Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 11 Mar 2005 [PDF]

• Death Toll from Iraq Suicide Bombing Rises to 50 VOA News 11 Mar 2005 -- The U.S. military says the death toll from Thursday's suicide bomb attack on a Shi'ite funeral in the northern city of Mosul has risen to 50.
• 5th Civil Affairs Group begins tour of duty MNF-I/MNC-I 11 Mar 2005 -- The 5th Civil Affairs Group officially started its tour of duty in Iraq when the commanding officer and sergeant major unfurled the unit's colors at a transfer of authority ceremony with the 4th CAG March 10.
• MWCS-28 maintains smooth communications in Al Asad USMC News 11 Mar 2005 -- The Merriam-Webster Online dictionary defines the word Spartan as "a person of great courage and self-discipline." The Marines of Marine Wing Communications Squadron 28 couldn't have picked a better nickname.

• RFE/RL Afghanistan Report, Vol 4, Number 9 11 Mar 2005 -- AFGHAN DEMONSTRATIONS TEST WARLORDS-TURNED-ADMINISTRATORS / RFE/RL INTERVIEWS FORMER TALIBAN INVOLVED IN RECONCILIATION TALKS / U.S. COMMANDER EXPECTS WEAKER TALIBAN SPRING OFFENSIVE / FORMER TALIBAN MINISTER INVOLVED IN AFGHAN RECONCILIATION EFFORTS, WHILE COMMENTARY REJECTS SUCH EFFORTS / AFGHAN GOVERNOR BLAMES FOREIGNERS FOR UNREST / NORTHERN AFGHAN GOVERNOR CALLS DEMONSTRATORS 'STUPID.' / EDITORIAL CRITICIZES INCLUSION OF WARLORDS IN AFGHAN GOVERNMENT / BRITISH CITIZEN WORKING FOR AFGHAN GOVERNMENT KILLED IN KABUL / FIRST-EVER FEMALE GOVERNOR APPOINTED FOR AFGHAN PROVINCE / AFGHAN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS LIKELY IN SEPTEMBER / AFGHAN MINISTER URGES AUDIOVISUAL MEDIA TO OBSERVE ISLAMIC PRINCIPLES / AFGHAN OFFICIAL SACKED FOR ALLEGED ADMINISTRATIVE CORRUPTION / AFGHAN PRESIDENT SAYS GAS PIPELINE WOULD BENEFIT REGION / AFGHAN DIPLOMAT SAYS BIN LADEN NOT IN AFGHANISTAN / LARGE CACHE OF ARMS DISCOVERED NORTH OF KABUL / THIS WEEK IN AFGHANISTAN'S HISTORY

Defense Policy / Programs

• DoD Selects Defense Equipment for Testing 11 Mar 2005 -- The Department of Defense has selected 15 new-start projects to receive fiscal 2005 funding under the Defense Acquisition Challenge (DAC) program.
• New Programs, Incentives Focused on Boosting Recruiting Efforts AFPS 11 Mar 2005 -- The Army is using a variety of programs and incentives to help attract more young men and women into its ranks, according to Curtis Gilroy, DoD's director of accession policy.
• Commanders: Shifting Threats Require New Approaches AFPS 11 Mar 2005 -- As the nature of the threats against the United States changes, so must defense strategies. That means a new posture for the U.S. European Command, the chief of that organization said.
• Accessions Chief: No Crisis in State of Military Recruiting AFPS 11 Mar 2005 -- Despite headlines to the contrary, there's no crisis in the military's recruiting efforts, the Pentagon's director of accession policy told American Forces Press Service.
• War on Terrorism is Transforming America's Military AFPS 11 Mar 2005 -- The war against terrorism has already greatly transformed the U.S. military, the Pentagon's top civilian and military leaders said here March 10, adding that the force is now better able to protect the country.
• Bulgaria Says Thousands of US Troops Will Station in Balkan Nation VOA News 11 Mar 2005 -- The Bulgarian Ministry of Defense said Friday it is confident that thousands of United States forces will be deployed as early as this year in Bulgaria and neighboring Romania to give logistic support for American-led missions in Iraq and around the world.
• Teets tells Congress lasers-based communications coming AFPN 11 Mar 2005 -- The military's senior adviser on space testified before Congress on March 8.
• Air Force officials project budget shortfall AFPN 11 Mar 2005 -- Supporting the war on terrorism and ongoing operations around the world have created a projected budget shortfall forcing the Air Force to tighten its belt.
• NMCB 1 Deploys Seabees to Morocco Navy NewsStand 11 Mar 2005 -- Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 1, homeported in Gulfport, Miss., deployed Seabees from its forward-deployed site in Rota, Spain, to Northern Africa in March to perform humanitarian missions.
• VF-32 Prepares Tomcats for Retirement Navy NewsStand 11 Mar 2005 -- Fighter Squadron (VF) 32 aviation structural mechanics performed their last 280-day inspection on their freshly painted F-14 Tomcat "show bird" by replacing and testing their ejection seats Feb. 27-28.
• Silver Eagles land in Jebel Ali USMC News 11 Mar 2005 -- After spending more than a month at sea engaging in constant operations supporting the war on terror, USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) hit port in Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates Feb. 17, through Feb. 20.
• USS Saipan Strike Group Ships Complete Humanitarian Assistance Exercise, Caribbean Deployment Navy NewsStand 11 Mar 2005 -- More than 1,000 USS Saipan (LHA 2) Sailors returned to Norfolk March 9 after deploying to the Caribbean over the last several weeks.
• MAWTS-1 "freezes" USMC News 11 Mar 2005 -- Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron-1 held its third and final "freeze" week here in preparation for the Weapons and Tactics Instructor course.
• Marines train alongside soldiers at Robin Sage exercise USMC News 11 Mar 2005 -- Twenty-three Marines from across the Depot, alongside more than 350 members of the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division and various reserve and National Guard units from across the country, recently participated in the fourth phase of training for Special Forces soldiers called Robin Sage in a 14-county area in central North Carolina.
• 13th MEU MSPF hits terrorist village in battle sim USMC News 11 Mar 2005 -- It was a dark and dreary night. Lying amidst the grassy meadows of east Miramar, a small group of terrorists carried about their business making bombs and planning attacks against coalition forces in the shantytown village representing anywhere in the Global War on Terrorism.

• Georgia: Russia Calls Parliamentary Resolution On Bases 'Counterproductive' VOA 11 Mar 2005 -- The Russian Defense Ministry has criticized as "counterproductive" a unanimous vote by the Georgian parliament pressuring Moscow to close two Russian military bases in Georgia. The nonbinding resolution, passed yesterday, demands that Russia agree a timetable by 15 May for vacating the bases and withdrawing some 4,000 troops. Should Russia fail to do that, the Georgian lawmakers have vowed to outlaw any Russian military presence in their country from 1 January 2006. The dispute is at the heart of ongoing bilateral negotiations. But the Georgian side appears convinced that the Kremlin's heart is not really in those talks.
• RUSSIA WILL NOT ACCEPT ULTIMATUMS RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- Mikhail Margelov, chairman of the International Committee of the Federation Council (the upper house of the Russian Parliament), regrets the decision taken by the Georgian Parliament the day before on the withdrawal of two Russian bases from Georgia.
• MOSCOW WILL CONTINUE DIALOGUE WITH GEORGIA ON MILITARY BASES RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed Russia's readiness to continue negotiations with Georgia on the issue of the presence of Russian military bases on the Georgian territory.
• RUSSIAN-GEORGIAN BORDER DOES NOT REQUIRE INTERNATIONAL CONTROL RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- The situation on the Russian-Georgian border does not require international control. This was disclosed in Vienna March 10 by Alexei Borodavkin, Russia's permanent representative at the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe), reports the Russian Foreign Ministry's official web site.
• MOSCOW READY TO PULL OUT OF GEORGIA WITHIN THREE YEARS RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- Moscow is ready to pull its forces out of Georgia within three to four years, Colonel General Anatoly Mazurkevich, Chief of the Russian Defense Ministry's International Military Cooperation Directorate, said yesterday, Vedomosti informs its readers.
• Russia Says Georgian Vote 'Counterproductive' RFE/RL 11 Mar 2005 -- Russia's Defense Ministry has criticized as "counterproductive" a unanimous vote by the Georgian parliament urging the Georgian government to set a deadline of next January for Moscow to close two Russian military bases in Georgia.
• Russia Plays Down Base Dispute With Georgia RFE/RL 11 Mar 2005 -- Russia is playing down a dispute with Georgia over two Russian military bases in Georgia.

• The Standing NATO Response Force Mine Counter Measures Group 2 (SNMCMG2) will transit the Suez Canal NATO/JFC Naples 11 Mar 2005 -- The Standing NATO Response Force Mine Counter Measures Group 2 (SNMCMG2) will transit the Suez Canal on 12 March 2005 en route to the Red Sea where the Force will visit ports in the Red Sea.

• Six killed in Pak navy oil tanker blaze, above 90 injured IRNA 11 Mar 2005 -- At least six officers and sailors of the Pakistan Navy were killed and over 90 injured in a fire aboard a navy ship at a dockyard in the port city of Karachi on Thursday.

• White House Daily Briefing, March 11 Washington File 11 Mar 2005 -- White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan briefed the press March 11 Aboard Air Force One en route to Shreveport, Louisiana
• State Department Briefing, March 11 Washington File 11 Mar 2005 -- Madrid bombing anniversary, Iran, North Korea/China, Turkey/Cyprus, Sudan, Israel/Palestinian, Ukraine, Guantanamo/detainees, Syria/Lebanon, Macedonia/elections

Defense Industry

• RUSSIA, VENEZUELA INK FIRST CHOPPER-SALE CONTRACT RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- Venezuela has signed the first contract for the purchase of Russian-made military helicopters. This was disclosed to RIA Novosti over the phone at Russia's embassy in Caracas.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 11 Mar 2005
• Chechnya: Succession Could Signal Shift Toward Battle-Hardened Youth RFE/RL 11 Mar 2005 -- Chechen rebel leaders announced on 10 March that the duties of their president are being passed to the young head of a religious court who was hand-picked by his predecessor. While relatively little is known about Abdul-Kharim Saidulaev, independent observers suggest his elevation marks a shift among Chechen leaders toward younger, battle-hardened men infused with strong religious faith. The change could spell trouble for those seeking a negotiated peace to this long-running conflict in southern Russia.
• FINAL IDENTIFICATION OF MASKHADOV'S BODY TO BE CONDUCTED IN MOSCOW RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- The body of the Chechen terrorist leader Aslan Maskhadov, killed in Chechnya on Tuesday, was transported to Moscow, an informed source in the Russian security-related structures told RIA Novosti.
• THERE IS NOBODY TO NEGOTIATE WITH IN CHECHNYA RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- Aslan Maskhadov's death has helped generate a myth about missed opportunities. His supporters believe the demise of the "moderate" Maskhadov means the end of the negotiation process between Moscow and the separatists in Chechnya.
• MASKHADOV IS DEAD. WHAT IS NEXT? RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- In 1993, Alexander Korzhakov, the chief of the president's security service, reported to Boris Yeltsin that the rebellious parliament had been put down and placed the pipe of the hated Chechen speaker, Ruslan Khabulatov, on his table. Yeltsin angrily flung the pipe at the wall, the dismissed bodyguard later said.
• A RADICAL WAHHABI TAKES MASKHADOV'S PLACE RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- Warlord Abdul Saidulayev, the chairman of the Ichkerian Shariat court, has become the new separatist leader after the death of Aslan Maskhadov, ex-president of the self-proclaimed Republic of Ichkeria, Chechen separatists' sites reported. Nezavisimaya Gazeta and Kommersant discuss the succession.
• GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER: DOMESTIC SECURITY COMES FIRST RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- Chairwoman of the Georgian Parliament Nino Burdzhanadze has confirmed that Georgian authorities will not allow any foreign military bases to operate on Georgian territory.
• INVESTIGATION INTO BESLAN CONTINUES RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- Documents found after the killing of Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov and Abu-Dzeit will be given to the parliamentary commission for further investigation into the terrorist siege of a Beslan school last September.
• VERSION OF CRASH OF MI-8 HELICOPTER IN CHECHNYA IS VIOLATION OF FLIGHT RULES RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- criminal case was launched on the fact of the crash of a Mi-8 helicopter in Chechnya under Article 351 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "violation of the rules of flights and preparation for them," RIA Novosti was told in the military Prosecutor's Office of the Joint Group of Forces.
• HELICOPTER CRASH: VERSION RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- A Mi-8 helicopter crashed in Chechnya yesterday, killing 15 people. One more person was injured as a result. Talking to RIA Novosti, a well-informed investigation-group source noted that technical problems were perceived as the main cause of the crash.
  
  
• COTE D IVOIRE: Rebels warn of imminent government attack IRIN 11 Mar 2005 -- Rebel forces in northern Cote d'Ivoire have accused government troops of preparing an imminent assault following last week's attack by loyalist militias on rebel positions.
• Security Council warns parties in Côte d'Ivoire against using force to resolve problems UN News Centre 11 Mar 2005 -- Security Council members today called on the parties in Côte d'Ivoire to respect their obligations under the country's peace agreement, strongly warning them against resorting to force to resolve their problems.
• IVORY COAST/SECURITY VOA 11 Mar 2005 -- Rebels in the north of Ivory Coast are bracing for what they say is an imminent attack by forces loyal to President Laurent Gbagbo. The country, divided by civil war since 2002, is tense after a recent flare up in fighting.
• IVORY COAST/SECURITY VOA 11 Mar 2005 -- Rebels in the north of Ivory Coast are bracing for what they say is an imminent attack by forces loyal to President Laurent Gbagbo. The country, divided by civil war since 2002, is tense after a recent flare up in fighting.
  
  
• Sudanese Government, Darfur rebels failed to advance peace process last month - UN report UN News Centre 11 Mar 2005 -- The Sudanese Government and the rebel groups in the country's troubled Darfur region made no serious attempt over the past month to find a political solution to their conflict, although they engaged in fewer violent clashes, according to the latest report on the situation by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
• SUDAN: Militia movements reportedly fuelling tension in the east IRIN 11 Mar 2005 -- Recent movements of armed militias around the eastern Sudanese town of Akobo in Jonglei State have led to increased tension in the area, humanitarian sources told IRIN.
  
  
• UN operation in eastern DR of Congo aimed at bringing stability to region UN News Centre 11 Mar 2005 -- United Nations peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) carried out a cordon and search operation today in the Ituri district, located in the country's northeast and scene of recent clashes between militias who have also been attacking civilians.

News Reports

• US-Turkish Relations at New Low VOA News 11 Mar 2005 -- U.S.-Turkish relations have reached a new low, illustrated by a best-selling Turkish novel depicting war between the two countries. The tensions arise in large part from the U.S. occupation of Iraq and its consequences.

• NEPAL / POLITICAL DETAINEES VOA 11 Mar 2005 -- Nepal's royalist government has freed the former prime minister and 18 other political detainees nearly six weeks after King Gyanendra took direct power. The move comes amid mounting international pressure to restore civil liberties in the country.

• VIETNAM / AGENT ORANGE VOA 11 Mar 2005 -- Vietnamese claiming to be victims of Agent Orange are outraged a U.S. court has dismissed their lawsuit against the chemical's manufacturers for crimes against humanity. The U.S. military in the Vietnam War sprayed the defoliant, which Vietnamese say has caused illnesses ranging from cancer to birth defects. A federal judge in New York Thursday decided the suit had no basis in law, and the plaintiffs had failed to prove a clear link between Agent Orange and their illnesses.

• LEBANON: 'TRAPPED BETWEEN SYRIA AND THE U.S.' US Dept. of State IIP, Foreign Media Reaction 11 Mar 2005
• UN envoy on Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon in Jordan for talks on mission UN News Centre 11 Mar 2005 -- The United Nations envoy seeking the withdrawal of some 14,000 Syrian troops from Lebanon today discussed full implementation of his mission with Jordanian Foreign Minister Hani al-Mulki as he prepared for his second series of talks in a month with Lebanese and Syrian leaders.
• Middle East: Syria's Leverage In Lebanon Tied To Elections RFE/RL 11 Mar 2005 -- Syria was arguably the most powerful Arab nation in the Middle East in the 1970s and '80s, but its influence appears to be on the decline. Damascus has agreed to withdraw its 14,000 troops from neighboring Lebanon, as demanded by the United Nations Security Council, as well as by an increasingly vocal opposition. But a massive pro-Syrian Lebanese rally on 8 March urged the troops stay. Has Syria's standing in Lebanon won a reprieve?
  
  
• PRESS CONFERENCE ON COMMISSION FOR AFRICA REPORT United Nations 11 Mar 2005
• LOCKHEED MARTIN ATLAS V VEHICLE LIFTS MASSIVE SATELLITE FOR INMARSA Lockheed Martin 11 Mar 2005 -- An Atlas V launch vehicle carried its largest payload to date into orbit tonight, the Inmarsat 4-F1 satellite that weighs nearly 6 metric tons (5,959 kgs/13,138 pounds). This also marked the third launch of the year for International Launch Services (ILS).