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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 18 May 2007 [PDF]
• PATROL STRUCK BY IED SOUTH OF BAGHDAD
• DoD Announces Change-In-Status Of Army Soldier
• MND-B units attacked during operations
• Task Force Lightning Soldiers attacked
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• Transcript: Special DoD Briefing with COL Simcock on Ongoing Security Operations In Western Iraq from the Pentagon Briefing Room, Arlington Va. 18 May 2007 -- Presenter: Colonel Richard Simcock, Commander, Regimental Combat Team Six
• May 17 aipower summary: Lancers provide overwatch AFPN 18 May 2007 -- Coalition airpower supported coalition ground forces in Iraq and International Security Assistance Force troops in Afghanistan in the following operations May 17, according to Combined Air and Space Operations Center officials here.
• U.S., Iraqi Units Continue Search for Missing Soldiers AFPS 18 May 2007 -- Search efforts continue for three missing U.S. soldiers who are believed to have been abducted by al Qaeda on May 12 in Quarghuli Village, Iraq.
• Two Car Bombs Prevented, Eight Others Take Toll in Iraq AFPS 18 May 2007 -- Iraqi and coalition forces prevented two car bomb attacks but were unable to stop eight others May 16 in Iraq, military officials reported.
• NAVELSG Returns from Deployment Navy NewsStand 18 May 2007 -- Reserve Sailors from Navy Expeditionary Logistics Support Group (NAVELSG) Port Group Echo returned to Naval Station Norfolk, May 16 after a seven-month deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• Vehicle maintainers keep Balad rollin' AFPN 18 May 2007 -- Some of the dirtiest combat boots on base can be found in hardened aircraft shelters where vehicle maintainers with the 332nd Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron work elbow deep in grease-covered auto parts and claim "the only thing we can't fix is your driving."
• 1-15 INFANTRY CONDUCTS OPERATION BEACH YELLOW CENTCOM 18 May 2007 -- Iraqi and U.S. forces detained four suspected insurgents during Operation Beach Yellow in the town of Dura-iya May 14.
• Insurgents Killed, Detained in Afghanistan; Weapons Cache Destroyed AFPS 18 May 2007 -- Afghan and coalition forces killed a significant number of insurgents, detained seven militants and destroyed a weapons cache in Afghanistan over the past three days.
• Afghanistan: U.S. Ambassador To UN Says Global Success Tied To Afghan Progress RFE/Rl 18 May 2007 -- RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan spoke recently with U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad.
• Afghanistan: RFE/RL Analyst Explores Pakistani-Afghan Tensions RFE/RL 18 May 2007 -- Government troops from Afghanistan and Pakistan have clashed along their border repeatedly this month -- with more than a dozen people reportedly killed in artillery barrages and gun fire

Defense Policy / Programs

• Army to Continue with Bell Helicopter/Textron Inc. For Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter Army News Release 15 May 2007 -- During the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter Special Army Systems Acquisition Review Council May 18, the Army evaluated and considered options in the procurement of the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter to replace the rapidly aging and depleted fleet of OH-58D Kiowa Warriors
• Thinking lean, a must for stronger, smaller Air Force AFPN 18 May 2007 -- The U.S. Air Forces in Europe vice commander, Maj. Gen. Marc Rogers, spent time with senior leaders at Incirlik Air Base to discuss the importance of Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century, or AFSO21.
• Reserve-Component Funding at Historic Highs AFPS 18 May 2007 -- Funding for reserve forces will hit a historic high if Congress approves the component's full fiscal 2008 $18.1 billion request, a Defense Department official testified this week.
• Defense Department Calls for Service Reports on Reserve Needs AFPS 18 May 2007 -- A top defense logistics official has asked the services to report on their reserve-component needs by the end of the month.
• Oversight Council Checks Out Mine-Resistant Vehicles AFPS 18 May 2007 -- Senior military and civilian leaders from the Joint Requirements Oversight Council got an up-close look at Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle capabilities during a visit here yesterday.
• Kitty Hawk, Air Wing Prepare to Take Flight Again Navy NewsStand 18 May 2007 -- USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) departed Yokosuka, Japan, on May 15, to begin carrier qualifications after a four-month maintenance period and recent sea trials.
• "Flexible" Grasp Recovers Special Operations Gear During Exercise Navy NewsStand 18 May 2007 -- Executing an innovative plan designed to maximize the effectiveness of exercise training, salvage ship USNS Grasp (T-ARS 51) played a vital role May 14 during Exercise Flexible Leader 07.
• CSG 9 Hits the Deck Running on USS Abraham Lincoln Navy NewsStand 18 May 2007 -- In the two months since assuming command of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 9, Rear Adm. Scott Van Buskirk has hit the deck running, familiarizing himself with the ships and aircraft of the strike group as well as his new flagship, USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72).
• Horton Takes the Helm Navy NewsStand 18 May 2007 -- Capt. Ronald Horton relieved Capt. Larry Rice as commanding officer of USS Enterprise (CVN 65) "Big E" May 17 in a ceremony aboard the Navy's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, on Naval Station Norfolk.
• USS Nimitz Provides Military, Diplomatic Support VOA 18 May 2007 -- The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz recently arrived in the Arabian Sea to support coalition forces fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan
• Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 18 May 2007
• Press Gaggle by Tony Fratto The White House 18 May 2007

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for May 13, 2007
• Boeing Dual-Cockpit Cueing System Introduced to U.S. Navy Squadron Boeing 18 May 2007 -- The first Boeing [NYSE: BA] F/A-18F Super Hornet retrofitted with an aft cockpit Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) has arrived at Strike Fighter Squadron 213 (VFA-213), the first U.S. Navy fleet squadron to fly the aircraft with the dual-cockpit system.
• Raytheon-BAE Systems Bofors Excalibur Team Tests Extended-Range, Precision- Guided Artillery Projectiles Raytheon 18 May 2007 -- The Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) Missile Systems and BAE Systems Bofors Excalibur team test fired Excalibur Block Ia-2 precision-guided artillery projectiles at the White Sands Missile Range, N.M., testing range April 10-17.
• INDRA and EADS CASA provide the Spanish Army with a new intelligence system to support their troops in Afghanistan. EADS 18 May 2007 -- INDRA and EADS CASA Military Air Systems have been selected by the Spanish Ministry of Defence to provide the Spanish Army with a sensorized autonomous intelligence platform (PASI – plataforma autónoma sensorizada de inteligencia) in order to support the Spanish troops in Afghanistan

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 18 May 2007
• PRESS CONFERENCE BY SECRETARY-GENERAL’S SPECIAL ENVOY FOR DARFUR United Nations 18 May 2007
• SUDAN: Security forces involved in attacks, says report IRIN 18 May 2007 -- Sudanese security forces should be investigated for their involvement in attacks on villages in South Darfur, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said.
• Deadly attacks in South Darfur spark UN call for independent inquiry UN News Centre 18 May 2007 -- The United Nations human rights chief today called for an immediate independent probe into the involvement of Sudanese Government security forces in deadly attacks this year against a series of villages in the violence-wracked Darfur region.
• Number of returning southern Sudanese refugees tops 140,000 - UN agencies UN News Centre 18 May 2007 -- More than 140,000 southern Sudanese refugees have returned home since the north-south civil war ended at the start of 2005, but almost twice as many remain in neighbouring countries, the United Nations humanitarian arm reported today.
• UN Report Accuses Sudan Forces of Killing Spree in Darfur VOA 18 May 2007 -- The United Nations human rights office has accused Sudanese security forces of indiscriminately killing more than 100 civilians in South Darfur over the first three months of this year
• SRI LANKA: WFP official calls for improved humanitarian access IRIN 18 May 2007 -- A senior World Food Programme (WFP) official, Tony Banbury, has called for additional resources, improved humanitarian access and greater security for aid workers who are helping 400,000 people displaced in Sri Lanka.
• SRI LANKA: Complex food distribution operation for displaced people in Batticaloa IRIN 18 May 2007 -- Distributing food rations to over 100,000 people displaced by conflict in eastern Sri Lanka is a logistical challenge
• Rice Discusses Gaza Violence with Palestinian, Israeli Leaders Washington File 18 May 2007 -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert May 17 to express U.S. concern over factional violence in the Gaza Strip that has left scores of people dead in less than a week.
• New Special Envoy for Somalia Says Successful Reconciliation Congress Biggest Challenge VOA 18 May 2007 -- The United States' new envoy for Somalia, Ambassador John Yates, speaking to VOA by telephone from Nairobi, says that since the heavy fighting of three weeks ago has subsided, the biggest challenge is to make progress toward holding a reconciliation conference.
• SOMALIA-SOUTH AFRICA: Somalis feel the heat of delivery protests IRIN 18 May 2007 -- More than 20 people have been arrested after shops reportedly belonging to Somali nationals were torched during weeklong violent protests by residents in Khutsong township, outside Carletonville, a small mining town about 50km southwest of Johannesburg, South Africa.
• Killing of Peacekeepers in Somalia Brings Calls for Ugandan Troop Withdrawal VOA 18 May 2007 -- In Uganda, the deaths of four peacekeepers in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, this week have prompted calls for President Yoweri Museveni to withdraw his military troops from the African Union mission
• ISRAEL-OPT: Residents of Sderot flee Palestinian rocket barrage IRIN 18 May 2007 -- Thousands of Israelis have been evacuated from the town of Sderot near the Gaza Strip after a barrage of Qassam rocket fire from Palestinian militants.
• Israel Launches Air Strikes as Palestinian Factions Battle in Gaza VOA 18 May 2007 -- Israel has launched air strikes on the Gaza Strip for the second straight day, killing at least five Palestinians
• Palestinian Medics: At Least Three Hamas Militants Killed in Israeli Airstrike VOA 18 May 2007 -- Palestinian medics say four Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip Friday, as Israel continues to retaliate for Hamas rocket attacks.
• Côte d'Ivoire: Peace process needs international support, facilitator says UN News Centre 18 May 2007 -- The peace process in Côte d'Ivoire needs international support to succeed, a representative of the key negotiator told the United Nations Security Council today.
• UN aid agency airlifts emergency gear to Central African Republic from Ghana UN News Centre 18 May 2007 -- The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced today that it was airlifting 31 metric tons of equipment to the Central African Republic (CAR) as part of expanded efforts to reach over 230,000 people affected by recent violence and displacement.

News Reports

• Wolfowitz resigns from World Bank after intense battle to stay RIA Novosti 18 May 2007 -- Paul Wolfowitz, the president of the World Bank, has announced he will resign June 30 after waging a tenacious fight to hold onto his job following a scandal in which he secured a large pay raise for his companion.
• Analysis: Wolfowitz Leaves Bank Under Cloud cfr.org 18 May 2007 -- World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz will step down June 30, ending a drawn-out dispute that cast a cloud over the Bank's governance agenda
• World: Wolfowitz Resigns As World Bank President RFE/RL 18 May 2007 -- The World Bank has announced that President Paul Wolfowitz will resign on June 30, after a special bank committee determined that Wolfowitz violated bank rules by overseeing a wage increase for his girlfriend, a bank employee.
• French President Sarkozy Names 'Government For All People' VOA 18 May 2007 -- Newly elected French President Nicolas Sarkozy has named his new government
• New French president unveils cabinet lineup RIA Novosti 18 May 2007 -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy unveiled the lineup of his slim, but broad-based Cabinet Friday, giving key posts to a centrist and a left-winger, as well as to representatives of his own conservative camp.
• GUINEA: Questions over how government will meet promises to army IRIN 18 May 2007 -- Government officials say they might not be able to keep promises made earlier this week by the country's President Lansana Conte to mutinous soldiers who had been looting towns around the country and terrorizing civilians.