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Defense Policy / Programs
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News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 23 May 2005 [PDF]
• THREE TASK FORCE FREEDOM SOLDIERS KILLED, ONE INJURED
• TASK FORCE LIBERTY SOLDIER KILLED
• TASK FORCE LIBERTY SOLDIER KILLED IN VEHICLE ACCIDENT
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty

• Operation Squeeze Play Aims to Crack Down on Terrorists AFPS 23 May 2005 -- Local commanders from the Iraqi Interior and Defense ministries and coalition forces met May 21 to discuss Operation Squeeze Play, which is designed to deal with terrorist actions in Baghdad's Rusafa neighborhood.
• Four Soldiers Killed in Iraq; Hundreds of Terrorists Detained AFPS 23 May 2005 -- Four U.S. soldiers were killed May 22 in operations in Iraq, while coalition and Iraqi forces continue to round up weapons and suspected terrorists.
• Defense Department Report, May 23: Gulf Exercise, Iraq Roundup Washington File 23 May 2005 -- "EAGLE RESOLVE" FOCUSED ON REDUCING WMD VULNERABILITIES / IRAQI SECURITY FORCES ROOT OUT SUSPECTED INSURGENTS
• Security forces continue to apply pressure on terrorists MNF-I 23 May 2005 -- Multi-National Forces from 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) detained 12 suspected terrorists, and seized a weapons cache during operations in northern Iraq May 22.
• Task Force Liberty Soldiers repel attack on Coalition Forces base in Samarra MNF-I 23 May 2005 -- Task Force Liberty Soldiers repel attack on Coalition Forces base in Samarra
• Operation Squeeze Play nets 285 suspects on first day MNF-I 23 May 2005 -- Coalition Forces, in conjunction with the Iraqi Army and Ministry of Interior Forces, have detained 285 suspected terrorists in the western Baghdad district of Abu Ghraib in less than 24 hours.
• Operation Squeeze Play: Cracking down hard on terror MNF-I 23 May 2005 -- Local commanders from the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defense, and Coalition Forces met May 21 to discuss how to deal with terrorist actions in Baghdad 's Rusafa neighborhood.
• Baghdad raids net 22 terrorists, weapons, $6 million MNF-I 23 May 2005 -- Task Force Baghdad units nabbed 15 terror suspects during six early-morning raids conducted throughout Baghdad on May 22.
• Mobile Security Detachment 22 Departs Iraqi Oil Terminals Navy NewsStand 23 May 2005 -- Mobile Security Detachment (MSD) 25 officially replaced Maritime Security Detachment 22 as the security force aboard Iraq's Al Basrah (ABOT) and Khawr Al Amaya Oil Terminals (KAAOT) May 23.
• Team America hits streets in Iraq USMC News 23 May 2005 -- Marines with 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment have a large area of operations and sometimes they need to form new platoons to maintain military presence over the areas.
• Despite deployment training continues USMC News 23 May 2005 -- Staff Sgt. Timothy S. Hall, future operations and planning section, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Headquarters Group, II MEF (FWD) with the help of Cpl. Arthur D. Estrada Jr., air support liaison team, Regimental Combat Team 8, 2nd Marine Division, is giving Marines, and anyone else interested, the opportunity to enhance their combat readiness through the MCMAP program.
• Communications detachment keeps Marines in Kalsu connected USMC News 23 May 2005 -- this remote base occupied mostly by U.S. Army personnel, the Marines' presence is minimal.
• Reserve Marines assist Al Anbar Provincial Government USMC News 23 May 2005 -- The 20-year-old, reserve Marine from Salisbury, Md. often stands guard outside of meetings at the Government Center and each time he does this, he helps make history.
• Reserve Marine's civilian skills improve living conditions for fellow Marines USMC News 23 May 2005 -- Many people take the simple things in life for granted. Indoor plumbing, central air - even light bulbs are luxuries Marines often do without.
• 3rd Radio Battalion heads to Iraq USMC News 23 May 2005 -- More than 50 members of 3rd Radio Battalion, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, began their journey back to Iraq May 13 and 14, as family and friends bid them farewell from the Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay Annex parking lot.

• Bush, Karzai Formalize Partnership Focused on Afghan Progress AFPS 23 May 2005 -- The presidents of the United States and Afghanistan today signed an agreement that establishes a long-term relationship designed to promote ongoing progress in Afghanistan.
• Bush Pledges Multifaceted U.S. Support for Afghanistan Washington File 23 May 2005 -- President Bush described the U.S. military relationship with Afghanistan as being "one of cooperate and consult," designed to achieve the mutual goals of removing remnants of the al-Qaida terrorist network and increasing security in the country.
• Joint U.S.-Afghan Declaration for Strategic Partnership Signed Washington File 23 May 2005 -- President Bush and Afghan President Hamid Karzai have signed a joint declaration concerning the strategic partnership between the United States and Afghanistan to help Afghanistan meet the challenges it faces in developing better security, more democratic government, respect for human rights, and a market economy.
• Afghanistan: Prisoner Abuse Scandal Overshadows Karzai's Talks With Bush RFE/RL 23 May 2005 -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai's talks with U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington today come amid increasing tension over the abuse of Afghan prisoners by U.S. soldiers and interrogators. Karzai has said he will raise his concerns with Bush and ask that all Afghan prisoners be turned over to his government. Karzai also says he wants more control over U.S. military operations in Afghanistan.
• Bush calls for Closer Ties with Afghanistan VOA 23 May 2005 -- President Bush and Afghan President Hamid Karzai have agreed to seek stronger political, economic, and security ties.

• USNS Mercy Completes Humanitarian Assistance Mission to Papua New Guinea Navy NewsStand 23 May 2005 -- The Military Sealift Command (MSC) hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) successfully completed its humanitarian assistance mission to Papua New Guinea May 20 and is now sailing east toward its homeport of San Diego, having provided medical care to more than 8,000 residents of Papua New Guinea.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Pilots Give New C-130J Aircraft Rave Reviews AFPS 23 May 2005 -- Here at the "Home of the Herk" -- the affectionate nickname for the C-130 Hercules aircraft -- there's no ambivalence about the new "J" model.
• Army Statement on Tillman Family Support Army News Release 23 May 2005 -- The Army reaffirms its heartfelt sorrow to the Tillman family and all families who have lost loved ones during this war.
• Pallet pursuit nets plentiful return AFPN 23 May 2005 -- It is "mission accomplished" for the Airmen of the 455th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron's pallet and net team.
• Lab uses vibration testing to solve aircraft problems AFPN 23 May 2005 -- For every test Bill Fleenor conducts in the vibration test facility here, there is one overriding intention.
• Hurricane Hunters fly first operation WC-130J mission AFPN 23 May 2005 -- The first storm of the 2005 hurricane season came a little early this year appearing in the Pacific off the coast of Central America.
• USS Donald Cook Nets Second Consecutive CIWS Excellence Award Navy NewsStand 23 May 2005 -- The guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) received the 2004 Phalanx Close-In Weapons System (CIWS) Excellence Award May 12, making this their second successive win.
• Navy Christens New Dry Cargo/Ammunition Ship USNS Lewis and Clark Navy NewsStand 23 May 2005 -- The Navy christened the lead ship of a new class of underway replenishment ships, USNS Lewis and Clark, May 21, when it was launched at National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) in San Diego.

• PRESS CONFERENCE ON NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY BY MAYORS FOR PEACE, PARLIAMENTARY NETWORK FOR NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT United Nations 23 May 2005
• White House Daily Briefing, May 23 Washington File 23 May 2005 -- Italy, Afghanistan, North Korea, detainees, terrorism, first lady's travel, Iraq, Iran, anti-Semitism, memo on Iraq war, South Korea, stem cell research

Defense Industry

• GE Launches F-16 Engine Upgrade With Initial $57 Million USAF Contract GE Aviation 23 May 2005 -- The United States Air Force (USAF) has awarded General Electric Company a $57 million contract to upgrade an initial 95 F110 fighter engines for F-16C/D aircraft as part of a Service Life Extension Program (SLEP).
• NASSCO Launches the USNS Lewis and Clark, First T-AKE Ship General Dynamics 23 May 2005 -- National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO), a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), has joined with the U.S. Navy to launch the USNS Lewis and Clark (T-AKE 1), the lead ship in the Navy’s new T-AKE Class.
• Northrop Grumman Radar for F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Achieves Program Milestone Northrop Grumman 23 May 2005 -- - Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) fire control radar for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has passed a key milestone in system integration testing by detecting airborne targets at the company's integration laboratory.
• U.S. Army Awards Raytheon $16.5 Million to Provide Multi-Sensor Payload for UAV Raytheon 23 May 2005 -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has been awarded a $16.5 million U.S. Army contract to provide the electro- optic/infrared/laser designator (EO/IR/LD) payload for use on the Army's Extended Range Multi-Purpose (ERMP) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
• Lockheed Martin Selected for Continued Development of the Innovative Space Based Radar Antenna Technology (ISAT) Lockheed Martin 23 May 2005 -- The U.S. Air Force announced that Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has been selected to continue development of the Innovative Space Based Radar Antenna Technology, known as ISAT. The contract, valued at $19.5 million, is for the next phase of the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency's (DARPA) ISAT project, administrated by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). Lockheed Martin will continue development of the ISAT Flight Demonstration Experiment design over the next 14 months, which will take it to the Critical Design Review (CDR) maturity level. Following the CDR, DARPA and the Air Force plan to select a contractor to build and deploy a scale version of the antenna for a one-year proof of technology experiment in low earth orbit.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 23 May 2005
• One dead, nine wounded in clash at Darfur camp, UN in Sudan confirms UN News Centre 23 May 2005 -- One person died and nine others were injured in a recent clash between police and merchants in Darfur's largest camp for the internally displaced, home to about 150,000 people who fled fighting in the remote region, the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) said today.
• Secretary-General heading to Ethiopia and Sudan to seek help for Darfur UN News Centre 23 May 2005 -- United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is set to co-chair a pledging conference on Thursday to support the African Union's (AU) mission in the Darfur region of western Sudan, where for the past two years rebels have been waging a war against the Government and its allied militias, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and forcing some 2 million people from their homes.
• E.U. Pledges Logistical Support for African Union in Darfur VOA 23 May 2005 -- European Union foreign and defense ministers have pledged to provide aircraft to transport thousands of African troops to Sudan's Darfur region to help end the conflict there.

• PRESS BRIEFING BY MOROCCO ON WESTERN SAHARA United Nations 23 May 2005
• Security Council urges parties in Burundi to 'exert greater efforts' to ensure long-term stability UN News Centre 23 May 2005 -- The United Nations Security Council today urged all Burundian parties to ensure political transition and long-term stability in the country following the recent signing of a cessation of hostilities declaration by the country's President and the leader of the rebel Forces for National Liberation (FNL).
• UGANDA: Army claims to have killed senior rebel commander IRIN23 May 2005 -- The Ugandan army claimed on Friday that it had killed a senior commander in the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) who was a member of the rebel team that met government representatives last December in a bid to start peace talks.

News Reports

• UN Says Syria Made Full Withdrawal from Lebanon; US Expresses Doubt VOA 23 May 2005 -- A U.N. inspection team has verified the full withdrawal of all Syrian troops from Lebanon. Secretary General Kofi Annan certified the withdrawal in a report to the Security Council.
• Syrian forces have verifiably been withdrawn from Lebanon, Annan says UN News Centre 23 May 2005 -- The United Nations verification mission sent to ensure that Syrian troops, military assets and its intelligence apparatus have fully withdrawn from Lebanon has reported that they pulled out of all areas, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today.

• Crackdown In Azerbaijan Tarnishes Aliyev's Image RFE/RL 23 May 2005 -- There has been sharp international criticism of the way the authorities in Azerbaijan prevented opposition activists from holding a demonstration in Baku on 21 May. The United States and the OSCE were among the most outspoken critics of the police's use of violence. Dozens of opposition members were arrested and some remain in detention.

• Uganda Strengthens Disease Monitoring For Ebola VOA 23 May 2005 -- Health authorities in Uganda have strengthened their disease surveillance, following the recent outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in Congo-Brazzaville.

• Venezuela Threatens to Sever Ties with U.S. VOA23 May 2005 -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is threatening to sever ties with the United States over a Cuban dissident wanted in Venezuela on terrorism charges.