Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• USS Comstock, Anchorage Return Home Navy NewStand 03 Jul 2003 -- Amphibious warships USS Comstock (LSD 45) and USS Anchorage (LSD 36) are returning to San Diego July 3, ending a successful six-month deployment supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). The embarked Marines will return to Camp Pendleton July 2.

• RFE/RL Afghanistan Report, Vol 2, Number 23 03 Jul 2003 -- POLITICAL SPACE IS OPENING FOR TALIBAN MODERATES, BUT JUST HOW MODERATE ARE THEY? / AFGHAN LEADER DOWNPLAYS SIGNIFICANCE OF NEW TALIBAN COUNCIL / TWO AFGHAN MILITIAMEN KILLED IN KANDAHAR PROVINCE, TALIBAN SUSPECTED / FIGHTING REPORTED BETWEEN ZABUL PROVINCE FORCES AND THE TALIBAN / RADICAL LEADER RESURFACES WITH ANOTHER THREAT AGAINST FOREIGNERS IN AFGHANISTAN / U.S. SOLDIER KILLED IN PAKTIYA PROVINCE... / ...WHILE ATTACKS ON U.S. TROOPS CONTINUE IN SOUTHEAST PROVINCES / WARLORDS BATTLE IN AFGHANISTAN'S SAMANGAN PROVINCE / UN OFFICE IN NANGARHAR PROVINCE ATTACKED / SUSPECTED SUICIDE BOMBER DIES IN KABUL / BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY SAYS SECURITY IS AFGHANS' RESPONSIBILITY... / ...AND VISITS KANDAHAR FOLLOWING MOSQUE BOMBING / GERMAN NATO GENERAL TO TAKE COMMAND OF ISAF IN AUGUST... / ...AS GERMAN ARMY MEMBERS' UNION WANTS TROOPS OUT OF AFGHANISTAN / RUSSIAN OFFICIAL: THREAT OF TERRORIST INFILTRATION ACROSS TAJIK-AFGHAN BORDER REMAINS SEVERE / UNODC REPORT SHOWS MAJOR INCREASE IN AFGHAN POPPY PRODUCTION... / ...AS PAPER CRITICIZES AFGHAN ADMINISTRATION'S FIGHT AGAINST ILLICIT DRUGS / DISCUSSIONS ON DRAFT AFGHAN CONSTITUTION HELD IN KANDAHAR... / ...AS DELEGATES IN SAMANGAN REPORTEDLY FAVOR A FEDERAL SYSTEM / 14,000 REFUGEES, INCLUDING MANY AFGHANS, REGISTERED IN TURKMENISTAN / UN BEGINS DISBANDING CAMP ON AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN BORDER / ROUTE OF TRANS-AFGHAN PIPELINE CONFIRMED / IOC LIFTS BAN ON AFGHAN OLYMPIC PARTICIPATION / AFGHAN SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT LEADER BECOMES FIRST PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE / THIS WEEK IN AFGHANISTAN'S HISTORY
• Afghanistan: UN helps broker truce between factions but new skirmish erupts UN News Centre 03 Jul 2003 -- An Afghan peace committee with United Nations participation has managed to broker a ceasefire between rival factions in northern Afghanistan, but fresh fighting broke out between the two militias in another area last night and a new mediation mission is being planned, a UN spokesman said today.
• AFGHANISTAN: Bomb explosion kills two in Kabul IRIN 03 Jul 2003 -- The Afghan government announced that two men were killed when a bomb prematurely exploded on Tuesday at 21:00 local time in the Pol-e Charkhi, three kilometres from the Afghan National Army training centre and German peacekeeping base in the east of the capital, Kabul.
• TAJIKISTAN: WFP closes Pamir aid corridor to Afghanistan IRIN 03 Jul 2003 -- The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has halted logistics operations in Tajikistan's eastern border crossing of Ishkashim, thus closing one of its major Central Asian aid corridors to Afghanistan.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Transcript: Background Briefing on Military Commissions 03 Jul 2003 -- "Today the President has determined that six enemy combatants currently detained by the United States are subject to his military order of November 13, 2001. The President determined that there is reason to believe that each of these enemy combatants was a member of al Qaeda or was otherwise involved in terrorism directed against the United States."
• President Determines Enemy Combatants Subject to His Military Order 03 Jul 2003 -- The President determined that six enemy combatants currently detained by the United States are subject to his Military Order of November 13, 2001. Today's action is the next step in the process that may lead to military commissions. The President determined that there is reason to believe that each of these enemy combatants was a member of al Qaida or was otherwise involved in terrorism directed against the United States.

• DoD Inspector General Completes Transformation Process 03 Jul 2003 -- Joseph E. Schmitz, inspector general (IG) of the Department of Defense, today announced the completion of a transformation process for the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) that Schmitz initiated just over one year ago. The capstones of the transformation process are new vision and mission statements and a new set of "core values" for the Office of Inspector General: accountability, integrity and efficiency.

• ACC releases HH-60 accident report ACCNS 03 Jul 2003 -- Air Force investigators were unable to determine the primary cause of the crash of an HH-60G March 23, in Afghanistan.
• U.S. Navy ships visit Russia Seventh Fleet 03 Jul 2003 -- Two U.S. Navy ships arrived in Vladivostok, Russia, in the early morning hours of July 3, for a planned goodwill port visit to strengthen the growing military relationship between the two countries.
• USS Lassen reaches midway point in maiden deployment Seventh Fleet 03 Jul 2003 -- After more than five months at sea, Sailors aboard USS Lassen (DDG 82) finally crossed a point in the ship's maiden deployment they thought they'd never see -- the hump.
• Fleet rates Pax SAR team best H-3 command NAVAIR 03 Jul 2003 -- The Pax River Search and Rescue team is the best H-3 Sea King command in the Navy, Atlantic Fleet examiners concluded June 27, following the team's annual Naval Air Training and Operating Procedures Standardization evaluation.
• 22nd MEU to deploy as part of Expeditionary Strike Group USMC News 03 Jul 2003 -- Despite uncertainties caused by the mass deployment of Navy and Marine forces to support Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, the expeditionary strike group (ESG) concept is back on track for the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU).
• 2/3 takes a dive for survival's sake USMC News 03 Jul 2003 -- When a helicopter crashes in the water, those aboard have a few crucial moments to get out and get to safety.
• 1st Radio Bn. soars from new heights USMC News 03 Jul 2003 -- During every reconnaissance operation, there is always a possibility that a ground insertion could be too dangerous. The drop zone could be infested with the enemy.
• Ugly Angels extend their legs, thanks to VMGR-152 USMC News 03 Jul 2003 -- Twenty Marines from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 362 carried out some infrequent training while en route to transport more than 75 U.S. Marines and Australian soldiers from the "Big Island" into the airfield at MCB Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay.
• KC-135 adds communications-relay capability AFPN 02 Jul 2003 -- While mostly known as a "flying gas station," the KC-135 Stratotanker has served in many mission roles throughout its 45-plus years of service.
• Army signs multi-million-dollar contract with Microsoft Army News 03 Jul 2003 -- The Army has signed a six-year contract worth more than $470 million with Microsoft, to consolidate software purchases and licenses in an effort to improve security and access to information Army-wide.
• New Training Command Stands Up, Advances Revolution in Training Navy NewStand 03 Jul 2003 -- The Navy's Revolution in Training is marching forward with the establishment of a new command chartered with taking civilian volunteers and training them to become the future enlisted and officer professionals of the U.S. Navy.

• Seized Weapons Are Legitimate Export Items ROK Ministry of National Defense 03 Jul 2003 -- Hundreds of machine guns and rifles that Spanish authorities discovered and seized from a ROK cargo vessel in its territorial waters are legitimate export items, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday.

Defense Industry

• General Dynamics Awarded Contract for Long-Range Artillery Ammunition for the Objective Force General Dynamics 03 Jul 2003 -- General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), has been awarded a sole-source contract initially valued at $1.5 million for the engineering evaluation of 105mm and 155mm artillery projectiles by the Program Manager for Combat Ammunition Systems (PM CAS) and U.S. Army TACOM–ARDEC at Picatinny Arsenal, N.J.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 03 Jul 2003
• PRESS CONFERENCE ON SMALL ARMS MEETING United Nations 03 Jul 2003
• Bush Supports 'No Nonsense' Approach to Palestinian Security VOA News 03 Jul 2003 -- President Bush is engaging in some telephone diplomacy as the Mideast peace process moves forward. His latest call was to Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas.
• Violence Tests Progress of 'Road Map' Peace Plan VOA News 03 Jul 2003 -- Two violent incidents overnight in the Gaza Strip and West Bank are testing the fragile progress made so far in implementing the international road map for peace. Israeli forces shot and killed one man in Qalqilya and arrested more than a dozen men in raids in three other West Bank towns.
• ISRAEL / PALESTINIANS VOA 03 Jul 2003 -- Two violent incidents overnight in the Gaza Strip and West Bank are testing the fragile progress made so far in implementing the international road map for peace.

• Transcript: Powell Says Bush Will Make an Announcement about Liberia Soon Washington File 03 Jul 2003 -- President Bush will make an announcement about Liberia "in the next day or so," Secretary of State Colin Powell said in an interview with the Fox television network July 2.
• Official Comments on Liberia, U.S., Africa Peacekeeping Partnership Washington File 03 Jul 2003 -- Briefing the press on President Bush's first trip to Africa where regional stability and security will be high on the U.S. agenda, a senior Administration official was unaware of any decision made by the White House to send U.S. troops to Liberia, a hotspot of turmoil in West Africa.
• Transcript: U.S. Exploring All Options For Its Liberia Policy, Powell Says Washington File 03 Jul 2003 -- President Bush "is exploring all of the options -- political options, diplomatic options and military options as well," towards Liberia, Secretary Powell told reporters at a press availability at the State Department July 3.
• White House Again Says Liberia's President Must Leave Washington File 03 Jul 2003 -- Asked about the situation in Liberia, White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer told reporters early July 3 that President Bush "is focused on what is the most effective way to bring peace and stability to Liberia, and that is for Charles Taylor to depart."
• In Guinea, delegation meets leader of Liberia's main rebel group UN News Centre 03 Jul 2003 -- A United Nations Security Council delegation met in Guinea with the leader of Liberia's main rebel faction on the final leg of an eight-day mission exploring new opportunities for peace and stability in the troubled West African sub-region.
• Liberia: UN refugee rescue ship heads for Monrovia to begin emergency evacuation UN News Centre 03 Jul 2003 -- Battling heavy winds and high seas, the United Nations rescue ship Overbeck is heading for Monrovia today to begin an emergency evacuation of thousands of desperate Sierra Leonean refugees living in makeshift camps scattered along the outskirts of the war-ravaged Liberian capital.
• Bush Still Weighing Liberia Intervention VOA News 03 Jul 2003 -- President Bush says he is awaiting recommendations for possible U.S. intervention in Liberia.
• LIBERIA WRAP VOA 03 Jul 2003 -- U-S military commanders have prepared a range options for the possible deployment of American troops to the West African nation of Liberia. President Bush says he has not yet made a decision about whether to intervene militarily but he is suggesting progress has been made in getting Liberia's President Charles Taylor -- blamed for instigating wars across West Africa-- to agree to give up power.
• BUSH / LIBERIA VOA 03 Jul 2003 -- I haven't made up my mind, Vincent, whether we are going to send a so-called peacekeeping force. I have made up my mind there needs to be stability in Liberia. And one of the conditions for a peaceful and stable Liberia is for Mr. Charles Taylor to leave the country. And so we are working the issue now. And I say "we," it's of course the secretary of state -- the very capable Colin Powell -- is working with Kofi Annan, who is also working with others on the continent to facilitate that type of move.
• BUSH / LIBERIA VOA 03 Jul 2003 -- President Bush says he is still weighing whether to send U-S troops to Liberia, but will do what is necessary to help bring stability to that war-torn country. Bush administration officials stress the first step must be the departure of Liberian President Charles Taylor.
• LIBERIA / PROTESTS VOA 03 Jul 2003 -- In Liberia, thousands of angry people have taken to the streets of the capital, Monrovia, demanding President Charles Taylor resign.
• White House: Decision on Liberia Will 'Take Some Time' VOA News 03 Jul 2003 -- The White House continues to debate possible U.S. intervention in Liberia as pressure mounts for President Charles Taylor to leave office. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Thursday, it is going to take some time to decide on a course of action in Liberia.
• Liberia: U.S. Mulls Sending Troops To Help Restore Peace RFE/L 03 Jul 2003 -- The United States, with tens of thousands of troops already deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq, is now considering taking part in a peacekeeping mission to end a civil war in Liberia, a West African nation founded by freed American slaves more than 150 years ago.
• Liberian President Pressured to Resign VOA News 03 Jul 2003 -- Amid growing calls for U.S. military intervention in Liberia, which was founded by freed American slaves, President Bush is calling for Liberian President Charles Taylor to resign. But if he leaves power, Mr. Taylor faces the threat of arrest on a war crimes indictment issued last month in neighboring Sierra Leone.
• LIBERIA / TAYLOR INDICTMENT VOA 03 Jul 2003 -- Amid growing calls for U-S military intervention in Liberia, which was founded by freed American slaves, President Bush is calling for Liberian President Charles Taylor to resign. But if he leaves power, Mr. Taylor faces the threat of arrest on a war crimes indictment issued last month in neighboring Sierra Leone.
• LIBERIA: ECOWAS military chiefs discuss intervention force IRIN 03 Jul 2003 -- Military chiefs of defence staff from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) began a two-day meeting in Ghana on Thursday to discuss the shape and size of an intervention force to monitor the fragile ceasefire in Liberia.
• EDITORIAL: PEACE IN AFRICA VOA 03 Jul 2003 -- In Africa, regional wars are encouraged by dictatorial regimes that give weapons and refuge to groups fighting in neighboring countries. As President George W. Bush said, "The cycle of attack and escalation is reckless, it is destructive, and it must be ended"

• General Assembly adopts landmark resolution on preventing armed conflict UN News Centre 03 Jul 2003 -- After three years of preparation and five months of intensive negotiation, the United Nations General Assembly today adopted by consensus a resolution on the prevention of armed conflict, hailed as a landmark in efforts to move the world body from a culture of reacting to crises to one of preventing them from reaching critical mass.

• Fact Sheet: U.S. Demining Program Seeks to Relieve Human Suffering Washington File 03 Jul 2003 -- Following is the text of a July 2 State Department fact sheet on the U.S. Government's Humanitarian Demining Program (HDP) in Southeast Asia

• First biennial meeting on UN plan to end illicit small arms trade to open Monday UN News Centre 03 Jul 2003 -- Beginning next week, government representatives will gather at United Nations Headquarters in New York for the first-ever international meeting to consider implementation of the world body's Action Plan for eradicating the illicit small arms trade.

• DRC: Interview with outgoing MONUC head Amos Namanga Ngongi IRIN 03 Jul 2003 -- Amos Namanga Ngongi, Special Representative of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), completed on Tuesday his nearly two-year mandate at the head of the UN peacekeeping mission in the country, known as MONUC. In an interview he granted to IRIN on 28 June, he talked about the successes and difficulties during his tenure, particularly of the frustration of being expected to act above and beyond MONUC's mandate. Ngongi's successor, US diplomat William Lacy Swing, is due to arrive on Saturday.
• DRC: Transitional government IRIN 03 Jul 2003 -- The full list of the transitional government named on 30 June in the Democratic Republic of the Congo:
• DR of Congo: Main rebel forces begin pulling out from North Kivu town UN News Centre 03 Jul 2003 -- One of the largest rebel factions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today began pulling its troops out of a small town in the province of North Kivu, the sight of recent flare-ups between rival armed clans, according to the United Nations mission in the country.

• PRESS CONFERENCE BY SECRETARY-GENERAL'S SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR KOSOVO United Nations 03 Jul 2003
• CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Army training for ex-Bozize fighters IRIN 03 Jul 2003 -- The Central African Republic (CAR) government has established two military training centres for former fighters loyal to current leader Francois Bozize, state-owned Radio Centrafrique reported on Wednesday. They will be integrated into the CAR army upon completion of the training.
• BURUNDI: Rebels free MP, four other hostages IRIN 03 Jul 2003 -- Fighters loyal to rebel leader Pierre Nkurunziza released on Wednesday one Member of Parliament and four others out of 11 people they had kidnapped last week in Ruyigi Province, eastern Burundi.
• SUDAN: Rebel group enacts 26 new laws in south IRIN 03 Jul 2003 -- The Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) has enacted 26 new laws, called the Laws of the New Sudan, which will govern SPLM areas in south Sudan until a peace deal is signed between the rebel group and the government.
• ANGOLA: FLEC/FAC resolute in call for independence IRIN 03 Jul 2003 -- Separatists in Angola's northern Cabinda province on Thursday said they would continue their struggle for independence despite the recent defection of several key officials to the ruling party.

News Reports

• SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 03 Jul 2003 -- U.S. is considering troops in Liberia to monitor truce / President Bush 'will send U.S. troops to Liberia' / EU considers long-term commitment to Congo / U.S. and U.K. vow to stay on track in Iraq
• SHAPE News Summary & Analysis SHAPE 03 Jul 2003 -- Adm. Feist views Estonian Defense Forces / U.S. expert warns against "breaking the Army" / Bush administration readies new security, aid package for Afghanistan / Report: U.S. struggles to top up allied force in Iraq

• GUUAM Summit Opens In Ukraine RFE/L 03 Jul 2003 -- Leaders from Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Moldova are meeting today for a two-day summit hosted by Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma (pictured) in the Ukraine Black Sea resort of Yalta.
• Ukraine: GUUAM Summit Opens, Minus A Few Key Leaders RFE/L 03 Jul 2003 -- Representatives of Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Moldova -- the GUUAM grouping -- are gathering today in Ukraine's Black Sea resort of Yalta.
• HUNGARY / IVANOV VOA 03 Jul 2003 -- Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov has concluded a two-day visit to Hungary. The visit shows how relations between Russia and Hungary have greatly improved since the last Russian soldiers left Hungarian soil more than a decade ago.
• Berlusconi Expresses Regret to Schroeder for Disparaging German Lawmaker VOA News 03 Jul 2003 -- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has expressed regret to German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder for comparing a German lawmaker to a Nazi prison guard.
• INDONESIA / ACEH JOURNALISTS VOA 03 Jul 2003 -- Separatist rebels in Indonesia's northern province of Aceh say they are holding five people, including two television journalists. The separatists, known as GAM, deny government reports that the Indonesian military controls the province.
• NIGERIA/STRIKE VOA 03 Jul 2003 -- Nigeria's government has not scaled back a massive fuel price hike, despite a strike that began Monday and was marked mainly by rowdy demonstrations. Tensions between activists and security forces are mounting.
• ITALY / BERLUSCONI VOA 03 Jul 2003 -- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi says his comments comparing a German politician to a Nazi guard were misinterpreted. In a telephone call to the German Chancellor Mr. Berlusconi expressed regret over his words.
• BERLUSCONI/E-U VOA 03 Jul 2003 -- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder are to speak by telephone, as pressure mounts on the Italian leader to apologize for suggesting that a German legislator should be cast as a Nazi concentration camp guard in a motion picture. Mr. Berlusconi's jibe has caused outrage throughout Europe, and has unleashed a diplomatic dispute between Italy and Germany.
• Schroeder Demands Apology Following Berlusconi 'Nazi' Comment VOA News 03 Jul 2003 -- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder are to speak by telephone, as pressure mounts on the Italian leader to apologize for suggesting that a German legislator should be cast as a Nazi concentration camp guard in a motion picture.
• BERLUSCONI/E-U VOA 03 Jul 2003 -- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is facing intense pressure to apologize for suggesting that a German member of the European Parliament be cast in a motion picture as a Nazi concentration camp guard. Mr. Berlusconi says he will discuss the matter later Thursday in a phone call to German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.
• ZIMBABWE / TSVANGIRAI TRIAL VOA 03 Jul 2003 -- Lawyers for Zimbabwe's opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, have gone to the High Court demanding that his legal challenge to last year's presidential election be given a court date. The lawyers told the judge that the delay in the trial was a fundamental violation of the constitution.
• LAOS / JOURNALISTS VOA 03 Jul 2003 -- Two European journalists and an American pastor sentenced to 15 years in jail in Laos this week may be freed soon if their governments petition to have their sentences commuted, the Laotian foreign minister said Thursday.
• THAILAND / BURMA REFUGEES VOA 03 Jul 2003 -- The government of Thailand plans to relocate 15-hundred Burmese political refugees from Bangkok to the border. The move is a controversial one.
• HONG KONG / PROTEST VOA 03 Jul 2003 -- The head of Hong Kong's largest pro-China party has urged the government to rethink controversial anti-sedition laws being introduced at the behest of Beijing. The legislation has drawn wide protest over fears it could erode rights and freedoms.