Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 24 Apr 2007 [PDF]
• Task Force Lightning Patrol Base Attacked
• MNF-W forces attacked
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• Navy Combat Corpsmen Return to Boxer from Iraq Navy NewsStand 24 Apr 2007 -- The hospital corpsmen of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) Special Operations Capable (SOC) returned to Boxer Expeditionary Strike Group (BOXESG) on April 14 after conducting security operations (MSO) in Iraq since mid-November.
• Seabees Build Command Outpost in Al Anbar Province Navy NewsStand 24 Apr 2007 -- The Seabees of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 28 are finishing construction of a combat outpost for Marine Regimental Combat Team (RCT) 2 and Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines in Iraq's Al Anbar province April 24.
• April 23 airpower summary: Royal Air Force providing airlift support AFPN 24 Apr 2007 -- Coalition airpower supported coalition ground forces in Iraq and International Security Assistance Force troops in Afghanistan in the following operations April 23, according to Combined Air and Space Operations Center officials here.
• Forces Detain Terrorists; Car Bombs Kill Iraqis AFPS 24 Apr 2007 -- Coalition forces detained 10 suspected terrorists in Iraq today, and three Iraqi civilians and six policemen were killed and 49 people were injured in car bomb attacks yesterday and today, military officials reported.
• Efforts Against Extremists Continue in Baghdad AFPS 24 Apr 2007 -- Efforts by Iraqi security forces and the coalition to reduce the violence in Baghdad continue as Operation Law and Order enters its ninth week.
• 9 US Soldiers Killed in Suicide Attack in Iraq VOA 24 Apr 2007 -- A suicide car bombing north of the Iraqi capital has killed nine American soldiers and wounded 20 in one of the worst attacks on U.S. ground forces since the 2003 invasion.
• DoD News Briefing with Col. Schweitzer from Afghanistan 24 Apr 2007 -- Presenter: Commander, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division Col. Martin Schweitzer
• Analysis: Canada's Afghan Jitters cfr.org 24 Apr 2007 -- A spike in military casualties, a political debate over proposed withdrawal timetables, and plummeting public support for the war effort-all these factors fuel a partisan debate in the capital
• U.S. Working to Pop Afghanistan's Drug Market Bubble AFPS 24 Apr 2007 -- The United States has a "five-pillar" plan to counter the Afghan narcotics industry, which supplies about 93 percent of the world's opium and has a virtual monopoly over the global heroin market, a top Defense Department official said here today.
• Suicide Bombings Backfire on Taliban, U.S. Officer Says AFPS 24 Apr 2007 -- Recent suicide-bombing attacks against innocent Afghans indicate a changed Taliban strategy that is backfiring on the radical Islamic group, a senior U.S. military officer in Afghanistan told Pentagon reporters today.
• AFGHANISTAN: Men in uniforms rob civilians in Helmand IRIN 24 Apr 2007 -- Local residents in the Sangeen district of the restive southern Afghan province of Helmand said armed Afghan men in military uniforms looted their homes and businesses in early April

Defense Policy / Programs

• President Bush Discusses Iraq War Supplemental The White House 24 Apr 2007
• Bush: U.S. Security Tied to Success in Iraq AFPS 24 Apr 2007 -- Although most Americans would like to see the conflict in Iraq end and U.S. troops come home, America must persevere in Iraq to ensure its own future security, President Bush said here today.
• Bush Repeats Promise to Veto Iraq Spending VOA 24 Apr 2007 -- The White House is stepping-up attacks against opposition Democrats who want funding for wars in Afghanistan and Iraq tied to a timetable for a troop withdrawal
• Military Commission Charges Referred 24 Apr 2007 -- The Department of Defense announced today that charges were referred to a military commission in the case of Omar Ahmed Khadr by the Convening Authority, Office of Military Commissions, Susan J. Crawford.
• Missile Defense Research Satellite Launched 24 Apr 2007 -- Air Force Lt. General Henry "Trey" Obering III, Missile Defense Agency director, announced the successful launch today of the Near Field Infrared Experiment (NFIRE) satellite from the NASA Space Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Virginia. The launch took place at approximately 2:49 am EDT.
• Press Conference with Secretary of Defense Gates and Minister Szczyglo from Warsaw, Poland 24 Apr 2007 -- Presenter: Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates and Polish Minister of Defense Aleksander Szczyglo
• Statements By Secretary Of Defense Robert Gates And Russian Minister Of Defense Anatoly Serdyukov from Moscow Russia 24 Apr 2007 -- Presenter: Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates and Russian Minister of Defense Serdyukov
• DoD Briefing with Deputy Assistant Secretary Douglas from the Pentagon Briefing Room, Arlington, Va 24 Apr 2007 -- Presenter: Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Counter-Narcotics, Counter-Proliferation And Global Threats
• General Emphasizes Use of Partnerships in Fighting Terror AFPS 24 Apr 2007 -- The global war on terror is more than a military fight; it is a war that will require the work of many U.S. and coalition agencies, a senior military official told a group of civilian leaders attending the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference here yesterday.
• Joint integration vital for Atlantic Strike participants AFPN 24 Apr 2007 -- The Joint Fires Integration and Interoperability Team from Joint Forces Command helped Exercise Atlantic Strike V participants improve joint combat effectiveness April 14 to 20 here.
• Russian aircraft transports ANG rescue helicopters AFPN 24 Apr 2007 -- Air National Guardsmen here worked with an aircraft that was vastly different from the MC-130P Combat Shadow tankers, HH-60G Pave Hawk rescue helicopters and other Air Force aircraft they are accustomed to.
• USAFE Airmen kick off Sniper Lance 2007 AFPN 24 Apr 2007 -- More than 200 U.S. Air Forces in Europe Airmen arrived here April 20 to participate in Exercise Sniper Lance 2007.
• Extended Deployments Should Lessen Army Stress, Commander Says AFPS 24 Apr 2007 -- Extended overseas deployments affecting soldiers serving in Afghanistan and other locales overseen by U.S. Central Command should help to alleviate the stress on the Army, a senior U.S. officer in Afghanistan told Pentagon reporters today.
• Replenishment at Sea Aboard Nimitz Navy NewsStand 24 Apr 2007 -- USS Nimitz (CVN 68) participated in a replenishment at sea (RAS) with USNS Rainier (T-AOE 7) and USNS Flint (T-AE 26) April 12.
• Partnership of the Americas Conducts PASSEX with Spanish Navy NewsStand 24 Apr 2007 -- Partnership of the Americas (POA) Task Group 40.0 conducted Passing Exercises (PASSEX) April 20 - 21 with the Spanish Frigate Santa Maria (F 81) while underway during POA 2007.
• U.S. Military's Africa Command Will Help African Leaders Washington File 24 Apr 2007 -- The U.S. military's new command center for Africa, Africa Command (AFRICOM), will not include large numbers of troops, but will promote regional security and stability while coordinating U.S. support for African leaders, senior Pentagon officials say.
• U.S., Polish Defense Leaders: Missile Defense Will Enhance Security AFPS 24 Apr 2007 -- U.S. and Polish defense leaders agree that basing ground-based, missile defense interceptors in Poland will enhance the country's security.
• Secretary Gates Offers Missile-Defense Partnership with Russia Washington File 24 Apr 2007 -- The United States has invited Russian officials to visit U.S. anti-missile sites in Alaska and California, and is offering unprecedented partnership in missile defense while trying to address concerns about the proposed placement of missile interceptors in Central Europe, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said during a visit to Moscow.
• Russia rejects U.S. missile defense proposals RIA Novosti 24 Apr 2007 -- Russia believes that the U.S. global missile defense system is aimed against it and will not cooperate with Washington on the issue, the chief of the Russian General Staff said Tuesday.
• Russia, India start anti-terror naval exercise in Pacific RIA Novosti 24 Apr 2007 -- Russia and India have launched a three-day joint naval counterterrorism exercise in the Sea of Japan, the press service of Russia's Pacific Fleet said Tuesday.
• Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 24 Apr 2007

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for April 24, 2007
• Pratt & Whitney F100 Engine Line Opens at Egypt Air Force's Helwan Depot Pratt & Whitney 24 Apr 2007 -- Pratt & Whitney, in partnership with the United States Air Force and the Egyptian Air Force, announced today the opening of the F100 engine line at the Helwan Depot located at the Helwan Air Base in Egypt
• General Dynamics-Built Missile Defense Agency Satellite is Successfully Launched into Orbit General Dynamics 24 Apr 2007 -- The Near Field Infrared Experiment (NFIRE), built by General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), was successfully launched into low earth orbit today from the NASA facility at Wallops Island, Va.
• Orbital Successfully Launches Minotaur I Rocket Carrying U.S. Missile Defense Agency's NFIRE Satellite Orbital Sciences Corp. 24 Apr 2007 -- Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) announced today that its Minotaur I rocket successfully launched the Near Field InfraRed Experiment (NFIRE) spacecraft for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and U.S. Air Force
• Lockheed Martin / Northrop Grumman Team Moves Closer to Developing Flight-Ready Laser Terminals for TSAT Northrop Grumman 24 Apr 2007 -- The Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT)/Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Transformational Satellite Communications System (TSAT) team announced today that functional interoperability aspects of its laser communications risk reduction subsystem have been evaluated in a test conducted at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratory (MIT/LL).
• L-3 Communications Link Simulation and Training Delivers F/A-18C/D Aircrew Flight Trainers to U.S. Marine Corps L-3 Communications 24 Apr 2007 -- L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL) announced today that its Link Simulation and Training (L-3 Link) division has delivered two F/A-18C/D Aircrew Flight Trainers (AFTs) that have achieved ready-for-training status to U.S. Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar, CA.
• L-3 Communications Link Simulation and Training Delivers F-16 Aircrew Training System to Royal Air Force of Oman L-3 Communications 24 Apr 2007 -- LLL) announced today that the F-16 Aircrew Training System that was built and delivered for the Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO) has achieved ready-for-training status.
• Raytheon Finalizes $184 Million Radar Equipment Contract Raytheon 24 Apr 2007 -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has finalized a $184 million U.S. Navy contract for radar equipment for the Royal Australian Navy's Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) and the Spanish Navy's F-105 Frigate.
• ATK Propulsion and Composite Technologies Support Minotaur Launch of the NFIRE ATK 24 Apr 2007 -- Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK) solid propulsion and composite technologies supported the successful launch yesterday of an Orbital Sciences Corporation Minotaur launch vehicle from Wallops Island, Virginia.
• Boeing Marks 18th Anniversary of GPS Block II Program Boeing 24 Apr 2007 -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] and the U.S. Air Force marked the 18th anniversary of the activation of the first Global Positioning System Block II satellite on April 14.
• Orbital Successfully Launches Minotaur I Rocket Carrying U.S. Missile Defense Agency's NFIRE Satellite Orbital Sciences Corp. 24 Apr 2007 -- Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) announced today that its Minotaur I rocket successfully launched the Near Field InfraRed Experiment (NFIRE) spacecraft for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and U.S. Air Force.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 24 Apr 2007
• PRESS CONFERENCE BY EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR ON HUMANITARIAN SITUATION IN SOMALIA United Nations 24 Apr 2007
• Red Cross Warns of Thousands Fleeing Mogadishu VOA 24 Apr 2007 -- The International Committee of the Red Cross reports hundreds of civilians caught in fighting in Mogadishu, Somalia have been wounded in the past few days and thousands of people continue to flee
• SOMALIA: Kismayo fighting forces civilians to flee camps IRIN 24 Apr 2007 -- Fighting between different clans serving in Somali's interim government in the port city of Kismayo had forced displaced persons living in camps to flee again, sources said.
• Somalia now world's most dangerous place for aid workers, says UN official UN News Centre 24 Apr 2007 -- Somalia has become the most dangerous place in the world for relief workers to operate, the United Nations humanitarian chief warned today, with none of the sides in the deadly fighting that has raged across the capital Mogadishu in recent weeks respecting the rules of war or making any allowance for aid operations.
• PRESS CONFERENCE ON SECURITY COUNCIL FACT-FINDING MISSION TO BELGRADE AND KOSOVO United Nations 24 Apr 2007
• UN Security Council Goes on Kosovo Fact-Finding Mission VOA 24 Apr 2007 -- U.N. Security Council ambassadors are going on a fact-finding mission to the Balkans this week as they consider the future status of Kosovo
• Kosovo: Is Partition Most Likely Outcome? RFE/RL 24 Apr 2007 -- Many commentators have suggested that the Serbian-dominated north of Kosovo will break off from that province and become a part of Serbia if the Albanian majority declares independence.
• UN Kosovo report over optimistic - Russian envoy RIA Novosti 24 Apr 2007 -- Russia's ambassador to the United Nations has described a UN report on the situation in Kosovo and the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1244 as too rosy.
• Prodi Denounces Hamas for Breaking Truce VOA 24 Apr 2007 -- Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi Tuesday denounced Hamas militants for breaking a cease-fire with Israel, but Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the truce violation was an exceptional act
• Israel comes under missile attack from Palestinian militants RIA Novosti 24 Apr 2007 -- Palestinian militants have fired missiles and mortar shells on parts of Israel bordering the Gaza Strip, the Israeli Army press service said Tuesday.
• Six Lankan soldiers killed, 10 wounded in LTTE air attack IRNA 24 Apr 2007 -- Six soldiers were killed and ten others wounded as Tamil Tigers rebels used light aircraft to bomb a military airbase in Sri Lanka's northern peninsula of Jaffna. This is the second air attack in less than a month.
• Tamil Tiger Rebels Mount Second Air Strike in Sri Lanka VOA 24 Apr 2007 -- In Sri Lanka, Tamil Tiger rebels have mounted an air strike against a key government military base, killing at least six soldiers
• Nepal: a year after 'people's movement' sparked change, UN envoy hails progress UN News Centre 24 Apr 2007 -- One year after democracy and human rights demonstrators sparked a series of events that led Nepal to embark on a peace process, the senior United Nations envoy there today said the determination of the country's people to ensure its success remains a cause for optimism.
• UN peacekeeping mission still has work to do in Côte d'Ivoire, UN official says UN News Centre 24 Apr 2007 -- Even after the signing of a peace accord in Côte d'Ivoire, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the West African country still has much work ahead of it, an official for the world body has said.
• Deployment of UN peacekeepers to Sudan premature - Khartoum RIA Novosti 24 Apr 2007 -- Sudan's leadership believes that holding talks with the UN on deploying a joint UN-African Union peacekeeping contingent in the rebellious province of Darfur is premature, Sudan's envoy to the UN said Tuesday.

News Reports

• Khalilzad Calls Middle East 'Defining Challenge' as He Assumes UN Post VOA 24 Apr 2007 -- Veteran U.S. diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad has taken over as ambassador to the United Nations, saying he sees the greater Middle East as the defining challenge of our times
• Orbital Set To Launch Company-Built AIM Scientific Spacecraft For NASA Aboard Pegasus Rocket Orbital Sciences Corp. 24 Apr 2007 -- Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) today announced that it is in final preparations to launch the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) satellite that the company designed, manufactured and tested for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
• Thales Alenia Space to build THOR 6 communications satellite for Telenor Satellite Broadcasting AS Thales 24 Apr 2007 -- Thales Alenia Space announced today that it has signed a contract with Telenor Satellite Broadcasting AS, a subsidiary of Norway's telecommunication provider Telenor, for the construction and delivery of a new GEO communications satellite, THOR 6. It is the first Thales Alenia Space satellite ordered by Telenor Satellite Broadcasting AS.