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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 11 Dec 2007 [PDF]
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• Iraq Operations Net Key Suspects; Rocket Attacks Drop AFPS 11 Dec 2007 -- Coalition forces in Iraq killed one terrorist, captured another and detained 30 suspects in operations today.
• Human Terrain Team Helps Soldiers in Iraq Understand Cultural Landscape Army News 11 Dec 2007 -- On a bright afternoon, Dave Matsuda traveled with a group of U.S Soldiers to tour a food distribution depot in the Ur neighborhood.
• Gates Expresses Optimism on Afghanistan, But Counsels Caution AFPS 11 Dec 2007 -- U.S. and coalition efforts to stabilize Afghanistan are achieving "solid results," but the mission isn't over, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told U.S. legislators at a Capitol Hill hearing today.
• South Korean Engineers Say Farewell to Afghanistan AFPS 11 Dec 2007 -- Engineers from the Republic of Korea's First Vertical Construction Company will be redeploying to their country, having completed their mission here.
• Weakened Taliban Step Up Attacks, Mullen Says AFPS 11 Dec 2007 -- Taliban attacks have picked up this year, but the Afghanistan-based insurgent group is nonetheless growing weaker, the senior U.S. military officer told a congressional committee today.
• Afghanistan: Taliban Stronghold Recaptured Near Strategic Dam Area RFE/RL 11 Dec 2007 -- Afghan government troops and NATO forces are patrolling the southern town of Musa Qala today after driving out Taliban fighters who had been entrenched there for 10 months

Defense Policy / Programs

• Lieutenant's oversight mission vital to Air Force testing AFPN 11 Dec 2007 -- In his duties as the air propulsion test project manager at the Arnold Engineering Development Center here 1st Lt. Josh Frederik plays a key part in numerous multimillion dollar projects.
• Defense Department Notifies Congress of Furlough Moves AFPS 11 Dec 2007 -- The Defense Department has officially notified Congress that the department will begin the furlough process for civilian employees of the Army, the Marine Corps and the combatant commands.
• Essex Completes Successful Fall Patrol Navy NewsStand 11 Dec 2007 -- The forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) returned to Sasebo, Dec. 11 after completing a successful two-month fall patrol.
• SECNAV Holiday Message to the Fleet Navy NewsStand 11 Dec 2007 -- The Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter released the following holiday message to the fleet
• Mayport Welcomes Home Halyburton Navy NewsStand 11 Dec 2007 -- Guided missile frigate USS Halyburton (FFG 40), including embarked Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light (HSL) 44 Det. 10, returned to their homeport aboard Naval Station Mayport, Nov. 30.
• Essex 'Retains' Golden Anchor Navy NewsStand 11 Dec 2007 -- The forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) has been awarded the annual Commander, Pacific Fleet (COMPACFLT) Retention Excellence Award for exceeding annual retention benchmarks.
• SWCC Community Looks to the Future Navy NewsStand 11 Dec 2007 -- Naval Special Warfare Group (NSWG) 4, U.S. Special Operations Command's premier special boat community, held a commander's conference Nov. 26-28 on Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek.
• Engineering Total Force for Battlespace Dominance: Theme for 2007 ASNE Southern Indiana Symposium Navy NewsStand 11 Dec 2007 -- The Southern Indiana Section of the American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE) in liaison with Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC Crane) held its annual symposium at the Bloomington Convention Center, Nov. 13-15.
• NSWC Port Hueneme's "Desert Ship" Gets Upgrades Navy NewsStand 11 Dec 2007 -- Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), Port Hueneme Division, White Sands Detachment Desert Ship completed formal certification testing and review of its upgraded combat and weapon system test equipment Nov. 1.
• Key maintenance, logistics functions realign AFPN 11 Dec 2007 -- The alignment of fighter and combat search and rescue aircraft maintenance units under flying squadrons was announced by the Air Force chief of the staff Dec. 7 here.
• Russian naval group conducts exercises in North Sea RIA Novosti 11 Dec 2007 -- Russian planes on board the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier have conducted 11 practice flights in the North Sea, a Navy spokesman said on Tuesday.
• Press Briefing by Dana Perino The White House 11 Dec 2007
• Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 12 Dec 2007

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for December 11, 2007
• General Dynamics NASSCO Lays Keel of First Product Carrier General Dynamics 11 Dec 2007 -- General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), today held a keel-laying ceremony for the first ship of its new class of product carriers (PC-1).
• BAE Systems Completes First Test of Autonomous Landing System BAE Systems 11 Dec 2007 -- BAE Systems completed the first test of an autonomous landing system intended for large mobility and transport aircraft.
• Israel becomes world's fourth largest weapons exporter RIA Novosti 11 Dec 2007 -- With arms sales of over $4 billion in 2007, Israel has moved up to fourth place on the list of the world's largest weapons exporters, overtaking the U.K., the Israeli defense ministry said on Tuesday.
• Boeing Completes Key Space Based Space Surveillance System Tests Boeing 11 Dec 2007 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has successfully completed a series of Space Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) system tests as part of the development of a new operational sensor for the U.S. Space Surveillance Network.
• Boeing Selected to Help Develop New U.S. Air Force GPS Ground System Boeing 11 Dec 2007 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today announced that it has been selected to participate in the development of the next-generation Global Positioning System (GPS) ground system for the U.S. Air Force.
• U.S. Army Awards General Dynamics $49 Million for Abrams Tank System Technical Support General Dynamics 11 Dec 2007 -- The U.S. Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command on Dec. 5 awarded General Dynamics Land Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), a $49 million contract for Abrams Tank System Technical Support (STS).
• Raytheon Awarded $5.3 Million to Provide Surveillance Systems to NATO Raytheon 11 Dec 2007 -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has been awarded a $5.3 million contract by NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency to provide tower-based, elevated persistent surveillance capability for protection of NATO forces in Afghanistan.
• SAIC Wins Delivery Order to Build Signature Based Trainers SAIC 11 Dec 2007 -- Science Applications International Corporation (NYSE: SAI) today announced it won a delivery order from the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) at Carderock, Md., to help design and develop training tools for submarines and surface ships for the U.S. Navy.
• CFM-Powered KC-135R Tanker Fleet Logs 11 Million Flight Hours GE Aviation 11 Dec 2007 -- The U.S. Air Force (USAF) fleet of KC-135R tanker aircraft powered by the advanced CFM56-2 engine has logged more than 11 million flight hours and five million flight cycles in service.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 11 Dec 2007
• Ban Ki-moon calls for extension to mandate of envoy to Ugandan peace process UN News Centre 11 Dec 2007 -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for the mandate of his Special Envoy on the conflict between the Ugandan Government and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in the north of the country to be extended for a year to try to help bring the peace process to a successful conclusion.
• UGANDA: Aid focus shifts to recovery IRIN 11 Dec 2007 -- The return of relative calm to northern Uganda after two decades of devastating civil war has set in motion the return of about one million displaced civilians and highlighted the importance of funding post-conflict recovery, a key focus of the country's US$374 million Consolidated Appeal Process (CAP) for 2008.
• SOMALIA: Aid appeal broadened to cope with massive displacement IRIN 11 Dec 2007 -- Massive displacement of civilians in the escalating conflict in Somalia this year has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in a country already reeling from years of civil strife and natural disasters, aid agencies said in their appeal for US$406 million to fund life-saving assistance and protection for more than 1.5 million people in 2008.
• UN Seeks $406 Million for Somalia Crisis in 2008 VOA 11 Dec 2007 -- The United Nations has issued an appeal for $406 million in 2008 to ease the humanitarian crisis is Somalia
• UN mission backs Congolese counter-attack after dissidents recapture key town UN News Centre 11 Dec 2007 -- The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is helping the country's armed forces plan a counter-offensive after dissident troops loyal to renegade General Laurent Nkunda recaptured a key town in the troubled North Kivu province.
• DRC: Army suffers setback in offensive against rebels IRIN 11 Dec 2007 -- Troops loyal to dissident general Laurent Nkunda in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have regained control of the town of Mushake in the eastern North Kivu province, which they had lost to government forces less than a week earlier, military sources said.
• Former Bosnian Serb army officer granted temporary leave by UN tribunal UN News Centre 11 Dec 2007 -- A former senior officer in the Bosnian Serb army facing trial at the United Nations war crimes tribunal set up to deal with the worst crimes of the Balkan wars of the 1990s has been granted temporary release from jail so he can attend a memorial service for his father.
• NIGER: Rebels accused of launching Iraq-inspired "urban terror" campaign IRIN 11 Dec 2007 -- A rebel movement that has already cut northern Niger off from humanitarian aid by laying mines throughout the region has denied responsibility for landmine explosions in Maradi and Tahoua in the south.
• More than $2 billion required for humanitarian, recovery projects in Sudan - UN UN News Centre 11 Dec 2007 -- Sudan needs more than $2.29 billion to fund 959 humanitarian, early recovery and development projects next year, according to the United Nations relief arm, which is calling on the international community to make "an urgent commitment" to ensure that the country can head towards a sustainable peace.
• CHAD: Violence and insecurity not just in the east IRIN 11 Dec 2007 -- The killing of a UN aid worker on 6 December in southern Chad, some 500 km from intense fighting in the east between the army and rebels, underscored that other regions of the country are also insecure.
• KENYA: Thousands of IDPs in Mt Elgon need help, say officials IRIN 11 Dec 2007 -- Thousands of civilians displaced by violence related to land disputes in Mt Elgon, western Kenya, need urgent assistance, according to local leaders.
• Israeli Forces Launch Gaza Offensive, 4 Militants Killed VOA 11 Dec 2007 -- At least four Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli ground incursion into the Gaza Strip

News Reports

• Russia: New Prince, New Dangers RFE/RL 11 Dec 2007 -- The announcement of President Vladimir Putin's heir apparent was awaited with an anticipation comparable with what accompanies word that the king has finally produced a son.
• Russia: Putin's 'Younger Brother' Takes Center Stage RFE/RL 11 Dec 2007
• Presidential candidate Medvedev proposes Putin as PM RIA Novosti 11 Dec 2007 -- Presidential candidate and Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev proposed on Tuesday that President Vladimir Putin be appointed prime minister after the March 2008 presidential election.
• Russia's Putin Urged to Assume Premier Post VOA 11 Dec 2007 -- Russian presidential nominee Dmitri Medvedev and protege of President Vladimir Putin is calling for the incumbent to become prime minister
• Security Council voices concern at repeated delays to Lebanese presidential poll UN News Centre 11 Dec 2007 -- The Security Council today expressed its "deep concern" at the repeated postponement of the Lebanese presidential election, warning that the delays do not serve the interests of the people of the Middle Eastern country and could lead to a further deterioration of an already tense situation.