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Operations
Defense Policy
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News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 17 Feb 2006 [PDF]

• Iraqi Gunmen Kill 5 Guards, Kidnap Iraqi Businessman VOA 17 Feb 2006 -- Iraqi police say gunmen wearing Iraqi special forces uniforms have kidnapped a wealthy businessman and his son, after killing five of their bodyguards.
• Transcript: DoD News Briefing with Col. Davis 17 Feb 2006 -- Presenter: Commander, Iraqi Public Order National Police Transition Teams, Col. Gordon 'Skip' Davis
• 4th BCT engineers rebuild Baghdad's infrastructure Army News 17 Feb 2006 -- Responsible for the rebuilding of Baghdad's infrastructure - restoration and improvement of electricity, water, sewer and transportation systems, members of the 4th Brigade Combat Team Infrastructure Coordination Element - known as ICE - have their work cut out for them.
• CENTAF releases daily airpower summary AFPN 17 Feb 2006 -- U.S. Central Command Air Forces officials release today's airpower summary.
• Task Forces Bolster OIF, OEF Maritime Security AFPS 17 Feb 2006 -- Three years ago, U.S. Navy SEALs secured the Basra and Khwar Al Amaya oil terminals and started maritime security operations in the Persian Gulf.
• Karzai Says Taliban Chief Harmed Islam, Afghanistan RFE/RL 17 Feb 2006 -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai said during a visit to a border town in Pakistan today that Mullah Omar, the leader of the Taliban movement, has damaged Islam and Afghanistan, RFE/RL's Afghan Service reported.
• USAFE assists Darfur mission AFPN 17 Feb 2006 -- U.S. Air Forces in Europe and U.S. European Command are providing contract airlift transport to Rwandan Defense Forces as part of the African Union's mission in the Darfur region of the Sudan.
• Two Saved, Rescuers Seek 10 More After Helos Crash Off Horn of Africa AFPS 17 Feb 2006 -- Two crewmembers have been rescued and the search continues for 10 others after two U.S. H-53 military helicopters crashed in waters off Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, a Defense Department spokeswoman reported today.
• Bush Requests Additional $72.4 Billion for Fiscal Year 2006 Washington File 17 Feb 2006 -- President Bush sent a $72.4 billion emergency supplemental funding request for fiscal year 2006 to Congress February 16 to pay for the ongoing war on terrorism, urgent humanitarian aid, and other activities, such as promoting democracy in Iran.
• Bush Sends Supplemental Funding Request to Congress AFPS 17 Feb 2006 -- President Bush submitted a request to Congress yesterday for $72.4 billion in supplemental funding to tackle the global war on terror and other ongoing international activities for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.
• Navy Ship Heads Toward Site of Philippine Mudslide Disaster AFPS 17 Feb 2006 -- A U.S. Navy ship already in the area for an exercise is steaming for Leyte Island in the Philippines to provide disaster relief assistance, U.S. State Department officials said in a news release today.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Rumsfeld Rejects Calls to Close Detention Center at Guantanamo Bay VOA 17 Feb 2006 -- U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld says those who call for the closure the detention center at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are just flat wrong.
• US Military Adding New Construction at Guantanamo VOA 17 Feb 2006 -- A report issued by the UN's Human Rights Commission on Thursday called for the closing of the U.S. military detention center at Guantanamo Bay.
• US Officials Decry UN Report on Guantanamo and Latest Abu Ghraib Pictures VOA 17 Feb 2006 -- U.S. officials have dismissed a United Nations human rights report calling on the United States to either bring to trial or release all detainees in its prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
• Transcript: Secretary Rumsfeld Remarks at Council on Foreign Relations 17 Feb 2006 -- Presenter: Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld
• Forward Deployed ARG Responds to Landslide in Philippines Navy NewsStand 17 Feb 2006 -- In support of emergent humanitarian relief efforts in the Republic of the Philippines, Sailors and Marines from the Forward Deployed Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and elements of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade (3D MEB) were called to provide assistance to the victims of a recent landslide in Southern Leyte Feb 17.
• Sasebo Minesweepers Conduct MINEX-EODEX '06 Navy NewsStand 17 Feb 2006 -- Two forward deployed U.S Navy mine countermeasures ships with embarked personnel and 19 Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) assets began a joint and combined MINEX-EODEX (Mine Exercise/Explosive Ordnance Disposal Exercise) 2006 off the coast of Kure, Japan, Feb. 15.
• Cope Tiger '06 wraps up in Thailand AFPN 17 Feb 2006 -- Nearly 300 Airmen are packing their bags and returning home to bases throughout the Pacific as officials mark the end of a two-week multi-lateral exercise called Cope Tiger '06.
• African Nations Prepare to Test Communications Systems AFPS 17 Feb 2006 -- More than 25 African and European nations gathered here Feb. 14 to 16 for a concept planning conference for exercise Africa Endeavor 06.
• Global Hawk UAV returns to America AFPN 17 Feb 2006 -- The Edwards flightline is the scheduled return landing site for Prototype Global Hawk Air Vehicle No. 3, an unmanned aircraft that has flown 4,245 hours in support of combat operations for Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom and the Combined Task Force-Horn of Africa mission.
• White House Briefing, February 17 Washington File 17 Feb 2006 -- Sudan, Philippines, Iraq, week ahead
• State Department Briefing, February 17 Washington File 17 Feb 2006 -- Philippines, Middle East, Iran, Palestinian Authority, Greece, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, North Korea, United Nations

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for February 17, 2006
• BAE Systems IAAPS program demonstrates capability to defeat kinetic energy threats under TARDEC survivability program BAE Systems 17 Feb 2006 -- BAE Systems has demonstrated the capability to defeat kinetic energy threats under contract to the U.S. Armys Tank and Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) survivability program, achieving another significant milestone in the Integrated Army Active Protection System (IAAPS) program.
• Boeing Completes Flight Testing of Weapon Data-Link Network Boeing 17 Feb 2006 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE:BA] has successfully completed flight testing of components of the U.S. Air Force's new Weapon Data Link Network (WDLN), which has applications for a number of weapons systems.
• Raytheon Partners with Merex for HAWK Whole Life System Support Raytheon 17 Feb 2006 -- Raytheon Company's Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) has appointed Merex Inc. as its exclusive licensee for HAWK Phase II and Phase III ground system components, spares and repairs. This partnership ensures that Raytheon's HAWK customers will have reliable whole life system support throughout the life of the system.
• Sikorsky Aircraft Awarded Contract for H-53E Fleet Support Sikorsky 17 Feb 2006 -- Sikorsky Aircraft has signed a contract with the U.S. Navy - Naval Inventory Control Point (NAVICP) to provide logistics support for H-53E heavy-lift and minesweeping helicopters. Sikorsky Aircraft is subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX).

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 17 Feb 2006
• NIGERIA: Army trades fire with militant groups in Niger Delta IRIN 17 Feb 2006 -- An army helicopter gunship on routine patrol in Nigeria's turbulent Niger Delta region exchanged fire on Friday with militants active in the oil-rich zone, military officials said.
• NIGERIA: Army attack on smugglers injured villagers, Niger Delta residents say IRIN 17 Feb 2006 -- Nigerian military helicopters have attacked what the government says were barges used for smuggling in the Niger Delta region, but residents said the attack injured several people, leaving six unaccounted for and feared dead.
• Top Israeli Officials Discuss Sanctions Against Hamas VOA 17 Feb 2006 -- Top Israeli officials have discussed sanctions against the Palestinians, as the Islamic militant group Hamas prepares to take power.
• Moscow Says Upcoming Talks Aim to Bring Hamas Into Mideast Peace Process VOA 17 Feb 2006 -- Russia's foreign minister say he hopes the Palestinian group, Hamas, will decide to become a legitimate part of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process
• Moscow Accuses Tbilisi Of 'Mean Tricks' Campaign RFE/RL 17 Feb 2006 -- Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov today accused Tbilisi of staging provocations against Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia.
• Moscow Criticizes Tbilisi On Peacekeepers RFE/RL 17 Feb 2006 -- Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov today accused Tbilisi of staging provocations against Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia.
• Bush Wants More Troops for Darfur VOA 17 Feb 2006 -- President Bush says peace in Sudan would help end attacks by Ugandan rebels based in southern Sudan.
• COTE D IVOIRE: International panel meets, Egeland winds up visit IRIN 17 Feb 2006 -- A panel of international mediators overseeing a UN peace blueprint for Cote d'Ivoire met on Friday as the European Commission pledged funds to assist reunification of the war-divided nation.
• India advises Sri Lanka to be "flexible" during peace talks with LTTE IRNA 17 Feb 2006 -- India has advised Sri Lanka to be "flexible" during talks with the Tamil Tiger guerrillas in Geneva next week.
• CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Violence in the northwest claimed 27, Red Cross says IRIN 17 Feb 2006 -- The national Red Cross of the Central African Republic has confirmed it had buried more dead bodies than officially announced following violence in the northwestern town of Pahoua on 29 December 2005.
• BENIN: Refugees flee camp after clashes with villagers IRIN 17 Feb 2006 -- Crowds of Togolese refugees have fled the Lokossa camp in Benin after fierce clashes with local residents in which several people were hurt, some by gunfire, local officials told IRIN on Friday.
• DRC: Ruling party's election strategy in Katanga is raising ethnic tension IRIN 17 Feb 2006 -- Human rights groups warn that ethnic tension is rising in Katanga province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in part because the ruling party of President Joseph Kabila is attempting to take control of politically and economically important cultural associations in the province, ahead of national elections.

News Reports

• United States Wants New Haitian Government To Succeed, Rice Says Washington File 17 Feb 2006 -- The United States wants the newly elected Haitian government of René Préval to succeed in bringing about a stable, prosperous and democratic Haiti, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.
• Security Council, Annan congratulate President-elect René Préval of Haiti UN News Centre 17 Feb 2006 -- Applauding the Haitian people for their patience and continuing commitment to democracy, the United Nations Security Council today congratulated René Préval on his victory in the Caribbean country's recent presidential election.
• Rice Urges 'United Front' Against Venezuela VOA 17 Feb 2006 -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is calling for a "united front" against Venezuela, which she says is attempting to steer its neighbors away from democratic processes.
• Land Launch Receives Contract Award from Israel Aircraft Industries Boeing 17 Feb 2006 -- Space International Services and Sea Launch Company are pleased to announce the award of a firm launch contract with Israel Aircraft Industries, Ltd., utilizing the Land Launch system.