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Military


20 February 2003 Military News

Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

  • Saipan Offloads Marines into Kuwait Navy NewStand 20 Feb 2003 -- Marines and Sailors launched from USS Saipan (LHA 2) by sea and air recently as they began the offload of forces from the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Battalion (MEB) and supporting units into Kuwait.
  • USS Bataan Transits the Suez Canal Navy NewStand 20 Feb 2003 -- If you think driving in heavy traffic on the highway is stressful, how about navigating a 42,000-ton ship down a canal that's no bigger than a six-lane highway?
  • KMTC graduates 6th BANA CENTCOM 20 Feb 2003 -- The 6th Battalion, Afghan National Army finished basic training at the Kabul Military Training Center Feb. 9, fielding almost 600 more troops for the central government.
  • ARMY RECRUITMENT IN TIMES SQUARE VOA 20 Feb 2003 -- U-S armed forces maintain more than seventeen hundred recruitment stations nationwide -- places where young people can come to learn about military life and decide whether to enlist for periods lasting anywhere from a year to a lifetime. But because communities across America vary greatly, recruitment officers in different locales must tailor their style when luring new recruits.
  • Coast Guard Port Security Unit 311 to deploy overseas USCG 20 Feb 2003 -- Coast Guard Port Security Unit 311 departs March Air Reserve Base
  • 22nd MEU Command Element's Focus Shifts to Training USMC News 20 Feb 2003 -- The build-up of U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf for use in a possible war against Iraq caused an interruption in the scheduled pre-deployment training of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit that the unit intends to put to good use.
  • 22nd MEU Embarkers Support 4th FSSG's Deployment USMC News 20 Feb 2003 -- On the top deck of a transport ship overlooking a field of stacked green metal cargo containers in a bustling East Coast sea port, two Marines quickly yet thoroughly inspect similar containers awaiting transport to points unknown.
  • Forward-deployed minesweeper gets new leadership Seventh Fleet 20 Feb 2003 -- The forward-deployed minesweeper USS Patriot (MCM 7), made a brief stop in Shimonoseki, Japan, before participating in the bilateral Mine Countermeasures Exercise/Explosive Ordnance Demolition Exercise 2003 (MINEX/EODEX '03).

  • RFE/RL Afghanistan Report, Vol 2, Number 7 20 Feb 2003 -- NIP IT IN THE BUD: AFGHANISTAN'S OPIUM INDUSTRY / U.S. DESIGNATES HEKMATYAR A TERRORIST... / ...AS TALIBAN LEADER CALLS FOR JIHAD AGAINST THE UNITED STATES... / ...AND SO DOES NEW GROUP ALLEGEDLY WORKING WITH HEKMATYAR / PAKISTANI INTELLIGENCE ACCUSED OF HELPING TALIBAN... / ...AS AFGHAN AMBASSADOR CALLS FOR THE EXPANSION OF ISAF TO ENSURE SECURITY / NANGARHAR GOVERNOR SAYS HIS PROVINCE READY TO REPEL TERRORIST INFILTRATIONS FROM PAKISTAN... / ...AS KABUL PAPER WARNS NEIGHBORS NOT TO INTERFERE IN AFGHANISTAN / U.S. FORCES AMBUSHED / GERMANS REPORTEDLY LEFT ALONE ON THE FRONT LINE... / ...AND ARE WORRIED ABOUT TERRORIST ATTACKS / CONTRIBUTION TO ISAF NOT RELATED TO GERMAN POLICY ON IRAQ / AFGHAN CIVILIANS REPORTEDLY KILLED IN COALITION BOMBING... / ...BUT THE CLAIM IS DENIED BY THE U.S. / AFGHAN MILITARY CAPTAIN CRITICIZES FINANCE MINISTER / FINANCE MINSTER SAYS AFGHANISTAN'S INCOME ONLY COVERS DEFENSE MINISTRY'S NEEDS / ELECTION COMMISSION FORMED / NANGARHAR SUPPORTS DEMOCRACY AND A STRONG CENTRAL GOVERNMENT IN KABUL / WESTERNERS WORRIED ABOUT NEW AFGHAN CONSTITUTION / PAKISTAN DONATES ARMS TO AFGHANISTAN / UNIDENTIFIED DISEASE KILLS SIX AFGHAN CHILDREN / AFGHAN VILLAGERS UNDER ATTACK FROM UNKNOWN ANIMALS / THIS WEEK IN AFGHANISTAN'S HISTORY
  • Senior UN envoy to attend special Tokyo conference on Afghan disarmament UN News Centre 20 Feb 2003 -- The senior United Nations envoy for Afghanistan left Kabul today for Japan to attend a special international conference on disarmament in the Central Asian country, one of the world's most heavily armed.
  • AFGHANISTAN: IOM office comes under bomb attack IRIN 20 Feb 2003 -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) told IRIN on Thursday its offices in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz had come under bomb attack earlier in the week.
  • AFGHANISTAN: Demobilisation conference expected to boost security IRIN 20 Feb 2003 -- A major donor conference this weekend in the Japanese capital Tokyo is expected to speed up the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) of former combatants in Afghanistan, following pledges by the US and Japanese governments to provide US $95 million for the process.

Defense Policy / Programs

  • Army Guard troops support security forces ACCNS 20 Feb 2003 -- Army National Guard troops have temporarily "crossed into the blue" in support of Ellsworth's security forces.
  • Teamwork, training lead to helicopter's safe recovery Seventh Fleet 20 Feb 2003 -- During a nerve-rattling flight quarters aboard USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43) Feb. 14, crewmembers safely recovered an SH-60B helicopter experiencing engine difficulties on the dock landing ship's flight deck.
  • ARMY ANNOUNCES NEW ACTIVE COMPONENT UNIT STOP LOSS POLICY Army Release 20 Feb 2003 -- In coordination with the Department of Defense, the Army Leadership has formulated an Active Component (AC) unit stop loss program for certain units deployed or alerted for deployment in support of operations in the U.S. Central Command Area of Responsibility (CENTCOM AOR).
  • Water in the Nose and Survival on the Mind USMC News 20 Feb 2003 -- The video is both absorbing and horrifying. Taken from aboard the USNS Pecos, the images show a CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit become ensnarled in the Pecos' safety netting during a shipboard seizure exercise.
  • AF revises body modification, mutilation guidance AFPN 20 Feb 2003 -- The Air Force has revised personal appearance guidelines in response to a trend involving extreme body modification and mutilation that is becoming common among a small, yet growing segment of the population, according to personnel officials.
  • Strategy school changes name, expands AFPN 20 Feb 2003 -- To reflect the growing importance of space capabilities to the warfighter and the need for air and space strategists, Air University's School of Advanced Airpower Studies is changing its name and expanding.
  • Sailing with Carrier, Cruiser: Different Roles, Same Team Navy NewStand 20 Feb 2003 -- An aircraft carrier and a cruiser have completely different roles to play in a battle group, yet they work together for a common goal within a battle group.
  • Pentagon to Issue Escape Masks to Employees AFPS 20 Feb 2003 -- Every person on the Pentagon reservation will receive "escape masks" in the event the building is attacked again, DoD officials said today.
  • NATO / ROBERTSON VOA 20 Feb 2003 -- The head of NATO says the internal dispute over defending Turkey in case of war in Iraq is not as bad as it seems, and urged people on both sides of the Atlantic to calm down.
  • NATO Decision Shows How Democratic Nations Work Together AFPS 20 Feb 2003 -- NATO's decision to protect Turkey from potential attack by Iraq is an example of how alliance members can work together to resolve tough issues, Secretary of State Colin Powell said today.
  • Wolfowitz Says U.S. Still Working on Agreement with Turkey Washington File 20 Feb 2003 -- Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said February 19 that, "if it becomes necessary to use force" to disarm Iraq, "we will achieve our objective with or without Turkish cooperation. But with Turkish cooperation it can be much quicker, much less painful for everybody including innocent civilians in Iraq, including Turkey and the Turkish economy, including the United States."
  • Powell Says U.S. Firm on Level of Assistance to Turkey Washington File 20 Feb 2003 -- The United States remains firm about the level and kind of assistance available for Turkey in the context of a possible war with Iraq, Secretary of State Colin Powell said in response to a journalist's question February 20, but added, "There may be some other creative things we can do."
  • SECNAV Visits Bahrain, NAVCENT/5th Fleet Sailors, Marines Navy NewStand 20 Feb 2003 -- The Navy's top leader arrived recently in the Navy Central Command/ 5th Fleet area of responsibility to visit with Sailors and Marines.
  • PENTAGON/PHILIPPINES VOA 20 Feb 2003 -- U-S and Philippine troops soon plan to conduct a joint anti-terrorist operation aimed at destroying the Abu Sayyaf guerrilla group.
  • TURKEY/U-S/IRAQ VOA 20 Feb 2003 -- Turkey's Parliament announced Thursday that it would not be voting this week on a motion that would enable deployment of thousands of U-S troops in Turkey. The announcement comes amid mounting pressure from Washington for Turkey to commit itself to a possible US-led war against Iraq.
  • POWELL-TURKEY AID VOA 20 Feb 2003 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell is awaiting an answer from Turkey by the end of Thursday, as to whether the Ankara government will allow U-S troops on its soil for any conflict with Iraq. The two sides have been at odds over the terms of a multi-billion dollar U-S aid package to compensate Turkey for war-related economic damage.
  • TURKISH U-S COOPERATION VOA 20 Feb 2003 -- A disagreement between long time U-S ally Turkey, a member of NATO, over the extent of cooperation in a potential war with Iraq is getting more and more attention in the U-S press.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

  • DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 20 Feb 2003

  • UN peacekeeping operations on track for speedier deployment, Annan reports UN News Centre 20 Feb 2003 -- Recent reforms have put United Nations peacekeeping operations on track for speedier and more effective deployment on ever more complex missions throughout the world, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report released today.

  • Mideast Quartet Concerned by Israeli-Palestinian Violence Washington File 20 Feb 2003 -- The Middle East Quartet -- the United States, the United Nations, Russia and the European Union -- has expressed "very serious concern" at the recent violence between Israelis and Palestinians.
  • ISRAEL PALESTINIANS VOA 20 Feb 2003 -- Israeli forces cut the Gaza Strip into three sections on Thursday in a second day of operations there. The action comes a day after four rockets fired from Gaza hit the Israeli town of Sderot, wounding one man.

  • LIBERIA: Panel appointed to review compliance with sanctions IRIN 20 Feb 2003 -- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Wednesday appointed four specialists to an expert panel whose mandate will be to review Liberia's compliance with sanctions imposed on the country in 2001.
  • LIBERIA: Refocus on Liberia, says ActionAid IRIN 20 Feb 2003 -- The resumption of armed conflict in Liberia warrants the renewed attention of the international community, a British development charity said on Wednesday, urging the United States to take the lead role in solving the crisis.

  • IVORY COAST VOA 20 Feb 2003 -- International pressure is mounting on Ivory Coast to implement a French-mediated peace accord. Meanwhile, there are reports of fighting in northern Ivory Coast.
  • COTE D'IVOIRE: Fighting continues in the west IRIN 20 Feb 2003 -- Rebels of the Mouvement patriotique de Cote d'Ivoire and loyalist soldiers clashed on two occasions on Wednesday near the central-western town of Zuenoula, Ivorian army spokesman Col Jules Yao-Yao reported on Thursday. He said the fighting took place in Badiefla, a village 20km northwest of Zuenoula. It lasted from 7:00 GMT to 11:00GMT, resumed at 14:30 GMT and ended at 18:00GMT.

  • Bush Reports to Congress on Cyprus Situation Washington File 20 Feb 2003 -- President Bush sent to Congress February 19 a periodic progress report on efforts toward a negotiated settlement of the Cyprus question, covering the period of December 1, 2002 through January 31, 2003.
  • PHILIPPINES / VIOLENCE VOA 20 Feb 2003 -- At least 16 people have been killed in the latest outbreak of violence in the southern Philippines. Two explosions rocked the region Thursday as the government tries to save peace talks with Islamic separatist rebels to end more than 30 years of hostilities in the Muslim-dominated south.
  • UN renews efforts for Georgian-Abkhaz peace UN News Centre 20 Feb 2003 -- Renewing efforts to reach a peace settlement to the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, the United Nations hosted a meeting of interested parties, which put forward a set of proposals on economic, humanitarian, political and security issues.
  • CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Loyalist troops retake northwestern town, says president IRIN 20 Feb 2003 -- Government and allied foreign troops have recaptured the rebel headquarters of Bossangoa, about 300 km northwest of the Central African Republic (CAR) capital, Bangui, President Ange-Felix Patasse has said in a broadcast on Radio France Internationale.
  • SOMALIA: Key issue is "survival" says UNICEF IRIN 20 Feb 2003 -- The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has said that the survival and protection of children and women will remain key issues in Somalia over the next five years.
  • DRC: Rebel group expels priest for offering refuge to displaced people IRIN 20 Feb 2003 -- The Union des patriotes congolais, an ethnic militia in control of the zone of Bunia, northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, has expelled a Belgian Catholic priest for offering "illegal hospitality" to displaced people, the Missionary Service News Agency (MISNA) reported on Wednesday.
  • ANGOLA: Refugees in need of assistance in areas of return IRIN 20 Feb 2003 -- Refugees who had spontaneously returned to Angola have found themselves in a desperate situation, the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Thursday.

News Reports

  • SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 20 Feb 2003
  • SHAPE News Summary Analysis SHAPE 20 Feb 2003
  • PAKISTAN CRASH VOA 20 Feb 2003 -- Pakistan's Air Force chief and 16 others have died in a plane crash in the Northwest of the country.
  • Middle East Quartet voices 'serious concern' at continuing cycle of violence UN News Centre 20 Feb 2003 -- Envoys for the diplomatic Quartet on the Middle East peace process - comprising the United States, Russian Federation, European Union, and United Nations - today voiced their "very serious concern" at the continuing cycle of violence in the region and repeated their call for an immediate ceasefire.
  • Annan in Paris for Africa-France Summit, meetings with African leaders UN News Centre 20 Feb 2003 -- United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan met with several African leaders in Paris today, including South African President Thabo Mbeki and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, to discuss top world and regional issues.
  • FRANCE/AFRICA SUMMIT VOA 20 Feb 2003 -- French President Jacques Chirac pledged Thursday to restore Africa to the heart of French diplomacy after a decade of gradual disengagement. President Chirac addressed African leaders meeting for a three-day summit.
  • ZIMBABWE / TRIAL VOA 20 Feb 2003 -- The state's main witness in the treason trial of Zimbabwe's opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, acknowledged Thursday he had secretly filmed Mr. Tsvangirai in order to gather evidence against him. Canadian political consultant Ari Ben Menashe told the court he pretended to Mr. Tsvangirai that he would help assassinate President Robert Mugabe ahead of presidential elections last March.
  • ARMENIA/ELECTIONS VOA 20 Feb 2003 -- Voters in Armenia will have to wait another couple of weeks to find out who will become the country's next president.
  • Senator Says U.S. Cannot Live in World Without Allies Washington File 20 Feb 2003 -- Making allusions to Winston Churchill's famous "Iron Curtain" speech of 1946, U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel said February 20 that the United States today "stands at a pinnacle of power" and again bears a heavy burden for securing a better world, but cannot do so alone.
  • NON-ALIGNED SUMMIT VOA 20 Feb 2003 -- Against a backdrop of war looming in the Middle East, senior officials and ministers from 114 nations grouped under the Non-Aligned Movement, or NAM, are in Malaysia ahead of a two-day summit. While Iraq is expected to dominate discussions, North Korea Thursday took center-stage with a controversial resolution.
  • SOKOR / SUBWAY FIRE VOA 20 Feb 2003 -- Grieving families are demanding that the South Korean government speed up identification of their relatives killed in a massive subway fire. President-elect Roh Moo-hyun is pledging more will be done.
  • CHINA/WATER TRANSFER VOA 20 Feb 2003 -- China says a multi-billion dollar project to pump water from the country's south to its north will relieve an intensifying water shortage. Despite fears that the plan will damage the environment and waste money, officials insist the project is necessary for China's long-term economic health.
  • BURMA / U-S DIALOGUE VOA 20 Feb 2003 -- Burma's military government, under the threat of fresh economic sanctions, has invited the United States to enter a dialogue on the country's future economic and political development.
  • VENEZUELA VOA 20 Feb 2003 -- Venezuelan opposition leader Carlos Fernandez has been detained by armed men believed to be secret police. Opposition leaders called for protests in support of Mr. Fernandez, one of the organizers of a two-month anti-government strike. Mr. Fernandez is charged with treason and criminal conspiracy.
  • COMOROS: Political stability yet to be achieved IRIN 20 Feb 2003 -- Ongoing tensions between newly elected President of the Comoro Union, Azali Assoumani, and the president of the autonomous island of Grande Comore may further threaten political stability in the archipelago, analysts warned on Thursday.
  • ETHIOPIA: US government officials call for more aid IRIN 20 Feb 2003 -- The US government made an impassioned plea on Wednesday to boost aid for drought-stricken Ethiopians and save thousands of lives.
  • ERITREA: Deepening crisis because of delays in international aid IRIN 20 Feb 2003 -- Aid agencies in Eritrea have warned of a deepening humanitarian crisis caused by delays in the international response to the devastating drought gripping the country.



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