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Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 04 Dec 2008 [PDF]
• Dec. 3 airpower summary: A-10 bombs anti-Afghan forces AFNS 04 Dec 2008 -- Coalition airpower integrated with coalition ground forces in Iraq and International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan during operations Dec. 3, according to Combined Air and Space Operations Center officials here.
• Coalition, Iraqi Forces Kill 4, Capture 33 Terror Suspects AFPS 04 Dec 2008 -- Coalition forces dealt a heavy blow to al-Qaida in Iraq terrorist networks during multiple operations throughout Iraq today and yesterday, killing four terrorists and detaining 33 suspects, military officials said.
• Predator crashes at Joint Base Balad AFNS 04 Dec 2008 -- An MQ-1 Predator unmanned aircraft system crashed at about 7:30 a.m. Baghdad time Dec. 4 on the Joint Base Balad runway.
• UN Security Council Has 'Cautious Optimism' for Afghanistan's Future VOA 04 Dec 2008 -- A delegation from the U.N. Security Council has just returned from Afghanistan, where they say there has been some progress on several fronts, giving them a sense of "cautious optimism" for the future.
• Coalition Troops Kill Two Taliban Fighters, Detain Three in Afghanistan AFPS 04 Dec 2008 -- Coalition forces killed two armed Taliban militants and detained three others during an operation to disrupt the foreign-fighter and roadside-bomb networks in eastern Afghanistan yesterday, military officials said.
• Kandahar team provides ammunition to win the fight AFNS 04 Dec 2008 -- With a munitions stockpile of 560 line items worth more than $11 million, the job of providing weapons to warfighters at Kandahar Airfield falls to a three-man flight.
• Reconstruction Team Lights Up Afghanistan’s Zabul Province AFPS 04 Dec 2008 -- The provincial reconstruction team in Afghanistan’s Zabul province has finished installing 90 solar lights to benefit commerce and improve security in the province.
• AFGHANISTAN: Weapons cache discovery underscores risks to civilians IRIN 04 Dec 2008 -- Nearly 3,000 metric tonnes of military hardware, which had been posing a potentially serious risk to local people, have been discovered in Shirin Tagab District, Faryab Province, northern Afghanistan, posing a potentially serious risk to local people.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Presidency Council Ratifies U.S.-Iraq Security Pact AFPS 04 Dec 2008 -- The new U.S.-Iraq security pact that was approved by Iraqi lawmakers Nov. 27 was ratified by Iraq’s Presidency Council today, senior U.S. officials said.
• Joint Statement Crocker/Odierno SOFA MNF-I 04 Dec 2008 -- Statement by Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker and General Ray Odierno On the Ratification of the Strategic Framework Agreement and the Security Agreement by Iraq’s Presidency Council
• Iraq Gives Final Approval of US Pact VOA 04 Dec 2008 -- Iraq's presidential council has approved a security pact with the United States, the final step to allow U.S. troops to remain in the country for another three years.
• Command releases report examining the future JFCOM 04 Dec 2008 -- U.S. Joint Forces Command releases Joint Operating Environment 2008 – a strategic framework that forecasts possible threats and opportunities that will challenge the future joint force
• Army fields new equipment to stop bleeding Army News 04 Dec 2008 -- the highest percentage of any war. Master Sgt. Horace Tyson, a combat medic, said he attributes the high number of people being saved to the advanced tools the Army provides medics, such as dressings that stop or slow blood flow from wounds.
• Policy Revision Aims to Improve Acquisition Process AFPS 04 Dec 2008 -- A new Defense Department acquisition policy is designed to reduce delays and cost overruns that often plague the acquisition process, a senior defense official said today.
• Essex Increases Joint, Combined Interoperability During Fall Patrol Navy NewsStand 04 Dec 2008 -- The forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) arrived in Sasebo after the completion of a successful fall patrol Dec. 4.
• NAVSEA Program Helps Ships Set Record for Fuel Savings Navy NewsStand 04 Dec 2008 -- Naval Sea Systems Command's (NAVSEA's) Incentivized Energy Conservation (i-ENCON) Program recorded another banner year for ship fuel conservation in fiscal year 2008, the i-ENCON program manager announced Nov. 28.
• NAVSEA Program Helps Ships Set Record for Fuel Savings Navy NewsStand 05 Dec 2008 -- Naval Sea Systems Command's (NAVSEA's) Incentivized Energy Conservation (i-ENCON) Program recorded another banner year for ship fuel conservation in fiscal year 2008, the i-ENCON program manager announced Nov. 28.
• USS Denver Completes First FDNF Patrol Navy NewsStand 04 Dec 2008 -- The Austin-class amphibious transport dock ship USS Denver (LPD 9), of the Essex Amphibious Ready Group (ESX ARG), returned to its forward-deployed home of Sasebo, Japan, Dec. 2, concluding its first patrol as a member of the Navy's forward deployed naval forces (FDNF).
• E-8C's new engine program takes off AFNS 04 Dec 2008 -- America's eye in the sky, the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System, or Joint STARS, will soon be faster, quieter, more efficient and more operationally effective with a major engine upgrade effort now under way here.
• CNO Talks with Regional Media in Chile Navy NewsStand 04 Dec 2008 -- The Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), Adm. Gary Roughead, spoke with regional media in Chile during his visit Dec. 1-2.
• Religious Assistants Play Supporting Role in Caring for Troops Navy NewsStand 04 Dec 2008 -- Chaplain's assistants (CA) and religious program specialists (RP) play an important role in allowing chaplains to focus on his or her three main missions – counsel, teach and preach.
• Navy, Air Force Improve Interoperability During Drill in Japan Navy NewsStand 04 Dec 2008 -- Navy and Air Force personnel increased operational readiness and interoperability during a mass casualty drill that took place as part of a triennial Air Force Unit Compliance Inspection at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Nov. 17.
• NASA trains pilots to fly high AFNS 04 Dec 2008 -- To achieve their dreams of space flight, NASA astronauts must overcome many challenges -- challenges they can only receive at one place.
• Russia Set for Immediate Response to Positive US Signals VOA 04 Dec 2008 -- Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Russia will act quickly to improve relations with the United States if positive signals Moscow is receiving from people close to President-elect Barack Obama are turned into policies.
• Resurgent Russia Poses Challenge for Obama Administration VOA 04 Dec 2008 -- One of the key foreign policy questions facing the incoming Obama administration is how to deal with a resurgent Russia?
• Putin optimistic over relations with U.S. under Barack Obama RIA Novosti 04 Dec 2008 -- Russia's prime minister said on Thursday he expected relations with the United States to improve after Barack Obama takes office in January.
• Foreign min. denies reports of Russian cyber attacks on Pentagon RIA Novosti 04 Dec 2008 -- The Russian Foreign Ministry described on Thursday media reports that Russia had been involved in cyber attacks on the Pentagon as "groundless" and "irresponsible."
• Russian Navy to replace warship policing Somali waters after Dec. RIA Novosti 04 Dec 2008 -- A Russian destroyer will be sent to the Horn of Africa in December to take over from a missile frigate currently protecting civilian ships from Somali pirate attacks in the region, a Navy official said on Thursday.
• Putin rules out Russian military bases in Cuba, Venezuela RIA Novosti 04 Dec 2008 -- Russia sees no need to set up permanent military bases in Venezuela or Cuba, but could use their military infrastructure, the prime minister said on Thursday.
• Russia to deploy alpine units at its military bases abroad RIA Novosti 04 Dec 2008 -- Russia's Defense Ministry plans to deploy special mountain units at military bases in S. Ossetia, Abkhazia, Armenia and Tajikistan, as well as in the Urals and Far East, a ministry official said on Thursday.
• India, Russia discuss military-technical cooperation RIA Novosti 04 Dec 2008 -- A recently-formed Russian-Indian joint commission on monitoring bilateral military-technical cooperation has held a two-day meeting in New Delhi, the Indian Defense Ministry said on Thursday.
• Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 04 Dec 2008
• Press Briefing by Press Secretary Dana Perino The White House 04 Dec 2008

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for December 04, 2008
• Raytheon Awarded $77 Million for Patriot Upgrades Raytheon 04 Dec 2008 -- Raytheon Company has been awarded a contract to continue upgrading Patriot missiles by adding the capability to engage and destroy cruise and ballistic missiles.
• General Dynamics Awarded $52 Million Engineering and Support Contract for TRIDENT Ballistic Missile Systems General Dynamics 04 Dec 2008 -- The U.S. Navy has awarded General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems a $52 million contract modification to provide operational support; field engineering, repair and return services; training; and system development for the U.S. and U.K. TRIDENT II (D5) Fire Control System (FCS).
• SAIC Awarded $26 Million Contract by Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center - Pacific SAIC 04 Dec 2008 -- Science Applications International Corporation (NYSE: SAI) today announced it has
• Lockheed Martin Team Conducts Free-Flight Hover Test Of MDA’S Multiple Kill Vehicle-L Lockheed Martin 04 Dec 2008 -- Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) announced today that its team successfully conducted a free-flight hover test of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s Multiple Kill Vehicle-L..
• been awarded a prime contract by the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center - Pacific (SSC Pacific) to provide the Pacific Command, Control, Communications, Computer, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) department with engineering and technical support services

Other Conflicts

• As 104 States sign cluster bomb ban, funds for overall UN de-mining languish UN News Centre 04 Dec 2008 -- While 104 countries in Oslo signed an historic United Nations-sponsored treaty formally renouncing the use of cluster bombs, the larger effort to rid the world of all ordnance that kill and maim thousands of people years after they are laid is facing a gigantic shortfall, with less than 5 per cent of funding secured so far for 2009.
• Gunmen launch yet another attack on aid workers in Darfur, UN reports UN News Centre 04 Dec 2008 -- Two gunmen equipped with AK-47 assault rifles and a hand grenade stopped a humanitarian convoy in Sudan’s war-ravaged Darfur region today, beat up the aid workers and stole money in the latest of a long series of such assaults that are impeding relief operations, the United Nations reported.
• Gaza crossing partially opened today permitting restricted delivery of UN aid UN News Centre 04 Dec 2008 -- Some crossings into Gaza, including fuel pipelines, were opened today, allowing a limited amount of United Nations humanitarian supplies to reach the area’s 1.5 million inhabitants.
• UN may have to re-think ground role following Russia-Georgia conflict – Ban UN News Centre 04 Dec 2008 -- The United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) may have to reassess their roles on the ground following this summer’s fighting between Russia and Georgia, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.
• Ban calls on Burundi’s Government, rebels to quickly complete peace accord UN News Centre 04 Dec 2008 -- Burundi’s Government and the rebel group Palipehutu-FNL must now summon the political will and courage to overcome outstanding issues and successfully conclude the peace process they agreed to two years ago, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.
• DR Congo: UN peacekeepers to ‘press’ rebels to leave eastern town UN News Centre 04 Dec 2008 -- United Nations peacekeepers in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) intend to press fighters from the DRC-based Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a mainly Hutu rebel group, to leave a town they recently entered near the Ugandan border.
• Nearly 2 million people have registered to vote, says UN mission in Côte d’Ivoire UN News Centre 04 Dec 2008 -- The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) announced today that almost 2 million people have been identified and registered to vote ahead of long-delayed elections, a key element in resolving a political crisis that in 2002 divided the West African country into a rebel-held north and Government-controlled south.
• Breakthrough Reached in Burundi Peace Talks VOA 04 Dec 2008 -- A breakthrough is reported at peace talks in Burundi's capital, Bujumbura, between the government and the nation's last active rebel group.
• Russian ministry to rotate Sudan helicopter unit in early 2009 RIA Novosti 04 Dec 2008 -- Russia's peacekeeping contingent deployed in Sudan will be rotated February-March, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said Thursday.
• UNHCR to Expand Size of New Camp for DRC Displaced VOA 04 Dec 2008 -- The UN refugee agency continues to relocate thousands of people in the eastern DRC further away from the frontlines. The UNHCR says it's moving those who have volunteered to leave two camps in Kibati, which have been the frequent targets of violence and looting by members of armed groups, including government soldiers.

News Reports

• US cautious India from taking steps that could worsen situation IRNA 04 Dec 2008 -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Thursday cautioned India from taking steps that could worsen the situation and hoped that Pakistan and India will keep the lines of communication open
• Indian airports sounded alert over threat of terrorist attack IRNA 04 Dec 2008 -- The multi-layer security cordon put at the airports in New Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore in view of the threat of a possible air-borne strike
• Indian Airports Alerted to Threat of Armed Assault, Hijackings VOA 04 Dec 2008 -- India has put several international airports on "red alert" following repeated e-mailed threats to target air facilities in New Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai and hijack airliners.
• Rice Says Pakistan Committed to Mumbai Investigation VOA 04 Dec 2008 -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says Pakistan's leaders understand the importance of finding the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks and are committed to fighting terrorism.
• UN relief fund launches annual pledging session in face of growing needs UN News Centre 04 Dec 2008 -- The $500-million United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) today launched its annual pledging conference, with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warning that the financial crisis, climate change and population growth are likely to increase demands for relief aid.
• ZIMBABWE: Government declares a national emergency IRIN 04 Dec 2008 -- Zimbabwe's government has declared a national emergency in an attempt to deal with a cholera epidemic, but with the collapse of services like health, sanitation, refuse collection and water supply it is unclear how the country will counter the waterborne disease.
• EU Enhances 'Eastern Partnership' -- But Is There Less Than Meets The Eye? RFE/RL 04 Dec 2008 -- The European Commission is reaching out to six former Soviet nations, proposing generous financial assistance programs and free trade deals
• OSCE Foreign Ministers Meet For Talks On Avoiding Conflicts RFE/RL 04 Dec 2008 -- The annual ministerial meeting of the foremost European security body, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), is under way in Helsinki