Operations
Other Conflicts
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
News Reports

Current Operations

• PHILIPPINES / U-S TROOPS VOA 17 Feb. 2002-- The first contingent of U-S Special Forces soldiers has deployed in the southern Philippine island of Basilan, in what is being described as the largest counter-terrorism operation by the U-S military since Afghanistan

Other Conflicts

• ZIMBABWE ARRESTS VOA 17 Feb. 2002-- Political and human-rights groups in Zimbabwe say that harassment of opposition supporters is continuing. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change says that one of its parliament members has been beaten by police, and church officials say police have arrested four priests for holding a prayer vigil.
• NEPAL/MAOISTS VOA 17 Feb. 2002-- Maoist rebels in Nepal have killed 100-people, mostly policemen and soldiers, in a wave of attacks on government installations

Defense Policy / Programs

• Wartime Budget Less Than Late-70's Peacetime-Era Costs 17 Feb. 2002-- The Pentagon's chief financial officer said Feb. 14 that DoD's fiscal '03 budget proposal of $379 billion contains far fewer dollars than late-'70s, peacetime-era military costs.

Defense Industry

News Reports

• Transcript: Defense Deputy Wolfowitz on Fox News Sunday, Feb. 17 17 Feb. 2002-- "We now, after September 11th, have a graphic, clear understanding of what commercial airliners can do. We can't wait until we have a graphic, clear understanding of what biological weapons or nuclear weapons can do before we do something about breaking that connection," Wolfowitz said.
• BUSH KOREA VOA 17 Feb. 2002-- During his weeklong trip to Asia, President Bush will try to promote continued stability on the Korean peninsula
• U-S UNILATERALISM VOA 17 Feb. 2002-- The Bush Administration is again answering criticism from some of its allies for President Bush's "axis of evil" comment
• Transcript: Powell Says Iraq Must Allow Arms Inspections 17 Feb. 2002-- President Bush is examining all options on Iraq, Powell said, and is leading political and diplomatic action in the United Nations and among allies. "Just remember that this is a president who acts with deliberation, with prudence, and with patience," Powell said. He added that "there is no attack plan or military option that has been brought forward by the president's advisors."
• Transcript: Powell Rejects Charges of U.S. Unilateralism 17 Feb. 2002-- Secretary of State Colin Powell rejected charges that the Bush administration is acting unilateraly in pursuit of its foreign policy, particularly in its policies on Iran, Iraq and North Korea -- the countries characterized by President Bush in his January State of the Union address as an "axis of evil."
• Wolfowitz: WMD Threat Is Real; Anti-Terror War Isn't Over 17 Feb. 2002-- Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz today noted that weapons of mass destruction possessed by the "axis of evil" -- Iraq, Iran and North Korea -- pose a real threat to the world.