Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 15 Jun 2005 [PDF]
• MARINE KILLED BY IED
• MARINE KILLED IN IED IN AR RUTBAH
• DoD Identifies Army Casualties
• DoD Identifies Marine Casualty

• Transcript: COMBINED PRESS INFORMATION CENTER BRIEFING MNF-I 15 Jun 2005
• Two Bulgarians die in vehicle accident near Divaniyah MNF-I 15 Jun 2005 -- Two Bulgarian Soldiers are dead and one injured after a vehicle accident approximately 55 kilometers southeast of Divaniyah.
• Soldiers prevent car bombers from reaching target MNF-I 15 Jun 2005 -- Task Force Baghdad Soldiers prevented terrorists from successfully completing their suicide mission in a car-bomb attack at a security checkpoint shortly after 5:30 p.m. June 13.
• Many Dead In Fresh Iraq Violence RFE/RL 15 Jun 2005 -- In the worst of several attacks today, at least 23 people were killed when an insurgent wearing an explosives belt blew himself up in a military canteen northeast of Baghdad.
• Australian Hostage in Iraq Found During Routine Sweep VOA 15 Jun 2005 -- Iraqi officials say the rescue of Australian hostage Douglas Wood was a lucky break in an otherwise routine military operation.
• New mission arrives at Incirlik AFPN 15 Jun 2005 -- A new mission kicked off here recently with the arrival and departure of C-17 Globemaster IIIs carrying cargo to Iraq supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• HC-5 Returns Home Navy NewsStand 15 Jun 2005 -- Helicopter Combat Support Squadron (HC) 5 returned home to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, April 18 after a seven-month deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and humanitarian service in Indonesia.
• Iraqi Marines Prepare to Take Over Oil Platform Security Navy NewsStand 15 Jun 2005 -- MSD) 25, the unit currently assigned to protect Iraq's critical two oil platforms, are training Iraqi Naval Marine Force personnel to take over all close-in point defense operations aboard the Al Basrah (ABOT) and Khawr Al Amaya (KAAOT) oil terminals.

• Afghan Police Chief Detained Over Killings RFE/RL 15 Jun 2005 -- An Afghan government spokesman says authorities have detained a local police chief for questioning over the killing one year ago of five international aid workers.
• Survey: Graft Impeding Afghan Rebuilding RFE/RL 15 Jun 2005 -- A U.S.-commissioned survey released on 14 June says corruption remains a major impediment to Afghanistan's reconstruction efforts.

Defense Policy / Programs

• US Forces in Mali Support US-African Exercises VOA 15 Jun 2005 -- U.S. military forces have established a temporary operations center on a Malian air force base near Bamako. The facility is to provide logistical support and emergency services for U.S. troops training with local forces in five countries in the region.
• U.S. Officials Defend Holding Detainees At Guantanamo VOA 15 Jun 2005 -- Bush administration officials are defending the indefinite detention of terrorism suspects at the U.S. facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
• DoD Details Detainee Efforts to Senate Panel AFPS 15 Jun 2005 -- DoD officials testified about the ongoing department efforts in regards to detainees before a Senate committee today.
• Senate Committee Examines Guantanamo Detainees' Legal Status Washington File 15 Jun 2005 -- A U.S. Senate committee held a hearing June 15 to determine if enemy combatants being held at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detention center and elsewhere are being accorded sufficient legal rights.
• Official Cites Progress in WMD Countermeasure Development AFPS 15 Jun 2005 -- The Defense Department has made progress in several areas of chemical and biological defense, is coordinating regularly with other federal agencies, and has developed a long-term science and technology investment strategy to protect U.S. forces well into the future
• Navy Reservists Excel at Allied Action 05 Navy NewsStand 15 Jun 2005 -- Navy Reservists from across the nation came together to support Allied Action 05 April 3-May 31 in San Climent, Spain, NATO's largest exercise aimed at training the NATO Response Force (NRF).
• Deputy Under Secretary of Defense Visits USS Tarawa Navy NewsStand 15 Jun 2005 -- With military operations in full swing, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense Brad Berkson made a brief visit to USS Tarawa (LHA 1) during pre-deployment training exercises off the coast of Southern California June 14.
• ISMERLO Put into Action for Submarine Rescue Exercise Navy NewsStand 15 Jun 2005 -- The International Submarine Escape and Rescue Liaison Office (ISMERLO) at Naval Support Activity Norfolk, Va., was activated June 14 to begin the mobilization phase for the NATO exercise Sorbet Royal 2005.

• U.S. Funding To Combat Land Mines Will Reach $1 Billion Washington File 15 Jun 2005 -- The total amount the United States has spent trying to eradicate land mines worldwide since 1993 will reach the billion-dollar mark in 2005, a State Department official says.

• State Department Briefing, June 15 Washington File 15 Jun 2005 -- Pakistan, Iraq, Secretary Rice's Meeting with Members of International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and Former Yugoslavia/Support for Tribunals' Work, Extension of Deadline for Biometric Passports, Secretary Rice Holding Briefing Tomorrow, Serbia, Sudan, Uzbekistan, Israel/Palestinians, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Venezuela, United Nations, China, Farewell to Christophe deRocquefeuil of AFP
• White House Daily Briefing, June 15 Washington File 15 Jun 2005 -- Second term agenda/negative tone in Washington, Guantanamo Bay, Terry Schiavo, Philip Cooney/Exxon position, Energy costs, Illegal immigration, U.N. reform, Medicare events, EU summit, Decision to go into Iraq/British documents, North Korea/human rights

Defense Industry

• MBDA Signs LFK Agreement with EADS EADS 15 Jun 2005 -- EADS and MBDA announced at the Paris Air Show that the Master Understanding defining the terms and conditions for the German missile systems house EADS/LFK to become part of MBDA has been agreed and formal signature of the agreement has taken place at the show.
• Lockheed Martin Awards General Electric Company $50 Million Contract for Presidential Helicopter Engines Lockheed Martin 15 Jun 2005 -- Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has awarded General Electric Company a $50 million contract to provide CT7-8E engines for use during the system development & demonstration (SDD) phase of the Presidential Helicopter Replacement program. Work under this contract will begin immediately and continue through 2008. The engines will be assembled at the General Electric facility in Lynn, MA.
• Northrop Grumman Demonstrates Viper Strike Precision Munition Enhanced with GPS Northrop Grumman 15 Jun 2005 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has integrated a global positioning system (GPS) receiver into its Viper Strike laser-guided precision munition and successfully demonstrated GPS navigation in engineering flight tests.
• Raytheon's ATFLIR to Introduce New State-of-the-Art Data Link Communications Technology Raytheon 15 Jun 2005 -- Raytheon Company's Space and Airborne Systems (SAS) is introducing in 2005 the most advanced form of high-speed data link communications for the U.S. Navy's Advanced Targeting Forward-Looking Infrared (ATFLIR) targeting pod. This state-of-the-art technology is linked to the Navy's road map and vision of ensuring the F/A-18 operates as a critical node of the network in the battlespace of today and for the future.
• Northrop Grumman Reaches Significant Technical Milestone for Maritime Global Hawk Program Northrop Grumman 15 Jun 2005 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) reached a significant technical milestone for its maritime Global Hawk program May 20 when the unmanned air vehicle, operating at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., streamed real-time electronic information to analysts at its future operating base, Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River, Md.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 15 Jun 2005
• UN and Sudanese team goes to Darfur, Annan reports security slightly better UN News Centre 15 Jun 2005 -- The United Nations envoy for Sudan Jan Pronk today began a two-day mission to assess the situation in Sudan's Darfur region, during which he will visit camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and meet local authorities.
• SUDAN: National court to try suspects of Darfur crimes IRIN 15 Jun 2005 -- A court set up by the Sudanese government this week to bring to trial suspects of crimes related to the conflict in the western region of Darfur was due to begin its work on Wednesday, Sudan's official news agency reported.
• U.S. Commission Urges Immediate Steps on Darfur VOA 15 Jun 2005 -- A special U.S. commission is recommending immediate steps by the international community to deal with the situation in Sudan's western Darfur region.
• Darfur Talks Progress Slowly VOA 15 Jun 2005 -- The Sudanese government and two rebel groups have continued negotiations to resolve the Darfur conflict in western Sudan.

• BURUNDI-TANZANIA: Talks with rebel group adjourned IRIN 15 Jun 2005 -- Talks between the Burundian government and the country's remaining rebel group, the Forces nationales de liberation (FNL), were adjourned on Tuesday after six days of debate that focused on the violation of a ceasefire agreement signed on 15 May in Dar es salaam.
• Security Council briefed on proposed truth commission for Burundi UN News Centre 15 Jun 2005 -- A senior United Nations official today briefed the Security Council on the feasibility of setting up a truth commission in Burundi to establish the facts surrounding the years-long conflict in the central African country and promote peace and establishing a special chamber to bring war criminals to justice.

• Security Council extends mandate of UN Cyprus mission UN News Centre 15 Jun 2005 -- The Security Council today extended through mid-December the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), the mission that monitors the ceasefire lines extending some 180 kilometres across the island.
• LIBERIA: Soldiers loot their own barracks to protest at pay arrears IRIN 15 Jun 2005 -- Liberia's largest military barracks was looted by its own soldiers on Tuesday evening following a street riot in the capital Monrovia over non-payment of salary arrears and severance benefits.
• India's military supplies to Nepal will upset democratic forces IRNA 15 Jun 2005 -- Former Nepalese prime minister G P Koirala, who is also the leader of the democracy movement in his country, has conveyed to the leadership here that India's military supplies to Nepal will upset democratic forces struggling against the Nepalese monarch.
• Donor Group Notes Violence Between Sri Lanka, Tamil Tigers Washington File 15 Jun 2005 -- The co-chairs of the Sri Lanka Donor Group -- including the United States, the European Union, Japan and Norway -- met in Washington June 13 to discuss progress in the peace process between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and expressed concern at violence between the two parties.
• Troops Won't Be Sitting Ducks For Extremists, Israeli Defense Chief Vows VOA 15 Jun 2005 -- Israel's military chief has warned soldiers will respond to any provocations during the controversial withdrawal of Jewish settlements, regardless of whether they come from Palestinian militants or Jewish extremists.

News Reports

• Ethiopian Government, Opposition Agree To End Violence, Investigate Irregularities VOA 15 Jun 2005 -- The Ethiopian government says it is hopeful that a declaration it signed with the political opposition to renew a peace agreement will end post-election violence in the country.