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Defense Policy / Programs
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News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 26 Oct 2005 [PDF]
• DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
• DoD Identifies Navy Casualty
• DoD Identifies Marine Casualties

• Water project nearly complete in Al Ameen Army News 26 Oct 2005 -- Residents of Al Ameen, a southeastern Baghdad neighborhood, will soon reap the benefits of their first-ever water network, courtesy of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team with construction management by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
• Al Qaeda Facilitator Likely Dead in Coalition Air Strike AFPS 26 Oct 2005 -- A coalition air strike that hit a terrorist safe house today in Ushsh, Iraq, likely killed a senior al Qaeda member who assisted foreign fighters in Iraq, U.S. officials in Baghdad announced.
• Soldier Dies in Vehicle Accident; Terrorists Killed in Firefight AFPS 26 Oct 2005 -- A U.S. soldier was killed in a vehicle accident near Camp Bucca in southern Iraq on Oct. 25, military officials reported today.
• Task Force Baghdad Soldiers uncover weapons cache MNF-I 26 Oct 2005 -- Task Force Baghdad Soldiers discovered a weapons cache while conducting combat operations north of Baghdad Oct. 24.
• Foreign fighter facilitator targeted MNF-I 26 Oct 2005 -- Coalition forces conducted an air strike that hit a terrorist safe house and likely killed a senior al-Qaeda in Iraq foreign fighter facilitator in al Ushsh, near Qaim Oct. 26.
• Mosul terrorist cell leader killed MNF-I 26 Oct 2005 -- An al-Qaeda terrorist cell leader who personally assisted in at least three videotaped beheadings and his assistant were killed during a Coalition raid of a suspected safe house in Mosul Oct. 22.
• Safe house and weapons cache destroyed in city of Hit MNF-I 26 Oct 2005 -- Coalition forces raided multiple safe houses and during the raids killed several terrorists and detained another in a car chase in the town of Hit Oct. 26.
• Iraqi army's 5th Division assumes greater role in Diyala Province MNF-I 26 Oct 2005 -- More than 3,000 Soldiers from Task Force Liberty and the 278th Regimental Combat Team will conclude their mission in eastern Diyala Province with a departure ceremony on Forward Operating Base Caldwell on Oct. 29th at 11:30 a.m.

• Afghanistan: Journalist Association Head Says Harassment Of Journalists Likely To Increase RFE/RL 26 Oct 2005 -- The recent jailing of an Afghan magazine editor is raising concerns about the issue of press freedom in Afghanistan
• Pinning The Drug Kingpins RFE/RL 26 Oct 2005 -- The United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) on 24 October announced the extradition of alleged drug kingpin Baz Mohammad from Afghanistan to the United States on charges of heroin trafficking.
• Japan's Parliament Approves Extension of Afghan Naval Mission VOA 26 Oct 2005 -- Japan's Parliament has approved a one-year extension of the country's naval mission to support U.S.-led troops in Afghanistan

• U.S., NATO Rushing More Helicopters to Pakistan after Earthquake Washington File 26 Oct 2005 -- The United States and NATO plan to nearly double their numbers of rescue helicopters in Pakistan as United Nations officials report a "desperate need" for more aircraft in the aftermath of the October 8 earthquake.

Defense Policy / Programs

• US, Japan Agree on Relocation of Military Air Base on Okinawa VOA 26 Oct 2005 -- A major barrier has been cleared for a deal between Japan and the United States on the realignment of American forces in the country

• Department of Defense and Office of Personnel Management Announce New Human Resource System 26 Oct 2005 -- The Department of Defense and Office of Personnel Management announced today submission of final regulations for the National Security Personnel System (NSPS) to the Federal Register.
• Transcript: Department of Defense Special Briefing on the National Security Personnel System 26 Oct 2005 -- Presenter: Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England and Office of Personnel Management Director Linda Springer
• New Personnel System's Final Regs Sent to Congress AFPS 26 Oct 2005 -- Ending a nearly two-year process, the Defense Department has presented the final National Security Personnel System regulation to Congress.
• Academy gets new reserve squadron AFPN 26 Oct 2005 -- A new partnership between the reserves and active-duty force soared into the Rocky Mountains when the 70th Flying Training Squadron opened for business here.
• Staging facility offers more than air evacuations AFPN 26 Oct 2005 -- Getting troops injured in battle from the war zone to another location where they can receive more definitive care takes careful planning and coordination.
• Joint Fires Team Works to Get Services Working Together AFPS 26 Oct 2005 -- The services are working to better coordinate operations when more than one service is firing on a common target.
• 'Overmatch' is Watchword for Future Joint Force, Admiral Says AFPS 26 Oct 2005 -- The military is not interested in fairness when it comes to warfighting, a senior Navy officer said here today.
• News Analysis: End strength up despite recruiting shortfall Army News 26 Oct 2005 -- There are those who might focus on the fact that the Army missed its self-imposed recruiting goals in fiscal year 2005, yet ignore the fact that the total end strength and capabilities of the Army are what matter most.
• News Analysis: Competition heats up for recruiting Army News 26 Oct 2005 -- Army recruiters are faced with tougher competition from civilian workforce employers these days.
• ACUs to be sold early '06, until then beware knockoffs Army News 26 Oct 2005 -- Army officials are warning Soldiers against buying imitation Army Combat Uniforms in lieu of waiting for Army-approved ACUs to arrive in stores.
• UNITAS 47-06 Units Sortie for Exercise Execution Navy NewsStand 26 Oct 2005 -- Led by Brazilian Rear Adm. Carlos Augusto, commander of Brazil's 2nd Fleet Division based at Mocangue, embarked in BNS Rademaker, units of the multinational force assembled for UNITAS 47-06 set sail Oct. 21 for the underway portion of the Atlantic phase of this exercise.
• Blue-Green Teamwork Completes Amphibious Landing Navy NewsStand 26 Oct 2005 -- The Marines of 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), together with Sailors of the Forward Deployed Amphibious Ready Group, successfully completed amphibious landing operations Oct. 22-23 in the Republic of the Philippine's island of Luzon as part of Talon Vision and Amphibious Landing Exercise (PHIBLEX) 06.
• Joint and Combined Philippine MEDCAP During Talon Vision/PHIBLEX 06 Navy NewsStand 26 Oct 2005 -- U.S. Navy, Marine, and Armed Forces of the Philipines (AFP) medical personnel, currently conducting Talon Vision and Amphibious Landing Exercise(PHIBLEX) 06, provided medical care to more than 800 local residents of Gawad Kalinga Village, Barangay Santa Juliana, Capas, Tarlac, Oct. 23.

• State Department Briefing, October 26 Washington File 26 Oct 2005 -- India, Iran/Israel, Syria, United Nations, Iraq, Israel, Pakistan, United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, Department of State Advisories on Avian Flu
• White House Briefing, October 26 Washington File 26 Oct 2005 -- Briefing with Ambassador Khalilzad, Iraq/number of insurgents, Leak investigation/anxiety level at the White House, Harriet Miers nomination, Palestinian Authority/Hamas, Trip to Florida

Defense Industry

• TIPS industries submit results of NATO AGS study EADS 26 Oct 2005 -- TIPS industries, working with the TCAR team, have submitted a study commissioned under a € 22 million NATO contract, the first in a series of contracts for the recently launched Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) programme. The contract addressed issues such as overall system and radar sensor development, programme risk and cost, as its main priorities. The submission came during the Conference of National Armament Directors meeting today.
• TIPS Industries Submit Results of NATO AGS Study Northrop Grumman 26 Oct 2005 -- The TIPS industries, working with the TCAR team, have submitted a study commissioned under a 22 million euro NATO contract, the first in a series of contracts for the recently launched Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) program. The contract addressed issues such as overall system and radar-sensor development, program risk and cost, as its main priorities. The submission came during the Conference of National Armament Directors meeting on October 26.
• Raytheon Receives $93 Million U.S. Navy Logistics Support Award for F/A-18 Threat Protection Systems Raytheon 26 Oct 2005 -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has been awarded a $93 million contract option for performance based logistics (PBL) support of its ALR-67(V)3 radar warning receiver system for the U.S. Navy. The ALR-67(V)3, which is the state-of-the-art radar warning receiver on U.S. Navy F/A-18E/F carrier-based tactical aircraft, continues to successfully support Navy troops in Middle East operations.
• LOCKHEED MARTIN TEAM COMPLETES MUOS PRELIMINARY DESIGN REVIEW PHASE Lockheed Martin 26 Oct 2005 -- The Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) team led by Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has successfully completed on schedule the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) phase with its U.S. Navy customer. The PDR validated the detailed MUOS design to ensure that the system will meet or exceed the warfighter’s requirements for the next generation narrowband tactical satellite communications system.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL AND THE SPOKESPERSON FOR THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT United Nations 26 Oct 2005
• PRESS CONFERENCE ON WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY United Nations 26 Oct 2005
• Abbas Vows Palestinian Elections Will Take Place on Schedule VOA 26 Oct 2005 -- Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas says parliamentary elections will take place on schedule in January.
• Blast in Israel Kills at Least 5 VOA 26 Oct 2005 -- A suicide bomber struck an open-air market in the Israeli town of Hadera on Wednesday, killing at least five people, including the bomber, and wounding more than 30 others.
• More Violence in Gaza Strip VOA 26 Oct 2005 -- Israel launched more air and missile strikes against targets in the northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, following a rocket attack by Palestinian militants.

• CONGO: Civil war cause of massive displacement, food shortage IRIN 26 Oct 2005 -- Years of civil war in the Republic of Congo (ROC) has resulted in massive population displacement, food shortages and an increase in severe malnutrition, a government official said on Wednesday.
• CONGO: Minister condemns looting during army-rebels clash IRIN 26 Oct 2005 -- A minister in the Republic of Congo has condemned looting that took place last week in a southern suburb of the capital, Brazzaville, during fighting between the army and rebels known as the Ninjas.

• Liberian Election Commission announces planned presidential run-off - UN UN News Centre 26 Oct 2005 -- The National Elections Commission (NEC) of Liberia has released the official and final results of the elections held earlier this month, announcing that a run-off will be necessary between the two leading presidential candidates - Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and George Weah - the United Nations Mission in the country (UNMIL) said today.
• Côte d'Ivoire President says he accepts resolution on appointing new prime minister UN News Centre 26 Oct 2005 -- With the Security Council having endorsed an African Union proposal for the appointment of a powerful new prime minister in Côte d'Ivoire by next Monday, the senior United Nations envoy to the country has said that President Laurent Gbagbo has agreed with the text.
• Bush Praises Macedonia's Implementation of Peace Agreement Washington File 26 Oct 2005 -- President Bush praised Macedonia's progress in implementing the 2001 Ohrid Framework Agreement and told visiting Prime Minister Vlado Buckovski that U.S.-Macedonian bilateral relations have "never been closer."
• Kenya Sends Peacekeepers to Sudan VOA 26 Oct 2005 -- Kenya's government Wednesday said it was dispatching 820 soldiers to southern Sudan to boost the U.N. peacekeeping mission there.
• Southern Thai Militants Launch Series of Attacks VOA 26 Oct 2005 -- Militants in Thailand have launched more than 20 small attacks across the troubled southern provinces, killing at least four people and burning police checkpoints.
• Bosnian Croat Pleads Guilty to War Crimes VOA 26 Oct 2005 -- A former Bosnian Croat paramilitary leader has pleaded guilty to four counts of war crimes for leading an attack on a Muslim village in central Bosnia-Herzegovina in which at least 16 civilians were killed.
• Russia: Rights Group Says Purpose Of Nalchik Attack Still Unclear RFE/RL 26 Oct 2005 -- Armed militants with purported links to Chechnya's separatist leadership on 13-14 October launched an assault on Nalchik, the capital of the predominantly Muslim Russian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria
• BURUNDI-RWANDA: "Asylum seekers" need urgent relief aid, UN official says IRIN 26 Oct 2005 -- Some 1,110 Rwandans who have sought refuge in northern Burundi urgently need relief aid, an official of Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Tuesday.
• ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: No end in sight for border standoff IRIN 26 Oct 2005 -- When the United Nations first deployed peacekeepers in Ethiopia and Eritrea in 2000 to monitor the cessation of hostilities between the two nations, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he hoped the job could be done within a year.
• Colombia's FARC Rebels Deny Attempt on Senator's Life VOA 26 Oct 2005 -- Colombia's largest rebel group has denied it was behind a recent bomb attack on a prominent senator.

News Reports

• PRESS CONFERENCE BY SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON TORTURE United Nations 26 Oct 2005
• U.S., France Working To Send Strong Security Council Signal to Syria Washington File 25 Oct 2005 -- After meeting with the lead U.N. investigator into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, the United States and France are working on a strong Security Council resolution spotlighting the need for Syria to cooperate in the probe, diplomats said October 25.
• Bush Calls for United Response to Syria Following Mehlis Report Washington File 25 Oct 2005 -- President Bush urged the international community to give careful consideration to the findings of the United Nations' Mehlis Report on the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, and to speak with a unified voice regarding Syria's apparent involvement in that killing.
• Syria: U.S., France Mull UN Sanctions Following Hariri Report RFE/RL 26 Oct 2005 -- UN Security Council permanent members France and the United States have threatened Syria with possible sanctions if it fails to detain government officials suspected of involvement in the February assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri
• Russia To Accept Hariri Probe Results RFE/RL 26 Oct 2005 -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Moscow will accept the conclusions of a United Nations probe into the assassination of Lebanon's former premier.
• Diplomatic Pressure Mounts on Syria to Cooperate in Hariri Assassination Probe VOA 25 Oct 2005 -- The head of a U.N. probe into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is urging Syria to cooperate more fully with his investigation.
• U.S., France Float Tough Resolution On Syria RFE/RL 26 Oct 2005 -- The United States, and France have circulated a draft resolution at the United Nations threatening sanctions against Syria if it doesn't cooperate with a UN investigation into the assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister.
• US, France, Britain Seek Sanctions in Hariri Assassination Probe VOA 26 Oct 2005 -- The United States, Britain and France are asking the U.N. Security Council to threaten Syria with sanctions unless it cooperates with the investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

• Uzbek Terror Trial Enters Final Phase RFE/RL 26 Oct 2005 -- Uzbek lawyers today began their closing arguments at the trial of 15 people accused of organizing an antigovernment revolt in the eastern Uzbek city of Andijon.

• Pakistan army opening blocked roads IRNA 26 Oct 2005 -- Pakistan army said on Wednesday that a 42- kilometer stretch of road between Muzaffarabad and Chakothi, the town along the Line of Control, has been reopened and work is in progress on the remaining 15 km of road to reach Chakothi.
• Pakistan: UN Donor Conference Aims To Aid Quake Victims Before Winter RFE/RL 26 Oct 2005 -- UN aid officials say more people could die of hunger, cold and injuries in the aftermath of Pakistan's earthquake than during the earthquake itself unless representatives of rich countries meeting in Geneva on Wednesday (26 October) quickly come up with more aid money.
• USAID's Natsios Urges Cooperation on Pakistan Earthquake Relief Washington File 26 Oct 2005 -- U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Andrew Natsios has called for international collaboration to address Pakistan's immediate disaster-relief requirements and long-term reconstruction needs following the devastating October 8 earthquake.
• UN Seeks More Funds For Pakistani Quake Victims RFE/RL 26 Oct 2005 -- The United Nations has raised its appeal for emergency relief for Pakistani earthquake victims to $550 million ahead of a high-level donor conference.

• PRESS CONFERENCE BY SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS United Nations 26 Oct 2005
• Sea Launch Departs Home Port for Inmarsat-4 Mission Boeing 26 Oct 2005 -- The Odyssey Launch Platform and the Sea Launch Commander have departed Home Port in Long Beach, Calif., for Sea Launch's fourth mission of the year. The Sea Launch team is preparing to launch the Inmarsat-4 (I-4) communications satellite on Nov. 4, at the opening of a 30-minute launch window, at 6:22:54 am Pacific Time (14:22:54 GMT).