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Operations
Deployments
US Policy
United Nations
Reconstruction Issues
Foreign Reactions
News Reports

Current Operations

• Transcript: DoD News Briefing - Secretary Rumsfeld and Gen. Myers 25 Apr 2003 -- "The number of officials of the former regime now in the hands of coalition forces continues to grow. This week, Saddam Hussein's trade minister was captured by coalition forces on the Iraqi-Syrian border. His director of military intelligence was captured near Baghdad. His deputy chief of tribal affairs and a former senior member of his Revolutionary Command Council were both apprehended by Free Iraqi Forces and turned over to the coalition. The commander of his air defense force was taken into custody West of Baghdad. The former head of the American desk of the Iraqi Intelligence Service was also captured after a shoot-out with coalition forces in Baghdad. And yesterday, of course, the former deputy prime minister and confidante of Saddam Hussein, Tariq Aziz, was taken into custody."

• Tariq Aziz Brings Total of 'Top 55' in Custody to 12 AFPS 25 Apr 2003 -- With Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister and sometime-spokesman Tariq Aziz now in American custody, 12 of the 55 most wanted Iraqis are accounted for, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said today.
• More Iraqi POWs Being Released As More Regime Leaders Captured Washington File 25 Apr 2003 -- Thirty days into "Operation Iraqi Freedom," the number of members of Saddam Hussein's former regime in captivity continues to grow daily, according to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, just as the number of released Iraqi prisoners of war (POWs) is also growing day by day.
• PENTAGON / RUMSFELD VOA 25 Apr 2003 -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says U-S officials are getting what he terms useful information from the interrogation of detained former Iraqi government figures.
• Rumsfeld Says Some Captured Iraqis Providing Information RFE/L 25 Apr 2003 -- U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says some captured Iraqi officials are providing useful information to coalition forces.
• Coalition Forces Questioning Aziz RFE/L 25 Apr 2003 -- The U.S. military said today that coalition forces in Baghdad were questioning Iraq's former deputy prime minister, Tariq Aziz, in a bid to obtain information about the whereabouts of toppled President Saddam Hussein.
• IRAQ / ARRESTS VOA 25 Apr 2003 -- U-S officials say the former head of Iraqi Intelligence, Farouk Hijazi, has been detained by U.S. forces near Iraq's border with Syria. The arrest came less than a day after Iraq's former Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz surrendered to American forces.
• Hydration not a problem as long as you have ... MWSS-373 USMC News 25 Apr 2003 -- Being in the middle of the Iraqi Desert, water surfaces as a very important commodity. Without water Marines would not be able to perform their mission.
• Camp Fenway leaves lasting impression on 24th MEU Marines USMC News 25 Apr 2003 -- The Marines of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), while participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom, established their base camp for operations in a patch of dirt in Central Iraq.
• Director keeps hospital safe unitl U.S. forces arrive USMC News 25 Apr 2003 -- When Saddam Hussein, the former tyrannical leader of Iraq, ordered the prisons opened and the inmates freed, Hussain Ali Aga Al-Sulivani, the director of Al-Zawrahi Public Hospital, had to make a decision that could have cost him his life. He could flee for safety or remain with the hospital and try to defend it from looters and guerilla forces. Al-Sulivani chose to stay.
• 15th MEU (SOC) kick starts Nasiriyah's legal system USMC News 25 Apr 2003 -- Marines and Sailors of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) are working together with local law enforcements to restore law and order in an area where it has been absent since the start of the war.

Deployments

• U.S. Navy's first Tomahawk shooter of Operation Iraqi Freedom returns to Pearl Harbor COMSUBPAC 25 Apr 2003 -- Los Angeles class attack submarine USS Cheyenne (SSN 773), the Navy's first ship to launch a Tomahawk cruise missile in Operation Iraqi Freedom, returned from nearly nine months at sea on April 24.
• Marine Air Group 11 prepares for homecoming USMC News 25 Apr 2003 -- Thirty Marine Aircraft Group 11 Marines returned home from Operation Iraqi Freedom Tuesday.
• 86th CRG medical staff keep forces healthy USAFE 25 Apr 2003 -- Members from the 86th Contingency Response Group medical team here recently deployed to open an airfield in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• Soldiers pack up Patriot missle launchers USAFE 25 Apr 2003 -- Since before the war with Iraq began, the U.S. and Turkish governments have been working diligently to plan for any support for contingency operations in Turkey. As a result of that planning, NATO sent Patriot missile batteries to protect Turkey from attacks from Iraq, in an operation dubbed "Display Deterrence."
• Message provides guidance for time off after deployment ACCNS 25 Apr 2003 -- Air Combat Command's airmen returning from deployments of 12 weeks or longer will receive four days of compensatory time off, plus 10 days for recovery and reconstitution, according to the command's personnel directorate.
• Offutt crews return home after supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom ACCNS 25 Apr 2003 -- Airmen from the 55th Wing returned from an Operation Iraqi Freedom deployment April 18 and 22 to cheers of joy and support from family members, co-workers, local media and community leaders.

US Policy

• Saddam Hussein 'May' Be Dead or Severely Injured, Bush Says AFPS 25 Apr 2003 -- "Some evidence" suggests Saddam Hussein may have died in air strikes that opened Operation Iraqi Freedom, President Bush said April 24.
• Powell Tells Iraqi People U.S. is Proud To Be Their Partner Washington File 25 Apr 2003 -- Speaking directly to the Iraqi people on April 24, Secretary of State Colin Powell assured them that the Baath Party's "evil leadership" was over. He underscored the U.S. commitment to helping the Iraqi people build government institutions "that will serve the people and not serve a dictator."
• No Reprisals for Hemispheric Nations Opposed to War, Powell Says Washington File 25 Apr 2003 -- The United States does not envision reprisals against hemispheric nations that opposed the war in Iraq, says Secretary of State Colin Powell.
• Powell Lauds Greek EU Presidency for Modulating Differences Over Iraq Washington File 25 Apr 2003 -- The crisis in Iraq was "a difficult time" for the Greek presidency of the European Union (EU), but it handled the difficulties "with great skill," Secretary of State Colin Powell said in an interview with Greek TV NET on April 25.
• EDITORIAL: BUILDING IRAQ'S FUTURE VOA 25 Apr 2003 -- Now that the U.S.-led coalition has ended the brutal regime of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, the task ahead is to help the Iraqi people map out their future. An interim administration composed of coalition leaders is overseeing that process. The deputy interim administrator, British General Tim Cross, said the ultimate goal -- freedom for the Iraqi people -- makes the difficult times ahead worthwhile
• EDITORIAL: END IRAQI SANCTIONS VOA 25 Apr 2003 -- It is time for the United Nations to remove economic sanctions on Iraq. These sanctions were put in place first in response to Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait and subsequently to prevent the brutal regime of Saddam Hussein from using proceeds from oil sales to acquire weapons of mass destruction.
• EDITORIAL: IRAN WARNED NOT TO MEDDLE IN IRAQ VOA 25 Apr 2003 -- The United States has warned Iran not to interfere as the Iraqi people move to set up a new government. The warning comes amid press reports that Iranian-trained agents have crossed into southern Iraq and are working in Najaf, Karbala, Basra, and other cities. The agents are said to include members of the Badr Brigade, an Iraqi exile group based in Iran, as well as some of Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

United Nations

• IRAQ/UN ENVIRONMENT VOA 25 Apr 2003 -- A United Nations agency says the magnitude of Iraq's environmental problems is so alarming that an immediate assessment and clean-up plan are urgently needed.
• UN opens new food corridor into Iraq, pledges aid to re-open schools UN News Centre 26 Apr 2003 -- United Nations relief agencies opened a fourth food corridor into Iraq today while pledging help for re-opening schools and shifting focus from contingency preparations for a refugee exodus out of the country to the eventual repatriation of up to 500,000 people.
• UN rights forum asks parties to Iraq conflict to follow humanitarian law UN News Centre 26 Apr 2003 -- Wrapping up its annual session today, the main United Nations human rights forum adopted a resolution on the situation in Iraq asking all parties to the current conflict to abide strictly by their obligations under international humanitarian law.

Reconstruction Issues

• Foreign Press Center Briefing On Iraqi Interim Authority 25 Apr 2003 -- "Since our last briefing here at the Foreign Press Center, a great deal has been accomplished in Iraq. With each passing day, the situation is improving. There are still small-scale military operations in some areas. But we can now say that the Iraqi people have been liberated from a Republic of Fear. Today they are working alongside coalition forces to build a free Iraq."

• Iraqi Women Tell Powell They Want a Voice in Iraq's Rebirth Washington File 25 Apr 2003 -- Iraqi women, who constitute at least fifty-five percent of their country's population, want a voice in its rebirth following the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. This message was strongly conveyed by six women in their April 23 meetings at the State Department with Secretary of State Colin Powell and Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky.
• U.S. Announces Financial Coordinators for Iraq Reconstruction Washington File 25 Apr 2003 -- Former U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Peter McPherson has been named financial coordinator for Iraqi reconstruction, Treasury Secretary John Snow has announced.
• Wolfowitz Says Baghdad Meeting April 28 to Be "Important Step" Washington File 25 Apr 2003 -- The meeting of free Iraqis scheduled in Baghdad for April 28 is another "important step forward," according to Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz.
• U-S / IRAQ VOA 25 Apr 2003 -- Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz says a group of Iraqis will meet in Baghdad Monday to discuss procedures for developing an Iraqi interim authority, a move Mr. Wolfowitz calls an important step forward.
• PENTAGON / IRAN VOA 25 Apr 2003 -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has said again the United States will not allow the establishment of a pro-Iranian government in Iraq.
• Kurds Pushing For Federalism RFE/L 25 Apr 2003 -- Sami Shoresh is a correspondent with RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq. He has been traveling in Iraq for more than a month, spending most of that time in the Kurdish-controlled north of the country.
• U.S. Civil Administration To Meet With Political Leaders In Baghdad RFE/L 25 Apr 2003 -- The U.S. civil administrator for Iraq, retired U.S. general Jay Garner, is due to meet in Baghdad on 28 April with Iraqi political leaders demanding a voice in how the country is run during the U.S. occupation period. The meeting follows a first conference between Garner and Iraqi groups 10 days ago near Ur that was marked by tensions.
• Baghdad Dispatch -- Religious Leaders Have Strong Voice In The City RFE/L 25 Apr 2003 -- Today is Friday, the Muslim day of prayer, and she reports that in large part it is the city's religious leaders who are providing the one clear voice of authority as communities attempt to bring life back to normal.
• IRAQ / WEAPONS VOA 25 Apr 2003 -- Security is a top priority for most Iraqis now that the war is over. But some fear the culture of weapons and private militias -- if left to flourish -- could undermine any attempt at law and order.
• IRAQ / UNHCR VOA 25 Apr 2003 -- The United Nations refugee agency says it is making plans to repatriate up to 500-thousand Iraqi refugees. The agency estimates 900-thousand Iraqi refugees now live outside the land of their birth.

Foreign Reactions

• ARAB VIEWS ON IRAQI LIBERATION VOA 25 Apr 2003 -- What does the liberation of Iraq mean for Arabs elsewhere? Next, On the Line.
• Pakistani Diplomat Sees Prominent UN Role RFE/L 25 Apr 2003 -- Pakistan joined the United Nations Security Council as a temporary member in January at the height of the debate over military action against Iraq. It maintained a neutral position, but the council ended up polarized after the U.S.-led coalition launched a war against Saddam Hussein's regime. Pakistan is now set to assume the council presidency as the body tries to find consensus on the practical issues of postwar Iraq.
• Powell Discusses Asian Support for U.S. Foreign Policy Washington File 25 Apr 2003 -- Following is a transcript of Secretary of State Colin Powell's April 24 remarks to the United States Asia Pacific Council Symposium on the support Asian countries have provided with regard to Operation Iraqi Freedom, anti-terrorism efforts, the North Korean situation, and other foreign policy issues

News Reports

• Baghdad Dispatch -- Iraqis React To Aziz's Detention RFE/L 25 Apr 2003 -- The U.S. military has announced that coalition forces in Baghdad are holding former Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz in custody and that he may provide information on the whereabouts of the country's toppled leader, Saddam Hussein.
• For Many, Destruction Of Cultural Sites The Most Devastating Aspect Of War RFE/L 25 Apr 2003 -- The looting and destruction of Iraqi museums, libraries, and other cultural sites that occurred during the U.S.-led takeover of Baghdad and other Iraqi cities has left many Iraqis in despair.
• KATZMAN-IRAQ VOA 25 Apr 2003 -- VOA's David Borgida interviews Kenneth Katzman of the Congressional Research Service who talks about the recent U.S. capture of key Iraqi figures.