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Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 23 Jun 2005 [PDF]
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualties
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty

• Transcript: RECONSTRUCTION EFFORTS IN IRAQ MNF-I 23 Jun 2005
• US General: Iraqi Insurgency Maintaining Strength VOA 23 Jun 2005 -- The commander of U.S. military forces in the Gulf region says the overall strength of Iraq's insurgency is unchanged from six months ago.
• Operation Spear complete MNF-I 23 Jun 2005 -- Iraqi Security Forces and Marines and Sailors with Regimental Combat Team 2 completed Operation Spear (Romhe) June 22, concluding a five-day operation on objectives in and around the city of Karabilah , near the Syrian border.
• Zarqawi terror group hideout destroyed MNF-I 23 Jun 2005 -- Multi-National Forces raided and destroyed a hideout used by terrorists associated with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi June 23.
• Many Casualties Reported In Baghdad Bombings RFE/RL 23 Jun 2005 -- Three car bomb explosions rocked central Baghdad early today, killing at least 15 people and wounding 28 more.
• U.S. Spy Plane Crashed At U.A.E. Air Base RFE/RL 23 Jun 2005 -- The state news agency of the United Arab Emirates, WAM, reports that the U.S. Air Force U-2 spy plane that was reported down somewhere in southwest Asia earlier today crashed during landing at an air base in the U.A.E.

• Afghanistan: Kabul Tells Pakistan To Do More As Battle With Taliban Rages Near Border RFE/RL 23 Jun 2005 -- Afghan officials are again expressing concern that Islamabad is not doing enough to stop militants from sheltering in Pakistan and crossing into Afghanistan to carry out terrorist attacks.
• Coalition, NATO Forces Take Pride in Afghanistan's Progress AFPS 23 Jun 2005 -- Afghanistan "has come alive," thanks to progress made during Operation Enduring Freedom, and troops serving there can't help but feel motivated knowing the role they're playing in that progress, the commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe said here today.
• Up to 100 Afghan Insurgents Killed in Heavy Fighting VOA 23 Jun 2005 -- Afghan and U.S-led coalition forces are said to have killed up to 100 insurgents in an on-going operation in southern Afghanistan aimed at eliminating rebel safe havens.
• Afghan Ministry Says 103 Taliban Killed In Fighting RFE/RL 23 Jun 2005 -- Afghanistan's Interior Ministry said today that Afghan and U.S. forces killed more than 100 Taliban fighters this week in the southern part of the country.

Other Conflicts

• General Assembly approves record UN peacekeeping budget UN News Centre 23 Jun 2005 -- The United Nations General Assembly approved a record-setting $3.2 billion peacekeeping budget for the UN’s 14 ongoing missions in 2005-2006

• Russia: Scandal Brews Over Raid In Chechnya RFE/RL 23 Jun 2005 -- A raid carried out by special security forces of the Russian army on a Chechen village inhabited by ethnic minorities on 4 June is turning into a major scandal.
• Quartet urges Israel, Palestinians to seize the moment for peace UN News Centre 23 Jun 2005 -- The diplomatic Quartet seeking peace in the Middle East today called on Israel to take immediate steps to relieve economic hardships facing the Palestinians and on the Palestinians to fight violence and terrorism ahead of Israel’s planned withdrawal from the occupied Gaza Strip.
• CAMEROON: Government complains to UN about border incidents with Nigeria IRIN 23 Jun 2005 -- Cameroon has said it will complain to the UN Security Council about several recent incidents with Nigerian troops in the disputed Bakassi peninsula, one of which led to the death of a Cameroonian soldier.
• LIBERIA: Camps begin to close but many IDPs still worried about getting home IRIN 23 Jun 2005 -- The shacks surrounding Sekou Momo's hut have been demolished, and most of his neighbours in this camp for displaced Liberians have headed home.
• Hundreds of Maoist rebels swoop down Madhuban bazaar, kill seven IRNA 23 Jun 2005 -- Seven persons, including two constables and four naxalites, were killed in an attack by Maoist rebels and a subsequent encounter with the police today in Madhuban block of Bihar's East Champaran district.
• UN to Increase Peacekeeping Force In Ivory Coast VOA 23 Jun 2005 -- The U.N. Security Council is boosting the size of the Ivory Coast peacekeeping force in advance of October elections.
• US Presses Sudan to Halt Darfur Violence VOA 23 Jun 2005 -- U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick met Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail Thursday, urging Khartoum to curb violence in Darfur. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meets the Sudanese official Friday.
• US Eases Ban On Gaza Diplomatic Travel VOA 23 Jun 2005 -- The Bush administration has eased a ban on travel in Gaza by U.S. diplomats amid preparations for Israel's withdrawal from the area. But the State Department says the United States remains dissatisfied with the Palestinian Authority's investigation of the 2003 killing of three American security guards that prompted the travel ban.
• Israelis and Palestinians Meet to Coordinate Gaza Pullout VOA 23 Jun 2005 -- Israel says it will coordinate its withdrawal from Gaza with Palestinian officials.
• Eastern Rebel Group Says Sudanese Government Poised To Attack VOA 23 Jun 2005 -- A senior official with a rebel movement in eastern Sudan claims the Sudanese government is gearing up for an attack on his group.
• Ban Renewed on Liberian Diamond Exports VOA 23 Jun 2005 -- The United Nations mission in Liberia says it is difficult to enforce a ban on diamonds and timber exports, which the Security Council extended this week. A U.N. spokesman says the United Nations is concerned violence in the region once again is being fueled by the illegal diamond trade.
• DRC: UN envoy concerned over renewed militia activity in Ituri IRIN 23 Jun 2005 -- Although 15,000 former militiamen in the Democratic Republic of Congo's northeastern district of Ituri have been disarmed, the UN mission in the country, known as MONUC, says it is concerned over the regrouping and rearming of the fighters, despite intense UN military operations.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Leaders Say Timetable for Troops to Return Home Would Be Mistake AFPS 23 Jun 2005 -- Setting a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal in Iraq would be a mistake, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told the Senate Armed Services Committee here today.
• Transcript: Secretary Rumsfeld Media Availability after the House Armed Services Committee Testimony 23 Jun 2005 -- Presenter: Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld
• Transcript: Secretary Rumsfeld Media Availability after the Senate Armed Services Committee Testimony 23 Jun 2005 -- Presenter: Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld

• Transcript: Media Roundtable with Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness David Chu 23 Jun 2005 -- Presenter: Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness David Chu

• UN Investigators Request Visit To Guantanamo Detention Facility VOA 23 Jun 2005 -- Four special U.N. human-rights Investigators have renewed a request they made one-year ago to the U.S. government to be allowed to visit terror suspects detained at Guantanamo Bay and other facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• Rumsfeld: Operations at Guantanamo 'Transparent' AFPS 23 Jun 2005 -- There has been no torture at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said in a series of radio interviews June 21. In fact, he added, the facility there is being run as a model detention facility.
• Seymour Johnson tanker crew carries Reserve torch at Rodeo AFPN 23 Jun 2005 -- Aircraft at Rodeo 2005 come in many shapes and sizes, but one thing they have in common is their need for a steady supply of fuel.
• Airmen add armor to convoy vehicles AFPN 23 Jun 2005 -- Airmen here are adding life-saving armor large trucks to protect troops on convoy missions throughout Iraq.
• Airdrop, refueling events take flight at Rodeo 2005 AFPN 23 Jun 2005 -- The airdrop and air refueling event at Rodeo 2005 included 33 international and U.S. aircraft on a mission to become the best of the best.
• New system improves KC-135 performance, saves money AFPN 23 Jun 2005 -- After years of development, the wheel and brake system improvement program for the KC-135 Stratotanker is ready for implementation by workers at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center here.
• Review Under Way to Expand, Refine Nonlethal Weapons Training AFPS 23 Jun 2005 -- With increased awareness about the capabilities and uses of nonlethal weapons, the Marine Corps detachment here that instructs trainers for all the military services may soon be expanding its program.
• Air Force Transformation in Europe Aiding Terror War AFPS 23 Jun 2005 -- The transformation taking place throughout the Defense Department started early for U.S. Air Forces in Europe, which began reshaping and repositioning its assets 15 years ago and is now better prepared to support the war on terror, the command's top officer said today.
• Vaughn takes reins of Army National Guard Army News 23 Jun 2005 -- Several hundred Army National Guard Soldiers welcomed their new leaders with a standing ovation during a morning ceremony at the Army Guard’s Readiness Center June 20.
• USS Mahan Participating in Multinational Maritime Exercise Navy NewsStand 23 Jun 2005 -- More than 300 U.S. Navy Sailors assigned to the guided-missile destroyer USS Mahan (DDG 72) are currently participating in FRUKUS ’05, a multilateral fleet training and command post exercise with France, Russia, and the United Kingdom in the eastern Atlantic Ocean.
• NATO Striking Fleet Atlantic to Deactivate Navy NewsStand 23 Jun 2005 -- NATO Striking Fleet Atlantic will deactivate in a ceremony to be held on USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) June 24.
• Middle East: Fatal Crash Proves That U-2 Spy Plane, While Seldom Seen, Is Still Often Flown RFE/RL 23 Jun 2005 -- World attention is once again focused on the seldom-seen U-2 spy plane. One of the high-altitude surveillance aircraft belonging to the United States military crashed in the Middle East yesterday, killing its pilot.

• White House Daily Briefing, June 23 Washington File 23 Jun 2005 -- Prime Minister Jaafari meeting, Vice President's comments on Iraq, Karl Rove comments on Democrats, Bolton nomination, Supreme Court Vacancy, Chinese bid for Unocal, North Korean food aid
• State Department Briefing, June 23 Washington File 23 Jun 2005 -- Albania, North Korea, Reports that Export Controls are Barriers to Space Exploration, Israel/Palestinians, Guantanamo, Iran, Zimbabwe, Sudan

Defense Industry

News Reports

• US Aid Package Includes Tsunami Early Warning Funds VOA 23 Jun 2005 -- The United States is preparing to launch a 656-million-dollar, long-term reconstruction aid program for countries hardest hit by the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami disaster six months ago. It includes nearly 17 million dollars to begin development of a tsunami early warning system for the region.