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Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 21 Feb 2006 [PDF]
• DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Air Force Casualty
• Transcript: DoD News Briefing with Secretary Rumsfeld and Gen. Pace 21 Feb 2006 -- Presenter: Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld and Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace
• General Kimmitt Outlines U.S. Strategy Against Terrorism Washington File 21 Feb 2006 -- While the U.S.-led international military coalition continues to support Iraqi and Afghan efforts to build democratic societies, America also must gear up for the “long war” against terrorism, says Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, deputy director of the U.S. military’s Central Command (CENTCOM).
• CENTAF releases combined airpower summary AFPN 21 Feb 2006 -- U.S Central Command Air Forces officials released the airpower summary for Feb. 18 to 21.
• Baghdad Bomb Kills 21 VOA 21 Feb 2006 -- Iraqi police say a car bomb has killed at least 21 people at a Baghdad market.
• Terrorist Attack Kills 21 Iraqis; U.S. Forces Discover Weapons AFPS 21 Feb 2006 -- An improvised explosive device killed 21 Iraqi civilians today in Baghdad, and two Iraqis were killed and 11 were wounded in separate attacks, military officials in Iraq reported.
• Terrorist Bombs Kill 11 Iraqis, Wound 28 AFPS 21 Feb 2006 -- Eleven Iraqi civilians were killed and 28 others were wounded yesterday when terrorists detonated two vehicle bombs in Baghdad, military officials reported.
• Soldiers unearth 15 caches near Kirkuk Army News 21 Feb 2006 -- Iraqi and U.S. Soldiers combined efforts Monday, capturing four known insurgents and unearthing a network of 15 weapons caches during a combined operation west of Kirkuk.
• Deployed wing counts down to ‘The Move’ AFPN 21 Feb 2006 -- The next time Airmen from the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing pack their bags, it will not be to return home.
• RFE/RL Afghanistan Report, Volume 5, Number 5 21 February 2006
• Afghanistan: A U.S. Commitment 'For The Very Long Term' RFE/RL 21 Feb 2006 -- The United Nations' Security Council on 15 February unanimously expressed its support for the "Afghanistan Compact," under which international donors promised on 1 February to provide long-term help to the Afghan government
• 10th Mountain Division Takes Afghanistan Task Force Command AFPS 21 Feb 2006 -- The 10th Mountain Division assumed command of Combined Joint Task Force 76 at a ceremony here today, replacing the Southern European Task Force.
• Australia Sends More Troops to Afghanistan VOA 21 Feb 2006 -- Australia is to almost double its troop numbers in Afghanistan. It will send a 200-strong reconstruction team to the country's volatile southern region
• AFGHANISTAN: Five ex-commanders surrender arms to DIAG IRIN 21 Feb 2006 -- Five ex-commanders in Afghanistan's southwestern Paktya province voluntarily surrendered 15 mt of ammunition, as well as more than 30 light and heavy weapons, to the Disbandment of Illegal Armed Groups (DIAG) programme, officials from the UN-backed initiative announced on Tuesday in the Afghan capital, Kabul.
• Airmen at Philippine exercise provide real world assistance AFPN 21 Feb 2006 -- Airmen from Yokota Air Base, Japan; Andersen Air Force Base, Guam; and Kadena AB, Japan, who were in the Philippines as part of an annual bilateral exercise, are providing real-world humanitarian assistance after mudslides engulfed a village and 1,800 people Feb. 17.
• Forward Deployed ARG Delivers Humanitarian Assistance Navy NewsStand 21 Feb 2006 -- Sailors and Marines from the Forward Deployed Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) with elements of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), Joint Task Force (JTF) Balikatan and USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54) joined with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and a consortium of multinational relief organizations to begin delivery of supplies to the devastated area of Southern Leyte Feb.19.

Other Conflicts

• Middle East: Hamas Leader Set To Become Palestinian Premier RFE/RL 21 Feb 2006 -- Ismail Haniyah lives with his wife and 11 children in a Gaza refugee camp, on a narrow street overflowing with raw sewage. Now the Hamas leader is poised to become prime minister of the next Palestinian government
• Palestinian President Appoints Hamas Leader Prime Minister VOA 21 Feb 2006 -- Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has appointed Ismail Haniyeh of the militant Islamic group Hamas to be the next prime minister.
• Israel Says Peace Talks with Palestinians Possible VOA 21 Feb 2006 -- Israel's acting prime minister says peace talks with Palestinians are still possible, even though the Palestinian government will be run by the Islamic militant group Hamas
• Rice Tells Hamas to Choose Terror or Politics VOA 21 Feb 2006 -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has urged the Palestinian militant group Hamas to choose between terror and politics as it prepares to take control of the Palestinian government
• Haniyah To Be Asked To Form Hamas Government RFE/RL 21 Feb 2006 -- Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas will formally ask Ismail Haniyah today to form a government.
• Mideast: U.S. Secretary Tries To Solidify Support RFE/RL 21 Feb 2006 -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is embarking on a trip through the Middle East, hoping to enlist the support of regional governments for Washington’s campaign to isolate Hamas and the Iranian leadership. Rice arrives in Egypt today
• Pledging funds, UN envoy to Liberia welcomes reconciliation commission UN News Centre 21 Feb 2006 -- Helping launch a reconciliation commission to heal the societal wounds of Liberia’s brutal 14-year civil war, the United Nations envoy to the West African country said that the UN Development Programme (UNDP) would donate $500,000 to aid its operations.
• LIBERIA: War-battered nation launches truth commission IRIN 21 Feb 2006 -- The Liberian government has officially launched a truth and

• Tensions Grow as Sudan Opposes UN Troops in Darfur VOA 21 Feb 2006 -- Tensions are running high in Sudan, as a controversial proposal that would allow United Nations peacekeepers into Darfur, has been met with disapproval by the Sudanese government
reconciliation commission to probe human rights abuses over the past quarter-century in the war-wounded country.
• Nepal parties dismiss King's dialogue offer IRNA 21 Feb 2006 -- Nepal's seven-party pro-democracy alliance has dismissed King Gyanendra's appeal for reconciliation as an attempt to 'hoodwink' the international community and 'consolidate' his authoritarian rule.
• UN-Mediated Kosovo Talks Adjourn RFE/RL 21 Feb 2006 -- UN-mediated talks between Serbian and ethnic Albanian negotiators ended in Vienna today.
• Armenia/Azerbaijan: Karabakh President Demands To Be Included In Settlement Talks RFE/RL 21 Feb 2006 -- In an interview with RFE/RL's Armenian Service on 18 February, Arkady Ghukasian, president of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), said that Baku's refusal to hold direct talks with members of the Karabakh leadership is slowing down mediation efforts on the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
• Georgia: Tbilisi Seeks EU Support As Tensions Rise In South Ossetia RFE/RL 21 Feb 2006 -- Georgia has in recent weeks upped the pressure on the European Union, seeking backing against what it sees as increasing Russian assertiveness in the South Ossetian conflict
• SOMALIA: Thousands displaced as Mogadishu clashes continue IRIN 21 Feb 2006 -- Thousands of people have fled the northern and northeastern suburbs of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, since clashes between militia groups started over the weekend, a top city official said.
• CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Donors pledge support for humanitarian crisis IRIN 21 Feb 2006 -- A donor conference for the Central African Republic (CAR) has ended in the Cameroonian capital Yaounde, with funding assurances to the poverty-stricken nation.
• Geneva Talks Will Determine Future Course of Sri Lanka Peace Process VOA 21 Feb 2006 -- The Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tiger rebels are meeting in Switzerland to hold their first direct discussions since the island's peace process ground to a halt nearly three years ago
• State Department Briefing, February 21 Washington File 21 Feb 2006 -- Philippines, South Korea, Serbia, Israel/Palestinians, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Mexico, Iraq, Sudan, Bolivia, Cyprus, China/Taiwan, Kosovo

Defense Policy / Programs

• USS Cleveland Returns From Deployment Navy NewsStand 21 Feb 2006 -- The amphibious transport dock USS Cleveland (LPD 7) returned to San Diego Feb. 20, after completing a seven-month deployment in support of the global war on terrorism.
• Carter Hall Sailors Visit French Ship Courbet Navy NewsStand 21 Feb 2006 -- Several Sailors from the dock landing ship USS Carter Hall (LSD 50) and French frigate FS Courbet (F 712) took part in a unique Sailor-swap experience, Feb. 15.
• USS Blue Ridge Departs Hong Kong Navy NewsStand 21 Feb 2006 -- USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) and the embarked U.S. 7th Fleet staff Sailors and Marines departed the bustling port city of Hong Kong, Feb. 19.
• Soldiers Must Be Adaptive for Future, Army Chief Says AFPS 21 Feb 2006 -- The nature of the threat facing the U.S. military has changed drastically, and soldiers need to grow and become more flexible to face that threat, the Army chief of staff said here Feb. 17.
• Rumsfeld: Humanitarian Missions Important to Changing U.S. Image AFPS 21 Feb 2006 -- U.S. servicemembers helping out around the world show America's compassion, and the missions also can help to change local attitudes about the United States and its people, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said here today.
• Army testing unmanned Stryker convoys Army News 21 Feb 2006 -- Engineers conducting show-and-tell with a 20-ton robot on the last day of two weeks of trials on Fort Gordon were cautiously optimistic.
• MND HOPES 3 ITEMS IN ARMS PROCUREMENT PACKAGE WILL CLEAR LEGISLATURE CNA 21 Feb 2006 -- The Ministry of National Defense (MND) hopes that all three items of a long-stalled major arms procurement package will clear the Legislative Yuan intact, Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng said Tuesday.
• Pakistan Air Force plane crashes IRNA 21 Feb 2006 -- A Pakistan Air Force (PAF) fighter aircraft crashed on Tuesday in the eastern Punjab province, a PAF statement said.
• PATRIOT PAC III MISSILES OFF SHOPPING LIST: DEFENSE MINISTER CNA 21 Feb 2006 -- The Ministry of National Defense (MND) is willing to remove Patriot PAC III missiles from a controversial weapons package from the United States "out of respect" for the opposition parties, National Defense Minister Lee Jye said Tuesday.
• ANGOLA: Ready to play larger security role in Africa IRIN 21 Feb 2006 -- Angola, recently emerged from decades of civil war, is now turning its attention to playing a larger peace and security role in Africa, an analyst told IRIN.
• Uzbekistan: Germany Likely To Leave Uzbek Base RFE/RL 21 Feb 2006 -- In the nine months since hundreds when the Uzbek authorities put down demonstrations in the city of Andijon, Germany has emerged as an important point of contact between the West and Uzbekistan's increasingly isolated leaders

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for February 21, 2006

News Reports

• U.S. Pledges Continued Support for Philippine Mudslide Relief Washington File 21 Feb 2006 -- President Bush called Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo February 20 to offer the United States' condolences and pledge continued support for mudslide rescue and relief efforts in the Philippine province of Southern Leyte, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said in a February 21 statement.
• Arroyo Says She Will Not be Driven from Office Like her Predecessors VOA 21 Feb 2006 -- Philippine President Gloria Arroyo has vowed to complete her term of office, warning that neither a popular revolt nor a military coup will drive her from power early.
• UN: World Begins Search For Next Secretary-General RFE/RL 21 Feb 2006 -- Last week, the Security Council began discussions on the selection of the next United Nations leader.
• Kazakh Secret Agents Held Over Sarsenbaev's Killing RFE/RL 21 Feb 2006 -- Kazakhstan's secret service says five of its members have been detained on suspicion of involvement in the killing of the opposition leader Altynbek Sarsenbaev.