• Military

• WMD Menu                           

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

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Operations
Deployments
US Policy
United Nations
Reconstruction Issues
Foreign Reactions
News Reports

Current Operations

• Transcript: Australian Media Briefing Operation Falconer Australian Department of Defence 13 Apr 2003 -- "Obviously a key focus of Australian Defence Force operations over the past 24 hours has been the preparation and conduct of OPERATION BAGHDAD ASSIST, announced by Government yesterday. BAGHDAD ASSIST is being conducted to help relieve the humanitarian situation in Baghdad by getting much needed medical supplies into the city as quickly as possible so that the hospitals there can continue to function."

• TWO C-130J AIRCRAFT TO TRANSPORT MEDICAL ASSISTANCE FROM RAAF RICHMOND TO THE MIDDLE EAST Australian Department of Defence 13 Apr 2003 -- Operation Baghdad Assist - the packing and loading of medical supplies onto two C-130 aircraft followed by the departure of the aircraft to the Middle East
• OPERATION BAGHDAD ASSIST Australian Department of Defence 13 Apr 2003 -- On Saturday 12 April the Minister for Defence launched Operation Baghdad Assist. The Operation will involve the provision of medical supplies to hospitals in Baghdad in order to relieve the humanitarian situation.
• UPDATE: AMERICAN SERVICE MEMBERS NAMED CENTCOM 13 Apr 2003 -- Seven U.S. service members have been recovered alive and are now under Coalition control.
• Iraqis Will Be "Better Off" Without Saddam, Powell Promises Washington File 13 Apr 2003 -- Now that Saddam Hussein and his regime have been vanquished, "the people of Iraq are going to be better off," says Secretary of State Colin Powell.
• Combat Operations Transitioning to Iraqi Self-Government, Franks Says Washington File 13 Apr 2003 -- The phase of decisive military operations in Iraq is nearing an end, and U.S. and coalition forces can now turn to the work of recovery, General Tommy Franks, the commander of Operation Iraqi Freedom, said in television news interviews on April 13.
• Seven American POWs Returned to U.S. Control AFPS 13 Apr 2003 -- DoD officials identified the seven American prisoners of war found in northern Iraq today as five members of the 507th Maintenance Company and two Apache helicopter pilots.
• U-S / IRAQ / WAR VOA 13 Apr 2003 -- Top U-S defense officials say they are not ready to declare that the war with Iraq is over. These officials caution that many dangers remain for U-S-led forces in the country.
• IRAQ-WRAP 2nd UPDATE VOA 13 Apr 2003 -- U-S troops have moved in on Tikrit, the hometown of deposed Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein. Along the way, the U-S troops got a pleasant surprise. The troops found seven soldiers captured earlier by Iraqi forces.
• IRAQ/WEAPONS VOA 13 Apr 2003 -- U-S marines trying to help neighborhoods get police and hospital services back up and running find themselves helping Iraqis to clear their schools, hospitals, and even their backyards of weapons left there by Iraqi troops.
• U-S / IRAQ / WEAPONS VOA 13 Apr 2003 -- U-S Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says one of the next major tasks for U-S-led forces in Iraq is finding weapons of mass destruction.
• Dust, noise, heat not beating down Bashur airmen AFPN 13 Apr 2003 -- As airmen continue to unload cargo around the clock in the blazing sun, dust and noise at Bashur Airfield in northern Iraq, others ensure they stay healthy.
• No Part of Iraq Under Regime Control, Franks Says AFPS 13 Apr 2003 -- There are no towns under Iraqi regime control now, Army Gen. Tommy Franks said on Fox News Sunday today.
• UPDATE: AMERICAN SERVICE MEMBERS FOUND CENTCOM 13 Apr 2003 -- Earlier today members of the First Marine Expeditionary Force returned seven American service members to the coalition.
• Seven servicemembers found CENTCOM 13 Apr 2003 -- Seven American service members were found by coalition forces today in the vicinity of Samawah, Iraq.
• IRAQ WRAP VOA 13 Apr 2003 -- There has been renewed military activity in Baghdad with U-S forces said to be continuing a dusk to dawn curfew in Baghdad to stop looting and chaos that has broken out in the capital city since it fell to advancing U-S troops.
• IRAQ/WRAP VOA 13 Apr 2003 -- U-S troops have moved in on Tikrit, the hometown of deposed Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein. Along the way, the U-S troops got a pleasant surprise. The troops found seven soldiers captured earlier by Iraqi forces.
• IRAQ / P-O-W/M-I-A VOA 13 Apr 2003 -- At least seven U-S service personnel, previously thought to have been captured or missing, have been found by U-S forces in Iraq. The top commander of coalition forces in Iraq says they are apparently in good condition.
• IRAQ/TIKRIT VOA 13 Apr 2003 -- The chief U-S military commander in the Gulf says U-S forces have entered Tikrit, the last major Iraqi city still under the control of the Saddam Hussein regime. So far, the coalition troops have not encountered resistance.
• Seven Americans Recovered Alive Near Samarra AFPS 13 Apr 2003 -- Seven U.S. service members listed as missing or prisoners have been returned to American control, U.S. Central Command chief Army Gen. Tommy Franks said today.
• U.S. Begins Urgent Task Of Restoring Order RFE/L 13 Apr 2003 -- U.S. forces today began the task of trying to restore normacly to Iraq, launching drives to rebuild the police force and electric-power department.
• 3rd MAW continues to support OIF USMC News 13 Apr 2003 -- The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing's fixed wing and rotary wing squadrons continue to support Operation Iraqi Freedom now into the third week of the campaign.
• VMFA (AW)-533 Maintenance/Ordnance Marines work around the clock USMC News 13 Apr 2003 -- They crawl over and around the aircraft like a colony of ants. Some ensure the aircraft is in top mechanical working condition. Others ensure it's loaded with the proper armament for the upcoming mission.
• MSPF hits Ba'ath HQ, recovers intelligence USMC News 13 Apr 2003 -- Maritime Special Purpose Force Marines and Sailors with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) conducted a precision, direct action raid April 1 at a suspected Ba'ath Party official's house and several other buildings as a coordinated attack with group of Army and Navy special forces while they rescued an Army female prisoner of war, Pfc. Jennifer Lynch, at a hospital 5 kilometers away.

Deployments

• USS Honolulu Warriors Returns COMSUBPAC 13 Apr 2003 -- After nearly eight months of deployment, the attack submarine USS Honolulu (SSN 718) returned to its homeport Apr. 13.
• Carabinieri Shields OEF Units CENTCOM News 13 Apr 2003 -- When someone sees the flaming grenade symbol coming their way, they better know they are in the hands of European law enforcement.

US Policy

• President Bush Promises Iraqis Security and Order Washington File 13 Apr 2003 -- President Bush promised Iraqis that they will eventually enjoy order and security in addition to freedom.
• Rumsfeld Says U.S. Will Find Iraqi WMD Materials AFPS 13 Apr 2003 -- Saddam Hussein's scientific adviser surrendered to U.S. forces Saturday, proclaiming that Iraq has no weapons of mass destruction.
• USAID Awards Contract to Revitalize Education in Iraq Washington File 13 Apr 2003 -- The Agency for International Development (USAID) announced an initial $2 million contract on April 11 to help meet immediate educational needs in Iraq and "promote participation of the Iraqi people in a sustainable, decentralized educational system."
• Rumsfeld Says Transition to New Iraq Underway Washington File 13 Apr 2003 -- Iraq's transition from the regime of Saddam Hussein to a new nation governed by the Iraqi people is underway, even though pockets of resistance and urban disorder remain, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said during several television news interviews on April 13.
• BUSH/IRAQ VOA 13 Apr 2003 -- President Bush has welcomed the news that seven Americans held as prisoners of war in Iraq are free and well. At the same time, he is urging Syria once again to cooperate with the United States and close its doors to fleeing Iraqi leaders.
• POWELL / SYRIA VOA 13 Apr 2003 -- The United States is warning Syria against granting asylum to high-level officials of the toppled Saddam Hussein government of Iraq. Secretary of State Colin Powell discussed the issue on British television Sunday.

United Nations

Reconstruction Issues

• Text: World Bank/IMF Call For New U.N. Iraq Resolution Washington File 13 Apr 2003 -- The joint development committee of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) said April 13 that it supports a new United Nations Security Council resolution on the future of Iraq.
• Finance Group Urges International Involvement in Iraq's Future Washington File 13 Apr 2003 -- The International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) April 12 unanimously agreed that the international community, including the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), is "essential for sustained economic, social and political development in Iraq" and the Iraqi people are responsible for determining their own future, according to the committee's chairman, Gordon Brown, of Britain.
• WORLD BANK WRAP VOA 13 Apr 2003 -- The 184-nation World Bank and International Monetary Fund ended their semi-annual meeting in Washington Sunday with agreement to send a needs assessment mission to Iraq. Iraq reconstruction was a principal theme of the meeting.
• IRAQ/ POLICE VOA 13 Apr 2003 -- A new Iraqi civil administrator and police chief have been named to help bring some law and order to the streets of Baghdad. And former police officers are lining up for work.

Foreign Reactions

• IRAQ/IRAN VOA 13 Apr 2003 -- Iran has maintained, what it calls, a neutral position with regard to the war in Iraq. But given its historical and religious connections with the country, some political experts say it is just a matter of time before Tehran will attempt to gain political influence in Iraq.
• SYRIA / IRAQ VOA 13 Apr 2003 -- A senior Syrian leader is denying allegations that his country is allowing high-level Iraqis from Saddam Hussein's toppled government to enter Syria.
• IRAQ/ISRAEL ALERT VOA 13 Apr 2003 -- Israel has lowered its state of alert regarding a possible missile attack from Iraq. Israelis have been told they no longer need to carry gas masks or to keep a sealed room at home.

News Reports