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Military


06 May 2003 Military News

Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

  • V CORPS BUILDS BUSINESS, RELATIONS WITH BAGHDAD NEIGHBORS V-Corps Release 06 May 2003-- Children darted from every alley and shop to meet and greet the camo-clad, weapons-toting strangers. Shop owners and other locals flocked to the group in droves to shake hands, say thanks and chat in broken English.
  • Coast Guard Cutter Walnut completes Iraqi aid mission USCG Release 06 May 2003-- Coast Guard cutter Walnut, a 225-foot buoy tender homeported in Honolulu, today completed its 20-day humanitarian mission of properly marking the navigational channel of the Khawr Abd Allah waterway leading from the North Arabian Gulf to Iraq's critical port of Umm Qasr.
  • V Corps team searches for Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq USAREUR Release 04 May 2003-- British and U.S. troops inspected a chicken coop Saturday suspected of being a storage site for weapons of mass destruction.
  • Kitty Hawk, CVW-5 Return Home After 100+ Days Navy NewStand 06 May 2003 -- USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) and the Kitty Hawk Strike Group return to their forward-deployed port of Yokosuka, Japan, May 6, after more than 100 consecutive days underway in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Southern Watch (OSW).
  • PENTAGON / HORN OF AFRICA VOA 06 May 2003 -- In six months of operations, the U-S military's special anti-terrorism task force in the Horn of Africa has failed to apprehend a single terrorist suspect. But that does not mean defense officials consider the effort a failure.

  • U.N. Envoy Warns Security Problems Threatening Afghan Peace Process Washington File 06 May 2003 -- Security problems are "casting a long shadow" over the peace process in Afghanistan, threatening the rebuilding of the country, the head of the U.N. operation in Kabul told the Security Council May 6.
  • UN / AFGHANISTAN VOA 06 May 2003 -- The U-N special envoy to Afghanistan, Laktar Brahimi, warns that a dangerous lack of security is threatening the capabilities of international aid organizations and Afghanistan's transition to democracy.
  • Afghanistan: Nepotism, Cronyism Widespread In Government RFE/L 06 May 2003 -- Many Afghans complain about widespread nepotism and cronyism in the government. They accuse top officials -- including Transitional Authority Chairman Hamid Karzai -- of using their positions to place friends and family members in government posts at the expense of more qualified professionals. Some Afghan leaders acknowledge the problem and suggest the solution rests in creating more jobs and promoting Afghanistan's private sector.
  • Afghanistan: UN Envoy Appeals For Larger Security Presence RFE/L 06 May 2003 -- The chief UN representative in Afghanistan has appealed to the UN Security Council to provide more security to the country to safeguard reform and reconstruction efforts.
  • Security Council expresses concern at security conditions in Afghanistan UN News Centre 06 May 2003 -- After hearing a briefing by the top United Nations envoy in Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, the members of the Security Council today expressed serious concern at the deterioration of security in many areas of the country and the recent attacks on UN and other personnel of aid organizations, and called on all concerned to work towards peace.
  • Deteriorating security threatens peace process in Afghanistan - UN envoy UN News Centre 06 May 2003 -- The top United Nations official in Afghanistan today told the Security Council that deteriorating security conditions continue to cast a long shadow over the peace process and future of the country, and called for the creation of Afghan security forces capable of ensuring lasting tranquillity.
  • AFGHAN-RECONSTRUCTION VOA 06 May 2003 -- Last week (on May 1st), U-S Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld declared an end to major combat operations in Afghanistan, saying that the bulk of that country is now secure. But Afghanistan is still struggling to build its own postwar political and governmental structures. Afghanistan still has a long way to go to reach true political stability.
  • AFGHANISTAN ENVIRONMENT VOA 06 May 2003 -- A quarter century of conflict and war has left Afghanistan one of the most environmentally damaged nations on earth. Afghanistan's environmental degradation is considered a stumbling block to development.
  • AFGHANISTAN: NGO continues operating despite armed attack IRIN 06 May 2003 -- Following an armed attack on a vehicle of the Afghan Development Agency (ADA), in which one ADA staff member was killed and another injured, in central Afghanistan on Saturday, the NGO said it would continue activities despite the incident.

Defense Policy / Programs

  • Change of responsibility 8th Army News Release 06 May 2003-- Soldiers from the 8th U.S. Army Band and Honor Guard lined Knight Field May 2 for the change of responsibility ceremony welcoming Command Sgt. Maj. Troy J. Welch as he took the reigns from Command Sgt. Maj. Benjamin C. Palacios for the top enlisted position for the United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command, U.S. Forces Korea and 8th U.S. Army.
  • Foreign Service Tour Extension Affects More Than 1800 Soldiers in Korea 8th Army News Release 06 May 2003-- The Department of the Army has implemented a second involuntary extension for selected 8th U.S. Army soldiers. More than 1800 soldiers and warrant officers in the 8th U.S. Army whose previous departure dates were June 1, to Aug. 30, 2003 are affected by the involuntary extension.
  • Foreign Service Tour Extension Affects More Than 1800 Soldiers in Korea 8th Army News Release 06 May 2003-- The Department of the Army has implemented a second involuntary extension for selected 8th U.S. Army soldiers. More than 1800 soldiers and warrant officers in the 8th U.S. Army whose previous departure dates were June 1, to Aug. 30, 2003 are affected by the involuntary extension.
  • Another Hercules joins D-M inventory ACCNS 06 May 2003 -- There's a new kid on the block on Davis-Monthan's flight line. It's the first of 11 HC-130 Hercules aircraft assigned to the 79th Rescue Squadron.
  • Civil engineers repair runway in Afghanistan AFPN 06 May 2003 -- Tech. Sgt. John Foster sits in a truck on an active runway at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, and simply covers his ears as a C-130 Hercules races by just yards away and takes off into the blue.
  • C-17 modification marks partnership AFPN 06 May 2003 -- A ceremony May 1 celebrated the first C-17 Globemaster III to go through the Global Reach Improvement Program here.
  • Royal Air Force sends rare bird to Pax for testing NAVIR 06 May 2003 -- The Royal Air Force's most closely guarded reconnaissance aircraft completed a two-week visit here May 4. The Nimrod R1, one of only three such aircraft in existence, arrived here April 17.
  • Camp Patriot AAFES Boosts Morale, Sales Navy NewStand 06 May 2003 -- A joint-service, multinational force of thousands at Camp Patriot often has little time to enjoy "home-style" activities. But the local Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) outlet here not only raises the morale of all by providing a clean and comfortable environment, but claims its own boost in a highly competitive marketplace of military exchanges.
  • Australian Partners Take Part in Fleet Battle Experiment Kilo Navy NewStand 06 May 2003 -- The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and Australia's Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) are participating as coalition partners with the U.S. Navy in this year's Fleet Battle Experiment (FBE)-Kilo.
  • USS Thach Lives up to Motto: "Ready and Able" Navy NewStand 06 May 2003 -- From the time USS Thach (FFG 43) entered the Arabian Gulf to support Operation Enduring Freedom until the time it left, the ship and its crew have lived up to their motto: "Ready and Able."
  • CONGRESS / WAR VICTIMS VOA 06 May 2003 -- A key member of the U-S Congress has introduced legislation that would provide funding to help protect women and children worldwide from the ravages of war.
  • STRYKER BRIGADE COMBAT TEAM IN ACTION AT JOINT READINESS TRAINING CENTER Army News Release 06 May 2003 -- Even as The Army is engaged in combat and stability operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations around the world, we continue to advance the transformation of our forces to better meet the nation's security needs in the 21st Century.
  • Seabees Look Back on Tinian's Past Navy NewStand 06 May 2003 -- The images seem like they could be from World War II: members of a Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) setting up defenses on the Western Pacific island of Tinian.
  • DoD's Smallpox Immunization Program 'A Real Success' AFPS 06 May 2003 -- DoD's smallpox immunization program for service members "has been a real success," DoD's senior medical official declared.

  • Semmel Stresses Importance of Safeguards to NPT Lifespan Washington File 06 May 2003 -- Weak safeguards "could undermine the security and economic benefits" of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), says U.S. State Department official Andrew Semmel, thereby leading "to its erosion and demise."

  • "A Club Worth Joining," by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison Washington File 06 May 2003 -- "President Bush has formally asked the U.S. Senate to ratify NATO's addition of seven Eastern European nations. But before we add new members, we must first ask whether NATO is still a club worth joining."

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

  • DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 06 May 2003

  • ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS VOA 06 May 2003 -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has expressed his willingness to meet with his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas. Mr. Sharon made the offer despite recent violence and without setting down any pre-conditions.
  • ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS VOA 06 May 2003 -- Palestinian gunmen have shot dead one Israeli and wounded two others, including a child, in an ambush in the West Bank. The attack, overnight Monday, came just hours after visiting US envoy William Burns urged top Palestinian officials to crack down on terrorism.

  • LIBERIA / SIERRA LEONE VOA 06 May 2003 -- Liberia says a wanted rebel from Sierra Leone, Sam Bockarie, has been killed while resisting arrest.
  • LIBERIA-SIERRA LEONE: Bockarie said killed in shoot-out with Liberian forces IRIN 06 May 2003 -- Sam Bockarie, a former rebel commander from Sierra Leone who was being sought for war crimes by a UN-backed special court, has been killed in a shoot-out on the Liberian border with Cote d'Ivoire, the Liberian government said on Tuesday.

  • Statement by Ambassador John W. Blaney III at a Press Conference at the United States Embassy in Liberia May 6, 2003 -- The United States urges all Liberians, the government, all political parties as well as all those fighting against this government to listen carefully to the recommendations of the UN Needs Assessment Team.
  • LIBERIA: Security Council plans to extend sanctions for 12 months IRIN 06 May 2003 -- The UN Security Council has announced plans to extend sanctions on Liberia for a further 12 months and impose a new ban on timber exports, Council president Munir Akram of Pakistan said.
  • LIBERIA: IOM set to evacuate over 700 by sea IRIN 06 May 2003 -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday it had chartered a vessel to evacuate over 700 people from several West African countries who had trapped by fighting in southeastern Liberia.
  • Extending sanctions against Liberia, Security Council adds ban on timber exports UN News Centre 06 May 2003 -- Citing Liberia's "active support" of rebel groups which are having a destabilizing effect on West Africa, the United Nations Security Council today renewed sanctions against that country, extending the measures to include a ban on timber exports in addition to existing arms and diamond embargoes.

  • BURUNDI: IMF approves US $13 million post-conflict aid IRIN 06 May 2003 -- Burundi can immediately draw funds from a US $13-million credit that the executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved on Monday for post-conflict emergency aid to the country, according to a statement issued from the Fund's Washington DC headquarters.
  • BURUNDI: President makes minor changes to cabinet IRIN 06 May 2003 -- Burundian President Domitien Ndayizeye, who was sworn in recently to lead the second phase of a three-year transition period, reshuffled his cabinet on Monday, retaining all the ministers who served under former President Pierre Buyoya and naming three new faces from three pro-Hutu rebel groups.

  • DRC: Calendar set for transitional government institutions IRIN 06 May 2003 -- The follow-up committee for the inter-Congolese dialogue (ICD) has published its calendar for the establishment of various institutions of the two-year national transitional government to be installed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
  • DRC: Mbeki vows to mobilise AU support for transition IRIN 06 May 2003 -- South African President Thabo Mbeki has promised to mobilise support from the African Union in an effort to help ensure a smooth two-year transitional period for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

  • UGANDA: Special report on the northern crisis IRIN 06 May 2003 -- Since Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni came to power in 1986, Uganda has been the envy of many developing nations, achieving high economic growth rates and posting encouraging social development indicators, including stemming the upward trend of HIV/AIDS infection rates in the country.
  • UGANDA: Red Cross resumes operations in north IRIN 06 May 2003 -- The Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS) has resumed its humanitarian operations in northern Uganda, which were suspended earlier this year after its staff came under rebel attack.

  • U-N / WEST AFRICA VOA 06 May 2003 -- As the U-N Security Council decides on extending sanctions against Liberia this week, efforts are also being made to find regional solutions to end the many conflicts in West Africa.
  • SOMALIA / AIDEED VOA 06 May 2003 -- Somali warlord Huseen Aideed today (Tuesday) declared his intention to run for the presidency of his war-torn country. His announcement comes as delegates at a reconciliation conference in Kenya are working to select an interim leader for Somalia.
  • Annan welcomes steps by India and Pakistan to east tensions, improve relations UN News Centre 06 May 2003 -- The United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, today warmly welcomed the series of reciprocal steps India and Pakistan have recently taken to ease tensions and improve bilateral relations.
  • UN 'pleased' by buffer zone crossings by Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots UN News Centre 06 May 2003 -- The United Nations today welcomed the crossings in recent weeks by thousands of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots of the buffer zone maintained by the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).
  • INDONESIA/ACEH VOA 06 May 2003 -- The Indonesian government has maintained a tough stance against separatist rebels in Aceh Province by approving a plan that could include a crackdown on separatists if peace talks do not resume soon.
  • PHILIPPINES/REBELS VOA 06 May 2003 -- The Philippine government has withdrawn from peace talks with Muslim rebels two days after an attack on a southern town that killed at least 27 people. This is the latest setback in efforts to restart stalled negotiations over the country's 30-year-long Muslim insurgency.
  • BURUNDI-TANZANIA: Burundians begin to return home IRIN 06 May 2003 -- A week after the transfer of the presidency from a Tutsi to a Hutu, the first wave of Burundian refugees arrived in Burundi, aid agencies said on Tuesday.

News Reports

  • SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 06 May 2003
  • SHAPE News Summary & Analysis SHAPE 06 May 2003
  • Boucher Says Leaders Continue to Oppress Burmese People Washington File 06 May 2003 -- One year after the release of Burmese democracy activist and Nobel Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, the military rulers of Burma continue to oppress their people, State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said in a May 6 statement.
  • Powell Says Lebanon Could Be Regional Model for Democracy, Free Trade Washington File 06 May 2003 -- At a press briefing in Beirut on May 3, Secretary of State Colin Powell said that Lebanon "could be a model for democracy and free trade in the region." Powell and Lebanese Foreign Minister Jean Obeid spoke to the press following Powell's meeting with Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, speaker of Parliament Nabil Berri, and Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.
  • U-S-BURMA-RIGHTS VOA 06 May 2003 -- The United States Tuesday lamented the lack of progress toward political liberalization in Burma, a year after the country's military authorities released democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest. The State Department said the Burmese rulers have been unwilling to engage the democratic opposition in a substantive dialogue.
  • BUSH / ASIA / FREE TRADE VOA 06 May 2003 -- The United States and Singapore have signed a free trade agreement. This is the first such pact the United States has signed with an Asian country.
  • ZIMBABWE POLITICS VOA 06 May 2003 -- The three African presidents who visited Zimbabwe on Monday agreed that the solution to the coutnry's deepening crisis is talks between the ruling Zanu P-F party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. The effort now is to get the talks started despite the government's conditions.
  • SAF / SISULU REACT VOA 06 May 2003 -- South Africans are mourning the death Monday of anti-apartheid stalwart Walter Sisulu. The president has asked the Cabinet to grant Mr. Sisulu a state funeral, and he says flags will be flown at half-staff beginning Wednesday.
  • BURMA SUU KYI ANNIVERSARY VOA 06 May 2003 -- It has been one year since Burma's military government released pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest as a sign that it was willing to discuss reforms. Leaders of her party say although they have been allowed to resume some political activities, the dialogue aimed at bringing democracy to Burma has stalled.
  • TOGO: Olympio appeals to court against election ban IRIN 06 May 2003 -- Gilchrist Olympio, a leading opposition figure in Togo, has appealed to the Constitutional Court against his exclusion from presidential elections due on 1 June.
  • CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: President guarantees ex-ruler's security IRIN 06 May 2003 -- Central African Republic leader Francois Bozize said on Monday that security would be provided for the return of former President Andre Kolingba, now in exile in Uganda.
  • E-U / SARS VOA 06 May 2003 -- The head of the World Health Organization says it is too early to say whether the worldwide SARS epidemic has reached its peak. But Gro Harlem Brundtland says the disease can be contained and eliminated. Ms. Brundtland met Tuesday with European Union health ministers.
  • CDC Lowers SARS Travel Warnings for Singapore, Vietnam Washington File 06 May 2003 -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is downgrading its travel advisories for Vietnam and Singapore, finding that these Asian nations have successfully contained their outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
  • ASIA SARS VOA 06 May 2003 -- China's prime minister sees the SARS situation in Beijing as "grave," despite progress in the fight against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.



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