Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 14 Jul 2005 [PDF]
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty

• Transcript: Defense Department Operational Update Briefing 14 Jul 2005 -- Presenter: Lawrence Di Rita, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs
• Top US General Warns of Violence in Iraq, Afghanistan as Elections Near VOA 14 Jul 2005 -- The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says progress is being made in Afghanistan and Iraq. He also warned that the insurgents in both countries would increase their attacks in future months ahead of major political milestones.
• IRAQ WRAP VOA 14 Jul 2005 -- Baghdad, Iraqi troops thwarted an attack by three suicide bombers outside the heavily fortified Green Zone. Although several people were wounded, the U.S. military calls Thursday morning's attack a failure for the insurgency
• More Attacks In Baghdad RFE/RL 14 Jul 2005 -- Two suicide bombers attacked Baghdad's Green Zone today, and a third would-be suicide bomber was captured before he could set off his explosive device.
• Task Force Baghdad Soldiers arrest two terror suspects MNF-I 14 Jul 2005 -- Task Force Baghdad Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 70th Armor Regiment captured two terror suspects after stopping a grey BMW on a major highway in west Baghdad July 12.
• Coalition Forces and Kirkuk 's religious leaders hold conference MNF-I 14 Jul 2005 -- Soldiers of the 116th Brigade Combat Team (BCT) and Kirkuk 's religious leaders came together for a religious conference July 6.
• Bodies Of 10 Executed Men Found In Baghdad RFE/RL 14 Jul 2005 -- Iraqi police say security forces have discovered the bodies of 10 men handcuffed, blindfolded, and shot in the head.
• Two Bombs Hit Near Baghdad's Green Zone RFE/RL 14 Jul 2005 -- Two suicide bombers struck a busy checkpoint at the main entrance to Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone today, killing at least one person and injuring a number of others.
• Suicide Bomber Stopped Near Checkpoint Before Attack AFPS 14 Jul 2005 -- Iraqi and Task Force Baghdad forces wounded and captured a suicide bomber today before he could blow himself up near a coalition checkpoint in central Baghdad.
• Iraqi, U.S. Forces Capture Al Qaeda Leaders AFPS 14 Jul 2005 -- Multinational forces in Iraq have captured two high-ranking al Qaeda operatives with ties to wanted terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, military officials announced today.
• Iraqi Security Forces Prove Capability AFPS 14 Jul 2005 -- Iraqi security forces continue to show their progress toward independence with their prevention of two terrorist attacks this week and their ongoing involvement in successful operations throughout the country, a military official in Baghdad said today.
• Al Qaeda Captures To Yield Intel But Won't End Insurgency AFPS 14 Jul 2005 -- The capture of two key al Qaeda operatives in Iraq this week is expected to yield valuable intelligence but won't stop the insurgency, the Defense Department's top spokesman told Pentagon reporters today.
• New Details Emerge About Thwarted Baghdad Suicide Attack AFPS 14 Jul 2005 -- As military officials continue to investigate a thwarted suicide-bomb attack today, new details are emerging about how the events unfolded.
• Baghdad Car Bombs Kill 20; Two U.S. Marines Killed AFPS 14 Jul 2005 -- Three suicide-car-bomb attacks today in Baghdad, Iraq, claimed the lives of 15 Iraqi civilians and five Iraqi soldiers. Six Iraqi soldiers and 17 civilians were wounded.

• Taliban Said Sheltering Escaped Al-Qaeda Suspects RFE/RL 14 Jul 2005 -- Taliban insurgents are claiming to have found and given shelter to four suspected Arab Al-Qaeda militants who escaped this week from a U.S. detention center in Afghanistan.

Defense Policy / Programs

• U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND WILL CONDUCT EXERCISE WITH SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIAN STATES TO PROMOTE REGIONAL COOPERATION CENTCOM 14 Jul 2005 -- REGIONAL COOPERATION 2005 (RC 05), a Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff sponsored, U.S. Central Command executed, and Joint Forces Command supported regional exercise for the South and Central Asian States (SCAS), will be held 14 - 27 August at the Joint Warfighting Center (JWFC), Suffolk, VA.
• U.S.: Strategists Debate U.S. Military Policy RFE/RL 14 Jul 2005 -- Pentagon planners have begun reviewing one of the pillars of U.S. military strategy: Should the United States maintain its long-standing policy of being prepared to fight two wars concurrently while maintaining a sufficiently effective counterterrorism/homeland defense?
• Commandant of the Marine Corps Visits Kearsarge ESG, 26th MEU Navy NewsStand 14 Jul 2005 -- The Commandant of the Marine Corps visited the Sailors of the amphibious ships of the USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) and the Marines of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) (Special Operations Capable) (SOC) here June 17.
• CID Corry Station Prepares for Hurricane Dennis Navy NewsStand 14 Jul 2005 -- The Center for Information Dominance (CID) Corry Station hurricane preparedness staff made last minute preparations to secure the base from Hurricane Dennis in July, while receiving the majority of an expected 2,300-plus military and civilian evacuees.
• Navy Medics Reach Out in Africa Navy NewsStand 14 Jul 2005 -- More than 100 U.S. military medical and support personnel deployed to Garoua, Cameroon and Libreville, Gabon July 11 to kick off this year's West African Training Cruise Medical Outreach Program (WATC 05 MOP), an annual exercise conducted between the United States and various West African nations.
• Big E Simulates UNREP in Shipyards Navy NewsStand 14 Jul 2005 -- The crew aboard USS Enterprise (CVN 65) (Big E) simulated an underway replenishment (UNREP) in the Northrop Grumman shipyards in Newport News, Va., July 12, to prepare for at-sea conditions.
• DESRON 1 Embarks Boxer for CARAT Navy NewsStand 14 Jul 2005 -- Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 1 and 14 staff members embarked USS Boxer (LHD 4) July 5 to prepare for the Malaysian phase of the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise.
• Defense Department Report, July 14: Middle East, Asia Update Washington File 14 Jul 2005 -- OFFICIALS EXPECT DRAFT OF IRAQI CONSTITUTION IN AUGUST / UNITED STATES HAS NO TERRITORIAL DESIGNS IN ASIA
• Guard Chief Calls Employer Support Vital to Military Success AFPS 14 Jul 2005 -- Civilian employers are standing solidly behind their National Guard employees as they make a vital contribution to the global war on terror, according to the chief of the National Guard Bureau.

• Commander: Ukrainian Military Partially Operational RFE/RL 14 Jul 2005 -- Ukraine's top military commander said today that the country's 250,000-strong army is only partially operational due to obsolete equipment and lack of funds.

• Central Asia: Russia Could Double Troops At Kyrgyz Base; Future Of U.S. Base In Doubt RFE/RL 14 Jul 2005 -- Russia's military originally announced last year it would boost its troop strength at the Kant air base in Kyrgyzstan, and that more warplanes would be added at the base. However, the military set no time frame for the arrival of the new forces.

• State Department Briefing, July 14 Washington File 14 Jul 2005 -- Iran, Israel/Palestinians, Syria, India, United Kingdom, Public Diplomacy Efforts/Embassy Monitoring of Public Opinion, Kosovo, Russia

Defense Industry

• Bell Boeing Team Supports V-22 Media Day Boeing 14 Jul 2005 -- The V-22 Osprey had a "coming out" of sorts yesterday, when VMX-22, the U.S. Marine Corps Tiltrotor Test and Evaluation Squadron in New River, N.C., hosted media from around the nation.
• General Dynamics UK awarded EUR 94 Million ($113.6 Million) C4I contract by the Royal Netherlands Navy General Dynamics 14 Jul 2005 -- General Dynamics UK Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), has signed a contract with the Royal Netherlands Navy to supply the New Integrated Marines Communications and Information System – NIMCIS – which has a programme value of EUR 94 million (USD 113.6 million).
• U.S. Army Awards Lockheed Martin $152 Million Contract to Develop Next-Generation Army Knowledge Online Lockheed Martin 14 Jul 2005 -- Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has been awarded a $152 million contract to lead the development, integration and maintenance of Army Knowledge Online (AKO), the U.S. Army’s primary internal web portal.
• U.S. Navy Awards Lockheed Martin $49.8 Million Contract to Begin Next Phase of MH-60R Helicopter Integration Lockheed Martin 14 Jul 2005 -- Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has received a $49.8 million award from the U.S. Navy to integrate anti-submarine and surface warfare subsystems on board six new MH-60R multimission helicopters. The aircraft comprise the third phase of low-rate initial production (LRIP III).
• Northrop Grumman Awarded Contract to Complete Development of Radar Upgrade for U.S. Air Force F-16 Aircraft Northrop Grumman 14 Jul 2005 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has received a three-year contract from the U.S. Air Force to finish developing a fire-control radar replacement "kit" that will improve performance and enhance reliability in approximately 240 F-16C and D fighter aircraft.
• Global Hawk Unmanned System Reaches 7,000th Flight Hour While Supporting War on Terrorism Northrop Grumman 14 Jul 2005 -- The Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)-built prototype of the RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial reconnaissance system reached its 7,000th total flight hour on June 22 during a combat mission supporting the global war on terrorism. The U.S. Air Force's fleet of Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has now flown more than 4,300 hours in combat.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 14 Jul 2005
• Somalia: UN Security Council calls for immediate ceasefire and stabilization UN News Centre 14 Jul 2005 -- Expressing concern that "recent disagreements and increased tensions" threaten the viability of Transitional Federal Institutions being relocated to Somalia from Kenya, the United Nations Security Council today urged the Somali leadership to reduce tensions and conclude a comprehensive and verifiable ceasefire agreement leading to final disarmament.
• Security Council welcomes Sudan's new Government, urges settlement for Darfur UN News Centre 15 Jul 2005 -- The United Nations Security Council today encouraged the Presidency of Sudan's newly inaugurated Government of National Unity and other parties to take urgent steps to resolve the crisis in the Darfur region through peaceful means, and to be prepared to make decisive progress when talks between the Government and rebel factions resume next month.
• Small Arms Threaten Precarious West African Peace VOA 14 Jul 2005 -- War-divided Ivory Coast is preparing to enter a disarmament process, the third country in West Africa to do so, following Liberia and Sierra Leone. But a new study on arms says that, despite these efforts, the problem of weapons proliferation in the region shows no signs of ending, signaling the possibility of new conflicts
• COTE D IVOIRE-GUINEA: Guinean forces kill Ivorian rebel in border clash IRIN 14 Jul 2005 -- Guinean troops have shot dead at least one rebel fighter from Cote d'Ivoire in a border clash, the second such inicident to be reported this year, a military source said on Thursday.
• Gaza Settlements to Stay Closed for Now VOA 14 Jul 2005 -- Israel's military chief says Gaza settlements will remain closed to all non-residents, as long as necessary to prevent mass protests against the government's plan to dismantle them next month.
• KENYA: Thousands displaced after attack, toll reaches 76 IRIN 14 Jul 2005 -- At least 6,000 people have been displaced following brutal attacks by armed raiders that started on Tuesday on villages in the northern Kenyan district of Marsabit, relief workers said.
• DRC: UN says it needs an extra US $190 million for polls IRIN 14 Jul 2005 -- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has issued a two-page report to the Security Council in which he gave details of almost US $190 million in additional costs the UN requires to support upcoming elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

News Reports

• Press Conference By Nigeria’s Foreign Minister United Nations 14 Jul 2005
• CLINTON / UN / TSUNAMI VOA 14 Jul 2005 -- Former U.S. President Bill Clinton says the tsunami that devastated areas along the Indian Ocean at the end of December has shown clearly that it is time to move forward quickly on a global risk agenda
• Putin Concerned About Stability In Daghestan RFE/RL 14 Jul 2005 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said today his government will stabilize the situation in Daghestan, where police have come increasingly under attack.
• Philippine President Challenges Opposition VOA 14 Jul 2005 -- Philippine president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has again promised she will not resign, and challenged the opposition Thursday to reveal its plan for the country if she is forced from office by vote-rigging allegations.