Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 25 Mar 2005 [PDF]
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty

• Detainee leads TF Baghdad Soldiers to weapons caches MNF-I/MNC-I 25 Mar 2005 -- A detainee questioned about a recent improvised explosive device attack led Task Force Baghdad Soldiers to two weapons caches March 24.
• Suicide VBIED detonates near entry control point MNF-I/MNC-I 25 Mar 2005 -- A suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated at an entry control point approximately 7 p.m., March 24, in Eastern Ramadi.
• Task Force Liberty Soldiers kill three terrorists MNF-I/MNC-I 25 Mar 2005 -- Task Force Liberty Soldiers defeated a terrorist attack near Baqubah at about 12:00 a.m. on Mar. 25. Three anti-Iraqi forces were killed.
• Security Forces seize a large number of weapons MNF-I/MNC-I 25 Mar 2005 -- Multi-National Forces from 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) seized three large weapons caches during operations in northern Iraq March 25.
• Task Force Liberty Soldiers find mortar cache near Bayji MNF-I/MNC-I 25 Mar 2005 -- A Task Force Liberty combat patrol discovered a cache of mortar rounds near Bayji at about 12:30 p.m. March 25. The cache included 25 60mm mortar rounds, four 81mm mortar rounds and one

Defense Policy / Programs

• Army Criminal Investigators Outline 27 Confirmed or Suspected Detainee Homicides for Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom United States Army Criminal Investigation Command 25 Mar 2005 -- In a continuing effort to keep the public informed of developments regarding detainee investigations, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command today released an accounting of the 24 criminal investigations of suspected or confirmed homicides during Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. The 24 cases involve a total of 27 reported victims. [PDF]

• Army Updates Detainee Operations Documents Army News Release 25 Mar 2005 -- The Army continued its effort to keep the public informed concerning detainee operations by releasing 1235 pages of documents pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

• TR Crew Ensures Safety First While At Sea Navy NewsStand 25 Mar 2005 -- USS Theodore Roosevelt's (CVN 71) crew raised the bar on safety during an underway for completion of carrier qualifications March 14.
• IKE Sailors Get Underway for the First Time Navy NewsStand 25 Mar 2005 -- Two Sailors aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) (IKE) experienced their first underway period when Ike stretched her sea legs and set sail March 22.
• Buffalo added to 256th arsenal Army News 25 Mar 2005 -- A new Soldier has been initiated into the Tiger Brigade family and taken up residence with the 1088th Engineering Battalion.
• Morale, Sense of Accomplishment High, Enlisted Leaders Report AFPS 25 Mar 2005 -- Morale is high among troops deployed to Southwest Asia in support of the global war on terror, but many feel frustrated that the American public isn't hearing about the positive work they're doing, senior enlisted leaders from U.S. Central Command told the American Forces Press Service here today.
• Facing the Future: Transformation Requires Adaptation AFPS 25 Mar 2005 -- Change, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker recently noted, "tends to indicate an end state," while military transformation requires "constant adaptation" in response to a changing world.
• F-15 crashes in Nevada AFPN 25 Mar 2005 -- An F-15 Eagle crashed at about 8:35 a.m. March 25 about 50 miles northeast of here.
• Teets: Air Force's biggest challenge is recapitalizing the fleet AFPN 25 Mar 2005 -- During a roundtable discussion at the Pentagon March 22, the acting secretary of the Air Force discussed space, the F/A-22 Raptor and business ethics.
• Combat Talon undergoes risk reduction testing AFPN 25 Mar 2005 -- An MC-130E Combat Talon I completed the first risk reduction flight here March 15 after undergoing several months of improved avionics modifications.
• CNO Says Future Navy is Right Navy Navy NewsStand 25 Mar 2005 -- Today's Navy is creating the right Navy for the future and the country, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Vern Clark told military and industry leaders at the annual Navy League of the United States Sea-Air-Space Exposition luncheon held March 24 at the Washington D.C. Marriott Wardman Park Hotel.

• US/PAKISTAN/PLANES VOA 25 Mar 2005 -- The Bush administration said Friday it is notifying Congress of plans to sell U.S. F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan. U.S. officials say it will not affect the military balance in the region, though India has expressed displeasure.

• NEXT ROUND OF TALKS ON RUSSIAN BASES IN GEORGIA SCHEDULED FOR EARLY APRIL RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- The next round of the talks on the terms of stay of the Russian military bases in Georgia will be held in early April in Tbilisi, Georgia's charge a'affaires in Russia Teimuraz Gamtselidze told RIA Novosti.

• State Department Briefing, March 25 Washington File 25 Mar 2005 -- Kyrgyzstan, Russia, South Asia, Bulgaria

Defense Industry

• Northrop Grumman Redelivers USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) after Successful Refueling and Complex Overhaul Northrop Grumman 25 Mar 2005 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has redelivered to the Navy the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) after completing its one and only refueling and complex overhaul in a 50-year life span.
• Orbital Completes Fourth Successful Flight Test For U.S. Navy's "COYOTE" Sea-Skimming Target Missile Orbital Sciences Corp. 25 Mar 2005 -- Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) announced today that it successfully flight-tested the U.S. Navy's GQM-163A "Coyote" Supersonic Sea-Skimming Target (SSST) system for the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) on March 24, 2005. The flight test was conducted at the Navy's missile test range at Point Mugu in southern California and was the fourth consecutive successful flight in a series of progressively more demanding missions that Orbital has carried out during the last year.

Other Conflicts

• United Nations Unanimously Adopts Sudan Peacekeeping Resolution Washington File 25 Mar 2005 -- The United Nations Security Council March 24 unanimously adopted a resolution establishing a 10,000-member peacekeeping force for Sudan to reinforce a peace agreement for that country's southern region and to help in the conflicted western region of Darfur.
• RUSSIA PLANS TO SEND MILITARY OBSERVERS TO SUDAN RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- Russia plans to send 50 Russian military observers and 20 civil police officers to be added to the makeup of the UN Advance Mission in Sudan (UNAMIS), as well as consider other forms of supporting the UN mission in Sudan.
• SUDAN: Security Council votes to send peacekeepers to south IRIN 25 Mar 2005 -- The UN Security Council voted unanimously on Thursday to send 10,000 troops and more than 700 civilian police to reinforce the comprehensive peace agreement between the government and the southern Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A).
  
  
• PRESIDENT PUTIN TO ASSIST IN SOLUTION OF KARABAKH ISSUE RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin hopes that Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents will hold a regular bilateral meeting.
• RUSSIANS APPROVE OF MASKHADOV'S ELIMINATION RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- Two-thirds of Russians (68%) are convinced that the elimination of Aslan Maskhadov, the leader of the so-called Chechen resistance, was the duty of the Russian special services.
• 'PERESTROIKA IN PALESTINE': HAMAS IN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS US Dept. of State IIP, Foreign Media Reaction 25 Mar 2005

News Reports

• 'NUCLEAR WEAPONS STATES' FOMENT WORLD-WIDE 'DISQUIET' US Dept. of State IIP, Foreign Media Reaction 25 Mar 2005

• US / KYRGYZSTAN UNREST VOA 25 Mar 2005 -- The State Department says the United States is ready to work with the interim leadership in Kyrgyzstan to help restore order after the collapse of the government of President Askar Akayev. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice discussed the situation Friday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
• MOSCOW TO BACK NEW KYRGYZ REGIME RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- The Kyrgyz velvet revolution triumph was something of a surprise even to its leaders-such a rapid and unexpected turn yesterday's events took in Bishkek.
• MOSCOW NOT TO INTERFERE IN DEVELOPMENTS IN KYRGYZSTAN RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- Moscow does not intend to interfere in the developments in Kyrgyzstan, the information and press department of the Russian Foreign Ministry said commenting on statements in Kyrgyzstan that Russia planned to deploy troops in the country.
• KYRGYZ STAGE OF CSTO EXERCISE TO BE HELD IN TAJIKISTAN RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- The first stage of a joint command and post exercise (CPX) of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) entitled Rubezh 2005 will be held in Dushanbe instead of Bishkek within the same period - April 1-3, RIA Novosti was told in the CSTO Secretariat's press service.
• KABAR AGENCY KNOWS NOTHING OF AKAYEV'S WHEREABOUTS RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- The Kabar news agency does not know where Askar Akayev is and where he had sent his statement from.
• AKAYEV CALLS EVENTS IN KYRGYZSTAN ANTI-CONSTITUTIONAL COUP RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- Askar Akayev has described the latest developments in Kyrgyzstan as an anti-constitutional coup.
• BISHKEK PREPARING FOR ANOTHER NIGHT OF RIOTS RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- Bishkek residents are bracing themselves for another night of riots that swept the capital last night.
• KYRGYZSTAN SETS UP SELF-DEFENSE SQUADS RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- The Kyrgyz coalition For Democracy and Civil Society together with the OSCE center in Bishkek has published telephone hot line numbers for citizens to report facts of robbery and looting.
• KYRGYZSTAN SUSPENDS COMMERCIAL BANKS ACTIVITIES RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- In the period from March 25 through 28, operation of commercial banks and the stock exchange in Kyrgyzstan has been suspended, the news agency Kabar quotes head of the National Bank of Kyrgyzstan Ulan Sarbanov as saying.
• KYRGYZSTAN'S NEW POWER CALLS CITIZENS TO ORDER RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- Kyrgyzstan's popular unity coordinating council, led by Acting President Kurmanbek Bakiev, approved by parliament on Friday, in a special appeal has called citizens to order and unity.
• NIGHTFALL BRINGS CHAOS BACK TO KYRGYZ CAPITAL RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- Chaos came back to Bishkek as soon as dusk fell. Law-abiding people keep indoors, with shooting in the streets. Rumors are circulated of a riotous mob seizing the municipal water supply board and the Pinara, the city's biggest hotel-all that in a storm that breaks huge boughs off trees and has enveloped the place in a dust cloud.
• LESSONS OF KYRGYZSTAN RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- The past events in Kyrgyzstan and possible future developments in that country and its neighbors pose tough questions, first, before the governments of Central Asian countries; secondly, before Russia and China that play a significant role in maintaining stability in the region; and finally, before the rest of the world.
• KYRGYZSTAN: BISHKEK TOWN HALL CALLS ON ACTING PRESIDENT FOR STATE OF EMERGENCY RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- Parliament approved today Kurmanbek Bakiev's appointment acting President of Kyrgyzstan.
• KYRGYZSTAN VOA 25 Mar 2005 -- Key opposition figures in Kyrgyzstan are claiming control of the government the day after President Askar Akayev reportedly fled the country. Meanwhile, widespread unrest and looting continues in the capital city of Bishkek.
• Kyrgyz Opposition Strives To Boost Legitimacy RFE/RL 25 Mar 2005 -- As the dust is settling on Bishkek, opposition leaders are striving to restore political stability and public order in the Kyrgyz capital.
• Kyrgyzstan: 'New' Leadership Drawn From Old Guard RFE/RL 25 Mar 2005 -- Kyrgyzstan's opposition is busy forming a new government. The top names include some former close allies of ousted President Askar Akaev. They also include some former rivals who may have a difficult time working together.
• LAVROV & RICE CALL TO BRING LAW AND ORDER BACK IN KYRGYZSTAN RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- Russia and the USA both deem it urgent to reinstate law and order in Kyrgyzstan, Sergei Lavrov, Russia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Condoleezza Rice, US Secretary of State, said in a telephone conference.
• NEW KYRGYZ AUTHORITIES TO DEMAND AKAYEV'S EXTRADITION RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- It is not ruled out that the new Kyrgyz authorities will demand the extradition of Askar Akayev when his whereabouts become known, the Kabar information agency quoted acting Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Roza Otunbayeva as saying.
• KAZAKHSTAN FEARS REPETITION OF KYRGYZ "EXPERIENCE" RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- Two largest political parties in Kazakhstan urged to consolidate efforts to prevent the possibility of unconstitutional forms of actions and forestall the attempts of external forces to influence the political situation inside the country.
• NEW INTERIOR MINISTER DEMANDS ORDER IN THE KYRGYZ CAPITAL RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- New Kyrgyz Interior Minister Felix Kulov ordered law enforcement bodies to ensure security and establish order in the capital of the republic.
• BAKIYEV FORMS PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- The Kyrgyz parliament instructed Acting President Kurmanbek Bakiyev to immediately organize a new Cabinet of Ministers Friday.
• RUSSIA READY TO RECEIVE AKAYEV ON ITS TERRITORY RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- President of Russia Vladimir Putin has said about Russia's readiness to receive the overthrown President of Kyrgyzstan Askar Akayev on its territory.
• MOSCOW PURSUED WISE POLICY ON KYRGYZ EVENTS RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- Nobody knows how Moscow would have reacted to the events in Kyrgyzstan if it had not learned the bitter lessons of the "orange revolution" in Ukraine, when even common sense told the Russian authorities not to state their preferences openly, writes Kommersant.
• POST-AKAYEV GOVERNMENT TO BE ANNOUNCED IN KYRGYZSTAN BY END OF FRIDAY RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- A new Kyrgyz government will be formed before the end of Friday and approved on Saturday, said Altai Borubayev, speaker of the upper chamber of parliament of Kyrgyzstan.
• EXPERTS ON CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF KYRGYZ REVOLUTION RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- The opposition took control of Kyrgyzstan on Thursday and was able to cancel the results of the recent parliamentary election, after seizing all government buildings, the airport, and the television center.
• KYRGYZ CAPITAL LOOKS LIKE OCCUPIED CITY RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- Bishkek sees the second day of the revolution. This night several large supermarkets were plundered and set on fire in the capital of Kyrgyzstan.
• KYRGYZ PARLIAMENT APPOINTS BAKIYEV ACTING PRESIDENT RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- Both chambers of the Kyrgyz parliament have approved Kurmanbek Bakiyev's appointment as Kyrgyzstan's acting president and prime minister, MP Dooronbek Sadyrbayev said at a rally.
• ATTEMPT TO SEIZE PARLIAMENT FAILED RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- Protesters in Kyrgyzstan made an attempt to seize the parliament where MPs started debate on the current situation in the republic.
• Russia: Moscow Grapples With Meaning Of Kyrgyz Uprising RFE/RL 25 Mar 2005 -- Leading Russian political figures on 24 and 25 March rushed to comment on the unfolding events in Kyrgyzstan, with government officials stating unequivocally that Moscow does not plan to intervene in the former Soviet republic.
• Central Asia: Regional Officials Cautious As Oppositions Rejoice At Events In Kyrgyzstan RFE/RL 25 Mar 2005 -- The official response in Central Asia has been muted to the swift ouster of President Askar Akaev's administration on Thursday. Such caution is to be expected in a region populated by regimes with notoriously spotty records on democracy and human rights.
• Kyrgyzstan: U.S. Urges Opposition To Exercise Restraint, Follow Rule Of Law RFE/RL 25 Mar 2005 -- The U.S. State Department says that, like other countries, America takes great interest in the stability of Kyrgyzstan, and rejected some published reports that it is responsible for the protests there.
• Revolution In Kyrgyzstan: A Timeline RFE/RL 25 Mar 2005 -- The following is a timeline of major developments in Kyrgyzstan, beginning with the disputed 27 February parliamentary elections and ending with the mass protests in the capital, Bishkek, on 24 March that toppled the government.
• Profile: Feliks Kulov RFE/RL 25 Mar 2005 -- Feliks Kulov, former Kyrgyz vice president, Bishkek mayor, and chairman of the opposition party Ar-Namys, was released on 24 March from the Bishkek jail where he had served four years of a combined 17 year sentence on charges of embezzlement and abuse of office.
• Profile: Roza Otunbaeva RFE/RL 25 Mar 2005 -- Roza Otunbaeva, leader of Kyrgyzstan's Ata-Jurt (Fatherland) movement, made the transition to the political opposition after a career that spanned both the latter years of the Soviet Union and the first decade of Kyrgyzstan's independence.
• Russian FM Blames OSCE For Kyrgyz Unrest RFE/RL 25 Mar 2005 -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is partly responsible for the unrest in Kyrgyzstan.

• LEBANON / UN REPORT VOA 25 Mar 2005 -- The just-released United Nations report on the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is sure to put increased pressure on Syria and on Lebanon's pro-Syrian government. The report is seen as strengthening demands for an in-depth international investigation.
• Middle East: UN Panel Finds Flaws In Probe Of Lebanese Ex-Prime Minister's Death RFE/RL 25 Mar 2005 -- A UN panel has found serious flaws with the investigation by Lebanese authorities into the killing of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.

• TSUNAMI/ACEH AID CORRUPTION VOA 25 Mar 2005 -- Three months after a powerful earthquake and tsunami devastated the Indonesian province of Aceh, relief agencies are putting into place measures to monitor the aid sent for reconstruction.
• TSUNAMI/THREE MONTHS OVERVIEW VOA 25 Mar 2005 -- Three months after a killer tsunami brought death and destruction to 12 Indian Ocean countries, relief operations have been scaled down in the worst-affected areas. But the difficult and costly reconstruction process for millions of people has barely begun.

• MARBURG VIRUS VOA 25 Mar 2005 -- The Marburg virus that has killed more than 100 people in Angola is a severe and highly contagious form of hemorrhagic fever. Marburg is in the same family as the infamous Ebola virus.
• ANGOLA / VIRUS VOA 25 Mar 2005 -- In Angola, a deadly outbreak of a rare hemorrhagic fever has spread to the capital, Luanda. The Marburg virus epidemic first erupted in the north of the country and has already killed at least 113 people.