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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Iraq Mission Represents High Stakes in Anti-Terror War AFPS 25 Aug 2003 -- The outcome of U.S-coalition efforts to resuscitate Iraq's economy and help its citizens establish a representative government may mark a turning point in the war against global terrorism, senior U.S. officials said Aug. 24 on Sunday talk shows.
• Two Soldiers Die in Iraq; 101st Confiscates Equipment AFPS 25 Aug 2003 -- Two 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment soldiers died Aug. 23 in separate incidents according to U.S. Central Command news releases.
• U.S. Army Division Funds Iraqi Pre-Season Soccer Tournament Washington File 25 Aug 2003 -- The U.S. Army's 101st Air Assault Division donated more than $50,000 to fund a pre-season soccer (football) tournament for six Iraqi professional teams representing provinces throughout Iraq.
• Coalition Shifting Resources to Fight Terrorism Threat in Iraq Washington File 25 Aug 2003 -- The United States and its coalition partners are shifting tactics and resources to meet the emerging and complicated threat of terrorism in Iraq, senior U.S. officials said in a series of television news appearances on August 24.
• Security Forces switch out, Airmen stand airfield guard Marine Corps News 25 Aug 2003-- Airmen of the 60th and 375th Security Forces Squadrons recently became the 87th Expeditionary SFS by relieving the 822nd SFS, who was tasked with providing security for Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa's air assets.
• AFGHAN ATTACK VOA 25 Aug 2003 -- U-S forces say they engaged insurgents in southeastern Afghanistan Monday afternoon, killing at least 14 militants. The battle caps a day of coalition victories, after a period of setbacks.
• AFGHAN ATTACK VOA 25 Aug 2003 -- Provincial officials say Afghan and U-S forces have scored a major victory against a large force of suspected Taleban guerrillas.
• U-N/DRUGS/AFGHANISTAN VOA 25 Aug 2003 -- The U-N Office on Drugs and Crime has signed an agreement with the Afghanistan government aimed at combating the illegal drug trade in the region.
• Afghanistan: Supreme Court Rules Against Communists RFE/RL 25 Aug 2003 -- Afghanistan's Supreme Court has ruled that Communist loyalists will not be allowed to form a political party or play any active role in the country's politics.
• AFGHAN ARRESTS VOA 25 Aug 2003 -- Afghanistan is reporting the arrest of scores of suspected Taleban fighters and other insurgents in the country's violence-racked southeast. The move follows a series of unusually bold attacks in the region.
• PAKISTAN / AFGHANISTAN PRISONERS VOA 25 Aug 2003 -- Pakistan says it is working with Afghan and U-S officials to transfer hundreds of Pakistanis being held in Afghan jails. The deal hinges on whether ex-Pakistani militants in custody are ready to renounce their armed struggle.
• IRAN-IRAN: Afghan repatriation clears the 500,000 mark IRIN 25 Aug 2003 -- Voluntary repatriations of thousands of Afghan refugees are continuing, with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Iran reporting that over a half a million had left that country.
• UN envoy begins regional swing to rally support for Liberia peace process UN News Centre 25 Aug 2003 -- Kicking off a round of regional visits, the United Nations envoy for Liberia has stressed the international community's responsibility to help the promising political changes take hold.
• LIBERIA / NEW FIGHTING VOA 25 Aug 2003 -- In Liberia, reports of renewed and intense fighting away from the capital, Monrovia, have cast a shadow over efforts to restore peace. Meanwhile, the withdrawal of U-S Marines has caused some disappointment in the country.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Military Sealift Command hauls hospital home Military Sealift Command 25 Aug 2003-- While in port in Rota, Spain, Aug. 14-19, USNS 1st Lt. Harry L. Martin loaded almost all of the necessary components to establish and operate a 250-bed military hospital.
• Arms control conference looks at 2003 as 'A Time of Endurance' AMC News 25 Aug 2003-- More than 120 military, defense civilians and subject matter experts from around the country attended the 2003 Air Mobility Command Arms Control and Counterproliferation Conference held Aug. 11 through 15 at AMC's Global Reach Planning Center.
• Aeromedical evacuation changes to focus on requirements AMC News 25 Aug 2003-- When the Air Force officially announced the retirement of the C-9A Nightingale on July 23, to some the announcement simply meant the end of an era in Air Force aeromedical evacuation
• History of the C-9A Nightingale AMC News 19 Aug 2003-- April 1963: OSD requested a modernization study of the aeromedical evacuation fleet with an eye toward modernization
• Attacks Reveal the Nature of Terrorism, Bush says AFPS 25 Aug 2003 -- The terrorist attacks in Baghdad and Jerusalem will serve as an added spur in the war on terror, President Bush said during his radio address Saturday.
• Harrier squadrons finish war safely Marine Corps News 25 Aug 2003-- During Operation Iraqi Freedom the Marine Attack Squadrons 223, 231, and 542 provided close air support for coalition ground forces throughout the region with their AV-8B Harriers.
• CFC commander lauds CMFC's performance during UFL-03 Marine Corps News 25 Aug 2003-- Army Gen. Leon J. LaPorte, commanding general, Combined Forces Command, visited the Marines and Sailors of Combined Marine Forces Command here Aug. 24.
• Life at Camp Palan: UFL-03 participants make themselves at home Marine Corps News 25 Aug 2003-- The old cliché, "Home is what you make it," seems apropos for the personnel living aboard Camp Palan.
• Rumsfeld Says Country Faces Two Options in War on Terror AFPS 25 Aug 2003 -- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told service members at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, today that only two options faced the United States in its war on terror: Fight the terrorists where they live today, or fight them in America tomorrow.

• RUSSIA/U-S/NUKES VOA 25 Aug 2003 -- The senior U-S diplomat for arms control, John Bolton, is expected to reaffirm U-S concerns about the nuclear intentions of North Korea and Iran, during two days of talks in Moscow.

Defense Industry

• General Dynamics Leads Team Competing for Joint Tactical Radio System Cluster 5 Program General Dynamics 25 Aug 2003 -- General Dynamics Decision Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), will lead a team to compete for a contract to bring miniaturized software-defined radio technology into small devices such as unattended ground sensors and soldier systems that can overcome size, weight and power constraints.
• ATK Awarded $92 Million Missile Defense Propulsion Systems Contract For STANDARD Missile-3 Deployment ATK 25 Aug 2003 -- ATK (Alliant Techsystems) (NYSE:ATK) has received a $92 million propulsion systems contract from Raytheon Missile Systems in support of initial deployment of the STANDARD Missile-3 (SM-3) for the U.S. Navy sea-based Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System.
• ROKAF Successfully Completes Initial Operational Assessment of KAI/Lockheed Martin T-50 Supersonic Advanced Jet Trainer Early Lockheed Martin 25 Aug 2003 -- The Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) has successfully completed the Initial Operational Assessment (IOA) of the T-50 supersonic advanced jet trainer well ahead of schedule.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 25 Aug 2003
• UN envoy condemns Israel's extra-judicial assassinations UN News Centre 25 Aug 2003 -- The senior United Nations envoy for the Middle East, Terje Roed- Larsen, today condemned Israel's extra-judicial assassination on Sunday of four Palestinians, when helicopter gun-ships fired missiles into a car in Gaza City, reportedly killing a Hamas militant and three Islamic University students.
• ISRAEL/PALESTINIANS VOA 25 Aug 2003 -- Palestinian President Yasser Arafat appointed a new security adviser in what observers say is a move to prevent his U-S-backed prime minister from gaining control over the Palestinian police forces.
• HAMAS / ROAD MAP VOA 25 Aug 2003 -- Hamas official says it will take more than the road map peace plan to bring an end to fighting between Israelis and Palestinians.
• Middle East: Bush Hopes To Save 'Road Map' Peace Plan As Fresh Violence Erupts RFE/RL 25 Aug 2003 -- A period of relative calm in Israel and the Palestinian territories was shattered this week after a suicide bomber killed 20 people in Jerusalem and Israel retaliated by striking Palestinian militants. Analysts say the new wave of violence is a major blow to the U.S.-backed "road map" for peace.
• ISRAEL PALESTINIANS VOA 25 Aug 2003 -- The Palestinian militant group Hamas has vowed revenge for the latest killing of its members by Israel. Palestinian officials say such targeted attacks will only undermine their efforts to clamp down on militants.
• Kashmiri leader wants Pakistan to join talks IRNA 25 Aug 2003 -- Kashmir`s All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Chairman Maulana Abbas Ansari said he never gave any statement to keep Pakistan out of first phase of dialogue between India and APHC.
• DRC: Ituri militias agree to work with transitional government IRIN 25 Aug 2003 -- Militias in the embattled Ituri District of northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have agreed to work together with the newly-inaugurated transitional government in restoring state authority across the region, Thomas Lubanga, head of the Union des patriotes congolais (UPC) told IRIN on Monday.
• DRC: Parliament launched IRIN 25 Aug 2003 -- The National Assembly and Senate of the two-year transitional government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) were opened on Friday in the capital, Kinshasa, presided by President Joseph Kabila and his four vice-presidents.
• Powell Condemns Mumbai Bombing Washington File 25 Aug 2003 -- Following is the text of a State Department statement condemning the August 25 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, and relating Secretary of State Colin Powell's expression of outrage and condolences
• U-S / INDIA BLASTS VOA 25 Aug 2003 -- The United States is condemning the twin car bomb explosions in Bombay that killed at least 46 people and wounded more than 100.
• INDIA/ TEMPLE DISPUTE VOA 25 Aug 2003 -- In India, a report by government archeologists says there is evidence of a medieval Hindu temple at a disputed religious site in northern India claimed by both Hindus and Muslims. Muslim groups are likely to contest the findings.
• INDIA / BOMBAY BOMBINGS VOA 25 Aug 2003 -- Two powerful car bombs have killed at least 40 people and injured more than 100 others in Bombay. The Indian city has been the scene of several bombings in recent months, which police have blamed on Islamic militants.
• Yugoslavia: Prosecution In Milosevic Trial Upbeat As Proceedings Resume RFE/RL 25 Aug 2003 -- Slobodan Milosevic's war crimes trial is due to resume today after a four-week break. The prosecution says the effort is going well in spite of concern the proceedings are dragging on after more than a year in session. This week, the prosecution continues its examination of events in Srebrenica to prove Milosevic bears responsibility for the 1995 massacre there.
• Moldova: Dispute With Transdniestr Offers Many Plans But Few Solutions RFE/RL 25 Aug 2003 -- A number of proposals have been made to resolve the dispute between Moldova and its breakaway Transdniester region, including an OSCE-backed proposal to turn Moldova into a federation. But so far, such plans have only stirred the simmering debate, which involves not only Moldovan political and civil groups, but also a number of international organizations.
• SOMALIA: First reading of draft charter concluded IRIN 25 Aug 2003 -- Delegates to the Somali peace talks underway in Nairobi last week ended their first reading of the draft charter, or interim constitution.
• SUDAN: Peace talks adjourned IRIN 25 Aug 2003 -- The Sudan peace talks, which have been underway in the Kenyan town of Nanyuki, were adjourned on Saturday until 10 September to give the negotiating teams time for further consultations.
• CONGO: New date set for return of Pool IDPs IRIN 25 Aug 2003 -- The government of the Republic of Congo has set 15 September as its new date for returning thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the Pool region to their homes, revising its earlier target date of 31 July.
• BURUNDI: Thousands of displaced need urgent aid, officials say IRIN 25 Aug 2003 -- A total of 21,860 war-displaced people in Mpanda Commune in Burundi's northwestern Bubanza Province urgently need humanitarian aid as they have been without adequate food and shelter for two weeks, Fidele Niyonkuru, the commune's administrator, told IRIN on Monday.
• COTE D'IVOIRE: France arrests 11 for planning to destabilise Cote d'Ivoire IRIN 25 Aug 2003 -- France arrested 11 people at the weekend who were planning to destabilise Cote d'Ivoire with the assistance of mercenaries, an Ivoirian police source said on Monday.

News Reports

• SHAPE News Summary & Analysis SHAPE 25 Aug 2003 -- Political impact of German contribution to NRF viewed / Daily: Britain proposing dedicated EU military planning cell at SHAPE / Turkish decision on troop request likely to be delayed till next month
• RWANDA / ELECTION UPDATE VOA 25 Aug 2003 -- In Rwanda, preliminary results of the country's first multi-party presidential election indicate the incumbent president, Paul Kagame, has defeated his main challenger, Faustin Twagiramungu, with more than 94 percent of the votes counted.
• SOUTHERN AFRICA/SUMMIT VOA 25 Aug 2003 -- The annual summit of the leaders of the 14-member Southern Africa Development Community is under way in Dar es Salaam. Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe received a resounding welcome from some delegates.
• MAURITANIA/POLITICS VOA 25 Aug 2003 -- A key opposition leader in Mauritania has been released by presidential decree after spending more than two years in prison.
• RWANDA / ELECTION VOA 25 Aug 2003 -- Voters in Rwanda have held their first multi-party presidential election, since the African country gained independence from Belgium more than four-decades ago. The incumbent president, Paul Kagame, is expected to win, amid widespread accusations that the government intimidated opposition supporters ahead of the vote.
• RWANDA/CANDIDATES VOA 25 Aug 2003 -- Rwanda's only female presidential candidate has withdrawn from the race and has asked her supporters to back Paul Kagame as president.
• Last of NASA's Great Observatories Launched by 300th Boeing Delta Rocket Boeing 25 Aug 2003 -- Boeing today successfully launched NASA's Space Infrared Telescope Facility, or SIRTF, aboard a Delta II Heavy launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
• GUINEA-BISSAU: Hopes for the future depend on clean elections IRIN 25 Aug 2003 -- The future of Guinea-Bissau, a poor small and largely forgotten country on the coast of West Africa, depends on the government's ability to hold credible parliamentary elections on October 12 that have been postponed three times already.