Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• U.S. House Approves $87.5 Billion for Iraq, Afghanistan Washington File 31 Oct 2003 -- The U.S. House of Representatives has approved an $87.5 billion supplemental spending bill in response to President Bush's request for additional funds to support continuing U.S. military operations and reconstruction programs in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• US soldier killed in Afghanistan IRNA 31 Oct 2003 -- The statistics regarding the death of US soldiers in Afghanistan during the days of the past week reached 10 as another one of them got killed on Friday.
• Iraq: Baghdad Protests Reportedly Leave Several Dead, Injured RFE/RL 31 Oct 2003 -- Unconfirmed reports say a number of Iraqi civilians were killed and two U.S. soldiers were injured today during a violent demonstration at a Baghdad marketplace.
• Iraq: 'Ramadan Offensive' -- How The U.S. Found Itself Fighting A Guerrilla War (Part 2) RFE/RL 31 Oct 2003 -- This week, U.S. armed forces in Iraq passed an unfortunate milestone. With the deaths of two soldiers in a guerrilla attack north of Baghdad on Wednesday, 117 U.S. troops have now been killed in hostile action since President George W. Bush declared an end to major combat on 1 May. In the more conventional war, which began in late March, 115 U.S. soldiers died. Yet, Bush continues to trumpet U.S. successes in Iraq while downplaying the intensity of the resistance.
• PENTAGON/TERRORISM VOA 31 Oct 2003 -- Intelligence officials say no one knows for certain who is behind the upsurge in terrorist attacks in Iraq. But there are a number of theories, including the possible involvement of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
• IRAQ / WARNING VOA 31 Oct 2003 -- The U-S Consular Office in Baghdad has issued a warning to Americans in the city, based on indications there could be a wave of attacks on coalition targets Saturday and Sunday
• Iraq: U.S. House Approves $87.5 Billion For Iraq, Afghanistan RFE/RL 31 Oct 2003 -- The House of Representatives has voted to approve U.S. President George W. Bush's request for $87. 5 billion for American military operations and reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• Afghanistan at 'critical juncture', UN sanctions committee chairman says UN News centre 31 Oct 2003 -- The head of a United Nations committee overseeing sanctions against Al-Qaida and the Taliban, just back from a tour of the Middle East and Asia, said today that Afghanistan was at a "critical juncture" in its battle against "enormous challenges and threats."
• Sanitarian engineers become problem solvers in Afghanistan AFPS 31 Oct 2003 -- In a country torn apart by war, it's hard to find documentation on anything, let alone information regarding the health issues that face Afghanistan today.
• EDITORIAL: LIBERATING AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ VOA 31 Oct 2003 -- Liberating Afghanistan and Iraq from dictatorial regimes were essential steps in the war on terror. As President George W. Bush says, "The world is safer today because Saddam Hussein and the Taleban regime are gone"
• AFGHANISTAN VOA 31 Oct 2003 -- Afghan insurgents have killed a U-S soldier as world political and military leaders arrive in the country for meetings on post-war assistance. The Afghan government is hoping a soon-to-arrive United Nations delegation will yield further international commitments.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Transcript: Backgrounder on DoD Support to the 9/11 Commission 31 Oct 2003 -- "We have received from them over the course of the last few months something on the order of 10 formal requests for documentation and had made considerable progress toward getting them done. And I'll give you some indication of that as we go through it. We have about 20 people overseeing what we're doing with the Commission at this point. There are - that's on a day-to-day basis here -- there's about another 58 of them from different components who try to scare up the documents and vet them and record them and catalog them and prepare them for transport. And by the time you get done counting all the noses who have been involved in this in one fashion or another we've got probably 130 people or so who've been involved. And we're calculating something on the order of about 8,000 man-hours of time to date."
• USS Pasadena returns from Western Pacific Deployment COMSUBPAC Release 31 Oct 2003-- Following an eight-month extended deployment in the 7th Fleet area of operations, USS Pasadena (SSN 752) returned to its homeport of Pearl Harbor Oct. 31, 2003.
• Army, Marines Rushing Body Armor to Troops in Combat Zones AFPS 31 Oct 2003 -- A soldier with the Army's 10th Mountain Division was knocked down by small-arms fire, got up, and continued his mission.
• Army Institute Provides ABCs for Peacekeeping Operations AFPS 31 Oct 2003 -- The Army agency that has outlined the "ins and outs" of peacekeeping operations for senior military leaders is undergoing a transformation.
• India, China to hold joint naval exercises soon: report IRNA 31 Oct 2003 -- Indian and Chinese navies will come together for the first time to conduct joint exercises in the middle of November, the press reported here on Friday.
• Exercise Allied Action 2003 NATO 31 Oct 2003 -- ALLIED ACTION 2003 (AA 03), A NATO Command Post Exercise will take place in Istanbul, Turkey, from 03 - 18 November 2003. AA 03 will be conducted by Regional Headquarters Allied Forces North Europe (RHQ AFNORTH). This exercise is designed to validate the role of RHQ AFNORTH as an operational level headquarters, capable of launching a fully deployable Combined Joint Task Force CJTF).

• State Department Noon Briefing, October 31, 2003 Washington File 31 Oct 2003 -- North Korea, terrorism, Mideast, Jordan, Russia, Iran

Defense Industry

• Northrop Grumman Awarded Shipboard Interrogator Contract by the U.S. Navy Northrop Grumman 31 Oct 2003 -- The crews of U.S. and allied navy surface ships using the AN/UPX-24(V) shipboard interrogator will continue to benefit from secure, positive identification of cooperative aircraft through a contract for ten interrogator sets from Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) Navigation Systems Division.
• Successful demonstration of EADS sensors on board US-built “Global Hawk” Unmanned Aerial Vehicle in Germany EADS 31 Oct 2003 -- EADS and the Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) have successfully completed a series of demonstration flights of a U.S. Air Force RQ-4A Global Hawk high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with a Demo-Configuration of EADS’ newly developed ELINT sensor (ELINT = Electronic Intelligence).
• U.S.-built Global Hawk UAV Equipped with EADS Sensors Demonstrates Potential Role for German Surveillance Missions Northrop Grumman 31 Oct 2003 -- EADS and Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) have successfully completed a series of demonstration flights of a U.S. Air Force RQ-4A Global Hawk high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with a EADS electronic intelligence (ELINT) sensor prototype.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICES OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL AND THE SPOKESWOMAN FOR THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT United Nations 31 Oct 2003
• In letter to staff, Annan outlines steps to improve security for UN worldwide UN News centre 31 Oct 2003 -- In letter to staff, Annan outlines steps to improve security for UN worldwide
• U-N/ANNAN/SECURITY VOA 31 Oct 2003 -- U-N Secretary-General Kofi Annan has promised to appoint experts to assess blame for security lapses that left U-N offices in Iraq vulnerable to attack. Mr. Annan named his top deputy to oversee a security reorganization.

• AFRICA: Compromise reached over diamond control IRIN 31 Oct 2003 -- Advocacy groups this week had to settle for a watered-down version of a proposal aimed at getting diamond producing countries to submit to an independent audit of their national diamond control systems.
• AFRICA / DIAMONDS VOA 31 Oct 2003 -- Representatives from more than 60 diamond-producing and processing countries ended a three-day meeting in South Africa, with a breakthrough agreement aimed at curtailing the trade in so-called conflict diamonds. The deal would set up a peer review program to ensure that countries are honoring their commitments. But activist groups say the deal does not go far enough to stop the trade in so-called blood diamonds.

• US offers $5 mn award for info leading to arrest of CIA officer` assassins IRNA 31 Oct 2003 -- The US administration has announced it would award five million dollars to anyone presenting information that could lead to the arrest of CIA officers who were assassinated in Gaza last month.

• SUDAN: Southern militia reunites with SPLM/A IRIN 31 Oct 2003 -- A southern militia group operating in Upper Nile, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army-United (SPLM/A-U), officially rejoined the larger Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) on Friday.
• SUDAN: Deadlock in Darfur peace talks IRIN 31 Oct 2003 -- Peace talks between the government of Sudan and a Darfur rebel group have broken down indefinitely, because the government will not accept the presence of international observers at the negotiating table, according to the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) spokesman, Ahmad Abd al-Shafi.
• IVORY COAST/ RECONCILIATION VOA 31 Oct 2003 -- West African leaders visiting the war-torn Ivory Coast say progress has been made in salvaging the faltering peace process. The government and rebels have released statements raising hope a January peace accord could yet be saved.
• COTE D'IVOIRE: Government fast tracks new laws demanded by rebels IRIN 31 Oct 2003 -- The government of Cote d'Ivoire has agreed to fast track the legislation of three key measures demanded by rebels occupying the north of the country as a conciliation for resuming their participation in the peace process.
• Indian separatist women in Assam jungles deserting camps IRNA 31 Oct 2003 -- Indian women separatists in the northeaster state of Assam have been deserting their camps in large numbers unable to bear the tortuous life in the jungles, surrendered militants said on Friday.
• UN envoy calls for donors to help Cameroon and Nigeria solve border dispute UN News centre 31 Oct 2003 -- The United Nations envoy for West Africa has called on the international community to donate more money to help Cameroon and Nigeria peacefully resolve their border dispute.
• PAKISTAN POLITICS ARREST VOA 31 Oct 2003 -- The arrest of an important Pakistani opposition leader is sparking furious protest by some legislators. The arrest has served to increase anger towards President Pervez Musharraf's government.
• SIERRA LEONE / TAYLOR VOA 31 Oct 2003 -- Lawyers for former Liberian President Charles Taylor are challenging his war crimes indictment at the United Nations-backed tribunal in Sierra Leone.
• SRI LANKA POWER SHARING VOA 31 Oct 2003 -- In Sri Lanka, Tamil Tiger rebels have unveiled a power-sharing proposal aimed an ending two decades of ethnic conflict. The proposal holds hope for reviving stalled peace talks.
• BURUNDI: Government officials, rebels say security improved IRIN 31 Oct 2003 -- Despite the death of 20 people in different incidents in suburbs of the Burundian capital, Bujumbura, government and rebel officials have reported a marked improvement in the country's security situation since the signing of a power sharing agreement between the government and the main rebel group on 8 October.
• UGANDA: LRA rebels kill 18 in the north IRIN 31 Oct 2003 -- At least 18 people were killed and many more abducted when Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels launched an attack on a village in Lira District, northern Uganda, on Wednesday night.
• DRC-UGANDA: Kampala asks MONUC to monitor Ugandan rebels in Congo IRIN 31 Oct 2003 -- Kampala has asked the UN to be on the lookout for camps and supply lines of Ugandan rebels based in neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ugandan government-owned The New Vision reported on Friday.

News Reports

• SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 31 Oct 2003 -- NATO's secretary general visits Russia / Afghan peace force chief warns of "soft target" attacks / France to decide on sending more peacekeepers to Afghanistan when NATO clarifies mission / Security Council mission heads to Afghanistan to bolster peace process and to tell warlords to cooperate with Karzai government / UN administrator for Kosovo says security improving / U.S. military leader says it's up to Slovenia to decide on sending troops to Iraq
• SHAPE News Summary & Analysis SHAPE 31 Oct 2003 -- Gen. Jones' visit to Afghanistan viewed / Norway reportedly planning to provide additional troops for ISAF / France organizing its headquarters to be able to act without U.S. and NATO
• AZERBAIJAN / INAUGURATION VOA 31 Oct 2003 -- In Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has been sworn in as president, taking over leadership of the oil-rich Caspian state from his father. The younger Aliyev won elections that provoked controversy at home and abroad.
• U-S / EQUATORIAL GUINEA VOA 31 Oct 2003 -- With little fanfare and no formal announcement, the United States has re-opened its embassy in the tiny West African country of Equatorial Guinea. Long viewed as a police state run by a corrupt dictator, Equatorial Guinea has emerged as a major oil producer that is now receiving heavy American investment.
• MALAYSIA LEADER VOA 31 Oct 2003 -- In Malaysia, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has been sworn as the country's fifth prime minister. Mr. Badawi takes over from Asia's longest serving leader, Mahathir Mohamad.
• KENYA/EXPATRIATE WORKERS VOA 31 Oct 2003 -- The Kenyan government has confirmed media reports it will not renew work permits for thousands of foreign workers, mainly from Asia and the West. The move, aimed at creating jobs for Kenyans, is drawing criticism.
• JAPAN / DALAI LAMA VOA 31 Oct 2003 -- The Dalai Lama has arrived in Japan for a 12-day stay. The visit comes despite objections from China, which accuses Japan of providing a political stage for the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader.
• ZIMBABWE / POLITICS VOA 31 Oct 2003 -- The much delayed legal challenge to the 2002 Zimbabwe presidential election is scheduled to begin Monday in the High Court in Harare.
• MAURITANIA: Presidential election could go to second round IRIN 31 Oct 2003 -- Support for opposition candidate Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla is growing in the campaign for Mauritania's 7 November presidential election. His unexpected popularity has prompted aides of President Maaouiya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, to admit privately that the incumbent head of state may get less than 50 percent of the vote and be forced into a second round-run off two weeks later.
• PRESS BRIEFING ON UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION AGAINST CORRUPTION United Nations 31 Oct 2003
• CENTRAL ASIA: Weekly news wrap IRIN 31 Oct 2003 -- Twenty-six confirmed cases of typhoid were reported in the southern Kyrgyz province of Batken on Thursday, seen by Kyrgyz health officials as a probable extension of a recent outbreak of the disease in neighbouring Tajikistan, in which hundreds of confirmed cases have been registered in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe.