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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 24 Aug 2004 [PDF]
• SOLDIER KILLED IN RPG ATTACK IN BAGHDAD
• ONE SOLDIER DEAD IN VEHICLE ROLLOVER
• DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
• DoD Identifies Marine Casualty

• U.S., Iraqi Forces Reinforce Positions In Al-Najaf RFE/RL 24 Aug 2004 -- News agencies are reporting that in Al-Najaf, Iraqi National Guardsmen have been deployed along U.S. troops positioned near the Imam Ali shrine, where Shi'ite militants fighting U.S. forces have been holed up for weeks.
• Two Iraqi Ministers Survive Attacks RFE/RL 24 Aug 2004 -- Two Iraqi Ministers Survive Attacks 24 August 2004 -- Iraq's environment and education ministers were both unharmed in two separate attacks on their respective convoys in Baghdad today, as fighting continues in the holy city of Al-Najaf.

• IRAQ / NAJAF VOA 24 Aug 2004 -- Iraqi troops have moved within a few hundred meters of the Imam Ali Shrine in the city of Najaf. The defense minister says he will order them to storm the mosque if the militants inside do not surrender soon. The battle for control of Najaf has gone on for nearly three weeks, and has taken a heavy toll on the civilian population of the city.
• IRAQ WRAP VOA 24 Aug 2004 -- Iraqi forces in Najaf have taken up positions near the holy shrine that Shi'ite militants have occupied for nearly three weeks. Two Iraqi ministers escape assassination attempts in Baghdad. Iraqi insurgents have released an American journalist they held hostage but another group holding an Italian journalist has threatened to kill him if Italy does not pull out its troops.
• STILL IMAGES SHOW MILITIA MORTAR POSITION NEAR NAJAF SHRINE CENTCOM 24 Aug 2004 -- Evidence of a complete mortar system set up by Muqtada Militia forces on the eastern sidewalk of the Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf was recorded in video footage shot by a Multi-National Force aircraft Monday.
• Air Strike Near Fallujah Targets Foreign Terrorists AFPS 24 Aug 2004 -- Multinational Force Iraq conducted a precision aerial attack shortly after midnight today on anti-Iraqi forces near Fallujah, according to a Coalition Press Information Center news release.
• Separate Attacks Kill Two Soldiers, Wound Three Others AFPS 24 Aug 2004 -- Two U.S. soldiers were killed and three others were wounded Aug. 23 in two separate attacks in Iraq.

• 22nd MEU Afghanistan Recap: Operation BLADE RUNNER USMC News 24 Aug 2004 -- On May 25, 2004, elements of Battalion Landing Team 1st Bn., 6th Marines conducted a pinscher-style cordon and sweep operation not far from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable)'s forward operating base near Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan.
• Pakistan: Western Diplomats Urge Islamabad To Rein In Taliban As Well As Al-Qaeda RFE/RL 24 Aug 2004 -- In Islamabad, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has promised visiting Afghan Transitional Administration Hamid Karzai that militants will not be allowed to use Pakistani territory to disrupt Afghanistan's 9 October election. But "The New York Times" newspaper is quoting Western diplomats in Kabul who say Pakistan's security forces are, in fact, turning a blind eye to Taliban fighters who have training camps in Pakistan's autonomous tribal regions. They also warn of intelligence reports saying the Taliban may be planning a series of major attacks in Afghanistan on election day.
• PAKISTAN KARZAI VOA 24 Aug 2004 -- Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf says his country will work to make sure cross-border terrorism does not affect the coming Afghan elections. Afghan President Hamid Karzai's visit to Pakistan coincides with a pledge to free hundreds of Pakistanis his government has imprisoned.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Transcript: Press Conference with Members of the Independent Panel to Review Department of Defense Detention Operations 24 Aug 2004 -- Former Secretary Of Defense Harold Brown; Former U.S. Representative Tillie Fowler (R-Fl); General Charles A. Horner, Usaf (Retired); Former Secretary Of Defense James R. Schlesinger
• Independent Panel to Review DoD Detention Operations August 2004 [PDF 5.71 Mb]
• Independent Panel Delivers Detention Operations Report 24 Aug 2004 -- The members of the Independent Panel to Review DoD Detention Operations briefed Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld this morning as they delivered their final report.
• Secretary Rumsfeld Statement on Independent Panel Report 24 Aug 2004 -- I appreciate the work of the distinguished members of the Detention Operations Review Panel. The panel was chaired by Dr. James Schlesinger. Its members were Dr. Harold Brown, The Honorable Tillie Fowler and General Chuck Horner (retired).
• U-S / IRAQ / ABUSE VOA 24 Aug 2004 -- A new report says the U-S Defense Department's most senior civilian and military officials share a portion of the blame for the prisoner abuse scandal in Iraq. The finding was issued Tuesday by an independent panel

• First Military Commission Convened at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba 24 Aug 2004 -- The first U.S. military commission in more than 50 years was convened here today in the case of U.S. vs. Salim Achmed Hamdan who is accused of conspiracy to commit violations of the law of war.
• Guantanamo Bay Base Has Storied Past AFPS 24 Aug 2004 -- The eyes of the world are focused on this remote Navy base as hearings begin in the first four military commissions for detainees from the war on terrorism.

• Aircrew training squadron shapes crews for AWACS mission AFPN 24 Aug 2004 -- A cooperative spirit is alive at the home of the aircrew training squadron for the E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System mission here.
• U.S. Navy Awards Tomahawk Block IV Missile Multi-Year Contract Navy NewsStand 24 Aug 2004 -- The U.S. Navy announced that Raytheon Missile Systems Company, Tucson, Ariz., was awarded a $1.6 billion firm-fixed price contract to produce up to 2,200 Tomahawk block IV missiles for the U.S. Navy's surface ship and submarine strike warfare fleets.
• Enterprise Shares 'Lessons Learned' From Summer Pulse '04 Navy NewsStand 24 Aug 2004 -- Since USS Enterprise's (CVN 65) (Big E) return from Summer Pulse '04 July 23, the crew has had the opportunity to assess the experience to see what worked, what didn't and how to best learn from it.
• Navy to Transfer Five Coastal Patrol Ships to Coast Guard Navy NewsStand 24 Aug 2004 -- The U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard signed a Memorandum of Agreement recently that will transfer the custody and operational control of four 169-foot Cyclone-class coastal patrol ships to the Coast Guard on or about Oct. 1. A fifth will be transferred at a later date.

• State Department Noon Briefing, August 24 Washington File 24 Aug 2004 -- Japan, Israel/Palestinians, Sudan, Cyprus, North Korea, Iraq, Greece

Defense Industry

• Team US101 Names 13 Additional Connecticut Suppliers to Support Next Marine One Helicopter Lockheed Martin 24 Aug 2004 -- Team US101 has identified 13 additional companies in Connecticut to supply components for the American-built US101 medium-lift helicopter. Team US101 is competing to provide the President of the United States with a fleet of next-generation helicopters.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 24 Aug 2004
• ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS: 'FLAGRANT DISREGARD' OF THE ROADMAP US Dept. of State IIP, Foreign Media Reaction 24 Aug 2004
• UN observes latest round of peace talks between Sudan and Darfur rebel groups UN News centre 24 Aug 2004 -- The United Nations is taking part in talks in Nigeria between the Sudanese Government and two rebel groups from the war-torn Darfur region in a bid to resolve the conflict that has created what has been widely described as the world's worst current humanitarian crisis.
• NIGERIA / SUDAN TALKS VOA 24 Aug 2004 -- The Sudanese government and leaders of two rebel groups from the west of Sudan have made a small step forward to end fighting in Darfur. They agreed Tuesday on an agenda for future talks.
• NIGERIA/SUDAN TALKS VOA 24 Aug 2004 -- Peace talks between the Sudanese government and the country's two main rebel movements continue for a second day in the Nigerian capital Abuja. Much of the first day was spent working out an agenda on how to proceed.
• NEPAL / BLOCKADE VOA 24 Aug 2004 -- In Nepal, Maoist rebels have called off a crippling weeklong economic blockade of the capital, Kathmandu. The announcement came hours after an attack by suspected Maoists killed four soldiers and wounded two others.
• U.S.: Washington Denies Policy Shift On Israeli Settlement Activity RFE/RL 24 Aug 2004 -- The U.S. State Department says the Bush administration remains committed to a freeze of all settlement activity in Israel's occupied territories, a crucial part of the dormant Middle East peace plan. A department official reiterated U.S. policy in response to new Israeli settlement plans that appeared to gain Washington's approval. Palestinian officials expressed concern that a shift in U.S. policy on settlement activity would shatter remaining hopes for the peace process.
• DRC: Ex-rebel group suspends participation in transitional government IRIN 24 Aug 2004 -- A former rebel group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has suspended its participation in the transitional government, in a move seen by many as a potential threat to the peace process there.
• LTTE issues fresh warning to Sri Lankan government IRNA 24 Aug 2004 -- The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Tuesday charged the Sri Lankan government with "accommodating and encouraging" armed groups, and said it was "a serious threat" to the two-year-old ceasefire agreement.
• THAILAND / MILITARY VOA 24 Aug 2004 -- Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has replaced his cousin as army chief, amid continued violence in the Muslim-dominated southern provinces. The change will take effect October first.
• SUDAN/POLITICS VOA 24 Aug 2004 -- Sudan's foreign minister says he and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw have agreed to support an increase in the number of African Union monitors in the troubled area of Darfur. The two also agreed on expanding the force sent to protect them.

News Reports

• SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 24 Aug 2004 -- Pakistan pledges not to be used in disrupting Afghan elections / UN expert calls for release of 725 Taliban prisoners in Afghanistan / UN European officials sign human rights agreements in Kosovo / Serbian nationalist blasts as "traitors" officials who favor dropping lawsuit against NATO / UK's Straw tells Sudan to comply with UN
• SHAPE News Summary & Analysis SHAPE 24 Aug 2004 -- Daily: "British special forces sent in to counter Olympics terror threat" / NATO mission in Iraq noted / KFOR introduces new measures to improve security in minority areas