• Forum
• Images

• Military Menu                       

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space
• Public Eye

Operations
Other Conflicts
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 16 Feb 2006 [PDF]
• DoD Identifies Marine Casualties
• OPERATIONAL UPDATE BY ARMY MAJOR GENERAL RICK LYNCH, DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF, MULTINATIONAL FORCE IRAQ MNF-I 16 Feb 2006
• CENTAF releases daily airpower summary AFPN 16 Feb 2006 -- U.S. Central Command Air Forces officials released today's airpower summary.
• Iraqi Army, U.S. Forces Detain 106, Discover Weapons Caches AFPS 16 Feb 2006 -- Iraqi and U.S. forces conducted raids on two targets in Iraq's Diyala province and a raid west of Baghdad that netted a total of 106 individuals and a weapons cache, Multinational Force Iraq officials said.
• Iraqi Army, U.S. Special Forces detain 102 in raid Army News 16 Feb 2006 -- Assaults on two targets Feb. 12 in Diyala Province resulted in the discovery of a large weapons cache after two insurgents were killed and 102 suspects detained.
• At Least 9 Iraqis Killed in Attacks in Baghdad, Kirkuk VOA 16 Feb 2006 -- Authorities in Iraq say at least nine people were killed in insurgent attacks in Baghdad and northern Iraq Thursday.
• Rumsfeld Says More Money Needed To Fund Afghan, Iraq Missions Washington File 16 Feb 2006 -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told members of Congress February 16 that the administration would submit a same-day request for $65.3 billion dollars in supplemental funding to support the ongoing war against terrorism.
• New UN envoy to Afghanistan arrives in country; will play key development role UN News Centre 16 Feb 2006 -- The new head of the United Nations Mission Assistance in Afghanistan (UNAMA) arrived in the war-ravaged country today, with one of his main roles in the months ahead being to coordinate a multi-billion dollar development plan for the South Asian nation.
• Pakistan, Afghan presidents vow to fight terrorism IRNA 16 Feb 2006 -- Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf and Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday vowed to continue their joint fight against terrorism, saying the fight against Al-Qaeda and Taliban is in the interest of the two nations and the region.
• Taliban Raid Security Post In Southwest Afghanistan RFE/RL 16 Feb 2006 -- Taliban guerrillas raided a security post in Afghanistan's southwestern Nimroz Province, killing at least one local militiaman and wounding four others.
• U.S. Transfers Mobile Army Surgical Hospital to Pakistan Military Washington File 16 Feb 2006 -- The United States transferred its historic 212th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) on February 16 to Pakistani military personnel, who will continue using the tent facility to treat South Asia earthquake survivors.
• U.S. Donates Mobile Hospital to Pakistan for Earthquake Relief AFPS 16 Feb 2006 -- The United States today transferred the 212th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, the last unit of its kind in the U.S. Army, to the Pakistan government for continued use in earthquake relief efforts, a Defense Department spokesman said.

Other Conflicts

• Lanka-LTTE trust at rockbottom, say Nordic monitors IRNA 16 Feb 2006 -- Nordic truce monitors, overseeing the shaky truce between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam for the past four years, said mutual trust between the two parties is at rockbottom and that confidence-building measures were needed to take the Norwegian-brokered peace process forward.
• OSCE Urges Peaceful Solution To South Ossetia Conflict RFE/RL 16 Feb 2006 -- Belgium, which chairs the rotating presidency of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), today called for a peaceful solution to the Georgian-South Ossetian separatist conflict.
• Georgia: Tbilisi, Moscow Squabble Over South Ossetia Peacekeepers Resolution RFE/RL 16 Feb 2006 -- Georgian Minister for Conflict Resolution Giorgi Khaindrava is in Moscow today for talks with Russian diplomats and security officials
• Border zone between Ethiopia and Eritrea remains tense, UN says UN News Centre 16 Feb 2006 -- Over two months after Eritrea demanded the pullout of UN personnel of certain nationalities, the military situation in the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) between Ethiopia and Eritrea remains tense, the United Nations mission there reported today.
• Israel Proposes Sanctions Against Hamas Government VOA 16 Feb 2006 -- Israel is putting the economic squeeze on the Palestinians, after the election of the Islamic militant group Hamas last month.
• DRC: Aid arrives for displaced thousands but fears over safety persist IRIN 16 Feb 2006 -- Despite relief aid having reached some 6,000 war-displaced people in the northeastern district of Ituri in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), humanitarian officials are worried that tentative calm in the area could deteriorate.
• Russia 'Alarmed' Over Georgian Vote On South Ossetia RFE/RL 16 Feb 2006 -- Russia says it is "alarmed" following a vote by Georgia's parliament demanding that Russian peacekeepers leave Georgia's separatist South Ossetia region.
• PAKISTAN: Roots of the Balochistan conflict run deep IRIN 16 Feb 2006 -- The current clampdown in Balochistan was triggered by an attempt on President Pervez Musharraf's life in December 2005.
• US House of Representatives Approves Resolution on Hamas VOA 16 Feb 2006 -- The House of Representatives has overwhelmingly approved a resolution opposing any new U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority unless Hamas revokes its call for the destruction of Israel.

Defense Policy / Programs

• HUMAN RIGHTS EXPERTS ISSUE JOINT REPORT ON SITUATION OF DETAINEES IN GUANTANAMO BAY United Nations 16 Feb 2006 -- Five independent investigators of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights are calling on the United States to close immediately the detention centre in Guantánamo Bay and bring all detainees before an independent and competent tribunal or release them.
• Ogden Deploys with ESG 3 Navy NewsStand 16 Feb 2006 -- USS Ogden (LPD 5), part of Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 3, departed Feb. 15 for a six-month western pacific deployment.
• GW Welcomes Back Old Friends With New Technology Navy NewsStand 16 Feb 2006 -- As USS George Washington (CVN 73) (GW) Sailors ramped up operations with carrier qualifications and cyclic operations during their recent underway Jan. 31 - Feb. 16, crew members welcomed two squadrons back to GW.
• MCPON Outlines Legislative Priorities Before House Appropriations Subcommittee Navy NewsStand 16 Feb 2006 -- Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) (SS/AW) Terry Scott spoke before the House Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs Subcommitte, Feb. 15.
• Oscar Austin Provides Humanitarian Assistance to Stranded Italian Fishing Vessel Navy NewsStand 16 Feb 2006 -- The guided-missile destroyer USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79) located and assisted a distressed fishing vessel Feb. 14 while operating 140 nautical miles off the coast of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea.
• GW Returns to Norfolk Navy NewsStand 16 Feb 2006 -- USS George Washington (CVN 73) (GW) retuned to her homeport Feb. 16 following a two-and-a-half week underway.
• SECNAV Visits USS Iwo Jima Navy NewsStand 16 Feb 2006 -- Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter arrived aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) Feb. 15, to meet and speak with Sailors during his first visit to Norfolk since being sworn in as the 74th Secretary of the Navy.
• Going virtual: Flight training takes shape in cyberspace AFPN 16 Feb 2006 -- For the second time since its conception in September, aircrews from the 23rd Fighter Group stepped into a simulated exercise called Virtual Red Flag.
• Chief master sergeant of the Air Force testifies on quality of life issues AFPN 16 Feb 2006 -- Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Gerald R. Murray testified on Capitol Hill Feb. 15 about Air Force quality of life issues before the House Appropriations Committee subcommittee on military quality of life, veterans affairs and related agencies.
• Military Needs Flexibility to Fight Terror, Rumsfeld Says AFPS 16 Feb 2006 -- In the face of the dispersed, ever-changing threat posed by terrorists, the only way to protect the American people is to give the military a wide range of options and capabilities, top defense officials told a House of Representatives committee here today.
• Futures Center becomes ARCIC Army News 16 Feb 2006 -- The Futures Center under the Army Training and Doctrine Command is now developing into the Army Capabilities Integration Center or ARCIC.
• Minuteman III launches from Vandenberg AFPN 16 Feb 2006 -- An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, was launched from Launch Facility-10 on North Vandenberg at 12:01 a.m. today.
• India suspends USD 28 million excise duty refund to Nepal IRNA 16 Feb 2006 -- India has withheld payment of USD 28 million to Nepal in excise duty refund apparently because of its failure to pay USD 25 million to New Delhi for defence supplies.
• Troop Increase Not Discussed At Russian-Kyrgyz Meeting RFE/RL 16 Feb 2006 -- A meeting between the commander of Russia's air force and Kyrgyzstan's president and defense minister has ended without no immediate indication that Russia will increase its military presence in the country.
• Banned from India, Defunct French Warship Returns Home VOA 16 Feb 2006 -- After a two-month voyage bound for India's shipwrecking yards, France's defunct aircraft carrier Clemenceau is returning home after experts concluded it carries far more asbestos than French authorities originally claimed
• U.S.: Senators Ask Rice Tough Questions On Iraq, Iran, Hamas RFE/RL 16 Feb 2006 -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been harshly questioned by some members of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee on American policy toward Iraq, Iran, and the Palestinians
• Rice Defends US Backing for Mideast Elections Despite Wins by Radicals VOA 16 Feb 2006 -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Wednesday defended the Bush administration's support for democratic reform and elections in the Middle East, even though recent voting has produced wins for radical groups, including Hamas in the Palestinian territories
• White House Briefing, February 16 Washington File 16 Feb 2006 -- Economy, Senate Patriot Act action, Cheney/hunting accident, Abu Ghraib/photos, Guantanamo/U.N. report, NSA surveillance program, FEMA, Iran/nuclear program, United Arab Emirates/oil ports, supplemental

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for February 16, 2006

News Reports

• Haiti: UN mission supports electoral council’s declaration of presidential victor UN News Centre 16 Feb 2006 -- The head of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) today supported Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council’s declaration that former President René Préval was the winner of last week’s presidential elections and stressed that the Council’s decision had not been influenced by the mission or by the regional inter-governmental organization.
• Rene Preval Wins Haiti's Presidential Election VOA 16 Feb 2006 -- After days of street protests and allegations of massive fraud, Haitian officials named Rene Preval the clear winner to last week's national elections