Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Iraq: U.S. Announces Troop Rotations, Stressing 'War Continues' RFE/L 24 Jul 2003 -- The Pentagon has announced troop rotations that will allow many of the U.S. soldiers who took part in the invasion phase of the war in Iraq to return to the United States. Nevertheless, the commander of the U.S.-led coalition forces is stressing that the war in Iraq is not over.
• IRAQ WRAP VOA 24 Jul 2003--Two days after the deaths of Saddam Hussein's two sons, American casualties in Iraq continue to mount, despite the Bush administration's assertion that the killing of the two most wanted men in Iraq after Saddam himself, would mark a turning point in the post-war period
• Rumsfeld Says Photos Were Released to Confirm Death of Hussein Sons Washington File 24 Jul 2003-- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld defended his decision to release the photographs in Baghdad of the corpses of Uday and Qusay Hussein, saying the Iraqi people deserved to have the confirmation they had been awaiting.
• Powell Says Progress Being made in Iraq Washington File 24 Jul 2003 -- The United States is working to return sovereignty of Iraq to its people "as quickly as possible," says Secretary of State Colin Powell.
• PENTAGON / IRAQ VOA 24 Jul 2003--Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has defended his decision to release graphic photos showing what U-S officials say are the bodies of Saddam Hussein's son, Qusay and Uday
• IRAQ / U-S TROOP REACTION VOA 24 Jul 2003--U-S troops in Iraq are welcoming the news of the deaths of Saddam Hussein's sons, Uday and Qusay.
• IRAQ / PHOTOS VOA 24 Jul 2003--The Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq has released photos said to show the bodies of Saddam Hussein's sons Qusay and Uday. V-O-A's Dale Gavlak has the details from Baghdad.
• THREE SOLDIERS KILLED IN CONVOY AMBUSH CENTCOM 24 Jul 2003-- Three 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) soldiers were killed when their convoy was ambushed by small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades, while traveling to Qayarrah West outside of Mosul, at approximately 2:30 a.m. July 24
• LIBERIA-PEACE KEEPING TROOPS VOA 24 Jul 2003--West African leaders have decided to send a vanguard force of at least 1,300 Nigerian troops to Liberia to bring peace to the devastated nation. Taylor Seybolt of the U.S. Institute for Peace discusses these measures
• PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN VOA 24 Jul 2003--Top officials from Afghanistan and Pakistan are trying to come to terms with thorny problems stemming from their shared border. Pakistani troops are accused of capturing Afghan border territory and Afghanistan says fugitive Taleban are hiding in Pakistan and crossing the border to sabotage Afghanistan's reconstruction. As Ayaz Gul reports from Islamabad, the meetings have ended, but the differences persist.
• BRITAIN / IRAQ VOA 24 Jul 2003--British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw met today (Thursday) with a delegation from Iraq's new governing council. The council members stopped in London for talks after attending a U-N Security Council meeting in New York.
• LAW ENFORCEMENT ISSUES TOP HUMANITARIAN EFFORTS CENTCOM 24 Jul 2003-- Iraqi women are being trained by Coalition forces for the Facility Protection Service as one of the many ways they are helping Iraqis with law enforcement. They are also working with the Iraqi court system and refurbishing a detention center.
• UN relief organizations in Iraq to take extra security measures following attacks UN News Centre 24 Jul 2003-- United Nations humanitarian organizations in Iraq are preparing to take extra security measures following the killing of two workers for international organizations earlier this week, a senior UN spokesman said in Baghdad today.
• FRANCE / IRAQ VOA 24 Jul 2003-- French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin says the killing of Saddam Hussein's sons Uday and Qusay could provoke revenge attacks and has urged that the United Nations take over peacekeeping in Iraq.

• U.S.: Bush Delay On Liberia -- Genuine Concern Or Domestic Politics? RFE/L 24 Jul 2003 -- The United States has yet to announce whether it will send peacekeeping forces to Liberia.
• UN envoy confirms Nigeria ready to deploy 2 battalions to war-torn Liberia UN News Centre 24 Jul 2003-- Responding to persistent appeals for the deployment of an international force in war-riven Liberia, Nigeria has agreed to send two battalions to the West African nation to be the vanguard of a broader engagement by the international community, the senior United Nations envoy to the country said today
• Security Council welcomes imminent deployment of West African troops to Liberia UN News Centre 24 Jul 2003-- Concerned about the worsening situation in Liberia, members of the United Nations Security Council today welcomed the pending deployment of a West African force to the war-torn nation, including troops from Nigeria.
• Liberia situation 'simply horrendous,' UN envoy for war-affected children says UN News Centre 24 Jul 2003-- The United Nations envoy for war-affected children today called for the urgent deployment of an international intervention force in Liberia, where he described the situation as "simply horrendous" with the population being held hostage by warring groups.
• PENTAGON / LIBERIA VOA 24 Jul 2003--Announcement of a decision to send U-S peacekeepers to Liberia appears to be imminent.
• LIBERIA/HUMANITARIAN CRISIS-FIGHTING VOA 24 Jul 2003--Poor sanitary conditions and shortages of food and water have prompted aid workers to warn of an impending humanitarian disaster in the Liberian capital Monrovia. Fighting between rebel insurgents and government forces is continuing in the city, although the rebels say they are trying to establish a ceasefire.
• BUSH / LIBERIA VOA 24 Jul 2003--As president Bush and his aides continue to debate the issue of sending peacekeeping troops to Liberia, that same debate is playing out in the press.
• U-N / LIBERIA VOA 24 Jul 2003--U-N officials are welcoming the decision by ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States, and Nigeria, to deploy two battalions of troops to troubled Liberia. Correspondent Jenny Badner reports from the United Nations that the United States has pledged 10-million dollars in logistical aid.
• NIGERIA: Troops deployment in Liberia awaits funding IRIN 24 Jul 2003 -- Nigeria is ready to deploy 1,300 troops as an advance guard of peacekeeping troops in Liberia but wants the international community to pick up the bill, Nigerian officials said on Thursday.
• LIBERIA: Lull in fighting allows Monrovia residents to search for food IRIN 24 Jul 2003 -- A million Liberians trapped by fierce fighting in the capital Monrovia took advantage of a lull in the battle on Thursday to venture out in search of scarce food and drinking water.
• RFE/RL Afghanistan Report, Vol 2, Number 26 24 Jul 2003 -- FIGHTING ON THE PAKISTANI-AFGHAN BORDER COULD ESCALATE INTO WAR / FOUR AFGHANS ARRESTED IN CONNECTION WITH STORMING OF PAKISTAN'S EMBASSY... / ...AND AFGHANISTAN PAYS COMPENSATION... / ...LEADING TO PAKISTAN REOPENING ITS EMBASSY IN KABUL / PAKISTANI SPOKESMAN SAYS BORDER TENSION WITH AFGHANISTAN UNDER CONTROL... / ...AS AFGHAN SPOKESMAN QUESTIONS NEW INCURSION INTO AFGHANISTAN BY PRO-TALIBAN FORCES / AFGHAN MINISTER VISITS PAKISTAN TO SMOOTH RELATIONS / MORE THAN 20 OPPOSITION FIGHTERS REPORTEDLY KILLED IN SPIN BOLDAK... / ...AS FORMER TALIBAN OFFICIAL CLAIMS 20 PRO-GOVERNMENT CASUALTIES / ...AND NINE COALITION TROOPS CONFIRMED INJURED IN THE ATTACK / THREE ITALIAN SOLDIERS INJURED IN LAND-MINE BLAST IN PAKTIA PROVINCE... / AND MINE KILLS AFGHAN IN KABUL / AFGHAN NATIONAL ARMY MAKES COMBAT DEBUT / KABUL DEMONSTRATION DEMANDS EQUAL RIGHTS, REFORMS, AND INDEPENDENT JUDICIARY / AFGHAN NEWSPAPER SAYS PEOPLE HAVE RIGHT TO SEE DRAFT CONSTITUTION / GERMANY HANDS OVER ISAF COMMAND TO CANADA... / ...IN PREPARATION FOR NATO TAKEOVER... / ...AND BRITISH PREMIER CALLS FOR MORE TROOPS FOR AFGHANISTAN... / ...AS GERMANY IS REPORTEDLY CONCERNED ABOUT EUROPEAN TROOP REDUCTION IN AFGHANISTAN... / ...BUT PLANS TO REDUCE OWN MILITARY PRESENCE BY ONE-THIRD / ISSUES OF PRO-MUJAHEDIN PUBLICATION CONFISCATED FOR CRITICIZING AFGHAN LEADER... / ...AS EDITOR IN CHIEF QUESTIONS AFGHAN LEADER'S PAKISTAN POLICY / FORMER AFGHAN WARLORD CHARGED IN LONDON / THIS WEEK IN AFGHANISTAN'S HISTORY

Defense Policy / Programs

• Powell, Gul Discuss Possible Military Role for Turkey in Iraq Washington File 24 Jul 2003--During their meeting at the State Department July 24, Secretary of State Colin Powell and Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul discussed the possibility of a military role in Iraq for Turkish troops, Powell told journalists afterwards.
• POWELL/TURKEY VOA 24 Jul 2003--Secretary of State Colin Powell met his Turkish counterpart, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, in Washington Thursday.
• CONGRESS / AFRICA / AIDS VOA 24 Jul 2003--Democrats in Congress have been unsuccessful in their attempts to add money to legislation that will fund the first year of President Bush's global AIDS initiative. This report from V-O-A's Dan Robinson on Capitol Hill:
• 3ID `Sledgehammer brigade' returns from Iraq Army News Service 24 Jul 2003-- It's calm in Kelley Hill's Kefurt Gym, but the hill itself is hopping again with soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division.
• CONGRESSMAN HAYES ANNOUNCES TITANIUM DEAL HASC 24 Jul 2003 -- Congressman Robin Hayes (NC-8), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, today announced a deal between the Boeing Corporation and the Committee that will preserve the endangered American titanium industry - a critical component to U.S. national defense.
• MarForPac Marines sharpen combat skills during live-fire exercise Marine Corps News 24 Jul 2003-- More than 20 Marines from Headquarters and Service Battalion, Marine Forces Pacific, sharpened their combat skills at the Weapons Range here during a live-fire exercise Tuesday morning.
• Lima Battery rains steel in Africa Marine Corps News 24 Jul 2003-- It has been more than six months since Lima Battery, Battalion Landing Team 1st Bn., 8th Marine Regiment, has been able to send rounds down range from their M198 155mm Medium Howitzers.
• 24th MEU regroups, looks to new members to excel Marine Corps News 24 Jul 2003-- Many transitions have already occurred since Marines and Sailors from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit returned from their nine-month deployment in May. On June 27, a month after they returned to the states, the MEU relinquished its Special Operations Capable designation and ready Amphibious Ready Group status. Battalion Landing Team 2nd Bn, 2nd Marines, Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 263, and MEU Service Support Group 24 all returned to their parent commands, leaving the MEU's Command Element to begin preparing for their next deployment.

• Cheney Vows: Terrorism Will be Overcome AFPS 24 Jul 2003-- For decades, terrorists have waged war against the United States. Now, America is waging war against terrorists, Vice President Richard Cheney said today.
• U.S., Australian Officials Discuss Australian Detainee Cases Washington File 24 Jul 2003--The United States and Australia held "productive" discussions on how the United States will handle Australian detainees in the war on terrorism, according to a July 23 Department of Defense news release.
• Cheney Says Terrorist Attacks Changed U.S. Security Perceptions Washington File 24 Jul 2003--Says America acted in Iraq to stop the threat, end the tyranny
• U.S. Statement on British Nationals Detained at Guantanamo Washington File 24 Jul 2003--DOD says based on evidence, death penalty will not be sought

Defense Industry

• Northrop Grumman Completes Acquisition of XonTech, Boosting Missile Defense Capabilities Northrop Grumman 24 Jul 2003 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) announced today that it has completed its acquisition of XonTech, a Van Nuys, Calif.-based science and technology firm specializing in missile defense, and sensor and intelligence data analysis. The acquisition boosts the company's missile defense capabilities.
• Boeing Responds to U.S. Air Force Announcement Boeing 24 Jul 2003 -- Boeing Chairman and CEO Phil Condit released the following statement today regarding the U.S. Air Force's suspension action in the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle rocket launch competition:

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 24 Jul 2003
• PRESS BRIEFING BY SECRETARY-GENERAL'S SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICT ON RECENT VISIT TO WEST AFRICA United Nations 24 Jul 2003
• ISRAEL / PALESTINIANS VOA 24 Jul 2003--Israeli and Palestinian officials are negotiating a deal to grant immunity from prosecution to some Palestinian militants.
• Powell Says Palestinians, Israelis Have Taken Steps toward Peace Washington File 24 Jul 2003--Secretary of State Colin Powell said Palestinians and Israelis have made considerable progress towards peace since the Aqaba summit in June, pointing to the dismantling of some Israeli settler outposts, the beginning of Palestinian prisoner releases, and the resumption of Palestinian security control over Gaza and Bethlehem.
• Withdrawal line between Israel and Lebanon remains calm but tense - Annan UN News Centre 24 Jul 2003-- Israel and Lebanon have by and large "exercised restraint," resulting in a relative calm along the line of withdrawal, but tension between the two parties remains high, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report that also recommends a six-month extension of the UN force monitoring the situation in southern Lebanon.

• DR of Congo: UN mission condemns latest massacre as 'unspeakable savagery' UN News Centre 24 Jul 2003-- The United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) has condemned the recent massacre of 22 people, including women and children, in the strife-torn northeast of the country as "unspeakable acts of savagery" and said their perpetrators would be brought to justice.
• DRC: Ministers from former rebel movements take oath of office IRIN 24 Jul 2003 -- Transitional government officials designated by the two principal former rebel movements in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) took their oath of office on Thursday in the capital, Kinshasa, after a modification was made in the pledge of allegiance.
• DRC: MONUC opens security centre for transitional government IRIN 24 Jul 2003 -- The United Nations opened a Joint Security Operations Centre in Kinshasa on Thursday for coordination of the safety of members of the transitional government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
• DRC: Ituri militias agree to disarm, verify ceasefire IRIN 24 Jul 2003 -- Rival ethnic militias in the Ituri District of northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) agreed on Wednesday to disarm, withdraw to rear bases and to participate in joint verification exercises, UN spokesman Hamadoun Toure told IRIN on Thursday.
• SOMALIA: Peace talks to move to third and final stage IRIN 24 Jul 2003 -- The organizers of the Somali peace talks in Kenya say a plenary session will start early next week to conclude the second phase of the conference and move on to the third and final phase.
• ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Border demarcation to begin in October IRIN 24 Jul 2003 -- Demarcation of the contested border between Ethiopia and Eritrea is to start in October, the Boundary Commission said on Thursday.
• SUDAN: Feature - Refugees in Kenya sidelined by peace process IRIN 24 Jul 2003 -- As the Sudanese peace process has reached what many are calling the make-or-break stage, many southerners who fled the country's civil war are wondering how it is going to affect them.
• Cyprus: Security Council reaffirms position on situation of Varosha UN News Centre 24 Jul 2003-- Reacting to the latest developments in Cyprus, members of the United Nations Security Council today urged the parties to restart talks in a bid to reach a comprehensive settlement to the issue based on a plan put forward by Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
• INDONESIA / ACEH REPORT VOA 24 Jul 2003--Indonesia is coming under new criticism for its military crackdown on separatists in Aceh Province, just three months after the peace process collapsed. A multi-national policy group says Jakarta has no clear objectives for the war, and risks inflaming independence ambitions. Tim Johnston has more on the story from the Indonesian capital.
• SOLOMONS/INTERVENTION VOA 24 Jul 2003--The leader of an international intervention force is promising a speedy return to order in the capital of the Solomon Islands, as troops begin to arrive in the South Pacific nation. Kurt Achin reports from our Asia News Center.
• RWANDA-UGANDA: Kampala, Kigali agree on refugee repatriation IRIN 24 Jul 2003 -- The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the governments of Rwanda and Uganda signed on Thursday a tripartite agreement on the voluntary repatriation of thousands of Rwandan refugees living in Uganda, Radio Rwanda reported.
• CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Normalcy returns to war-ravaged Sibut town IRIN 24 Jul 2003 -- Displaced people have returned to their homes, markets are reopening and administration officials have reported to their duty stations in the town of Sibut, 185 km northeast of Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, state-owned Radio Centrafrique reported on Wednesday.

News Reports

• SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 24 Jul 2003 -- Greece and Turkey agree at NATO talks to measures to ease tension / NATO seeks clarification on Serb proposal for 'joint action' to nab Mladic / Serbia defines its plan for Kosovo / U.S. military says new Afghan national army launches first major operation / Ex-Clinton officials warn of growing nuclear threat
• SHAPE News Summary & Analysis SHAPE 24 Jul 2003-- Plan to bolster forces in Iraq is unveiled / Deaths of Hussein's sons mark turning point in Iraq, U.S. says / Nigerian troops will lead peace effort / Senior official urges Iceland to create its own military / UN's Afghan envoy says international force should extend mandate outside Kabul

• ASIA/SEA PIRACY (CR-L) VOA 24 Jul 2003--The International Maritime Bureau says pirate attacks have increased sharply in the past six months, and attackers are becoming more violent. As V-O-A's Katherine Maria reports from Hong Kong, waters in Asia are among the world's most dangerous.