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Defense Policy / Programs
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News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 14 Mar 2008 [PDF]
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualties
• Coalition Forces in Iraq Detain Insurgent, Foil Ambush AFPS 14 Mar 2008 -- Coalition troops in Iraq captured a suspected bomb maker and thwarted an insurgent ambush during operations in Baghdad over the past few days, military officials said.
• 22 NCR Assumes Command in Al Anbar Navy NewsStand 14 Mar 2008 -- The 22 Naval Construction Regiment (22 NCR) assumed command of Naval Construction Forces in the Al Anbar Province of Iraq.
• DoD Announces Unit For Next Afghanistan Rotation 14 Mar 2008 -- The Department of Defense announced today that the 3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, based in Fort Hood, Texas, is scheduled to deploy as part of the next rotation operating in Afghanistan
• C-130J tailor-made for mission over Afghanistan AFPN 14 Mar 2008 -- A 746th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron C-130J Hercules aircrew operating out of Southwest Asia dropped leaflets over Afghanistan encouraging its citizens to reject violence and embrace their government as part of an integrated operation with NATO's International Security Assistance Force March 6.
• Afghan, Coalition Troops Detain 11, Repel Militant Attack AFPS 14 Mar 2008 -- Afghan and coalition security forces teamed up this week to repel an enemy attack and seize nearly a dozen suspected insurgents, military officials said.
• Suicide bomber kills 8, wounds at least 35 in downtown Kabul RIA Novosti 14 Mar 2008 -- Eight civilians were killed and at least 35 wounded as a suicide bomber blew up a car rigged with explosives in the Afghan capital, Kabul, a military official said on Friday.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Defense Department Takes Custody Of A High-Value Detainee 14 Mar 2008 -- The Department of Defense announced today that it has custody of Muhammad Rahim al-Afghani, a high-level member of al-Qaida captured in the War on Terror and placed him under control of the Joint Task Force at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
• Defense Department Takes Custody of High-Value Al Qaeda Operative AFPS 14 Mar 2008 -- The Defense Department has taken custody of a "high-value" al Qaeda operative, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said today.
• Commanders Discuss Operational Issues at House Hearing AFPS 14 Mar 2008 -- The senior military leaders of U.S. European Command, U.S. Southern Command and U.S. Africa Command discussed issues related to their areas of operation during testimony before a House panel here yesterday.
• Fiscal 2007 Sexual Assault In The Military And 2006 Gender Relations Survey Results Released 14 Mar 2008 -- The Defense Department today released two reports: the Department of Defense Fiscal Year 2007 Report on Sexual Assault in the Military and the 2006 Workplace and Gender Relations Survey of Active Duty Members.
• General Lays Out Challenges of Defending Cyberspace AFPS 14 Mar 2008 -- Air Force Minuteman and Navy Trident missiles stand outside the headquarters of U.S. Strategic Command here as reminders of the command's mission of strategic deterrence and nuclear operations.
• F-16 crashes south of Alamo Lake, Ariz. AFPN 14 Mar 2008 -- An Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon assigned to the 62nd Fighter Squadron here crashed about 12:00 p.m. today south of Alamo Lake, Ariz.
• Global support center officially stands up March 28 AFPN 14 Mar 2008 -- Less than a year after standing up, the Air Force Global Logistics Support Center (Provisional) will lose its "Provisional" designation during the unit's formal standup March 28 at Scott Air Force Base, Ill.
• Joint basing plan takes shape AFPN 14 Mar 2008 -- Joint basing is a reality, it's happening in San Antonio, and it will effectively support the city's military communities here.
• AFMC command chief emphasizes understanding one's role AFPN 14 Mar 2008 -- The stigma that Airmen assigned to Air Force Materiel Command are not part of the war on terrorism fight is one the command's top enlisted member is working to correct.
• Officials detail scope, units of AFCYBER command AFPN 14 Mar 2008 -- The work of building Air Force Cyber Command continues with officials releasing details of what the scope of the command will look like and how it will function in lieu of having a permanent base named for its headquarters location.
• General Lorenz gets fourth star, to command AETC AFPN 14 Mar 2008 -- The U.S. Senate has confirmed Lt. Gen. Stephen R. Lorenz for appointment to the grade of general and assignment as commander of Air Education and Training Command.
• Top leaders testify on '09 budget AFPN 14 Mar 2008 -- The Air Force's top two leaders testified before the House and Senate Committee on Appropriations subcommittees on Defense during hearings about the fiscal 2009 budget March 11 and 12.
• Army Stands Up Contracting Command Army News 14 Mar 2008 -- The U.S. Army Materiel Command Thursday activated the Army Contracting Command (Provisional) which will oversee more than $85 billion in contracts annually and focus on maintaining and improving the Army's ability to respond globally in support of warfighters' needs.
• Transcript: DoD Press Briefing with Kaye Whitley and Rachel Lipari 14 Mar 2008 -- Presenter: Director, Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, Kaye Whitley and Senior Scientist, Defense Manpower Data Center, Rachel Lipari
• AFRICA: AFRICOM to focus on military, not humanitarian role IRIN 14 Mar 2008 -- In a key briefing to Congress on 13 March, General William "Kip" Ward, head of the US Command for Africa, AFRICOM, devoted only 15 seconds of his four-and-a-half minute opening remarks to a possible humanitarian role.
• SSGN Class Marks First - Entire Class at Sea Simultaneously Navy NewsStand 14 Mar 2008 -- The Navy's newest class of modern guided-missile submarine, the Ohio-class, reached a significant milestone March 11, when all four submarines in the class were underway at the same time.
• USS Kidd Holds Change of Command Navy NewsStand 14 Mar 2008 -- A change of command ceremony was held at BAE Systems ship yard in San Diego where guided missile destroyer USS Kidd (DDG 100) is currently moored.
• NECC Forces Kick Off Adaptive Force Package Exercise Navy NewsStand 14 Mar 2008 -- Integrated active and reserve forces from the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) will participate in a training exercise, which takes place at Fort Pickett and Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, March 10-20.
• GW's 'At-Sea Fire Party' Completes Inspection Requirements Navy NewsStand 14 Mar 2008
• Essex ESG Completes Certification Exercises Navy NewsStand 14 Mar 2008 -- Commander Task Force (CTF) 76 successfully completed Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) Certification during exercises off the coast of Okinawa, Japan, March 14.
• US, Russia to Hold Talks on Missile Defense VOA 14 Mar 2008 -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates are scheduled to meet their Russian counterparts early next week in Moscow to continue their strategic dialog on missile defense and other issues
• Russia to start supplying MiG-29K fighters to India in May RIA Novosti 14 Mar 2008 -- Russia will start deliveries of MiG-29K Fulcrum-D carrier fighters to India for the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier in May, the chief of the Indian Navy Staff said on Friday.
• Press Gaggle by Tony Fratto The White House 14 Mar 2008
• Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 14 Mar 2008

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for March 14, 2008
• General Dynamics Awarded $109 Million by U.S. Army for Small-Caliber Ammunition General Dynamics 14 Mar 2008 -- General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), has recently been awarded two contracts valued at $20.5 and $88.7 million for production of small-caliber ammunition by the U.S. Army Sustainment Command, Rock Island, Ill. Work will be performed in St. Petersburg, Fla.
• L-3 Communications Will be a Subcontractor to GLS for Linguist Services L-3 Commmunications 14 Mar 2008 -- L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL) announced today that it has agreed to become a subcontractor to Global Linguist Solutions (GLS) for the supply of translation and interpretation services in Iraq.
• Northrop Grumman Wins U.S. Army Missile Interceptor System Prototype Contract Northrop Grumman 14 Mar 2008 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) is one of two companies awarded a contract by the U.S. Army last month to design and demonstrate a prototype missile interceptor weapon system that will defend warfighters against rocket, artillery, and mortar (RAM) threats.

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 14 Mar 2008
• SUDAN-CHAD: Sultan appeals to Islamic states to save Darfur IRIN 14 Mar 2008 -- Darfur gets its name from its largest ethnic group in the region the Fur, who dominated the area for hundreds of years
• SUDAN-CHAD: Latest peace pact tries to revive past failures IRIN 14 Mar 2008 -- After hours of wrangling over the text of their sixth peace accord in two years, Chadian President Idriss Deby and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir signed the latest agreement late on 13 March in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, vowing once again to stop providing support to rebel groups opposing the other.
• UN agency steps up pace of refugee returns to southern Sudan UN News Centre 14 Mar 2008 -- The United Nations refugee agency is accelerating its programme for the voluntary repatriation of tens of thousands of people to southern Sudan from neighbouring countries.
• In Chad, UN agency to relocate Central African refugees fleeing marauders UN News Centre 14 Mar 2008 -- As refugees in Chad who are fleeing a fresh wave of village raids in the Central African Republic (CAR) swell to 14,000 in number, the United Nations refugee agency said today it will begin moving them to more accessible areas away from the border.
• Tensions high on Chad-Darfur border as refugee movements continue - UN UN News Centre 14 Mar 2008 -- The border between Chad and Sudan's Darfur region remains volatile as the United Nations refugee agency continues to move thousands of civilians who fled recent air and ground attacks against towns in West Darfur further inside their neighbouring country.
• Secretary-General Ban welcomes new agreement between Chad and Sudan UN News Centre 14 Mar 2008 -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today commended Chad and Sudan for reaching an agreement regarding reconciliation and the normalization of relations between the neighbouring African nations.
• Sudan-Chad Agreement Faces Challenges VOA 14 Mar 2008 -- The presidents of Chad and Sudan have signed an agreement to stop destabilizing each other's country after several hours of meetings in the Senegalese capital, Daka
• Peacekeeping Troops Trickle Into Darfur VOA 14 Mar 2008 -- Egyptian troops will begin arriving in Darfur in the next few days as the combined U.N. / African Union Peacekeeping force for Darfur (UNAMID) continues its deployment.
• US Mideast Envoy Criticizes 'Road Map' Violations VOA 14 Mar 2008 -- A United States envoy has launched a new peace mission to the Middle East.
• Abbas Alleges Israeli 'Ethnic Cleansing' in East Jerusalem VOA 14 Mar 2008 -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has accused Israel of implementing policies that he describes as "ethnic cleansing" in predominantly Palestinian east Jerusalem.
• Tibet Protests Turn Violent VOA 14 Mar 2008 -- Violence is being reported in Lhasa Friday and fires have broken out in the center of the city, amid a week of protests against Chinese rule in Tibet
• Witnesses Report Gunfire in Tibetan Capital VOA 14 Mar 2008 -- Violence is being reported in Lhasa Friday and fires have broken out in the center of the city, amid a week of protests against Chinese rule in Tibet
• COMOROS: South Africa disappoints Comoros on the eve of military action IRIN 14 Mar 2008 -- The Comoros government has expressed "disappointment" with South African President Thabo Mbeki's reported opposition to a military solution to end the standoff between the authorities on Anjouan and the other two islands in the Indian Ocean archipelago.
• COMOROS: Military action irreversible IRIN 14 Mar 2008 -- The African Union (AU) backed military action against the island of Anjouan's renegade leader Mohamed Bacar in the Comoros archipelago had reached "the point of no return", despite an offer for more talks to resolve the nine month stand-off.
• Top UN envoy in Somalia welcomes reaction to Government's reconciliation plan UN News Centre 14 Mar 2008 -- The senior United Nations envoy for Somalia has welcomed the positive reaction to the announcement by the Transitional Government in the Horn of Africa country that it will hold discussions with the political opposition.
• Somali Militants Behead 3 Government Soldiers VOA 14 Mar 2008 -- In a fresh sign that militant Muslim fighters in Somalia have adopted tactics used by the al-Qaida terror network, Somalia's radical Islamist Shabab group has beheaded three government soldiers guarding a road northwest of the capital Mogadishu
• UN appeals for $6 million to feed 90,000 Burundian refugees UN News Centre 14 Mar 2008 -- The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today appealed for $6 million so that it can continue to feed up to 90,000 Burundian refugees returning to their home country from neighbouring Tanzania.
• UN refugee agency helps Mauritanian refugees return home from Senegal UN News Centre 14 Mar 2008 -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has resumed assisting Mauritanian refugees return to their home country from Senegal where they have been in exile for nearly two decades.
• New round of UN-led talks on Western Sahara begins UN News Centre 14 Mar 2008 -- Starting this Sunday, the United Nations will lead a fourth round of talks on Western Sahara, bringing together representatives from Morocco and the Frente Polisario on the outskirts of New York City, a UN spokesperson said today.
• General Assembly calls for removal of Armenian forces from Nagorno-Karabakh UN News Centre 14 Mar 2008 -- The General Assembly today >adopted a resolution on the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan in which it called for the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian forces "from all the occupied territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan."
• Security Council calls for Eritrea's full cooperation for blue helmets' relocation UN News Centre 14 Mar 2008 -- The Security Council has called for Eritrea's full cooperation in the temporary relocation of the personnel and equipment of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE).
• Eastern province of DR Congo heading towards stability - UN official UN News Centre 14 Mar 2008 -- Public safety and security are steadily increasing in the Ituri province of the militia-ridden eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a top United Nations official said today after a two-day visit.
• Russia: Duma Treads Warily Over Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Transdniester Status RFE/RL 14 Mar 2008 -- Parliamentary leaders in Russia have called for the establishment of diplomatic missions in the Georgian breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and in the Moldovan separatist region of Transdniester.

News Reports

• U.S. asks Thailand to extradite Russia's 'Merchant of Death' RIA Novosti 14 Mar 2008 -- The Thai Foreign Ministry has received an official request from the United States for the extradition of a suspected Russian arms dealer in jail in Thailand, the suspect's lawyer said on Friday.
• Legal Barriers Removed for Bhutto Widower to Hold Office in Pakistan VOA 14 Mar 2008 -- The husband of the late former Pakistani Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, has cleared another hurdle that could help him catapult his way into the job once held by his late wife