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Military


19 May 2003 Military News

Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

  • Real work just beginning for Marine EOD technicians Marine Corps News 19 May 2003-- Outside a brick factory in Al Hillah, Iraq, Marine engineer and explosive ordnance disposal specialists piled a number of Soviet-made 120 mm mortar rounds into a heap.
  • 3ID winning Iraqi hearts with `TF Neighborhood' Army News Service 19 May 2003-- It's been six weeks since the 3rd Infantry Division began sweeping the Iraqi Republican Guard out of Baghdad. Now "Task Force Neighborhood," which began May 15, has the soldiers clearing away rubble such as criminals and garbage.
  • Nimitz Sailors Experience Port Visit to Jebel Ali, Dubai Navy Newsstand 19 May 2003-- USS Nimitz (CVN 68) Sailors took advantage of fun, relaxation and cultural exchange during a port call in Jebel Ali and Dubai May 8-13. The cities are located in one of seven emirates that make up the the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
  • FIRST CAVALRY DIVISION'S ATTACK HELICOPTER BATTALION RETURNS 1st Cavalry Division 19 May 2003-- The 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment returns to Fort Hood Wednesday after nearly three months supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom in the U.S. Central Command's area of operation.

  • AFGHANISTAN'S CHALLENGES VOA 19 May 2003 -- U-S Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld stopped in Kabul to announce that American troops had ended major combat operations in Afghanistan. Mr. Rumsfeld said that U-S soldiers will now focus on maintaining security and on helping to rebuild the war-torn country. Also, visiting Kabul was Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage. He said, "Although we may be occupied at present in Iraq, the United States is not going to forget our responsibilities here in Afghanistan."
  • AFGHANISTAN: Focus on the reconstruction of the country's principal road IRIN 19 May 2003 -- A major project to rehabilitate the 1,200 km main highway connecting the Afghan capital, Kabul, with the southern city of Kandahar and Herat in the west was launched last November.
  • Local liaison to UN in northern Afghan city killed; factions to be removed UN News Centre 19 May 2003 -- The top local security liaison official for the United Nations system in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif was killed during factional fighting over the weekend, and all factions are to be removed from the city tomorrow in a "critical" effort to restore security.
  • AFGHANISTAN: New beginning for national police force IRIN 19 May 2003 -- As Afghanistan faces growing instability, the government has launched a vast training programme to create a 50,000-strong national police force. The new programme, launched on Sunday, is supported by the US and will train thousands of policemen and women each year.

Defense Policy / Programs

  • Army lifts OIF 'stop movement' order Army News Service 19 May 2003-- With the victory in Iraq, the Army is lifting its "stop movement" order issued earlier this year so that soldiers will soon be able to report to their next assignment.
  • ARMY'S FUTURE COMBAT SYSTEMS PASSES MAJOR MILESTONE Army Press Release 19 May 2003-- The Department of Defense approved The Army's key transformation program yesterday, signing a memorandum that would move the Future Combat Systems (FCS) program into the $14.92 billion System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase of the effort.
  • Maintenance Pilot Program Merges Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, PACNORWEST IMF Navy Newsstand 19 May 2003-- The Navy stood up a new maintenance command, created by consolidating two existing organizations in the Pacific Northwest May 15.
  • Seabees Return to Hawaii Navy Newsstand 19 May 2003-- Four Seabees from the 30th Naval Construction Regiment, (NCR) based in Pearl Harbor, were given a 'hero's welcome home,' as they returned from their duties in Iraq recently.
  • Warlords Remain Ready During Arduous Deployment Navy Newsstand 19 May 2003-- Families and friends of Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 squadrons, and some Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light (HSL) 51 detachments (Det) recently welcomed their Sailors home.
  • USS McCampbell Pulls Double Duty in the Pacific Navy Newsstand 19 May 2003-- McCampbell, currently operating in the Eastern Pacific area conducting counter-drug operations, was simultaneously operating in the Western Pacific area, participating in Fleet Battle Experiment (FBE) Kilo, an annual joint warfighting experiment.
  • Tornado damage expected to exceed $10 million AFPN 19 May 2003-- Despite no reports of injuries or aircraft damage, a tornado inflicted millions of dollars worth of damage, base officials here said.
  • Stop-Loss Policy Terminated, OPHOLD Modification Rescinded Navy Newsstand 19 May 2003-- The Navy has rescinded its one-month-long stop-loss, which prevented hospital corpsmen with Navy enlisted classification code 8404 (field medical service technician) in pay grades E-1 through E-6 from separating or retiring as planned because of combat operations.
  • Oklahoma Naval Reservists Return Home from Overseas Operations Navy Newsstand 19 May 2003-- The last Reservists of Naval Cargo Handling Battalion (NCHB) 6 Air Cargo Company have returned home following deployment in support of U.S. military operations overseas.
  • Speed of Iraq Battle Tested U.S. Logistics Efforts AFPS 19 May 2003 -- The speed of the battle in Iraq strained the logistics effort, but the service men and women were up to the task, said Army logistics officials in Iraq and the United States.

  • Predator UAVs Prove Their Worth in War Against Terrorism AFPS 19 May 2003 -- The Air Force officer is a transport plane pilot, but these days his aircraft flies "solo," and he doesn't leave the ground.
  • Transcript: Powell on U.S.-German Relations, Iraq, U.S. Bases, Terrorism Washington File 19 May 2003 -- In an interview in Berlin May 15 with German TV journalist Sabine Christiansen, Secretary of State Colin Powell responded to questions regarding his trip to the Middle East and Europe, the "major disagreement" between the United States and Germany over Iraq, the role the United States would like to see the United Nations play in Iraq, U.S. troops in Europe, and the global war against terrorism.

  • Romania: Wolfowitz Says No Decision On New U.S. Bases RFE/L 19 May 2003 -- U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz says the United States has not decided whether to set up permanent military bases in Romania.

  • Philippines to Become Major non-NATO Ally, Bush Says AFPS 19 May 2003 -- Following a meeting today with the Philippine president, President Bush announced the United States will designate the Philippines as a major non-NATO ally, smoothing the road to military cooperation.
  • BUSH-PHILIPPINES VOA 19 May 2003 -- President Bush says the United States and the Philippines are standing strong against global terrorism. He says more U-S help is on the way to the Philippines as the two meet the challenges of "a dangerous world."
  • BUSH/PHILIPPINES VOA 19 May 2003 -- President Bush has welcomed Philippine President Gloria Arroyo to the White House, with the ceremony of a formal state visit. The war on terrorism is expected to dominate their talks.

  • EU: Foreign, Defense Ministers Meeting Today In Brussels RFE/L 19 May 2003 -- European Union foreign ministers are holding their monthly meeting in Brussels today and tomorrow. The agenda will be dominated by Iraq and the Middle East peace process. Other significant items include relations with the western Balkans and preparations for the upcoming EU-Russia summit. In parallel, EU defense ministers meet today and will hold two joint sessions with the foreign ministers to discuss priorities and ongoing EU missions.
  • E-U / DEFENSE VOA 19 May 2003 -- The European Union has declared that its 60-thousand-member rapid reaction force is ready to conduct peacekeeping missions within and beyond Europe, despite shortfalls in various types of military hardware.

  • MALAYSIA / RUSSIA FIGHTERS VOA 19 May 2003 -- Malaysia has announced it will buy 18 Russian-made Sukhoi jet fighters worth 900 million dollars. The deal may reflect a broader trend in the current international political climate.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

  • Bush: New Terror Attacks Will Not Derail Mideast Peace Process Washington File 20 May 2003 -- Despite the May 18 and May 19 terrorist bombings that killed about 16 people and wounded many more in Jerusalem, northern Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, President Bush says he "has confidence" that the Middle East peace process can still move forward, but "as long as terrorists kill," the process is not going to be smooth.
  • BUSH MIDEAST VOA 19 May 2003 -- President Bush says he is confident the Middle East peace process can go forward, despite a series of bombings in Israel. He spoke shortly after a bomb exploded in northern Israel, the fifth suicide bombing in Israel in two days.
  • UN / MIDEAST VOA 19 May 2003 -- The latest Palestinian suicide attacks in Israel have underscored the extreme difficulties in getting the two sides to move forward with an international road map for peace. At the United Nations Monday, the U-N special representative to the Middle East took both sides to task for their actions, and said continued intransigence would further undermine the peace process.
  • Road Map may be last chance at Middle East peace for 'long time' - UN envoy UN News Centre 19 May 2003 -- The Road Map peace plan may be the last chance to achieve a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict for a very long time, since ongoing Palestinian terror radicalizes both communities while Israeli settlement expansion makes creation of a viable Palestinian state ever more difficult, the senior United Nations envoy to the region, Terje Roed-Larsen, told the Security Council today.
  • ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS 2nd UPDATE VOA 19 May 2003 -- A Palestinian suicide bomber has killed at least four people and injured around 30 others. The bomber also died in the blast in the northern Israeli town of Afula.
  • ISRAEL/PALESTINIANS VOA 19 May 2003 -- A suspected Palestinian woman suicide bomber is reported to have killed at least four Israelis and wounded 15 others -- the fifth such bombing in the past three days.
  • UN human rights chief condemns suicide bombings against Israelis UN News Centre 19 May 2003 -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Sergio Vieira de Mello, today condemned the weekend suicide bombings against Israeli civilians, saying such acts "serve only to destroy innocent civilian life and demonstrate the utterly repugnant nature of terrorism."
  • ISRAEL/PALESTINIANS VOA 19 May 2003 -- A Palestinian man riding a bicycle has detonated explosives next to a military jeep in the southern Gaza Strip, wounding three Israeli soldiers. It was the fourth Palestinian suicide bombing attack, all attributed to Hamas, in the past three days.

  • Annan condemns killing of UN military observers in DR of Congo UN News Centre 19 May 2003 -- Secretary-General Kofi Annan today strongly condemned the "appalling and shocking" murder of two United Nations military observers in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and called on all Congolese parties to "renounce violence and consolidate hard-won peace agreements."
  • CONGO/U-N MILITARY VOA 19 May 2003 -- Two missing U-N military observers in northeastern Congo have been found dead near the war-torn town of Bunia.
  • DRC: MONUC military observers confirmed dead IRIN 19 May 2003 -- Two UN military observers reported missing from Wednesday have been confirmed dead, the spokesman of the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), Hamadoun Toure, told IRIN on Monday.
  • DR of Congo: UN rights chief decries 'brutal' killing of military observers UN News Centre 19 May 2003 -- The top United Nations human rights official today strongly condemned the brutal killing of two UN military observers, whose bodies were recovered over the weekend just north of the town of Bunia in war-riven northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

  • NEWS ANALYSIS: ACEH OFFENSIVE VOA 19 May 2003 -- The new Indonesian military offensive into the restive province of Aceh is the latest chapter in a prolonged conflict between the central government in Jakarta and independence-minded insurgents. The government is gambling that it can quickly crush the rebels with a massive injection of force.
  • Indonesia: Annan urges parties to do 'utmost' to restore peace process in Aceh UN News Centre 19 May 2003 -- Following the collapse of talks held over the weekend between the Government of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement to resume implementation of a peace accord, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today urged the parties to do their utmost to restore the peace process in the north-western province.
  • U-S-ACEH-INDONESIA VOA 19 May 2003 -- The United States Monday expressed deep regret over the weekend breakdown of peace talks in Tokyo between Indonesia and rebels from Aceh province. The State Department also called on Indonesian authorities to protect human rights in the new military operations they have launched in Aceh.
  • INDONESIA / ACEH VOA 19 May 2003 -- The Indonesian military has launched an attack on separatist rebels in Aceh just hours after declaring martial law in the province. Last-ditch peace talks Sunday in Japan to resolve differences over autonomy for Aceh failed, derailing a five-month cease-fire agreement.

  • WEST AFRICA: Lubbers urges Liberian government and rebels to share power IRIN 19 May 2003 -- The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Ruud Lubbers ended an eight-day tour of five West African countries on Sunday, saying Liberians should face reality and bring peace to their war-torn country by agreeing to share power between wrangling political and armed groups.
  • LIBERIA/TAYLOR VOA 19 May 2003 -- The head of the U-N refugee agency, Ruud Lubbers, says Liberian President Charles Taylor should be forced to step down for the sake of all West Africans. Mr. Lubbers is ending a week-long visit to the region.
  • LIBERIA: Key timber port of Harper falls to rebels IRIN 19 May 2003 -- Rebels have captured Liberia's main timber export port at Harper close to the border with Cote d'Ivoire following a weekend of intense fighting with government forces, relief workers in the capital Monrovia said on Monday.

  • Security Council extends mandate of UN mission in Timor-Leste by one year UN News Centre 19 May 2003 -- A year after Timor-Leste gained independence, the Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations mission there for another 12 months.
  • Security Council extends terms for four judges on Rwanda tribunal UN News Centre 19 May 2003 -- The Security Council today extended the terms of office of four permanent judges at the United Nations International Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in order to allow them to dispose of a number of ongoing cases.
  • PHILIPPINES/REBELS VOA 19 May 2003 -- The Philippine military reports it has killed dozens of rebels in its latest campaign against Muslim separatists in the southern provinces. But the main rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, says it remains committed to the peace process.
  • Serbia: Del Ponte In Belgrade To Urge Arrest Of Fugitives RFE/L 19 May 2003 -- Carla Del Ponte, chief prosecutor for the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, has arrived in Belgrade to press once again for arrest of fugitives accused of war crimes.
  • ETHIOPIA: Interview with Tswahab Tadesse, administrator of Shiraro IRIN 19 May 2003 -- Tswahab Tadesse is a veteran guerrilla fighter from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) who commanded over 1,000 people. Now she is the district administrator for Shiraro in northwestern Ethiopia – an area that currently includes the symbolic town of Badme. She tells IRIN how she will never accept the boundary commission ruling that places Badme in Eritrea and her fears of future conflict.
  • SOMALIA: Puntland opponents sign peace deal IRIN 19 May 2003 -- The administration in the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland and opposition forces signed a peace deal on Saturday aimed at ending conflict in the region, a local journalist told IRIN on Monday.
  • BURUNDI: Advance party of Ethiopian peacekeepers arrive IRIN 19 May 2003 -- The deputy commander of the African peacekeeping mission in Burundi, Brig-Gen Geberat Ayele of Ethiopia, landed in the capital, Bujumbura, on Sunday together with 15 officers, to prepare for the arrival of the rest of the Ethiopian contingent expected to take part in the mission.
  • UGANDA: Civil society sets terms for peace in the north IRIN 19 May 2003 -- The Ugandan government has been urged to adopt a consistent approach in dealing with the rebel Lords Resistance army (LRA), and avoid contradictions which have so far undermined trust between the parties during peace efforts for northern Uganda.
  • DRC-UGANDA: Country hosting 20,000 Congolese refugees from Ituri, UNHCR says IRIN 19 May 2003 -- The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has put the number of refugees who have fled into Uganda to escape fighting in the Ituri District of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) at between 15,000 and 20,000, the UN agency reported on Monday.
  • COTE D'IVOIRE: Ministers to meet in rebel capital on Thursday IRIN 19 May 2003 -- Cote d'Ivoire's government of national reconciliation will hold a ministerial meeting in the rebel capital Bouake this week in a further move to ease tension between the government-controlled south and the rebel-held north of the country, a senior government official said on Monday.
  • SOUTHERN AFRICA: Protection for women during conflict inadequate - UNIFEM IRIN 19 May 2003 -- The standards of protection for women affected by conflict and the international response to their situations are "glaring in their inadequacy", says a report commissioned by the UN Development Fund For Women.

News Reports

  • SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 19 May 2003
  • SHAPE News Summary & Analysis SHAPE 19 May 2003
  • IMPACT OF SARS ON CHINA VOA 19 May 2003 -- Thousands in China have been infected with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS. Hundreds have died. This new infectious, flu-like disease first emerged in the Guangdong province of Southern China last November. For months, provincial and national officials denied the existence of the epidemic. They banned local media from reporting on the growing death toll. But as the disease spread, China could no longer keep the outbreak a secret. On April 17, Chinese president Hu Jintao told his government to end its cover up. But the long period of lying allowed SARS to spread far and wide in China. How is SARS affecting Chinese society, its economy and the grip of the ruling communist party? What has been its impact on the rest of Asia?
  • ASIA SARS VOA 19 May 2003 -- Hong Kong has reported just one new case of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, bringing new confidence that the outbreak will soon fade out, and the W-H-O travel warning about the city will end. But Singapore also reports a new case, after having gone 19 days without a new patient.
  • W-H-O/DISEASES VOA 19 May 2003 -- The World Health Organization says Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome is only the first of what experts expect will be many emerging infectious diseases this century. The W-H-O says it is particularly concerned about future pandemics of influenza.
  • MEXICO/STRIKE VOA 19 May 2003 -- Striking public workers shut down many roadways and public areas in Mexico City Monday and they are threatening even bigger protests on Tuesday unless the city government agrees to their demands.
  • ZIMBABWE TRIAL UPDATE VOA 19 May 2003 -- Lawyers representing Zimbabwe's opposition leader and two colleagues on trial for treason say some of their confidential papers were taken by a police officer and photocopied.
  • BUSH/FLEISCHER RESIGNS VOA 19 May 2003 -- White House Spokesman Ari Fleischer has resigned. He plans to leave the Bush administration sometime in the next few months.
  • ZIMBABWE TRIAL VOA 19 May 2003 -- The head of Zimbabwe's Central Intelligence Organization began giving evidence in the treason trial of Zimbabwe's opposition leader and two colleagues. Some legal experts say his testimony cast doubt on a key piece of the state's evidence.
  • SAF/TRIAL VOA 19 May 2003 -- In South Africa, the trial of 22 right-wing extremists accused of plotting to overthrow the government has been postponed for a week. Police took unprecedented security measures as the defendants appeared in court.
  • BELGIUM / ELECTION VOA 19 May 2003 -- Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt is set to form a new center-left government after his Liberals and their Socialist coalition partners won Sunday's general election. The poll also produced big gains for the anti-immigrant, far-right Flemish Bloc, which has been shunned by the political establishment since it appeared on the Belgian political scene 20 years ago.
  • ASIA / FLOODS VOA 19 May 2003 -- Heavy floods killed more than 140 people in Sri Lanka and left tens of thousands homeless. And rising waters in central and southern China have taken at least 40 lives.
  • TANZANIA: Opposition party dominates peaceful by-elections in Pemba IRIN 19 May 2003 -- Voters on Pemba, the semi autonomous island off Tanzania, overwhelmingly demonstrated their support for Tanzania's main opposition party, the Civic United Front (CUF) in Sunday's by-election, which, despite speculation to the contrary, was held in an atmosphere of calm and order.
  • RWANDA: Cabinet approves ban on main opposition party IRIN 19 May 2003 -- The Rwandan government endorsed a parliamentary report on Monday that called for the banning of the main opposition party in the country, the Mouvement democratique republicain (MDR), ahead of the country's first post-genocide elections.
  • SOMALIA: Kahin sworn in as Somaliland president IRIN 19 May 2003 -- The president of the self-declared republic of Somaliland, Dahir Riyale Kahin, was sworn in at a low-key ceremony in the capital, Hargeysa, on Friday, local sources told IRIN.
  • Boeing Ships Thuraya-2 Satellite to Sea Launch Home Port Boeing 19 May 2003 -- Boeing [NYSE:BA] has shipped the Thuraya-2 mobile communications satellite from its Boeing Satellite Systems manufacturing facility in El Segundo, Calif., to the Sea Launch Company, LLC Home Port in Long Beach, Calif., where it is being prepared for an early June launch.
  • Boeing EDD Wins Contract For Linearized C-Band Amplifiers From Orbital Boeing 19 May 2003 -- Boeing [NYSE:BA] has been awarded a contract from Orbital Sciences Corporation [NYSE:ORB] to provide Linearized C-Band Traveling Wave Tube Amplifiers (LTWTAs) for the TELKOM-2 Satellite for Indonesia.



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