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News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 27 Jan 2006 [PDF]
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty

• Transcript: News Briefing with Col. H.R. McMaster 27 Jan 2006 -- Presenter: Col. H.R. McMaster, commander, 3rd Armord Cavalry Regiment and Multinational Force-Northwest
• CENTAF releases daily airpower summary AFPN 27 Jan 2006 -- U.S. Central Command Air Forces officials released today's airpower summary.
• Suspected Terrorists Detained; Tips Lead to Weapons Caches AFPS 27 Jan 2006 -- Coalition and Iraqi forces captured several weapons caches and suspected terrorists in operations throughout Iraq over the past few days, officials reported.
• Iraqi Soldiers Seek Captive U.S. Journalist AFPS 27 Jan 2006 -- Iraqi soldiers and police are conducting a house-to-house search for American freelance journalist Jill Carroll, who was taken hostage in the Baghdad area Jan. 7, a senior Iraqi military officer said on U.S. television today.
• Iraqi Army Division Takes Security Lead in Two Provinces AFPS 27 Jan 2006 -- The 8th Iraqi Army Division now has responsibility for military operations across two large provinces, a senior U.S. military officer told reporters in Baghdad yesterday.
• Good tips lead to insurgents, weapons Army News 27 Jan 2006 -- A series of tips here enabled coalition forces of the Multi-National Division, Baghdad, to bust insurgent shooters and bombers, and led to several caches of weapons, explosives and ammunition.
• US Commander: Insurgents Driven from Tal Afar in Northern Iraq VOA 27 Jan 2006 -- A senior U.S. military commander in Iraq says coalition and Iraqi forces have driven insurgents from the northern Iraqi city of Tal Afar, and that reconstruction of the area is well under way.
• Defense Department Report, January 27: Iraq Operational Update Washington File 27 Jan 2006 -- A U.S. military commander who works in northwestern Iraq says the security situation has changed visibly in the town of Tal Afar and that sectarian violence there is winding down.

• International Conference to Map Plan for Afghanistan's Reconstruction VOA 27 Jan 2006 -- A two-day conference on Afghanistan's future convenes in London Tuesday. The meeting brings together Afghan and foreign leaders to map out the next stage for the rebuilding of Afghanistan after more than 30 years of war and civil strife.
• London Conference To Define Future Assistance For Afghanistan Washington File 27 Jan 2006 -- The London Conference on Afghanistan, scheduled for January 31 and February 1, is designed to chart the future of international engagement with Afghanistan now that the country has completed all of the steps in the political program laid out during the 2001 Bonn Conference.

• Strong International Coalition Heads Into Fifth Year AFPS 27 Jan 2006 -- Just one day after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, nations around the world mobilized and formed a military coalition. Their goal: to combat global terrorism.

Other Conflicts

• Fatah Activists Call on Party Leaders to Resign Over Election Loss VOA 27 Jan 2006 -- Thousands of Palestinian activists from the once ruling Fatah party protested in Gaza Friday night and called on party leaders to resign
• Middle East Quartet Urges Hamas to Renounce Violence VOA 27 Jan 2006 -- The international Quartet on the Middle East - the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations - issued a joint call late Thursday for the victor in the Palestinian election, the militant Islamic movement Hamas, to renounce violence and accept Israel's right to exist.
• Palestinians Face Future After Hamas Victory VOA 27 Jan 2006 -- The landslide victory by the militant Islamic group Hamas in Palestinian legislative elections this week, has stunned fellow Palestinians as well as much of the rest of the world.
• US to Review Aid to Palestinians if Hamas Runs New Government VOA 27 Jan 2006 -- The Bush administration said Friday it will review all aspects of the U.S. aid program to the Palestinians if, as expected, the militant Islamic group Hamas controls the next Palestinian government. U.S. law bars provision of any funds to terrorist organizations.
• Middle East: World Leaders React To Hamas Victory RFE/RL 27 Jan 2006 -- World leaders continue to react to the victory by the militant group Hamas in the 25 January parliamentary vote in the Palestinian territories.
• Hamas Insists It Won't Recognize Israel RFE/RL 27 Jan 2006 -- A prominent Hamas leader said today that the group has no plans to change its policy and recognize Israel despite its surprise landslide victory in Palestinian legislative elections this week.
• Rice Says Hamas Victory Reflects Palestinians' Desire for Change Washington File 27 Jan 2006 -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the victory of Hamas in the Palestinian legislative elections was "somewhat unexpected" but does not change the deep aspiration for peace of the Palestinian people.
• Israelis, Palestinians Shocked by Hamas Landslide VOA 27 Jan 2006 -- Both Israelis and Palestinians are reacting with shock to the landslide victory by the Islamic Militant group Hamas in Wednesday's Palestinian legislative elections.Israeli officials say they will have nothing to do with a Palestinian government that includes Hamas, which has called for Israel's destruction.
• Middle East: Analyst Discusses Relations Between Iran And Hamas RFE/RL 27 Jan 2006 -- Hamas's victory in the Palestinian elections was welcomed today by Iran. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Assefi said the results show that Palestinians are keen to continue with their struggle against "the occupiers."
• Middle East: Iran Unlikely To Prod Hamas Toward Moderation RFE/RL 27 Jan 2006 -- Tehran has reacted enthusiastically to the victory of Hamas -- the Harakat al-Muqawamma al-Islamiya, or Islamic Resistance Movement -- in the 25 January Palestinian elections.
• Middle East: Does Hamas Victory Mean End To Road Map? RFE/RL 27 Jan 2006 -- Since 2002, Israel and the Palestinian Authority have been following what's known as the "road map" for peace, under which the Palestinians carry out certain reforms and Israel accepts the creation of a sovereign Palestine.
• Israel Rejects Talks With Hamas RFE/RL 27 Jan 2006 -- Israel today reiterated that it will not negotiate with the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which emerged victorious from parliamentary elections held on 26 January.

• COTE D IVOIRE: UN staff being evacuated as sanctions loom IRIN 27 Jan 2006 -- Nearly 400 UN staff are to be evacuated from Cote d’Ivoire by the weekend as consensus mounts within the UN Security Council on slapping sanctions against Ivorian leaders seen as whipping up violence and blocking peace efforts, diplomatic sources said on Friday.
• DRC: Timeline of latest violence in eastern Congo IRIN 27 Jan 2006 -- Fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern province of North Kivu has displaced thousands of civilians in recent weeks.
• SUDAN: Thousands displaced by renewed fighting in Darfur IRIN 27 Jan 2006 -- Thousands of civilians have been displaced by renewed fighting between Sudanese government forces and rebels in the western Darfur region, United Nations officials said on Friday.
• UN Ivory Coast Mission Reduces Presence, Militants Threaten VOA 27 Jan 2006 -- The U.N. peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast is pulling out a portion of its civilian staff, as the Security Council weighs possible sanctions against supporters of President Laurent Gbagbo.
• UN: Widespread Abuse Continues in Sudan VOA 27 Jan 2006 -- The U.N. Human Rights Office is calling on the government of Sudan to prosecute people who have committed gross violations of human rights.
• UN Expert Says Action Needed to Prevent Genocide in Several African Countries VOA 27 Jan 2006 -- A top U.N. official is warning that action must be taken to prevent conflicts in several African countries from turning into genocide.
• Turkish Cypriot Leader: EU Key to Cyprus Settlement VOA 27 Jan 2006 -- Turkish Cypriot community leader Mehmet Ali Talat says the European Union can and must play a major role in pushing for a settlement to re-unite the Greek and Turkish-controlled sides of Cyprus.
• Eight killed in Maoist attacks in Nepal IRNA 27 Jan 2006 -- At least eight people, including three security personnel, were killed at Nepalgunj, in mid-western Nepal, in clashes between security forces and the Maoists, after the rebels launched a series of attacks at security installations and government buildings Thursday night.
• Sudan: concerned at rising violence in Darfur, Annan calls on parties to halt attacks UN News Centre 27 Jan 2006 -- Reacting to growing bloodshed in the strife-torn Darfur region of Sudan, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called on all parties to respect international humanitarian law and resolve their differences at the negotiating table.

• Role of UN police evolves from observing to ‘coaching,’ top adviser says UN News Centre 27 Jan 2006 -- United Nations police must change from their traditional role as observers and monitors in peacekeeping operations to building capacity and skills among local forces so they are able to engage more effectively with the community, the UN’s Police Adviser said today.

Defense Policy / Programs

• DoD to Build Upon Existing Counter-WMD Capabilities AFPS 27 Jan 2006 -- The Defense Department is taking more steps to address the threat that terrorists are seeking weapons of mass destruction to use against U.S. forces and the homeland, a senior DoD official told reporters here today.
• Quadrennial Review a 'Snapshot,' Not a Revelation AFPS 27 Jan 2006 -- The Quadrennial Defense Review being released Feb. 6 is not some new revelation.
• QDR Provides Vectors for Defense Transformation AFPS 27 Jan 2006 -- Plans for transforming the defense structure for the future aren't based on numbers, but rather, capabilities, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told civilian leaders who visited the Pentagon today to hear about the status of the U.S. military and ongoing operations.

• ‘Just another day at work’ for the 106th Rescue Wing AFPN 27 Jan 2006 -- The 106th Rescue Wing has been performing rescue missions since 1975, saving mostly fisherman and recreational boaters who found themselves in dangerous situations in the Atlantic Ocean
• High-speed air vehicles designed for rapid global reach AFPN 27 Jan 2006 -- For an aircraft to achieve hypersonic speeds, ranging from 6,000 to 15,000 mph (Mach 9 to Mach 22), and reach altitudes between 100,000 to 150,000 feet, it needs an airframe structure designed to survive intense heat and pressure.
• Small office comes up big for armament, munitions Airmen AFPN 27 Jan 2006 -- When it comes to handling munitions no one does a better job than the munitions materiel handling equipment focal point here.
• U.S. Navy, Coast Guard on Lookout for Piracy AFPS 27 Jan 2006 -- Pirates are not a thing of the past. They are alive and well, and roaming the seas in search of booty. And U.S. Navy and Coast Guard officials are determined to stop them from threatening Americans and American interests.

• Philippine Judge Withdraws Arrest Warrants for US Marines VOA 27 Jan 2006 -- A judge in the Philippines has withdrawn arrest warrants for four U.S. Marines accused of rape.

• Russia: Brutal Hazing Incident Rocks Army RFE/RL 27 Jan 2006 -- The brutal hazing of a young army conscript that resulted in several amputations has sparked widespread indignation in Russia

• State Department Briefing, January 27 Washington File 27 Jan 2006 -- Israel/Palestinians, Guatemala, Iran, Mexico, United Kingdom
• White House Briefing, January 27 Washington File 27 Jan 2006 -- Economy, Middle East, Abramoff, campaign finance, Judge Alito, Medicare, State of the Union speech, border security, Michael Brown, Hurricane Katrina

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for January 27, 2006

News Reports

• Bush Backs Inquiry into Hariri Assassination VOA 27 Jan 2006 -- President Bush says he expects a full investigation into last year's assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Pressure from the United States and France following that killing forced Syria to withdraw troops and intelligence officials from neighboring Lebanon.
• World: Why Is It So Hard To Try Former Leaders? IRNA 27 Jan 2006 -- The war-crimes trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has gone on for almost four years. The trial of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has gotten off to such a slow start that some fear that it, too, could drag on and on. Indeed, trying former heads of state is no simple task.