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Defense Policy / Programs
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News Reports

Current Operations

• PALESTINE HOTEL INVESTIGATION CONCLUDES CENTCOM 12 Aug 2003-- The investigation of the incident at the Palestine Hotel, Baghdad, Iraq on April 8th, 2003 is complete. The investigation was directed by the Land Component Commander, U.S. Central Command, and concludes that a tank from A Company, 4-64 Armor properly fired upon a suspected enemy hunter/killer team in a proportionate and justifiably measured response. The action was fully in accordance with the Rules of Engagement.
• ONE KILLED, TWO WOUNDED IN CONVOY AMBUSH CENTCOM 12 Aug 2003-- One 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment soldier was killed and two others were wounded at approximately 10:30 a.m. Aug. 12 when their convoy hit three improvised explosive devices as they were traveling north of Highway 1 in the vicinity of Ar Ramadi.
• OPERATION IVY LIGHTNING CENTCOM 12 Aug 2003-- The 4th Infantry Division and Task Force Ironhorse has launched two precision raids which are the fifth in a series of operations focused on neutralizing paramilitary, former regime loyalists and other subversive elements within Iraq.
• Civil Affairs team works to improve Baghdad city streets, traffic controls ARCENT Release 12 Aug 2003-- The 354th Civil Affairs Brigade, and Army Reserve unit from Riverdale, Md., is working to make Baghdad city streets a safer place to travel.
• Anti-swimmer Dolphins Ready to Defend Gulf Navy Newsstand 12 Aug 2003-- With terrorist attacks like that against USS Cole (DDG 67) in October 2000 still a very real possibility, the U.S. Navy has a new ally in the global war on terrorism - the Mk 6 anti-swimmer dolphin system.
• Coalition Forces Return Smuggled Iraqi Oil Navy Newsstand 12 Aug 2003-- Coalition Multinational Interception Forces (MIF) returned 1,100 metric tons of oil to its rightful owners - the citizens of Iraq - Aug. 12. U.S. Navy Sailors, Coast Guardsmen and their coalition partners, were the linchpin in intercepting and diverting a tanker smuggling oil.
• Polish Ship Says Farewell to Coalition Partners After a Year in the Gulf Navy Newsstand 12 Aug 2003-- After a year of operating under Commander, U.S. 5th Fleet, the Polish naval ship ORP Kontradmiral X. Czernicki (OWL-511) headed home from the Arabian Gulf to friends and family August 2.
• Iraq Convoy Attack Kills One U.S. Soldier, Wounds Two AFPS 12 Aug 2003 -- One U.S. 3rd Armored Cavalry soldier was killed and two were injured today in Iraq when their convoy encountered three improvised bombs, according to a U.S. Central Command news release.
• IRAQ / ATTACK-UPDATE VOA 12 Aug 2003 -- One U-S soldier was killed Tuesday in Iraq and coalition forces captured two key members of Saddam Hussein's former regime.
• U.S.: Reservists Say They Accept The Possibility Of Duty In Iraq's War Zone RFE/RL 12 Aug 2003 -- More than 130 U.S. and British troops have been killed in accidents and hostile fire in Iraq since President George W. Bush declared an end to major combat operations on 1 May. And some U.S. soldiers have expressed restiveness at being on active duty there since the war began in March -- and for many months before then. Now more members of the U.S. military's National Guard and reserves may have to be sent to Iraq, Afghanistan, and other foreign postings.
• IRAQ/ATTACK VOA 12 Aug 2003 -- Violence against U-S forces in Iraq continued with a grenade attack in the capital, Baghdad, and a guerrilla attack elsewhere that left three soldiers wounded.
• Iraq: U.S. Troops Pursue Hussein Loyalists In Raids Near Tikrit RFE/RL 12 Aug 2003 -- The U.S. military in Iraq says U.S. troops detained several people in overnight raids near Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit.
• KOREA U-S PLANE VOA 12 Aug 2003 -- Two U-S soldiers have died in a plane crash near a town in South Korea.
• Aircraft Crash US Forces Korea Release 12 Aug 2003-- A C-12 Huron twin turboprop passenger and cargo aircraft assigned to the 52nd Aviation Battalion, 17th Aviation Brigade, Eighth U.S. Army crashed in a populated area seven miles Southwest of Camp Humphreys, Pyongtaek, Republic of Korea today at approximately 2:43 p.m.
• Task Force Rawhide Replaces Marine Company AFPS 12 Aug 2003 -- Task Force Rawhide has replaced Company A, 1st Battalion, 24th Marines, as the guard force for the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa here.
• Task Force Rawhide Replaces Alpha 1/24 Marine Corps News 12 Aug 2003-- Task Force Rawhide, part of the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (Anti-Terrorism), replaced Company A, 1st Battalion, 24th Marines, as the guard force for the Combined Joint Task Force Horn-of-Africa here.
• Afghanistan: What Does NATO Deployment Mean For The Alliance? RFE/RL 12 Aug 2003 -- For the first time since its foundation more than half a century ago, the NATO alliance is involved in a military operation far from Europe. It has taken command of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. The operation is a major break with tradition for NATO, which was formed as a strictly defensive alliance to protect Western Europe in the days of the Cold War with the Soviet Union. So what does this deployment mean for NATO and for the world's geostrategic situation generally?
• NATO Command of Peace Force in Afghanistan Gives Continuity Washington File 12 Aug 2003 -- NATO leadership of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Kabul will provide continuity and security for international efforts to help Afghanistan's government and people "reconstruct their country and rebuild its political institutions," said State Department Deputy Spokesman Philip Reeker.
• LIBERIA VOA 12 Aug 2003 -- Yesterday Liberia's embattled President Charles Taylor resigned from office and left the country for exile in Nigeria. A fragile cease-fire appears to be holding in the war-torn West African Nation.
• UN team arrives in Liberia to jump-start relief efforts UN News Centre 12 Aug 2003 -- A senior United Nations relief official led an 11-person team into the Liberian capital Monrovia today to accelerate efforts to get desperately needed food and clean water to thousands of people crowding the capital's streets.
• LIBERIA / PEACEKEEPERS UPDATE VOA 12 Aug 2003 -- The U-S ambassador to Liberia has announced that the main rebel group has agreed to withdraw from Monrovia's port to enable vital food and medical supplies to be shipped into the beleaguered capital.
• TAYLOR LEAVES LIBERIA VOA 12 Aug 2003 -- The besieged president of Liberia, Charles Taylor, resigned Monday and flew into exile in Nigeria. It is hoped his departure will aid international peacekeepers trying to bring order to the war-ravaged West Africa nation. The U-S press is pleased to see him go, but wary of what happens next.
• PENTAGON/LIBERIA UPDATE VOA 12 Aug 2003 -- Pentagon officials say the number of American military personnel sent in to Liberia could grow in the coming days.
• BUSH LIBERIA VOA 12 Aug 2003 -- The White House says U-S officials are working to improve the humanitarian situation in Liberia now that the country's president has left power.
• LIBERIA / PEACEKEEPERS VOA 12 Aug 2003 -- Leaders of peacekeeping forces in Liberia are pressing for their full deployment in rebel-held parts of the capital, Monrovia. This includes the port, which they say needs to be secured to enable humanitarian assistance to be brought in to hungry Liberians.
• U-N / LIBERIA AID VOA 12 Aug 2003 -- The United Nations is getting ready for a massive humanitarian operation in Liberia now that former President Charles Taylor has gone into exile. The U-N has sent a team of high level officials to Monrovia to assess the humanitarian situation.
• PENTAGON / LIBERIA VOA 12 Aug 2003 -- The Commander of the U-S Joint Task Force off the coast of Liberia has gone ashore but Pentagon officials caution there has been no decision to increase the American military presence.
• LIBERIA: Pressure mounts for Taylor to face trial IRIN 12 Aug 2003 -- As former Liberian president Charles Taylor spent his first day in exile in Nigeria, a war crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone reiterated its demand that he be sent to face trial in Freetown.
• LIBERIA: Rebels agree to hand over port to peacekeepers IRIN 12 Aug 2003 -- Rebels in Liberia have agreed to hand over the strategic port of Monrovia to international peacekeeping forces by midday (1200 GMT) on Thursday as part of a deal that will see both government and rebel fighters withdraw from the beleaguered city.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Force Posture Needs Change, Transformation Chief Explains AFPS 12 Aug 2003 -- The future posture of the U.S. armed forces will have to change in order to secure the country's global interests, said DoD's director of force transformation here recently.
• Fort Benning to start digital training Army News Service 12 Aug 2003-- Delegates at the Training and Doctrine Command Digital Training Conference, held recently at Fort Gordon, Ga., named Fort Benning as a Maneuver Control System-Light Center of Excellence.
• Reserve engineers make Dogwood a better place for soldiers, Iraqis Army News Service 12 Aug 2003-- With high winds sending sand flying through the air, a small group of Army Reserve engineers worked cautiously in the Iraqi desert to build a much-needed helicopter landing pad.

• Armitage, in Australia, Discusses Security, Trade Issues Washington File 12 Aug 2003 -- The American people greatly appreciate Australia's "splendid support" in the war on terrorism, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said during an August 12 press availability at the U.S. Embassy in Canberra. (...) The Deputy Secretary added that he supports Australia's decision to have military-to-military ties with special Indonesian units, commenting that "you live in what is obviously a very dangerous neighborhood." (...) Armitage also encouraged Australia to participate in a missile defense program with the United States. (...) On North Korea, Armitage said there would be six-way talks in Beijing between North Korea, South Korea, Russia, China, Japan, and the United States later this month in Beijing.

Defense Industry

• HOT firing trials on Tiger successfully completed EADS 12 Aug 2003 -- The extraordinary capabilities of the fire-and-forget guided missile system LR TRIGAT, the main armament of the Tiger helicopter, having recently been demonstrated in several firing campaigns. Now at the end of July 2003 the last remaining demonstration firing of HOT from Tiger using the EADS/LFK-developed ATA firing post was carried out successfully.
• GE Jet Engine Selected for Japan Defense Agency Cargo Aircraft GE Aviation 12 Aug 2003 -- The Japan Defense Agency (JDA) selected GE Aircraft Engines' (GEAE) CF6-80C2 engine for its C-X program, Japan's next-generation cargo military aircraft.
• Virginia, the Nation’s Most Advanced Submarine, to be Christened Saturday General Dynamics 12 Aug 2003 -- General Dynamics Electric Boat will christen the Virginia (SSN-774), the U.S. Navy’s newest and most advanced nuclear attack submarine, at a ceremony at its shipyard here Saturday, Aug. 16, at 11 a.m. Electric Boat is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD).
• Lockheed Martin's Small Diameter Bomb Demonstrates Second Successful Flight Test Lockheed Martin 12 Aug 2003 -- Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] logged another Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) flight test success over Eglin Air Force Base, FL. The SDB, released from an F-15E aircraft, demonstrated the weapon system's navigation and control, fuze function, terminal guidance, and carriage system.
• Northrop Grumman AMSTE Team Successfully Demonstrates Single Radar Solution Northrop Grumman 12 Aug 2003 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) Integrated Systems sector demonstrated in a recent test a simpler, more cost-effective way to use the Affordable Moving Surface Target Engagement (AMSTE) system.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 12 Aug 2003
• U.S. Works with Israel, Palestinians to Keep Momentum toward Peace Washington File 12 Aug 2003 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell said the United States is working with Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) to bring the current situation under control and maintain momentum on the roadmap toward peace.
• U.S. Says Palestinian Authority Must Act to Dismantle Terrorist Groups Washington File 12 Aug 2003 -- White House Report, August 12: Mideast, Liberia, North Korea, U.S. economy
• Powell Urges Youngsters from Israel, Arab Countries to Work for Peace Washington File 12 Aug 2003 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell has encouraged about 160 teenagers from Israel and several Arab countries to work for peace and reconciliation when they return to their homelands.
• U-S-MIDEAST ATTACKS VOA 12 Aug 2003 -- The Bush administration is calling on the Palestinian authority to move against radical groups, following Tuesday's twin suicide bomb attacks against Israelis. Secretary of State Colin Powell says the bombings must not be allowed to de-rail efforts to implement the "road map" to Middle East peace.
• Deeply concerned, Annan condemns two suicide bombings against Israelis UN News Centre 12 Aug 2003 -- Voicing deep concern over the escalation in the violence, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today condemned the two suicide bombings in the Israeli town of Rosh Ha'ayin and outside the settlement of Ariel, and urged both Israelis and Palestinians to adhere to the Middle East peace plan and show restraint.
• POWELL-MIDEAST VOA 12 Aug 2003 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell says the Bush administration will not let Tuesday's twin suicide bombings halt efforts to implement the "road map" to an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord . The attacks came as a senior U-S envoy was holding talks with the Middle East parties.
• LEBANON/HEZBOLLAH VOA 12 Aug 2003 -- Officials with the militant group Hezbollah say tensions with Israel appear to be calming, following several days of border battles that resulted in the death of an Israeli teenager.
• ISRAEL/BOMBING (L-UPDATE) VOA 12 Aug 2003 -- The Islamic militant group Hamas has claimed responsibility for one of two back-to-back suicide bombings against Israeli targets, marking its first open violation of a uni-lateral truce that was declared in June. The attacks killed at least two Israelis and wounded 13 others.
• ISRAEL/BOMBING VOA 12 Aug 2003 -- Back-to-back suicide bombings in Israel and the West Bank have left at least two Israelis dead and 12 others injured. The bombings have shattered a period of relative calm that has prevailed since Palestinian militants declared a three-month ceasefire at the end of June.

• UN mission chief in DR of Congo meets with top Ugandan officials UN News Centre 12 Aug 2003 -- The head of the United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) opened his first official visit with top authorities in neighbouring Uganda with an update on the overall Congolese peace process and progress of the new power-sharing government.
• DRC: More MONUC soldiers arrive in Bunia IRIN 12 Aug 2003 -- The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, known as MONUC, continued to boost its strength in the northeastern district of Ituri, with the arrival of 250 Bangladeshi troops in Bunia on Sunday, UN News reported.
• DRC: Persistent fighting around Butembo leaves thousands displaced IRIN 12 Aug 2003 -- Persistent fighting between Mayi-Mayi militias and the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie-Kisangani/Mouvement de liberation (RCD-K/ML) former rebel movement around the town of Butembo in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has forced thousands to flee for safety, NGO German Agro Action (GAA) reported on Tuesday.
• ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Congressmen seek to limit US aid if border ruling not heeded IRIN 12 Aug 2003 -- Ethiopia and Eritrea could face the threat of US sanctions on development and military aid if they fail to speed up implementation of the contested border ruling.
• ETHIOPIA: New opposition coalition seeks "renegotiation" of border ruling IRIN 12 Aug 2003 -- Fifteen Ethiopian opposition parties have formed a “rainbow coalition” to challenge the decade-long political hold of the current government.
• ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: UN urged to boost border security IRIN 12 Aug 2003 -- Ethiopian officials have called on the UN to increase border security after claims that nine Eritreans may have slipped across the border, hidden among the peacekeeping force.
• Chechnya: Expert Sees Politics Behind U.S. Terrorist Designation Of Basayev RFE/RL 12 Aug 2003 -- The U.S. State Department has designated Chechen rebel leader Shamil Basayev as a terrorist threat to America. The move forces the Treasury Department to freeze any U.S. assets that may belong to Basayev, who claimed to be behind last year's seizure of a Moscow theater that ended in the death of 129 hostages. But why has Washington chosen to take action against Basayev now?
• UN mission to launch new weapons amnesty in Kosovo UN News Centre 12 Aug 2003 -- The United Nations mission in Kosovo is set to launch a month-long weapons amnesty in September, its third such effort to take out of circulation "the huge quantity of unauthorized weapons" left in the wake of the fighting between ethnic Albanians and Serbs.
• UN agency steps up efforts to assist Angolan refugees to return home UN News Centre 12 Aug 2003 -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said today it is stepping up efforts to assist displaced Angolans to relocate home after a 27-year civil war and expects 12,000 returnees from neighbouring countries by week's end.
• IVORY COAST / BURKINO FASO VOA 12 Aug 2003 -- The governments of Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso are reopening their border that was closed last year after rebel forces took the northern half of Ivory Coast.
• SUDAN: Peace talks resume, gov't hopes for "more reasonable" accord IRIN 12 Aug 2003 -- Sudanese peace talks have reopened in Kenya with the government side saying its opposition to a draft agreement presented by mediators last month is unlikely to scuttle the peace process.
• RWANDA: Dutch ministers promise aid for demobilisation IRIN 12 Aug 2003 -- The government of the Netherlands will assist Rwanda in its programme of demobilisation and reintegration of former combatants, disarmament of former Rwandan Armed Forces soldiers and other armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Radio Rwanda reported on Tuesday.
• SOMALIA: TNG hangs in the balance as mandate ends IRIN 12 Aug 2003 -- Uncertainty hung over Somalia's Transitional National Government (TNG) on Tuesday after prime minister Hassan Abshir Farah announced that the TNG's mandate would finish on Wednesday at the end of its three-year term.
• CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Ruling council fixes date for national conference IRIN 12 Aug 2003 -- The Central African Republic's legislative body, the National Transitional Council, voted 60 to 0, with one abstention, on Tuesday, fixing a date for a national reconciliation conference after years of political instability and war, according to state-owned radio.

News Reports

• SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 12 Aug 2003 -- Washington pushes UN to back Iraq Governing Council / Egypt says Arabs cannot recognise Iraqi council / Belgrade says army can take part in UN missions / China, Russia, Central Asians hold second phase of military exercises / U.S. force commander to go ashore in Liberia to get aid preparations under way
• SHAPE News Summary & Analysis SHAPE 12 Aug 2003 -- Media view NATO's takeover of ISAF

• EDITORIAL: BURMA'S RULERS PAYING THE PRICE VOA 12 Aug 2003 -- The price of repression is going up for Burma's military junta. President George W. Bush has signed a law strengthening sanctions on the Burmese regime. Among other measures, the legislation bans the import of Burmese products, freezes the assets of senior Burmese officials, and bans virtually all transfers of money from the U.S. to Burma. President Bush said "these measures reaffirm to the people of Burma that the United States stands with them in their struggle for democracy and freedom."
• RWANDA/ELECTION VOA 12 Aug 2003 -- A candidate in Rwanda's August 25th presidential election says the ruling party is using unfair tactics to frustrate his campaign efforts. But the electoral commission has denied the charge.
• CHINA/MINE VOA 12 Aug 2003 -- China's long list of miners killed while working has grown with another deadly accident in Shanxi Province. The incident focuses new attention on the tough task Beijing faces in ensuring miner safety.
• TURMOIL IN HONG KONG VOA 12 Aug 2003 -- In Hong Kong last month, massive pro-democracy demonstrations erupted after the Beijingcontrolled government tried to restrict civil liberties. Now, authorities in Hong Kong are cautiously trying to reintroduce the same controversial political reforms that sparked such pro-democracy protests in the first place. In this Dateline report, analysts say that Beijing worries that Hong Kong's political turmoil may spill over to the mainland.
• SWAZILAND: Royal rule questioned as draft constitution discussed IRIN 12 Aug 2003 -- Even Swaziland's national anthem, which celebrates royal rule, has come in for criticism by people calling for political reform in unprecedented, candid submissions before a Constitutional Drafting Committee (CDC).