Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 17 Mar 2005 [PDF]
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty

• TF Liberty Soldiers rescue hostage MNF-I/MNCI 17 Mar 2005 -- Task Force Liberty Soldiers rescued a hostage and detained two Iraqi men during a raid near Bayji about 11 p.m., March 16.
• Polish patrol under fire MNF-I/MNCI 17 Mar 2005 -- A patrol from 2nd Battle Group (Polish) found themselves under machine gun fire at 8:20 p.m., March 16, about twenty kilometers west of Ad Diwanyah.
• Local National leads Task Force Baghdad Soldiers to IED MNF-I/MNCI 17 Mar 2005 -- A local national discovered a silver-tipped mortar round and led Task Force Baghdad Soldiers to the Improvised Explosive Device.
• MALS-26 bulks up, gets aircraft back in the fight USMC News 17 Mar 2005 -- After deploying to this former Iraqi air base and becoming one of the largest Marine aviation logistics squadrons in the world, the "Patriots" of Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 26 (Reinforced) are supporting every type of aircraft in the Corps, short of the MV-22 Osprey, and maintaining high aircraft readiness.
• 15TH MEU(SOC) joins fight in Iraq USMC News 17 Mar 2005 -- The opportunity for the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) to enter Iraq and contribute to the war on terrorism has finally arrived, midway through their six-month deployment.

• $148 million needed to run Afghan parliamentary elections, UN tells donors UN News Centre 17 Mar 2005 -- Afghanistan's electoral authorities need some $148 million in funding to ensure that national and local parliamentary elections scheduled for later this year are conducted fairly and transparently, the United Nations has told a donor conference in the capital Kabul.
• AFGHANISTAN/NARCOTICS VOA 17 Mar 2005 -- Officials testifying before Congress have defended U.S. and Afghan government strategies to fight opium production and the narcotics trade. VOA Correspondent Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill, lawmakers continue to complain the U.S. military is still not making the fight against narcotics there a priority
• Rice Vows Long-term U.S. Commitment to Afghanistan Washington File 17 Mar 2005 -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, were, in many ways, a joint tragedy of the American and Afghan people as they resulted, in part, from the United States' failure to continue support in Afghanistan during the turbulent period following the Soviet army's withdrawal.
• Rice Hails U.S. Troops for Role in Afghanistan's Transformation Washington File 17 Mar 2005 -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice thanked U.S. forces in Afghanistan March 17 for their contributions supporting the emergence of "a different kind of Afghanistan" that would be a country of democratic values rather than a haven for terrorists.
• AFGHANISTAN BOMBING VOA 17 Mar 2005 -- In one of the deadliest attacks in months in Afghanistan, a bombing in the southeastern city of Kandahar has killed at least five people and injured 32. Afghan police are searching for those responsible for the blast, which took place during U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's first visit to the country.
• AFGHANISTAN / US RICE VOA 17 Mar 2005 -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says Washington will not abandon Afghanistan as it did in the 1990s. Ms. Rice says the United States remains committed to assisting the Afghans as they prepare for September parliamentary elections.
• Rice Says U.S. Should Not Have Abandoned Afghanistan RFE/RL 17 Mar 2005 -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in Afghanistan today that the United States has learned from experience that abandoning that country in 1989 was a mistake.
• Afghanistan: Rice Holds Talks On Drugs, Terrorism, Reconstruction RFE/RL 17 Mar 2005 -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held talks in Kabul on 17 March with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and other senior Afghan government officials. The talks reportedly focused on the fight against the drug trade, Afghan reconstruction, and the war on terrorism.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Active Army, Guard, Reserve Boost Recruiting Resources AFPS 17 Mar 2005 -- The Army is adding active, Guard and Reserve recruiters and offering more bonuses to potential enlistees to combat a recruiting environment that's recently turned sluggish, a senior DoD official told the House Armed Services Committee March 16.
• Changing DoD's Global Posture an 'Enormous Undertaking' AFPS 17 Mar 2005 -- The Pentagon's move to change its global footprint will be an "enormous undertaking" that will be "unprecedented," the Defense Department's director of strategy on global posture said here today.
• DoD Seeks Billions for Missile Defense Program AFPS 17 Mar 2005 -- Pentagon leaders charged with protecting the country against a ballistic missile attack asked Congress March 15 for $7.8 billion to sustain development of the nation's first missile defense system through fiscal 2006.
• Joint Red Flag 2005 kicks off at Nellis AFPN 17 Mar 2005 -- More than 10,000 servicemembers from all four military branches, along with troops of some coalition forces kicked off Joint Red Flag 2005 March 14.

• U.S. Carrier Enters S. Korean Port KCNA 17 Mar 2005 -- The U.S. aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk anchored at Pusan Port on Monday to participate in the U.S.-south Korea joint war exercises codenamed RSOI and Foal Eagle, which will start on March 19, according to south Korean Yonhap News.

• BALUYEVSKY GOES TO CHINA TO DISCUSS PREPARATIONS FOR MILITARY EXERCISE RIA Novosti 17 Mar 2005 -- The forthcoming Russia-China military exercise denotes progress in bilateral military relations, said Yuri Baluyevsky, chief of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces.
• RUSSIA-CHINA MILITARY EXERCISE: PROGRESS IN MILITARY RELATIONS RIA Novosti 17 Mar 2005 -- The forthcoming Russia-China military exercise denotes progress in bilateral military relations, said Yuri Baluyevsky, chief of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces.
• RUSSIAN-CHINESE MILITARY EXERCISE IS QUITE LEGITIMATE AND TRANSPARENT RIA Novosti 17 Mar 2005 -- The forthcoming Russo-Chinese military exercise is not directed against any third parties, Russian General Staff Chief, General of the Army Yury Baluyevsky, now visiting Beijing, said Thursday.
• CHINA TRYING TO USE RUSSIAN ARMY FOR ITS OWN PURPOSES RIA Novosti 17 Mar 2005 -- Yesterday, Chief of the Russian General Staff Yury Baluyevsky left for China to settle a scandal over the first Russian-Chinese military exercise, Commonwealth-2005, which is due to be held this fall off the Yellow Sea coast, writes Kommersant.

• State Department Briefing, March 17 Washington File 17 Mar 2005 -- Cuba/human rights, China, Pakistan, Cyprus, Lebanon/Syria, Israel/Palestinian Authority, Croatia, North Korea, Wolfowitz/Hughes appointments, Greece
• White House Daily Briefing, March 17 Washington File 17 Mar 2005 -- Bush/Prime Minister Ahern's meeting, Bush/McCartney sisters meeting, role of Sinn Fein going forward, Secretary Rice travel to India, Rebiya Kadeer/release, China/human rights, rendition of terror suspects, Terri Schaivo case, oil/ANWR, Iran/nuclear proliferation, Mexico/immigration, trade agenda, Social Security/reform

Defense Industry

• Boeing and BAE Systems Australia Sign World Teaming Agreement Boeing 17 Mar 2005 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] and BAE Systems Australia Limited, today signed a world teaming agreement to work closely together to capture future airborne early warning and control business.
• Lockheed Martin's JASSM Again Successful in Flight Test Lockheed Martin 17 Mar 2005 -- A Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM), the world’s first stealthy conventional cruise missile, was successfully launched Wednesday from an F-16 aircraft and precisely navigated through its second verification flight test at White Sands Missile Range, NM. The missile successfully struck the target as planned.
• Strategic Alliance between Denel and Nitrochemie Rheinmetall Defence 17 Mar 2005 -- Nitrochemie Aschau GmbH, of Aschau, Germany, has entered a long-term strategic alliance with the South African company Denel Land Systems, Western Cape. Cooperation will focus on the development of improved modular propelling charges for 105 mm and 155 mm cal. artillery systems.
• Northrop Grumman Demonstrates Hunter II Unmanned System for Army's ER/MP Program Northrop Grumman 17 Mar 2005 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) recently demonstrated, through a series of ground and flight tests here, the capabilities of its new Hunter II unmanned system, the company's proposed system solution for the U.S. Army's Extended Range/Multi-Purpose (ER/MP) program.
• Lockheed Martin-Led Team Passes Key Design Milestone For Next Generation Military Communications Satellite Program Lockheed Martin 17 Mar 2005 -- The Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) team led by Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has successfully completed the System Preliminary Design Review (PDR) with its customer, the U.S. Navy. The System PDR kicks off a key design and development phase for the space and ground segments to ensure the system will meet or exceed the customer’s requirements for the next generation narrowband tactical satellite communications system.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 17 Mar 2005
• SOMALIA / PEACEKEEPING VOA 17 Mar 2005 -- The seven-nation regional group that spearheaded negotiations to end wars in Somalia and Sudan began its two-day session by urging Somalis to accept a controversial peace-support mission to Somalia. The Somali government is divided over whether or not to accept this mission.
• SOMALIA: Opposition to IGAD's insistence on troop deployment continues IRIN 17 Mar 2005 -- The announcement on Monday by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) that it would deploy peacekeepers in Somalia with or without the consent of faction leaders has drawn sharp reactions from the Somali population - and some members of the Somali transitional federal government (TFG).
  
  
• PRESS BRIEFING BY SPECIAL ENVOY TERJE ROED-LARSEN United Nations 17 Mar 2005
• SECURITY COUNCIL/DARFUR VOA 17 Mar 2005 -- The U.N. Security Council is deadlocked over the question of how to stop the killing in Sudan's Darfur region and prosecute those accused of war crimes. Negotiations on a U.S.-backed resolution have been stalled for weeks, while estimates of the number of dead rise sharply.
• CHECHEN FEMALE TERRORIST'S PRISON TERM REDUCED RIA Novosti 17 Mar 2005 -- Russia's Supreme Court has reduced a prison term for Zara Murtazaliyeva convicted for preparing a terrorist act in Moscow in 2004.
• Pro-Russian Chechen Leader Rules Out Separatist Talks RFE/RL 17 Mar 2005 -- Pro-Moscow Chechen administration head Alu Alkhanov today ruled out any talks with separatists in the republic.
• SOUTH AFRICA: SANDF will not tolerate rights abuses IRIN 17 Mar 2005 -- The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has said it will not "tolerate any behaviour" by its members that undermined its "good image and international standing."
• KENYA: 1,500 families flee from inter-clan violence in Mandera IRIN 17 Mar 2005 -- An estimated 1,500 families have fled their homes following the killing earlier this week of 22 people by armed raiders in the northeastern Kenyan district of Mandera, a spokesman for the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) said on Thursday.
• UN peacekeeping patrols seize weapons in eastern DR of Congo UN News Centre 17 Mar 2005 -- United Nations peacekeepers seized weapons and ammunition in the northeastern Ituri region as they, backed by helicopter gun ships, conducted their regular cordon and search operations designed to force militias to flee, or reduce "their capacity for nuisance," the mission said today.
• U.S., Irish Leaders Agree Violence Must End in Ulster Washington File 17 Mar 2005 -- President Bush and Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern are in agreement that "the violence and the thuggery and the criminality" must end for peace to occur in Northern Ireland, according to White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan.
• Bush Pledges U.S. Support For Irish Peace Efforts Washington File 17 Mar 2005 -- President Bush has pledged that as Ireland works for peace, "our government and the American people will stand with you," and thanked the Irish people for their tireless work in the struggle against terror, saying their leadership was appreciated.
• IN MOSCOW MCC FIXES PROCEDURE FOR DEMILITARIZATION OF GEORGIA-SOUTH OSSETIA CONFLICT ZONE RIA Novosti 17 Mar 2005 -- The co-chairmen of the Mixed Control Commission for settling the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict have agreed upon a procedure for demilitarizing the conflict zone, Georgian State Minister for Conflict Settling Georgi Khaindrava said at the RIA Novosti news conference on Thursday.
• UN / FORESTS / CONFLICT VOA 17 Mar 2005 -- A new United Nations report released Thursday in Rome says better management of the world's forests is crucial to reducing conflict and avoiding war. The report takes a look at why there is so much violence in forested regions and what can be done about the problems.
• IVORY COAST/MEDIATION VOA 17 Mar 2005 -- Leaders from all sides of the conflict in divided Ivory Coast are considering an invitation for a new round of peace talks in South Africa. The renewed efforts at mediation come as increasing tensions fuel fears of a return to war.

News Reports

• DEMOCRACY / UN / US VOA 17 Mar 2005 -- The United States says freedom and democracy are inextricably linked to human rights. A senior U.S. official says the United States plans to back resolutions promoting these values during this year's session of the U.N. Human Rights Commission.

• UN / SYRIA / LEBANON RIA Novosti 17 Mar 2005 -- U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan says he expects all Syrian troops to be out of Lebanon by May. From U.N. headquarters, VOA's Peter Heinlein reports Mr. Annan set the deadline after a briefing from his Middle East envoy, who just returned from a visit to the region.
• SYRIA PULLS OUT OF LEBANON AGAINST VOLITION VOA 17 Mar 2005 -- There will be no civil war in Lebanon after the pullout of Syrian forces, Georgy Mirsky, lecturer at the World Economics and International Relations Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said.
• Annan expects full Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon by mid-April to mid-May UN News Centre 17 Mar 2005 -- United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today he expected the full withdrawal of all Syrian troops from Lebanon, including the intelligence apparatus and military assets, to take place before the Lebanese parliamentary elections scheduled for between mid-April and mid-May.
• LEBANON /SYRIA VOA 17 Mar 2005 -- Lebanese military officials say Syria has completed the first phase of its troop withdrawal from Lebanon. But there is still a long way for Syria to go to meet growing international demands for a complete pull-out.

• EUROPE/WOLFOWITZ - REAX VOA 17 Mar 2005 -- The nomination of Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz to become the next World Bank president has received a mixed reaction in European capitals. Some analysts believe it marks a shift in Washington's view of world affairs - but others are not so sure.
• CHINA-WORLD BANK NOMINEE VOA 17 Mar 2005 -- China, the World Bank's biggest customer, says it can work with whoever becomes the bank's next president. Beijing officials gave a muted response to the nomination of the conservative Paul Wolfowitz to head the non-profit lending institution.
• World: Wolfowitz Nomination For World Bank Stirs Debate RFE/RL 17 Mar 2005 -- France, Britain, and other European countries are reacting coolly to a decision by U.S. President George W. Bush to nominate his deputy defense secretary as head of the World Bank. Paul Wolfowitz was a key architect of the Iraq war and his hard-line foreign policies have made him a target of international criticism. His nomination could set off a dispute on the World Bank board at a time when Bush says he is trying to improve trans-Atlantic relations. Despite the potential objections, however, experts say Wolfowitz is likely to be approved.

• PUTIN, CHAVEZ TALK OVER THE PHONE RIA Novosti 17 Mar 2005 -- President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation and President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela talked to each other over the phone in the evening of March 16, discussing topical bilateral-cooperation issues and practical measures to expand such relations still further.