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Current Operations

• TRANSCRIPT OF 4/6 CENTCOM BRIEF CENTCOM 06 Apr 2003 -- "The coalition attacked regime leadership targets, military forces, command centers, communications nodes, and all located aircraft to break the military capacity of the regime. At this point, the coalition can operate throughout all of the airspace of Iraq."
• Transcript: Defence Media Briefing Australian Ministry of Defence 06 Apr 2003 -- "There've been no significant issues or changes to our operations overnight, and I'm pleased again to report that all of our personnel are safe and well. I would like, before starting, to make a small clarification on a question on the location of forces in the push into Baghdad."

• IRAQ WRAP 4th UPDATE VOA 06 Apr 2003 -- President Bush prepares to hold talks with British Prime Minister Tony Blair Monday on the postwar future of Iraq. Meanwhile, coalition troops have ratcheted up the pressure on Baghdad and the country's second largest city, Basra.
• IRAQ WRAP VOA 06 Apr 2003 -- On the 18th day of the war in Iraq, coalition troops ratcheted up the pressure on Baghdad and the country's second largest city, Basra.
• TF 3-69 leads 3ID to outskirts of Baghdad Army News 06 Apr 2003 -- The 1st Brigade Combat Team, led by Task Force 3-69, traveled and fought for 70 kilometers to bring the 3rd Infantry Division (Mech.) to within 30 kilometers of Baghdad April 2.
• Coalition Air Forces Investigate Incident Navy NewStand 06 Apr 2003 -- U.S. Central Command officials are continuing their investigation into a potential friendly fire incident April 6.
• U.S. ARMY V CORP CONTINUES ATTACK CENTCOM 06 Apr 2003 -- V Corps continued relentlessly attacking enemy forces in its march towards central Iraq.
• F-18 Pilot Remains MIA Navy NewStand 06 Apr 2003 -- Search and rescue efforts continue for the F/A-18C Hornet pilot who crashed over central Iraq Apr. 2.
• IRAQ/U-S BRIEFING VOA 06 Apr 2003 -- U-S Central Command says it is investigating a report that a U-S warplane mistakenly bombed a convoy in northern Iraq that was carrying Kurdish fighters and U-S Special Forces personnel, killing several people. At its daily briefing in Qatar, Central Command also said U-S forces had killed a number of foreign fighters in Iraq.
• IRAQ/FRIENDLY FIRE VOA 06 Apr 2003 -- U-S Central Command says it is investigating reports of a so-called "friendly fire" incident in northern Iraq in which three Americans and 12 Kurds reportedly died when a U-S warplane bombed a convoy carrying Kurdish fighters and U-S special forces.
• IRAQ / WRAP (L-2nd UPD) VOA 06 Apr 2003 -- Reporters say the first U-S military aircraft has landed at Baghdad Airport, since the field was captured Friday by coalition forces. Earlier in the day, U-S troops surrounded the embattled Iraqi capital, and scores of British troops moved into Iraq's second largest city, Basra, to root out pockets of resistance.
• IRAQ/RESPONSE VOA 06 Apr 2003 -- Western journalists are at the Baghdad International Airport and report it is firmly in coalition control. But in Central Baghdad, Iraq's Information Minister continues to claim that Iraqi forces hold the airport.
• IRAQ/KURDS/BOMBING VOA 06 Apr 2003 -- Kurdish officials say 18 Iraqi Kurdish fighters were killed and 44 others wounded Sunday when the convoy they were traveling in was mistakenly attacked by U-S fighter planes. U-S Central Command says it is investigating the report. A senior Iraqi Kurdish official was among those wounded.
• IRAQ WRAP OVERNIGHTER VOA 06 Apr 2003 -- Deafening explosions have rocked Baghdad on Sunday as regular and irregular Iraqi forces patrol city streets in an effort to protect the Iraqi capital from more incursions by U-S troops. U-S forces are seeking to consolidate their positions around the Iraqi capital on the 18th day of the war.
• IRAQ/FOREIGNERS/PACE VOA 06 Apr 2003 -- A senior U-S military official in Washington is dismissing the military significance of the reported presence in Iraq of foreign fighters. The comments followed reports from the U-S military in the Gulf that U-S forces have killed or captured fighters from Egypt and Sudan, as well as other countries.
• IRAQ/U-S BRIEFING/FOREIGNERS VOA 06 Apr 2003 -- The U-S military in the Gulf says it has killed and captured several foreign fighters in Iraq and has evidence that they may have been trained at a camp at Salman Pak, southeast of Baghdad.
• BAGHDAD / CURFEW VOA 06 Apr 2003 -- Iraqi television says authorities will impose a travel ban at the Baghdad city limits starting Sunday night. The announcement was made as U-S forces close in around the city.
• BRITAIN / IRAQ VOA 06 Apr 2003 -- Britain says its troops are making a major push into Iraq's second city, Basra. The offensive comes as the British defense secretary warns of potential stiff resistance in Baghdad.
• IRAQ / WRAP VOA 06 Apr 2003 -- With warplanes patrolling the skies over Baghdad, U-S troops made their second show-of-force foray into the Iraqi capital. Meanwhile, British troops have staged their largest incursion in Iraq's second largest city, Basra.
• Artillery Fire, Explosions In Baghdad RFE/L 06 Apr 2003 -- Explosions were heard in central Baghdad early this morning a day after U.S.-led forces made their first incursion into the Iraqi capital.
• British Forces Move Into Basra RFE/L 06 Apr 2003 -- British forces today moved into the southern Iraqi city of Basra, in their biggest incursion after remaining mainly on the city's outskirts for two weeks.
• U.S. Forces Drub Baghdad Defenders, WMD Search Continues AFPS 06 Apr 2003 -- U.S. military combat action in Baghdad yesterday may have inflicted thousands of casualties on the enemy, a senior U.S. Central Command spokesperson said today.
• COALITION AIR FORCES INVESTIGATE INCIDENT CENTCOM 06 Apr 2003 -- US Central Command officials are continuing their investigation into a potential friendly fire incident today.
• Regime Use of Baghdad Mosques and Hospitals CENTCOM 06 Apr 2003 -- As the Coalition has continued to destroy the combat capability of the Republican Guard forces, the Iraqi regime has directed these forces to move into areas that put innocent Iraqis in danger and threaten sensitive sites.
• CENTRAL COMMAND INVESTIGATES CONVOY ATTACK CENTCOM 06 Apr 2003 -- In reference to news reports today that a Russian diplomatic convoy has been attacked leaving Baghdad
• CENTRAL COMMAND INVESTIGATES CONVOY ATTACK CENTCOM 06 Apr 2003 -- US Central Command is aware of reports today that a Russian diplomatic convoy may have been attacked on the road between Baghdad and Syria.
• COALITION AIR FORCES INVESTIGATE INCIDENT CENTCOM 06 Apr 2003 -- US Central Command officials are investigating reports that coalition aircraft may have engaged special operations and friendly Kurdish ground forces around 4:15 a.m. EDT today, approximately 30 miles southeast of Mosul, Iraq.
• CLARIFICATION TO FRIENDLY FIRE PRESS RELEASE CENTCOM 06 Apr 2003 -- Press release #03-04-58 is an update to CENTCOM release #03-04-36.
• SEARCH CONTINUES FOR F-18 PILOT CENTCOM 06 Apr 2003 -- Search and rescue efforts continue for the F/A-18C Hornet pilot who crashed over central Iraq Apr. 2.
• UH-60 BLACKHAWK CASUALTIES CONFIRMED CENTCOM 06 Apr 2003 -- Six soldiers were confirmed to have died when their UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter crashed in Central Iraq at approximately 11:45 p.m. on Wednesday (April 2).
• F-15E POTENTIAL FRIENDLY FIRE INCIDENT CENTCOM 06 Apr 2003 -- Three U.S. service members were killed and five wounded in a possible friendly fire incident involving an F-15E Strike Eagle and Coalition ground forces.
• REPORT OF RED CRESCENT HOSPITAL BOMBING CENTCOM 06 Apr 2003 -- Although the event is still under investigation, U.S. Central Command has found no evidence at this point to support an allegation that Coalition aircraft bombed a Red Crescent maternity hospital in Baghdad, Iraq, April 2.
• Saddam's Forces Continue to Risk Iraqi Civilians, U.S. General Says Washington File 06 Apr 2003 -- Saddam's military continues to deliberately put Iraqi citizens in harm's way, says Brigadier General Vincent Brooks, deputy director of operations of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).
• Friendly fire incidents will be investigated AFPN 06 Apr 2003 -- It is unfortunate when coalition forces and equipment are lost in combat, but it is particularly tragic when those losses come as a result of friendly fire, the combined forces air component commander of Operation Iraqi Freedom said April 5.
• Coalition air effort runs gamut of missions AFPN 06 Apr 2003 -- With their dazzling accuracy played out frequently for worldwide television audiences, precision-guided weapons have made media favorites out of strategic and tactical bombing missions.
• Precision Bombing Minimizes Civilian Casualties, General Says Washington File 06 Apr 2003 -- Picking the right weapon for the target is helping to minimize civilian casualties in Iraq, says Lieutenant General Michael Moseley, the Coalition Forces Air Component Commander (CFACC).
• General Brooks Describes Conditions in Liberated Iraq Washington File 06 Apr 2003 -- In those areas of Iraq that have been liberated, "the good news is life is proceeding into a new state of normal," says Brigadier General Vincent Brooks, deputy director of operations of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).
• Military Coordination and Liaison Command operates in Iraq USAFE 06 Apr 2003 -- The Forward Command Element of the Military Coordination and Liaison Command, led by U.S. Marine Maj. Gen. Pete Osman, arrived in Northern Iraq and began working there March 25.
• Transient-alert team keeps flightline running AFPN 06 Apr 2003 -- The flightline is a busy place and no one knows that better than the people who keep it all running smoothly at one forward-deployed location.

Deployments

US Policy

• Secretary Powell Outlines Agenda for U.S.-European Cooperation Washington File 06 Apr 2003 -- Along with planning for reconstruction in Iraq, the United States remains focused on a broad international agenda ranging from the expansion of NATO to dealing with HIV/AIDS, Secretary of State Colin Powell said in an interview with European editors in Brussels on April 3.
• Wolfowitz Says Goal is Government "Of, By, and For the Iraqis" Washington File 06 Apr 2003 -- The U.S. post-war goal in Iraq, to paraphrase President Abraham Lincoln, is a government "of the Iraqis, by the Iraqis, for the Iraqis," Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said on CBS's Face the Nation April 6.
• Deputy Defense Wolfowitz, General Pace on NBC's Meet the Press Washington File 06 Apr 2003 -- Following is the transcript of the April 6 appearance of Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen.
• Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz on CBS's Face the Nation Washington File 06 Apr 2003 -- Following is a transcript of Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz's appearance April 6 on CBS's Face the Nation
• BUSH / BLAIR OVERNIGHTER VOA 06 Apr 2003 -- President Bush heads to Northern Ireland today (Monday) for talks with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. It is their third summit in less than a month.
• IRAQ/SADDAM FUNDS VOA 06 Apr 2003 -- The U-S Embassy in Vienna says funds in Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's bank accounts in Austria could be used to help pay for the reconstruction of post-war Iraq.
• Saddam's Regime 'Is on Its Way Out,' Wolfowitz Says AFPS 06 Apr 2003 -- Dictator Saddam Hussein's 20- plus-year hold on the Iraqi people is drawing to a close, U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said today.
• IRAQ / RECONSTRUCTION VOA 06 Apr 2003 -- A top Bush administration official says coalition forces in Iraq will not be "colonial occupiers," although the U-S military could be there for some time after the war is over, until a new Iraqi government is set up.

United Nations

• Annan invites Security Council members to meet with him on Iraq UN News Centre 07 Apr 2003 -- United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has invited members of the Security Council to meet with him on Iraq on Monday morning, a spokesman for the world body announced today.

Foreign Reactions

• RUSSIA/IRAQ ATTACK VOA 06 Apr 2003 -- The Kremlin says four to five Russian nationals were wounded when their convoy came under attack while leaving Baghdad. Russia's Foreign Ministry immediately called in the U-S and Iraqi ambassadors to Russia and urged them to investigate the incident and punish those responsible.
• EGYPT / DISSENT VOA 06 Apr 2003 -- For nearly a month, following Friday prayers in Egypt, tens-of-thousands of people have been demonstrating against the U-S-led war in Iraq. The protests have intensified since the war began, and, Egyptian security forces have used force to break up many of them. Many activists are calling the Egyptian government's crackdown on anti-war sentiment a violation of human rights.
• IRAQ / ARTISTS PROTEST VOA 06 Apr 2003 -- Jordanian artists are adding their "voice" to anti-war demonstrations through a communal mural depicting the ravages of war. But many Iraqi artists in Jordan prefer to keep a low profile.

News Reports

• BACKGROUND REPORT-Rebuilding Iraq VOA 06 Apr 2003 -- Food, clean water, medicine, electric power, fuel and other kinds of aid are already greatly needed in Iraq. The war is not over, yet international debate has already begun about the best method of aiding the Iraqi people.
• BACKGROUND REPORT-The Baath Party VOA 06 Apr 2003 -- The Baath Party has had complete control over politics in Iraq since nineteen-sixty-eight. The Baath Party began in the Syrian capital of Damascus in the nineteen-forties. The word Baath appears to mean rebirth. The party developed as a movement of Arab nationalism. It also claimed to have Socialist ideas about economic policy.