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Military


26 February 2003 Military News

Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

  • FT. BLISS DEPLOYMENT VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- As the diplomatic effort to force Iraq to eliminate its weapons of mass destruction continues, the United States is assembling troops and military assets in the Persian Gulf region. It is a difficult time for both the soldiers and the families they leave behind.
  • Coast Guard Tabs Ships, Crews for Deployment AFPS 26 Feb 2003 -- The U.S. Coast Guard has tabbed 10 ships for deployment in support of the global war on terrorism.
  • CGC Dallas deploys for Operation Enduring Freedom USCG 26 Feb 2003 -- A Charleston-based Coast Guard cutter has been ordered to deploy overseas to support Operation Enduring Freedom and to prepare for future contingencies.
  • U-S TROOPS TO PHILIPPINES VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- The American press is commenting on the use of United States military forces to fight terrorism in the Philippines
  • Marksmen provide security and another set of eyes at Kabul's U.S. Embassy USMC News 26 Feb 2003 -- According to the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (Anti-Terrorism) Training Center's Designated Marksman Rifle Course Training Book a designated marksman (DM) is an individual highly trained in marksmanship and observation. The book also states, in support of close quarter battle operations, the DM gathers and reports information and upon command from legitimate authority delivers precision fire on positively identified threats.
  • CJTF-HOA air traffic controllers use new technology to fight terrorism USMC News 26 Feb 2003 -- Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa has a new weapon in the fight against terrorism. The AN/TSQ - 216 Remote Landing Site Tower gives the task force an extended reach into the region, enhancing CJTF-HOA's ability to deter, disrupt and detect transnational terrorism in the Horn of Africa.
  • 'Blizzard' of cargo crashes down on Aerial Port Squadron AMCNS 26 Feb 2003 -- The workload of the 437th Aerial Port Squadron increased an estimated 250 percent after two APS buildings at Dover AFB, Del., collapsed under pressure from the Blizzard of '03.
  • 30th Medical Brigade soldiers continue to deploy USAREUR News 26 Feb 2003 -- A small group of soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 30th Medical Brigade, departed Heidelberg at daybreak Feb. 25, on their way to the Persian Gulf. There they will join members of the company already in place.
  • IMEF: prepared for chemical attacks USMC News 26 Feb 2003 -- President George W. Bush recently declared Saddam Hussein has authorized his military field commanders to use chemical weapons in the event American forces take military action to disarm the Iraqi regime. I Marine Expeditionary Force is ready to fend off any such attacks, according to Marine officials.
  • Infantry Soldiers Deploy Fort Riley PAO 26 Feb 2003 -- Approximately 50 infantry soldiers with the 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division deployed Feb. 25 to support the President's global war on terrorism.
  • Additional Soldiers Prepare to Deploy Fort Riley PAO 26 Feb 2003 -- Approximately 900 more Fort Riley soldiers, from the 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division and 937th Engineer Group, received orders this week to prepare to deploy in support of Central Command operations.

  • CONGRESS / KARZAI VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai is urging the United States not to abandon his country if there is a U-S-led war against Iraq.
  • 'Don't Forget Afghanistan,' Karzai Cautions U.S. Congress AFPS 26 Feb 2003 -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai delivered a sobering message to the U.S. Congress today: Don't forget Afghanistan.
  • U-S / AFGHANISTAN VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai Thursday meets with President Bush at the White House, where he is expected to urge the administration not to abandon Afghanistan if there is a U-S led war against Iraq. It is an appeal he made on Capitol Hill Wednesday
  • Afghan repatriation nears 400,000 mark IRIN 26 Feb 2003 -- The number of Afghans who have returned to their homeland from Iran is approaching the 400,000 mark, says the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
  • AFGHANISTAN: Kabul calls for jobs for former combatants IRIN 26 Feb 2003 -- The Afghan Ministry of Defence has called for increased job opportunities for thousands of fighters before they can be disarmed and reintegrated into civil society. "Mujahideen [combatants] will not be demobilised until job opportunities are created for them," Afghanistan Deputy Defence Minister Attiqullah Baryalai, told IRIN in the capital, Kabul.

Defense Policy / Programs

  • White House Daily Briefing White House 26 Feb 2003
  • Emergency essential civilians strike balance between military, civilian worlds USAFE News 26 Feb 2003 -- They may not wear a uniform, endure six weeks of basic training or collect hazardous fire pay, but they are warriors nonetheless.
  • DARPA / GRAND CHALLENGE VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- U-S defense officials have issued a challenge to inventors, off-road racers and robot enthusiasts: build a robotic vehicle that can travel almost 500 kilometers over rugged terrain, for a prize of one-million dollars.
  • The Bush Preemption Doctrine: The Case of Iraq VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- Britain and the United States submitted a draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council this week. The proposal says Iraq will face serious consequences if it does not obey U-N orders to peacefully disarm. Given Iraq's repeated defiance of Security Council resolutions, Bush Administration officials are seeking U-N backing to disarm Iraq by force if necessary. But the administration is on record as saying U-N approval may not be needed to protect U-S Security.
  • Air Force rethinks air operations centers AFPN 26 Feb 2003 -- The Air Force needs to start thinking of its air operations centers as weapon systems if the service wants to remain the best in the world, the deputy chief of staff for air and space operations said.
  • Allied forces at their best AFPN 26 Feb 2003 -- Three countries "battling it out" during Cope Tiger '03 are doing more than just honing their combat skills -- they are improving the lives of Thai school children.
  • Westover bridges airlift effort to Southwest Asia AFPN 26 Feb 2003 -- Westover's Air Force Reserve Command assets again stand at the critical junction of an air bridge across the Atlantic.
  • Reserve, Active Components Will 'Rebalance' AFPS 26 Feb 2003 -- There will be a "rebalancing" of the missions between the active duty component and reserve components of the Total Force, said Thomas F. Hall, assistant defense secretary for reserve affairs.
  • Rumsfeld, Reyes to Meet on Philippines' Abu Sayyaf Threat AFPS 26 Feb 2003 -- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Philippine Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes will meet at the Pentagon Feb. 28 to hammer out details of U.S. participation in operations against the Abu Sayyaf terror group.
  • Allied forces at their best PACAFNS 26 Feb 2003 -- Three countries that are "battling it out" above the skies over Thailand during the annual two-week multi-lateral Exercise Cope Tiger 03 are doing more than just honing their combat skills - they are improving the lives of Thai school children.

  • BULGARIA / NATO VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- Bulgaria's foreign minister, Solomon Passy (Wednesday) says he favors the United States shifting some of its NATO troops from Germany, east to Bulgaria, which hopes to join the western defense alliance next year.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

  • DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 26 Feb 2003

  • CYPRUS / FUTURE VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan is in Cyprus making a last ditch effort to get Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders to accept a reunification plan that will allow both sides to join the European Union next year.
  • COSTAS YENNARIS/CYPRUS VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- U-N Secretary General Kofi Annan is due to arrive (has arrived) in Cyprus today (Wednesday) as he continues to encourage Greek Cypriots to meet Friday's deadline for a U-N brokered deal to resolve the division of the island.

  • IVORY COAST VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- Anti-government rebels say Ivory Coast's civil war could re-ignite if the president goes ahead with a plan to install non-rebel bureaucrats in key security posts.
  • COTE D'IVOIRE: Population movement continues IRIN 26 Feb 2003 -- The population movement from Cote d'Ivoire towards Liberia, brought on by the five-month-old Ivorian crisis, has continued, the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Tuesday.

  • President Bush Presents Vision of Middle East Peace Washington File 26 Feb 2003 -- A peaceful and disarmed Iraq would benefit the Iraqi people and set the stage for progress towards peace throughout the Middle East, President Bush said in remarks February 26 at the American Enterprise Institute annual dinner in Washington.

  • Western Sahara: Annan urges POLISARIO to release remaining prisoners of war UN News Centre 26 Feb 2003 -- United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan appealed to the Frente POLISARIO today to speed up the release of all remaining prisoners of war as 100 freed POWs were repatriated to Morocco.
  • SOMALIA: TNG says peace talks facing collapse IRIN 26 Feb 2003 -- Somalia's Transitional National Government (TNG) has refused to take part in the peace talks which were moved recently from the Kenyan town of Eldoret to the capital Nairobi, warning that they are facing collapse.
  • BURUNDI: Rebels caution on security for observers IRIN 26 Feb 2003 -- Burundi's main rebel group, the Conseil national pour la defense de la democratie-Forces pour la defense de la democratie (CNDD-FDD) faction led by Pierre Nkurunziza, has warned that it will not be responsible for the security of observers sent by the African Union (AU) to monitor a ceasefire in the country, Radio publique africaine reported on Tuesday.
  • ANGOLA: Frustration increases as ex-soldiers await govt assistance IRIN 26 Feb 2003 -- Costa, a former soldier with the Angola's former rebel group, UNITA, thought he was finally going home last December.
  • DRC: MONUC decries continuing military tension in Ituri IRIN 26 Feb 2003 -- The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), known as MONUC, on Wednesday decried the prevailing military tension in the Ituri District in northeastern Orientale Province despite continued widespread efforts to restore peace to the region, most notably through the establishment of the Ituri Pacification Commission (IPC).

News Reports

  • SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 26 Feb 2003
  • SHAPE News Summary Analysis SHAPE 26 Feb 2003
  • Timor-Leste, not UN, indicts Indonesian general for war crimes UN News Centre 26 Feb 2003 -- Contrary to published reports, Timor-Leste, and not the UN, has indicted former Indonesian military chief General Wiranto for his role in the violence surrounding the 1999 popular consultation on East Timorese independence, UN officials have stressed.
  • U.S. Concerned by Rhetoric of Venezuela's President Chavez Washington File 26 Feb 2003 -- Recent "belligerent rhetoric" by President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela has contributed to a "climate of tension" that does not contribute to the search for a peaceful solution to the political stand-off in that Andean nation, says Roger Noriega, U.S. Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States (OAS).
  • ZIMBABWE / HUNGER VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- Zimbabwe's controversial land reform program was supposed to give rise to a nation of black farmers. But two years of drought have combined with a lack of equipment, seeds and training to make life very tough for the new farmers, and the whole country. In central Zimbabwe, some of the resettled farmers are risking arrest and injury to pan for gold, because their new crops have failed.
  • ARGENTINA / UNREST VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- Police and protesters clashed for a second day in a row in Buenos Aires Wednesday. No serious injuries were reported, but tension remains high in the Argentine capital. The unrest comes at a time when President Eduardo Duhalde is preparing to hand over the reigns of the presidency to his successor.
  • WAR CRIMES TRIAL VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- The ultra-nationalist Serb leader Vojislav Seselj refused to enter a plea at the Yugoslav War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. Prosecutors have charged him with 14 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for the extermination and persecution of non-Serbs during the early years of the Balkans war. But Mr. Seselj says the charges against him are unclear.
  • ISRAEL-POLITICS VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has reorganized his cabinet, removing his long-time rival Benjamin Netanyahu from the Foreign Ministry.
  • U-S / CUBA / LAWSUIT VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- A trial has begun in south Florida that aims to hold Cuban President Fidel Castro accountable for the 1996 shootdown of unarmed civilian planes over the Florida Straits.
  • HONG KONG SUBVERSION LAW VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- Two protesters disrupted Hong Kong's legislature as lawmakers prepared to discuss a controversial anti-subversion law.
  • ISRAEL POLITICS VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- : Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon reached an agreement, early Wednesday, on forming a right-leaning coalition government. The new government will hold an eight-seat majority in parliament.
  • ZIMBABWE / FUEL VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- Zimbabwe's government has nearly doubled the price of gasoline and quadrupled the price of jet fuel. Officials say the move is designed to increase imports, but the immediate impact will be on already hard-pressed consumers.
  • WIRANTO INDICTMENT VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- Indonesia's former defense minister says the indictment against him for crimes against humanity in East Timor is simply not true. General Wiranto was one of eight senior Indonesian officials indicted for allegedly plotting the destruction of East Timor in 1999.



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