• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

BALKANS

• The conservative politician vying to unseat Germany’ chancellor flew to Kosovo on Wednesday, beginning two days of visits with German soldiers and other officials serving in the troubled province. Edmund Stoiber, the governor of Bavaria, arrived Wednesday evening by military helicopter at the German peacekeeping camp in the town of Prizren, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) south Pristina. "We intend to give him an overview on the security situation here, the work that German soldiers are doing, the progress that has been made and the problems we face," said Lt. Col. Friedrich Franz Sondenkamp, a spokesman for the German troops in Kosovo. He is also to meet Kosovo’s UN administrator, the German diplomat Michael Steiner, and the province’s president, Ibrahim Rugova.(AP 071756 Aug 02 GMT)

• Saudi Arabia will not give the United States access to bases in the kingdom for an attack on Saddam Hussein, but the foreign minister said the longtime U.S. ally does not plan to expel American forces from an air base used for flights to monitor Iraq. In an interview Wednesday with The Associated Press, Prince Saud said the U.S.-Saudi alliance was just as solid now as before the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the United States. Saud said his government had made no secret of its opposition to a U.S. strike on Iraq. When asked if the kingdom would allow the United States to use Saudi facilities for such an attack, the prince said: "We have told them we don’t (want) them to use Saudi grounds." In Washington, U.S. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld said talk of a U.S. strike against Saddam Hussein was hypothetical and that the president had not asked the Saudis for use of their territory. "The president has not proposed such a thing; therefore, I don’t find it really something that has been engaged as such," Rumsfeld said in response to a question about Saud’s remarks. (AP 080045 Aug 02 GMT)

• The chairman of the U.S. military chiefs on Wednesday refused to say if they had agreed on an invasion to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, but noted any major operation would be proceeded by lively discussion. Gen. Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld expressed anger at media speculation over threats by President Bush to remove Saddam from power. In the latest leak in a battle to influence policy on Iraq, the Washington Times said on Wednesday U.S. armed forces leaders had reached consensus in support of using military force to oust Saddam. "The kind of advice that the military provides to Secretary Rumsfeld and the president and the rest of the National Security Council is certainly privileged communications, and I’m not going to share that with you here," Myers said in response to questions at a Pentagon briefing. Rumsfeld and Myers told reporters that media stories on Iraq policy and the U.S. military have been inconsistent. (Reuters 2108 070802 Aug 02 GMT)

AFGHANISTAN

• A U.S. special forces soldier was shot in the chest and wounded on Wednesday while on patrol south of Khost in eastern Afghanistan near Pakistan, said the chairman of the Pentagon Joint Chiefs of Staff. "Earlier today, a U.S. soldier was injured while on patrol, south of Khost. He was shot in the chest and he's currently being attended to and getting medical treatment as we speak," Gen. Myers told a Pentagon briefing. "We don't have many details. This is the first report," Myers told reporters. "We know one is wounded in the chest and is being taken care of."(Reuters 1920 070802 Aug 02 GMT)

OTHER NEWS

• The new Czech centre-left cabinet won a vote of confidence in the lower house of parliament on Wednesday for its plans to join the EU and raise the national debt to build a wider welfare network. The coalition government led by Social Democrat Vladimir Spidla got 101 votes in the 200-seat lower house. "I was ready for any result, and yes, I was relieved. I am convinced that the government will last the entire term," Spidla told reporters after the vote, looking to quell speculation that the coalition will not be able to hold on to power for its full four-year mandate. The Czechs, along with nine other mostly east European countries, are hoping to join the EU in 2004. President Vaclav Havel welcomed the result from his holiday home in Portugal where he is recovering from bronchitis, saying it allowed the government to quickly assume its tasks. "The Czech Republic is within reach of European Union membership, and it is desirable to maintain the dynamics of the ongoing integration processes," a spokesman quoted Havel as saying.(Reuters 1825 070802 Aug 02 GMT)

FINAL ITEM