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Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 16 Sep 2005 [PDF]
• II MEF MARINE KILLED
• DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty

• Commander Describes Routing Foreign Fighters From Tal Afar AFPS 16 Sep 2005 -- The commander of coalition troops in Iraq today described "an extremely successful tactical operation" in which U.S. and Iraqi troops all but cleared Tal Afar, Iraq, of foreign fighters.
• Harrier jets strike safe house and weapons cache MNF-I 16 Sep 2005 -- Coalition Forces conducted an air strike Sept. 15 against a known terrorist safe house and weapons cache in the western Al Anbar Province border town of Karabilah .
• Air strikes destroy terrorist complex MNF-I 16 Sep 2005 -- Coalition Air Forces raided an al-Qaida in Iraq terrorist complex south of Haditha that contained a vehicle borne improvised explosive device factory and weapons caches Sept.16 at 4:24 am.
• Baghdad Drive-By Shooting Kills Three RFE/RL 16 Sep 2005 -- Three Iraqis were killed and a dozen others injured today when armed men in cars opened fire on a crowd of day-laborers in Baghdad.
• Blast Outside Shi'ite Mosque In Iraq Kills At Least Eight RFE/RL 16 Sep 2005 -- A suicide car bomb exploded outside a Shi'ite mosque in central Iraq today, killing at least eight people.
• 8 Killed in Iraq Mosque Blast as Insurgents Step Up Attacks VOA 16 Sep 2005 -- Iraqi authorities say at least 10 people have been killed and 21 others wounded in a car bomb attack on a Shi'ite mosque in central Iraq.

• Transcript: Special Defense Department Operational Update Briefing 16 Sep 2005 -- Presenter: Brig. Gen. James G. Champion, commanding general, Operations and Intelligence, Conmbined Joint Task Force 76
• U.S. General Predicts 'Very Successful' Afghan Election AFPS 16 Sep 2005 -- More than 12 million Afghans are registered to vote in the country's general assembly elections slated for Sept. 18, a senior U.S. military officer told Pentagon reporters today.
• Explosion Kills Afghan Interpreter, Wounds Two GIs AFPS 16 Sep 2005 -- An Afghan interpreter was killed and two U.S. servicemembers were wounded Sept. 15 when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb in Afghanistan's Ghazni province, military officials announced today.
• Security Arrangements for Afghan Elections Will Be Strong Washington File 16 Sep 2005 -- Afghanistan’s September 18 parliamentary and provincial elections are more complex in nature, but expected to be more secure for voters than the 2004 presidential elections, says a U.S. military officer familiar with the preparations for both political events.
• USAID Highlights Progress in Afghanistan's Reconstruction Washington File 16 Sep 2005 -- The United States Agency for International Development issued a fact sheet September 16 documenting recent developments in Afghanistan’s reconstruction.
• Fact Sheet Details Parliamentary Elections in Afghanistan Washington File 16 Sep 2005 -- As Afghanistan prepares to hold its parliamentary elections September 18, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of South Asian Affairs has issued a fact sheet on the elections, outlining details of the election process.
• US Military: Insurgents in Afghanistan Not as Capable as in Iraq VOA 16 Sep 2005 -- A senior U.S. military officer in Afghanistan says insurgents are expected to try to disrupt this Sunday's Afghan election through a major attack, but he does not believe they have the ability to launch a series of coordinated attacks like insurgents in Iraq do.
• Afghanistan Set for Landmark Election, But Are the Voters Ready? VOA 16 Sep 2005 -- Election organizers in Afghanistan are making last minute arrangements for Sunday's landmark parliamentary elections.
• Afghans Expected to Focus on Basics in Parliamentary Election VOA 16 Sep 2005 -- Afghanistan's parliamentary election Sunday is the country's second democratic vote since the Taleban was ousted from power in 2001.
• Afghan Candidate Gunned Down Days Ahead Of Vote RFE/RL 16 Sep 2005 -- Local authorities in Afghanistan's southern Helmand Province said suspected neo-Taliban gunmen killed a candidate late yesterday, just three days before the country's landmark elections.
• Afghanistan: Shooting Highlights Threat To Country's Female Candidates RFE/RL 16 Sep 2005 -- Many of the 328 women competing for seats in the lower house of Afghanistan’s national parliament, the People's Council (Wolesi Jirga), have faced death threats from gunmen who want to deny women any role in the country’s political system. Candidate Hawa Alam Nuristani was shot four times on 14 September while campaigning in her eastern province of Nuristan.

• Army to help with nation’s largest reconstruction effort Army News 16 Sep 2005 -- President Bush promised "one of the largest reconstruction efforts the world has ever seen" in his speech to the nation Sept. 15 and just a few hours earlier, the Army Corps of Engineers awarded contracts totaling up to $4 billion for debris removal in areas hit by Hurricane Katrina.
• Army using world's largest water purifier in Biloxi Army News 16 Sep 2005 -- Army engineers are using new technology to generate more than 100,000 gallons of potable water per day for the hospital in Biloxi, Miss., and area residents affected by Hurricane Katrina.
• FEMA Hurricane Recovery Director Addresses Iwo Jima Crew Navy NewsStand 16 Sep 2005 -- U.S. Coast Guard Vice Adm. Thad W. Allen, principal federal official (PFO) for federal response to Hurricane Katrina, addressed the crew of USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) Sept. 15 during an all-hands call in the ship’s hangar bay.
• President Bush Returns to Iwo Jima Navy NewsStand 16 Sep 2005 -- President George W. Bush made another stop aboard USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) Sept. 15 following a tour of the Gulf Coast region, where relief and recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina are ongoing.
• Swift Shows its Stuff During Resupply Missions to Iwo Jima Navy NewsStand 16 Sep 2005 -- High-Speed Vessel (HSV) 2 Swift, homeported at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Va., docked here Sept. 14 to resupply USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) with goods needed to sustain the thousands of men and women involved in nearby hurricane recovery efforts.
• San Antonio’s Crew Responds to Hurricane Impact Navy NewsStand 16 Sep 2005 -- USS San Antonio (LPD 17) Sailors, undeterred by 140 mile-per-hour winds, provided vital support during and after Hurricane Katrina's impact here.
• FDPMU Ensures Environmental Safety for NORTHCOM New Orleans HQ Navy NewsStand 16 Sep 2005 -- Forward Deployable Preventative Medicine Unit (FDPMU) East lent its support to command elements of U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) here Sept. 14.
• NAS Meridian Seabees Restore Base Functions Navy NewsStand 16 Sep 2005 -- Naval Air Station (NAS) Meridian’s Disaster Preparedness Crew, comprised of Seabees, has been working day and night to restore a level of functionality to the base and its community since Hurricane Katrina hit the area Aug. 29.

Other Conflicts

• World: Water Could Become Major Catalyst For Conflict RFE/RL 16 Sep 2005 -- Writing about the 1967 Six Day War in his 2001 memoirs, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said that "While the border disputes between Syria and ourselves were of great significance, the matter of water diversion was a stark issue of life and death."

• NEPAL: UN concerned over continued use of torture IRIN 16 Sep 2005 -- Torture and ill-treatment were still systematically practiced in various detention centres in Nepal run by the police and the Royal Nepal Army (RNA), concluded Manfred Nowak, the Special Rapporteur on Torture of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, who ended a seven-day visit to the country on Friday.
• Nepal Maoists step up pressure, release 60 soldiers IRNA 16 Sep 2005 -- Almost a fortnight into the three-month easefire called by them, Nepal's Maoist guerrillas put additional pressure on the government to reciprocate by releasing 60 soldiers they had taken captive during a fierce battle last month in midwestern Nepal that had killed over 100 people, reports `The Statesman'.
• Israel Announces New Security Measures Along Gaza Border VOA 16 Sep 2005 -- Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz has ordered new security measures along Israel's border with the Gaza Strip in an attempt to prevent Palestinian militant attacks on Israeli communities.
• Colombia Rebels Reject Talks on Hostages VOA 16 Sep 2005 -- Colombia's biggest leftist rebel group has rejected the latest call from the government for talks about exchanging hostages for jailed rebels.
• Sudan: violence continues in Darfur region after peace talks open in Nigeria UN News Centre 16 Sep 2005 -- The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) today said violence against civilians in western Sudan’s Darfur region continues, despite the opening of the sixth round of peace talks between representatives of the Government of Sudan and those of Darfur’s rebels in Nigeria’s capital.
• Blast Derails Freight Train in North Ossetia RFE/RL 16 Sep 2005 -- A blast on a railway line today derailed three wagons of a freight train in Russia's southern republic of North Ossetia.
• Darfur Sides Consult in Nigeria on New Talks VOA 16 Sep 2005 -- Sudan's Darfur warring parties are breaking away for internal consultation after being urged at the opening of negotiations in Abuja, Nigeria, to make more of an effort to reach a peace accord, in this the sixth round of talks.
• DRC: 48 combatants arrested after returning from Burundi exile IRIN 16 Sep 2005 -- The army of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) said it arrested 48 dissident soldiers, including 11 officers, on Tuesday in the east of the country near its borders with Rwanda and Burundi as they were returning from exile.

Defense Policy / Programs

• President Sends BRAC Commission Report to Congress AFPS 16 Sep 2005 -- President Bush concurred with and sent the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission's report to Congress on Sept. 15 for legislative review, White House officials announced.

• Bush Calls for Broader Military Disaster Response Role AFPS 16 Sep 2005 -- The military will have a broader role in disaster response, based on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, President Bush said in a nationally televised address Sept. 15.
• Pentagon Wants New Look at Its Role in Domestic Emergencies VOA 16 Sep 2005 -- The morning after President Bush called for a greater role for the U.S. military in responding to domestic disasters, a senior Defense Department official said U.S. laws and government procedures need to be re-evaluated in the wake of Hurricane Katrina to allow the military to provide disaster relief more effectively.

• Civil engineer units have different
• Air Force says farewell to most powerful ICBM AFPN 16 Sep 2005 -- The era of the Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missile, often credited with helping end the Cold War, is coming to its own close Sept. 19 with the final phase of the deactivation process.
• missions, same goal AFPN 16 Sep 2005 -- It is 110 degrees and temperatures are steadily on the rise. Luckily, the office is air conditioned -- until the power goes out.
• Seymour Johnson aircraft evacuate to Wright Patterson AFPN 16 Sep 2005 -- Just weeks after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast region, Hurricane Ophelia threatened communities along the East Coast, forcing military bases to act fast.
• Army inactivates oldest air defense battalion Army News 16 Sep 2005 -- The 1st Infantry Division held an inactivation ceremony Sept. 15 at Leighton Barracks for the 4th Batallion, 3rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, the oldest air defense battalion in the active Army.
• Boxer Returns from Surge Deployment Navy NewsStand 16 Sep 2005 -- USS Boxer (LHD 4) (the "Golden Gator") returned from its third deployment in three years Sept. 14 to the sound of cheers from family and friends.
• USS Boxer Returns From Surge Deployment Navy NewsStand 16 Sep 2005 -- The crew of USS Boxer (LHD 4) returned to San Diego Sept. 14, after a four-and-a-half month surge deployment in support of exercises Talisman Saber '05, a joint exercise with Australia; and Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT), with Malaysian army and navy forces.
• Conference Brings Asia Pacific Submariners Together Navy NewsStand 16 Sep 2005 -- Representatives from 15 nations attended the fifth annual Asia Pacific Submarine Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii, Sept. 12-15.
• Jarrett Crew Members Act as Ambassadors in El Salvador Navy NewsStand 16 Sep 2005 -- Crew members from USS Jarrett (FFG 33) participated in a community relations project at a rural elementary school, Valle Nuevo, here Sept. 5.
• Multimission DD(X) Destroyer Successfully Completes Flag-Level Critical Design Review Navy NewsStand 16 Sep 2005 -- The U.S. Navy successfully achieved a significant milestone for the multimission DD(X) destroyer with the completion of a system-wide Critical Design Review (CDR) Sept. 14.

• State Department Briefing, September 16 Washington File 16 Sep 2005 -- Update on Hurricane Katrina Relief/Access to New Orleans Consulates for Representatives of Foreign Governments, Upcoming Special Briefing on Afghan elections by Ambassador Ron Neumann, Brown University Survey of Federal Websites, Armenia/Turkey, Syria/Iraq, North Korea, Greece, Venezuela, Iran, Israel/Palestinian Authority

Defense Industry

News Reports

• Bomb Explodes in Christian Area of Beirut; One Dead, Nine Wounded VOA 16 Sep 2005 -- A bomb has exploded in a mainly Christian neighborhood in Beirut, Lebanon, killing at least one person and wounding nine others.
• Israeli military chief warned not to visit UK over arrest threat IRNA 16 Sep 2005 -- Israel's current chief-of-staff General Dan Halutz was reported Friday to have been warned to avoid visiting the UK due to possible arrest for war crimes charges.
• SOMALIA: Hijacked food aid ship allowed to proceed to port IRIN 16 Sep 2005 -- The hijackers of a ship that was transporting food aid meant for survivors of last year's tsunami in Somalia have allowed the vessel to proceed to a port north of the capital, Mogadishu, where it is expected to offload its cargo, a spokeswoman for the UN food agency said on Friday.
• Venezuela's President Lashes Out at United States During UN Summit Speech VOA 16 Sep 2005 -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez used his speech before the United Nations World Summit Thursday to lash out at the United States, saying the world body should move out of New York because of the war in Iraq.