Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 21 Mar 2005 [PDF]
• SOLDIER KILLED IN AL ANBAR PROVINCE
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty

• Terrorists responsible for Ministry of Agriculture attack captured MNF-I/MNC-I 21 Mar 2005 -- Ten terrorists captured by Iraqi forces have confessed to planning and executing the recent attack on the Ministry of Agriculture, in which a dump truck full of explosives detonated near the building, according to a Multi-National Forces report.
• TF Baghdad Soldiers bust two suspected terrorists MNF-I/MNC-I 21 Mar 2005 -- Two suspected terrorists are in military custody after attempting to place two 155mm improvised-explosive devices in Western Baghdad March 20.
• TF Baghdad Soldiers detain nine, find weapons cache MNF-I/MNC-I 21 Mar 2005 -- Task Force Baghdad Soldiers brought nine suspected terrorists into custody March 20 in north Baghdad shortly after an improvised explosive device exploded between two vehicles on patrol.
• Two suspected terrorists killed, two detained MNF-I/MNC-I 21 Mar 2005 -- Two suspected terrorists were killed and two were detained in separate incidents in Salah Ad Din Province March 20.
• 26 terrorists killed during attack on coalition forces MNF-I/MNC-I 21 Mar 2005 -- At approximately noon on March 20, 26 terrorists were killed, seven wounded, and one captured when they attacked a coalition force convoy on the outskirts of Baghdad in the Salman Pak area.
• More Insurgents Killed, Arrested During Rash Of Attacks AFPS 21 Mar 2005 -- Six insurgents were killed March 20 and several more were arrested earlier this week after a spate of attacks against Iraqi and coalition forces, military officials in Baghdad reported.
• Navy Cargo Handlers Return From Deployment Navy NewsStand 21 Mar 2005 -- Amid cheers from their friends and families, about 200 mobilized Reservists of the Naval Expeditionary Logistics Support Force's (NAVELSF) Forward Bravo group returned home to Norfolk from Kuwait March 20 after completing a seven-month deployment.
• VMFA-142 Gators put steel on target for 3/25 USMC News 21 Mar 2005 -- Aircraft from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 142, a reserve unit, responded to a call for air support from 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, a reserve infantry battalion, who were conducting security patrols in the Al Anbar province on March 18.
• 2nd Force Reconnaissance returns home USMC News 21 Mar 2005 -- Marines from 2nd Force Reconnaissance Company and 3rd Force Reconnaissance Company returned to Camp Lejeune Mar. 6 after a seven-month deployment to Iraq.
• 1/6 hits the ground in Baharia, prepares for busy deployment USMC News 21 Mar 2005 -- As he rests atop a dirt mound, the noonday Iraqi sun beating down on his face, Pfc. Mitchel T. Caluri wonders how the next seven months will unfold for him and his unit.
• Tarawa Division enters Sunni Triangle USMC News 21 Mar 2005 -- Maj. Gen. Richard F. Natonski, commanding general for 1st Marine Division, will transfer responsibility of the Al Anbar province this month to Maj. Gen. Richard A. Huck, commanding general for 2nd Marine Division.
• 2nd Marine Division assumes control of Al Anbar province USMC News 21 Mar 2005 -- The 2nd Marine Division's high operational tempo and level of training over the past few months have conditioned the unit for combat operations in its new area of responsibility -- the Al Anbar province.
  
  
• Afghan Military Academy Graduates First Basic Training Class AFPS 21 Mar 2005 -- The National Military Academy of Afghanistan graduated its first class of basic training soldiers March 17.
• Afghanistan: Kabul To Create Temporary Chamber Of Parliament RFE/RL 21 Mar 2005 -- Afghanistan's long-delayed elections to the lower house of parliament will be held on 18 September. Afghan voters will also elect their provincial assemblies on that day. But more complicated elections for local district councils within each province also are needed to complete the upper house of parliament. Those elections are being put off until a national census is complete and electoral district boundaries are determined. In the meantime, a temporary upper chamber of parliament is being created.
• SecArmy: Proud of progress in Afghanistan Army News 21 Mar 2005 -- Secretary of the Army Francis Harvey said he is impressed with the progress being made in getting the people of Afghanistan back on their feet following years of terrorism from the Taliban.

Defense Policy / Programs

• USS Spruance to Decommission at NS Mayport Navy NewsStand 21 Mar 2005 -- After nearly 30 years of honorable service to the fleet, USS Spruance (DD 963) will be decommissioned during a ceremony at Naval Station Mayport, March 23, at 10 a.m.
• Air Force seeks Airmen for detainee operations AFPN 21 Mar 2005 -- The Air Force needs about 100 enlisted Airmen to serve in Iraq as interrogators, analysts, and command and control specialists later this year.
• Roving Sands involves five nations, new capabilities Army News 21 Mar 2005 -- U.S. Army Forces Command kicked off a three-week joint training exercise March 15 involving coalition troops and aircraft in order to practice joint-interoperability air defense tactics, while incorporating lessons learned from Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• Fort McHenry Returns to Forward Deployed Port Navy NewsStand 21 Mar 2005 -- USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43) returned to Sasebo, Japan, March 19 after spending nearly three months deployed at sea.
• Fighting 13th enters TRUEX 05-1 USMC News 21 Mar 2005 -- Elements of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit came together this morning as the main body arrived for the 05-1 Training in an Urban Environment Exercise.
• US / NICARAGUA /MISSILES VOA 21 Mar 2005 -- The Bush administration confirmed Monday it has suspended military aid to Nicaragua because of that country's failure to follow through on a commitment to destroy Soviet-era portable anti-aircraft missiles. U.S. officials are concerned the so-called MANPADS, man portable air defense systems, could fall into terrorist hands.
• Facing the Future: Preparing Today's Military for Its Next Challenges AFPS 21 Mar 2005 -- One of the hardest parts of transforming the military is the lack of a clear picture of the challenges it will face, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a recent interview.
• Rice Warns Against EU Arms Sales To China RFE/RL 21 Mar 2005 -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has issued a new warning against proposed European Union arms sales to China, saying such transfers could alter the military balance in Asia.

• NATO Ships Visit ELAT NATO/JFC Naples 21 Mar 2005 -- NATO ships will visit Elat from 22 to 26 March when units from the Standing NATO Response Force Mine Counter Measures Group 2 (SNMCMG2) will be berthed in Elat civilian harbour.

• White House Daily Briefing, March 21 Washington File 21 Mar 2005 -- President's schedule, Terri Schiavo case/legislation, energy prices, North Korea
• State Department Briefing, March 21 Washington File 21 Mar 2005 -- United Nations, Jordan/Iraq, North Korea, Nicaragua, Iran, Israel/Palestinians, India, Japan

Defense Industry

• ATK Awarded $23 Million Contract for Mid-Range Munition ATK 21 Mar 2005 -- Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK) has received a $23 million contract for work on dual mode seeker technologies including a semi active laser for the company’s Mid-Range Munition (MRM) program. MRM is a precision-guided 120mm munition designed to defeat enemy targets at line-of-sight and beyond-line-of-sight ranges.
• Boeing C-130 Avionics Upgrade Pre-Development Aircraft Takes Flight Boeing 21 Mar 2005 -- The Boeing Company's (NYSE: BA) C-130 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) reached another milestone March 15, when a pre-Development, Test and Evaluation (DT&E) U.S. Air Force MC-130E Combat Talon I aircraft achieved first flight at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
• Maiden Flight of the High-Cabin NH90 for the Swedish Armed Forces EADS 21 Mar 2005 -- Eurocopter is pleased to announce that the first production NH90 helicopter in the high cabin version for the Swedish Armed Forces has performed its maiden flight at Eurocopter’s plant in Marignane, France, on March 18.
• Lockheed Martin Receives $10 Million for MLRS Future Fire Control Systems for the United Kingdom Lockheed Martin 21 Mar 2005 -- Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has received a $10 million contract for 15 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) Future Fire Control Systems (FFCS) from the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence.
• Northrop Grumman Completes Acquisition of Integic Corporation Northrop Grumman 21 Mar 2005 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) today announced it has completed its acquisition of Integic Corporation.
• Pratt & Whitney's F135 Program Surpasses 2,500 SDD Test Hours Pratt & Whitney 21 Mar 2005 -- Pratt & Whitney’s F135 program has surpassed 2,500 System Development and Demonstration (SDD) test hours, underscoring the engine’s unmatched maturity and reliability.
• Raytheon's Affordable Ground Based Radar (AGBR) Successfully Completes Testing Raytheon 21 Mar 2005 -- Raytheon Company's Affordable Ground Based Radar (AGBR) successfully completed all planned system performance testing last month.
• Northrop Grumman and Silicon Graphics, Inc. Join Forces to Revolutionize Visualization Technology for Government and Intelligence Customers Northrop Grumman 21 Mar 2005 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) and Silicon Graphics, Inc. (NYSE:SGI) have signed a cooperative agreement that combines their visualization and technology expertise to revolutionize how warfighters make decisions in the battlespace.
• EU / BOEING VOA 21 Mar 2005 -- The European Union has called on the United States to clarify whether it is still interested in negotiations to resolve a dispute over subsidies for rival aircraft makers Boeing and Airbus. The negotiations collapsed Friday.

Other Conflicts

• CHECHEN PRESIDENT IS OPPOSED TO TALKS WITH TERRORISTS RIA Novosti 21 Mar 2005 -- Chechen President Alu Alkhanov is opposed to the idea of negotiating with terrorists.
• ALKHANOV PROPOSES HOLDING ROUNDTABLE WITH EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTARIANS IN CHECHNYA RIA Novosti 21 Mar 2005 -- Chechnya is ready to host a roundtable with European parliamentarians. "We shall provide its security," Chechen President Alu Alkhanov told journalists following the first part of the roundtable in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
• ROUNDTABLE ON CHECHNYA OPENS IN STRASBOURG RIA Novosti 21 Mar 2005 -- A meeting of the roundtable on Chechnya-related issues is opening at the Council of Europe's Strasbourg headquarters on Monday.
• UN chief brings back impression of Israeli-Palestinian optimism from Middle East trip UN News Centre 21 Mar 2005 -- United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today that he had come back from visiting the Middle East last week with the impression that both Israelis and Palestinians feel optimistic over moves to end violence after more than four years of open conflict, although they realize that the situation is very fragile.
• More than 500 combatants disarmed in northeast DR of Congo - UN mission UN News Centre 21 Mar 2005 -- Some 500 fighters from a militia in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and 50 from another armed group have voluntarily disarmed to join the Disarmament and Community-based Reintegration (DCR) process, the United Nations mission in the Great Lakes nation said today.
• RUSSIAN PEACEKEEPERS DETAINED IN GEORGIA-ABKHAZIA CONFLICT ZONE RIA Novosti 21 Mar 2005 -- The Georgian law-enforcement agencies have detained four armed Russian peacekeepers in the zone of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict.
• AZERI-ARMENIAN WAR TO BREAK OUT ANY INSTANT, WARNS AZERI PRESIDENT RIA Novosti 21 Mar 2005 -- An Azeri-Armenian war may start any day, President Ilkham Aliev of Azerbaijan said to newsmen.
• PAKISTAN: More violence in Balochistan IRIN 21 Mar 2005 -- Paramilitary forces on Monday continued to engage militiamen of the Bugti tribe in the southwestern town of Dera Bugti in Pakistan's remote Balochistan province, following a fierce gun battle four days earlier that left eight security personnel and 21 tribesmen dead, according to the interior ministry.
• ISRAEL PALESTINIANS VOA 21 Mar 2005 -- Israel radio says Israeli and Palestinian officials have reached a compromise that will permit the hand-over of security control of Tulkarem and two nearby West Bank villages to Palestinian control. The transfer is to be completed Tuesday.
• B'NAI B'RITH / DARFUR VOA 21 Mar 2005 -- The Jewish human rights organization, B'Nai B'Rith International and other activists are calling on the United Nations Human Rights Commission to use its moral voice to prevent further loss of life in Sudan's western province of Darfur. The Jewish activists say the United Nations must speak out against, what they call, the acts of genocide being committed in Darfur.
• ICRC/NEPAL VOA 21 Mar 2005 -- The International Committee of the Red Cross expresses concern about alleged ongoing atrocities, including forced disappearances and killings in Nepal. A senior official who has just returned from the region says the civil conflict between the Nepalese government and Maoist insurgents has worsened.
• Council Of Europe To Hold Chechnya Talks RFE/RL 21 Mar 2005 -- More than 60 people, including representatives of Chechen parties and Moscow-backed politicians, are due to attend roundtable talks on the crisis in the Russian republic of Chechnya today in Strasbourg, France.

News Reports

• ACTIONS PROVOKED BY OPPOSITION MIGHT PLAY IN TERRORIST HANDS RIA Novosti 21 Mar 2005 -- Actions provoked by the opposition in the south of Kyrgyzstan might become a perfect breeding ground for terrorist and extremist organizations, announced the Kyrgyz President's press secretary, Abdil Segizbayev on Monday.
• PROTESTS GO ON IN SOUTHERN KIRGIZIA RIA Novosti 21 Mar 2005 -- Opposition supporters are continuing protests in Kirgizia's Jalalabad region, while the republic's capital of Bishkek is celebrating Muslim New Year, Nooruza.
• KYRGYZ OPPOSITION IS READY FOR DIALOGUE WITH PRESIDENT RIA Novosti 21 Mar 2005 -- The opposition in Kyrgyzstan is ready for a dialogue with the President of the country, the leader of the People's Unity Coordinating Council of the republic, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, said on Monday.
• KYRGYZSTAN: VELVET COUNTER-REVOLUTION RIA Novosti 21 Mar 2005 -- Although Bishkek has been talking a great deal about the threat of "a velvet revolution" in Kyrgyzstan, another danger has suddenly emerged: "a velvet counter-revolution."
• Kyrgyzstan: Authorities Attempt To Contain Protests, Negotiate RFE/RL 21 Mar 2005 -- As anti-government protesters hold administration buildings in southern regions, including Jalal-Abad and Osh, Kyrgyz authorities are pledging to seek a negotiated solution. But will they be able to solve the problem peacefully or will the demonstrations grow stronger?
• KYRGYZ / PROTEST VOA 21 Mar 2005 -- Kyrgyzstan's political opposition has taken control of government headquarters in the country's second largest city, Osh, (Monday) as discontent over recent parliamentary elections grows.
• KYRGYZSTAN: Protesters seize government offices amid minimal resistance IRIN 21 Mar 2005 -- Election protesters stormed or set fire to government buildings in two southern Kyrgyz cities on Monday, but met little resisitance from security forces, as demonstrators continued to call for the end of president Askar Akayev in what some observers are calling the genesis of a velvet revolution in authoritarian Central Asia.
• Kyrgyz President Hints At Concessions RFE/RL 21 Mar 2005 -- In a statement issued today, Kyrgyz President Askar Akaev's office says the president has suggested that election officials and the judiciary should investigate reports of ballot fraud.
• KYRGYZSTAN: JALAL-ABAD RALLIES RELEASE DETAINEES RIA Novosti 21 Mar 2005 -- Jalal-Abad rallies released today 58 inmates from the town police pre-trial prison, a Kyrgyz police officer said to Novosti.
• RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY ON EVENTS IN KYRGYZSTAN RIA Novosti 21 Mar 2005 -- Political contradictions in Kyrgyzstan should be settled within the framework of the law and constitution, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
• PRESIDENT AKAYEV ORDERS INVESTIGATION OF ELECTION VIOLATIONS RIA Novosti 21 Mar 2005 -- President of Kyrgyzstan Askar Akayev has ordered Sulaiman Imanbayev, head of the country's Central Election Commission, to investigate election violations that have led to popular protests.

• UN/ANNAN/REFORM VOA 21 Mar 2005 -- Secretary General Kofi Annan has unveiled a sweeping plan to reform the United Nations and sharply increase its authority in world affairs. From U.N. headquarters, The proposal is being offered as a starting point for an international debate that will culminate with a summit of heads of state and government in September.
• UN: Annan Reforms Would Revamp UN Security, Rights Structures RFE/RL 21 Mar 2005 -- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has outlined a series of sweeping changes to improve the organization's ability to cope with security, development, and human rights challenges. Annan's reform plan proposes an expansion of the UN Security Council, a replacement of the maligned Human Rights Commission, and a stronger commitment by wealthy countries for development aid. His proposals would amount to the biggest shakeup in UN structures since its founding 60 years ago. They come at a time when the organization has been rocked by a series of scandals.

• YEMEN: Population grows to 19.7 million IRIN 21 Mar 2005 -- Yemen has announced that the population of the country has reached 19.7 million contrary to all estimates, following completion of a new census.
• TRANSCRIPT OF PRESS CONFERENCE BY SECRETARY-GENERAL KOFI ANNAN United Nations 21 Mar 2005
• WOLFOWITZ AND BOLTON: 'HAWKISH APPOINTMENTS' US Dept. of State IIP, Foreign Media Reaction 21 Mar 2005