Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 15 Nov 2007 [PDF]
• DoD News: DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• Multi-National Division - North Soldiers attacked (Diyala)
• Transcript: DoD Press Briefing with Col. Bannister at the Pentagon Briefing Room, Arlington, Va. 15 Nov 2007 -- Presenter: Commander 2nd Brigade 2nd Infantry Division Army Col. Jeffrey Bannister
• DoD News Briefing with Secretary of Defense Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mullen from the Pentagon Briefing Room, Arlington, Va. 15 Nov 2007 -- Presenter: Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. Mike Mullen
• Press Conference: IED Threat: Maj. Gen. James Simmons, Nov. 15, 2007 MNF-I 15 Nov 2007 -- Maj. Gen. James Simmons, deputy commander, Multi-National Corps - Iraq, focused on defeating the IED threat, Nov. 15, 2007
• IED Attacks Down Significantly; Enemy Being Pushed North, General Says AFPS 15 Nov 2007 -- Initiatives taken in Iraq over the past 11 months have reduced improvised-explosive-device attacks dramatically and sent the enemy scrambling, Multinational Corps Iraq's deputy commander for support told reporters in Baghdad today.
• Nov. 14 airpower summary: A-10s provide close-air support AFPN 15 Nov 2007 -- Coalition airpower integrated with coalition ground forces in Iraq and the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan during operations Nov. 14, according to Combined Air and Space Operations Center officials here.
• Troops Detain 26 Suspects, Uncover Five Car Bombs in Iraq AFPS 15 Nov 2007 -- Iraqi and coalition forces detained dozens of insurgents and discovered five car bombs in Iraq in recent days, military officials said.
• NAVELSG Port Group Foxtrot Returns Navy NewsStand 15 Nov 2007 -- Reserve Sailors from Navy Expeditionary Logistics Support Group (NAVELSG) Foxtrot returned to Naval Station Norfolk, Nov. 13, after completing a six-month deployment in Kuwait and Iraq.
• Suicide Bomber Kills 6 in Northern Iraq VOA 15 Nov 2007 -- Iraqi security officials say a suicide bombing apparently targeting a senior Kurdish police officer has killed at least six people and wounded 20 others in the northern city of Kirkuk.
• Troops Detain Suspect, Treat Taliban Gunfire Victim AFPS 15 Nov 2007 -- Afghan and coalition forces detained one suspect and treated a woman victimized by Taliban gunfire in Afghanistan in recent days, military officials said.
• AFGHANISTAN: Six million schoolchildren to receive landmine coaching IRIN 15 Nov 2007 -- The government of Afghanistan and the UN Mine Action Center for Afghanistan (UNMACA) have launched an awareness campaign to educate more than six million schoolchildren countrywide about the risks of landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO), the Ministry of Education (MoE) and UN told IRIN on 14 November.
• UN Human Rights Commissioner Visits Afghanistan RFE/RL 15 Nov 2007 -- United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour arrived in Afghanistan today for a one-week visit that coincides with new charges that Afghan officials have committed serious rights violations.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Army Secretary Sees Opportunity to Strengthen Force AFPS 15 Nov 2007 -- Out of calamity comes opportunity, Army Secretary Pete Geren told Congress today.
• AFRICOM Helps Partners Confront Stability Challenges AFPS 15 Nov 2007 -- The U.S. military's unified command responsible for operations across Africa will help nations there confront poverty, disease, terrorism and other challenges that affect regional security and stability, U.S. officials said here yesterday.
• New Africa Command Will Promote Security, Spur Development Washington File 15 Nov 2007 -- Helping Africans confront security challenges in their region long has been a priority of the United States, say senior U.S. officials. But the military's new Africa Command (AFRICOM) also will prove an essential tool in continuing an equally long-standing commitment to helping communities across the continent strengthen governance, improve health care and meet economic development goals.
• Casey: Army Must Adapt to Changing Threats AFPS 15 Nov 2007 -- The next few decades will be a period of persistent conflict, and the U.S. Army will have to adapt to changing threats, that service's top general said today.
• Furloughs, Closings Possible Without Supplemental Funding, Gates Warns AFPS 15 Nov 2007 -- There is no "wiggle room" in the Defense Department budget, and Congress must pass the emergency supplemental spending bill as soon as possible to avoid halting operations and furloughing civilian employees, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today.
• UAV detachment stands up at Creech AFPN 15 Nov 2007 -- A new detachment has been established at Creech Air Force Base, Nev., to manage MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle operational test and evaluation and force development evaluation for Air Combat Command.
• Officials begin to clear F-15Es to full-mission status AFPN 15 Nov 2007 -- Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft are now undergoing a safety inspection that will return them to flying status according to an order issued Nov. 11 by Gen. John Corley, the commander of Air Combat Command.
• Pilots focus on air superiority, operations during Keen Sword AFPN 15 Nov 2007 -- Honing their skills against enemy air threats over the skies of Japan, Misawa fighter pilots participate in a two-week long training exercise here.
• Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment 2008 underway AFPN 15 Nov 2007 -- After many months of planning and preparation, the first quarter event for Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment 2008 kicked off Nov. 5 and will run through Nov 16.
• Enterprise Carrier Strike Group Performs Anti-Sub Warfare Exercise Navy NewsStand 15 Nov 2007 -- The Enterprise Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 12 concluded a three-day, multi-unit exercise Nov. 13 aimed at sharpening its anti-submarine warfare (ASW) skills.
• USS Port Royal, USS Hopper Deploy to Western Pacific Navy NewsStand 15 Nov 2007 -- Guided missile cruiser USS Port Royal (CG 73) and guided missile destroyer USS Hopper (DDG 70) departed their homeport of Pearl Harbor for a deployment to the Western Pacific Nov. 12.
• Strike Fighter Squadron Commander Relieved Navy NewsStand 15 Nov 2007 -- Commander, Strike Fighter Wing U.S. Pacific Fleet, Capt. Hal Murdock, relieved the commanding officer of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 122, Cmdr. Thomas O'Dowd, Nov. 14, due to a loss of confidence in his ability to lead his squadron.
• US Defense Chief Says Coming Weeks Could Determine US Future With Musharraf VOA 15 Nov 2007 -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says developments in Pakistan in the coming weeks will determine whether Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf can continue to be a U.S. partner in the global war on terrorism
• Pakistani Nuclear Safeguards in Place, Mullen Says AFPS 15 Nov 2007 -- U.S. officials are satisfied that Pakistani nuclear weapons are under sufficient security, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today.
• Estonia considers joining adapted CFE before Russian moratorium RIA Novosti 15 Nov 2007 -- Estonia's government decided on Thursday to set up a commission on joining the adapted Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty before Russia's moratorium comes in force on December 12.
• Midnight train from Georgia sees Russia complete military pullout RIA Novosti 15 Nov 2007 -- Russia has completed a pullout of military personnel and equipment from a Soviet-era base in Batumi, Georgia, an aide to the chief of the Russian Ground Forces said on Thursday.
• Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 15 Nov 2007
• Press Briefing by Dana Perino The White House 15 Nov 2007

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for November 15, 2007
• Boeing Demonstrates FAB-T Multi-terminal Link Capability to U.S. Air Force Boeing 15 Nov 2007 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has successfully demonstrated secure interoperable communications between two Family of Advanced Beyond line-of-sight Terminals (FAB-T) software-defined radios, validating a capability that eventually will link ground, air and space platforms.
• U.S. Army Awards General Dynamics $78 Million for Warfighter Information Network-Tactical Increment One General Dynamics 15 Nov 2007 -- General Dynamics C4 Systems announced today a $78.3 million initial order from the U.S. Army as part of an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract worth up to $1.4 billion for Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) Increment One, which provides U.S. Army soldiers deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan with broadband network and satellite communications capabilities.
• Northrop Grumman Inertial System and Relative Navigation Software Contribute to Automated Aerial Refueling Flight Tests Northrop Grumman 15 Nov 2007 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) relative navigation software and highly accurate fiber-optic inertial navigation system provided the precise positioning information used to successfully complete the positions and pathways flight test of Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL) Automated Aerial Refueling (AAR) program.
• U.S. Navy Increases Order for Raytheon's Airborne Low Frequency Sonar Raytheon 15 Nov 2007 -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has been awarded a $15.4 million U.S. Navy contract for the AN/AQS-22 Airborne Low Frequency Sonar system, the primary undersea anti-submarine warfare sensor for the U.S. Navy's MH-60R multi-mission helicopter.

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 15 Nov 2007
• PRESS CONFERENCE BY GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT ON WORK OF SIXTY-SECOND SESSION United Nations 15 Nov 2007
• Cameroon: Ban Ki-moon welcomes response to killings in Bakassi Peninsula UN News Centre 15 Nov 2007 -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today he was encouraged by the "prompt and statesmanlike" response of both Cameroon and Nigeria to Monday's attack by armed gunmen on a Cameroonian military installation in the once-disputed Bakassi Peninsula that left at least 20 soldiers dead.
• CAMEROON-NIGERIA: The Bakassi Zone - the twilight of a Nigerian enclave IRIN 15 Nov 2007 -- Nigeria handed day-to-day control of most of the Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon in June 2006, implementing a ruling by the International Court of Justice
• Darfur: UN, AU envoys step up efforts to find common ground among rebels UN News Centre 15 Nov 2007 -- The United Nations and African Union Special Envoys tasked with spearheading the peace process in Darfur say they are stepping up efforts to press some of the larger groups of the war-torn region's splintering rebel movements to find common ground ahead of scheduled direct peace talks with the Sudanese Government next month.
• Darfur Peace Talks Still in Preliminary Stage VOA 15 Nov 2007 -- The Darfur peace process continues, although the various warring parties have yet to sit down for some hard negotiating
• Security Returns to the West Bank Town of Nablus Washington File 15 Nov 2007 -- In the Kasbah of Old Nablus, a new brigade of professional security forces is on patrol.
• Palestinian President Calls for Hamas Overthrow VOA 15 Nov 2007 -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called for the overthrow of Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules the Gaza Strip
• US Bans Sri Lankan Group With Alleged Financial Ties to Tamil Tiger Rebels VOA 15 Nov 2007 -- The U.S. Treasury has banned a Sri Lankan charitable organization it says has raised money for Tamil Tiger rebels fighting for an independent homeland.
• Top UN envoy in Kosovo says clarity on status is vital for future stability UN News Centre 15 Nov 2007 -- The Secretary-General's Special Representative in Kosovo said today that clarity on the future status of the United Nations-administered province is critical for its ethnic communities and to ensuring stability across the wider region in South-East Europe.
• Chechen Leadership In Exile Seeks To Salvage Legitimacy RFE/RL 15 Nov 2007 -- Adducing the Chechen Republic Ichkeria (ChRI ) Constitution adopted in March 1992, the ChRI parliament in exile ruled on November 6 that ChRI President and resistance commander Doku Umarov has effectively relinquished his presidential powers by proclaiming a North Caucasus emirate of which he claims to be the leader
• DRC: IDPs go back to camps as fears of renewed North Kivu violence die down IRIN 15 Nov 2007 -- People have been returning to camps for displaced people (IDPs) in the Democratic Republic of Congo's North Kivu province after fresh fighting near the main town of Goma prompted up to 40,000 to flee.
• SOMALIA: IDP influx from Mogadishu overwhelms southern town IRIN 15 Nov 2007 -- Hungry, exhausted and traumatised, thousands of civilians have been pouring into Afmadow, a Somalian town near the Kenyan border, having fled the "hell on earth" of their embattled capital, some 630 kilometres to the north.
• Ugandan Peacekeepers Dismiss Threat by Somali Islamic Militants VOA 15 Nov 2007 -- The spokesman for the Ugandan army says Uganda's 1,600 peacekeeping troops in Somalia will stay in the capital Mogadishu and defend themselves against any attack by militant Somali Islamists, whose leader has vowed to destroy the African Union force

News Reports

• Musharraf to step down as army chief before December RIA Novosti 15 Nov 2007 -- Pakistani President Pervez Musharaff intends to resign as commander-in-chief before the start of December, the country's prosecutor general said.
• Caretaker Government to Take Office in Pakistan Ahead of Elections VOA 15 Nov 2007 -- Pakistan's parliament is scheduled to dissolve itself at midnight Thursday to make way for a new caretaker government to oversee January elections
• Pakistani Army Claims Success in Battles Against Swat Valley Militants VOA 15 Nov 2007 -- Pakistan's army says troops killed 20 militants Thursday, in the northwestern Swat Valley as security forces stepped up a campaign to drive Islamic rebels out of the scenic ski resort area.
• ISRAEL: Military complex on hold because of health concerns IRIN 15 Nov 2007 -- Long-running reports of health impact of pollution on Bedouin families are now getting attention due to a proposed military base.
• UN rights expert meets with political prisoners on final day of Myanmar visit UN News Centre 15 Nov 2007 -- The United Nations human rights official investigating alleged abuses by the Myanmar Government during a recent crackdown on demonstrators met with a group of political prisoners today before concluding his five-day visit to the South-East Asian nation.
• UN Rights Expert Visits Notorious Burmese Prison VOA 15 Nov 2007 -- U.N. human rights envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro has visited Burma's notorious Insein Prison Thursday in an effort to talk with political detainees before wrapping up his first visit to the country in four years.
• Free and fair presidential election will be 'milestone' for Lebanon - Ban Ki-moon UN News Centre 15 Nov 2007 -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon paid a visit today to Lebanon, where he has once again stressed that the holding of a free and fair presidential election later this month, without any foreign interference, would constitute a milestone for a country whose political situation he described as "complex and difficult."