Further Reading

News

Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 01 Dec 2004 [PDF]
• DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualties
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualties

• Transcript: Media Roundtable on Troop Extensions 01 Dec 2004 -- Maj. Gen. Fred D. Robinson, Director of Operations, Readiness and Mobilization, Army G3. Also participating was Deputy Director for Regional Operations, Joint Staff Operations Directorate, Brig. Gen. David Rodriguez, U.S. Army, and Director, Operations Division, USMC, Brig. Gen. Robert B. Neller
• Department of Defense Announces Troop Extensions for Iraq 01 Dec 2004 -- Today the Secretary of Defense approved a request by the Commander of Multi-National Forces-Iraq (MNF(I)) to extend two Army brigades and a Marine Expeditionary Unit operating in Iraq. The Secretary also approved the Commander's request for two additional infantry battalions to deploy to Iraq.
• U.S. to Increase Troops for Iraq Election Security Washington File 01 Dec 2004 -- The Pentagon announced December 1 that it will increase the number of U.S. troops in Iraq from 138,000 to about 150,000 to provide security for the elections scheduled to be held there January 30, 2005.
• DoD to Extend Troops, Deploy Two Units to Iraq AFPS 01 Dec 2004 -- The Defense Department will increase the number of troops in Iraq by 12,000, Joint Staff officials said at a Pentagon news conference today.
• Coalition Plans to Keep Insurgents on Run, Commander Says AFPS 01 Dec 2004 -- Successful military operations in Fallujah, Iraq, have put insurgents and foreign fighters on the run, and the military commander of coalition forces in Iraq said today the city is "no longer held hostage to terror."
• Sappers Become Improvised Explosive Device Hunters in Iraq AFPS 01 Dec 2004 -- When soldiers conduct convoys in Iraq, they try to watch out for and stay far away from improvised explosive devices.
• Multi-National Forces Continue Operations in Northern Iraq, Detain 17 MNF-I/MNC-I 01 Dec 2004 -- Multi-National Forces from 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) detained 17 people suspected of anti-Iraqi activities during operations Nov. 30 in northern Iraq.
• Iraqi, Marine Forces Add to Gains in Northern Babil MNF-I/MNC-I 01 Dec 2004 -- Iraqi Security Forces and U.S. Marines rounded up 15 suspected militants south of Baghdad on Dec. 1 as a week-old offensive aimed at ridding northern Babil province of insurgents entered its eighth day.
• MNF-Iraq Announces Temporary U.S. Force Increase MNF-I/MNC-I 01 Dec 2004 -- The Department of Defense has approved a request from Gen. George Casey, the senior military commander in Iraq, to temporarily increase the U.S. military force posture in Iraq. This decision was made in coordination with the Interim Iraqi Government.
• Weapons cache uncovered in Baghdad mosque Army News 01 Dec 2004 -- Iraqi National Guard soldiers searched a mosque in Baghdad's Al Rashid district Nov. 30 after finding mortar rounds in the parking lot next to the facility.
• `Thunderstruck' destroys insurgency routes to Baghdad Army News 01 Dec 2004 -- Nearly every night since the toppling of the Hussein regime last year, insurgents have been using roads in southern Baghdad's farming lands to launch attacks.
• Two brigades extended in Iraq for elections Army News 01 Dec 2004 -- Two Army brigades and a Marine expeditionary unit have been extended in Iraq through the upcoming elections, Pentagon officials announced Dec. 1.
• Ships Load 3rd ID Cargo in Savannah Navy NewsStand 01 Dec 2004 -- Two of the U.S. Navy's largest ships loaded Army combat equipment in Savannah, Ga., beginning Nov. 29, in preparation for their trips to the Middle East in support of the global war on terrorism.
• 'Snake pilots' with HMLA-169 focus on Fallujah mission success USMC News 01 Dec 2004 -- Marine AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter gunship pilots inflicted major damage on terrorists in the larger unfolding drama of war-ravaged Fallujah.

• 3 Soldiers, 3 Civilians Killed In Aircraft Accident CENTCOM 01 Dec 2004 -- Three U.S. soldiers and three civilian air crew members were killed in an airplane accident near Bamyan Province, Afghanistan, on Saturday, Nov. 27.

• TF Eagle completes mission in Bosnia Army News 01 Dec 2004 -- Soldiers from Stabilization Force 15, along with commanders both past and present of Task Force Eagle and other multinational task forces throughout SFOR, gathered to bring a close to the final SFOR rotation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• U.S. Peacekeepers Finish Bosnia Mission, Case Colors AFPS 01 Dec 2004 -- The last U.S. peacekeeping troops in Bosnia are gone, as NATO turned over control of operations in the country to the European Union.

Defense Policy / Programs

• TRANSCOM Revamping Strategic Distribution System AFPS 01 Dec 2004 -- In September 2003, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld appointed U.S. Transportation Command as the distribution process owner, or DPO, of the military's strategic distribution system.
• Strike Eagles support 'guys on the ground' AFPN 01 Dec 2004 -- While originally designed as a fighter-bomber, the F-15E Strike Eagle took on a new mission during the past three years. Today, it is almost strictly used for close-air support, giving troops on the ground added air protection and precise target elimination, officials said.
• New Hummer Armor to Hit Streets Soon USMC News 01 Dec 2004 -- With the fielding of the Marine Armor Kit beginning as early as next month, Marines will soon have a universally applicable HMMWV armor solution to help shield them from the effects of improvised explosive devices and other ballistic battlefield dangers.

• Speech by NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer NATO 01 Dec 2004 -- At the 50th Anniversary General Assembly of the Atlantic Treaty Association

• White House Daily Briefing, December 1 Washington File 01 Dec 2004 -- Jordan/King Abdullah's U.S. visit, president's schedule, U.S.-Canada relationship, war on terrorism, Middle East, Iraq, Ukraine
• State Department Noon Briefing, December 1 Washington File 01 Dec 2004 -- U.S. view on UN Advisory Committee's report on preemptive actions, Position on potential Kofi Annan resignation/Oil for Food InvestigationPotential U.S. attendance at ASEAN conference in Burma, Haiti, Ukraine, Rwanda, Israel/Palestinians, Venezuela, Iran, North Korea, China, Serbia, Morocco, Burma

Defense Industry

• Boeing Advanced Display Core Processor Strike Eagle Boeing 01 Dec 2004 -- Boeing's [NYSE: BA] newest version of the Advanced Display Core Processor (ADCP) flew for the first time recently on a U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., enhancing the jet's capability.
• Lockheed Martin Wins $15.6 Million Contract to Integrate Armed Helo Under U.S. Navy MultiMission Helicopter Program Lockheed Martin 01 Dec 2004 -- Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has received a $15.6 million contract to integrate the Armed Helicopter mission kit for the MH-60S helicopter. The award represents Phase III of the U.S. Navy's Armed Helo program.
• Rheinmetall Defence Electronics and Teledyne Brown alliance targets U.S. unmanned aerial vehicles market Rheinmetall Defence 01 Dec 2004 -- Rheinmetall Defence Electronics GmbH and Teledyne Brown Engineering, Inc., Huntsville, Alabama, have formed a groundbreaking alliance to market a family of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to the U.S. government.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL AND SPOKESMAN FOR THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT United Nations 01 Dec 2004
• Amb. Hall Urges More Pressure on Sudan to End Crisis in Darfur Washington File 01 Dec 2004 -- A top U.S. humanitarian official has urged the international community to come together to do "whatever it takes" to pressure the government of Sudan and the rebels to end the ongoing tragedy of rapes, killings and destruction in Darfur.
• COTE D IVOIRE: Row develops over killings by French troops IRIN 01 Dec 2004 -- The French government has admitted that its soldiers in Cote d'Ivoire killed "about 20" people in Abidjan last month when they fired into angry crowds of supporters of President Laurent Gbagbo.
• DRC-RWANDA: MONUC arrests suspected Rwandan soldiers in eastern Congo IRIN 01 Dec 2004 -- The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), known as MONUC, announced on Wednesday that it had arrested about 100 people suspected to be Rwandan troops, amid persistent reports of their incursion into eastern Congo.
• DRC-UGANDA: Kampala deploys troops along border with Congo IRIN 01 Dec 2004 -- The Ugandan army announced on Wednesday it had deployed troops along the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) following reports of renewed activity by Ugandan insurgent groups based in eastern Congo.
• UN-trained police deploy across war-ravaged Liberia UN News Centre 01 Dec 2004 -- Armed with little more than training and United Nations support, a first batch of more than 230 Liberian police officers have deployed across their country as part of its efforts to restore stability, but more funding is needed to sustain this critical work.
• Côte d'Ivoire rebels pledge no repeat of hostile acts against UN relief flights UN News Centre 01 Dec 2004 -- A senior United Nations official has obtained assurances from the rebels in Côte d'Ivoire that there will be no repetition of the kind of incident that forced the world body's emergency feeding agency to suspend flights last week after one of its planes was met with shots fired in the air, threats and hostile slogans.
• UN mission concerned at Rwandan statements on its rebels in DR of Congo UN News Centre 01 Dec 2004 -- The United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) today expressed concern about renewed tensions between the DRC and its eastern neighbour over Rwanda's expressed intentions to attack DRC-based Rwandan rebels even though conditions are ripe for their repatriation.
• Security Council extends UN mission in Burundi six more months UN News Centre 01 Dec 2004 -- With the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Burundi set to expire today, the Security Council renewed the operation until 1 June 2005 and took the occasion to reiterate its strong condemnation of the massacre this summer of 150 Congolese at a refugee camp inside the country.
• ISRAEL/PALESTINIAN POLITICS VOA 01 Dec 2004 -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has lost a crucial budget vote in parliament which could topple his government, while a Palestinian militant leader says he will run for president, possibly upsetting an election set for early January to choose Yasser Arafat's successor.
• POWELL / HAITI VOA 01 Dec 2004 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell held talks in Port-au-Prince Wednesday in a brief visit to Haiti marred by a shooting incident outside the presidential palace as he met officials of the country's interim government. Mr. Powell called for international help for efforts to control Haitian violence.
• SUDAN / LAND LAW VOA 01 Dec 2004 -- Unlike in much of Sudan, people in the western Darfur region have for centuries owned and distributed land according to their own tribal customs. But a little-known land act, if imposed on Darfur, could have serious consequences for Darfurians displaced by the fighting in western Sudan.
• DRC: Thousands reportedly begin to flee troubled east IRIN 01 Dec 2004 -- As the spectre of renewed conflict between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda grows daily, thousands of civilians have begun fleeing some eastern areas of the Congo, humanitarian and religious officials in the area have said.
• GREAT LAKES: Region's peace process on track but obstacles remain, envoy says IRIN 01 Dec 2004 -- In an assessment of the situation in Africa's Great Lakes region, the UN Security Council said on Tuesday it was encouraged by the determination of officials in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to move on to elections.

News Reports

• SERBIA/ATTACK VOA 01 Dec 2004 -- Serbia's police are investigating reports that Serbian President Boris Tadic has survived an assassination attempt. Mr. Tadic's office said a car tried to crash into his vehicle in the Serbian capital, Belgrade.

• UKRAINE / ELECTION O'NITER VOA 01 Dec 2004 -- International mediators have managed to get Ukraine's political rivals back to the negotiating table, after a newly formed working group broke up earlier in the week. Ukraine's parliament and Supreme Court also held sessions Wednesday, but made little progress in finding a way out of the two-week-old electoral deadlock.
• Yushchenko Would Agree To Repeat Run-Off Election RFE/RL 01 Dec 2004 -- Opposition Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko said today he would agree to a repeat of the November 21 election but rejected a proposal for an entirely new election.
• UKRAINE / CRISIS VOA 01 Dec 2004 -- Ukraine's parliament has passed a vote of no-confidence in the government of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, who is locked in a bitter struggle for the presidency of the country with opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko. The move comes as foreign mediators return to Ukraine for a fresh round of talks with the two rivals in the ongoing election dispute.
• Ukrainian Legislature Votes 'No Confidence' In Government RFE/RL 01 Dec 2004 -- The Ukrainian parliament passed a motion of no confidence today in the government of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych that was put forward by the opposition, which is bitterly contesting the official results of the recent presidential vote through street demonstrations and legal challenges.