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Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 07 Dec 2005 [PDF]
• II MEF SOLDIER KILLED NEAR HABBANIYAH

• CENTAF releases airpower summary AFPN 07 Dec 2005 -- U.S. Central Command Air Forces officials released today's airpower summary.
• USS Austin Renders Assistance to Fishing Boat Navy NewsStand 07 Dec 2005 -- USS Austin (LPD 4) answered a call for assistance from the Saudi Arabian fishing boat Riviera Dec. 6 while conducting Maritime Security Operations (MSO) in the Persian Gulf.
• "Cactus Air Force" Comes to Iraq Navy NewsStand 07 Dec 2005 -- In late November, approximately 50 aircrew and maintenance personnel from the Valions of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 15 and the Golden Warriors of VFA-87 detached to Al Asad, Iraq, with five F/A-18C Hornet aircraft.
• Bomb Explodes at Baghdad Coffee Shop; Mine Blast Kills Soldier AFPS 07 Dec 2005 -- At least three civilians and one Iraqi police officer were killed Dec. 6 when a terrorist's bomb exploded in a coffee shop in east Baghdad's Howra marketplace.
• Iraqi, Coalition Forces Wrap Up Operation Rams in Ramadi AFPS 07 Dec 2005 -- About 100 Iraqi army soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Division, and 400 U.S. soldiers from 2nd Brigade Combat Team wrapped up Operation Rams in Ramadi, Iraq, today.
• Major cache uncovered near Tuz MNF-I 07 Dec 2005 -- Just a week after a huge cache of mortars was uncovered near the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, another large terrorist cache was discovered Tuesday morning near the neighboring city of Tuz.
• Gunmen Raid Kirkuk Hospital, Free Iraqi Detainee VOA 07 Dec 2005 -- Gunmen have raided a hospital in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, freeing a wounded man who was detained for plotting to kill a judge involved in Saddam Hussein's trial.
• Iraqi, U.S. forces catch four suspected bomb makers MNF-I 07 Dec 2005 -- Four suspected terrorists were detained during a joint operation conducted by Iraqi Security Forces supported by the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division Dec. 4 south of Baghdad in the Yusufiyah area.
• Citizens help U.S. forces take terrorists off streets MNF-I 07 Dec 2005 -- Task Force Baghdad Soldiers captured four terror suspects and discovered a large weapons cache during a series of operations in the Al Rashid district Dec. 4.
• Terrorist detonates bomb in coffee shop MNF-I 07 Dec 2005 -- Iraqi Police reported an explosion in a coffee shop in east Baghdad around 8:30 p.m. Dec. 6.
• Operation Rams concludes MNF-I 07 Dec 2005 -- Approximately 100 Iraqi Army Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Division and 400 Soldiers from 2nd Brigade Combat Team, wrapped up Operation Tallie (Rams) in Ramadi Dec. 7.

• Southeast Europe Ministers Approve Troop Brigade for Afghanistan Washington File 07 Dec 2005 -- Defense ministers from southeast European nations agreed December 6 to deploy their military forces early in 2006 to the international peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan.
• Coalition Forces Kill, Capture Militants in Afghanistan AFPS 07 Dec 2005 -- Nine militants were killed and six others captured Dec. 6 during joint Afghan and U.S. combat operations northwest of Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan, officials reported today.
• Afghan Court Convicts Britons, Indian for Gun Smuggling VOA 07 Dec 2005 -- An Afghan court has convicted two Britons and an Indian on gun-smuggling charges and gave them two-year suspended sentences.

Other Conflicts

• U.N. Demands Eritrea Rescind Ban on Western Nation Peacekeepers Washington File 07 Dec 2005 -- The Security Council December 7 condemned the Eritrean government's request that certain U.N. peacekeepers leave the country within 10 days.
• COTE D IVOIRE: Banny sworn in as new prime minister IRIN 07 Dec 2005 -- Charles Konan Banny was sworn in as interim prime minister of Cote d’Ivoire on Wednesday, facing the daunting task of restoring the war-divided country to peace in just 11 months.
• DR Congo: UN hails arrest of militia leader for attacks on civilians and peacekeepers UN News Centre 07 Dec 2005 -- The UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) has welcomed the arrest of a notorious militia leader thought to be responsible for attacks that caused the death of scores of civilians as well as nine peacekeepers earlier this year.
• Annan, Security Council condemn Eritrea’s planned eviction of peacekeepers UN News Centre 07 Dec 2005 -- Eritrea today requested that members of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) who are nationals of key States leave that operation, drawing immediate condemnation from the Security Council and Secretary-General Kofi Annan, as well as a world body’s senior peacekeeping official, who said there will be no pullout of personnel.
• Annan extends mandate of UN mission in Central African Republic through 2006 UN News Centre 07 Dec 2005 -- United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has upgraded the organization’s mission in post-election Central African Republic and extended its mandate until the end of next year at the request of the Government.
• Israeli: Air Strike Kills Senior Palestinian Militant VOA 07 Dec 2005 -- A senior Palestinian militant has been killed in an Israel air strike in the Gaza Strip and ten other people are wounded.
• Acting Leader of Israel's Ruling Likud Party Quits VOA 07 Dec 2005 -- Israel's ruling Likud faction has suffered another blow, two weeks after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon quit the party.
• Thousands Flee Fighting in Congo's Katanga Province VOA 07 Dec 2005 -- U.N. aid workers say Wednesday fighting between the army and militiamen in the southern Congolese province of Katanga has forced around 25,000 civilians to flee.
• UN Condemns Eritrea's Decision To Expel Western Peacekeepers VOA 07 Dec 2005 -- In a strongly worded statement, the United Nations Security Council has condemned Eritrea's decision to expel Western members of the U.N. peacekeeping mission.
• Georgia Urges OSCE To Help Settle Separatist Conflicts RFE/RL 07 Dec 2005 -- Georgia is calling upon the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to take a more active part in helping settle its longtime separatist conflicts with Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
• ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Eritrea threatens to expel some members of UNMEE IRIN 07 Dec 2005 -- United Nations officials say Eritrea is expelling United States, European and Russian staff working for the UN’s peacekeeping mission which monitors the increasingly tense border between Eritrea and Ethiopia.
• GREAT LAKES: UN appeal seeks $54.5 million for recovery efforts IRIN 07 Dec 2005 -- The 2006 annual UN appeal to donors for humanitarian aid to Africa's Great Lakes region, which is for US $154.5 million, focuses more on recovery efforts than on emergency relief, UN officials said at the appeal's launch on Tuesday.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Ronald Reagan Strike Group to Participate in JTFEX 06-2 Navy NewsStand 07 Dec 2005 -- More than 5,000 Sailors assigned to USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), the staff of Commander, Carrier Strike Group (CCSG) 7 and embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 14 departed San Diego Dec. 6 to participate in Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX) 06-2.
• EWTG Sailors Test Improved Lighterage System Navy NewsStand 07 Dec 2005 -- Sailors from Expeditionary Warfare Training Group Pacific and Amphibious Construction Battalion 1 took part in the first training exercise for the Improved Navy Lighterage System (INLS) on Green Beach here, Dec. 1.
• Barksdale maintainers keep ‘Buffs’ flying AFPN 07 Dec 2005 -- Some people have compared the specialists at the 2nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron to gears in a watch. The watch can’t tick without the gears -- just as aircraft can’t fly without the Airmen.
• Little Rock gets fifth ‘J-Herc’ AFPN 07 Dec 2005 -- Airmen fighting and training to fight the global war on terrorism have a new weapon -- a fifth C-130J Hercules.
• Cops plus copters equal better nuclear security AFPN 07 Dec 2005 -- Take four security forces Airmen, throw them on a UH-1 Huey helicopter and what do you get?
• IED Center, Task Force to Bridge Gap Between Training Centers, Theater AFPS 07 Dec 2005 -- new improvised-explosive-device center of excellence at Fort Irwin, Calif., and the existing Joint IED Task Force will use lessons learned in Iraq to develop strategies to defeat the significant threat IEDs pose to servicemembers around the world, a senior military official said here Dec. 6.

• NATO: Foreign Ministers Meet To Discuss New Missions, Possible Expansion RFE/RL 07 Dec 2005 -- Foreign ministers from all 27 NATO countries -- including U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice -- will meet in Brussels tomorrow.
• CIA secret prisons not on formal agenda of NATO FMs IRNA 07 Dec 2005 -- The row over CIA-run secret prisons and flights in Europe is not on the agenda of the formal annual meeting of foreign ministers from the 26-member North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Brussels Thursday, a NATO official told reporters Wednesday.

• U.S.: What Is Strategy For Bases In Former Soviet Bloc? RFE/RL 07 Dec 2005 -- Romania and the United States have signed an agreement that would establish the first U.S. military bases in an Eastern European country from the former Soviet bloc.

• U.S.: Do Rice's Remarks On Torture Amount To Policy Shift? RFE/RL 07 Dec 2005 -- Amid an uproar over allegations that the United States may have abused detained terrorist suspects, Washington today signaled what appeared to be a shift in its policy.
• U.S. Ban on Torture Applies Worldwide, Rice Says Washington File 07 Dec 2005 -- The United States bans its personnel from subjecting detainees to cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment no matter where in the world they happen to be, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said during a news conference in Ukraine December 7.

• India test fires 'Akash Missile' IRNA 07 Dec 2005 -- Akash, India's surface-to-air missile was test fired from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, Orissa, Wednesday, defense sources announced.
• India, Oman sign MoU on Defense Cooperation IRNA 07 Dec 2005 -- A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Defence Cooperation was signed between India and Oman here today.

• Ivanov: Moscow May Reconsider Arms Control Treaty VOA 07 Dec 2005 -- Russia's defense minister is warning that Moscow may reconsider its commitment to a key arms control treaty because the United States will be redeploying military units closer to Russia's borders.

• Uzbek, Chinese Defense Ministers Discuss Military Ties RFE/RL 07 Dec 2005 -- The defense ministers of China and Uzbekistan held talks in Beijing today on developing military cooperation.

• White House Briefing, December 7 Washington File 07 Dec 2005 -- Bush/speech on the war, Iraq, president's meeting with African American leaders, Katrina investigation/status, tax reform, Rice's comments on treatment of detainees, mistakes made in Iraq
• State Department Briefing, December 7 Washington File 07 Dec 2005 -- China, North Korea, Secretary's Statement on Torture Reflects Existing Policy, Looking for Mutually Agreeable Solution with Congress Regarding Torture, U.S. Attempting to Adapt Past Norms With Current Unprecedented Challenges, U.S. Policy on Torture Consistent with International Laws, Europe, Germany, Russia, Syria, Iraq

Defense Industry

News Reports

• Ambassador Bolton Criticizes U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Washington File 07 Dec 2005 -- U.S. Ambassador John Bolton has criticized U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour for speaking out about alleged U.S. mistreatment of imprisoned suspected terrorists instead of focusing attention on major human-rights abusers such as Cuba, Burma and Zimbabwe.
• Three Dead in Egypt Election Violence VOA 07 Dec 2005 -- At least three people have been killed by police outside Egyptian polling stations on the final day of voting in a parliamentary election that has been marred by widespread violence.