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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Bush Pledges "Rational" Speed-up of Iraqi Political Process Washington File 14 Nov 2003 -- President Bush says he instructed Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq, to return to Iraq after two days of high level talks in Washington to tell the Iraqi Governing Council that the United States will work with it "to speed up the political process in a rational way.
• U.S. Troops Initiate Nearly 12,000 Community Projects in Iraq Washington File 14 Nov 2003 -- U.S. military commanders have launched nearly 12,000 Iraqi development projects at a cost of more than $88 million as a part of the Commanders' Emergency Response Program (CERP), which began with the capture of Saddam Hussein's hidden assets.
• Abizaid's Headquarters Staff in Qatar to Be Increased Washington File 14 Nov 2003 -- The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced November 14 that it will send several hundred military staff members to Qatar in the next few weeks.
• Second Night of Iron Hammer Continues Crackdown AFPS 14 Nov 2003 -- Army and Air Force aircraft reportedly pounded insurgent staging and operating facilities and killed seven people preparing an attack on U.S. forces during the second night of Operation Iron Hammer in Iraq.
• BUSH IRAQ VOA 14 Nov 2003 -- President Bush says U-S forces will stay in Iraq and Afghanistan until they have found Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden.
• IRAQ / FIGHTING VOA 14 Nov 2003 -- The U-S military in Iraq says an Apache attack helicopter in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit killed seven insurgents preparing to fire rockets at an American military base.
• Iraq: U.S. Stepping Up Efforts To Combat Iraqi Guerrilla Fighters RFE/RL 14 Nov 2003 -- The United States is stepping up military efforts to counter increasing attacks on U.S. and allied troops in Iraq. The top U.S. general responsible for Iraq says he will re-establish his regional headquarters in Qatar in order to be closer to operations. At the same time, U.S. troops are experimenting with using air power to destroy buildings in Baghdad used by guerrillas.
• Iraq: U.S. Helicopter Kills Seven Iraqi Fighters RFE/RL 14 Nov 2003 -- The U.S. military today said a U.S. Apache helicopter killed seven Iraqis who were about to launch a rocket attack on a U.S. base.
• IRAQ/SHIITE SUPPORT VOA 14 Nov 2003 -- In Iraq, coalition officials have apologized to the family of a prominent Shiite Muslim community leader in Baghdad, who was shot and killed by an American soldier last Sunday. The man's death has ignited deep anger among many Iraqi Shiite Muslims in the capital, whose support is crucial to coalition efforts to bring stability to Iraq.
• POWELL/AFGHANISTAN VOA 14 Nov 2003 -- Afghanistan's foreign minister, Abdullah Abdullah, wrapped up a Washington visit Friday with what he described as a "fruitful" meeting with Secretary of State Colin Powell. Mr. Abdullah says his government wants to see more action by Pakistan authorities against what he says are elements of Taleban operating out of northwestern Pakistan.
• Bush Tells Congress 2,100 U.S. Military Personnel in Kosovo Washington File 14 Nov 2003 -- President Bush sent a letter to Congressional leaders November 14 with a congressionally mandated report regarding the continued deployment of U.S. military personnel serving as the U.S. contribution to the NATO-led international security force in Kosovo (KFOR).

Defense Policy / Programs

• Iraq `Lessons Learned' being gathered online Army News Service 14 Nov 2003-- The Center for Army Lessons Learned at Fort Leavenworth is hosting an Operation Iraqi Freedom Lessons Learned conference in an online collaborative mode that will culminate by bringing soldiers together at Fort Leavenworth in December.
• Navy Returns Kaho'olawe Access to Hawaii Navy Newsstand 14 Nov 2003-- The state of Hawaii accepted responsibility for access to Kaho'olawe and thanked the Navy for cleaning up the island at a ceremony Nov. 12, at the Queen Iolani palace in downtown Honolulu.
• New Naval Reserve Unit Stands Up at Naval Station Pascagoula Navy Newsstand 14 Nov 2003-- Naval Station Pascagoula's security force is now being augmented by 46 additional personnel, as a new Reserve unit - Commander, Navy Region Southeast, Force Protection Pascagoula (CNRSE FP PAS) - stands up and integrates itself into the current station security force.
• Paul Hamilton Conducts Exercises with Russian Navy Ships Navy Newsstand 14 Nov 2003-- The Pearl Harbor-based destroyer USS Paul Hamilton (DDG 60) conducted operations with the Russian Navy vessels Marshall Shaposhnikov and Pechenga, Oct. 28 and 29.
• Kennedy Returns to Sea Navy Newsstand 14 Nov 2003-- USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67) got underway Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. for the first time in almost a year.
• VIRGINIA Submarine Program Reaches Another Milestone NAVSEA News Wire 14 Nov 2003-- The new construction submarine TEXAS (SSN 775) is another step closer to "getting wet." On November 7, 2003, Northrop Grumman Newport News (NGNN) in Newport News, Va., celebrated a key milestone on TEXAS, the second ship of the VIRGINIA Class, with a ceremony marking the pressure hull being welded completely closed. This event, referred to as Pressure Hull Complete, is a significant step towards completion and commissioning of the ship by the Navy. With 81 percent of the construction work completed at this point, TEXAS has attained a high level of completion and progress toward delivery.
• PENTAGON/WEST AFRICA VOA 14 Nov 2003 -- One of the United States Navy's newest and fastest vessels may soon become the first ever to make a port visit to the West African island nation of Sao Tome.
• PENTAGON/PAN-SAHEL VOA 14 Nov 2003 -- A special U-S counterterrorism training program for West Africa is at last under way -- a year after it was announced.
• Fighting Terror War Means Making Choice Between Freedom, Fear AFPS 14 Nov 2003 -- American and other coalition military forces fighting the war on terrorism are making a choice between living in freedom and living in fear, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told a crowd of service members in Guam today.
• RUMSFELD / ASIA VOA 14 Nov 2003 -- Rebuilding Iraq and Asia-Pacific security concerns were topics of discussion in Tokyo Friday when U-S Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld met with Japanese Leader Junichiro Koizumi. Mr. Rumsfeld is in the region to discuss the deployment of U-S troops as part of a global force realignment.
• RUMSFELD / ASIA VOA 14 Nov 2003 -- U-S Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld toured an Air Force base on the Pacific island of Guam Friday - his first stop on a tour that will take him to Japan and South Korea to discuss plans for realigning U-S forces in the region and the issue of Iraq. Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told U-S troops on Guam that Washington has no plans for an early exit from Iraq.
• CHINA-INDIA EXERCISE VOA 14 Nov 2003 -- China and India held their first joint naval exercises Friday. As V-O-A's Luis Ramirez reports from Beijing, the training drill is a part of China's efforts to build stronger ties with its South Asian neighbor.

• State Department on Status of Albanian National Army Washington File 14 Nov 2003 -- Following is the text of a question taken at the November 14 regular State Department briefing on the status of the Albanian National Army; an answer was posted later in the day

Defense Industry

• General Dynamics Awarded $11 Million Contract Modification for Navy Common Network Interface General Dynamics 14 Nov 2003 -- The U. S. Navy has awarded General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), an $11 million modification to a previously awarded contract to provide for the continued development of the Common Network Interface.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 14 Nov 2003
• Chief of UN mission for DR of Congo calls on Rwandan President UN News Centre 14 Nov 2003 -- The head of the United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda reviewed the process of normalizing diplomatic relations between the two countries at a meeting in the Rwandan capital today, the Mission said.
• CONGO / FIGHTERS VOA 14 Nov 2003 -- Congolese officials say hundreds of foreign troops have been spotted in the far west of the Democratic Republic of Congo, less than 400 kilometers from the country's capital Kinshasa. The fighters, who are believed to be Rwandan and Burundian Hutu extremists and Ugandan rebels, were all used as proxies by the former government in Congo's five-year war.
• DRC: MONUC to develop new deployment strategy IRIN 14 Nov 2003 -- The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, known as MONUC, has designed a new "proactive deployment strategy" to move troops into various provinces in the Congo to provide security for civilians and intensify the disarmament of combatants, the UN special envoy to the Congo, William Swing, said on Friday.
• IVORY COAST / REBELS VOA 14 Nov 2003 -- A top Ivory Coast rebel official has denied growing media speculation that the group is planning to break the territory it holds away from Ivory Coast.
• IVORY COAST / EU VOA 14 Nov 2003 -- The European Union will continue to withhold financial assistance to Ivory Coast until the country gets the shaky peace process back on track.

• Annan calls for six-month extension of UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus UN News Centre 14 Nov 2003 -- Although the situation along the ceasefire lines in Cyprus is stable with "a remarkable low number of incidents" in crossings, only a comprehensive settlement will end the problems and the 40-year-old United Nations peacekeeping force there continues to be necessary, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in his latest report released today.
• U-S/NIGERIA/TAYLOR VOA 14 Nov 2003 -- The Bush administration said Friday it opposes a Congressional move to reduce U-S aid to Nigeria, if it does not turn over former Liberian President Charles Taylor to the U-N-backed war crimes tribunal for Sierra Leone. Mr. Taylor has been under de facto house arrest in Nigeria since August, under an exile deal supported by the United States.
• ISRAEL / SECURITY VOA 14 Nov 2003 -- Four former Israeli security chiefs and a former army chief of staff are warning that Israel is headed for disaster if Prime Minister Ariel Sharon does not change his policy and start moving toward a settlement of the conflict with Palestinians.
• SRI LANKA PEACE VOA 14 Nov 2003 -- Norwegian peace brokers say they will not take part in negotiations between the Sri Lankan government and Tamil rebels until the country's political crisis is resolved. Norway helped the country achieve its longest lasting ceasefire in two-decades of civil war, but now the peace may be threatened.
• DRC-UGANDA: Return of UPDF will not be welcomed, Kinshasa warns Kampala IRIN 14 Nov 2003 -- The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will neither authorise joint patrols with nor grant a military corridor to the Ugandan army for pursuit of Ugandan rebels based in northeastern Congo, Mulegwa Zihindula, spokesman of DRC President Joseph Kabila, said on Thursday.
• SUDAN: Concern grows over deteriorating situation in Darfur IRIN 14 Nov 2003 -- Concern continued to mount this week over increased displacement and a deteriorating humanitarian situation in Darfur, western Sudan, with calls for the international community to intervene in order to avert a humanitarian crisis in the region.
• ETHIOPIA: Interview with UNDP's Sam Amoo on peace-building in Africa IRIN 14 Nov 2003 -- Sam Amoo is heading a pan-African programme for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), aimed at boosting the continent’s conflict resolution capabilities. In the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, he told IRIN why efforts often fail because peace builders arrive with ready-made answers, and how it is up to Africans to find solutions to the conflicts that ravage the continent.
• BURUNDI-SOUTH AFRICA: South African troops to remain longer in Burundi, Zuma says IRIN 14 Nov 2003 -- South Africa will retain its peacekeeping troops in Burundi until the country sets up its own security services, South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma said on Thursday.

News Reports

• SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 14 Nov 2003 -- Bush administration proposing quicker elections in Iraq / Top U.S. general to return to Iraq region / U.S. military in Iraq rejects charge of rights abuse / Belgium adopts new anti-terrorist legislation / Canada adds 3 Palestinian groups to list of terror organizations
• SHAPE News Summary & Analysis SHAPE 14 Nov 2003 -- NATO to deploy mobile troops in Afghanistan / Daily: Germany retreats on EU strategic defense plans / New U.S. approach for Iraq viewed
• W-H-O / EBOLA VOA 14 Nov 2003 -- The World Health Organization says it has confirmed the presence of the deadly Ebola virus in Mbomo, a remote area in the northern part of the Republic of the Congo. It has sent a team of international experts to the area to investigate the source of the disease.
• CENTRAL ASIA: Weekly news wrap IRIN 14 Nov 2003 -- This week in Central Asia was marked by a number of visits by senior officials of international organisations, demonstrating the global community's interest and commitment to the region. On Monday, US Assistant Secretary of State Elizabeth Jones defended Washington's controversial military alliance with Uzbekistan, a staunch ally in its war against terror, and promised to bring pressure to bear the Uzbek government to engage more vigorously in efforts to bring about greater human rights reform.