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Defense Policy / Programs
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News Reports

Current Operations

• AFGHANISTAN RECONSTRUCTION VOA 05 May 2003 -- U-S Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said recently that coalition efforts in Afghanistan will shift from combat operations to improving security and rebuilding the war-devastated nation.
• AFGHANISTAN: Commission to review preliminary draft constitution IRIN 05 May 2003 -- Afghanistan's constitutional review commission on Sunday introduced its board to review the preliminary draft constitution prepared by the constitutional drafting committee. Their efforts will make it ready for broad public consultations country-wide.
• Travis welcomes home KC-10 crews, maintainers AMCNS 03 May 2003 -- Travis AFB has welcomed home more than 100 people deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Aircrews, maintainers and support personnel returned April 29 aboard five KC-10 aircraft to families, friends and co-workers who eagerly awaited their arrival.
• Spandahlem jets return home USAFE 05 May 2003 -- When 24 F-16CJ aircraft touched down in waves on Spangdahlem Air Base's runway 23R, even the casual observer realized there was something special in the air; for what distinguished these landings from others is simple: these pilots have just returned from war.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Will U.S. Victory In Iraq Persuade 'Rogue Regimes' To Change Their Behavior? RFE/L 05 May 2003 -- U.S. President George W. Bush recently declared victory in Iraq. Will America's overwhelming display of military might and resolve in Iraq now pressure other "rogue regimes" to change their ways in order not to be Washington's next target?
• ARMY ANNOUNCES SBCT UNIT MANNING INITIATIVE Army News release 05 May 2003 -- The Army announced today that Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT) Three, presently the 172d Separate Infantry Brigade, U.S. Army Alaska, will be the first Army unit manned under the Unit Manning Initiative.
• Alaska Stryker Brigade first to go with unit manning Army News 05 May 2003 -- The Army announced May 5 that it will use the 172nd Infantry Brigade (Separate) as the first unit to use unit manning personnel polices instead of the current personnel system of individual replacements.
• DoD Reaches Out to Help Families During Wartime Deployment AFPS 05 May 2003 -- The Defense Department is working to lessen the burden that deployments are having on family members left at home.
• 'Old Ironsides' deploy aboard fleet of cargo ships TRANSCOM 05 May 2003 -- Less than a few weeks after the ouster of Saddam Hussein's regime by U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq, cargo vessels from the Navy's Military Sealift Command, or MSC, continue to re-supply our forces in the region.
• Blue Ridge returns to Guam following Tandem Thrust '03 Seventh Fleet 05 May 2003 -- The U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet command ship, USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19), and the embarked Commander, 7th Fleet staff, arrived here May 5.
• Air Force nursing corps meeting challenges AFPN 05 May 2003 -- The Air Force assistant surgeon general for nursing services met with the Senate Appropriations Committee subcommittee on defense April 30 to discuss the current state of the nursing corps.
• First E-6 goes to Cecil Field for upgrade NAVAIR 05 May 2003 -- NAVAIR's E-6 Mercury Program Office recently sent the first of 15 E-6B aircraft to the Boeing Aerospace Support Center at Cecil Field, Fla. to be modified with a new cockpit and an advanced communications package.
• Mortuary affairs deals with grim side of war PACAFNS 05 May 2003 -- Casualties are an unwanted, but unavoidable cost of war. In the event that any Wolf Pack troops are killed, a team of specialists here ensures the remains are repatriated to families back in the United States.
• Dicemen: Strike Eagles fold into town PACAFNS 05 May 2003 -- The 90th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, that arrived here March 12 to participate in various training exercises, is getting valuable experience in the local theater of operations, and improving the base infrastructure.
• Typhoon forces comm squadron to move operations PACAFNS 05 May 2003 -- Flexibility is often regarded as being the key to airpower.

• NATO to Deploy Force in Afghanistan, Considering Iraq Role Washington File 05 May 2003 -- The NATO allies have accepted responsibility for the next deployment of the International Security Force for Afghanistan [ISAF] and are also considering a potential role in Iraq, Secretary of State Colin Powell said.

• Moscow Treaty Cuts Top List of U.S. Non-Proliferation Treaty Support Washington File 05 May 2003 -- The U.S. Mission in Geneva has issued the following May 5 fact sheet on U.S. policies and its actions in support of Article VI of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
• U.S. Official Points To Progress On Nuclear Disarmament Washington File 05 May 2003 -- The United States has made "considerable progress" toward nuclear disarmament as articulated in Article VI of the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), a State Department official said in Geneva May 1.
• Semmel Underlines Importance of Adhering to NPT Obligations Washington File 05 May 2003 -- The United States encourages all parties to the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) "to avoid nuclear cooperation with countries whose actions call into question their NPT commitments," says a U.S. State Department official, "and to underscore the absolute importance of their adherence to their Treaty obligations."
• Semmel: Strengthen Non-Poliferation Treaty Enforcement Measures Washington File 05 May 2003 -- A U.S. representative to a preparatory meeting in advance of the 2005 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference called on all nations to refocus on the growing need for oversight and control of nuclear material and technology.
• U.S. Says Nuclear Disarmament Goal Still Requires Gradual Approach Washington File 05 May 2003 -- The United States supports --- unambiguously --- Article VI of the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the goal of nuclear disarmament, according to a May 1 information paper distributed by the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in Geneva.
• National Guard division visits Korea to analyze terrain 8th Army News Release 05 May 2003-- A National Guard unit from Texas came to Korea last week to participate in a "terrain walk" of the area that will be used for a simulated exercise this summer.

Defense Industry

• German - U.S. VECTOR program concludes with world’s first thrust-vectored automatic landings EADS 05 May 2003 -- The world’s first thrust-vectored automatic landing was the highlight of three years of joint testing between the partners U.S. Navy, the German Federal Office of Defense Technology and Procurement, EADS Military Aircraft and Boeing Aerospace from April 2000 to April 2003 within the VECTOR ‘ESTOL (Extremely Short Take-Off and Landing) to the ground’ phase.
• General Dynamics Receives $51.7 Million Order for 70mm Rockets General Dynamics 05 May 2003 -- General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), has received a $51.7 million order from the U.S. Army Joint Munitions Command, Rock Island, Illinois, for the production of Hydra-70 2.75-inch (70mm) rockets and motors for the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force. This order extends deliveries through November 2005 on a contract awarded to General Dynamics in 1999. Total contract value to date is $713.5 million.
• Northrop Grumman Receives Contract for Composite High-Speed Vessel Evaluation Northrop Grumman 05 May 2003 -- The U.S. Navy has awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) Ship Systems sector a contract to evaluate the performance of composite structures in high-speed vessel hull forms and displacements.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 05 May 2003
• Quartet envoys meet to plan next steps in implementation of Middle East Road Map UN News Centre 05 May 2003 -- The diplomatic Quartet for the Middle East - comprising the United Nations, United States, Russian Federation and European Union - is meeting at the envoys level today to discuss how to move ahead with the implementation of the Road Map peace plan.
• International report examines affect of West Bank 'wall' on Palestinians UN News Centre 05 May 2003 -- A new report by international donors, which includes the United Nations, has found that a separation barrier Israel is building in the West Bank could cut off 12,000 Palestinians from their land, work and essential social services.
• ISRAEL/PALESTINIANS/U-S VOA 05 May 2003 -- U-S Middle East envoy William Burns told senior Palestinian officials that the establishment of a Palestinian state is a top priority for Washington.
• ISRAEL / SENTENCING VOA 05 May 2003 -- An Israeli court has sentenced a Palestinian militia leader to 14 life terms in jail, plus 50 years, for masterminding attacks that killed 14 Israelis.
• MIDEAST / HUMAN SHIELDS VOA 05 May 2003 -- The Israeli government says it is stepping up efforts to detain and deport foreign peace activists who come to the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The activists have been serving as "human shields" to protect Palestinians from what they see as Israeli aggression. Israel says their actions are irresponsible and put them, and others, in danger.
• ISRAEL / PALESTINIANS-US VOA 05 May 2003 -- U-S Middle East envoy William Burns is meeting today with new Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the so-called roadmap, the latest international peace effort to end the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

• Security Council urged to rethink Liberia sanctions in light of regional violence UN News Centre 05 May 2003 -- A United Nations Security Council expert panel has returned from a three-month investigation in West Africa - a volatile region "awash in weapons" - convinced that perhaps sanctions against Liberia alone are not sufficient, when rebels and governments in as many as five neighbouring countries share responsibility for the region's spiralling violence and chaos.
• LIBERIA: UN mission seeks end to civil war IRIN 05 May 2003 -- A United Nations mission led by the Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Tuliameni Kalomoh, has arrived in Liberia to start a five-day assessment of the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in the West African country.
• Security Council announces intention to extend Liberia sanctions UN News Centre 05 May 2003 -- Reiterating "strong concern" at the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in Liberia and its effects on the West African sub-region, the United Nations Security Council today expressed its intention to renew the sanctions levied against Monrovia for another 12 months and to extend them to include a ban on timber exports.

• Security Council voices concern about Ituri region of DR of Congo UN News Centre 05 May 2003 -- The members of the United Nations Security Council today voiced concern about the situation in the Ituri region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), calling on all sides in the conflict to end actions that might undo a fragile ceasefire plan in the area.
• DRC: MONUC deplores renewed hostilities in Bunia IRIN 05 May 2003 -- The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), known as MONUC, said it "greatly deplored" renewed hostilities in Bunia, the principal city of Ituri District in the northeast of the country, where fighting on Saturday resulted in at least five deaths and many more wounded and displaced.
• ARMITAGE / SOUTH ASIA VOA 05 May 2003 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell has sent his deputy, Richard Armitage, on a mission to South Asia aimed at encouraging India and Pakistan to continue to work together in solving disputes. Mr. Powell told reporters Monday it is a "moment of opportunity" to ease tension between the two regional powers.
• UGANDA: Refugees protest over relocation IRIN 05 May 2003 -- Angry demonstrations broke out last week at a refugee camp in western Uganda over the government’s decision to relocate thousands of Sudanese refugees to two locations in the West Nile region of northern Uganda.
• SOMALIA: UN team appointed to probe arms ban breaches IRIN 05 May 2003 -- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed a four-man panel of experts to investigate violations of the arms embargo against Somalia.
• BURUNDI: Rebel group rules out meeting with new president IRIN 05 May 2003 -- The Forces nationales de liberation (FNL) faction led by Agathon Rwasa has ruled out any meeting, "for the moment", between its leaders and the new Burundian president, Domitien Ndayizeye, Bonesha FM radio reported on Saturday.
• COTE D'IVOIRE: Government and rebels to discuss disarmament IRIN 05 May 2003 -- The governmnent and rebels in Ivory Coast have agreed to meet on May 18 to begin discussing disarmament following the negotiation of a fresh ceasefire, a senior officer of West African peacekeeping forces in the country said on Monday.
• SIERRA LEONE: Special court pinpoints location of fugitives in Liberia IRIN 05 May 2003 -- The Special Court for Sierra Leone has repeated its charge that neighbouring Liberia is habouring Johnny Paul Koroma and Sam Bockarie, two key fugitives wanted for crimes against humanity, and has named their exact locations in the country.
• CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Central African refugees seek voluntary repatriation IRIN 05 May 2003 -- Central African Republic refugees living in the Republic of Congo have asked to be repatriated.

News Reports

• SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 05 May 2003
• SHAPE News Summary Analysis SHAPE 05 May 2003
• Cuba Identified as World's Second-Worst Place to Practice Journalism Washington File 05 May 2003 -- Cuba is the world's second-worst place to practice journalism after Iraq, says the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
• SOUTH AFRICA/SISULU VOA 05 May 2003 -- Walter Sisulu, one of South Africa's most beloved anti-apartheid leaders, has died at the age of 90.
• CUBA / CRACKDOWN VOA 05 May 2003 -- In the past few weeks, the Cuban government has jailed more than 70 dissidents and journalists and executed three men who hijacked a ferry. The reasons for Fidel Castro's crackdown were the topic of a recent debate by Cuba watchers.
• CONGRESS / MCCARTHY HEARINGS VOA 05 May 2003 -- A U-S Senate panel has released half-century old records of controversial hearings led by former Senator Joseph McCarthy into alleged communist infiltration of U-S institutions. The documents shed light on a dark chapter in American history.
• BUSH / TURKEY VOA 05 May 2003 -- President Bush says that United States is ready and willing to help Turkey in the wake of last week's deadly earthquake. The death toll from the quake now stands at 176.
• ALGERIA/TOURISTS VOA 05 May 2003 -- One day after the Algerian government confirmed that a group of European tourists had been kidnapped, the country's official radio station reported the captives would soon be set free.
• SAF/AIDS DRUGS VOA 05 May 2003 -- South African healthcare workers are staging a peaceful nationwide protest in support of a campaign to make anti-AIDS drugs available to all South Africans through public hospitals and clinics.
• NIGERIA/ELECTIONS VOA 05 May 2003 -- Reports of fraud have tarnished recent election results in Nigeria, but analysts say that, overall, the elections have marked progress toward consolidating democracy in Africa's most populous nation.
• ZIMBABWE POLITICS VOA 05 May 2003 -- Three African leaders meeting to try to defuse the crisis in Zimbabwe have failed to make significant progress toward ending the country's political and economic problems. President Robert Mugabe says he will not enter into dialogue with the opposition, unless it recognizes him as Zimbabwe's duly elected leader.
• ALGERIA / TOURISTS VOA 05 May 2003 -- Algerian officials have confirmed that a group of European tourists has been kidnapped and that negotiations are underway to secure their release.
• SINGAPORE/US TRADE VOA 05 May 2003 -- Singapore's Prime Minister, Goh Chok Tong is scheduled to join President Bush at the White House Tuesday to sign a landmark free trade agreement between the two countries.
• ASIA SARS VOA 05 May 2003 -- Chinese farmers attacked a government building where six people were quarantined after returning from areas infected with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. And in Hong Kong, the city's leader says he hopes the World Health Organization lifts its travel advisory as the number of new cases continues to fall.
• ASIA UNICEF VOA 05 May 2003 -- The United Nations warns that Asian governments are failing millions of children, leaving many trapped in the sex trade, poorly fed, and with little hope for decent education. The report comes at the start of a regional conference to study child welfare in Asia.
• DRC: Vice-presidential nomination results in controversy IRIN 05 May 2003 -- Longtime opposition politician Arthur Z'Ahidi Ngoma was elected on Saturday by a segment of the political opposition in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) capital, Kinshasa, to serve as one of four vice-presidents of a two-year transitional government under President Joseph Kabila.
• COMOROS: Assoumani's presence vital to success of Paris meeting IRIN 05 May 2003 -- Grand Comore President Abdou Soule Elbak on Monday said an upcoming meeting in Paris between all Comorian leaders would be an "ideal opportunity" to resolve an ongoing row over political authority.
• ZIMBABWE: African leaders promote dialogue IRIN 05 May 2003 -- A delegation of key African leaders met with Zimbabwe's president and opposition leader on Monday in an attempt at resolving the country's political crisis.
• Northrop Grumman Awarded NASA Contract for Next Generation Launch Technology Northrop Grumman 05 May 2003 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) was awarded a contract from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., to continue development of an engine that will increase the safety, reliability and affordability of next-generation reusable space launch and transportation vehicles.