Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 24 Oct 2007 [PDF]
• One MNC-I Soldier attacked, five wounded (Baghdad)
• Transcript: DoD News Briefing with Maj. Gen. Sherlock from the Pentagon 24 Oct 2007 -- Presenter: Director of Operational Planning, Joint Chiefs of Staff Maj. Gen. Richard Sherlock
• Joint Press Briefing: Lt. Gen. Odierno, Iraqi Lt. Gen. Abud, Oct. 24, 2007 MNF-I 24 Oct 2007 -- Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, commander, Multi-National Corps-Iraq, and Lt. Gen. Abud Qanbar, commander, Baghdad Operational Command, provide an update on military operations in Iraq, Oct. 24, 2007
• Oct. 23 airpower summary: Enemy forces are Thunderstruck AFPN 24 Oct 2007
• U.S. Forces Detain Suspected Terrorists in Central, Northern Iraq AFPS 24 Oct 2007 -- Coalition forces captured two wanted individuals and detained 19 suspected terrorists during operations today in the central and northern parts of Iraq.
• Dragon Talon II: MND-B troops find two caches, detain MNF-I 24 Oct 2007 -- Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldiers found two caches and detained four individuals during ongoing clearing operations in the Rashid District Oct. 22.
• Bomb Blasts South of Baghdad Kill 8 Iraqis VOA 24 Oct 2007 -- Iraqi security officials say two bomb blasts have killed at least eight people in a mainly Shi'ite area south of Baghdad.
• Farah Provincial Reconstruction Team Funds $1.7 Million Bridge AFPS 24 Oct 2007 -- Construction is under way for a $1.7 million bridge across the Farah Rud River here. The project, funded by the Farah Provisional Reconstruction Team, will employ several hundred Afghans for two years.
• NATO Allies Promise More Support in Afghanistan AFPS 24 Oct 2007 -- Talks here today appear to be paying off, with several NATO members here offering more support in Afghanistan for a mission Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates called "a litmus test for the effectiveness of the alliance in the 21st century."
• US Calls on NATO Members to Reassess What's Needed for Success in Afghanistan VOA 24 Oct 2007 -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates called on NATO members Wednesday to reassess what they have to do to succeed in Afghanistan, and he indicated that means larger commitments for the military mission and help on economic development, counter-narcotics and other issues
• Afghanistan: U.S. Unhappy With NATO Allies' Troop Contributions RFE/RL 24 Oct 2007 -- As NATO's defense ministers begin a two-day meeting in the Netherlands today, the United States is criticizing member states' inability to dedicate more resources to the alliance-led mission in Afghanistan.
• Pakistani deploys troops to fight pro-Taliban militants RIA Novosti 24 Oct 2007 -- Around 2,500 Pakistani troops have been sent to Swat, a northeast mountain valley, following a roadside bomb explosion injuring four soldiers late on Tuesday, an army spokesman said on Wednesday.
• Pakistan Sends Troops to Counter Pro-Taliban Militants VOA 24 Oct 2007 -- Pakistan's military says it has sent more than 2,000 paramilitary troops to reinforce security forces in Swat district, a stronghold of pro-Taliban groups in the country's northwest
• Air Force Reserve unit activated to fight California fires AFPN 24 Oct 2007 -- Two Air Force Reserve Command firefighting C-130 Hercules aircraft left Oct. 23 to help battle the raging wildfires in Southern California.
• Naval Special Warfare Pulls Together to Help Evacuees of San Diego Fires Navy NewsStand 24 Oct 2007 -- As wild fires threaten Southern California for the third straight night, the Naval Special Warfare community is working tirelessly to help those families who have been evacuated find some comfort and shelter.
• AFNORTH deploys air coordination team to California AFPN 24 Oct 2007 -- Air Forces Northern officials are deploying an air component coordination element to support firefighting operations in Southern California.
• Guard Supporting California Firefighting Army News 24 Oct 2007 -- The National Weather Service said this morning the Santa Ana winds that are fanning the fires in southern California should die down by Thursday, but already nearly two-dozen fires have burned more than 400,000 acres from Mexico to north of Los Angeles
• Defense Department Continues Aid on California's Fire Front AFPS 24 Oct 2007 -- Military C-130s with modular air firefighting systems this morning began dropping fire retardant and water on wildfires plaguing California. They will continue the effort as long as wind conditions allow, defense officials said.
• Bush: California Wildfires Constitute Major Disaster AFPS 24 Oct 2007 -- Destruction caused by wildfires now raging across southern California constitutes a major disaster requiring additional federal assistance, President Bush declared today after meeting with his most-senior advisors at the White House.
• NORTHCOM Commander Outlines California Wildfire Response AFPS 24 Oct 2007 -- Lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina are helping U.S. Northern Command and its interagency partners efficiently and effectively support current wildfire response efforts in California, the organization's commander said yesterday.
• National Guard Helps Attack California Wildfires by Air, Land AFPS 24 Oct 2007 -- Army National Guard helicopters were attacking southern California's ferocious wildfires, and Guard soldiers on the ground were manning traffic control points and preparing to provide people who had lost their homes with some of the necessities of life here yesterday.
• "High Rollers" continue fighting California wildfires Navy NewsStand 24 Oct 2007 -- Navy firefighting helicopters from the "High Rollers" of Helicopter Sea Combat Support (HSC) 85 based at Naval Air Station North Island (NASNI) continued their second day of missions Oct. 23, as they attacked wildfires in San Diego County, supporting the California Department of Forestry (CalFire).
• NB Kitsap Firefighters Volunteer to Fight San Diego Wildfires Navy NewsStand 24 Oct 2007 -- Navy Region Northwest's (NRNW) Fire and Emergency Services Department have dispatched equipment and personnel to assist in fighting the San Diego wildfires, departing from Naval Base (NB) Kitsap, Bangor, Oct. 23.

Defense Policy / Programs

• US Congressional Budget Office: US War on Terror Could Cost $2.4 Trillion by 2017 VOA 24 Oct 2007 -- Economic advisors to Congress warn the cost of U.S.-led war on terror could exceed $2 trillion over the next 10 years
• Transcript: Media Roundtable with Secretary Gates from Noordwijk, Netherlands 24 Oct 2007 -- Presenter: Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates
• USS Ohio Departs for Maiden Deployment Navy NewsStand 24 Oct 2007 -- USS Ohio (SSGN 726) departed from Naval Base (NB) Kitsap, Bremerton delta pier for her maiden deployment as a guided-missile submarine, Oct. 14.
• Air Force leaders discuss priorities at summit AFPN 24 Oct 2007 -- Air Force leaders met here Oct. 23 to discuss the future beddown of weapons systems over the next several years, outlining a strategy to address the Air Force's most pressing need: recapitalization and modernization of its aging fleet.
• Beale expands environmental cleanup ability AFPN 24 Oct 2007 -- Beale Air Force Base environmental members, in conjunction with environmental consultants, recently completed a project that greatly expands the base's ability to perform critical environmental cleanup operations.
• U.S., Russia Not Headed for New Cold War, Gates Says AFPS 24 Oct 2007 -- The United States and Russia are not headed toward a new Cold War, and the United States still considers Russia a strategic ally, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said during an interview with Radio Free Europe yesterday in Prague.
• Africa Command Gives Top Priority to Aggressive Maritime Security AFPS 24 Oct 2007 -- Maritime security, which has long been overshadowed by other coalition missions in African nations, will be a top priority for the newly created U.S. Africa Command, a senior Defense Department policymaker said today.
• U.S. Soldiers End 3 Months of Training in Romania Army News 24 Oct 2007 -- Joint Task Force East's "Proof of Principle" exercise gave U.S. Army Europe artillerymen a chance to learn infantry skills from the experts.
• Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command Addresses Expeditionary Warfare Conference Navy NewsStand 24 Oct 2007 -- The new U.S. martime strategy "A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower" was discussed at the 12th Annual Expeditionary Warfare Conference, in Panama City Oct. 23.
• Leaders unveil new partnership for acquisition AFPN 24 Oct 2007 -- Air Force Materiel Command officials here and acquisition professionals at the Pentagon have recently formed a new partnership to overcome weapon-system acquisition challenges, according to senior Air Force leaders.
• Burden-Sharing Urged as NATO Focuses on Afghanistan, Other Missions AFPS 24 Oct 2007 -- Dutch Defense Minister Eimert van Middelkoop joined NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer here today in opening a two-day ministerial conference, reminding members of the importance of sharing the NATO's responsibilities in Afghanistan and elsewhere around the world.
• Gates Arrives in Netherlands to Focus on NATO Issues, Challenges AFPS 24 Oct 2007 -- Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates arrived here today to discuss the way ahead for the alliance with his NATO counterparts and encourage members to live up to commitments they've made to help in Afghanistan.
• Gates to Press Allies on Afghanistan During NATO Meeting VOA 24 Oct 2007 -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is in the Netherlands for a NATO defense ministers' meeting, where he says he will press member countries to live up to the commitments their leaders made last year to increase their troop levels in Afghanistan.
• China says U.S. missile shield threatens global stability RIA Novosti 24 Oct 2007 -- The placement of U.S. missile defenses in Europe will not ease global security concerns but will undermine the global strategic balance, the Chinese foreign minister said Wednesday.
• Czech PM reaffirms support for U.S. missile shield RIA Novosti 24 Oct 2007 -- Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said late Tuesday that his country is committed to continuing preparations for the placement of a radar on its territory as part of a U.S. missile shield in Europe.
• Press Briefing by Dana Perino The White House 24 Oct 2007

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for October 24, 2007
• Lockheed Martin Awarded $52.5 Million Contract to Provide Next Generation Convoy Trainers to U.S. Marine Corps Lockheed Martin 25 Oct 2007 -- Whether it's addressing a terrorist threat or delivering needed medical supplies, convoy operations must overcome challenges of a constantly changing urban battlefield
• Boeing Teams with Northrop Grumman to Develop B-52H Core Component Jammer Boeing 24 Oct 2007 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] is teaming with Northrop Grumman Corporation [NYSE: NOC] to develop a new airborne electronic attack capability for U.S. Air Force B-52H aircraft.
• Boeing Tests HALE Hydrogen Propulsion System Using Ford-Developed Engine Boeing 24 Oct 2007 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA], using a Ford Motor Company-developed hydrogen engine, has successfully tested the hydrogen propulsion system of its High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) unmanned aircraft.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICES OF THE SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL AND THE SPOKESPERSON FOR THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT United Nations 24 Oct 2007
• AFRICA: Private security firms seek greater peacekeeping role IRIN 24 Oct 2007 -- Private military contractors (PMCs) are seeking to play a greater role in peacekeeping in Africa to make up for what they claim to be the inability of UN missions and state militaries to ensure the continent's security and humanitarian development.
• Iraq: Kurds Hold The Keys To Turkey's Dilemma RFE/RL 24 Oct 2007 -- Iraqi Kurds, threatened with a military incursion by Turkey, find themselves in a pivotal -- and ironic -- position as Ankara and Washington search for ways to end attacks by Turkish Kurdish militants holed up in semi-autonomous northern Iraq.
• Kurd fighters ready for talks with Turkey, but will not down arms RIA Novosti 24 Oct 2007 -- The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) is ready for dialogue with Turkey, but its fighters do not intend to lay down their arms, a PKK spokesman said on Wednesday.
• Turkey strikes at Kurdish militants in northern Iraq RIA Novosti 24 Oct 2007 -- Units of the Turkish army have crossed the Iraqi border in a special operation against Kurdish militants, local newspapers said Wednesday.
• Turkish Officials: Military Targeting Kurdish Rebels Inside Iraq VOA 24 Oct 2007 -- Turkish officials say the military has been targeting Kurdish rebel positions inside northern Iraq since a rebel ambush near the border Sunday that killed 12 Turkish soldiers.
• UN official voices concern at humanitarian conditions facing Palestinians UN News Centre 24 Oct 2007 -- Raising concerns about the humanitarian conditions facing Palestinians, the top United Nations political official today told the Security Council that planned Israeli measures could further hamper relief efforts.
• Rice Says Window for Israeli-Palestinian Peacemaking Must Be Exploited VOA 24 Oct 2007 -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is warning Arab politics could become more radical unless the current window of opportunity for Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking is fully exploited
• PRESS CONFERENCE BY SPECIAL ENVOY FOR DARFUR ON PEACE TALKS IN LIBYA United Nations 24 Oct 2007
• UN Says It Is Unclear Who Will Take Part in Darfur Peace Talks VOA 24 Oct 2007 -- The United Nations Special Envoy to Darfur says some Sudanese rebels have declined to take part in the upcoming peace talks and it is still uncertain who will participate
• Darfur: UN envoy hopes all rebel leaders will participate in peace talks UN News Centre 24 Oct 2007 -- The United Nations Special Envoy to Darfur said today that he hopes as many rebel leaders as possible from the war-torn Sudanese region will eventually take part in landmark peace talks starting on Saturday, even though some of the splintering rebel forces are already signalling they will not attend.
• Rebel Absences May Imperil Darfur Peace Talks VOA 24 Oct 2007 -- A major rebel group in the Darfur region of western Sudan says it will not attend peace talks with the government that are scheduled to begin Saturday in Libya
• AU Says UN Must Boost Resources for Hybrid Darfur Peace Force VOA 24 Oct 2007 -- The African Union is urging the United Nations to do more to provide the resources needed to ensure the establishment of a hybrid peacekeeping force in Darfur
• Former Sudan Rebels Say Bashir Can Resolve Political Impasse VOA 24 Oct 2007 -- Former rebels of the Sudan's People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) say President Omar Al-Bashir is the only one who has the political will to implement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed in 2005, which effectively ended the country's war
• DRC: Nkunda set to hand over 200 men for integration into army IRIN 24 Oct 2007 -- Dissident General Laurent Nkunda, who has been battling government forces in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is set to hand over 200 men for integration into the regular army, a process he has so far bitterly resisted.
• Nine Tamil Tigers killed in northern Sri Lanka IRNA 24 Oct 2007 -- At least nine Tamil Tigers have been killed and many others injured in three separate clashes between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) militants and army troops in restive northern Sri Lanka on Tuesday, taking the total number of rebels killed in last 24 hours to 39.
• YEMEN: Aid agencies say humanitarian situation could worsen in north IRIN 24 Oct 2007 -- agencies are concerned that as tension looms between government forces and Shia rebels in the northern Saada province, near the border with Saudi Arabia, following sporadic clashes between them, the humanitarian situation in the area could deteriorate.
• BURUNDI: Assessment to determine whether FNL "dissidents" are genuine IRIN 24 Oct 2007 -- Mediators in Burundi's peace process are investigating whether members of the country's last active rebel group, who have fallen out with their leader and expressed a willingness to join the process, were genuine combatants with the movement.
• Palestinian militants fire rockets on south Israel RIA Novosti 24 Oct 2007 -- Palestinian militants fired around 20 mortar shells and rockets on south Israel, one of which hit a residential building in Sderot, an Israeli defense spokesperson said.

News Reports

• PRESS CONFERENCE BY SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN MYANMAR United Nations 24 Oct 2007
• UN envoy to press China to do more on Myanmar UN News Centre 24 Oct 2007 -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special Envoy for Myanmar has arrived in Beijing, where he is expected to encourage the Chinese Government to do more to push the South-East Asian nation towards democratization and national reconciliation.
• Sestanovich: Putin Promotes Guessing Game on Russia's Leadership cfr.org 24 Oct 2007
• Analysis: Putin's Russia Stakes Its Ground cfr.org 24 Oct 2007 -- For U.S. and European policymakers who had consigned Kremlinology to the history shelf of research libraries, the past two years have brought cause for regret
• Bush Wants Freedom Fund for Cuba VOA 24 Oct 2007 -- President Bush says Cuba's leaders are more concerned with keeping power than with improving the lives of their people
• Bush Speech Gets Mixed Review From Cuban Exiles VOA 24 Oct 2007 -- Cuban exiles in the Unites States have welcomed President Bush's speech about Cuba in which he voiced support for pro-democracy efforts