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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
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News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 11 Sep 2008 [PDF]
• Sept. 10 airpower summary: C-130s provide airlift support AFPN 11 Sep 2008 -- Coalition airpower integrated with coalition ground forces in Iraq and International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan during operations Sept. 10, according to Combined Air and Space Operations Center officials here.
• PRESS CONFERENCE: Medical Operations: Dr. al-Hasnawi, Dr. al-Sheikhly, Sept. 11, 2008 MNF-I 11 Sep 2008 -- Iraq's Minister of Health Dr. Salih al-Hasnawi, and Dr. Tahseen al-Sheikhly, civilian spokesman, Operation Fardh al-Qanoon, discuss the status of cholera cases in Iraq and the Government's preventative measures
• Coalition Forces Detain Suspects in Iraq's Wasit Province AFPS 11 Sep 2008 -- Coalition forces captured four suspected Iranian-backed "special groups" members in operations today in Muwaffaqiyah, about 125 miles southeast of Baghdad in Iraq's Wasit province.
• Patrol Base Lion's Den transferred to Iraqi Army MNF-I 11 Sep 2008 -- The Iraqi Army took control of a patrol base from Coalition forces' during a transition ceremony Sept. 6near Radwaniyah.
• Grizzly Mobile combs the desert USMC News 11 Sep 2008 -- An asset that has always been in the Marine Corps' arsenal is a Marine's willingness and capability to serve in various roles.
• U.S. Commander Calls For Operations In Pakistani Tribal Regions RFE/RL 11 Sep 2008 -- The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Admiral Michael Mullen, has announced that he is commissioning a new military strategy that will cover both sides of the Afghan-Pakistan border.
• Pakistani, Afghan Leaders Seek Fresh Start To Target Enduring Threat RFE/RL 11 Sep 2008 -- When Pakistan's new president, Asif Ali Zardari, was inaugurated this week, Afghan President Hamid Karzai was the only foreign head of state in attendance.
• US Officials: Bush OK'd US Raids on Pakistan VOA 11 Sep 2008 -- Senior U.S. officials say President George Bush gave secret orders in July authorizing U.S. armed forces to carry out ground assaults in Pakistan without seeking approval from Pakistan's government.
• Report: Bush Gave Permission for US Raids on Pakistan VOA 11 Sep 2008 -- A U.S. newspaper is reporting that President George Bush gave secret orders in July authorizing U.S. armed forces to carry out ground assaults in Pakistan without seeking approval from Pakistan's government.
• 24th MEU returns a safer, more stable Garmsir to British Army USMC News 11 Sep 2008 -- After operating in the Garmsir City District for more than 130 days, and liberating its people, the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit returned responsibility for the area's security to the British Army during a Transfer of Authority Ceremony Sept. 8.
• Mississippi Guard Responds to Coastal Flooding AFPS 11 Sep 2008 -- About 100 Mississippi Army National Guard soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 155th Combined Arms Battalion, left yesterday for Gulfport, Miss., to assist local authorities as they deal with rising flood waters and additional flooding in Harrison and Hancock Counties.
• Hurricane Hunters track Ike AFPN 11 Sep 2008 -- Barreling toward the Texas coast, Hurricane Ike is regaining strength as officials along the Texas coast began evacuations of the first of millions of residents in the forecast path of the storm Sept. 10.
• Louisiana Guard Prepares for Hurricane IkeAFPSAFPS 11 Sep 2008 -- With parts of Louisiana still recovering from the damage of Hurricane Gustav and National Guardsmen continuing to provide assistance, Gov. Bobby Jindal has directed troops to relocate, stage and prepare for possible landfall of Hurricane Ike at a moment's notice.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Navy Awards $5 Billion Contract for Future Aircraft Carrier USS Gerald R. Ford Navy NewsStand 11 Sep 2008 -- The Navy awarded a $5.1 billion contract to Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding Newport News Sept. 10 for the detail design and construction of the future USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), the lead ship in the Navy's newest class of aircraft carrier.
• Navy to Decommission Tarawa After 32 Years of Honorable Service Navy NewsStand 11 Sep 2008 -- The U.S. Navy announced that the amphibious assault ship USS Tarawa (LHA 1) will be decommissioned March 31, 2009, at Naval Base San Diego.
• Air Force officials release B-1B accident report AFPN 11 Sep 2008 -- A brake-metering-valve failure caused a B-1B Lancer to collide with two aircraft rescue firefighting vehicles March 7 in Guam, according to an Air Combat Command accident investigation board released here Sept. 2.
• Picatinny's GPS-guided Excalibur artillery round deemed 'amazingly accurate' by troops Army News 11 Sep 2008 -- From taking out top al-Qaida operatives to safely firing within 50 meters of dismounted infantrymen, the Picatinny Excalibur projectile is already paying dividends a year after its initial fielding to Soldiers.
• Picatinny engineer awarded two patents for new grenade ammunition designs Army News 11 Sep 2008 -- On Aug. 5, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued an Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center employee here two patent approvals for new designs to be incorporated into the ammunition belt for the MK 19 grenade machine gun.
• Mahan Deploys from Norfolk Navy NewsStand 11 Sep 2008 -- The guided-missile destroyer USS Mahan (DDG 72) deployed Sept. 9, as part of a scheduled deployment to conduct Maritime Security Operations.
• Ambassador to Spain Visits USS Iwo Jima Navy NewsStand 11 Sep 2008 -- The U.S. ambassador to Spain and his distinguished guests visited the multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) while underway Sept. 9.
• Seabees Arrive in Cambodia for Civil Assistance Navy NewsStand 11 Sep 2008 -- Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 40 arrived in Sihanoukville Sept. 10 to begin a month-long series of humanitarian civil assistance (HCA) projects throughout the Sihanoukville area.
• Air Guard Meets End-Strength Goal for First Time Since 2003 AFPS 11 Sep 2008 -- The Air National Guard has met its fiscal 2008 end-strength goal of 106,700 airmen, the first time it's met its target end strength since 2003, National Guard Bureau officials announced yesterday.
• Farragut Completes Theater Security Cooperation Missions with Trinidad and Tobago Navy NewsStand 11 Sep 2008 -- USS Farragut (DDG 99) bid farewell to Trinidad and Tobago Sept. 8 after three days of theater security cooperation (TSC) exercises with the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard.
• Meeting on Developing the Armed Forces The Kremlin 11 Sep 2008
• Russian Strategic Bombers Land In Venezuela RFE/RL 11 Sep 2008 -- At least, that's how President Hugo Chavez, an outspoken critic of the United States, sees Venezuela's latest cooperation with Russia.
• Medvedev vows to modernize Russia's armed forces RIA Novosti 11 Sep 2008 -- President Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday that Russia would make the modernization of its armed forces a priority in light of the recent military conflict with Georgia.
• Russian bombers to leave Venezuela on Sept. 15 RIA Novosti 11 Sep 2008 -- Two Russian Tu-160 Blackjack strategic bombers that landed in Venezuela on Wednesday are expected to return home on September 15, Russia's Air Force said on Thursday.
• Su-27 fighters to hold live firing drills in south Russia RIA Novosti 11 Sep 2008 -- Over 20 Su-27 Flanker fighters will conduct live firing drills at a practice range in the Volga-Urals military district on September 15-21, an Air Force spokesman said on Thursday.

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for September 11, 2008
• BAE SYSTEMS DEMONSTRATES COMBAT IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM AT EGLIN AFB BAE Systems 11 Sep 2008 -- BAE Systems has demonstrated a new system that gives combat pilots a previously unavailable view of friendly forces on the battlefield and could significantly reduce "friendly fire" events during combat operations.
• L-3 Receives $23 Million Order from U.S. Marine Corps L-3 Communications 11 Sep 2008 -- L-3 Communications announced today that its Advanced Products and Design unit has been awarded a $23.2 million delivery order to provide 600 VideoScout-MC mobile video exploitation and management systems to the United States Marine Corps
• Eurocopter successfully leads the first firing campaign of the HAD Tiger using the Spike missile EADS 11 Sep 2008 -- Spain is currently one of two customers for the HAD version of the Tiger: the Spanish armed forces have ordered 24 of these aircraft, and France has ordered 40 HAD version Tigers.
• Thales and Armasuisse sign the contract for the Swiss Air Force Thales 11 Sep 2008 -- Thales signed with Armasuisse, the procurement and technology centre of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport DDPS, on September 11th, 2008 a € 35 million contract to provide two (2) Level D helicopter flight simulators.

Other Conflicts

• Russian FM denies S.Ossetia plans to join Russia RIA Novosti 11 Sep 2008 -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denied Thursday that South Ossetia was planning to join Russia.
• U.S. calls on Russia to 'get out of Georgia' RIA Novosti 11 Sep 2008 -- The United States has demanded Russia abide by the terms of the South Ossetia ceasefire plan and pull its troops out of Georgia.
• Georgia: Ban considers dispatching fact-finding mission UN News Centre 11 Sep 2008 -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the possibility of dispatching a United Nations fact-finding mission to Georgia, where nearly 160,000 people were uprooted by the conflict that rocked the Caucasus nation last month.
• Analysts Say Russia-Georgia Conflict Could Hurt US Space Program VOA 11 Sep 2008 -- Some lawmakers and analysts fear that Russia's invasion of Georgia may hurt U.S. space exploration
• Sudan: UN official praises progress in implementing north-south peace pact UN News Centre 11 Sep 2008 -- The former warring parties in Sudan's long-running civil conflict that ended three years ago have made "significant progress" in implementing their peace accord and resolving outstanding differences over a disputed area in the centre of the country, the top United Nations envoy to Sudan said today.
• Chad: UN mission meets with humanitarian partners to discuss mutual concerns UN News Centre 11 Sep 2008 -- United Nations officials have met in recent days with members of the humanitarian community in Chad to discuss issues of common concern, particularly with regard to the estimated 250,000 refugees and 180,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in the east of the country.
• UN-backed group sounds alarm on deadly violence in eastern DR Congo UN News Centre 11 Sep 2008 -- Signatories to the United Nations-backed January pact between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and armed groups aimed at bringing peace to the country's troubled east today expressed grave concern over the recent flare-up of hostilities in North and South Kivu.
• UN Reports 'Major Interventions' in DRC Fighting VOA 11 Sep 2008 -- The United Nations says its peacekeepers have intervened this week to stop rebels in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo from advancing on local towns.
• Cameroon-Nigeria: Bakassi returnees overwhelm authorities IRIN 11 Sep 2008 -- Up to 100,000 Nigerians displaced from Bakassi in southern Nigeria are sheltering in makeshift camps 10 kilometres away in the state of Akwa Ibom. More keep arriving according to the Nigerian Red Cross, leading local authorities to fear an impending humanitarian crisis.
• Analysis: Crisis in Kashmir cfr.org 11 Sep 2008 -- Since June, Indian-administered Kashmir has been roiled by large pro-independence protests triggered by a government decision to transfer land in the Muslim-majority state to a Hindu shrine.
• DRC: Many thousands on the move again amid Kivu clashes IRIN 11 Sep 2008 -- Many thousands of civilians in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's North Kivu province, many of them repeatedly displaced, have been forced to flee again amid heavy clashes between government forces and troops loyal to renegade Gen Laurent Nkunda.
• Niger Delta Militant Group Calls Ceasefire in Nigeria Oil Region VOA 11 Sep 2008 -- In Nigeria, the main militant group in the Niger Delta has called for a ceasefire. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) made the announcement Thursday in response to the creation of a government agency to develop the oil-rich region.

News Reports

• Statement of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Russian-Ukrainian Relations Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs 11 Sep 2008
• ZIMBABWE: Local currency becomes an endangered species IRIN 11 Sep 2008 -- The Zimbabwe dollar moved one step closer to extinction after the central bank authorised the use of foreign currency as legal tender in the country on 10 September.
• Zimbabwe's Political Rivals Reach Power-Sharing Deal VOA 11 Sep 2008 -- A power-sharing deal has been reached in Zimbabwe to end the country's long political crisis.
• Managing The Kremlin's Legitimacy Problem RFE/RL 11 Sep 2008 -- Despite riding a wave of apparent popularity following the military conflict with Georgia, the Kremlin continues to wrestle with its legitimacy problem
• Russia's Lavrov Bring Threats, Hopes For Deal To Warsaw RFE/RL 11 Sep 2008 -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is in Poland, the first EU country he has visited since the Russia-Georgia crisis began last month.
• Helsinki Commission Casts Critical Eye On Russia's 'Power Politics' RFE/RL 11 Sep 2008 -- Calling it "one of the most important hearings the Helsinki Commission is conducting this year," U.S. Senator Ben Cardin led an inquiry into what Russia's invasion of Georgia means for U.S.-Russian relations and European security.
• Zimbabwe Power-Sharing Talks Enter Fourth Day VOA 11 Sep 2008 -- Zimbabwean political leaders are set to hold a fourth day of power-sharing talks Thursday, and it remains unclear how close they are to a deal.
• Ousted Thai Leader Accepts Prime Minister Nomination VOA 11 Sep 2008 -- Thailand faces more political uncertainty after the People's Power Party re-nominated Samak Sundaravej to serve as prime minister just days after a court ordered him to step aside
• Lavrov's Poland Visit Sends Mixed Signals On Russia's Crises With West RFE/RL 11 Sep 2008 -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has held talks in Poland, the first EU country he has visited since the Russia-Georgia crisis began last month.
• Putin says Russia has no imperial ambitions RIA Novosti 11 Sep 2008 -- Russia respects the sovereignty of its neighbors and has no intention of annexing any territories, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, amid criticism over Russia's actions in Georgia.
• Russian PM: Moscow Has No 'Imperial Ambitions' VOA 11 Sep 2008 -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has strongly defended the Russian military incursion into Georgia, but says Moscow has no intention of annexing any territory of former Soviet republics.
• On 9/11 Anniversary, Political Impact Lingers RFE/RL 11 Sep 2008 -- While this year's commemoration ceremonies marking the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States were expected to be toned down compared to previous years, the nearly 3,000 people who died at the hands of Al-Qaeda hijackers in 2001 were being honored in a range of events across America.