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Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 15 Dec 2005 [PDF]
• MARINE KILLED IN IED ATTACK DEC 14
• DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualties
• DoD Identifies Marine Casualty

• CENTAF releases daily airpower summary AFPN 15 Dec 2005 -- U.S. Central Command Air Forces officials released today's airpower summary report.
• Security tight as Iraqis vote in national elections Army News 15 Dec 2005 -- Many Iraqis began lining up at polling stations to vote well before the 7 a.m. opening of the Dec. 15 national elections. Election turnout throughout Iraq is expected to be high as voting continues throughout the day.
• Ramadi Bomb Blast Kills Marine; 14 Suspects Detained AFPS 15 Dec 2005 -- A Marine assigned to the 2nd Marine Logistics Group, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), was killed by an improvised explosive device Dec. 14 while conducting combat operations near Ramadi, Iraq, military officials reported.
• Iraqi, U.S. forces prepare security at polling sites MNF-I 15 Dec 2005 -- Soldiers of 3rd Brigade,1st Armored Division and Iraqi officials northwest of Baghdad spent the last week working toward a common goal: making polling sites as secure as possible.
• Polling stations secure despite sporadic violence MNF-I 15 Dec 2005 -- Iraqi Security Forces throughout the capitol city reported incidents of small-arms fire and discovered an improvised explosive device planted near a polling station on the eve of national elections.
• Iraqi, U.S. Forces keep security tight as polls open MNF-I 15 Dec 2005 -- Iraqi Security Forces and Task Force Baghdad Soldiers continued to maintain security at hundreds of polling sites around the city as residents began lining up well before the 7 a.m. opening for the historic national elections Dec. 15.
• U.S. raids net detainees, weapons caches MNF-I 15 Dec 2005 -- Soldiers assigned to the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division detained 14 suspected terrorists and confiscated a large number of weapons, munitions and money as a part of Operation Vanguard Free Speech Dec. 14.
• Task Force Baghdad Soldiers boost election security MNF-I 15 Dec 2005 -- Iraqi Army and Task Force Baghdad Soldiers conducted operations Dec. 14 in western Baghdad geared toward creating a secure environment for free elections in the area.
• Karmah polling center opens in spite of terrorists MNF-I 15 Dec 2005 -- An Iraq National Elections polling center, based at al-Kurmaa Primary School in Karmah, opened on time Dec.15 despite an apparent terrorist attempt yesterday to damage or destroy it.
• Iraqi forces safeguard polling sites against attacks MNF-I 15 Dec 2005 -- As Iraqi citizens continued to stream into polling sites to vote in the historic national elections, Iraqi Security Forces protected voters against attempted terrorist attacks Dec. 15.

• Battle in Afghanistan Leaves One U.S. Servicemember, One Enemy Dead AFPS 15 Dec 2005 -- One U.S. servicemember and one enemy fighter were killed today during a firefight northeast of Kandahar, Afghanistan.
• U.S. MILITARY RELEASES DOZENS OF AFGHAN DETAINEES FROM BAGRAM CENTCOM 15 Dec 2005 -- After determined to no longer present a threat, 47 Afghan detainees were released under the Government of Afghanistan’s Program Tahkim-e Sohl on Thursday morning at the PTS Bagram Theater Internment Facility.
• Afghanistan: Lawmakers' Slayings Pose Hard Questions RFE/RL 15 Dec 2005 -- The 4 December killing of Esmatullah Mohabat, who was elected to the People's Council (Wolesi Jirga) of the Afghan National Assembly on 18 September, has reopened questions regarding politically motivated killings in Afghanistan and the effectiveness of the country's disarmament program.

Other Conflicts

• UN peacekeepers depart Sierra Leone to high praise from Annan UN News Centre 15 Dec 2005 -- As 290 of the remaining peacekeepers of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) departed today, two weeks short of the end of their mandate to cement the peace after a brutal civil war, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he viewed mission’s accomplishments “with a deep sense of satisfaction.”
• UN Security Council renews sanctions on Cote d’Ivoire, bars diamond exports UN News Centre 15 Dec 2005 -- With the Cote d’Ivoire still split in half between the Government and rebel forces, the United Nations Security Council today renewed for another year the arms embargo and the travel and financial restrictions applied to those deemed to threaten peace there, while also deciding to ban imports of rough diamonds from the country.
• UN Peacekeepers in Burundi Set Plan for Exit VOA 15 Dec 2005 -- The United Nations says peacekeepers will start leaving Burundi later this month as part of a gradual 12-month withdrawal plan.
• Eritrea Adopts High Risk Strategy on Border Stalemate VOA 15 Dec 2005 -- Since last month, the Eritrean government has increased pressure on the U.N. peacekeeping mission monitoring a 25-kilometer-wide buffer on the country's Ethiopian border.
• Ruling Palestinian Fatah Party Splits VOA 15 Dec 2005 -- The ruling Palestinian Fatah party has split ahead of elections next month.
• HORN OF AFRICA: UN relocates expelled staff from Eritrea to Ethiopia IRIN 15 Dec 2005 -- The United Nations relocated some staff on Thursday from its peacekeeping mission in Eritrea to Ethiopia following Eritrea's decision to expel European and North American personnel working there.
• SUDAN: Scores killed in ongoing clashes in West Darfur - ICRC IRIN 15 Dec 2005 -- Continuing clashes between two communities of Arab nomads near the town of Zalingei in West Darfur have left around 60 people dead and hundreds of families displaced, aid workers said on Thursday.
• Chief UN Prosecutor To Criticize Serbia At Security Council RFE/RL 15 Dec 2005 -- Chief UN prosecutor Carla Del Ponte is expected to criticize Serbia and Montenegro's lack of cooperation with The Hague tribunal when she gives her annual report to the Security Council today.
• US Congress Tries to Restore Funds for Peackeeping in Darfur VOA 15 Dec 2005 -- U.S. Lawmakers concerned about the situation in Sudan's western Darfur region are trying to restore U.S. funds to help pay for African Union (AU) peacekeeping efforts there.
• UN Accepts Eritrea's Demand for Withdrawal of Western Peacekeepers VOA 15 Dec 2005 -- The United Nations has yielded to Eritrea's demand for the removal of all North American and European peacekeepers in the country
• Last UN Troops Leave Impoverished Sierra Leone VOA 15 Dec 2005 -- The last contingent of what was once the world's largest peacekeeping operation has left Sierra Leone.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Dr. William Winkenwerder, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, on FDA Anthrax Vaccine Ruling 15 Dec 2005 -- "Today, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a final order reaffirming previous conclusions that the anthrax vaccine prevents anthrax resulting from any route of exposure, including inhalation anthrax.

• White House, Congress Reach Agreement on Torture Ban VOA 15 Dec 2005 -- President Bush has reached agreement with Republican Senators on a law barring the cruel or inhuman treatment of foreign detainees in U.S. custody.

• DoD Orders Review of Anti-Threat Intel-Gathering System AFPS 15 Dec 2005 -- The Defense Department has ordered a review of an intelligence system that compiles information on possible worldwide threats to U.S. military personnel and installations, a senior DoD official said here today.
• Pentagon Reviews Domestic Threat Database VOA 15 Dec 2005 -- The Defense Department is reviewing its procedures for collecting and saving information on potential threats to its installations in the United States

• AIR FORCE DECLARES F-22A OPERATIONAL AFPN 15 Dec 2005 -- The Air Force’s most advanced weapon system is ready for combat, Air Force officials here announced Dec. 15.
• F-22A Raptor goes operational AFPN 15 Dec 2005 -- The F-22A Raptor -- Air Force’s most advanced weapon system -- is ready for combat, Air Force officials announced here today.

• Kearsarge Awarded Combat Action Ribbon Navy NewsStand 15 Dec 2005 -- The amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) was awarded the Combat Action Ribbon in December for action while in Aquaba, Jordan, in August.
• Dutch Commodore Leads Combined Task Force 150 Navy NewsStand 15 Dec 2005 -- Royal Netherlands Navy Commodore Hank Ort relieved French Vice Adm. Jacques Mazars as the commander of Combined Task Force (CTF) 150 during a handover ceremony aboard the French ship FS Var (A608) Dec. 12 while in port in Djibouti.
• C-5 airlift readies Soldiers for battle conditions AFPN 15 Dec 2005 -- The first-time loading of a new Army helicopter flight simulator into a C-5 Galaxy required Airmen to build new ramps.
• Army Updates Management of Colonels Army News Release 15 Dec 2005 -- As the Army transforms to meet new challenges, it is also transforming the personnel management of senior military officers.
• New training chief: Lessons of Iraq to shape schooling Army News 15 Dec 2005 -- The Army Training and Doctrine Command is incorporating lessons learned from operations in Iraq and Afghanistan into current and future Soldier training, said TRADOC’s new commanding general.
• Senior Leaders Focus on Urban Fight AFPS 15 Dec 2005 -- Senior defense and government leaders gathered at Fort McNair here today to consider challenges the U.S. military faces operating in urban environments and to discuss strategies to make them as effective in cities as in open terrain.

• Pakistan says arrival of two F-16 planes part of major deal IRNA 15 Dec 2005 -- The Pakistani information minister said that the United States has delivered two F-16 jet planes as a "goodwill gesture" and that they were "probably free."

• State Department Briefing, December 15 Washington File 15 Dec 2005 -- Iraq, Germany, Palestinian Authority, Mexico, Haiti, Bolivia
• White House Briefing, December 15 Washington File 15 Dec 2005 -- Announcement on New Orleans levees, Iraq elections, McCain anti-torture bill, anti-war protesting/Pentagon monitoring, president's comments on Congressman DeLay

Defense Industry

News Reports

• Lebanon: Al-Qaeda Promotion Of Religious Divisions Angers Shi'a RFE/RL 15 Dec 2005 -- Western military personnel, contractors, aid workers, and journalists, as well as Iraqi security forces, were the traditional targets of Iraqi insurgents and Al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq, Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi.