• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• DoD News: DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• MND-N Soldier killed on patrol (Tikrit)
• Ordnance Soldiers Save "Skunk Werks" Army News 25 Apr 2009 -- When Soldiers of the 602nd Maintenance Co. leave Iraq they'll be taking a piece of history with them: the "Skunk Werks" welding shop.
• Afghanistan starts registration of presidential candidates RIA Novosti 25 Apr 2009 -- Afghanistan's Central Election Commission (CEC) began on Saturday registering presidential candidates and members of provincial councils to take part in upcoming elections in the country.
• Pakistan Taliban quit key district to avoid offensive IRNA 25 Apr 2009 -- Taliban militants, who had entered a district in Pakistan’s northwest and raised concerns in and outside the country, withdrew on Friday to their stronghold of Swat as the government deployed troops for possible offensive, officials and locals said.
• Pakistan army chief vows to defeat terror, militancy IRNA 25 Apr 2009 -- Pakistan's Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani Friday vowed to defeat terror and militancy in the country.
• Taliban Completes Withdraw from Key Pakistan District VOA 25 Apr 2009 -- Officials in northwest Pakistan say all of the Taliban fighters who infiltrated a district 100 kilometers from the capital have returned to their stronghold in Swat Valley.

Defense Policy / Programs

• US Secretary of State Makes Unannounced Visit to Iraq VOA 25 Apr 2009 -- Hillary Clinton is making her first visit to Baghdad Saturday as U.S. secretary of state. She met with U.S. military commanders, as well as top Iraqi leaders, to assess the war situation.
• Clinton Makes Unannounced Trip To Iraq RFE/RL 25 Apr 2009 -- Hillary Clinton in first visit to Iraq since taking over as secretary of State: US will "stand with the people of Iraq" despite planned withdrawal of troops.
• US to Admit Chinese Muslims from Guantanamo VOA 25 Apr 2009 -- U.S. officials said the Obama administration is planning to admit some of the Chinese Muslims being held at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba into the United States.
• USS Truxtun Joins the Fleet Navy NewsStand 25 Apr 2009 -- The Navy's newest Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, USS Truxtun (DDG 103), was commissioned Saturday, April 25, during a ceremony at Naval Weapons Station Charleston, S.C.
• Forrest Sherman Teams with French Ship for PASSEX Navy NewsStand 25 Apr 2009 -- The USS Forrest Sherman (DDG 98) partnered with French ship FS Forbin (D 620) to conduct a passing exercise (PASSEX) off the coast just north of Virginia April 20-21.
• Unique Pain Relief Offered to Dominicans on Comfort Navy NewsStand 25 Apr 2009 -- Citizens of the Dominican Republic now have access to acupuncture aboard hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) as part of Continuing Promise 2009 (CP09).
• Roughead Delivers Principal Address at Truxtun Commissioning Navy NewsStand 25 Apr 2009 -- Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Gary Roughead delivered the principal address at the commissioning of the Navy's 53rd Aleigh Burke-class destroyer, USS Truxtun (DDG 103), April 25.
• VBSS: Evolving with the Mission Navy NewsStand 25 Apr 2009 -- Whether searching a dhow in the Persian Gulf for hidden weapons, or boarding and inspecting a suspected pirate mothership off the coast of Somalia, visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) teams are playing an important part in the Navy's 21st century Maritime Strategy.
• Project HOPE, CP09 Volunteers Offer Medical Classes to Dominicans Navy NewsStand 25 Apr 2009 -- Project HOPE members traveling aboard hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) brought a series of medical classes to Dominican doctors, nurses, and medical students April 24 in support of Continuing Promise 2009 (CP09).
• NRL's SoloHI Selected for European-led Solar Orbiter Mission Navy NewsStand 25 Apr 2009 -- The Naval Research Laboratory's (NRL's) Heliospheric Imager (SoloHI) has been chosen as part of the scientific payload for the European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter mission. SoloHI will provide revolutionary measurements to pinpoint solar storms known as coronal mass ejections or CMEs.
• 5,000th M1114 HMMWV transferred to ISF MNF-I 25 Apr 2009 -- April 22 marked a milestone in U.S.-Iraqi relations with the transfer of the 5,000th M1114 HMMWV to the Iraqi Security Forces, helping them to be more equipped to provide the safety and security the people of Iraq need
• Eurofighter future in doubt amid UK hesitancy IRNA 25 Apr 2009 -- The British government was reported Saturday to be under growing pressure to keep its commitment to buy 16 more Eurofighters that could put the future of the rest of the programme in doubt amid increasing restraints on defence budgets.
• Russia Gets Attack Helicopters For North Caucasus District RFE/RL 25 Apr 2009 -- Russia's North Caucasus military district has received 6 Mi-28N Night Hunter attack helicopters.

Defense Industry

• German army eyes leasing of Israeli Gaza killer drones IRNA 25 Apr 2009 -- The German army is interested in leasing ultra-modern Israeli drones which have been used in Gaza to kill Palestinians and the 2006 Lebanon war, the online site of the weekly Der Spiegel news magazine reported Saturday.

Other Conflicts

• Tamil civilians in Lanka's war zone died like flies, say survivors IRNA 25 Apr 2009 -- The mass of Tamil women and children struggling to walk out of Sri Lanka's war zone were so emaciated that an aid worker thought he was seeing a horror movie.
• 165,000 civilians in Wanni close to starvation: Sri Lankan rebels IRNA 25 Apr 2009 -- On the verge of total defeat, Sri Lankan rebels said that nearly 165,000 civilians in Wanni, the areas controlled by it, were close to starvation and accused Sri Lankan authorities of blocking food and humanitarian supplies to the area.
• Tamil Tigers Claim 150,000 Civilians on Brink of Starvation VOA 25 Apr 2009 -- Rebels in Sri Lanka claim some 150,000 people are on the brink of starvation in the territory held by the Tamil Tigers in the northeast. The Sri Lankan government says the rebels are to blame for the plight of the civilians in the remaining area controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The accusations come amid rising international concern over mass civilian suffering in the dwindling war zone.

News Reports

• GOVERNOR PATERSON DIRECTS STATE HEALTH DEPARTMENT TO MONITOR POSSIBLE SWINE FLU CASES Office of the Governor of New Yorkorbital 25 Apr 2009 -- Governor David A. Paterson has directed the New York State Department of Health (DOH) to activate its infectious disease, epidemiology, laboratory, disaster preparedness and health systems staff to coordinate efforts across the State as eight cases of probable swine influenza (swine flu) were identified in New York City today
• Media Availability on CDC Investigation of Human Cases of Swine Influenza Center for Disease Control 25 Apr 2009
• Swine flu outbreak has pandemic potential, warns UN health agency UN News Centre 25 Apr 2009 -- The head of the United Nations health agency today warned that the recent outbreak of a deadly new strain of the flu virus, known as swine flu, reported in parts of Mexico and the United States, has the potential to become a pandemic.
• WHO: Swine Flu An International Public Health Emergency VOA 25 Apr 2009 -- The World Health Organization says a new swine flu strain in Mexico and the United States is "a public health emergency of international concern." The flu has killed as many as 68 people in Mexico and sickened more than 1,000. Health officials say it is too early to say whether it will become a worldwide outbreak.
• Mexico Swine Flu Deaths Spark Concerns of Global Epidemic VOA 25 Apr 2009 -- Mexican and U.S. officials are taking emergency steps to contain the possible outbreak of a new multi-strain of swine flu that has killed at least 20 people and may be responsible for scores of other deaths.
• WHO: Swine Flu has 'Pandemic Potential' VOA 25 Apr 2009 -- The head of the World Health Organization says the swine flu outbreak in Mexico and the United States could develop into a pandemic.
• US Charges Young Somali with Piracy on High Seas VOA 25 Apr 2009 -- A young Somali man has appeared in a U.S. court charged with piracy.
• Turkey Objects to Obama Statement on Armenian Killings VOA 25 Apr 2009 -- Turkey's government has objected to U.S. President Barack Obama's statement recognizing the killings of more than a million Armenians during the final years of the Ottoman empire.
• Thailand's Protesters Highlight Rifts, Political Participation VOA 25 Apr 2009 -- Recent protests in Thailand have raised questions about the development and stability of the country's democracy. The demonstrations were sometimes violent and highlight a growing division within the Thai population. But they also mark a transition in citizen participation in the country's politics.