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Defense Policy / Programs
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News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 19 Aug 2004 [PDF]
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• MARINE KILLED IN AL ANBAR PROVINCE
• TWO MNF SOLDIERS KILLED, FIVE WOUNDED IN AL HILLAH ATTACK
• SECOND TF BAGHDAD SOLDIER KILLED IN SADR CITY, AUG. 18
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty

• AIR COMPONENT DATA CENTCOM 19 Aug 2004 -- In Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, Coalition aircraft on Aug. 18 flew 46 strike sorties in Close Air Support (CAS) for Main Supply Routes (MSR) and Alternate Supply Routes (ASR), and for Troops in Contact (TIC) situations. (...) In Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, Coalition forces flew 19 strike sorties.

• IRAQ/NAJAF VOA 19 Aug 2004 -- Iraq's interim prime minister has issued, in his words, a "final call" for Shiite militants in the city of Najaf to leave a shrine they have been occupying for weeks. The statement comes a day after their leader, radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, sent word that he was willing to disarm. As VOA's Challiss McDonough reports from Baghdad, the Iraqi leader sounds skeptical that the promise is for real.
• IRAQ WRAP VOA 19 Aug 2004 -- Fighting continues in Najaf even though Iraq's Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has made a final call to Shi'ite militants to lay down their weapons and leave the holy Imam Ali shrine in Najaf. Militants threaten to kill a Turkish hostage and missing American journalist. And, in New York and Geneve a special ceremony marks the one-year anniversary of the deadly bombing of U.N. offices in Baghdad.
• Militants in Iraq Threaten to Execute Turkish Hostage VOA News 19 Aug 2004 -- Militants holding a Turkish truck driver hostage in Iraq, have threatened to execute him if his employer does not pull out of Iraq within 72 hours.
• Iraq: Al-Sadr Aide Rejects Government Ultimatum To End Standoff RFE/RL 19 Aug 2004 -- Iraq's government is warning that a final military showdown to end a violent standoff with Shi'a militants in the southern holy city of Al-Najaf is nearing. The government says it will attack within hours unless Shi'a cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ends the uprising, disarms his fighters, and leaves the Imam Ali shrine, where he has been holed up since fighting began two weeks ago.
• FIRST ID SOLDIERS DETAIN 10 DURING OPERATION WOLVERINE CENTCOM 19 Aug 2004 -- 1st Infantry Division Soldiers detained 10 individuals Aug. 19 during a series of searches near Ad Duluiyah around 2:30 a.m.
• IRAQI SECURITY FORCES AND MNF RESTORE ORDER IN AL HAYY CENTCOM 19 Aug 2004 -- Iraqi Security Forces, with support from Multi-National Forces, conducted raids Tuesday and Wednesday in search of Muqtada Militia and other criminal elements in Al Hayy.
• Iraqi Cleric Agrees Cease-Fire, But Fighting Continues RFE/RL 19 Aug 2004 -- Iraqi radical Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has reportedly agreed to end the current crisis in the holy city of Al-Najaf, but he has called for a cease-fire to be in place before his forces will pull back.
• Iraqi Minister Sets New Deadline For Al-Sadr RFE/RL 19 Aug 2004 -- An Iraqi government official has said a military offensive against Shi'ite militiamen loyal to Shi'a cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in the holy city of Al-Najaf will begin in "hours" unless they disarm.

• New Division Assists in Added Afghan Election Security AFPS 19 Aug 2004 -- Afghan citizens want added security leading up to the Oct. 9 presidential elections. That's exactly what the Afghan National Police, backed by the U.S.-led coalition and the International Security Assistance Force, intends to provide with the emergence of a new Rapid Action Division.
• Afghanistan: Candidates Threaten To Boycott Election Unless Karzai Resigns RFE/RL 19 Aug 2004 -- A group of candidates for the Afghan presidency have been meeting in Kabul to discuss whether they can unite against Transitional Administration Chairman Hamid Karzai. The meetings are the first public attempt by the candidates to form a unified opposition.
• AFGHAN NATIONAL ARMY RECRUITING ACADEMY GRADUATES SECOND CLASS CENTCOM 19 Aug 2004 -- One hundred and three Afghan military recruiters graduated from the second class of the Afghan National Army (ANA) Recruiting Academy recently

Defense Policy / Programs

• DoD Releases Selected Acquisition Reports 19 Aug 2004 -- The Department of Defense has released details on major defense acquisition program cost and schedule changes since the December 2003 reporting period. This information is based on the Selected Acquisition Reports (SARs) submitted to the Congress for the June 30, 2004, reporting period.
• Defense Research Agency Gives First Look at "Grand Challenge" Washington File 19 Aug 2004 -- More than 550 individuals from 42 states and seven countries turned out August 14 for a first look at rules, deadlines and qualifications for Grand Challenge 2005, a field test of autonomous ground vehicles over rugged terrain hosted by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), according to a DARPA press release.
• C-17 testers airdrop Army Stryker mobile gun system AFPN 19 Aug 2004 -- An aircrew from the C-17 Globemaster III combined test force here successfully airdropped a mobile gun system for the first time during a feasibility test Aug. 13. The system fits the Army's Stryker engineer squad vehicle.
• 25th ID goes modular Army News 19 Aug 2004 -- As part of the Army's ongoing transformation, a total of six brigades, including two Stryker Brigade Combat Teams, will form over the next three years under the 25th Division (Light) patch pending future decisions on unit designations.
• Coalition assists in launching Afghan version of QRF Army News 19 Aug 2004 -- Afghan citizens want added security leading up to the Oct. 9 presidential elections and that's exactly what the Afghan National Police, backed by the U.S.-led coalition and the International Security Assistance Force, intends to provide with the emergence of a new Rapid Action Division.
• Submarines Vital to Navy's Fleet Response Plan Navy NewsStand 19 Aug 2004 -- The submarine force surged and deployed 17 submarines and a submarine tender in support of Summer Pulse '04, the Navy's first exercise under the Fleet Response Plan (FRP).
• M4A1 delivers flexible firepower to Marines USMC News 19 Aug 2004 -- Since the Civil War, U.S. military forces have been using an increasingly wide variety of combat firearms and weapon systems.
• U.S. MILITARY DETAINEES / TORTURE VOA 19 Aug 2004 -- An article in a British journal charges U.S. military medical personnel with ignoring medical ethics and human rights by complying in the mistreatment of American held prisoners in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The article is written by an American medical ethicist who says U.S. military doctors, nurses, and medics failed to live up to accepted standards of detainee care. But as we hear from VOA's David McAlary in Washington, U.S. military officials deny knowledge of such medical complicity.
• Iraq: U.S. Soldier Files Lawsuit Over Extended Service RFE/RL 19 Aug 2004 -- The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have left the U.S. military desperate for troops -- so much so that it has had to keep some 20,000 personnel on duty even though their military terms have officially ended.
• U.S.: Kerry Critical Of Bush Plan To Redeploy Troops RFE/RL 19 Aug 2004 -- Democratic U.S. Presidential candidate John Kerry has criticized President George W. Bush's proposal to withdraw up to 70,000 U.S. troops from Western Europe, South Korea, and Japan during a 10-year period.
• Stationing of U.S. Troops Will Focus on New Threats Washington File 19 Aug 2004 -- Following is a column by Douglas J. Feith, under secretary of defense for policy, was published in the Washington Post August 19 and is in the public domain. There are no restrictions on republication.
• Rice Emphasizes Contest of Ideas in War on Terror Washington File 19 Aug 2004 -- Saying that victory in the war against terrorism will require an ideological battle, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice addressed U.S. government efforts to combat Islamic extremism in the broader Middle East during an August 19 speech.

• White House Daily Briefing, August 19 Washington File 19 Aug 2004 -- Canada/FDA/drugs, Medicare, Kerry, McCain, Bush, Republican Convention, Iran, Najaf, Sadr, Iraq, Chechnya, Russia, Abu Graib, 9/11 recommendations, national intelligence director, economy, missile defense
• State Department Noon Briefing, August 19 Washington File 19 Aug 2004 -- Powell on the anniversary of the bombing of U.N. headquarters in Iraq, progress in Iraq, Iran, Russia, North Korea, Georgia, Venezuela, Colombia, Greece, China, Burundi

Defense Industry

• EADS Technology protects German Helicopters against Missile Attacks in Afghanistan EADS 19 Aug 2004 -- EADS will be equipping the CH-53 helicopters of the German Armed Forces intended for operations in Afghanistan with missile warning systems incorporating the most modern technology.
• Lockheed Martin Team Completes Preliminary Design Review for UCAR Unmanned Aircraft Development Program Lockheed Martin 19 Aug 2004 -- A team led by Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] successfully completed a week-long Preliminary Design Review (PDR) of the Unmanned Combat Armed Rotorcraft (UCAR) program, finishing on schedule the preliminary design phase program.
• Northrop Grumman Awarded $1.04 Billion to Continue Work on X-47B Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems Program Northrop Grumman 19 Aug 2004 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has been awarded a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to continue work on the X-47B portion of the Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems (J-UCAS) demonstration program. Valued at up to $1.04 billion over five years for the program's operational assessment phase, the award includes initial funding of $30 million.
• Northrop Grumman Wins Contract to Supply Navigation Radar Sets for U.S. Navy Submarines Northrop Grumman 19 Aug 2004 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has been awarded a contract by the Naval Sea Systems Command to supply navigation radar sets and associated systems engineering for 10 U.S. Navy submarines.
• Raytheon Delivers Improved Second Generation Thermal Sights for Combat Vehicles and Stryker Teams Ahead of Schedule Raytheon 19 Aug 2004 -- Starting this month, Stryker Brigade Combat Teams, Abrams tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles, HMMWV (high mobility, multi-purpose wheeled vehicle) scouts, and field artillery forward observers will be equipped with performance enhanced thermal sights produced by Raytheon Company. Raytheon Network Centric Systems made its first shipment two months early in response to the U.S. Army's request for accelerated delivery.
• Boeing/Insitu ScanEagle UAV Sets Ship-Based Endurance Record Boeing 19 Aug 2004 -- ScanEagle, a long-endurance fully autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed and built by Boeing [NYSE:BA] and The Insitu Group, recently completed a 16+ hour flight, believed to be the longest flight ever by a UAV launched and retrieved at sea.
• Northrop Grumman Selected by Air Force to Demonstrate Air-to-Space Laser Communication Technology Northrop Grumman 19 Aug 2004 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has been selected by the U.S. Air Force to design, build and demonstrate a prototype optical aperture system that will enable laser communications between aircraft and space-based platforms.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 19 Aug 2004
• CROATIA/WAR CRIMES VOA 19 Aug 2004 -- Croatia's Supreme Court has ordered the retrial of former Croatian military officials who were acquitted of killing ethnic Serbs in a prison during the Balkan war of the 1990s.
• BURUNDI: Leaders back region's move on rebel group IRIN 19 Aug 2004 -- Two Burundian leaders have welcomed Wednesday's move by heads of state of the Great Lakes region to brand Burundi's rebel Forces nationales de liberation of (FNL) a terrorist organisation, terming it long overdue.
• SUDAN: Joint mission to assess government plans for Darfur IRIN 19 Aug 2004 -- A team of United Nations and Sudanese government officials will visit the troubled Darfur region of western Sudan from 26 to 29 August, to assess progress Khartoum has made in meeting its pledges to restore calm in the area, the UN said.
• In wake of massacre, UN moves Congolese refugees further into Burundi UN News Centre 19 Aug 2004 -- At a memorial service in Geneva for the nearly 160 Congolese refugees killed in Burundi's Gatumba transit centre last weekend, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees denounced the attack as an "appalling massacre of innocent civilians" and announced that the survivors were being relocated away from the tense border.
• BURUNDI/POLITICS VOA 19 Aug 2004 -- The African Union is open to proposals for sanctions on a Burundi Hutu rebel group suspected of involvement in last week's massacre of more than 150 Tutsis in Burundi.
• NIGERIA-SUDAN: Nigerian senate approves sending 1,500 peacekeepers to Darfur IRIN 19 Aug 2004 -- The Senate has approved a request by President Olusegun Obasanjo to send up to 1,500 Nigerian troops to Sudan's troubled Darfur region to serve with an African Union (AU) protection force.
• DRC/VIOLENCE VOA 19 Aug 2004 -- General Laurent Nkunda has renewed his threat of war in eastern Congo. The dissident army officer has said that last week's killing of 160 Congolese Tutsis in Burundi is proof that his people are not safe, and he would not hesitate to defend them militarily.
• ISRAEL POLITICS VOA 19 Aug 2004 -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has suffered a major set back to his proposed withdrawal of Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip, after his Likud Party voted against forming a new coalition government to push the plan forward.
• More Fighting Reported In South Ossetia RFE/RL 19 Aug 2004 -- Fresh fighting was reported overnight in South Ossetia between Georgian troops and separatist forces there.

News Reports

• SHAPE News Summary & Analysis SHAPE 19 Aug 2004 -- Turkey to host major NATO air exercise / Iran warns Israel on pre-emptive strikes / U.S. vows more consultations with allies over troop pullout

• U.S.-VENEZUELA VOA 19 Aug 2004 -- The State Department said Thursday U.S. officials are holding to their view that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez won last Sunday's recall referendum. But it says a thorough probe of continuing claims of election fraud is important to settling the country's political crisis.
• SOUTH AFRICA: Crackdown on mercenary activity continues IRIN 19 Aug 2004 -- A government crackdown on South Africans involved in mercenary activities outside the country's borders continued on Wednesday with a raid on a suspected recruitment company in Cape Town.