Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 13 Mar 2006 [PDF]
• MARINE DIES DUE TO ENEMEY ACTION
• MND-B SOLDIER KILLED BY ROADSIDE BOMB
• DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
• CENTAF releases combined airpower summary report AFPN 13 Mar 2006 -- U.S. Central Command Air Forces officials released the airpower summary report for March 11 to 13.
• Iraqi Police Nab Insurgents; Soldiers Find Weapons AFPS 13 Mar 2006 -- Iraqi and multinational forces have captured more terrorism suspects and discovered more weapons caches in recent days, military officials in Iraq reported.
• Terrorists Kill, Wound Scores of Iraqi Civilians AFPS 13 Mar 2006 -- Scores of Iraqis have been killed or injured in terrorist attacks in the Baghdad area over the last two days, military officials reported.
• Scores of insurgents captured, weapons caches found Army News 13 Mar 2006 -- More than 50 insurgents were apprehended and 37 weapons caches were seized during raids by Iraqi and U.S. troops throughout Central Iraq March 3-12.
• Afghanistan: Defense Minister Says Security Improving, Despite Attacks RFE/RL 13 Mar 2006 -- Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak said in Brussels today that the security situation in his country is improving, despite the recent increase in terrorist attacks.
• Spartans Take Reins in Eastern Afghanistan AFPS 13 Mar 2006 -- The 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 10th Mountain Division - known as the Spartans - assumed authority for the coalition's Regional Command East from the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment in a ceremony here today.
• Troops in Afghanistan Respond to Attack, Detain Insurgents AFPS 13 Mar 2006 -- Coalition forces are continuing assaults against extremists in the Pech Valley of Afghanistan's Kunar province following a roadside bomb attack that killed four U.S. servicemembers yesterday, military officials reported today.
• Pakistan Denies Trying To Kill Former Afghan President RFE/RL 13 Mar 2006 -- Pakistan today said accusations it was involved in an assassination attempt on a former Afghan president on March 12 were "baseless."
• Interview: Two Tajik Prisoners In Afghanistan Held For Alleged Al-Qaeda Ties RFE/RL 13 Mar 2006 -- The notorious Pol-e Charkhi prison on the outskirts of Kabul was the scene of several days of riots in March in which five people were killed and over 25 injured.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Plan to Cut US Marines Presence on Okinawa May Do Little to Ease Islanders' Concerns VOA 13 Mar 2006 -- The United States and Japan are discussing plans to move 8,000 U.S. Marines off the island of Okinawa
• Current Ops Helping Bolster Joint Training Emphasis AFPS 13 Mar 2006 -- Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are reaffirming every day the military must improve the way it conducts and trains to work in joint and coalition operations, U.S. Joint Forces Command's training chief told the American Forces Press Service.
• War on Terror Not Confined to al Qaeda, CENTCOM General Says AFPS 13 Mar 2006 -- The enemy in the war on terror is not limited to al Qaeda and its associated movements in Iraq and Afghanistan, but includes a global network of extremist groups, a U.S. Central Command general said here March 11.
• Black Hawks support New Horizons Army News 13 Mar 2006 -- More than 2,000 miles from home, 150 men and women from the New York National Guard are playing a key role in New Horizons 2006-Honduras.
• McHale: DoD Acted Quickly to Provide Post-Katrina Support AFPS 13 Mar 2006 -- The Defense Department acted as rapidly as law would allow in providing assistance to civil authorities coping with Hurricane Katrina, which hit the Gulf Coast late last August, a senior DoD official told a Senate Armed Services subcommittee March 10.
• White House Briefing, March 13 Washington File 11 Mar 2006 -- Iraq, Claude Allen, FEMA, Iran, Medicare, terrorist surveillance program
• State Department Briefing, March 13 Washington File 11 Mar 2006 -- Iran, Israel/Palestinians, Armenia, Eritrea/Ethiopia, Serbia, North Korea, Japan, Canada, Cyprus

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for March 13, 2006
• CACI Awarded $157 Million in Previously Unannounced Contracts to Support National Security and Intelligence CACI 13 Mar 2006 -- CACI International Inc (NYSE:CAI) announced today that it has won approximately $157 million in previously unannounced contracts to support federal government clients in the national security and intelligence communities. All the contracts have been awarded since January 1, 2006. The awards support CACI's ongoing expansion of its offerings for national security and intelligence.
• Boeing Delivers First Peace Eagle Aircraft for Airborne Early Warning and Control Modifications Boeing 13 Mar 2006 -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] today achieved a major milestone for Turkey's Peace Eagle program by delivering a 737-700 to TUSAS Aerospace Industries, Inc. (TAI) of Ankara, Turkey, for modification to an airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) platform.
• Lockheed Martin Receives $51 Million Contract for Marine Corps High Mobility Artillery Rocket System Lockheed Martin 13 Mar 2006 -- Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] received a $51.6 million contract modification to provide 18 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) to the U.S. Marine Corps. The contract modification was an option in the U.S. Army’s HIMARS full-rate production contract award to Lockheed Martin in December 2005.
• Raytheon Delivers Software Design Lab for P-8A MMA Radar Integration Raytheon 13 Mar 2006 -- Raytheon Company successfully achieved a significant milestone for the P-8A MMA (Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft) program, having recently delivered the Software Design Lab (Radar) Protocol Emulator (SDL-PE) to Boeing.
• EADS has completed the delivery of the Coastal Surveillance Radar System to Estonia EADS 13 Mar 2006 -- EADS Defence and Communications Systems has completed the delivery of Coastal Surveillance Radar System (CSR), which had been ordered by the Estonian Ministry of Interior. The system, operated by the Estonian Border Guard, covers the entire coastline of more than 500 km. The € 27 million contract includes the delivery of the whole Coastal Surveillance System, including radar, signal processing, multi sensor tracking, system management, data base system and recording & replay based on the EADS product CSS Seatrack 7000.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 13 Mar 2006
• CHAD-SUDAN: African Union wants rival Darfur forces behind buffer zones IRIN 13 Mar 2006 -- African Union mediators in the Nigerian capital Abuja have proposed putting rival forces in Sudan's Darfur conflict behind buffer zones after ceasefire agreements have been repeatedly ignored.
• Security Council welcomes African decision to transform Darfur force UN News Centre 13 Mar 2006 -- The Security Council today welcomed the decision of the African Union (AU) to support, in principle, the transition of the AU peacekeeping mission in the strife-torn Darfur region of Sudan to a United Nations operation.
• SUDAN: AU extends mandate of Darfur peacekeepers IRIN 13 Mar 2006 -- The African Union has extended the mandate of its peacekeeping mission in the western Sudanese Darfur region by six months, after which it will transfer the operation to the United Nations, a statement issued in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa said.
• DRC: Soldiers kill 13 militiamen in Ituri IRIN 13 Mar 2006 -- Congolese soldiers have killed 13 militiamen and captured two others following a clash in the embattled northeastern district of Ituri, Orientale Province, Governor Lola Kisanga said.
• DR of Congo: UN peacekeeping chief stresses importance of credible elections UN News Centre 13 Mar 2006 -- Continuing an official visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the top United Nations peacekeeping official today stressed the need for credible national elections as the world body works to help the war-ravaged country prepare for the June polls.
• UN: Does Milosevic's Death Damage The Credibility Of War Crimes Tribunal? RFE/RL 13 Mar 2006 -- The UN's chief war crimes prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, says the death of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic before the end of his trial makes it even more urgent that other war crimes indictees be brought to justice
• Serbia And Montenegro: The Politics Of Burying Milosevic RFE/RL 13 Mar 2006 -- The question of where to bury former Serbian and Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has implications for Serbian politics.
• Lawyer Says Milosevic Funeral To Be Held In Belgrade RFE/RL 13 Mar 2006 -- A legal adviser to Slobodan Milosevic says the funeral of the former Yugoslav president will be held in Belgrade.
• Annan 'encouraged' by border talks between Ethiopia and Eritrea UN News Centre 13 Mar 2006 -- Encouraged by agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea on arrangements to settle their volatile border dispute, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today urged both parties to cooperate fully with the commission charged with determining that boundary.
• Hamas, Fatah Meet on New Palestinian Government; Israel Arrests Alleged Terrorists VOA 13 Mar 2006 -- Officials from the militant Islamic group Hamas are meeting Monday with the Fatah party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on forming a new Palestinian government.
• CAR: Gov't accuses ex-president of fomenting rebellion IRIN 13 Mar 2006 -- Former President Ange-Felix Patasse is recruiting foreign mercenaries to destabilise the Central African Republic (CAR) and has established a training camp for them on the country's border with Sudan, the office of the president has said.
• BURUNDI: Gov't to verify rebel group's offer to hold peace talks IRIN 13 Mar 2006 -- The Burundian government will not immediately give credence to an offer by the country's remaining rebel group, the Forces nationales de liberation (FNL), to enter into negotiations until it receives the input of a regional initiative aimed at bringing lasting peace to the country, the government's spokesman said on Monday.
• NEPAL: Rebel blockade to go ahead IRIN 13 Mar 2006 -- Maoist rebels are launching a 20-day blockade of Nepal's major urban centres from Tuesday.

News Reports

• ZIMBABWE: Police may arrest more 'coup plotters' IRIN 13 Mar 2006 -- Zimbabwe police have rejected claims of torture made by suspects arrested in connection with an alleged coup plot, and say they are confident of making more arrests soon.
• Successful launch of the HOT BIRD 7A telecommunication satellite, built by Alcatel Alenia Space Thales 13 Mar 2006 -- The HOT BIRDTM 7A telecommunication satellite, built by Alcatel Alenia Space as prime contractor, was successfully boosted into orbit on Saturday, from Kourou, French Guiana at 7:32 pm (local time) by an Ariane 5 ECA rocket. HOT BIRDTM 7A will enable Eutelsat to broadcast digital television channels as well as radio services in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.