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Operations
Other Conflicts
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 16 Mar 2006 [PDF]
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• IRAQI SECURITY FORCES, COALITION LAUNCH OPERATION SWARMER CENTCOM 16 Mar 2006 -- Iraqi Security Forces and their Coalition partners launched the largest air assault operation since Operation Iraqi Freedom I today in southern Salah Ad Din province to clear a suspected insurgent operating area northeast of Samarra.
• Operation Aims to Curb Violence as Iraq's Government Takes Shape AFPS 16 Mar 2006 -- Iraqi and coalition forces have boosted their presence in Baghdad in response to a surge in attacks against Iraqis that officials link to today's seating of the country's new parliament, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman told reporters.
• Army Updates Detainee Operations Information: March 15, 2006 Army News Release 16 Mar 2006 -- The U.S. Army continued its effort to keep the public informed concerning detainee operations by releasing March 15 about 9,000 documents pursuant to Freedom of Information Act litigation with the American Civil Liberties Union.
• Corps of Engineers completes last demolition in Iraq Army News 16 Mar 2006 -- After almost three years of hard and dangerous work, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers celebrated the last major demolition under the Coalition Munitions Clearance Program in Iraq.
• 'Operation Swarmer' Fills The Iraqi Skies RFE/RL 16 Mar 2006 -- Aircraft filled the skies over the Iraqi city of Samarra today in what the U.S. military in Iraq described as the largest air assault on Iraq since the 2003 invasion.
• US, Iraqi Forces Launch Huge Air Assault Against Insurgents VOA 16 Mar 2006 -- U.S. and Iraqi forces captured more than 30 suspected insurgents and found at least six major caches of weapons near the town of Samarra on Thursday, during the first day of what the U.S. military says is the largest air assault operation since the early weeks of the war
• Transcript: DoD News Briefing with Maj. Gen. Freakley 16 Mar 2006 -- Presenter: Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin Freakley, commander, Combined Task Force 76 and commanding general, 10th Mountain Division
• Violence in Afghanistan Ebbs, Flows Over Time AFPS 16 Mar 2006 -- The primary threats to Afghan stability include remnant Taliban members, followed by al Qaeda-affiliated and other terror groups, and criminals engaged in the opium trade, a senior U.S. military commander told Pentagon reporters here today.
• Army's Modular Force Makes Debut in Afghanistan AFPS 16 Mar 2006 -- New, modular brigade combat team units accompanied the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division on its third tour to Afghanistan, the division's commander told Pentagon reporters today.
• Partnership Key to Progress in Afghanistan, U.S. General Says Washington File 16 Mar 2006 -- Partnership is the key to progress in Afghanistan, says Army Major General Benjamin Freakley, commander of the U.S. military’s Combined Joint Task Force 76, currently leading security operations in that nation.

Other Conflicts

• LIBERIA: President vows not to ‘sacrifice justice’ for Charles Taylor IRIN 16 Mar 2006 -- Liberia’s president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf told the United States Congress that she would not sacrifice justice on the matter of exiled former president Charles Taylor who has been indicted for war crimes by a UN-backed special court.
• SUDAN: UNHCR probes attack on compound in Yei IRIN 16 Mar 2006 -- The United Nations refugee agency has launched an investigation into an attack on its compound in Yei, south Sudan in which two people, a local guard and one of the attackers, died.
• GUINEA-BISSAU-SENEGAL: Fatal fighting reported in border region IRIN 16 Mar 2006 -- Guinea Bissau said Thursday that at least two of its soldiers had been killed near the border with Senegal amid fierce factional fighting between Casamance separatists.
• Serbia: Mourners Pay Final Respects To Milosevic RFE/RL 16 Mar 2006 -- The coffin bearing the remains of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic was put on public view today, in a museum in a Belgrade suburb, ahead of his planned burial in his hometown on Saturday.
• Russia: Milosevic's Death Sparks Fury With UN Tribunal RFE/RL 16 Mar 2006 -- The lower house of Russia's parliament on March 15 lashed out at the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague, blaming it for the death of late Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and calling for its dissolution.
• UN reports deadly attacks in West Darfur, Sudan UN News Centre 16 Mar 2006 -- The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) today reported that it has received various reports about a series of deadly attacks in West Darfur over the past week.
• Sudan: guard killed, international staffer wounded in attack on UN refugee post UN News Centre 16 Mar 2006 -- Two gunmen attacked a United Nations refugee agency compound in southern Sudan last night, killing a local guard, critically wounding an international staff member and another local guard, and forcing the suspension of the planned repatriation of some of the hundreds of thousands of Sudanese who fled a two-decade-long civil war.
• Tamil Rebels: Sri Lankan Peace Process in Jeopardy VOA 16 Mar 2006 -- Tamil Tiger rebels say the Sri Lankan peace process could be in jeopardy because the government has failed to deliver on promises made during peace talks in Geneva last month.
• UNHCR Compound Attacked in Yei, Sudan VOA 16 Mar 2006 -- The U.N. refugee agency says its compound in Yei, South Sudan was attacked Wednesday night
• 'Quartet' Discusses Economic Aid to Palestinians VOA 16 Mar 2006 -- Senior Western officials met in Brussels Thursday to discuss aid to the Palestinian territories, just days before a Hamas-led government is expected to take power.
• Polls: Jericho Raid Boosts Olmert's Election Chances VOA 16 Mar 2006 -- An Israeli soldier was killed Thursday in a gun battle with Palestinian militants in the West Bank city of Jenin
• DRC: From protection to insurgency - history of the Mayi-Mayi IRIN 16 Mar 2006 -- Before colonialism in Africa, community life centred on ethnic customs and culture. In pre-colonial Congo, people lived under the authority of a traditional chief, in observance of these cultural norms.
• Israeli Soldier Killed in West Bank Gun Battle, 5 Palestinians Detained VOA 16 Mar 2006 -- An Israeli soldier has been killed in a gun battle with Palestinian militants holed up in a house in the West Bank town of Jenin.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Bush Reaffirms Preemption Policy RFE/RL 16 Mar 2006 -- U.S. President George W. Bush today said Iran may pose the greatest challenge to the United States.
• US Security Strategy Upholds First-Strike Military Option VOA 16 Mar 2006 -- The White House has issued an updated version of the United States' national security strategy, reaffirming the Bush administration's willingness to consider staging pre-emptive military strikes against hostile nations or terrorist groups.
• U.S.: New Security Strategy Names 'Tyrannies,' Singles Out Iran RFE/RL 16 Mar 2006 -- U.S. President George W. Bush says Iran may pose the greatest challenge to the United States.
• Bush Reaffirms US First Strike Policy VOA 16 Mar 2006 -- President Bush has reaffirmed that the U.S. may consider pre-emptive military strikes against terrorists and enemy nations.
• National Security Strategy Stresses Globalized Approaches AFPS 16 Mar 2006 -- The White House today released President Bush's second-term National Security Strategy, a 49-page document that details how the administration intends to protect the United States, its interests and its people.
• New Funding for Iraq, Afghanistan Advances in US Congress VOA 16 Mar 2006 -- The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a $91-billion spending bill, including $68-billion for U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as money for hurricane relief.
• Controversy Continues Over Impending Trials for al-Qaida Detainees at Guantanamo VOA 16 Mar 2006 -- At the U.S. military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, nearly 500 men are being held, awaiting trial or release.
• Though Not Weapons-Heavy, Latin American Issues Not Benign Either AFPS 16 Mar 2006 -- U.S. Southern Command's area of responsibility is one of the least armed areas of the world, but it can hardly be considered benign, the command's leader said today.
• Force Reduction in Iceland Reflects Focus on New Global Threats AFPS 16 Mar 2006 -- The U.S. government has announced plans to remove its forces from Naval Air Station Keflavik, in Iceland, this fall, but reaffirmed its ongoing commitment to the island nation's security.
• DoD Announces 10th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation 16 Mar 2006 -- The Department of Defense announced today that the 10th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation (QRMC) will begin a review of military compensation on April 1 using the recommendations of the Defense Advisory Committee on Military Compensation to inform its research efforts.
• Fiscal Year 2006 Advanced Concept Technology Demonstrations and Joint Capability Technology Demonstrations Announced 16 Mar 2006 -- Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics Kenneth J. Krieg announces the selection of the Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) and Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) projects for fiscal year 2006.
• Democracy-Building Key To Fighting Terrorism, Rice Says Washington File 16 Mar 2006 -- The spread of democracy around the world is essential to defeating terrorism, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a town hall meeting with students in Sydney, Australia, March 16.
• China's Closeness With Russia Causes US Concern VOA 16 Mar 2006 -- Relations between the United States and China are improving overall. But, at the same time, American officials say they are worried about what they see as "very tight" relations between Beijing and Moscow.
• Rice Urges Chinese Transparency on Defense Plans VOA 16 Mar 2006 -- U.S Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, on a visit to Australia, has called on China to be more transparent about its military buildup
• White House Briefing, March 16 Washington File 16 Mar 2006 -- President's schedule, schedule update, national security strategy, Iraqi operation, Iran, Ireland/St. Patrick's Day, Hurricane Katrina response
• State Department Briefing, March 16 Washington File 16 Mar 2006 -- Iraq, Iran, United Nations

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for March 16, 2006

News Reports

• Lebanon: UN reports progress in Syrian cooperation with Hariri murder probe UN News Centre 16 Mar 2006 -- In contrast to earlier problems with Syrian cooperation, the United Nations panel looking into last year’s assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri today reported progress in this “critical area,” with a common understanding reached regarding access to individuals, sites and information.
• Investigators of Hariri Murder Want More Information from Syria Washington File 16 Mar 2006 -- Despite pledges of cooperation, Syria has yet to provide any substantive information to U.N. investigators on the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, the head of the inquiry said.