• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 20 May 2004 [PDF]
• ONE SOLDIER KILLED, THREE WOUNDED IN BAGHDAD
• ONE FIRST INFANTRY DIVISION SOLDIER KILLED, TWO WOUNDED
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty

• Transcript: Coalition Provisional Authority Briefing 20 May 2004 -- Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, Deputy Director for Coalition Operations and Dan Senor, Senior Advisor, CPA
• IRAQ WRAP VOA 20 May 2004 -- American military commanders in Iraq are investigating what Iraqis say was a deadly attack by U-S warplanes on civilians in a remote area of the country near the Syrian border. Residents say the attack was unprovoked, but the American command in Baghdad says intelligence suggesting the area was a haven of foreign fighters was borne out by what was found on the ground.
• Insurgent Route Was Struck, Not Wedding Party, U.S. Maintains AFPS 20 May 2004 -- Insurgents using a smuggling route for foreign fighters and weaponry entering Iraq were the targets of a May 19 strike near the Iraq-Syrian border, a senior military spokesman said at a Baghdad news conference today.
• Marines prepare ICDC for Iraqi control Marine Corps News 20 May 2004-- Marines in the shadow of the city housing the prison by the same name are carrying out a quiet and essential mission to turn over Iraq's responsibility back to Iraqis.
• Dismounted sappers take on Karbala's mean streets ARCENT Release 20 May 2004-- The late morning skies were overcast and a breeze blew through the trees. The air was cooler than usual. The order came over the radio for the troops to dismount.

• Afghan General's Pledge to Support Central Army Welcomed by U.S. Washington File 20 May 2004 -- The United States has welcomed statements from Afghan General Mohammed Daoud that he will participate in the nationwide effort to bring Afghan security forces under the control of a centralized command by submitting a list of troops under his command for verification.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Transcript: DoD Background Briefing 20 May 2004 -- Lawrence Di Rita and Senior Defense Official

• Army Dedicates New Chemical Weapons Destruction Facility AFPS 20 May 2004 -- The U.S. Army Non-Stockpile Chemical Materiel Program dedicated its newest capability and first fixed facility to treat recovered chemical weapons during a ceremony at the Edgewood Area here May 5.
• Vandegrift arrives off the coast of Dili 7th Fleet Release 20 May 2004-- USS Vandegrift (FFG 48) Arrived off the coast of Dili, Timor-Leste, on May 19 for a scheduled port visit.
• USS Tucson departs on Western Pacific deployment SUBPAC Release 20 May 2004-- USS Tucson (SSN 770) departed for a Western Pacific deployment from its homeport of Pearl Harbor May 19.
• Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet Completes Participation in Pacific Reach 2004 SUBPAC Release 20 May 2004-- USS La Jolla (SSN 701), the Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV) Mystic, as well as USS Safeguard (ARS 50) successfully participated in Pacific Reach 2004. The U. S. Navy worked together with submarines and rescue vessels from South Korea, Japan, and Australia.
• U.S. 3rd Fleet Talks Warfighting Navy Newsstand 20 May 2004-- Senior operational and tactical leadership within the Pacific fleet gathered at the headquarters of the Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet for the first War-fighting In The Pacific Talks and the Strike Group Commanders Conference (SGCC), May 18-19.

• Ukraine: Depot Blast Latest In Series of Tragic Blunders By Army RFE/RL 20 May 2004 -- An accidental fire at a huge ammunition dump in Ukraine earlier this month triggered explosions which killed five people and wounded more than 20. The accident was the latest in a series of tragic blunders by the Ukrainian Army, which have killed more than 150 of civilians in recent years.

• State Department Noon Briefing, May 20 Washington File 20 May 2004 -- Iraq, Israel/Palestinians, Middle East, Taiwan/China, Italy, Iraq, Sudan/Kenya, India/Pakistan
• White House Daily Briefing, May 20 Washington File 20 May 2004 -- President hosting President of El Salvador, president hosting Prime Minister of Denmark, Iraq/raid on Chalabi's home, Capitol Hill/president's visit, Brahimi choosing government, Iraq/elections, Pelosi comments, Iraq/funding, Saddam Hussein/condition, Iraq/exit strategy, budget, oil/production, LSU commencement address

Defense Industry

• BAE SYSTEMS Receives Follow-On Contract For QF-4 Targets BAE Systems 20 May 2004 -- BAE Systems received a $17 million follow-on contract, April 11, from the U.S. Air Force for the QF-4 Full-scale Aerial Target (FSAT).
• Boeing Conducts Successful First Flight of Australia's 737 Airborne Early Warning & Control Aircraft Boeing 20 May 2004 -- A new era in airborne surveillance and command and control began today with the successful first flight of the Boeing [NYSE: BA] 737 airborne early warning and control, or AEW&C aircraft for Australia's Project Wedgetail.
• Lockheed Martin Conducts Successful Guided MLRS Unitary Rocket Test Lockheed Martin 20 May 2004 -- Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] conducted a successful Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) Unitary rocket test at White Sands Missile Range, NM. The GMLRS Unitary rocket is a spiral development program that expands the MLRS family of munitions and provides a unitary warhead capability to the existing GMLRS configuration.
• Lockheed Martin's Sniper XR Proves Sustainability in Cold Weather Conditions Lockheed Martin 20 May 2004 -- Lockheed Martin's [NYSE: LMT] Sniper XR targeting pod successfully completed cold weather suitability tests, demonstrating that the Sniper pod is fully capable of being operated and maintained in winter conditions.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 20 May 2004
• Security Council urged to consider how UN missions can operate across borders UN News Centre 20 May 2004 -- With today's conflicts sparking huge flows of terrified civilians and armed militia moving across borders, the head of the United Nations refugee agency today urged the Security Council to develop a "cross-border peacekeeping" formula for UN missions operating in war zones.

• U-S / ISRAEL / GAZA VOA 20 May 2004 -- A senior U-S diplomat says Israel told the United States this week it will not demolish any more Palestinian housing in the Gaza strip. Israeli operations there have drawn expressions of concern from the Bush administration, which refrained from vetoing a U-N Security Council resolution condemning Israel on Wednesday.
• State's Armitage Says "Enough Suffering" in Gaza Washington File 20 May 2004 -- The United States is devastated by the loss of innocent Palestinian life in Gaza and calls for restraint by both Israelis and Palestinians, says Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage.
• U.N. Security Council Critical of Israeli Operations in Gaza Washington File 20 May 2004 -- Saying that Israel's operations in Gaza have worsened the situation, the United States allowed the U.N. Security Council to pass a resolution May 19 criticizing the recent demolition of homes in the Rafah refugee camp in Gaza.
• Middle East: Security Council Calls For Halt To Israeli Demolitions In Gaza RFE/RL 20 May 2004 -- The UN Security Council has condemned the killing of Palestinian civilians near a Gaza refugee camp and called on Israel to halt the demolition of Palestinian homes.
• Middle East: Israeli Court Convicts Key Palestinian Leader For Deadly Attacks RFE/RL 20 May 2004 -- Marwan Barghouti, once a prominent supporter of peace with Israel, was long seen as a likely successor to Yassir Arafat as Palestinian leader. Today, Barghouti faces life in prison after an Israeli court convicted him of murder in connection with attacks on five Israelis.
• ISRAEL / GAZA OPERATION VOA 20 May 2004 -- Israeli troops are continuing their controversial military operation in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, despite both international condemnation and domestic criticism. The Gaza operation has prompted calls by some Israelis for an early withdrawal from Gaza and a resumption of peace talks.
• ISRAEL / GAZA VOA 20 May 2004 -- Israel pushed ahead with its military offensive in the southern Gaza Strip Thursday. Five more Palestinians were killed in two incidents overnight. The action comes despite international condemnation of the Israeli army's operation aimed at militants in Gaza and the demolition of homes in the Rafah refugee camp.

• U-S / SUDAN / DARFUR VOA 20 May 2004 -- The United States said Thursday Sudan has promised to expedite access to the troubled western Darfur region by humanitarian aid workers and relief supplies. The State Department described the situation in Darfur as "dire."
• U-N / AFRICA REFUGEES VOA 20 May 2004 -- The U-N's High Commissioner for Refugees has told the Security Council he is making his top priority the estimated one-million people fleeing violence in Sudan. The commissioner also pressed the council to plan for peacekeeping operations that could operate across national borders.
• IVORY COAST / POLITICS VOA 20 May 2004 -- Ivory Coast's rebel leaders charge President Laurent Gbagbo with a violation of last year's peace accord, following his dismissal of three rebel and opposition ministers from the power-sharing government.
• COTE D IVOIRE: Gbagbo sacks rebel chief from power-sharing cabinet IRIN 20 May 2004 -- President Laurent Gbagbo has dismissed three opposition ministers from Cote d'Ivoire's broad-based government of national reconciliation, including Guillaume Soro, the leader of rebel forces occupying the north of the country.
• NIGERIA: 20 dead in fresh Plateau violence despite state of emergency IRIN 20 May 2004 -- More than 20 Christian villagers have been killed in a fresh outbreak of religious violence in Plateau State in central Nigeria, where President Olusegun Obasanjo imposed a state of emergency earlier this week, residents in the area told IRIN.
• SUDAN/CONFLICT VOA 20 May 2004 -- A pan-African church organization reports that, within the past week, government-backed militias have set fire to the homes of some 23-thousand villagers in the Upper Nile region of southern Sudan.

News Reports

• SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 20 May 2004 -- Balkan countries urge NATO to open doors for membership / Bosnian Serb Parliament urges war-crimes suspects to surrender / Belgium will double peacekeeping contingent in Afghanistan / Australia seeks closer cooperation with NATO in face of terrorist threat / U.S. wants another UN exemption from criminal court / More than 8,000 young officers resigned early last year from Russian military

• Orbital Successfully Launches Taiwan's ROCSAT-2 Satellite Aboard Taurus XL Rocket Orbital Sciences Corp. 20 May 2004 -- Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) announced today that its Taurus XL space launch vehicle successfully boosted the Republic of China's ROCSAT-2 remote sensing satellite into low-Earth orbit in a mission that originated from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California earlier this afternoon. Today's mission was the seventh in the Taurus program's history and was also the inaugural flight of the enhanced performance "XL" version of the space launch vehicle.