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Military


26 August 2004 Military News

Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

  • OIF/OEF Casualty Update 26 Aug 2004 [PDF]
  • SOLDIER KILLED IN MORTAR ATTACK
  • DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
  • DoD Identifies Marine Casualty

  • IRAQ / SISTANI VOA 26 Aug 2004 -- Aides to Iraq's most senior Shia religious leader say radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has agreed to a plan to end the three-week-long standoff in the city of Najaf. The news came after tens of thousands of marchers converged on the city in support of the bid for peace.
  • IRAQ WRAP VOA 26 Aug 2004 -- Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, returned home to Najaf Thursday, along with thousands of demonstrators, in a bid to end a bloody three-week uprising by radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Late in the day, his aides announced a peace deal had been reached.
  • Iraq: Violence Near Al-Najaf As Shi'a Cleric Arrives On Peace Mission RFE/RL 26 Aug 2004 -- Hundreds of people were crowded into Al-Kufah's golden-domed mosque when the mortar attack came.
  • Iraqi Religious Authorities Reach Agreement on Najaf VOA News 26 Aug 2004 -- Aides to Iraq's leading Shi'ite religious authority, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, say he has reached a deal to end the three-week long stand-off in the holy city of Najaf led by radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
  • QUARTERHORSE RIDES TO ENGAGE THE LOCAL POPULACE CENTCOM 26 Aug 2004 -- Since May, levels of Anti-Iraqi Forces activities against coalition forces have increased throughout the country, most of the attacks against Task Force Sabre have happened in the last three months, causing civil affairs projects in the area to cease.
  • OFFENSIVE OPERATIONS TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED IN NAJAF CENTCOM 26 Aug 2004 -- At the request of the local and national Iraqi government, Iraqi security forces and the Multi-National Force-Iraq have temporarily suspended offensive military operations to facilitate the return of Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani to the holy city of Najaf.
  • IRAQ/KUFA VIOLENCE VOA 26 Aug 2004 -- At least 27 people were killed and scores more injured in a mortar attack on a mosque in the Iraqi city of Kufa. The attack came as thousands of followers of the revered Shia leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani are obeying his call to march on the neighboring city of Najaf, where insurgents have been locked in a stand-off with Iraqi and U.S. forces for the past three weeks.
  • Mortar Attack in Al-Kufah Leaves Many Dead RFE/RL 26 Aug 2004 -- Reports say a mortar attack on the main mosque in the Iraqi city of Al-Kufah today left many dead and injured.
  • Al-Sadr Supporters Attacked Near Al-Najaf RFE/RL 26 Aug 2004 -- Supporters of radical Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr were attacked today as they marched from the town of Al-Kufah to the adjacent city of Al-Najaf where al-Sadr's militia has been fighting U.S. forces for several weeks.
  • Dismounted infantry ensures success of 'Iron Fury' Army News 26 Aug 2004 -- For every company of armored tanks and Bradleys that pushed into the volatile portion of Baghdad's Sadhr City during the Iron Horse Brigade's Operation Iron Fury, there was a platoon of dismounted Soldiers like the infantrymen of White Platoon, "Comanche" Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment.
  • 31st MEU departs for Middle East USMC News 26 Aug 2004 -- The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, with about 2,000 Marines and sailors, recently departed Okinawa for the Middle East to support Operation Iraqi Freedom.

  • Pakistan: Islamabad Says UN Calls for More Border Security 'Unfair' RFE/RL 26 Aug 2004 -- The UN's chief envoy in Afghanistan has called for greater security to safeguard Afghanistan's upcoming elections. But Jean Arnault's appeal prompted a strong reaction from Pakistan, which said it is already making considerable efforts to secure its border. Pakistan's UN ambassador told a UN Security Council briefing yesterday that most of Afghanistan's security problems are internal and that the international community needs to provide greater assistance to protect against interference in the October presidential polls.
  • Coalition, Afghan Forces Gear up for October Election AFPS 26 Aug 2004 -- Coalition forces in Afghanistan are gearing up for the Oct. 9 elections in that country, Pentagon officials said today.
  • RFE/RL Afghanistan Report, Vol 3, Number 30 26 Aug 2004 -- INTERVIEW: AFGHAN VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE SPEAKS WITH RFE/RL / INTERVIEW: AFGHAN MINISTER OF RECONSTRUCTION SPEAKS TO RFE/RL / THIS WEEK ON RADIO FREE AFGHANISTAN / U.S. ENVOY NEGOTIATES CEASE-FIRE IN WESTERN AFGHANISTAN... / ...AND BACKS BELEAGUERED GOVERNOR / COALITION FORCES DENY REPORTS OF AIR STRIKES AGAINST WARLORD / REBEL COMMANDER PLEDGES LOYALTY TO KABUL... / ...AS HERAT PROVINCE GOVERNOR CLAIMS VICTORY OVER 'TALIBAN.' / AFGHAN NATIONAL ARMY CREATES 'BUFFER ZONE' IN WEST... / ...AND SECURES RELEASE OF MILITIA... / ...AS KARZAI SETS UP FACT-FINDING MISSION / INTERIOR MINISTER SAYS MILITIAS NEED TO BE DISSOLVED / RIVAL NORTHERN MILITIAS CLASH / KARZAI'S OPPONENTS THREATEN TO BOYCOTT PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS... / NORTHERN AFGHAN WARLORD REJECTS OBJECTIONS TO NOMINATION OF HIS RUNNING MATE / DEMOCRACY GROUP ISSUES STATEMENT ON AFGHAN ELECTORAL PROCESS / UN STAFF UNION CALLS FOR PULLOUT FROM AFGHANISTAN / NEO-TALIBAN CLAIMS KILLING OF EIGHT SOLDIERS AND SECURITY GUARDS / U.S. FORCES KILL THREE AT CHECKPOINT... / ...AS U.S. ENVOY EXPRESSES HIS CONDOLENCES / KARZAI VISITS PAKISTAN... / ...AND MEETS HIS PAKISTANI COUNTERPART / THIS WEEK IN AFGHANISTAN'S HISTORY

Defense Policy / Programs

  • Third Military Commission Interrupted by Yemeni Detainee Request 26 Aug 2004 -- Yemeni enemy combatant Ali Hamza Ahmed Sulayman al-Bahlul caused an abrupt interruption to his military commission hearing today by asking to provide his own defense.
  • Transcript: Defense Department Briefing on Preliminary Hearing for Guantanamo Detainees 26 Aug 2004 -- Brigadier General Thomas Hemingway, Legal Advisor for the Office of Military Commissions
  • Officials Working on Commissions Translation Issues AFPS 26 Aug 2004 -- Officials are resolving translation issues when they are raised, assured a senior official with the commissions today.
  • Defense Department Report, August 26: Guantanamo Hearings Proceed Washington File 26 Aug 2004 -- A senior military official who is familiar with the legal proceedings now underway for detainees being held in U.S. custody at Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba says the process "complies with international norms."
  • GUANTANAMO HEARINGS THURSDAY UPDATE VOA 26 Aug 2004 -- Yemeni man facing trial on war crimes charges has appeared in a U.S. military court confessing to be a member of al-Qaida and demanding to represent himself before what will be the first military commissions since World War Two. Correspondent Nick Simeone tells us the dramatic move came during pre-trial hearings for accused enemy combatants at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
  • GUANTANAMO HEARINGS VOA 26 Aug 2004 -- A man from Yemen has been formally charged with conspiracy to commit war crimes by a U.S. military tribunal in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Correspondent Nick Simeone reports from Guantanamo that the suspect, who was captured by U.S. forces in Afghanistan in 2001, is demanding to represent himself.
  • Yemeni Detainee Asks to Represent Self, Admits to Being al Qaeda AFPS 26 Aug 2004 -- A Yemeni man accused of crafting terrorist propaganda appeared before a military commission here today and asked to represent himself.
  • Guantanamo Commissions Exceed International Standards AFPS 26 Aug 2004 -- The spirited arguments offered by defense lawyers at the military tribunals show the cases against detainees charged with crimes will exceed the international standard for such tribunals, the legal adviser to the appointing authority at the Defense Department's Office of Military Commissions said here today.
  • Australian Detainee Pleads Not Guilty, Meets With Family AFPS 26 Aug 2004 -- Australian detainee David Hicks, accused of fighting for the Taliban in Afghanistan, pleaded not guilty here Aug. 25 to war-crimes charges and met with his family for the first time in five years.

  • USS Lake Erie Deploys Navy NewsStand 26 Aug 2004 -- USS Lake Erie (CG 70) got underway for its first deployment in almost five years Aug. 23.
  • MEF's new unmanned aerial vehicle USMC News 26 Aug 2004 -- Two of the top leaders in the Marine Corps came to Camp Fallujah to see I Marine Expeditionary Force's new "eyes in the sky."

  • JAPAN/U.S. MILITARY VOA 26 Aug 2004 -- The commander of the U.S. forces in Japan says Tokyo and Washington continue to discuss changes to the American military bases in Japan. It remains unclear how the Pentagon's global force restructuring will affect Japan.
  • AUSTRALIA MISSILES VOA 26 Aug 2004 -- Australia plans to spend nearly 300 million dollars on new long-range missiles. The Defense Minister says the missiles, capable of hitting land and sea targets, will be carried on F/A-18 fighter jets and maritime patrol planes. Opposition politicians, however, worry the plan could upset some of Australia's neighbors.

  • State Department Noon Briefing, August 26 Washington File 26 Aug 2004 -- Sudan, Thailand, Iraq, Israel/Palestinians, Canada, Iran, Russia, Nigeria

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

  • DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 26 Aug 2004

  • UN envoy begins final mission to Darfur, Sudan before Security Council deadline UN News Centre 26 Aug 2004 -- The senior United Nations envoy to Sudan today began his last mission to the war-torn Darfur region ahead of next week's meeting of the Security Council, which will decide whether the Government is making good on commitments to restore security and disarm the militias responsible for killings and massive displacement.
  • Experts monitoring weapons embargo against Somalia extended for six months UN News Centre 26 Aug 2004 -- In a bid to continue identifying violators of the 1992 weapons embargo against Somalia and find ways to strengthen compliance, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has reappointed the members of an expert panel tracking the ban.
  • SUDAN: Darfur peace talks make sluggish progress IRIN 26 Aug 2004 -- Hit by power cuts and administrative hitches, the Darfur peace talks in the Nigerian capital Abuja made slow progress on Thursday, a spokesman for the African Union (AU) which is sponsoring the negotiations said.
  • SUDAN/DARFUR VOA 26 Aug 2004 -- Officials from the United Nations and the Sudanese government are in the war-torn Darfur region of western Sudan to see whether the government is following through on its commitments to restore peace to the area. An international human rights group says the government still has a long way to go to live up to its promises.
  • THAILAND / VIOLENCE VOA 26 Aug 2004 -- Two bombs have exploded in Thailand's troubled south - killing one person and injuring two-dozen. The blasts come a day before Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra visits the area.
  • SUDAN: Some progress on Darfur, but more needs to be done IRIN 26 Aug 2004 -- The Sudanese government has made some positive efforts to comply with United Nations Security Council demands on Darfur, but the implementation of steps to improve the situation in the troubled region, especially security for internally displaced persons (IDPs), is still "mixed", the UN said.
  • GREAT LAKES: DRC, Rwanda and Uganda agree on armed groups' disarmament IRIN 26 Aug 2004 -- The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda and Uganda have agreed to disarm groups operating in their territories within a year as a way to pacify the region and attend to an issue that has been source of disagreements between the three countries.
  • UGANDA: ICC team arrives to prepare LRA probe IRIN 26 Aug 2004 -- An advance team from the International Criminal Court (ICC) has arrived in Uganda to prepare the investigation of crimes committed in the war between government troops and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in the north, UN officials said.
  • DRC: Security Council debates new mandate for UN peacekeeping mission IRIN 26 Aug 2004 -- The UN Security council began discussions on Wednesday on a new mandate for the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, known by its French acronym, MONUC, according to a spokeswoman for the mission, Patricia Tome.

News Reports

  • SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 26 Aug 2004 -- Britain to send warplanes to Afghanistan U.S. to send more troops to reinforce NATO peacekeepers in Afghanistan / Pakistan challenges NATO-led force in Afghanistan to match its 75,000 troops on border trying to stop terrorist attacks / Karzai's challengers turn screw before Afghan vote / UN envoy wants Kosovo final status talks advanced / Top U.N. administrator visits devastated Serb village in Kosovo / Athens Olympics bill now seen at near 10 billion euros
  • SHAPE News Summary & Analysis SHAPE 26 Aug 2004 -- NATO training security forces in Iraq / ISAF spokesman outlines pre-election expansion plans for the force / Germany says it has overhauled Kosovo troop rules



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