• Gunmen kill 18, Kidnap Up to 50 in eastern Congo Village Attack VOA 25 May 2005 -- Gunmen have killed 18 people, injured a dozen more and kidnapped up to 50 others in a raid on a village in eastern Congo. The incident took place late Monday in rugged terrain where Rwandan Hutu rebels and bands of Congolese gunmen still roam.
• Pro-President Militias Begin Symbolic Disarming in Ivory Coast VOA 25 May 2005 -- Militias in the government-controlled part of divided Ivory Coast have symbolically started handing in their weapons, but northern based rebels remain skeptical about the disarmament program. The process is supposed to be completed before elections later this year.
• Palestinian Foreign Minister says Jewish Settlements and Israeli Security Barrier are Dangerous VOA 25 May 2005 -- Palestinian Foreign Minister Nasser al-Kidwa says the continued expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories and Israel's construction of a security barrier in the West Bank are creating a dangerous situation in the Middle East. The foreign minister's remarks came the day before Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to hold talks with President Bush.
• India, Pakistan Consider Ending Conflict on World's Highest Battlefield VOA 25 May 2005 -- India and Pakistan start high-level peace talks Thursday aimed at resolving a two-decade military standoff on a glacier high in the Himalayan Mountains.
• Southern Sudanese Want Post-War Education, Security, Development VOA 25 May 2005 -- The Sudanese government and southern Sudan's main rebel group signed a peace agreement at the beginning of this year to end more than two decades of war. In the southern Sudanese town of Rumbek, expectations are high that peace will bring a wide range of life-transforming changes.
• SUDAN: AU calls for increased support to Darfur mission IRIN 25 May 2005 -- Africa's peacekeeping mission in war-torn Darfur risks failure unless it receives increased support, the African Union (AU) warned on Wednesday.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Lawmakers Reject Democratic Effort to Require Plan for Iraq Withdrawal VOA 25 May 2005 -- The House of Representatives has soundly rejected an attempt by opposition Democrats to require President Bush to send Congress a plan for a U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq. Debate over the issue came during House consideration of legislation overwhelmingly approved (by a vote 390 to 39), authorizing just over 490-billion dollars in spending on defense and other needs for the 2006 fiscal year.

• Military Planners Discuss War on Terror to Wrap Up Conference AFPS 25 May 2005 -- Military planners from more than 70 nations discussed the war on terror here today to wrap up a two-day conference.
• Rumsfeld Describes Changing Face of War AFPS 25 May 2005 -- The global war on terror is different from any the United States has fought, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told members of the World Affairs Council here today just how different it is.
• Guard Civil Support Teams Provide WMD Expertise to Communities AFPS 25 May 2005 -- Members of the 61st Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team here like to think of themselves as a fire department.
• 100-percent accountability paramount in deployed operations AFPN 25 May 2005 -- Imagine showing up to work one day only to discover everyone is new. Well, that has been the case at this and many other forward-deployed locations worldwide.
• Navy Surges Ships To Deny Terrorists Use Of Maritime Environment Navy NewsStand 25 May 2005 -- USS Saipan (LHA 2) and two other Norfolk Naval Station-based ships deployed May 25, under the Fleet Response Plan (FRP), in support of the global war on terrorism.
• Kitty Hawk, CVW-5 Depart for Summer Underway Period Navy NewsStand 25 May 2005 -- USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63), after completing almost two months of scheduled maintenance and three days of at sea training, departed its forward-deployed operating port of Yokosuka, Japan, May 23, for its summer underway period, along with embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5.
• USS Chafee Sets Sail for Maiden Deployment Navy NewsStand 25 May 2005 -- USS Chafee (DDG 90) left her homeport of Pearl Harbor May 20 for her maiden deployment with the USS Nimitz (CVN 65) Carrier Strike Group.
• Kitty Hawk Returns from Training Navy NewsStand 25 May 2005 -- USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) returned to its forward-deployed operating port of Yokosuka, Japan, May 20, after completing a scheduled three-day underway period that featured various training exercises.
• Air Force, Marines train together USMC News 25 May 2005 -- Marine pilots occasionally wonder what it would be like to fly against jets other than their own.

• White House Daily Briefing, May 25 Washington File 25 May 2005 -- President's statement on Justice Priscilla Owen, Bush travels to Denmark, Iraq/Afghanistan, Palestinian Authority, judicial nominees, FBI memo/mistreatment of detainees allegation, emergency notification system, stem cell legislation, Iran, Iraq, president's agenda/Republican support, Amnesty International/human rights, women's role in combat, Naval Academy speech
• State Department Briefing, May 25 Washington File 25 May 2005 -- Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Iran, Guantanamo/detainees, Hezbollah, Israel/Palestinians, Egypt, North Korea, Uzbekistan, Italy, Germany
• New State Department Office Targets Post-conflict Crises Washington File 25 May 2005 -- The State Department's Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization was established to prevent or prepare for post-conflict crises.
• Senate Opens Debate on Bolton UN Nomination VOA 25 May 2005 -- The U.S. Senate has begun debate on the controversial nomination of John Bolton to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Senate Democrats are signaling they may block the nomination from coming to a scheduled vote Thursday.
• White House Rejects Amnesty Criticism VOA 25 May 2005 -- The White House is rejecting claims by Amnesty International that the U.S.-led war on terror appears more effective in eroding international human rights than in fighting terrorism.

Defense Industry

News Reports

• Bush Promises to Help Indonesian Victims of Tsunami VOA 25 May 2005 -- President Bush is promising ongoing help for the victims of last December's Indian Ocean tsunami.
• U.S. Again Urges Independent Inquiry into Violence in Uzbekistan Washington File 25 May 2005 -- The United States continues to call for an independent, transparent, credible investigation into the recent violence in and around the Uzbek city of Andijan.
• Human-Rights Groups Say Taylor Stirring New West African Trouble VOA 25 May 2005 -- Human-rights advocates are renewing accusations that former Liberian leader Charles Taylor is creating instability in West Africa from exile in Nigeria, where they say he has built an illicit financial network. They are asking that he be turned over to a war crimes court before October elections in Liberia.
• Military in Guinea-Bissau Forces Former President out of Presidential Palace VOA 25 May 2005 -- The military in Guinea-Bissau has called for calm after the deposed former leader and controversial presidential candidate Kumba Yalla occupied the presidential palace for several hours before being forced out.