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Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 07 Sep 2004 [PDF]
• DoD Identifies Marine Casualties
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Navy Casualty
• SOLDIER KILLED IN ATTACK IN EASTERN BAGHDAD
• ONE SOLDIER KILLED IN ACTION BY SMALL ARMS ATTACK IN BAGHDAD
• Convoy attack kills one
• Task Force Baghdad Soldier Killed in Attack
• Soldier Killed in IED Attack
• Improvised explosive device attack kills one
• Task Force Baghdad Soldier Killed in Attack

• Transcript: Defense Department Briefing with Secretary Rumsfeld 07 Sep 2004 -- Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld and Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Richard Myers
• IRAQ WRAP VOA 07 Sep 2004 -- Two female Italian aid workers have been kidnapped in the Iraqi capital. VOA's Michael Bowman reports from Washington, the abductions came amid continued fighting around the Iraqi city of Fallujah as well as in Baghdad.
• Iraq: Intense Fighting Reported in Al-Sadr City As Cease-Fire Talks Hit Stumbling Blocks RFE/RL 08 Sep 2004 -- At least 15 people have been killed and scores wounded in fighting between U.S. and militant forces in recent fighting in Baghdad's impoverished Al-Sadr City neighborhood. The fighting between U.S. troops and militiamen loyal to Shi'a cleric Muqtada al-Sadr was reportedly the most intense in the district since April. A U.S. military spokesman said the fighting started when militants attacked U.S. forces conducting routine patrols. But al-Sadr's forces blame intrusive incursions by U.S. soldiers, as well as what they say are attempts to arrest the firebrand cleric.
• IRAQ VIOLENCE VOA 07 Sep 2004 -- U.S. forces have been battling insurgents in Sadr City, a Baghdad slum where hostilities have frequently erupted. At least 34 people have been killed. Meanwhile there has been little new information about the fate of two French hostages held captive for more than two weeks.
• FIGHTING CONTINUES IN EASTERN BAGHDAD CENTCOM 07 Sep 2004 -- Multiple engagements between Multi-National Forces and Iraqi insurgents took place today in the Al Thawra district of Eastern Baghdad.
• Convoy Multi-National Forces detain one, collect weapons MNF-I/MNC-I 07 Sep 2004 -- Multi-National Forces from the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) detained one person suspected of anti-Iraqi activities and discovered a variety of weapons and munitions Monday in northern Iraq.
• Baghdad Governor Survives Assassination Attempt RFE/RL 07 Sep 2004 -- Iraq's Interior Ministry says the governor of Baghdad has survived an assassination attempt.
• Many Dead From Baghdad Clashes RFE/RL 07 Sep 2004 -- Iraqi health officials say at least 15 people have been killed and scores wounded during fighting between U.S. troops and Iraqi militant forces in the past 24 hours in Baghdad's Al-Sadr City district.

• Coalition helps build Afghanistan's 'West Point' Army News 07 Sep 2004 -- Teams of officers from the United States are working closely with their Afghan counterparts to establish the National Military Academy of Afghanistan, modeled after West Point.
• Afghanistan Prepares Rehearsal For Oct. 9 National Election AFPS 07 Sep 2004 -- The Afghan government is preparing to conduct a dress rehearsal for the country's Oct. 9 presidential election.
• Afghanistan's first free presidential election campaign kicks off UN News Centre 07 Sep 2004 -- The campaign for Afghanistan's first open presidential election in its history formally began today, with 18 candidates given the next 30 days to convince voters they should be chosen for the post, the joint United Nations-Afghan body handling the polling announced.
• Afghanistan: Security, Poverty, Reconstruction Emerge As Key Issues As Election Campaigns Begin RFE/RL 07 Sep 2004 -- Campaigning in Afghanistan's presidential election officially began today. Afghan Transitional Administration Chairman Hamid Karzai and his 17 opponents have 30 days to try to win support from more than 10 million registered voters. The ballot is the final step of the post-Taliban democratic reforms known as the Bonn Process. But analysts warn that disputes over the outcome could set back the reform process -- particularly if they lead to fresh violence in the country.
• AFGHANISTAN/CAMPAIGN VOA 07 Sep 2004 -- In Afghanistan, campaigning for next month's landmark presidential elections has officially begun (Tuesday).
• U.S. Helped Afghanistan Introduce New Currency in Post-Taliban Era Washington File 07 Sep 2004 -- The United States helped Afghanistan introduce a single national currency following the toppling of the Taliban regime as part of the U.S. effort to rebuild the Central Asian country, said U.S. Treasury Under Secretary for International Affairs John Taylor September 7.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Rumsfeld says Civilized Nations Must Keep on Offensive Washington File 07 Sep 2004 -- The number of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq is reaching 1,000, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says, but groups opposing U.S. and Iraqi government forces have lost 1,500 to 2,500 in the past month.
• Cruiser Destroyer Group 8 Takes Charge of Enterprise CSG Navy NewsStand 07 Sep 2004 -- Commander, Cruiser Destroyer Group (COMCRUDESGRU) 8 took command of USS Enterprise (CVN 65) Carrier Strike Group (CSG) Sept. 1, assuming responsibility from COMCRUDESGRU 12.
• Pacific Fleet's Battle "E" Carrier Back At Sea Navy NewsStand 07 Sep 2004 -- After six months of hard work between Sailors from USS Nimitz (CVN 68) and shipyard contractors, the largest pierside Planned Incremental Availability (PIA) on the West Coast is complete.
• Kitty Hawk Completes Summer Pulse, Returns Home Navy NewsStand 07 Sep 2004 -- USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63), with elements of the Kitty Hawk Strike Group, returned to her forward-deployed operating port of Yokosuka, Japan, Sept. 7, after 48 days underway in support of Summer Pulse '04, and routine readiness training.
• Aircrew Training Ensures U.S. Air Superiority AFPS 07 Sep 2004 -- Superb people and state-of-the- art technology help make the U.S. Air Force the most formidable air power in the world. But the general who oversees flying training for more than 19,000 airmen a year says the biggest single factor that makes America's military stand out from other countries' is its emphasis on training.

• State Department Noon Briefing, September 7 Washington File 07 Sep 2004 -- Powell/HUD Secretary meeting, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Afghanistan/Pakistan, Iraq, Israel/Palestinians, Middle East, South Korea
• White House Daily Briefing, September 7 Washington File 07 Sep 2004 -- Bush honors, mourns U.S. troop deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan

Defense Industry

• Boeing "ACES" Army Award for Future Combat Systems Innovation Boeing 07 Sep 2004 -- The United States Army today cited Boeing [ NYSE:BA] and its partners for the "major, positive impact" the Advanced Collaborative Environment (ACE) has had on the Future Combat Systems (FCS) program that is the core of Army transformation efforts.
• Boeing and Australia's CEA Announce Missile Defense Partnership Boeing 07 Sep 2004 -- Boeing [NYSE:BA] and CEA Technologies of Australia have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a cooperative partnership in the area of global missile defense.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 07 Sep 2004
• BURUNDI: Start to demobilisation postponed IRIN 07 Sep 2004 -- The demobilisation of army troops and ex-rebels scheduled for 1 September has been postponed because the National Commission for Demobilisation has not yet received the lists of combatants to be discharged, a commission official told IRIN on Tuesday.
• Annan calls for international support to expand African force in Darfur, Sudan UN News Centre 07 Sep 2004 -- The Security Council could take action on the crisis engulfing the Darfur region of Sudan within the next week, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today, stressing that "more can and should be done" to improve security in the war-torn region and urging international support for the African monitors deployed there.
• ANNAN / SUDAN VOA 07 Sep 2004 -- U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan is urging the Security Council to act quickly to protect civilians in Sudan's troubled Darfur region. The United States is preparing to introduce a Council resolution on Darfur this week, but sanctions against the Khartoum government are unlikely.
• BRITAIN/RUSSIA TERROR VOA 07 Sep 2004 -- Prime Minister Tony Blair has publicly expressed his sympathy for those who have lost loved ones in the Beslan school siege, in Russia. In his monthly news conference, Mr. Blair also underlined that Britain stands in solidarity with Russia in the fight against terrorism.
• Russia: Putin Rejects Open Inquiry Into Beslan Tragedy As Critical Voices Mount RFE/RL 07 Sep 2004 -- Vladimir Putin, in an interview yesterday with foreign journalists, said he has refused to order a public inquiry into the Beslan hostage-taking crisis and its deadly aftermath. The Russian president said a private investigation will suffice. But a growing number of voices in Russia are criticizing the authorities' actions during the Beslan crisis.
• Russia: On Beslan, Putin Looks Beyond Chechnya, Sees International Terror RFE/RL 07 Sep 2004 -- Russia has been fighting a brutal war in Chechnya the past five years. Over the same period, Chechen militants have carried out multiple acts of terrorism on Russian soil. Yet to hear Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent days, the Russia-Chechnya conflict seemingly had little to do with the school hostage crisis in Beslan. In spite of claims by the hostage takers they were acting for an independent Chechnya, Putin -- instead -- pinned the blame on "international terrorists."
• SOMALIA / PEACE TALKS VOA 07 Sep 2004 -- Officials associated with the long-running Somali peace talks are monitoring reports that a factional leader who earlier walked away from the talks is now preparing to launch a major offensive against the Somali port city of Kismayo.
• TURKEY / KURDS / E.U. VOA 07 Sep 2004 -- A top European Union official says Turkey needs to do more for its Kurdish minority. The E.U. Commissioner for Enlargement, Guenter Verheugen, was speaking during a tour of Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast region.
• UNHCR/BURUNDI VOA 07 Sep 2004 -- The U.N. Refugee Agency says large numbers of Congolese refugees have left Burundi and returned to the Democratic Republic of Congo in the past few days.
• ISRAEL / GAZA RAID VOA 07 Sep 2004 -- Israeli attack helicopters, warplanes and tanks hit a training camp in Gaza, used by the Islamic militant group Hamas. At least 14 militants were killed and around 30 people were injured.
• CONGO/MASSACRE VOA 07 Sep 2004 -- Human Rights Watch, an international rights watchdog, has concluded that there is little evidence that Congo-based gunmen took part in last month's massacre of 160 Congolese Tutsis in Burundi. The findings challenge reports by Rwanda, Burundi, and some at the United Nations that Congolese militia or Rwandan Hutu extremists were responsible.
• NIGERIA / SUDAN TALKS VOA 07 Sep 2004 -- Reports from the Nigerian capital Abuja, where Sudan peace talks have entered a third week, say the rebel factions and the Sudanese government are deadlocked on the issue of security. But the spokesman for the Sudanese delegation says progress will be made.

News Reports

• LEBANON / RESIGNATIONS VOA 07 Sep 2004 -- Four ministers resigned from the Lebanese government late Monday to protest the Syria-backed extension of President Emile Lahoud's term. The resignations have caused speculation that a new government will be formed soon.
• ANWAR/APPEAL CASE VOA 07 Sep 2004 -- Malaysia's highest court will review former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's conviction for graft, less than a week after he was unexpectedly released from prison.
• EADS Astrium awarded Fleet Satellite Control Center contract for Arabsat-4A, Arabsat-4B, Arabsat-2B and Arabsat-3A EADS 07 Sep 2004 -- ARABSAT, the communication satellite operator based in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has awarded EADS Astrium a contract for a Satellite Control Center (SCC) to control Arabsat-4A and Arabsat-4B, Arabsat 2B and Arabsat 3A satellites.
• Northrop Grumman, NASA Complete Testing of Prototype Composite Cryogenic Fuel Tank Northrop Grumman 07 Sep 2004 -- Engineers from Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., have proven that a new type of cryogenic fuel tank made from composite materials has the structural integrity to withstand the mechanical and thermal stresses associated with repeated fueling and simulated launch cycles.