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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• 4th CAG Det. C prepares to move into Iraq USMC 03 Apr 2003 -- In keeping with President George W. Bush?s promise to aid the Iraqi people, Marines from the 4th Civil Affairs Group (CAG), headquartered at Anacostia Naval Station, Washington, D.C., are preparing to move from here to Task Force Tarawa?s forward area in An Nasiriyah, Iraq.

• RFE/RL Afghanistan Report, Vol 2, Number 12 03 Apr 2003 -- ROLE OF THE MEDIA IN AFGHAN STATE BUILDING: THE CASE OF THE AFGHAN CONSTITUTION / TWO U.S. SOLDIERS KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN... / ...CLOSE TO WHERE AN AID WORKER WAS KILLED / U.S. AND AFGHAN TROOPS ARE ATTACKED IN KANDAHAR, NANGARHAR PROVINCES / ISAF COMES UNDER ATTACK IN KABUL... / ...BUT NO LINK MADE WITH WAR IN IRAQ... / ...AND ISAF LAYS THE BLAME ON HEKMATYAR / SENIOR TALIBAN COMMANDER WARNS OF MORE ATTACKS AS WAR CONTINUES IN IRAQ... / ...AS TALIBAN LEADER ISSUES FATWA AGAINST U.S. TROOPS IN AFGHANISTAN / SCORES OF TALIBAN, INCLUDING HIGH-RANKING OFFICIALS, ARRESTED IN GHAZNI... / ...AS TALIBAN MEMBERS REPORTEDLY KILLED, ARRESTED IN KANDAHAR / U.S. CONCERNED ABOUT ESCALATION OF ATTACKS IN AFGHANISTAN / ETHNIC FIGHTING FLARES UP NEAR AFGHAN-TURKMEN BORDER... / ...IN FIGHTING THAT RADIO AFGHANISTAN BLAMES ON TALIBAN... / ...AS BADGHIS COMMANDER GIVES DISPUTED VERSION OF EVENTS / SIX KILLED IN HELMAND PROVINCE MINE BLAST / KABUL PAPER 'PUZZLED' BY AFGHANISTAN'S OFFICIAL SUPPORT FOR WAR IN IRAQ... / ...AS AFGHANS PROTEST AGAINST IRAQ WAR / KABUL ADMINISTRATION 'INCENSED' BY TREATMENT OF JOURNALISTS IN HERAT... / ...WITH SENTIMENTS ECHOED BY INFORMATION AND CULTURE MINISTER / PAKISTAN REFUSES TRANSIT RIGHTS FOR INDIAN GOODS DESTINED FOR AFGHANISTAN... / ...AS ISLAMABAD TRIES TO STRENGTHEN TIES WITH KABUL / INDIA, RUSSIA TO HELP AFGHANISTAN OBTAIN AN ALTERNATIVE ROUTE TO THE SEA / AFGHANISTAN TO GET FUNDS FROM WORLD BANK / UN EXTENDS ASSISTANCE MISSION'S MANDATE IN AFGHANISTAN / AFGHAN HISTORY RECEIVES A HELPING HAND / THIS WEEK IN AFGHANISTAN'S HISTORY

Defense Policy / Programs

• White House Press Gaggle White House 03 Apr 2003
• AF provides Congress with Raptor update AFPN 03 Apr 2003 -- Air dominance is the first priority of any combat commander and the F/A-22 Raptor will provide it for them, Lt. Gen. John D.W. Corley said in congressional testimony April 2.
• Command releases F-16 accident report ACCNS 03 Apr 2003 -- Air Force investigators have determined pilot error caused two F-16CGs to collide Dec. 18, while performing a four-ship night vision goggle training mission.
• Congress ponders exchange merger AFPN 03 Apr 2003 -- Department of Defense leaders met with the House Armed Services Committee subcommittee on total force April 2 to discuss the future of the department's three exchange services.
• Tower a pinnacle of support for fliers AFPN 03 Apr 2003 -- As B-52 Stratofortresses lift off from a deployed location, the last person to wish them well is not the commander or maintainers. It is Airman 1st Class Jeremy Beecher, an air traffic controller with the 457th Air Expeditionary Group.
• USS Peleliu Adds a New Weapon to Its Arsenal Navy NewStand 03 Apr 2003 -- Some old friends dropped in on the amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu (LHA 5) recently for a historic visit.
• U.S. Official Describes Powell Meeting with NATO-EU Officials Washington File 03 Apr 2003 -- In a meeting in Brussels April 3 with his NATO and European Union counterparts, Secretary of State Colin Powell discussed the military situation in Iraq and invited ideas on how to work together on establishing democracy in Iraq and on moving ahead on the roadmap for peace in the Middle East.
• Training the Sea Warrior: BOA Validates Additional AT/FP Needs, Fast Cruise Curriculum Navy NewStand 03 Apr 2003 -- To ensure Sailors are ready to meet the demands of being a sea warrior, the Navy's senior enlisted leaders, who make up the Basic Military Training/Navy Military Training Board of Advisors (BOA), continue their validation of the Navy's boot camp curriculum and are now working on standardizing Navy Military Training (NMT) courses and their delivery fleetwide.
• MSC Activates Ship Status Hotline MSC 03 Apr 2003 -- Concerned family members of mariners serving aboard any Military Sealift Command and government owned or chartered ship can now check on a ship's status and general location, toll free.
• BACKGROUND REPORT Women in the Military VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- Women have served in some way in every one of America's conflicts since the War of Independence in the seventeen-hundreds. The first American service women taken prisoner were captured in the eighteen-hundreds during the Civil War.

Defense Industry

• Boeing Selects St. Louis for Headquarters of Major Military Program Boeing 03 Apr 2003 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today announced that the Boeing/SAIC Lead Systems Integrator program office for Future Combat Systems, or FCS, will be headquartered in St. Louis, effective June 1, 2003. Approximately 150 new jobs are anticipated in St. Louis by September 2003 and that number will grow to 400-500 by the end of 2004, primarily in the areas of system and software engineering, and business management.
• General Dynamics Awarded $24M Ammunition Contract General Dynamics 03 Apr 2003 -- General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), announced today that the Department of the Army-Headquarters, Joint Munitions Command, Rock Island, Ill., has awarded it the fifth-year option of a 5-year multi-year contract for ammunition production.
• Navy Awards General Dynamics $59.2 Million Contract Modification for Virginia-class Work General Dynamics 03 Apr 2003 -- The U. S. Navy has awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat a $59.2 million contract modification for Virginia-class submarine lead-yard services. Electric Boat is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD).
• Italian Air Force and Lockheed Martin Complete Advanced Aircrew Training Facility Lockheed Martin 03 Apr 2003 -- The Aeronautica Militare Italiana (AMI, Italian Air Force), joined by Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT], today commemorated the acceptance of its National Training Center (NTC) at Pisa Air Base, Italy.
• Air Force Tests Radar Precision Mapping Capability of Lockheed Martin F-16 Lockheed Martin 03 Apr 2003 -- The U.S. Air Force F-16 Combined Test Force at the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., recently began flight testing the high-resolution ground-mapping capability of the APG-68(V)9 multimode radar, which is now the standard radar version on all Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] F-16 Advanced Block 50/52 aircraft.
• Lockheed Martin Completes Live Track Testing of Latest Aegis Weapon System Lockheed Martin 03 Apr 2003 -- Lockheed Martin completed the first live shipboard testing of the new SPY-1D(V) radar system today, successfully detecting live air tracks. Successful testing of the first production SPY-1D(V) radar marks a significant milestone for the integrated weapon system that provides critical offensive and defensive capabilities to destroyers, cruisers and frigates for navies around the world.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 03 Apr 2003
• PRESS CONFERENCE BY AUSTRALIA’S FOREIGN MINISTER United Nations 03 Apr 2003
• GLOBAL: Key challenges on civilian protection in conflict IRIN 03 Apr 2003 -- Civilians are the main casualties of modern warfare, with women and children constituting an unprecedented number of the victims.
• DRC: MONUC denounces attacks against its forces IRIN 03 Apr 2003 -- The UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), known as MONUC, on Wednesday denounced a spate of attacks against its forces in three locations in North Kivu Province.
• DRC: Parties sign peace deal IRIN 03 Apr 2003 -- All parties to the nearly five-year war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) signed a peace deal on Wednesday, amid warnings that the biggest challenges in ending the conflict are yet to come.
• Security Council welcomes Burundian leader's decision to follow peace accord UN News Centre 03 Apr 2003 -- Members of the United Nations Security Council today welcomed the announcement by President Pierre Buyoya of Burundi that he will hand over power to his deputy on 1 May, as agreed in a peace deal.
• BURUNDI: African Union defines peacekeeping mission IRIN 03 Apr 2003 -- The African Union (AU) on Wednesday outlined the mandate of its 3,500-strong peacekeeping force, due to be deployed in Burundi within 60 days.
• ISRAEL / PALESTINIANS VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- Israeli troops killed six Palestinians and wounded eight more, during separate raids Thursday in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
• Middle East Partnership Initiative Designed to Benefit Arab World Washington File 03 Apr 2003 -- The U.S.-Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) is designed to work with governments and people in the Arab world to "expand economic, political and educational opportunities for all," according to a fact sheet released by the State Department April 3.

• IVORY COAST-GOVERNMENT VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- All the rebel groups in Ivory Coast have joined a reconciliation government, marking what many hope is the end of a six-month war in the West African country.
• COTE D'IVOIRE: Rebels attend unity cabinet meeting IRIN 03 Apr 2003 -- Three weeks after the formation of Cote d'Ivoire's government of national unity, representatives of three rebel groups that had been opposed to the government attended a cabinet meeting on Thursday in the capital, Yamoussoukro. They had boycotted cabinet meetings citing security concerns and saying they were denied the ministries of security and defense, as had been agreed during peace negotiations in France earlier.
• Timor-Leste: UN transfers security duties in Lautem district to local police UN News Centre 03 Apr 2003 -- The United Nations today handed over police duties to local authorities in the Lautem district of Timor-Leste, the first such locality to have full responsibility for overall security and law enforcement.
• I-H-F-CHECHNYA VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights wants the international community to set up a tribunal to try war crimes and crimes against humanity in Chechnya.
• PHILIPPINES/BLAST VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- In the Philippines, gunmen opened fire and threw grenades at three mosques in the city of Davao - several hours after a bomb outside the city's port killed at least 16 people.
• SOUTHERN AFRICA: SADC security organ meets IRIN 03 Apr 2003 -- The foreign ministers of several Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries gathered in Zimbabwe on Thursday to attend a ministerial committee meeting of the SADC Organ on Defence and Security.
• SUDAN: President, rebel leader hope for peace by June IRIN 03 Apr 2003 -- President Umar Hasan Ahmad al-Bashir of Sudan and the leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), John Garang, said on Wednesday that they hoped for a final truce by the end of June 2003.
• SIERRA LEONE: New refugee camp opened in Kenema IRIN 03 Apr 2003 -- The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) opened a new refugee camp with a capacity of 10,000 people near Tobanda village, Kenema District on Monday. To be managed by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Tobanda is the eighth camp established by UNHCR in Sierra Leone. The others are Largo, Bandajuma, Gerihun, Gondama, Jembe, Jimmi Bagbo and Taiama; which together currently host at least 55,000 refugees.
• GUINEA-LIBERIA: UNHCR begins transfer of refugees IRIN 03 Apr 2003 -- United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has begun to transfer more than 7,000 newly arrived Liberian refugees from Guinea's southeastern border to safer inland camps as more refugees trickled in after fleeing violence in northeastern Liberia.

News Reports

• SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 03 Apr 2003
• SHAPE News Summary Analysis SHAPE 03 Apr 2003
• SOUTHERN AFRICA AID VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- The head of the U-N Children's Fund says she fears the lingering effects of war in Iraq will make it harder to raise money for other humanitarian crises around the world, such as the southern Africa food crisis.
• SERBIA/REFORM VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- Balkan experts speaking at a forum on Serbia's future say they see hopeful signs that the leadership in Belgrade will continue reforms begun by Prime Miniser Zoran Djindjic, who was assassinated last month.
• BURMA / HUMAN RIGHTS VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- A U-N human rights expert is calling for the unconditional release of more than one-thousand political prisoners being held by the governing military junta in Burma. In a report submitted to the U-N Human Rights Commission, the investigator acknowledges human rights have improved somewhat in Burma, but he says the progress has been very limited.
• U-S/CUBA/DISSIDENTS VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- The United States is condemning in unusually strong terms the Cuban government's move to put on trial at least 78 political dissidents. The State Department says the dissidents face what it termed "summary justice" in "kangaroo courts."
• AFGHANISTAN / HUMAN RIGHTS VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- A United Nations expert on Afghanistan says the country needs sustained financial and political support from the international community if security and human rights are to take root.
• CHINA / U-S / HUMAN RIGHTS VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- China has issued a report condemning U-S unilateral policies and violations of human rights around the world. The Chinese broadside comes in response to the State Department's annual human rights report, which is critical of China.
• BURMA SUU KYI TOUR VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- Burma's opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has embarked on a 10-day political organizing trip in northern Chin state. The trip starts as the prospects for political reform in Burma look bleak.
• ASIA PNEUMONIA CHINA VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- Beijing officials say the serious illness called SARS is under control in China, making it safe to visit the country. The comments follow travel warnings issued by U-N experts about the new flu-like disease, which has sickened more than two-thousand people and killed nearly 80-people worldwide.
• ASIA PNEUMONIA VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- Hong Kong schools will remain closed for a few more weeks in hope of stemming the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. The city, which is at the center of a global battle against SARS, is struggling to determine why the disease continues to spread, despite efforts to contain it.
• Kirkpatrick Says Rights Commission Must Help Ameliorate Abuses Washington File 03 Apr 2003 -- The most essential task of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights is exposing and helping to ameliorate egregious abuses committed by governments against their own citizens, says Ambassador JeaneKirkpatrick, head of the U.S. delegation to the commission's 59th annual session in Geneva.
• U.S. Condemns Initiation of Trials Against Activists in Cuba Washington File 03 Apr 2003 -- The United States condemns the initiation of trials against at least 78 members of Cuban civil society for simply pursuing their right to assembly, according to an April 3 statement by State Department Deputy Spokesman Phillip Reeker.
• Text: Kaminsky Says Rights Commission Not Balanced on Middle East Washington File 03 Apr 2003 -- Speaking at the 59th Session of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights on the subject of the roadmap for peace in the Middle East March 31, Phyllis Kaminsky said the commission's actions, "which cast all blame on Israel for the situation, are not balanced, fair or helpful to the cause of peace."
• MALAWI: Dissolution of cabinet could weaken ruling UDF IRIN 03 Apr 2003 -- The dissolution of Malawi's cabinet this week could weaken unity within the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) ahead of elections next year, analysts told IRIN.