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Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 08 Jul 2008 [PDF]
• MND-B Soldier attacked by IED (Baghdad)
• July 7 airpower summary: C-130s help sustain SWA operations AFPN 08 Jul 2008
• US Moves Aircraft Carrier to Support Afghan Operation VOA 08 Jul 2008 -- The U.S. military has moved an aircraft carrier from the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea to further support its operations in Afghanistan.
• Coast Guard Augments Army at Bagram Air Base AFPS 08 Jul 2008 -- Long known to protect the waters surrounding the United States, the question asked each time someone sees them is, “What is the U.S. Coast Guard doing here?”
• Azerbaijan rotates peacekeepers in Afghanistan RIA Novosti 08 Jul 2008 -- Azerbaijan will send 22 service personnel to Afghanistan as part of a regular rotation of its peacekeeping contingent in the war-torn country, the country's Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.
• Afghan Officials Blame Foreign Intelligence Agency for India Embassy Attack VOA 08 Jul 2008 -- Afghan officials say they have evidence a foreign intelligence agency was involved in Monday's attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul.
• Violence Kills NATO Soldier, 2 Afghan Police in Afghanistan VOA 08 Jul 2008 -- Officials in Afghanistan say a NATO soldier and at least two Afghan police have died in separate attacks in the war-torn country.
• Air traffic controller supports California wildfire effort AFPN 08 Jul 2008 -- As a C-130 Hercules from the 302nd Air Expeditionary Group rolls down the ramp here ready to take off to fight California's wildfires, an air traffic controller in the tower at McClellan Airfield ensures each flight takes off and lands safely.
• California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger visits 302nd AEG AFPN 08 Jul 2008 -- During a visit to the California National Guard fire fighting training at McClellan Airfield, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger paid a brief visit to the 302nd Air Expeditionary Group to wish Airmen a happy 4th of July and thank them for their service in assisting with California's wildfires.
• Teamwork helps Airmen fight fires AFPN 08 Jul 2008 -- Airmen of the 302nd Air Expeditionary Group continued to work with national agencies July 5 to support firefighting efforts in California.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Commission Recommends New US War Powers Act VOA 08 Jul 2008 -- Two former U.S. Secretaries of State are recommending that the United States change its procedures for deciding to go to war
• Commission Recommends Changes to Way US Goes to War VOA 08 Jul 2008 -- Two former U.S. secretaries of state are recommending the United States change how it decides to go to war.
• Iraq Increases Pressure on US to Accept Troop Pullout Timetable VOA 08 Jul 2008 -- Iraqi officials are increasing pressure on the United States to agree to a specific timetable for the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces from Iraq.
• Iraqi Official: Deal with US Must Include Troop Withdrawal Timetable VOA 08 Jul 2008 -- Iraq's national security advisor says his country will reject a planned security agreement with the United States, unless it includes a specific timetable for the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces from Iraq.
• US to Use Less Dangerous Cluster Bombs VOA 08 Jul 2008 -- A U.S. Defense Department memo says the United States will begin using cluster bombs that pose less danger to civilians, after international pressure to change its use of the controversial weapon.
• US defence of cluster bombs 'outrageous,' say campaign groups IRNA 08 Jul 2008 -- Campaign groups have criticized the US defence on the use of cluster bombs and its 10-year delay in banning the munitions following last month's international agreement in Dublin.
• Transcript: Media Availability with Secretary Gates During Visit to Ft. Lewis, Washington 08 Jul 2008 -- Presenter: Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates
• NSA Mechanicsburg Logisticians Tour USS Carney Navy NewsStand 08 Jul 2008 -- Civilian and uniformed employees -- 15 in all -- from the Naval Inventory Control Point (NAVICP), Mechanicsburg, Pa., visited USS Carney (DDG 64), July 1
• Mullen Meets With Enlisted Troops in Mosul AFPS 08 Jul 2008 -- The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff met with more than 200 soldiers and airmen in the lower enlisted ranks here today to thank them for their service and to give them the opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns.
• Mullen Gets First-Hand Look at Sadr City Improvements AFPS 08 Jul 2008 -- The U.S. military’s top-ranking officer encountered one of Iraq’s most dangerous areas today and saw first-hand the improvements Iraqi and U.S. forces have made during recent months.
• Air Force officials release F-16 accident findings AFPN 08 Jul 2008 -- Air Force officials here on July 3 completed its investigation of the March 14 F-16 Fighting Falcon accident in Arizona that resulted in the death of the pilot.
• Largest DOD child care center ready to open Army News 08 Jul 2008 -- The largest child care center in the Department of Defense officially opens next week at Fort Myer, Va.
• Air Force, Boeing officials upgrade C-130 cockpits AFPN 08 Jul 2008 -- Members of the 418th Flight Test Squadron here working with Boeing officials are currently conducting communication, navigation, radar and air data testing on two C-130 Hercules aircraft here as part of the Avionics Modernization Program.
• U.S., Czech Republic Sign Controversial Radar Pact RFE/RL 08 Jul 2008 -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg have signed a treaty under which the Czech Republic would host a radar base for a planned U.S. missile-defense system.
• Czech, U.S. officials sign missile defense deal RIA Novosti 08 Jul 2008 -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg signed an agreement Tuesday on the deployment of a missile-tracking radar on Czech soil, the CTK news agency reported.
• US, Czech Republic Sign Controversial Missile Radar Deal VOA 08 Jul 2008 -- The United States and the Czech Republic have signed an agreement that will allow construction of part of a missile defense shield
• Russia calls U.S. missile shield proposals 'vague, unacceptable' RIA Novosti 08 Jul 2008 -- A top Russian general said on Tuesday that U.S. proposals intended to soothe Russian concerns over a proposed U.S. missile shield in Central Europe are vague and contain too many unacceptable conditions.
• U.S. senators concerned about freeze on arms sales to Taiwan CNA 08 Jul 2008 -- A group of U.S. senators have written to President George W. Bush to express their concerns about reports of a possible freeze on all arms sales to Taiwan.
• Press Gaggle by Dana Perino, Dan Price, Assistant to the President for International Economic Affairs and Deputy National Security Advisor, and Jim Connaughton, Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality The White House 08 Jul 2008
• Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 08 Jul 2008

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for July 08, 2008
• US Army Awards Lockheed Martin $36M Contract to Upgrade Battle Command System Lockhed Martin 08 Jul 2008 -- Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) announced today that it has been awarded an extension to continue developing portions of the Army Battle Command System for project manager Battle Command, located at Fort Monmouth, NJ
• BAE SYSTEMS SECURES $538 MILLION U.S. ARMY CONTRACT FOR BRADLEY VEHICLES AND SPARE PARTS BAE Systems 08 Jul 2008 -- BAE Systems has secured a $538 million U.S. Army contract to remanufacture Bradley vehicles and provide spare parts, with options for additional vehicle remanufacturing and spares. If all options are exercised, the contract’s total value will be $1.3 billion.
• Boeing Teams With Canadian Firm to Build Heavy-Lift Rotorcraft Boeing 08 Jul 2008 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] and SkyHook International Inc. today announced a teaming agreement to develop the JHL-40 (Jess Heavy Lifter), a new commercial heavy-lift rotorcraft designed to address the limitations and expense of transporting equipment and materials in remote regions.
• Boeing to Demo Net-Centric Upgrade on AWACS Aircraft at Empire Challenge Boeing 08 Jul 2008 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has integrated network-centric capabilities into two operational U.S. Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft for a demonstration at Empire Challenge 2008, a joint military exercise being held July 7 through Aug. 1 in China Lake, Calif.
• General Dynamics Demonstrates Ground-Based Aircraft-Protection Technology General Dynamics 08 Jul 2008 -- General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products recently conducted a system demonstration of its ground-based, Counter Man-Portable Airspace Protection System (CMAPS) against multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) at the Naval Air Systems Command test facility in China Lake, Calif.
• Lockheed Martin Awarded $50 Million Target Sight System Production Contract Lockheed Martin 08 Jul 2008 -- The Naval Surface Warfare Center has awarded Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] a $50 million production contract for the Target Sight System (TSS), a new fire control system for the U.S. Marine Corps' AH-1Z Cobra attack helicopter.
• Raytheon Delivers 3,000th AIM-9X to Warfighter Raytheon 08 Jul 2008 -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has achieved a significant production milestone with the delivery of the 3,000th AIM-9X short-range air-to-air missile.

Other Conflicts

• Somalia: killing of UN official elicits condemnation from Security Council UN News Centre 08 Jul 2008 -- The Security Council has strongly condemned the killing of the head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Somalia, who was gunned down by unidentified assailants in the strife-torn nation’s capital.
• Chad: UN mission trains police officers to protect refugees UN News Centre 08 Jul 2008 -- The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR) today began training some 200 gendarmes and police officers who will be tasked with protecting refugees and displaced people in the east of Chad.
• International Criminal Court suspends release of Congolese rebel leader UN News Centre 08 Jul 2008 -- The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has suspended the release of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, a Congolese rebel militia leader accused of recruiting child soldiers.
• Insurgents Attack Seat of Somali Interim Government VOA 08 Jul 2008 -- Somalia's militant Shabab group has taken responsibility for a mortar and rocket attack on the town of Baidoa, where the country's Ethiopia-backed interim parliament is based
• DRC: Pacifying Ituri: Achievements and challenges ahead IRIN 08 Jul 2008 -- The pacification of Ituri, a region in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) badly affected by conflict, has been a long and arduous process. Much has been achieved over recent years but, as analysts and officials involved point out, the region is not yet out of the woods.
• SOMALIA: Hundreds of families displaced by fighting in Baidoa IRIN 08 Jul 2008 -- A number of people were killed and injured and hundreds of families displaced, after a night of heavy fighting in the southwestern town of Baidoa, the seat of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), witnesses told IRIN on 8 July.
• South Ossetia releases detained Georgian officers RIA Novosti 08 Jul 2008 -- Four Georgian officers detained in the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict zone were released Tuesday amid preparations by Tbilisi for a police operation to free them, the breakaway Georgian republic announced.
• Abkhazia rules out withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers RIA Novosti 08 Jul 2008 -- Georgia's breakaway republic of Abkhazia will never agree to a U.S. proposal to replace Russian peacekeepers currently serving in the region with an international police force, the Abkhaz foreign minister said on Tuesday.

News Reports

• US Presses for Zimbabwe Vote at UN Security Council VOA 08 Jul 2008 -- The United States says it believes it has enough votes to move forward this week on a Security Council resolution sanctioning Zimbabwe's president and members of his inner circle
• Zimbabwe crisis poses challenge not just to Africa but to the world – Migiro UN News Centre 08 Jul 2008 -- The crisis in Zimbabwe, which has been beset by months of deadly violence and witnessed the recent holding of tarnished elections, not only represents a “moment of truth” for democracy on the continent but also poses a “challenge to the world,” Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro said today.
• Top Mugabe Official Says Talks With Opposition to Resume Soon VOA 08 Jul 2008 -- A top Zimbabwean official says talks to resolve the country's political crisis will resume soon.