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Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 06 Nov 2008 [PDF]
• ‘Screaming Eagles’ to Go Home Early AFPS 06 Nov 2008 -- About 3,000 soldiers assigned to the 101st Airborne Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team will leave Iraq nearly two months earlier than planned, military officials said.
• Coalition Troops Target al-Qaida in Iraq Networks, Detain 17 AFPS 06 Nov 2008 -- Coalition forces killed one enemy fighter and detained 17 terrorism suspects in operations throughout Iraq yesterday and today, military officials reported.
• Coalition Forces Kill Insurgents Throughout Afghanistan AFPS 06 Nov 2008 -- Coalition forces killed an insurgent associated with the Haqqani foreign fighter facilitator network and one of his associates during an operation in Afghanistan’s Khowst province today, military officials reported.
• Airman helps make a difference in Afghanistan AFNS 06 Nov 2008 -- Since combat operations began in Afghanistan, Airmen have taken on new roles traditionally held by their Army counterparts.
• Coalition, Afghan Forces Investigate Possible Civilian Casualties AFPS 06 Nov 2008 -- Coalition, NATO International Security Assistance Force and Afghan officials are investigating possible civilian casualties during incidents in Afghanistan yesterday and Nov. 3, military officials reported.
• Soldiers in Afghanistan Keep Brigade Connected AFPS 06 Nov 2008 -- Soldiers with the 1st Infantry Division’s Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, make sure Task Force Duke has all appropriate lines of communication up and running so the mission can move forward.
• Petraeus Visits Bagram, Discusses War in Afghanistan AFPS 06 Nov 2008 -- The top U.S. commander for Iraq and Afghanistan visited here today to talk with commanders and get an updated assessment of the war on terror.
• Centcom chief says Pakistan not waging U.S war IRNA 06 Nov 2008 -- General David Petraeus, Commander, United States Central Command, has said that Pakistan is not waging American war but it is their own war
• Deadly Blast in Pakistan Targets Anti-Taliban Tribal Leaders VOA 06 Nov 2008 -- Pakistani officials say a bomb exploded Thursday in the country's northwest at a meeting of tribal leaders who oppose al-Qaida and Taliban extremists, killing at least 10 people and wounding more than 40 others.

Defense Policy / Programs

• US Gives Iraq Final Text of Draft Forces Agreement VOA 06 Nov 2008 -- The Bush administration says it has sent Iraq what it says is the final text of an agreement on a continued presence of U.S. troops in Iraq beyond the end of the year.
• Iraq Requests Further Talks on US-Iraq Security Pact VOA 06 Nov 2008 -- Iraq says it needs to hold further talks with the United States on a security pact, after Washington expressed reservations about some Iraqi proposals.
• Pentagon Prepares for First Wartime Transition in 40 Years VOA 06 Nov 2008 -- The current presidential transition in Washington is the first during wartime since 1968, when President Lyndon Johnson handed the reins of power to President Richard Nixon during the Vietnam War.
• Electronic performance report routing now standardized AFNS 06 Nov 2008 -- An Air Force Enterprise Information Management initiative to process officer and enlisted performance reports electronically became reality Oct. 1 when Air Force Personnel Center officials endorsed the first of three phases of AF Electronic Workflow Processing, or AF e-WP, thanks to a partnership between AFPC, Pacific Air Forces and Air Education and Training Command's communication directorates.
• Air Force officials begin extended Basic Military Training AFNS 06 Nov 2008 -- The first group of Air Force recruits to experience expanded basic military training arrived Nov. 3 to Lackland Air Force Base.
• Defense Media Activity Breaks Down Barriers AFPS 06 Nov 2008 -- The Defense Media Activity is all about breaking down barriers between reporting disciplines, the new organization’s chief of staff said in an interview yesterday.
• Maryland Guard Plans Medical Assistance Visit to Africa AFPS 06 Nov 2008 -- The Maryland Army National Guard will send soldiers to Africa as part of a scheduled two-week annual training period to provide medical, dental and ophthalmology services to people in the St. Louis region of northwestern Senegal as part of Operation Flintlock, officials announced yesterday.
• Staying Power: Army Program Reinvents Wounded Care AFPS 06 Nov 2008 -- When the first news stories broke in February 2007 detailing a breakdown in soldier and family care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., senior Army leaders scrambled into action.
• Warrior Care: Progress Includes Recovery Coordinators, Joint Care Plan AFPS 06 Nov 2008 -- The Defense Department is hiring about 30 specialists who will map out a path to recovery for seriously injured servicemembers and their families.
• Vandenberg officials launch Minuteman III missile AFNS 06 Nov 2008 -- Vandenberg Air Force Base officials launched a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile configured with a National Nuclear Security Administration test assembly at 1 a.m. PST Nov. 5 here.
• Pacific Commander Says Threats to Embassies Have ‘Modest Credibility’ AFPS 06 Nov 2008 -- Threats of retaliation against Indonesian President Bambang Yudhoyono and the U.S. and Australian embassies in Indonesia after three terrorist bombers are executed have “modest credibility,” the top U.S. commander in the Pacific said today.
• Warrior Care: Pentagon Examines New Treatments for Warriors’ Psychological Care AFPS 06 Nov 2008 -- The Defense Department is investigating new treatments as part of a focused, sustained campaign to assist wounded warriors suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, a senior U.S. military official told Pentagon journalists recently.
• 2nd Fleet Staff Boots Interoperability Through Training with Interagency Experts Navy NewsStand 06 Nov 2008 -- Commander, U.S. 2nd Fleet staff members participated in a maritime headquarters training event Oct. 27-30 at Norfolk Naval Station to enhance the staff's ability to function as a joint task force in planning and executing contingency and crisis response.
• Bataan Arrives for New York Port Visit Navy NewsStand 06 Nov 2008 -- Nearly 1,500 Sailors and Marines arrived in New York City Nov. 5 aboard the multi-purpose amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5) to celebrate Veteran's Day events and enjoy the food, shopping and sights of New York.
• U.S. warship visits Ukrainian port RIA Novosti 06 Nov 2008 -- NATO has expressed grave concern about the future of the global arms-control framework in the wake of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's state-of-the-nation address
• US Makes New Proposals to Russia on Missile Defense, Strategic Arms VOA 06 Nov 2008 -- The State Department's top arms control official says the United States has made new proposals to Moscow aimed at easing Russian concern about the planned U.S. missile defense system in central Europe.
• NATO Says Russian Missile Deployment Threatens Arms-Control Efforts RFE/RL 06 Nov 2008 -- NATO has expressed grave concern about the future of the global arms-control framework in the wake of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's state-of-the-nation address
• Poland hits out at Medvedev's missile plans RIA Novosti 06 Nov 2008 -- The Russian president's remarks concerning the possible deployment of tactical missiles near Poland are an "unfriendly act," the Polish foreign minister said on Thursday.
• Military Expert Says Russian Missiles More Bark Than Bite RFE/RL 06 Nov 2008 -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has pledged to deploy short-range Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad, a western exclave that is surrounded by European Union countries
• Russia, U.S. may sign new START treaty in mid-2009 RIA Novosti 06 Nov 2008 -- With the election of a new Democratic president in the U.S., Washington and Moscow may sign a new strategic arms reduction deal as early as the summer of next year, a Russian analyst said on Thursday.
• Libya seeking arms deals with Ukraine - Qaddafi RIA Novosti 06 Nov 2008 -- Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi said on Thursday his country was considering buying Ukrainian-made weaponry for defense purposes.
• Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 06 Nov 2008
• Press Briefing by Press Secretary Dana Perino The White House 06 Nov 2008

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for November 06, 2008
• Northrop Grumman Awarded Operations, Planning, Training and Resource Support Services Task Order Northrop Grumman 06 Nov 2008 -- The U.S. Army has awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) an Operations, Planning, Training and Resource Support Services (OPTARSS) task order to provide simulated Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) training at Army Combat Training Centers in Fort Irwin, Calif., Fort Leavenworth, Kan., Fort Polk, La., and Hohenfels, Germany.
• Military Weather Satellite Built By Lockheed Martin Achieves Five Years On Orbit, Exceeding Design Life Lockheed Martin 06 Nov 2008 -- The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Flight 16 (F16) Block 5D-3 spacecraft, built by Lockheed Martin [NYSE:LMT], has surpassed five years of on-orbit operations and continues to provide critical weather data to the warfighter, one year beyond its four year design life.

Other Conflicts

• Five judges elected to serve on UN International Court of Justice UN News Centre 06 Nov 2008 -- The General Assembly and the Security Council today elected five judges to serve nine-year terms on the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, starting early next year.
• UN organizes conflict management training in contested Sudanese area UN News Centre 06 Nov 2008 -- The United Nations peacekeeping mission set up to help implement the peace accord that ended the long-running north-south civil war in Sudan has organized conflict management training for joint police units and military battalions in an area beset by conflict earlier this year.
• Renewed fighting in eastern DR Congo alarms Secretary-General UN News Centre 06 Nov 2008 -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has voiced deep concern at fresh fighting in the violence-wracked North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and urged all armed groups to get behind efforts to broker a political solution to the current crisis in the region.
• Senior UN-AU envoy briefs team seeking to defuse tensions between Sudan and Chad UN News Centre 06 Nov 2008 -- The senior United Nations-African Union envoy Henry Anyidoho met today with an AU fact-finding team that is visiting Darfur as part of a bid to defuse escalating tensions between Sudan and neighbouring Chad.
• UN Chief Calls for Halt to Hostilities in Eastern DRC VOA 06 Nov 2008 -- United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon has called for an immediate halt to fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where clashes between rebels and government forces have displaced tens of thousands of people over the past week.
• Sri Lanka's President Seeks to Boost War Budget VOA 06 Nov 2008 -- Sri Lanka's president, Mahinda Rajapakse, is seeking approval for higher defense spending, which he says is needed to eradicate what he called "terrorism" as government forces ramp up their offensive against northern ethnic Tamil Tiger rebels.
• Rice in Israel as Chances for Year-End Peace Agreement Fade VOA 06 Nov 2008 -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in Israel as part of a final effort by the Bush administration to keep the Israeli-Palestinian peace process on track.
• DRC: Tens of thousands displaced in renewed fighting in North Kivu IRIN 06 Nov 2008 -- Tens of thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) fled fresh fighting on 6 November between the army and fighters loyal to renegade general, Laurent Nkunda, in two areas of North Kivu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), just as aid workers had started distributing relief aid, UN sources told IRIN.
• DRC: Aid workers evacuated as LRA attacks resume IRIN 06 Nov 2008 -- Aid workers have been evacuated after attacks by the Ugandan rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in the north-eastern territory of Dungu, near the Sudan border, which have caused thousands of civilians to flee since September.
• UGANDA: Fuel shortage hits aid work in north IRIN 06 Nov 2008 -- Aid workers in northern Uganda could scale down operations if a fuel shortage persists, officials told IRIN.
• SOMALIA: UN and local elders slam aid worker kidnap IRIN 06 Nov 2008 -- The UN has called for the immediate release of four aid workers and two pilots who were abducted on 5 November in central Somalia's Galgadud region.
• Italian PM says truth of S. Ossetia conflict must emerge RIA Novosti 06 Nov 2008 -- The international community should be told the truth about the August war between Georgia and Russia over Tbilisi's breakaway republic of South Ossetia, the Italian premier said on Thursday.
• Hamas spokesman says truce with Israel could continue RIA Novosti 06 Nov 2008 -- A spokesman for the military wing of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic group that controls the Gaza Strip, said on Thursday that a truce with Israel could be maintained if observed by Israel.
• Rice in Middle East for More Peace Talks VOA 06 Nov 2008 -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in Israel for more talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials on the regional peace process.
• Fighting Spreads in Eastern Congo VOA 06 Nov 2008 -- Rebels and government forces have clashed for a third straight day in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a day ahead of a major summit aimed at ending the conflict.
• President-Elect Obama Asked to Take Quick Action on Darfur VOA 06 Nov 2008 -- While president-elect Barack Obama faces the challenges of a global economic crisis and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, one group, ENOUGH, is asking that he also tackle the crisis in Darfur.

News Reports

• Bush Urges Support So Terrorists Can’t Exploit Transition Period AFPS 06 Nov 2008 -- President Bush warned today that terrorists could use the government transition under way as an opportunity to attack, and urged his staff to give the incoming administration the support it needs to “hit the ground running.”
• Ahmadinejad congratulates Obama on election victory IRNA 06 Nov 2008 -- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a message on Thursday congratulated the US president-elect Barack Obama on his election victory
• Russia Cool On Obama, But Eager To Set New Ground Rules In U.S. Ties RFE/RL 06 Nov 2008 -- The presidency of George W. Bush may have started with a soulful glance into the eyes of Vladimir Putin, but ties between Russia and the United States have dete
• Moving Forward In U.S.-Ukraine Relations RFE/RL 06 Nov 2008
riorated ever since
• Opposition Says Zimbabwe Talks at 'Full Stop' VOA 06 Nov 2008 -- Zimbabwe's main opposition party says the ruling party has put a "full stop" to power-sharing talks by carrying out a new wave of violence.
• Georgia Crisis Revealed the West’s Limited Leverage With Russia VOA 06 Nov 2008 -- The war between Russia and Georgia lasted only about a week in early August, but it took another two months for Russian troops to pull back from their forward buffer positions inside Georgia and to this day Russian soldiers remain in the breakaway Georgian enclaves of Abkhazia and South Ossetia -- despite harsh condemnation and strong pressure from the West to withdraw.
• Bhutan Hands Raven Crown to New King VOA 06 Nov 2008 -- The small Himalayan nation, Bhutan, officially has a new king. The coronation of the fifth king of the hereditary dynasty took place Thursday in the Bhutanese capital, Thimpu.