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Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 14 Dec 2005 [PDF]
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty

• CENTAF releases airpower summary AFPN 14 Dec 2005 -- U.S. Central Command Air Forces officials have released today's airpower summary report.
• Task Force Baghdad Soldiers nab 28 suspected terrorists MNF-I 14 Dec 2005 -- Task Force Baghdad Soldiers from 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division detained 28 suspected terrorists in two separate incidents during continuous operations south of Baghdad Dec. 8-9.
• U.S. Soldiers find bomb in house, detain 4 terrorists MNF-I 14 Dec 2005 -- Task Force Baghdad Soldiers discovered a house containing an improvised explosive device and detained four suspected terrorists in separate incidents Dec. 10 as U.S. forces continued operations designed to ensure a safe environment for the upcoming national elections.
• Baghdad Quiet On Eve Of Vote RFE/RL 14 Dec 2005 -- Streets in Baghdad are quiet one day before the 15 million eligible Iraqis cast ballots for their homeland's first full-term parliament since the ouster of Saddam Hussein.
• U.S. Soldiers Nab 43 Suspects South of Baghdad AFPS 14 Dec 2005 -- Task Force Baghdad soldiers detained 43 suspected terrorists during recent operations conducted to ensure a safe environment for Iraq's upcoming national elections, military officials in Baghdad reported today.
• Gunners Pull Counterinsurgency Missions in Baghdad AFPS 14 Dec 2005 -- Duty in densely populated Baghdad doesn't call for the need for firing a lot of 155 mm shells.
• Iraqi, Coalition Officials Put Election Plan in Place AFPS 14 Dec 2005 -- Iraqi and coalition officials are implementing the plan to ensure safety for Iraqi voters in the country's historic Dec. 15 election, in which Iraqis will elect their first permanent democratic government.
• Iraqi, Coalition Forces Capture Terrorists, Seize Weapons AFPS 15 Dec 2005 -- Iraqi Army troops and coalition forces captured 11 insurgents and seized six caches Dec. 13 in operations southeast of Baqubah, Iraq, military officials reported today.
• “Big Stick” Reaches Halfway Point of Persian Gulf Deployment Navy NewsStand 14 Dec 2005 -- USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) and its embarked air wing, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8, has marked the first half of a six-month deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and maritime security operations (MSO) in the Persian Gulf.
• "Black Lions" Reach Halfway Point of Deployment Navy NewsStand 14 Dec 2005 -- The “Black Lions” of Fighter Squadron (VF) 213 reached the halfway point of their current deployment to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Maritime Security Operations in December.
• Radar transfer improves air operations AFPN 14 Dec 2005 -- Flying into and out of Kabul and Bagram Air Base became safer because of the transfer of a radar to Kabul from Karshi-Khanabad AB in Uzbekistan, Afghanistan.

Other Conflicts

• Decade After Dayton Accords Signing, Bosnians Focusing on Future Washington File 14 Dec 2005 -- As the world marks the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords, a U.S. diplomat says it is now time for Bosnia-Herzegovina to focus on economic and political progress.
• UN Security Council once again extends mandate of Cyprus peacekeeping force UN News Centre 15 Dec 2005 -- The Security Council today extended, through mid-June 2006, the mandate of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), which monitors the ceasefire lines extending some 180 kilometres across the island.
• Some UN staff will temporarily relocate out of Eritrea but military presence will continue, Security Council decides UN News Centre 15 Dec 2005 -- Reiterating its condemnation of Eritrea’s request last week for the pullout of United Nations personnel of specified nationalities, as well as its earlier ban on peacekeeping flights, the Security Council today decided to temporarily relocate some military and civilian staff now in that country to Ethiopia for their safety.
• LTTE to discuss resuming peace talks with Norwegian envoys IRNA 14 Dec 2005 -- Tamil Tiger leaders will meet with a high- level Norwegian delegation and discuss the possibility of resuming peace talks with the Sri Lankan government.
• 4 Palestinian Militants Killed in Israeli Air Strike VOA 14 Dec 2005 -- Four Palestinian militants have been killed in an Israeli air strike in the Gaza Strip.
• UN to Move Western Peacekeepers Out of Eritrea VOA 14 Dec 2005 -- The United Nations Security Council says it will move Western peacekeepers out of Eritrea, a week after Eritrea's government said the peacekeepers would be expelled.
• Nepal Refuses to Agree to Ceasefire with Maoists VOA 14 Dec 2005 -- Nepal's royal government says it will not agree to a ceasefire with Maoist rebels, despite pressure to match a truce called by the rebels.
• Israeli Airstrike Kills at Least 4 Palestinians VOA 14 Dec 2005 -- Witnesses say four Palestinian militants have been killed and about 10 other people wounded in an Israeli airstrike on a car in the Gaza Strip.
• UN Officials Delay Withdrawal from Eritrea VOA 14 Dec 2005 -- U.N. officials have delayed plans to begin removing peacekeeping staff from Eritrea (Wednesday in hopes the government may be persuaded to rescind its order for the withdrawal.
• Fatah Factions Clash in Gaza Over Election Candidate List VOA 14 Dec 2005 -- A brief gunbattle between rival Fatah factions erupted outside the Gaza headquarters of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Wednesday, as the ruling party prepared to register its list of candidates for January's parlimentary elections.
• ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Visiting UN officials delay departure from Asmara IRIN 14 Dec 2005 -- A United Nations team that is visiting Ethiopia and Eritrea to review a tense standoff between the two neighbours extended its stay in the Eritrean capital of Asmara on Wednesday after failing for a day to meet authorities there.
• Chechen Lawmakers Rename Grozny After Late President RFE/RL 14 Dec 2005 -- Chechnya's newly elected lawmakers adopted a resolution asking that the city of Grozny be renamed after the late pro-Russian President Akhmed Kadyrov.

Defense Policy / Programs

• ROVER System Revolutionizes F-14's Ground Support Capability Navy NewsStand 14 Dec 2005 -- As F-14 Tomcat aircraft 207 of the "Blacklions" of Fighter Squadron (VF) 213 launched the morning of Dec. 11, history was made.
• Deterrence Still Viable Against Terrorists, Official Says AFPS 14 Dec 2005 -- Deterring countries or groups who can or want to attack the United States is still a viable strategy in the 21st century, even as the nature of defense challenges broadens and moves to areas outside U.S. expertise, a top Defense Department official said here today.

• NATO Not Seeking To Compete With Russia In The CIS RFE/RL 14 Dec 2005 -- A NATO official said that the alliance is not competing with Russia for influence in the former Soviet republics.

• Russia Denies Plans Of Radical Army Command Reform RFE/RL 14 Dec 2005 -- Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov denied plans to radically reform the command of the country's armed forces.

• Statement by the Press Secretary The White House 14 Dec 2005 -- On December 7, President Bush issued a new Presidential directive to empower the Secretary of State to improve coordination, planning, and implementation for reconstruction and stabilization assistance for foreign states and regions at risk of, in, or in transition from conflict or civil strife.

• Pakistan gets two upgraded F-16s AFPN 14 Dec 2005 -- In the early 1980s, the Pakistan air force received its first F-16 Fighting Falcons from the United States. Since then, the maintenance support for the jets has been as unpredictable as world politics.

• State Department Briefing, December 14 Washington File 14 Dec 2005 -- Liberia, Iran, Iraq, Syria/Lebanon, Canada, Greece, Russia
• White House Briefing, December 14 Washington File 14 Dec 2005 -- President's speech/decision to go to war, Number of Iraqis killed in the war, Anti-torture amendment, Supplemental for Iraq, Freedom of Information Act, Katrina investigation, Rumors of Rumsfeld leaving

Defense Industry

News Reports

• Tens of Thousands Join Beirut Funeral for Slain Anti-Syrian Publisher VOA 14 Dec 2005 -- Tens of thousands of flag-waving Lebanese mourners packed central Beirut Thursday for the funeral of outspoken Syrian critic Gebran Tueni.
• Investigator: Syria Not Fully Cooperating With Hariri Murder Probe VOA 14 Dec 2005 -- The chief investigator into the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri has questioned Syria's willingness to cooperate, and warned that the probe could take years unless Damascus stops its delaying tactics.