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Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 16 Aug 2006 [PDF]
• Press Briefing, Aug. 16, 2006 MNF-I 16 Aug 2006 -- TOPIC: CURRENT SECURITY OPERATIONS IN IRAQ
• CENTAF releases airpower summary for Aug. 16 AFPN 16 Aug 2006 -- U.S. Central Command Air Forces officials have released the airpower summary for Aug. 16.
• 8 Die in Baghdad Bombing; Fighting Erupts in Basra, Mosul VOA 16 Aug 2006 -- Gunfights have erupted in two Iraqi cities, while a bomb blast in central Baghdad has killed at least eight people.
• Afghanistan: NATO Countries Find Troops Need More Armor Protection RFE/RL 16 Aug 2006 -- Countries with troops in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) are discovering that they need better protection from roadside bombs and land mines -- the weapons most commonly used by Taliban fighters.

Other Conflicts

• U.N. Resolution Charts Path to Peace in Lebanon, Rice Says Washington File 16 Aug 2006 -- The following op-ed article by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was published in the August 16 edition of The Washington Post.
• Rice Expects Hezbollah To Disarm or Face International Pressure Washington File 16 Aug 2006 -- If Hezbollah refuses to cooperate with the Lebanese government and disarm, both the militant organization and its foreign sponsors will face isolation from the international community, according to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
• Lebanese Troops to Deploy South Thursday VOA 16 Aug 2006 -- Late Wednesday, Lebanon's government approved a plan to deploy the army south of the Litani River beginning Thursday morning
• UN to Discuss Makeup of International Force for Lebanon VOA 16 Aug 2006 -- Officials from nations that have offered to send troops to Lebanon will meet at the United Nations Thursday to determine the size and make up of the international force that is to assist the Lebanese army in southern Lebanon.
• Israeli Leader Praises UN Resolution VOA 16 Aug 2006 -- Israel's Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres praised the recently-passed U.N. resolution that is aimed at putting an end to fighting in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah.
• Israel's Military Beginning Withdrawal from Lebanon VOA 16 Aug 2006 -- Israel has begun pulling its forces out from southern Lebanon
• Lebanese Cabinet Approves Deployment of Troops to the South VOA 16 Aug 2006 -- Lebanon's Cabinet has approved the deployment of soldiers to parts of the south where Israel is withdrawing its troops.
• Lebanon Conflict Leaves Winners and Losers VOA 16 Aug 2006 -- The fighting in southern Lebanon between Israeli troops and Hezbollah is over for now
• Fragile peace in place in Lebanon, int'l force to come in 10 days IRNA 16 Aug 2006 -- The foreign ministers of France, Turkey and Malaysia arrived in Beirut on Wednesday to work out details on formation of a 15,000-strong international force to oversee peacekeeping efforts in Lebanon.
• Lebanon: UN emergency aid distributed in Tyre, fuel supplied to hospitals IRNA 16 Aug 2006 -- A UN spokesman said that emergency aid from the world body was distributed Tuesday to war-devastated Lebanese in the southern port city of Tyre and tons of fuel were sent to hospitals to keep them operating.
• Annan dispatches senior envoys to the Middle East for talks on implementing resolution UN News Centre 16 Aug 2006 -- Secretary-General Kofi Annan is sending a high-level mission to Lebanon and Israel tomorrow to talk to leaders of the two countries about how to implement last Friday’s Security Council resolution on the recent conflict in the Middle East, Mr. Annan’s spokesman announced today.
• Israel-Hizbollah cessation of hostilities ‘generally maintained,’ UN Lebanon force says UN News Centre 16 Aug 2006 -- The Security Council-imposed cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hizbollah was generally maintained in the past 24 hours, with three incidents reported, according to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which has been in talks on facilitating a withdrawal of Israeli forces and the deployment of the Lebanese Army.
• UN Optimistic On Quick Lebanon Force RFE/RL 16 Aug 2006 -- A top United Nations official says he hopes some 3,500 international troops can be deployed to southern Lebanon within two weeks.
• Middle East: Lebanon Faces Massive Reconstruction Task RFE/RL 16 Aug 2006 -- As thousands of residents are slowly, but steadily returning to southern Lebanon and the suburbs of south Beirut, the Lebanese government has started assessing the damage caused by the month-long war.
• Palestinian Sources: Israeli Airstrike in Gaza Kills Two VOA 16 Aug 2006 -- Palestinian sources say an Israeli airstrike early Wednesday destroyed a house in southern Gaza, killing two people.
• Efforts Under Way to Assemble International Peacekeeping Force for Southern Lebanon VOA 16 Aug 2006 -- The three-day-old truce in Lebanon continued to hold as diplomats scrambled to assemble an international peacekeeping force to police the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah militants
• UGANDA: Government to resume talks with rebels in Juba IRIN 16 Aug 2006 -- Talks between the Ugandan government and Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) are scheduled to resume on Friday, with both sides considering each other’s ceasefire proposal, officials said on Wednesday.
• 135,000 people flee fighting in Sri Lanka IRNA 16 Aug 2006 -- In the midst of renewed fighting between Sri Lanka government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels since April, more than 135,000 people have fled the island country while the violence continues to escalate in the region.
• Somalia: UN envoy urges Security Council to maintain pressure for resumption of talks UN News Centre 16 Aug 2006 -- The international community must maintain the United Nations arms embargo on Somalia, refrain from interfering in the strife-torn Horn of Africa country’s internal affairs and urge the disputing parties there to resume dialogue, the senior UN envoy to the nation told the Security Council today.
• UN food aid organization warns of food cuts for 6 million people in Darfur UN News Centre 16 Aug 2006 -- With food stocks running short, rations for 6 million people in Darfur could be scaled back as early as October unless funds are raised, the United Nations food agency warned today, calling on the international community to help the region’s beleaguered population.
• Sudan: UN raises alarm about forced relocation of displaced people outside Khartoum UN News Centre 16 Aug 2006 -- The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) today cited alarming reports about the forced relocation of a large area for internally displaced persons (IDPs) outside Khartoum and the demolition of their houses, urging the authorities to immediately halt these activities.
• Islamist Militiamen Seize Control of Key Somali Port VOA 16 Aug 2006 -- Islamist militiamen have seized control of a key port in central Somalia, extending their control further north from the capital.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Navy Christens New Amphibious Assault Ship Makin Island 16 Aug 2006 -- The U.S. Navy will christen Makin Island, the newest and last ship in the Wasp-class of amphibious assault ships, on Saturday, Aug. 19, 2006, during a 10 a.m. CDT ceremony at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems in Pascagoula, Miss.
• Raptor meets new challenges, expands capabilities AFPN 16 Aug 2006 -- For the men and women taking care of the Air Force's newest and most lethal fighter aircraft, the F-22A Raptor, firsts seem to be a common occurrence.
• Massachusetts gains new Air National Guard unit AFPN 16 Aug 2006 -- As part of the Air Force Total Force Integration initiative, the Massachusetts Air National Guard will establish a distributed ground station unit here.
• B-2 Spirit exceeds mission standard AFPN 16 Aug 2006 -- The B-2 Spirit exceeded Air Combat Command's fully mission capable rate standard of 51 percent in June, a feat not achieved since September 2004.
• COMUSAFE boosts U.S.-Russian relations with visit AFPN 16 Aug 2006 -- The commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe is in Russia to bolster relationships and security cooperation between U.S. and Russian Air Forces during a visit Aug. 14 to 17.
• Challenge continues for security forces AFPN 16 Aug 2006 -- Guardian Challenge security forces showed off their tactics and marksmanship skills at Jacks Valley here Aug. 14 and 15.
• Army tests remote warfare, Soldier performance Army News 16 Aug 2006 -- In a six-week experiment at Fort Knox, Ky., the U.S. Army Research Development and Engineering Command measured how science and technology implemented in Future Combat Systems’ unmanned vehicles enhances Soldiers’ capabilities and performance.
• Kearsarge Gets Underway for PANAMAX 06 Navy NewsStand 16 Aug 2006 -- The amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) departed its homeport of Norfolk, Va., Aug. 15 to participate in the multinational exercise PANAMAX (Panama Exercise) 2006.
• Navy MWR Committed to Clean Marina Program Navy NewsStand 16 Aug 2006 -- Over the past two years, the Clean Marina Program (CMP) has made some big waves at Navy Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) marinas.
• Navy Tug Rescues Liberian Fishermen Navy NewsStand 16 Aug 2006 -- Military Sealift Command’s (MSC) 226 foot-long fleet ocean tug, USNS Apache (T-ATF 172), rescued seven fishermen whose canoes capsized in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Monrovia, Liberia, Aug. 14.
• Russia's defense, security spending set to rise 23% in 2007 RIA Novosti 16 Aug 2006 -- National defense, law enforcement and security spending will grow 22.7% in 2007, the Russian government said in budget and tax policy guidelines released Wednesday.
• Press Briefing by Tony Snow The White House 16 Aug 2006

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for August 16, 2006

News Reports