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Current Operations

• Transcript: DoD News Briefing - Secretary Rumsfeld and Gen. Myers 01 Apr 2003 -- "We are 12 days into the war. Coalition forces have made good progress in that still short period of time. To get a sense of how coalition forces are doing, I think it's useful to put yourself in Baghdad, in the shoes of those in the Iraqi regime, and ask "what do you think they're seeing after 12 days of war." They probably expected it would be much like the first Gulf War. It seems an awful lot of people in the world expected that it would be a lot like the first Gulf War. In that case, as you'll recall, it was a sustained 38-day air campaign, followed by a brief ground attack. Instead, in this case, the ground attack actually started before the air war, with thousands of Special Forces pouring into all regions of the country and a large force rolling across the Kuwaiti border into southern Iraq."
• TRANSCRIPT OF 4/1 CENTCOM BRIEF CENTCOM 01 Apr 2003 -- "The coalition attacked regime targets over the last 24 hours in Baghdad and areas throughout the country. Precision attacks against surface-to-surface missiles and Republican Guard forces also continued. The coalition remains focused on every aspect of the regime."
• Transcript: Media briefing Australia's contribution to Global Operations Australian Ministry of Defence 01 Apr 2003 -- "After less than two weeks, large sections of Iraq are under Coalition control, and the Iraqi Army has been severely weakened. The regime has been hit precisely and hard."

• OPERATION FALCONER: ROTATION OF SHIPS Australian Ministry of Defence 01 Apr 2003 -- The Government has assessed the size and nature of the Australian Defence Force contribution to the coalition to disarm Iraq given the success of maritime operations to date.
• Air strikes hammer remote terrorist camp AFPN 01 Apr 2003 -- Coalition air strikes during Operation Iraqi Freedom are not only yielding the systematic demolition of the Saddam Hussein regime, but are hammering international terrorist organizations as well.
• Powell Briefs Press on Iraq, Turkey En Route to Ankara Washington File 01 Apr 2003 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell briefed reporters en route to Ankara April 1, saying that most issues with Turkey "have been worked out and settled, but it's a good opportunity for me to speak to Prime Minister Erdogan and Foreign Minister Gul about it to make sure there are no further misunderstandings."
• COALITION AVIATORS RESCUED CENTCOM 01 Apr 2003 -- Coalition forces successfully rescued two U.S. Navy aviators after their F-14A "Tomcat" crashed earlier tonight due to mechanical failure.
• 1 MEF ROOTS OUT PARAMILITARIES, DESTROYS SEVERAL BA'ATH PARTY HEADQUARTERS CENTCOM 01 Apr 2003 -- 1st Marine Division conducted a series of raids and limited objective attacks into more than six towns and villages Monday in the central Iraq area to liberate the local populace from Saddam Hussein and hunt down paramilitary forces.
• American POW Rescued From Iraqis AFPS 01 Apr 2003 -- An American POW taken during fighting around Nasiriyah has been rescued, Central Command officials announced tonight.
• U.S. ARMY POW RESCUED CENTCOM 01 Apr 2003 -- Coalition forces have conducted a successful rescue mission of a U.S. Army prisoner of war held captive in Iraq.
• Unconditional Surrender Demanded of Iraqi Regime AFPS 01 Apr 2003 -- The only thing the coalition is willing to discuss with the leaders of the Iraqi regime is their unconditional surrender, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said today.
• IRAQ WRAP (L-2ND-UPDATE) VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- U-S military commanders say an American prisoner of war captured by Iraqi forces more than a week ago has been rescued by coalition forces. The news comes as American troops report heavy fighting with Iraqi Republican Guard units near Karbala, south of Baghdad, in what is being described as the first major ground battle with Saddam Hussein's best trained forces.
• PENTAGON / WAR VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- A U-S Army prisoner of war has been rescued in Iraq. The surprise announcement comes as coalition forces are engaged in a massive battle with Iraqi troops south of Baghdad.
• IRAQ WRAP UPDATE VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- U-S troops entered a major city south of Baghdad Tuesday as coalition warplanes blasted new targets in and around the Iraqi capital, including elements of the Republican Guard. Meanwhile, Iraq's information minister read a message on state television he said was from Saddam Hussein calling for a holy war against U-S led forces.
• PENTAGON: WHERE'S SADDAM? VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- The mystery of Saddam Hussein's whereabouts remains a focus of attention at the Pentagon, where top officials continue to note the Iraqi leader's absence from public view.
• IRAQ WRAP VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- Coalition warplanes blasted new targets in and around Baghdad Tuesday while ground fighting continued south of the capital. Meanwhile, U-S officials have expressed regret for an incident near the central town of Najaf Monday in which at least seven Iraqi civilians were killed at a military checkpoint.
• PENTAGON / CRITICISM VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- The top U-S military officer has delivered a spirited defense of the war plan being followed in Iraq following criticism from some current and former commanders.
• PENTAGON / SADDAM VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has again raised doubts about whether Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is alive and in control.
• FIRST IRAQI MISSILE DESTROYED BY PATRIOT BATTERY IN IRAQ CENTCOM 01 Apr 2003 -- For the first time during Operation Iraqi Freedom, a PATRIOT firing battery destroyed an Iraqi ballistic missile launched against U.S. and Coalition forces in Iraq today. The intercept, with a PAC-3 missile, took place at approximately 9:00 a.m. (1:00 a.m. EST) on Tuesday. The eight intercepts prior to this have taken place against missiles directed towards Kuwait.
• U.S. ARMY V CORPS CONTINUE AGGRESSIVE OPERATIONS CENTCOM 01 Apr 2003 -- Since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom's ground campaign 12 days ago, V Corps forces have traveled a distance roughly equivalent to the distance between New York City and Richmond, Virginia.
• AV-8B HARRIER INCIDENT ONBOARD USS NASSAU CENTCOM 01 Apr 2003 -- A U.S. Marine Corps aviator, conducting a routine night training mission, ejected from his AV-8B Harrier at 7:40 p.m. local time (11:40 a.m. EST) today while attempting to land on the amphibious assault ship USS Nassau (LHA 4). The aircraft went into the water as the pilot ejected.
• INTERIM RELEASE: COALITION INVESTIGATES CIVILIAN CASUALTIES IN HILLA CENTCOM 01 Apr 2003 -- US Central Command is aware of the allegation that an Apache helicopter launched an attack that killed Iraqi civilians.
• INTERIM RELEASE: COALITION INVESTIGATES REPORT OF BUSES HIT BY MUNITIONS CENTCOM 01 Apr 2003 -- US Central Command is aware of an allegation that coalition aircraft struck two buses March 31.
• Army Units Confront Iraqi Republican Guard AFPS 01 Apr 2003 -- U.S. Army units attacked Iraqi Republican Guard units around Karbala within the past day, a senior Central Command official told media this morning.
• Saddam a No-Show on Iraqi Television AFPS 01 Apr 2003 -- It's Day 12 of "Where's Saddam?" Since Sunday, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, and other senior DoD officials have noted that no one has seen Saddam Hussein since the operation to open the war.
• Myers Slams Monday Morning Armchair Quarterbacks AFPS 01 Apr 2003 -- Reports that American forces went into Iraq undermanned are "bogus" and "not helpful" while the United States has troops in combat, said the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff today.
• Iraq: U.S.-Led Troops Will Maintain Strict Security Procedures RFE/L 01 Apr 2003 -- The U.S. military says it is not changing its security procedures at checkpoints in Iraq following the shooting deaths of at least eight civilians.
• TR Planes Pound Northern Iraq Navy NewStand 01 Apr 2003 -- Fighter and strike fighter aircraft from Carrier Air Wing 8, deployed aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), pounded positions in northern Iraq for most of the night March 31, the longest night of flights and sorties since the war began March 19.
• Iraq: Allies Attack Presidential Complex In Baghdad RFE/L 01 Apr 2003 -- Coalition forces today continued bombarding Baghdad, with attacks focused on the main presidential complex and the outskirts of the capital.
• Iraq: U.S. Forces Have First Engagement With Republican Guard RFE/L 01 Apr 2003 -- The U.S. military says U.S. ground forces have been waging their first fights with units of Iraq's Republican Guard just south of Baghdad, while coalition aircraft have been helping Kurdish rebels push back Iraqi troops.
• Iraq: Civilians Shot Dead In Checkpoint Incident RFE/L 01 Apr 2003 -- The United States military is investigating an incident in which U.S. soldiers shot dead at least seven women and children in a car at a checkpoint in central Iraq.
• Iraq: U.S. Expresses Regret Over Civilian Deaths RFE/L 01 Apr 2003 -- U.S. and British officials have expressed regret over a fatal shooting incident that left at least seven Iraqi women and children dead.
• Just Passing Through: 24th MEU Offloads at Camp Patriot Navy NewStand 31 Mar 2003 -- Following nearly eight months of deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, 2,300 Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) pounded the grounds of Camp Patriot, Kuwait, on their way to Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• Saddam Has Not Been Seen Since First Strike, Pace Says AFPS 01 Apr 2003 -- Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has not been seen since coalition forces first launched an air strike on a Baghdad compound March 19, according to Marine Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Iraq Wrap VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- U-S missiles intercepted at least one Iraqi missile fired in the general direction of Kuwait Tuesday, after a night of heavy bombing in Baghdad. Meanwhile, coalition troops advanced closer to the Iraqi capital and continued to battle Iraqi forces in several cities in central Iraq.
• S-3B VIKING PILOTS RESCUED AFTER AIRCRAFT SLIDES OFF USS CONSTELLATION'S FLIGHT DECK CENTCOM 01 Apr 2003 -- An S-3B Viking from VS-38 "Red Griffins" in Carrier Air Wing TWO (CVW 2) aboard USS Constellation (CV 64) veered off the flight deck early this morning after making an arrested landing at approximately 5:10 a.m. local. The S-3B was the last plane to be recovered in its flight cycle.
• V CORPS SOLDIERS UNINJURED IN AIRCRAFT HARD LANDING CENTCOM 01 Apr 2003 -- An AH-64D Apache helicopter from the 3rd Infantry Division made a hard landing during normal operations in Iraq yesterday at approximately 12:30 p.m. Two aircrew aboard the aircraft were uninjured.
• IRAQ/RESPONSE VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- Senior Iraqi officials say Iraqi troops are continuing to destroy tanks, helicopters and other military equipment, including a large drop of British military supplies in northern Iraq. Coalition spokesmen deny the claims. But the Iraqi officials also claim two Americans were aboard a bus that was attacked by U-S fighter planes.
• IRAQ/GENERAL VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- A top officer with the U-S-led coalition in the war against Iraq says a senior Iraqi general captured recently is cooperating with coalition forces. The U-S official says tribal leaders and civilians have also assisted coalition forces in some parts of Iraq.
• IRAQ/CHECKPOINTS VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- Coalition commanders say the shooting deaths of eight Iraqi civilians at checkpoints in central Iraq in the past two-days are regrettable, but officials blame the shootings on what they say are terrorist-like tactics by the Iraqi military.
• KC-135 Stratotankers keep allied forces flying AFPN 01 Apr 2003 -- As the Air Force's operating tempo climbs to unprecedented heights in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the efforts of refueling tankers are keeping the air war on track.
• Coalition aircraft strike two Iraqi targets AFPN 01 Apr 2003 -- Two coalition aircraft used laser-guided munitions to target a communications site west of Baghdad, while coalition aircraft with precision-guided munitions targeted a regime office complex in eastern Baghdad. Both strikes occurred April 1.
• Scott AFB prepares for possible war casualties AMCNS 01 Apr 2003 -- As coalition forces zero in on Baghdad, there's a possibility of military mass casualties. If that happens, Scott AFB in the middle of America's heartland may serve as a central medical "hub" for getting sick and wounded warriors to the care they need.
• Marines rested, ready to move on USMC 01 Apr 2003 -- The warriors of 1st Marine Division slowed their advance toward Baghdad to reenergize and take care of personal needs during the last few days of March.

• IRAQ/U-S BRIEFING VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- U-S forces in Iraq say they will stick to existing security procedures at checkpoints in Iraq in spite of the killing of unarmed civilians in separate incidents over the past two days. The U-S military says the loss of civilian lives is regrettable but unavoidable in war.
• PENTAGON / CIVILIAN DEATHS VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- The Pentagon is investigating the deaths of at least seven women and children who were shot by U-S forces Monday as the car they were traveling in approached a military checkpoint.
• U.S. Military Investigators Evaluating Civilian Checkpoint Deaths Washington File 01 Apr 2003 -- U.S. military investigators are thoroughly evaluating the exact circumstances of a shooting at a U.S. checkpoint March 31 along Route 9 near An Najaf in which seven people were killed and two were injured, a Central Command (CENTCOM) briefing officer said April 1.

Deployments

• Air Force surgeon general: 'We are ready' AFPN 01 Apr 2003 -- Improvements in the deployment process since the 1991 Gulf War have resulted in a more fit and healthy fighting force, the Air Force surgeon general told a House committee March 27.
• AWACS keep flying despite challenges AFPN 01 Apr 2003 -- About 45 people deployed from Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., work together to make sure the E-3 Sentry, better known as the Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft or AWACS, is ready to launch within an hour if needed.

US Policy

• White House Press Briefing White House 01 Apr 2003
• PENTAGON / RUMSFELD VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says there is no outcome to the war in Iraq that will leave Saddam Hussein and his regime in power. Mr. Rumsfeld says the only thing the coalition will discuss with Baghdad is unconditional surrender.
• CONGRESS / NATO / IRAQ VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- The U-S Ambassador to NATO says he believes the western alliance will survive deep rifts over the U-S-led war to disarm Iraq. Ambassador Nicholas Burns testified before a Senate panel Tuesday as Secretary of State Colin Powell prepares to discuss the war with NATO foreign ministers in Brussels later this week.
• IRAQ / WAR FUNDING VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- House (of Representatives) and Senate appropriations committees have approved legislation for about 75-billion dollars requested by President Bush to pay initial costs of the war in Iraq.
• EDITORIAL: SYRIA MUST STOP AID TO SADDAM VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- There is evidence that military supplies are being sent across the border from Syria into Iraq. The supplies are reported to include munitions as well as night-vision goggles for Iraqi forces. U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said the U.S. is aware of the danger of these arms shipments
• Rumsfeld Tells Iraqi People No Cease-Fire Being Considered Washington File 01 Apr 2003 -- Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld April 1 rejected Iraqi claims that the coalition in Iraq has entered into cease-fire negotiations with the Saddam Hussein regime.
• Don't Know If Saddam Hussein Is Dead or Alive, U.S. Says Washington File 01 Apr 2003 -- When Saddam Hussein did not make a live appearance April 1 on Iraqi television as the Arab television network Al-Jazeera had announced he would, the White House again said it did not know whether the Iraqi dictator is dead or alive.
• Goal of U.S. Aid Is to Help Iraqi People Resume Control of Iraq Washington File 01 Apr 2003 -- The goal of coalition forces is to return control of Iraq to the Iraqi people as quickly as possible, says State Department Deputy Spokesman Philip Reeker.
• U.S. Outlines Humanitarian Assistance for Iraq Washington File 01 Apr 2003 -- The U.S. Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) March 31 issued a fact sheet outlining humanitarian assistance to Iraq. The aid targets food security, internally displaced persons, refugees, health, emergency relief and construction.
• Report Documents Iraq's Deplorable Human Rights Record in 2002 Washington File 01 Apr 2003 -- The Department of State's 2002 Human Rights report on Iraq documents the unabated, serious and systemic actions of the regime of Saddam Hussein to suppress the Iraqi people's freedoms of speech, press, assembly, religion and movement.
• Wolfowitz, Iraqi-Americans Explain Why Iraq Must Be Liberated Washington File 01 Apr 2003 -- Following is the transcript of the briefing by Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and three Iraqi-Americans in Washington March 28 in which they explain why Iraq must be liberated now
• EDITORIAL: IRAQI PRISONERS OF WAR VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- According to news reports, and contrary to the laws of war, Iraqis have used women and children as human shields. And they have pretended to surrender and then opened fire on coalition troops.

United Nations

• PRESS BRIEFING ON IRAQ HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE United Nations 01 Apr 2003
• Annan recommends maintaining UN's Iraq-Kuwait observer force in region UN News Centre 01 Apr 2003 -- Secretary-General Kofi Annan has recommended retaining in Kuwait City for a further three months a small logistics headquarters of the United Nations mission monitoring the Iraq-Kuwait border to support UN activities in the region, where the world body is currently concentrating on humanitarian relief.
• Annan hopes UN weapons inspectors will return to Iraq UN News Centre 01 Apr 2003 -- Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today he hoped United Nations weapons inspectors would eventually return to Iraq, noting that their work had merely been suspended.
• UN relief agencies warn of soaring heat and water shortages in Iraq UN News Centre 01 Apr 2003 -- As United Nations relief agencies struggled to move more humanitarian aid into Iraq, stifling heat amid a continuing water shortage emerged today as a new threat to the health of the civilian population, especially children.
• UN identifies $1 billion worth of humanitarian goods for priority delivery to Iraq UN News Centre 01 Apr 2003 -- The United Nations office overseeing the humanitarian Oil-for-Food programme today said it has identified over $1 billion worth of goods and supplies as potential priorities for delivery to Iraq over the next 45 days.
• THE FUTURE OF THE U-N VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- President George W. Bush challenged the United Nations to enforce a dozen years' worth of resolutions on Iraq. The U-N Security Council unanimously passed resolution 1441, giving the regime of Saddam Hussein one final chance to destroy its weapons of mass destruction. When Iraq failed to cooperate, the U-N failed to act. As a result, the United States, Britain, and Spain are now leading a coalition of more than forty nations to disarm Iraq.
• IRAQ / HUMAN RIGHTS VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- A U-N expert on Iraq says that the world body must be ready to send people into the country as soon as the war is ended. The official says a system must be set up to safeguard innocent Iraqis.
• U-N / IRAQ / OIL-FOR-FOOD VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- The United Nations has identified more than one-billion dollars worth of the most needed supplies for the Iraqi people.
• UN / IRAQ / WOMEN VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- The head of the U-N Development Fund for Women is urging the international community to meet the needs of Iraqi women during the war and during the future reconstruction of Iraq.
• UNEP Says Smoke from Burning Oil Creates Health Risks in Iraq Washington File 01 Apr 2003 -- The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) says satellite images reveal that toxic smoke plumes from the Rumailah oil fields in southern Iraq fired by Iraqis to deter coalition forces have weakened over the past several days but continue to threaten inhabited areas with smog.

Foreign Reactions

• JORDAN / TERRORISM VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- Jordan authorities have arrested an undisclosed number of Iraqis they suspect of plotting terrorist actions against U-S troops stationed in the country.
• BRITAIN / IRAQ VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- British troops in southern Iraq have begun trading their helmets for berets, and officials say it is helping them win the trust of the local population.
• AUSTRALIA WAR VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- Australia's defense chief has given an upbeat assessment of the coalition's progress in Iraq, calling the campaign so far a "dramatic success." There are two thousand Australian military personnel in the Gulf, including navy divers and elite Special Forces.
• Anti-war rallies and demos in S. Korea KCNA 01 Apr 2003 -- Large-scale rallies and demonstrations demanding a stop to the war and opposition to the troop dispatch were simultaneously held in 19 cities including Seoul, Inchon, Taejon, Taegu and Jonju on Mar. 29, according to MBC of South Korea.

News Reports

• BACKGROUND REPORT - Afghanistan/Iraq VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- American troops are at war in two places -- Iraq and Afghanistan.
• RED CROSS/ IRAQ CIVILIANS VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- The International Committee of the Red Cross is warning that Iraqi soldiers who disguise themselves as civilians risk prosecution. The Red Cross has called for both sides in the Iraq war to stop using tactics that endanger Iraqi civilians.
• Red Cross Begins Visiting Iraqi Prisoners of War Washington File 01 Apr 2003 -- The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said March 31 that a team of 15 delegates, including one medical doctor and six interpreters, has begun visiting Iraqi prisoners of war captured by coalition forces.
• Iraq War's Embedded Journalists VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- The Vietnam conflict was sometimes called "the television war" because it brought scenes on the battlefield to the living rooms of millions of Americans. But the reports from Vietnam were often recorded on film which had to be flown out of the country, edited and then broadcast days later. Today, scenes of Baghdad bombing or fire-fights from the Iraq war arrive immediately on television, night and day. Adding to the "you are there" feeling is the embedded journalists program, in which reporters accompany soldiers as they engage in warfare
• ALISHA RYU Q&A VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- A Patriot missile has intercepted a suspected Scud missile fired in the direction of U-S forces in Central Iraq.
• BACKGROUND REPORT - Laws of War, Rules of Engagement VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- Among nations there are laws of war. These are based on international agreements developed over many years. Among soldiers there are rules of engagement. These are the rules that govern when soldiers can shoot at the enemy. Military lawyers and commanders design rules of engagement for each conflict. The rules may change as conditions change. Rules of engagement are not made public. But the United States says its soldiers all know what they are.
• IRAQ: Many IDPs on the move in the north IRIN 01 Apr 2003 -- With conflict looming around the northern cities of Kirkuk and Mosul, Andre Laperriere, UNICEF coordinator for northern Iraq, told IRIN from Diyarbakir in southeastern Turkey on Tuesday that the number of internally displaced people (IDPs) on the move in the region could rapidly escalate.