Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Government Statements and Transcripts
US Domestic Responses
International Responses
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

October 31, 2001 Airstrikes

Operations

• AFGHAN ATTACKS VOA 31 Oct. 2001-- U-S war planes carried out heavy strikes against targets near the southern Afghan city, Kandahar, Wednesday. Taleban authorities say eight people were injured in the raids when a bomb fell near the center of the city. The report cannot be independently confirmed
• PENTAGON / STRIKES VOA 31 Oct. 2001-- U-S air forces including heavy bombers continue to hammer Taleban and al-Qaida terrorist targets inside Afghanistan, as a senior Pentagon official reports considerable progress in the campaign.
• AFGHAN / QUAGMIRE VOA 31 Oct. 2001-- The U-S military campaign inside Afghanistan is just over three weeks old. Yet already criticism has surfaced, suggesting the operation is bogged down
• AFGHAN ATTACKS VOA 31 Oct. 2001-- U-S warplanes pounded the Taleban's frontlines near the capital and the key northern town of Mazar-e-Sharif, where opposition forces say they are poised to launch a major offensive

Video footage, and pre- and post-strike aerials of airstrikes, used during DoD news briefing
Click on the small image to view a larger version
Footage showing airstrike on a group of Taliban armored vehicles dispersed along a ridge line facing the Northern Alliance outside Mazar-e-Sharif
Footage showing airstrike on a Taliban military vehicle trying to find cover in revetments south of Kandahar	Footage showing airstrike on a Taliban military vehicle trying to find cover in revetments south of Kandahar

Defense Policy / Programs

Government Statements and Transcripts

• Background Briefing on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles 31 Oct. 2001-- This is a background briefing to provide an overview and update on unmanned aerial vehicles.
• Background Briefing Slides on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles 31 Oct. 2001-- These are the slides for the background briefing providing an overview and update on unmanned aerial vehicles.
• Transcript: Pentagon Spokesman's Briefing, October 31, 2001 31 Oct. 2001-- To your first question: The point of making them an inaccurate number is really for that purpose. It's just hard for us to understand the specifics of knowing exactly what number of aircraft participated.
• Transcript: State Department Noon Briefing, October 31, 2001 31 Oct. 2001-- Boucher: Everybody knows the United States is not the only one that has a problem with their harboring foreign terrorists. They say they don't want to fight with the American people, and yet they harbor and support people who killed 5,000 Americans and people from 80 other countries. It is ridiculous to say things like that.
• Transcript: Ashcroft Briefs on New Anti-Terrorism Immigration Policies 31 Oct. 2001-- "America will not allow terrorists to use our hospitality as a weapon against us," Ashcroft told reporters October 31.
• Transcript: White House Daily Briefing, October 31, 2001 31 Oct. 2001-- FLEISCHER: There was a previous no-fly zone implemented over nuclear facilities. It's been expanded, and that was as a result of the recent warning that went out by the FBI
• Text: FATF Cracks Down on Terrorist Financing 31 Oct. 2001-- At an extraordinary Plenary (1) on the Financing of Terrorism held in Washington, D.C. on 29 and 30 October 2001, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) expanded its mission beyond money laundering. It will now also focus its energy and expertise on the world-wide effort to combat terrorist financing
• Text: DOD Issues Information Paper on Depleted Uranium in Balkans 31 Oct. 2001-- "On the whole," according to the release, "these assessments have not found any connections between depleted uranium exposure in the Balkans and negative health effects."
• Text: The OAS and the IDB Speak Out on the Impact of September 11 31 Oct. 2001-- Cesar Gaviria, secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), and Enrique Iglesias, president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), are urgently calling "for support by the Inter-American community for those countries that have suffered economic consequences arising from the terrorist attacks of September 11, especially the countries of the Caribbean and Central America
• Text: Relief Bill for Afghan Women, Children Put on Senate Calendar 31 Oct. 2001-- The proposed legislation says that the President is authorized "to provide educational and health care assistance for the women and children living in Afghanistan and as refugees in neighboring countries."
• Text: U.S. Revoking Visas of United Self-Defense Supporters 31 Oct. 2001-- As part of our ongoing efforts to oppose terrorism, the United States government is revoking the U.S. non-immigrant visas of four Colombian citizens who have collaborated with, or supported financially, the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia
• Text: U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator Afghanistan Report, Oct. 30 31 Oct. 2001-- U.N. Special Representative for Afghanistan Lakhdar Brahimi and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf agreed that the unity and territory of Afghanistan must be preserved in a political solution that is "home-grown and fully owned by the people of Afghanistan."

US Domestic Responses

• BUSH INFORMATION WAR VOA 31 Oct. 2001-- The White House is stepping up its information war against terrorism. An intensified public relations campaign is being planned.
• TERROR-IMMIGRATION VOA 31 Oct. 2001-- Top U-S law enforcement officials are moving ahead with a broad tightening of immigration policy in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks
• U.S. Consular Officials Increase Scrutiny on U.S. Visa Applications USIA 31 Oct. 2001-- State's Boucher praises Saudis for anti-terrorism cooperation

International Responses

• SAUDI ARABIA /TERROR ASSETS VOA 31 Oct. 2001-- The Bush administration says Saudi Arabia has agreed to freeze assets of people with suspected links to terrorism. It is believed some of those involved in the September 11th attacks on the United States are Saudi citizens
• AFGHAN / NORTHERN ALLIANCE VOA 31 Oct. 2001-- Afghanistan's opposition Northern Alliance is calling on the international community not to stop its military campaign against suspected terrorist targets in Afghanistan, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan
• RUSSIA / BRITAIN VOA 31 Oct. 2001-- British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw is in Moscow for talks that are expected to focus on the fight against terrorism

Defense Industry

• ATK Awarded Contract to Produce Training Ammunition for NATO Country ATK 31 Oct 2001 -- ATK (Alliant Techsystems) (NYSE: ATK) said it has been awarded a contract from the NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency, Capellen, Luxembourg, to produce 20mm PGU-27A/B training ammunition for use by a NATO country. The contract marks the first international sale of the product by ATK.
• BAE SYSTEMS awarded ammunition storage, handling and management services contract BAE Systems 31 Oct 2001 -- BAE Systems Technical Services, part of BAE Systems North America, has been awarded a $5 million contract by the Regional Contracting Department, Fleet and Industrial Supply Center, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
• U.S. Navy Awards General Dynamics $17.2 Million in Submarine Work General Dynamics 31 Oct 2001 -- The U. S. Navy has awarded Electric Boat a $17.2-million contract modification to provide design agent, planning yard, and engineering and technical support for various nuclear submarines. Electric Boat is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD).
• AgustaWestland, Lockheed Martin Announce Alliance to Produce Medium-Lift helicopters for U.S. Market Lockheed Martin 31 Oct 2001 -- Officials from Lockheed Martin and AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica and GKN company, announced today they are initiating a joint effort focusing on the U.S. government medium-lift helicopter market with immediate attention toward combat search and rescue opportunities with the U.S. Air Force.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 31 Oct 2001

News Reports

• CAMPAIGN AGAINST TERROR: FOREIGN MEDIA WAITING FOR 'RESULTS' FMR 31 Oct. 2001-- The following is a global round-up of the most recent media commentary gauging the status of anti-terrorism effort and the military campaign in Afghanistan, with many looking for results through the prism of their own regional interests.
• WALL ST. WRAP VOA 31 Oct. 2001-- U-S stock prices were mixed Wednesday, as new data showed the U-S economy shrank in the third quarter
• ANTHRAX PROBE VOA 31 Oct. 2001-- The nation's top law enforcement official says investigators are working hard to find out who is behind the anthrax attacks in the United States but have made little progress so far
• Women in Northern Alliance-Controlled Areas VOA 31 Oct. 2001-- The status of Afghan women living in areas controlled by the Taleban is well known. But in areas controlled by the Northern Alliance, which opposes the Taleban, women also find their lives circumscribed by a strict interpretation of Islam.
• SECURITY ALERT DEBATE VOA 31 Oct. 2001-- The United States continues to be under the highest possible security aler,t since a warning from the Attorney General John Ashcroft on Monday.
• BORDER SECURITY VOA 31 Oct. 2001-- New anti-terrorism laws and tighter immigration controls along U-S borders often have translated into frustrating delays and lost revenue
• WAR AIMS (2) VOA 31 Oct. 2001-- At a CATO Institute meeting in Washington, participants debated whether to broaden the war against terrorism. In the second of two scripts (Version 2)
• WAR AIMS (1) VOA 31 Oct. 2001-- The progress of the war against terrorism and its aims were debated at a recent meeting of Washington's Cato Institute. (Version 1)
• HIGH-TECH WAR VOA 31 Oct. 2001-- Past wars required stepped up production of arms and aircraft, but the U-S government is looking at some of the latest business technology for help in its war against terrorism
• BUSH SECURITY VOA 31 Oct. 2001-- President Bush met with Congressional leaders Wednesday to work out differences on measures to increase airport security
• U-S ECONOMY VOA 31 Oct. 2001-- The U-S economy contracted in the just completed July-to-September quarter of the year
• PAK / AFGHAN / NUKES VOA 31 Oct. 2001-- Pakistan's government has detained two nuclear scientists with close ties to the Taleban rulers of Afghanistan. Pakistani officials say the two are being questioned in connection with their pro-Taleban activities -- and not with anything having to do with their work on nuclear-related issues.
• White House Says Taliban Biggest Obstacle to Getting Aid to Afghans USIA 31 Oct. 2001-- Press Secretary Fleischer briefs on anti-terror campaign