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Military


11 July 2003 Military News

Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

  • PENTAGON/HORN OF AFRICA VOA 11 Jul 2003 -- The Pentagon appears poised to expand the U-S military presence in the Horn of Africa, adding jet fighters for the first time to the anti-terrorism task force already deployed in Djibouti.
  • Forward deployed Sailors, Marines tour Russian ship Seventh Fleet 11 Jul 2003 -- Sailors from USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43), USS Lassen (DDG 82) and Marines from the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force had the opportunity to tour a Russian navy ship here July 6 as part of their July 3-7 port visit.
  • Seabees Reclaim School For Iraqi Children USMC News 11 Jul 2003 -- Two years ago, the Fedayeen -- paramilitary thugs that Saddam employed to keep his military and nation in line -- stole the school from the children of Iraq and used it to imprison and torture dissidents and train the village's young men who were forced into service.

  • William B. Taylor Appointed New U.S. Coordinator for Afghanistan Washington File 11 Jul 2003 -- Following is the text of a July 10 media note from the State Department announcing the appointment of William B. Taylor as the new Afghanistan coordinator
  • RFE/RL Afghanistan Report, Vol 2, Number 24 11 Jul 2003 -- KARZAI'S 'FIRST FOREIGN-POLICY SPEECH' TRIGGERS ANTI-PAKISTAN RIOT / AFGHAN-PAKISTANI FORCES REPORTEDLY CLASH ALONG BORDER... / ...WHICH REPORTEDLY CONTINUES / AFGHAN-PAKISTANI TENSIONS RISE OVER COMMENTS BY MUSHARRAF... / ...AS PAKISTANI AMBASSADOR IN KABUL IS SUMMONED TO DISCUSS BORDER CLASH / ANTI-PAKISTAN RALLY ORGANIZED BY AFGHAN POLITICAL PARTY IN KABUL... / ...AS SIMILAR MARCH TAKES PLACE IN MAZAR-E SHARIF / PAKISTAN CLOSES ITS EMBASSY IN KABUL FOLLOWING ATTACK / AFGHAN LEADER STRONGLY CONDEMNS ATTACK ON PAKISTANI EMBASSY... / ...AND OFFERS PERSONAL APOLOGY TO PAKISTAN'S PRESIDENT... / ...AND ASSURANCES TO PAKISTANI AMBASSADOR / AFGHAN LEADER MAINTAINS STANCE ON BORDER INCURSION / FIGHTING IN ZABUL PROVINCE INTENSIFIES... / ...AS A SENIOR TALIBAN COMMANDER, AFGHAN SOLDIERS ARE REPORTED KILLED / RENEWED FIGHTING BETWEEN AFGHAN WARLORDS CLAIMS MORE LIVES... / ...AS UN NEGOTIATES CEASE-FIRE IN BALKH PROVINCE / HEAD OF MOSQUE KILLED IN KANDAHAR / KABUL PAPER LAUDS ROLE OF RECONSTRUCTION TEAMS, BRITISH IN AFGHANISTAN / KABUL PAPER LAMENTS POSTPONEMENT OF DDR PLAN / NATO'S ADVANCE TEAM HEADS TO KABUL / INTERNATIONAL PRESS CENTER OPENS IN KABUL / THIS WEEK IN AFGHANISTAN'S HISTORY
  • EDITORIAL: AFGHANISTAN'S FUTURE VOA 11 Jul 2003 -- A new Afghan constitution is scheduled to be debated and go into effect this fall. National elections are to be held in June 2004. These will be important steps in the creation of a democratic government in Afghanistan. But building democracy after twenty-five years of civil war will not be easy.

Defense Policy / Programs

  • Franks: U.S. Forces Committed to Global War on Terror AFPS 11 Jul 2003 -- U.S. Central Command has been at the "leading edge of the global war on terrorism" for the past two years, according to Tommy Franks, the U.S. Army general who led the U.S. offensive against terrorism in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
  • Undersecretary Says 'Sooner Rather Than Later' for Joint National Training Capability AFPS 11 Jul 2003 -- The Defense Department is making joint training a priority as it moves ahead with transforming the way U.S. forces prepare for war.
  • DoD Receives New Capabilities Development System 11 Jul 2003 -- A program designed to help Defense Department officials determine what programs and projects to acquire to enhance joint readiness debuted this week.
  • NAVSEA Awards Contract for CVN-21 Work NAVSEA News Wire 11 Jul 2003-- Naval Sea Systems Command this week awarded a $107.6 million contract to Northrop Grumman Newport News (NGNN) Shipbuilding for work on the Navy's future aircraft carrier program, CVN-21.
  • Coalition Interoperability Solutions Tested at NSWC Dahlgren During JWID 2003 NAVSEA News Wire 11 Jul 2003-- A Spanish soldier sent US Army Staff Sgt. Timothy Knoblach an Artillery Systems Correlative Activity (ASCA) message from Madrid, Spain via a global wide-area network that called for fire on a specific target out of his reach. Instantaneously, a dozen military and civilian visitors on tour at the Joint Warrior Interoperability Demonstration (JWID) 03 in Dahlgren,Va., witnessed a demonstration of coalition interoperability in action - if they didn't blink an eye.
  • Answering the Call-Portable X-Ray Apparatus Developed for EOD Community NAVSEA News Wire 11 Jul 2003-- The Large Package X-Ray Apparatus (LAPAXA) recently developed by engineers at Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division (IHDIV) will provide the Joint Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) community with a portable device enabling them to un-intrusively locate the placement of an improvised explosive device (IED) inside large or small packages while in the field.
  • 'One Shipyard' Team Completes Salt Lake City Availability NAVSEA News Wire 11 Jul 2003-- Combine a team made up of personnel from the four public shipyards, about 15 Navy commands, more than a dozen private industry partners, and USS Salt Lake City (SLC) (SSN 716) crewmembers, with a "Can Do" attitude, and the end result is a successful and very extensive maintenance availability.
  • JFK Availability Passes Halfway Point Using 'One Shipyard' Practices NAVSEA News Wire 11 Jul 2003-- New and unpredictable enemies and threats are a reality that demands innovative approaches in readiness and modernization.
  • Scout snipers stalk K-Bay Marine Corps News 11 Jul 2003-- The Scout Sniper Basic Course recently moved from its previous location at 3rd Marine Regiment to MCB Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay's Regimental Schools, in order to more efficiently train devil dogs of the 3rd Marine Division.
  • 2/3 will test new Predator Marine Corps News 11 Jul 2003-- Never in the Marine Corps has a single infantryman had the capability to take out a main battle tank with a weapons system that was less than 22 pounds.
  • 'The Big E' goes down under Marine Corps News 11 Jul 2003-- A roar of two Australian C-130s, Echo Co, "the Big E" of 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines based out of MCB Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, took off towards its destination.
  • 6th Fleet Admiral Says "Fighting Flagship" Living Up To Its Name Navy Newsstand 11 Jul 2003-- USS La Salle (AGF 3), often called the "Fighting Flagship" because of its increased operational missions since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, has added to its notable 39-year history with its recent participation in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.
  • New London Hosts Frigate During Holiday Weekend Navy Newsstand 11 Jul 2003-- Navy Submarine Base (SUBASE) New London got a viewing of the Navy's surface force, when it played host to USS Stephen W. Groves (FFG 29) and its crew during the Fourth of July weekend.
  • Coast Guard Cutter Boutwell returns home USCG Pacific Area Release 11 Jul 2003-- The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Boutwell is returning home from the Persian Gulf to Coast Guard Island, Monday at 9:15 a.m.

  • Botswana Looking To Join Fledgling U.S. Military Partnership Washington File 11 Jul 2003 -- A fledgling U.S. military partnership initiative, the Africa Contingency Operations Training Assistance (ACOTA) program, which Botswana may join, could strengthen relations between the two democracies by providing invaluable training for the Botswana Defense Forces (BDF) in peacekeeping/peace-enforcement skills, says Lt. Colonel G. Morake, director of training at BDF headquarters.

  • Central Asia: Robertson Urges Closer Ties With NATO RFE/L 11 Jul 2003 -- NATO Secretary-General George Robertson ended a two-day official visit to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, where he called for closer NATO cooperation with Central Asia to counter international terrorism. Robertson's visit precedes NATO's takeover of the command of peacekeeping operations in neighboring Afghanistan.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

  • DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 11 Jul 2003

  • PRESS CONFERENCE BY CHAIRPERSON OF FIRST BIENNIAL MEETING ON SMALL ARMS United Nations 11 Jul 2003
  • PRESS CONFERENCE BY INTERNATIONAL ACTION NETWORK ON SMALL ARMS United Nations 11 Jul 2003

  • African Summit Focuses on Conflict Resolution VOA News 11 Jul 2003 -- The second annual African Union (AU) summit in Mozambique has entered its second day Friday, as the continent's leaders continue to focus attention on ending conflicts.

  • Annan to discuss Liberia, other issues, with US President Bush on Monday UN News Centre 11 Jul 2003 -- United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today that if United States President George W. Bush were to decide that US troops should take part with West African forces in a peacekeeping mission in Liberia, he hoped "it wouldn't take them too long either to join."
  • POLISARIO set to accept new peace plan for Western Sahara - Security Council UN News Centre 11 Jul 2003 -- The President of the United Nations Security Council today announced measured progress in efforts to help resolve the situation in Western Sahara now that one of the main parties has said it will accept the most recent settlement option recommended by Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
  • LIBERIA: LURD warns against deployment of ECOWAS troops ACCRA, 11 Jul 2003 (IRIN) - The main Liberian rebel group, Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), has warned against the planned deployment of 1,500 ECOWAS peacekeepers in the war-torn country prior to the departure of President Charles Taylor into exile
  • Liberian Rebels Step Up Pressure For Taylor to Leave VOA News 11 Jul 2003 -- Liberia's main rebel group has threatened to use force against any peacekeepers sent to the country before President Charles Taylor steps down.
  • LIBERIA REBELS VOA 11 Jul 2003 -- The Liberian civil war has reached a turning point, with an agreement in place for the departure of President Charles Taylor, but no plan on exactly how that will happen.
  • LIBERIA / INTERIM OPTIONS VOA 11 Jul 2003 -- Negotiations are under way among Liberian groups in Ghana on forming an interim government to replace President Charles Taylor, if and when he steps down from office.
  • Powell: Any US Military Role in Liberia Will be of Support Nature VOA News 11 Jul 2003 -- U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell says peacekeeping troops from West African nations should lead the way in Liberia with the United States providing a support role.
  • African-American Lawmakers Look Carefully at US Involvement in Liberia VOA News 11 Jul 2003 -- Members of Congress say they support a U.S. peacekeeping role in Liberia. However, African-American lawmakers told reporters they hope U.S. involvement will be limited and not place U.S. troops in harm's way anymore than necessary.
  • EDITORIAL: U.S. WELCOMED IN LIBERIA VOA 11 Jul 2003 -- A team of U.S. military experts is in Liberia to determine how the U.S. can help end one of Africa's most vicious civil wars. The fighting since 1989 has killed more than two-hundred-thousand Liberians. A million others have been made refugees. Charles Taylor has been in power since 1997. Since then, he has looted and terrorized Liberia. President George W. Bush says it is time for Mr. Taylor to go
  • LIBERIA: Nigerian army prepares for deployment IRIN 11 Jul 2003 -- The Nigerian army is putting two battalions with 1,600 troops on standby for possible deployment to war-ravaged Liberia as part of a regional peacekeeping force, the Nigerian army spokesman, Colonel Chukwuemeka Onwuamaegbu, said.
  • LIBERIA: LURD warns against deployment of ECOWAS troops IRIN 11 Jul 2003 -- The main Liberian rebel group, Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), has warned against the planned deployment of 1,500 ECOWAS peacekeepers in the war-torn country prior to the departure of President Charles Taylor into exile.

  • Burundi: shelling continues in capital, as fighting drives thousands from their homes UN News Centre 11 Jul 2003 -- Amid growing concern at the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Burundi, with massive numbers of people being driven from their homes by fighting in the capital Bujumbura, the United Nations reported today that a pause in the shelling overnight was short lived and clashes between government forces and rebels had resumed by mid-morning.
  • BURUNDI/FIGHTING VOA 11 Jul 2003 -- Thousands of people in Burundi's capital Bujumbura have been displaced during a week of fierce clashes, which are still going on.
  • BURUNDI: Preliminary reports put death toll from rebel attacks at 170 IRIN 11 Jul 2003 -- Office in Burundi shows that 170 people have been killed and between 6,000 and 7,000 civilians displaced since rebels began attacking the capital, Bujumbura, from 7 July.

  • UGANDA: Remaining former LRA combatants return home IRIN 11 Jul 2003 -- The final 50 former combatants with the Lord's Resistance Army, who registered in Kenya with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to benefit from the Ugandan Amnesty Act, are to return home on Saturday.
  • UGANDA: Religious leaders lobby Bush on northern crisis IRIN 11 Jul 2003 -- Uganda's religious leaders have urged US President George W. Bush, who arrived in the country on Friday, to use his influence with the international community to seek a peaceful solution to the insurgency in the north.

  • Security Council extends Bosnia peacekeeping force for another year UN News Centre 11 Jul 2003 -- The United Nations Security Council today unanimously extended for another 12 months the mandate of the 13,000-strong multinational peacekeeping force in Bosnia and Herzegovina, set up in 1996 under the framework of the Dayton accords that ended fierce fighting between Serbs, Croats and Muslims.
  • U-N / WESTERN SAHARA VOA 11 Jul 2003 -- The independence movement of Western Sahara, the Polisario Front, has backed a new United Nations plan to resolve the decades-old dispute over the northwest African territory.
  • IVORY COAST FOOD AID VOA 11 Jul 2003 -- The reconciliation government in Ivory Coast is launching a food assistance program in areas most affected by the civil war which erupted last year. The decision comes as French and West African peacekeepers struggle to contain dissident fighters in the west.
  • SOMALIA/FIGHTING VOA 11 Jul 2003 -- Clashes between two clans in central Somalia have claimed scores of lives since Tuesday. The fighting appears to be over access to natural resources.
  • CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: UN refugee agency to assist 2,000 returnees IRIN 11 Jul 2003 -- The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in the Central African Republic (CAR) has set aside 10 million francs CFA (US $17,988) to assist some 2,000 people who have returned home since June, the agency's country representative, Emile Segbor, told IRIN on Thursday.
  • ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Independent claims commission announces first awards IRIN 11 Jul 2003 -- The independent claims commission, which is looking into post-war claims by Eritrea and Ethiopia, has announced partial awards regarding the issue of prisoners-of-war.
  • DRC-CONGO: UNHCR repatriates 197 refugees from Kinshasa to Brazzaville IRIN 11 Jul 2003 -- The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) repatriated on Thursday 197 Republic of Congo refugees from neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), following assurances from Brazzaville authorities that their safety would be guaranteed.

News Reports

  • SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 11 Jul 2003 -- NATO tells Central Asia to fight terrorism, not dissent / New Czech defence minister outlines cost-cutting measures / U.S. troops could be in Iraq four years from now, Gen. Franks tells Congress / U.S. to discuss NATO role in Iraq, Secretary of State Powell says / Kosovo's leaders step up calls for minority returns / Russia expresses concern about NATO AWACS radar planes being used in Georgia / New U.S. assistance coordinator named for Afghanistan
  • SHAPE News Summary & Analysis SHAPE 11 Jul 2003 -- Adm. Feist's visit to Latvia noted / U.S. Senate unanimously approves measure seeking NATO, UN support in Iraq / Norway: regional commander calls on country to adapt to new threats / Czech Defense Ministry, Army General Staff to combine into one office / OSCE asks EU to consider sending troops to Moldova

  • U.S. Comments on EU's Draft Chemicals Regime Washington File 11 Jul 2003 -- The United States is "keenly interested" in the European Union's proposed comprehensive regulatory framework for chemicals, known as REACH -- Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals -- in part because the new regime could affect the majority of U.S. goods exported to the EU, valued at $143,000 million in 2002.
  • BUSH / NIGERIA OVERNIGHT VOA 11 Jul 2003 -- President Bush is in Nigeria on the last stop of his five-nation tour of Africa. The president's talks with Nigerian officials will focus largely on U-S support for a West African peacekeeping force for Liberia.
  • Democracy Activists Want to Bring Down Government, Claims Burma's Military VOA News 11 Jul 2003 -- Burma's military government says United Nations efforts to foster political reforms in the country are not working because democracy activists want to bring down the government. The government says the armed forces must continue to play a role in leading the country.
  • A-U SUMMIT VOA 11 Jul 2003 -- African leaders met behind closed doors Friday on the second day of the African Union summit in the Mozambique capital Maputo.
  • HONG KONG/SARS VOA 11 Jul 2003 -- A panel of international experts say Hong Kong's response to the SARS outbreak this year was good, but there is always room for improvement. The United Nations has sent an expert to mainland China to study the origins of the virus.
  • BURMA / SUU KYI VOA 11 Jul 2003 -- Burma's military government says United Nations efforts to foster political reforms in the country are not working because democracy activists want to bring down the government. The government says the armed forces must continue to play a role in leading the country.
  • MAURITANIA-SENEGAL: Rights body against extradiction of alleged coup plotter IRIN 11 Jul 2003 -- The Dakar-based human rights group, Rencontre Africaine pour la defense des droits de l'homme (RADDHO), has asked the African Commission for Human Rights to stop a court order that a Mauritanian army Lieutenant Didi Oul M'hamed be extradicted home on suspicion of involvement in a coup attempt in that country.
  • RWANDA: Kigali says it needs US $4.6 million for elections IRIN 11 Jul 2003 -- The Rwandan National Electoral Commission announced on Thursday that it needed US $4.6 million to conduct the nation's first post-genocide presidential and parliamentary elections.
  • CENTRAL ASIA: Interview with OSCE personal envoy, Martti Ahtisaari IRIN 11 Jul 2003 -- As personal envoy of Chairman-in-Office for the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and Netherlands Foreign Minister Jaap de Hoop Scheffer in Central Asia, former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari holds a unique position. Among the five Central Asian nations, all members of the OSCE, the recently appointed veteran diplomat strives to maintain dialogue with the newly established states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan.
  • Boeing Receives $145 Million ISS Battery Contract Boeing 11 Jul 2003 -- NASA has awarded Boeing [NYSE: BA] a firm, fixed-price contract valued at $145 million to procure replacement battery units for the International Space Station (ISS).
  • CENTRAL ASIA: Weekly news wrap IRIN 11 Jul 2003 -- This week started with a summit of four of the five Central Asian countries in the largest Kazakh city of Almaty, where leaders pledged to combat the flow of illicit drugs, terrorism and Islamic extremism across the region.



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