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Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 31 Aug 2005 [PDF]
• Task Force Freedom Soldier killed in attack
• One Task Force Freedom Soldier killed when helicopter forced to land
• TASK FORCE LIBERTY SOLDIER KILLED BY IED NEAR SAMARRA
• II MEF SOLDIER KILLED IN ACTION
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty

• Four Soldiers Killed, Four Wounded in Five Days AFPS 31 Aug 2005 -- Four U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq in the past several days, U.S. officials there reported today.
• ESG 1 Arrives in NAVCENT AOR Navy NewsStand 31 Aug 2005 -- Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 1, centered around the amphibious assault ship USS Tarawa (LHA 1), entered the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command’s area of operations Aug. 30.
• Iraqi-led review board recommends continued internment for Reuters journalist MNF-I 31 Aug 2005 -- The Iraqi – U.S. Combined Review and Release Board reviewed all available evidence of Ali Omar Ibrahem al-Mashdanni, a journalist working for Reuters, and recommended continued internment in the Theater Internment Facilities this week.
• Mosul citizen's tip leads to weapons cache discovery MNF-I 31 Aug 2005 -- Coalition forces from Task Force Freedom discovered a weapons cache in Tel Kheif Aug. 28.
• Update: Coalition Forces bomb terrorist safe houses MNF-I 31 Aug 2005 -- U.S. Marines have launched precision air strikes on several Al Qaeda in Iraq positions during the past five days. All of the coalition strikes were directed against targets that were confirmed to have armed Al Qaeda in Iraq members present.

• Thousands of Observers to Monitor Afghan Poll VOA News 31 Aug 2005 -- Afghan officials say thousands of independent observers are expected to monitor the historic parliamentary elections September 18 to ensure the polls are fair.

• Transcript: Defense Department Briefing on DoD Response to Hurricane Katrina 31 Aug 2005 -- Presenter: Chief, National Guard Bureau Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum and Deputy Director, Anti-Terrorism, Homeland Defense, Joint Staff Brig. Gen. Terry Scherling
• Transcript: DoD Excerpts from the Department of Homeland Security Press Conference 31 Aug 2005 Presenter: Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense Paul McHale and Deputy Director, Anti-Terrorism, Homeland Defense, Joint Staff Brig. Gen. Terry Scherling
• Pentagon Launches Massive Relief Operation to Help Hurricane Victims VOA News 31 Aug 2005 -- The Pentagon is launching a massive operation to help search-and-rescue efforts and provide medical care for the victims of Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf Coast of the United States.
• Army working to help stop New Orleans flooding Army News 31 Aug 2005 -- Although the category-four winds and rains have dissipated, major flooding continues to be a problem in the New Orleans area and the Army Corps of Engineers is working to help.
• AMC answering humanitarian call in aftermath of Katrina AFPN 31 Aug 2005 -- The Tanker Airlift Control Center here started generating missions Air Mobility Command aircrews will fly supporting Hurricane Katrina relief operations in Louisiana and Mississippi.
• Air Force Reserve flies missions to storm-ravaged areas AFPN 31 Aug 2005 -- Within hours after Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, Air Force Reserve Command people and aircraft were headed toward disaster areas to help survivors.
• 10,000 More Guard Troops to Support Military's Hurricane Response AFPS 31 Aug 2005 -- More than 11,000 Army and Air National Guard members and 7,200 active-duty troops, mostly Navy, are supporting hurricane relief operations along the Gulf Coast, and 10,000 more National Guard troops are expected to join the effort within the next 48 hours, Defense Department officials said today.
• Military Providing Full-Scale Response to Hurricane Relief Effort AFPS 31 Aug 2005 -- Joint Task Force Katrina is setting up today at Camp Shelby, Miss., as the Defense Department's focal point to support the Federal Emergency Management Agency's relief efforts along the Gulf Coast, Air Force Maj. Eric Butterbaugh, a U.S. Northern Command spokesman, confirmed today.
• Norfolk Ships Deploy to Support Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts Navy NewsStand 31 Aug 2005 -- Three amphibious ships and a rescue and salvage ship based in Hampton Roads are getting underway Aug. 31 and heading for the Gulf of Mexico to support relief operations along the U.S. Gulf Coast following widespread destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina.
• Bataan Assisting in Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts Navy NewsStand 31 Aug 2005 -- The multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5) was tasked Aug. 30 to assist with Hurricane Katrina disaster relief efforts.

Other Conflicts

• NEPAL: King, politicians and rebels no nearer to talks IRIN 31 Aug 2005 -- When Nepal's King Gyanendra recently paid his first visit to east and west Nepal since assuming direct rule of the nation on 1 February this year, peace was the only thing that most people wanted to talk to him about.
• COTE D IVOIRE: South Africa says continuing mediation, cautious on sanctions IRIN 31 Aug 2005 -- South Africa denied on Wednesday that it was concluding its mediation in the Cote d'Ivoire crisis as it warned the UN Security Council to take care that any sanctions action did not negatively affect the peace process.
• Israel’s Gaza pullout must lead to West Bank, East Jerusalem exit – UN committee UN News Centre 31 Aug 2005 -- A United Nations committee on Palestinian rights has called for Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza to be followed by similar steps in the whole of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, leading to a just and lasting solution of the Middle East conflict.
• Sudan reacts positively to future talks between Government and rebel Eastern Front UN News Centre 31 Aug 2005 -- A senior UN official met today with Sudanese Acting Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail and said the minister reacted positively to the idea of holding talks with the rebel Eastern Front, at a date to be determined, with the aim of finding a lasting solution to the eastern region’s problems.
• Security Council establishes UN integrated support team for Sierra Leone UN News Centre 31 Aug 2005 -- With the six-year-old United Nations peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone set to close its doors in January, the Security Council today authorized the establishment of a follow-on UN integrated office to help achieve long-term stability and sustainable development as the West African country continues to recover from a bloody civil war during the 1990s.
• UN official says Côte d’Ivoire nationals must take ownership of peace process UN News Centre 31 Aug 2005 -- The peace process in the Côte d’Ivoire has moved from globalization, with United Nations involvement, to Africanization, with African Union (AU) mediation, and now Ivorians must take responsibility for nationalizing the next steps, the head of the UN peacekeeping mission in the West African country said today.
• DRC: Soldiers go AWOL as dissident leader issues call to arms IRIN 31 Aug 2005 -- The day after a dissident army leader in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) called for an insurrection, the 53rd Army Battalion and four companies of the 2nd Mixed Battalion in the east of the country went missing.
• Russia Arrests Bosnian Serb War Crimes Suspect RFE/RL 31 Aug 2005 -- Russian police say they have arrested a Bosnian Serb indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
• Three Russian Soldiers Reportedly Killed In Chechnya RFE/RL 31 Aug 2005 -- An official from the pro-Moscow Chechen administration said today that land mines killed a Russian bomb expert, while a soldier and a member of the federal forces were shot dead in an attack by Chechen militants.
• Basaev Says Beslan Raid Prompted By FSB Sting RFE/RL 31 Aug 2005 -- The catalyst for the Beslan hostage taking on 1 September 2004 was an attempt by the Federal Security Service (FSB) to infiltrate the Chechen resistance and to provoke them to try to seize the parliament building in Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia
• Indonesia Releases Aceh Rebels Under Peace Deal Amnesty VOA News 31 Aug 2005 -- The Indonesian government has begun releasing hundreds of separatist Acehnese rebels as part of a peace deal signed by the two sides earlier this month.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Transcript: Special Defense Department Briefing on Military Commissions 31 Aug 2005 -- Presenter: Legal Advisor to the Appointing Authority for Military Commissions Brig. Gen. Thomas L. Hemingway
• Secretary Rumsfeld Approves Changes to Improve Military Commission Procedures 31 Aug 2005 -- As the Department of Defense continues to move forward with military commission, the secretary of defense today approved changes to improve military commission procedures.
• Officials Announce Changes to Military Commissions Procedures AFPS 31 Aug 2005 -- Changes to military commissions to try detainees from the war on terrorism will bring the proceedings closer to the traditional judge-and-jury system in the American courts, a senior official involved with the commissions said here today.

• DoD Establishes Health Transformation Office 31 Aug 2005 -- The Department of Defense announced today that the deputy secretary of defense has chartered the Military Health System (MHS) Office of Transformation.
• Military Bases Assess Damage; Keesler AFB Hardest Hit AFPS 31 Aug 2005 -- Military bases in the path of Hurricane Katrina and its resulting floodwaters were continuing to assess damage today while reaching out to affected servicemembers and their families to provide support.
• Guardian Departs for Underway Training Period Navy NewsStand 31 Aug 2005 -- USS Guardian (MCM 5) pulled out of Sasebo Aug. 25 to conduct various minesweeping operations, basic engineering casualty control exercises (BECCE) and at-sea fire party drills in order to maintain proficiency for future deployments.

• State Department Briefing, August 31 Washington File 31 Aug 2005 -- Baghdad bridge tragedy, Foreign nationals affected by Hurricane Katrina, Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, Uzbekistan, Iran, China, Lebanon, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Egypt, India, Pakistan

Defense Industry

News Reports

• Impeachment Effort Against Philippine President Faltering VOA News 31 Aug 2005 -- A Philippine congressional committee has struck down all impeachment complaints against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

• UN Officials Say Syria Not Cooperating with Hariri Assassination Probe VOA News 31 Aug 2005 -- The U.N. Security Council has welcomed the arrest of suspects in the assassination for former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
• 4 Former Lebanese Officials Held in Hariri Killing, Ex-Legislator Released VOA News 31 Aug 2005 -- A former Lebanese lawmaker questioned in connection with the assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri has been released.