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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• AFGHANISTAN / U-S VOA 25 Mar 2003 -- Coalition forces in Afghanistan have expanded operation Valiant Strike in the southern part of the country. Three large weapons caches have been found since the operation began last week.
• Another Air Assault Launched in Afghanistan AFPS 25 Mar 2003 -- Coalition forces conducted another air assault in the Sami Ghar Mountains of Afghanistan today, Combined Joint Task Force-180 officials said.

Defense Policy / Programs

• AFGHANISTAN PRISONERS VOA 25 Mar 2003 -- Eighteen Afghan men held for months at the U-S detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba were released to their families in Afghanistan on Tuesday. Most of the men say they were well treated at Guantanamo Bay, but they also say they areangry they were held for so long.

• White House Press Briefing White House 25 Mar 2003
• Pentagon Seeks $62,600 Million in Additional Money for FY03 Washington File 25 Mar 2003 -- The Pentagon March 25 asked Congress for $62,600 million in additional funding for the fiscal year ending September 30 (FY03).
• Smallpox vaccine program extends to 'emergency essential' civilians AFPN 25 Mar 2003 -- Civilian employees deployed to fill emergency-essential positions at selected overseas locations are now required to receive the smallpox vaccine, Pentagon officials said.
• Bush Calls Wartime Supplemental Budget Request 'Urgent' AFPS 25 Mar 2003 -- The president said today his $74.7 billion wartime supplemental budget request is urgent and "directly related to winning this war and to securing the peace that will follow this war."
• CONGRESS BUDGET VOA 25 Mar 2003 -- The Senate Wednesday is scheduled to vote on President Bush's two-point-two trillion dollar budget for next year. Amid concerns over the cost of the U-S-led war to disarm Iraq, Senators Tuesday voted to halve Mr. Bush's proposed tax cut package in a blow to his plan to stimulate the U-S economy.
• C-17 delivers on a promise AMCNS 25 Mar 2003 -- More than just the arrival of Charleston's newest aircraft, the C-17 delivery here March 19 represented a sort of culmination of history for those aboard.
• Act may protect active-duty reservists AFPN 25 Mar 2003 -- Guardsmen and reservists called to active duty to fight the global war on terror may seek credit protection under a law passed to aid GIs in an earlier global war.
• AMC demonstrates war technology on Capitol Hill Army News 25 Mar 2003 -- Representatives from the Army Materiel Command's research facilities demonstrated technology being used by the Army in the war on terrorism March 21 at the Senate Russell Building.
• HMH-463 tops off exercise with rapid ground refueling USMC News 25 Mar 2003 -- Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 463 wasted no time improving unit readiness with a rapid ground refueling exercise while en route to their recent deployment to the Republic of the Philippines.
• Deploying behind the scenes USMC News 25 Mar 2003 -- The Marine Corps is known by the world as a force in readiness. Throughout history Marines have proven this statement true by deploying in various environments and climates to enhance and sharpen the skills they'll need in time of conflict.
• PIFD applies HAZMAT training to Beaufort fire USMC News 25 Mar 2003 -- The Parris Island Fire Department responded as the Hazardous Material Team to a chemical fire at Athena Marble in Beaufort March 10.
• Michigan Reserves are locked, loaded in defense of CJTF-HOA USMC News 25 Mar 2003 -- As U.S. forces and coalition partners wage war with Iraq, force protection here has increased the number of Marines on duty protecting the camp, added specialized training to counteract threats and also made engineer improvements to the camp's landscape, according to Lt. Col. Harold J. Flanagan, force protection officer, Command Logisitics Element, a native of New Orleans.
• Escalating 'Sensor War' Is the Face of Future Conflict AFPS 25 Mar 2003 -- Military commanders of the future will employ high-tech sensing equipment to detect the strength and positions of enemy forces, including those attempting to hide from prying electronic "eyes."

Defense Industry

• Northrop Grumman Marks Progress on Advanced EHF Communication Satellite System; Successfully Demonstrates Key Payload Component Northrop Grumman 25 Mar 2003 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has developed and successfully tested an innovative, high-performance solid-state power amplifier for use in the communications payloads of Advanced EHF satellites.
• BAE SYSTEMS To Lead Romania Frigates Regeneration BAE Systems 25 Mar 2003 -- BAE Systems has been nominated as prime contractor to manage the regeneration and upgrade of two ex-Royal Navy Type 22 frigates being transferred to Romania under a government-level agreement. The agreement covers a phased approach. Phase 1, worth 116m will be undertaken in the UK and Phase 2 in Romania.
• BAE SYSTEMS Australia Awarded AP-3C Avionics Support Contract BAE Systems 25 Mar 2003 -- BAE Systems Australia Customer Solutions & Support (CS&S) has signed a three-year contract with the Commonwealth of Australia to provide off-aircraft maintenance support for various avionics systems introduced onto the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) AP-3C maritime patrol aircraft.
• GE Aircraft Engines Teams With Asia Pacific Aerospace To Support Australian Defence Force's Helicopter Engines GE Aviation 25 Mar 2003 -- GE Aircraft Engines (GEAE) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Asia Pacific Aerospace (APA) to explore teaming as a means to enhance logistics and support capabilities for the Australian Defence Force's (ADF) GE T700 helicopter engines.
• Lockheed Martin Performs Second Successful Army Tactical Missile Block IA Unitary Test Flight Lockheed Martin 25 Mar 2003 -- Lockheed Martin successfully conducted another flight test of the Army Tactical Missile System (Army TACMS) Block IA Unitary variant recently at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. This was the second successful test flight of the Block IA Unitary version of Army TACMS.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 25 Mar 2003
• Transcript: Powell on U.S. Commitment to Mideast Peace Process, Iraqi People Washington File 25 Mar 2003 -- The Bush Administration believes "firmly that everything has to be done to get the Middle East peace process moving again," Secretary of State Powell said March 25, noting that President Bush has announced that upon confirmation of a new Palestinian Prime Minister, the Quartet we would release a roadmap for peace.
• POWELL / MIDEAST VOA 25 Mar 2003 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell reaffirmed Tuesday that the international "roadmap" to an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord will be released as soon as a Palestinian government headed by prime minister-designate Mahmoud Abbas is confirmed by legislators.

• NIGERIA / UNREST VOA 25 Mar 2003 -- In Nigeria, the army is trying to restore order following ethnic unrest that has disrupted oil production in the Niger River delta.
• Security Council extends mandate of UN mission in Western Sahara by 2 months UN News Centre 25 Mar 2003 -- In an effort to give the parties more time to consider a United Nations proposal outlining a political solution to the situation in Western Sahara, the Security Council today extended the mandate of the UN mission responsible for organizing a referendum for the territory by two months.
• KASHMIR VIOLENCE VOA 25 Mar 2003 -- India's deputy prime minister has blamed Pakistan for the continuing violence in Indian Kashmir, where 24 Hindus were killed in an attack by suspected Islamic rebels on Monday. Lal Krishna Advani has visited the troubled region, which has witnessed a sharp surge in violence in recent weeks.
• U-S-CENTRAL AFRICA VOA 24 Mar 2003 -- The United States Monday urged the new leaders of the Central African Republic to put forward plans to restore democracy to the country after the March 15th coup.
• SOMALIA: Peace talks have achieved little, civil society says IRIN 25 Mar 2003 -- The Somali peace talks currently underway in Kenya have achieved very few tangible results, members of Somali civil society said on Tuesday.
• CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Chadian troops recover 1,300 firearms in Bangui IRIN 25 Mar 2003 -- The 100 Chadian troops who arrived in the Central African Republic (CAR) on Wednesday have recovered 1,300 firearms and 270 vehicles in a disarmament campaign.
• ANGOLA: Focus on concerns over closure of gathering areas IRIN 25 Mar 2003 -- The Angolan opposition group UNITA has expressed concern at the government's plan to close gathering areas housing former rebel soldiers and their families by 31 March.
• LIBERIA: Humanitarian agencies worried over scarce resources IRIN 25 Mar 2003 -- Continuing displacement of people from central Liberia due to fighting between government and rebels could quickly overburden the scarce resources of humanitarian agencies, the UN office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported in New York on Tuesday.

News Reports

• SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 25 Mar 2003
• SHAPE News Summary Analysis SHAPE 25 Mar 2003
• BEREZOVSKY ARREST VOA 25 Mar 2003 -- British police say they have arrested Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky for alleged fraud.
• ZIMBABWE / POLITICS VOA 25 Mar 2003 -- The head of Zimbabwe's opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, says his party plans to resume mass action at the end of the month if its demands for democracy are not met. The warning by Morgan Tsvangirai follows a government crackdown after a two-day strike last week paralyzed Zimbabwe's two largest cities.
• Iraq War Will Not Distract U.S. From Africa, Says U.S. Official Washington File 25 Mar 2003 -- On the day President Bush asked Congress for $75,000 million to prosecute the war in Iraq, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Walter Kansteiner told Africans their political and development needs would not be forgotten by the Administration.
• ASIA PNEUMONIA VOA 25 Mar 2003 -- The World Health Organization says it may issue a much more stringent travel advisory on Asian cities with deadly pneumonia outbreaks. A tougher warning could seriously hurt the Asian economy.
• Alternate Theories Emerge on Cause of Fast-Spreading Flu Washington File 25 Mar 2003 -- An international research collaboration that participants describe as "unprecedented" has produced several alternate hypotheses on the cause of a previously unknown flu-like disease. The head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced in a March 24 news briefing at the agency's Atlanta, Georgia, headquarters that a coronavirus -- related to the virus causing the common cold -- has emerged as a likely cause of the illness.
• ASIAN PNEUMONIA / PROBE VOA 24 Mar 2003 -- U-S health authorities say a previously unknown virus might be the cause of the Asian pneumonia that has killed 17 people worldwide and infected more than 400 others as of Monday.
• CONGO: Ebola death toll rises IRIN 25 Mar 2003 -- The number of deaths from the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in the Republic of Congo has risen to 113, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported on Monday.
• CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Former president wants to go home IRIN 25 Mar 2003 -- The former president of the Central African Republic (CAR), Andre Kolingba, is ready to go home from exile in Uganda, an official of his political party said on Monday.
• COMOROS: Focus on political tensions ahead of parliamentary elections IRIN 25 Mar 2003 -- Grand Comore President Abdou Soule Elbak on Tuesday called on the international community to intervene in the ongoing political stalemate between the leaders of the three autonomous islands and the president of the Comoro Union.
• NIGERIA: Focus on political parties' campaign strategies IRIN 25 Mar 2003 -- Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo began his campaign for re-election in "hostile" territory this month. Makurdi, the city in central Nigeria where, on 1 March, he addressed his first rally since winning the ruling party's nomination in January, is the capital of Benue State, where troops acting on his orders raided several villages in October 2001, killing hundreds of civilians in reprisal for the killing of 19 soldiers by a local militia.
• ZIMBABWE: Washington condemns government's "repression" IRIN 25 Mar 2003 -- The United States has demanded that the Zimbabwean government end what it described as a campaign of "violent repression" against domestic opponents.