Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• DoD Identifies Marine Casualty

• Seabees Expand Roadway MNF-I/MNC-I 18 Dec 2004 -- Navy Seabees attached to the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit in Najaf completed their part in a major road expansion project in Kufa today. The work was done at the request of Najaf Province's governor, Adnan al-Zurufi, as part of a larger government road expansion project.
• 1st Infantry Division Soldiers Detain Five Near Bayji MNF-I/MNC-I 18 Dec 2004 -- 1st Infantry Division Soldiers captured five individuals including two suspected weapons dealers in raids near Bayji at about 1:47 p.m., on December 17.
• 1st Infantry Division Soldiers Detain Four in Raid Near Ad Dwar MNF-I/MNC-I 18 Dec 2004 -- 1st Infantry Division Soldiers captured four individuals including two wanted anti-Iraqi force members in a raid near Ad Dwar at about 1:00 a.m., on December 18.
• 2nd MOI Battalion Captures Wanted Individual in Raid Near Samarra MNF-I/MNC-I 18 Dec 2004 -- Soldiers from the 2nd Iraqi Ministry of the Interior Commando Battalion detained three individuals during a raid in western Samarra at about 12:12 a.m., December 18.
• Iraqi Security Forces Continue to Foil Insurgent Attacks, School Bus Attacked by Insurgents MNF-IMNC-I 18 Dec 2004 -- Iraqi Security Forces defeated two separate attacks in Mosul by anti-Iraqi insurgents as they attempted to ambush an Iraqi National Guard patrol and seize a police station in northern Iraq.

• Afghanistan Counternarcotics Operation Successful AFPS 18 Dec 2004 -- Officials commended the success of a Dec. 15 interdiction operation in Nangarhar province during a Combined Forces Command Afghanistan news conference today in the Afghan capital city of Kabul.

Defense Policy / Programs

Defense Industry

• Helios IIA in orbit: Alcatel responsible for the main part of new military observation satellite Thales 18 Dec 2004 -- The Helios IIA satellite was launched by an Ariane 5 on December 18, 2004 from the Guyana Space Center, in Kourou, French Guyana. The Helios II program is a second-generation military observation system developed by France in conjunction with Spain and Belgium, deploying two satellites in Sun-synchronous orbit.

Other Conflicts

• DARFUR / TALKS VOA 18 Dec 2004 -- African Union mediators say Darfur's warring sides have failed to meet a 24-hour ceasefire ultimatum, putting the latest round of peace talks in Nigeria in jeopardy.
• Analysis: Kosova -- The Fire Next Time RFE/RL 18 Dec 2004 -- The ethnic violence that shook Kosova on 17-18 March might well prove a harbinger of worse things to come. At the core of the problem is the demand by the ethnic Albanian majority for independence based on the principles of self-determination and majority rule.

News Reports

• Pinochet Hospitalized After Suffering a Stroke VOA News 18 Dec 2004 -- Former Chilean military ruler Augusto Pinochet has been hospitalized after suffering a stroke.
• Pinochet Stroke May Prevent Trial VOA News 18 Dec 2004 -- Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet's suffered a stroke Saturday, ahead of a court ruling expected on Monday whether he should be tried in a human rights case.