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Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 09 Jul 2008 [PDF]
• CF Soldiers attacked in Salah ad Din
• PRESS CONFERENCE: Operational/JCC-I Update: Maj. Gen. Bergner, Rear Adm. Dussault, July 9, 2008 MNF-I 09 Jul 2008 -- Maj. Gen. Kevin J. Bergner, MNF-I spokesman, and Rear Adm. Kathleen M. Dussault, commander, JCC - Iraq/Afghanistan, provide an operational/JCC-I update
• Last ‘Surge’ Brigade redeploys MNF-I 09 Jul 2008 -- Soldiers from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, are redeploying back to Fort Stewart, Ga., this month.
• July 8 airpower summary: Reaper drops bomb on enemy AFPN 09 Jul 2008
• Troops in Iraq Capture Four Suspects, Seize Weapons AFPS 09 Jul 2008 -- Coalition and Iraqi forces detained four suspects and seized caches of weapons in Iraq over the past three days, military officials said.
• U.S., Iraqi Forces Quell Violence Throughout Iraq AFPS 09 Jul 2008 -- If you asked Army Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin in April which cities in Iraq were the hot spots and would be the focus of his forces’ efforts, he would have replied quickly: Basra, Mosul, Diyala and Baghdad’s Sadr City district.
• Red Cross Warns About Civilian Casualties in Afghanistan VOA 09 Jul 2008 -- The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is urging all sides to respect humanitarian law in Afghanistan, noting there have been at least 250 civilian casualties in attacks since July 4.
• International commitments to help Afghanistan must be upheld, says UN envoy UN News Centre 09 Jul 2008 -- The commitments made recently in Paris to help Afghanistan must be met to prevent the erosion of support for the United Nation’s efforts, the world body’s top envoy to the strife-torn South Asian nation said today.
• Bagram dedicates dining facility to fallen Airman AFPN 09 Jul 2008 -- A dining facility here was dedicated July 6 to fallen Senior Airman Jonathan A.V. Yelner, who was killed in action April 29 while on a combat patrol.
• Troops in Afghanistan Kill Enemy Fighters, Capture 14, Seize Weapons AFPS 09 Jul 2008 -- Coalition and Afghan forces killed three armed militants, detained 14 suspects and seized weapons in Afghanistan this week.
• AFGHANISTAN: Appeal for cash to feed 4.5 million people IRIN 09 Jul 2008 -- The government of Afghanistan and the UN on 9 July launched a Joint Emergency Appeal for over US$404 million to provide an emergency safety-net for 4.5 million vulnerable Afghans who have been pushed into "high-risk" food-insecurity.
• AFGHANISTAN: NGOs call for separation of UN political, humanitarian roles IRIN 09 Jul 2008 -- Six international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) involved in development and relief activities in Afghanistan said in a joint press release on 29 June that the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) had remained "worryingly silent" about the worsening humanitarian crisis in the country, and that its coordination capacity was "extremely limited".
• Embassy Attack In Kabul Highlights Pakistan-India Rivalry RFE/RL 09 Jul 2008 -- After the July 7 suicide car bomb attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul, international attention has turned to New Delhi's interests and activities in Afghanistan.
• Afghanistan says coalition forces to start withdrawal in October RIA Novosti 09 Jul 2008 -- The Afghan interior minister told a news conference in Tajikistan on Wednesday that international troops would start withdrawing from Afghanistan this October.
• C-130s continue aerial firefighting operations in California AFPN 09 Jul 2008 -- Aircraft from the 302nd Air Expeditionary Group continued aerial firefighting support missions July 5 in a coordinated effort to control wildfires in California.
• Air Force unit flies 50,000th Noble Eagle sortie AFPN 09 Jul 2008 -- The Continental U.S. NORAD Region, known as CONR, reached a significant milestone June 8 as the 50,000th Operation Noble Eagle sortie conducted over the continental United States was flown locally over South Carolina.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Bill to Overhaul US Wiretap Law Clears Senate Hurdle VOA 09 Jul 2008 -- Legislation to revise U.S. surveillance law survived a key test vote in the Senate Wednesday, despite opposition from some majority Democrats to a provision protecting telephone companies from possible privacy lawsuits
• Cluster Munitions Policy Released 09 Jun 2008
• New Cluster Bomb Policy Aims to Reduce Collateral Damage AFPS 09 Jul 2008 -- The Defense Department today announced new standards for cluster bombs to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure from the unintended consequences of unexploded munitions.
• Transcript: DoD News Briefing with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, John Young, and Michael Donley from the Pentagon, Arlington, Va. 09 Jul 2008 -- Presenter: Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics John Young, and Acting Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley
• Pentagon Reopens Bidding on Tanker Contract AFPS 09 Jul 2008 -- The Defense Department has reopened the bidding process for a multibillion-dollar midair refueling tanker contract, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today.
• PC-12 crashes at Hurlburt Field AFPN 09 Jul 2008 -- An Air Force PC-12 Pilatus crashed at approximately 11:30 p.m. July 8 on the runway here.
• Kearsarge Continues Winning Streak in Recent 3M Certification Navy NewsStand 09 Jul 2008 -- Sailors aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) completed their Maintenance and Material Management (3M) certification June 13.
• Submarine Support Barge Returns To Norfolk From Shipyard Navy NewsStand 09 Jul 2008 -- Sailors and government civilian contractors completed an overhaul of the Naval Submarine Support Center (NSSC) Norfolk's Scheduled Preservation Upkeep Coordinated Effort (SPRUCE) barge, and provided NSSC personnel a more modern platform for working and training, June 27.
• U.S. Naval Forces Arrive in Malaysia for CARAT Navy NewsStand 09 Jul 2008 -- U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Royal Malaysian armed forces opened the fourth phase of Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) 2008 with a ceremony July 8.
• Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter Faces Critical Cost Growth Army News Release 09 Jul 2008 -- The U.S. Army notified Congress July 9 of a Nunn-McCurdy breach with the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter program. The prime contractor for this program is Bell-Textron
• RIMPAC Touted as Largest Maritime Exercise in World Navy NewsStand 09 Jul 2008 -- Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet and Combined Task Force RIMPAC, Vice Adm. Samuel J. Locklear met with media at Naval Station Pearl Harbor to inform the public and to answer questions about this year's Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise.
• CARAT Brings Advanced Diving Training to Southeast Asian Nations Navy NewsStand 09 Jul 2008 -- Navy Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 1, based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is in Southeast Asia to provide general and advanced instruction to Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) participants.
• Navy, Army and NOAA Celebrate 10 Years of Hydrographic Support Navy NewsStand 09 Jul 2008 -- Representatives from the U.S. Navy, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reaffirmed their partnership to advance airborne lidar technology, July 1, at a ceremony held at the Stennis International Airport.
• RIMPAC 2008 Hosts Scientists on Marine Mammal Research Projects Navy NewsStand 09 Jul 2008 -- In addition to providing invaluable military training, the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2008 exercise will provide unique new opportunities for some of the world's top scientists to gather information about marine mammals.
• Norfolk Returns From Deployment Navy NewsStand 09 Jul 2008 -- The city of Norfolk's namesake submarine, USS Norfolk (SSN 714) returned to homeport June 28 following a six- month deployment.
• Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group Participating in COMPTUEX Navy NewsStand 09 Jul 2008 -- The Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) is participating in a composite unit training exercise (COMPTUEX) July 8-Aug. 1 to prepare for deployment.
• Maritime Infrastructure Protection Exercise Achieving Multinational Goals Navy NewsStand 09 Jul 2008 -- Ships from Bahrain, the United Kingdom and the United States are conducting Exercise Stake Net to protect key economic infrastructure in the central and southern Persian Gulf.
• Naval Exercise in Ecuador Strengthens Regional Partnerships Navy NewsStand 09 Jul 2008 -- The guided-missile destroyer USS Farragut (DDG 99) and the guided-missile frigate USS Kauffman (FFG 59) of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 40 completed bilateral exercises with the Ecuadorian Navy, July 7, off the coast of Ecuador.
• U.S., Latin American Navies Improve Ability to Communicate At Sea Navy NewsStand 09 Jul 2008 -- The first tactical use of the Inter-American Naval Telecommunications Network's (IANTN) Combined Enterprise Regional Information Exchange System (CENTRIXS) will begin at the end of July, aboard Brazilian Navy ship (BNS) Greenhalgh (F-46) and USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) operating in support of multinational joint task force exercises off the coast of Virginia.
• SECDEF visits McChord, Fort Lewis AFPN 09 Jul 2008 -- Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates visited Airmen here and Soldiers at neighboring Fort Lewis July 7-8.
• UK cost of Iraq, Afghan wars approaching Pnds 12 bn IRNA 09 Jul 2008 -- The net additional cost for the UK wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is set to reach almost Pnds 12 billion (Dlrs 24 bn) by the end of the current financial year, according to the latest figures released by Defence Secretary Des Browne.
• Ukraine to host NATO-led Sea Breeze drills despite protests RIA Novosti 09 Jul 2008 -- A NATO-led tactical exercise will be held in Ukraine on July 14-26 despite possible protests from locals opposed to the country's drive to join the alliance, Ukraine's defense minister said on Wednesday.
• U.S. Officials React to Iranian Missile Test AFPS 09 Jul 2008 -- Iran’s test of short- and medium-range missiles is a disturbing development and points to the need for a European missile defense system, Pentagon officials said here today.
• Gates Says Iran's Missile Test Does Not Make War More Likely VOA 09 Jul 2008 -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says Wednesday's Iranian missile tests provide further evidence of the need for a European missile defense system, but he says the tests do not make military confrontation with Iran any more likely
• US Lawmakers Worried by Iranian Missile Tests VOA 09 Jul 2008 -- Iranian missile tests have provoked widespread criticism in the U.S. Congress, where lawmakers called them provocative and urged stronger U.S. and international pressure on Tehran
• McCain Calls for Shield, Obama for Diplomacy Following Iranian Missile Tests VOA 09 Jul 2008 -- U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain says Iran's missile tests demonstrate the need for a defense shield, while his Democratic rival Barack Obama says tough diplomacy with Tehran is the answer.
• Debate Intensifies About Possible Military Attack on Iran VOA 09 Jul 2008 -- There has been wide-ranging debate in Washington and the Middle East recently regarding the possibility of a military attack on Iran's nuclear program
• Iran test-fires long range missile IRNA 09 Jul 2008 -- The promoted long range Shahab-3 missile was successfully test-fired on Wednesday during a naval wargame in the Persian Gulf waters.
• Interview: How Dangerous Are Iran's Missiles? RFE/RL 09 Jul 2008
• Iran test-fires Shahab-3 long-range missile RIA Novosti 09 Jul 2008 -- Iran has tested a Shahab-3 missile with a range of 2,000 km (1.240 miles), the Alalam satellite TV channel reported on Wednesday.
• US Condemns Iranian Missile Tests VOA 09 Jul 2008 -- The United States is condemning Iran's test of nine missiles, some of which Iranian officials say could reach Israel and other U.S. allies in the region.
• Israel Expresses Concern Over Iran Missile Test VOA 09 Jul 2008 -- Israeli officials are expressing concern over Iran's test firing of nine missiles on Wednesday
• Russia must punish states hosting U.S. missile shield - analyst RIA Novosti 09 Jul 2008 -- Russia must use economic and political means, and military ties with Asia, to punish European states that agree to host U.S. missile defense elements, a Russian political analyst said on Wednesday.
• Medvedev pledges response to U.S. missile shield RIA Novosti 09 Jul 2008 -- Russia will respond to U.S. missile shield plans in Central Europe, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday, pledging at the same time that Moscow would not resort to 'hysterics' over the issue.
• Russian strategic bombers continue Arctic, Atlantic patrols RIA Novosti 09 Jul 2008 -- Four Russian strategic bombers are carrying out a routine patrol over the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, a Russian Air Force spokesman said on Wednesday.
• Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 09 Jul 2008
• Press Gaggle by Jim Connaughton, Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality; and Dan Price, Assistant to the President for International Economic Affairs and Deputy National Security Advisor on Leaders' Meeting of Major Economies The White House 09 Jul 2008

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for July 15, 2008
• Boeing Statement on Defense Department Decision to Reopen KC-X Tanker Bid Boeing 09 Jul 2008 -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] today released the following statement in response to the U.S. Defense Department's decision to reopen the KC-X aerial refueling tanker competition following the company's successful protest of the original $35 billion contract award:
• Northrop Grumman Statement Regarding Department of Defense Tanker Decision Northrop Grumman 09 Jul 2008 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) applauds Defense Secretary Gates and Under Secretary Young for recognizing that the acquisition of replacement refueling tankers for the Air Force should be put on a path toward quick closure.
• General Dynamics NASSCO Awarded Contract for Amphibious Assault Ship Modernization General Dynamics 09 Jul 2008 -- General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Navy to modernize San Diego-homeported LSD 41 and LSD 49-class amphibious assault ships
• Elbit Systems and ATK to Develop Laser Guided Advanced Tactical Rocket System ATK 09 Jul 2008 -- Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ: ESLT) and Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK) announced today that they have signed a teaming agreement to develop the Guided Advanced Tactical Rocket - Laser (GATR-L).
• U.S. Army Awards General Dynamics $11 Million Military Personnel Services Contract for Three Virginia Bases General Dynamics 09 Jul 2008 -- General Dynamics Information Technology, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Army to provide military personnel support services for three Virginia bases – Fort Eustis, Fort Monroe and Fort Story
• Lockheed Martin HAAWC Demonstrates Compatibility with Multiple Launch Platforms in Wind Tunnel Tests Lockheed Martin 09 Jul 2008 -- Lockheed Martin’s [NYSE: LMT] enhanced High Altitude Anti-Submarine Warfare Weapons Capability (HAAWC) system recently completed a series of successful high speed wind tunnel tests at a commercial facility in Buffalo, NY.
• U.S. Air Force E-8C Joint STARS Airframes Operationally Viable Through 2070 Northrop Grumman 09 Jul 2008 -- A recently updated U.S. Air Force study on the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) airframe indicates that the fleet could stay in service beyond 2070.
• Raytheon Awarded Phase 2 Contract for Stand-Off Radiation Detection Raytheon 09 Jul 2008 -- The Department of Homeland Security has awarded Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) a phase 2 contract to continue its development of a Stand-Off Radiation Detection System (SORDS).
• General Dynamics Awarded $9 Million Contract for Satellite Communication Encryption and Telemetry Technologies General Dynamics 09 Jul 2008 -- General Dynamics C4 Systems has been awarded a $9.2 million contract option to continue the development, qualification and certification of a National Security Agency (NSA) approved encryption module that will be used to secure telemetry, tracking and control of Department of Defense satellites
• Russian arms exports to pass $6 bln in 2008 RIA Novosti 09 Jul 2008 -- Russia's arms exports are expected to exceed $6 bln this year, the chief executive of the state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport said Wednesday.

Other Conflicts

• Lebanon still ‘fragile’ despite Israel-Hizbollah ceasefire, says UN political chief UN News Centre 09 Jul 2008 -- While the cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hizbollah has held up since the passage of the Security Council resolution that ended their 2006 conflict, the situation in Lebanon remains “fairly fragile,” the United Nations political chief said today.
• Secretary-General sends report on Uganda peace talks to Security Council UN News Centre 09 Jul 2008 -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has sent a report from the chief mediator between the Government of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels to the Security Council on efforts to resolve their long-running conflict.
• Efforts to bring peace to eastern DR Congo must be hastened – UN report UN News Centre 09 Jul 2008 -- Steps towards bringing peace to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and bolstering lawful Government bodies must gather speed, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wrote in his latest report on the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the country, known as MONUC.
• Ban deplores ‘unacceptable’ attack on UN peacekeepers in North Darfur UN News Centre 09 Jul 2008 -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned a deadly attack on the joint United Nations-African Union force in Darfur that killed seven peacekeepers and wounded twenty-two, seven of them critically.
• Ambush Kills Darfur Peacekeepers VOA 09 Jul 2008 -- At least seven soldiers from the joint U.N. - African Union peacekeeping force in the Darfur region of western Sudan are dead after gunmen ambushed a patrol
• UN Condemns Killing of Peacekeepers in Darfur VOA 09 Jul 2008 -- The United Nations says the ambush that killed seven peacekeepers and wounded 22 others Tuesday in Darfur is the worst violence the force of U.N. and African Union troops has faced since it took on the job in January
• Israel Cracks Down on Hamas in the West Bank VOA 09 Jul 2008 -- Israeli forces on the occupied West Bank raided the Nablus city hall, Wednesday, in the latest move in a wide-ranging crackdown against the Islamist Hamas movement in cities across the West Bank
• Ugandan Rebels Reiterate Support for Peace Process VOA 09 Jul 2008 -- The lead negotiator for the Lords Resistance Army rebel movement reiterated his group's support for the peace process with the Ugandan government
• Analysis: Engaging Nepal's Maoists cfr.org 09 Jul 2008 -- Nepal's historic April 10 vote has resulted in Maoists joining the growing list of organizations that have traveled the long path of armed rebellion to political legitimacy
• DRC: Ituri returnees struggle to rebuild lives IRIN 09 Jul 2008 -- Widowed mother-of-five Albertine Madwan is among hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) facing an often difficult homecoming to Ituri, a district in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) ravaged by inter-ethnic clashes in recent years.
• UN, Russian peacekeepers to investigate Kodori Gorge incident RIA Novosti 09 Jul 2008 -- A joint group of UN observers and Russian peacekeepers will investigate an incident in the Georgia-Abkhazia conflict zone, which left two Abkhaz servicemen wounded, an Abkhaz military source said on Wednesday.
• Hezbollah movement triples number of rockets - report RIA Novosti 09 Jul 2008 -- Israel's state-controlled radio claimed Wednesday that Islamic Hezbollah has increased its rocket arsenal threefold since the start of an armed conflict with Israel two years ago.
• Russia, Georgia exchange accusations on airspace violations RIA Novosti 09 Jul 2008 -- Georgia and Russia accused each other Wednesday of airspace violations, saying the other's aircraft flew over the South Ossetian conflict zone on Tuesday night.

News Reports

• Zimbabwe Ruling Party, Opposition, Set To Open Preliminary Talks VOA 09 Jul 2008 -- Preliminary discussions between Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change aimed at paving the way to substantive discussions about power sharing are expected to begin later this week in Pretoria amid intense international pressure, government and opposition sources said Wednesday.
• MYANMAR: Thousands unable to return home IRIN 09 Jul 2008 -- Thousands of cyclone survivors living in displaced persons camps in Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady Delta worry about the prospects of returning to their villages, many of which were devastated by the category four storm
• ZIMBABWE: Political violence surges after Mugabe assumes presidency IRIN 09 Jul 2008 -- The already high levels of politically motivated violence in Zimbabwe's rural areas are escalating, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change told IRIN.