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Current Operations

• TRANSCRIPT OF 4/17 CENTCOM BRIEFING CENTCOM 17 Apr 2003 -- "Operation Iraqi Freedom is now in the 28th day since coalition forces entered Iraq. Iraq is more stable today than yesterday. Identified pockets of resistance are fewer yesterday."
• Transcript: Media Briefing Australia's contribution to Global Operations Australian Department of Defence 17 Apr 2003 -- "As you may be aware, the coalition announced yesterday that the WMD threat in Iraq's western desert has been eliminated. Australia's Special Forces played an important role in removing that threat. Although there is still some work to be done to remove the WMD Threat entirely."
• Transcript: Briefing From Tallil Forward Air Base 17 Apr 2003 -- "Joining us from Tallil Forward Air Base outside An Nasiriyah, Iraq, we have Army Brigadier General Jack Stoltz and Air Force Colonel John Dobbins. General Stoltz is the deputy commanding general of the 377th Theater Support Command, and he's in charge of all civil affairs activities in the An Nasiriyah region. Colonel Dobbins is the commanding officer of the Tallil Forward Air Base, the first forward air base that coalition forces were able to use for combat operations. These officers are going to talk to us about their roles in the conflict and in the post-conflict environment."

• Ashcroft Reports Successes of Justice's Iraqi Task Force Washington File 17 Apr 2003 -- The cooperation of thousands of Iraqis in the United States has been crucial to U.S. Department of Justice efforts to secure and safeguard the country, according to Attorney General John Ashcroft.

• IRAQ WRAP 2ND UPDATE VOA 17 Apr 2003 -- The United States is intensifying the hunt for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, where sporadic fighting continues. Meanwhile, the ongoing effort by U-S forces to round-up former Iraqi regime leaders nets the second of Saddam Hussein's three half-brothers.
• IRAQ WRAP (L ONLY UPDATE) VOA 17 Apr 2003 -- U-S Special Forces troops have captured a half-brother of Saddam Hussein as part of the ongoing effort to round up former regime leaders. Meanwhile, coalition forces are preparing to intensify their search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
• PENTAGON / SYRIA VOA 17 Apr 2003 -- Top Pentagon officials now believe some of Iraq's most wanted leaders are hiding in Syria.
• Operation Iraqi Freedom Marks New Way of War Fighting AFPS 17 Apr 2003 -- The successful application of teamwork and technology in Operation Iraqi Freedom marks a turning point in American war fighting, the U.S. military's senior officer said here April 16.
• PENTAGON: THE HUNT VOA 17 Apr 2003 -- The Pentagon is preparing to intensify its hunt for Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. Officials plan to dispatch about one-thousand experts to the country, including some former U-N weapons inspectors.
• PENTAGON / WARNING VOA 17 Apr 2003 -- America's top general says U-S-led coalition forces in Iraq have achieved what he calls a "tremendous combat victory."
• AUSTRALIAN TROOPS TO START COMING HOME Australian Department of Defence 17 Apr 2003 -- The majority of Australian Defence Force personnel deployed to the Middle East as part of the coalition to disarm Iraq will return home soon, Defence Minister Robert Hill announced today
• Coalition Special Ops Forces Capture Saddam's Half-Brother AFPS 17 Apr 2003 -- Coalition special operations forces captured Saddam Hussein's half-brother during a raid in Baghdad last night, U.S. Central Command officials said during a briefing from Qatar today.
• Airmen in Italy visited by U.S. congressmen USAFENS 17 Apr 2003 -- Several airmen voiced their personal concerns when they had lunch with three visiting members of Congress here April 15.
• CENTCOM Reports Capture of Another Hussein Half-Brother Washington File 17 Apr 2003 -- Demonstrating the coalition's commitment "to relentlessly pursuing the scattered members of a fractured regime," a U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) official says Saddam Hussein's half-brother, Barzan Ibrahim Hassan al-Tikriti, is now in coalition hands.
• MEMBER OF 'IRAQI TOP 55' IN COALITION CUSTODY CENTCOM 17 Apr 2003 -- Barzan Ibrahim Hasan Al-Tikriti was taken into coalition custody April 16.
• IRAQ/IRAN FACTION VOA 17 Apr 2003 -- The U-S military says it has been conducting air operations against a major Iranian rebel group that has been based in Iraq for more than a decade.
• IRAQ/U-S BRIEFING VOA 17 Apr 2003 -- The U-S military says it has captured Barzan Ibrahim Hassan al-Tikriti, the half-brother of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
• IRAQ/WRAP VOA 17 Apr 2003 -- U-S Special Forces have captured a half-brother of Saddam Hussein as part of the effort to round up former regime leaders. Meanwhile, there are further reminders that, while the major military action is over, pockets of resistance remain a nagging concern for coalition forces.
• IRAQ WRAP VOA 17 Apr 2003 -- A week after the fall of Baghdad, the Pentagon says allied military operations are rapidly moving from combat to working to stabilize the country. Some American military operations also continue -- especially in the north.
• IRAQ/SADDAM/BROTHER VOA 17 Apr 2003 -- The U-S military says it has captured Barzan Ibrahim Hassan al-Tikriti, the half-brother of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
• 101st soldiers deliver medicine, build trust in Baghdad Army News 17 Apr 2003 -- The 101st Airborne Division distributed several truckloads of vaccines, medicine and other supplies to four clinics in Baghdad neighborhoods today.
• Joint effort stands up Iraqi air base AFPN 17 Apr 2003 -- The Army said it was "austere." The Air Force called it "downright primitive."
• Team reduces civilian casualties with exact targeting AFPN 17 Apr 2003 -- So "all's fair in love and war?" Not to the Time Sensitive Targeting Team -- at least the "war" part.
• "Greyhawks" Help Take Down Dictator's Regime Navy NewStand 17 Apr 2003 -- The hard work and effort supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom has come in many forms aboard USS Tarawa (LHA 1), as coalition forces in Iraq have pushed ever closer to ending the regime of Saddam Hussein.
• Marines maintain security in Baghdad USMC News 17 Apr 2003 -- As the Iraqi regime continues to crumble, citizens around the country are showering American forces with praises and some protest.
• 4th LAR Thunders North to Iraq USMC News 17 Apr 2003 -- The reserve Marines of 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance, headquartered at Camp Pendleton, Calif., left here to move north into Iraq today to join the war against the Ba'ath regime.
• 373, always count on them to have an 'Ace' up their sleeve USMC News 17 Apr 2003 -- When the temperatures top out at more than 100 degrees and the sand embeds itself into your uniform, any degree of normalcy is welcome. Normalcy comes by way of showers and laundry services provided by Marine Wing Support Squadron 373.
• Tanker crews ensure bombs reach their targets AMCNS 17 Apr 2003 -- For tanker crews, it is all too common being behind the scenes. However, in accomplishing Air Force missions, air refueling is essential for global reach and global power.
• Army's `digitized division' wages first combat Army News 17 Apr 2003 -- Elements of the 4th Infantry Division battled Iraqi paramilitary fighters yesterday at al Taji airfield, north of Baghdad, in the division's first combat since it became the Army's "experimental force" in 1995.
• A Weekend in Baghdad CENTCOM News 17 Apr 2003 -- As the Iraqi regime continues to crumble, citizens around the country are showering American forces with praises and some protest.
• Deadly scorpions, Camel Spiders and snakes, Camp security in Southern Iraq sees more Iraqi wildlife than civilians USMC News 17 Apr 2003 -- Two Marines stare over sandbags at several square miles of empty desert and open roadway April 12 near a forward aviation operations base in Southern Iraq. Though ever-vigilant, the Marines have been on duty for several hours, and are becoming tired, as night slowly becomes morning.
• U-2 reconnaissance plane helps bring POWs home AFPN 17 Apr 2003 -- The Seven U.S. Army soldiers who were formerly prisoners of war in Iraq are safe at a U.S. medical facility in Germany and are preparing to reunite with families. The reunion was possible not only because of the rescue operation by Marines but also because of assistance from an Air Force reconnaissance aircraft.
• THURAYA PHONE BAN LIFTED BY COALITION FORCES ARCENT CFLCC 17 Apr 2003
• V Corps Soldiers Wounded in Unexploded Ordinance Accident (UXO) ARCENT V CORPS 17 Apr 2003

Deployments

• Toledo Returns Home from Wartime Patrol Navy NewStand 17 Apr 2003 -- The Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Toledo (SSN 769) returned to Naval Submarine Base (SUBASE) New London April 15 from a rapid response wartime patrol in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• Air mobility teams work to bring in 'heavies' AMCNS 17 Apr 2003 -- Before the U.S. military could get the "heavy metal" of airlift aircraft into Baghdad and other Iraqi airfields, a small group of air mobility warriors was on the ground making sure the conditions were right.
• Commander 5th Fleet Visits Bataan Sailors, Marines Navy NewStand 17 Apr 2003 -- Commander 5th Fleet Vice Adm. Tim Keating visited Sailors and Marines aboard USS Bataan (LHD 5) recently to congratulate the crew for the role they played in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• Seabees Master Chief Visits Camp Patriot Navy NewStand 17 Apr 2003 -- The Chief of Naval Operations Master Chief representing the Seabee community, CNOCM Harrell L. Richardson, brought his "Can Do" spirit to Camp Patriot yesterday (April 16).

US Policy

• White House Press Gaggle White House 17 Apr 2003
• Bush Urges UN To End Sanctions RFE/L 17 Apr 2003 -- U.S. President George W. Bush has called for an end to UN economic sanctions on Iraq.
• Rumsfeld Predicts Iraqis Will Lead Coalition to WMD Washington File 17 Apr 2003 -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld predicted that over the course of time Iraqis will tell coalition forces where to find concealed Iraqi weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
• No Need to Continue Economic Sanctions Against Iraq, Boucher Says Washington File 17 Apr 2003 -- United Nations economic sanctions against Iraq are no longer necessary, says State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher.
• "A Free Country Run By Free People," by Zalmay Khalilzad Washington File 17 Apr 2003 -- This column by Zalmay Khalilzad, who is President Bush's special envoy and ambassador-at-large for Free Iraqis, first appeared in the Wall Street Journal, April 17, 2003
• BUSH / AZNAR VOA 17 Apr 2003 -- President Bush spoke with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar Thursday to discuss Europe's role in rebuilding Iraq.
• POWELL/SYRIA VOA 17 Apr 2003 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell says he expects to travel to Syria to continue what he says have been "candid" exchanges with that country over U-S charges it has been developing chemical weapons and providing a haven for senior officials from the former Iraqi government.
• POWELL / SYRIA / MIDEAST VOA 17 Apr 2003 -- U-S Secretary of State Colin Powell plans a Middle East trip soon to launch what he says will be a "much more active" U-S role in efforts to get an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord. The trip is expected to include a stop in Syria despite U-S charges that country has been developing chemical weapons and sheltering officials of the former Iraqi government.

United Nations

• PRESS CONFERENCE ON TRADE OF IRAQI CULTURAL OBJECTS United Nations 17 Apr 2003
• No proposal to lift Iraq sanctions yet received - Security Council President UN News Centre 17 Apr 2003 -- The United Nations Security Council, already engaged "in intense dialogue" over resolutions on Iraq, has not yet received a proposal for lifting sanctions, but the issue could come up next week, the President of the 15-nation body said today.
• U-N/ IRAQ / SANCTIONS VOA 17 Apr 2003 -- The current president of the United Nations Security Council says council members are actively looking for ways to lift sanctions on Iraq.
• Annan concerned at reported expulsion of Arabs in northern Iraq UN News Centre 17 Apr 2003 -- United Nations Secretary-General expressed his concern today about reports of murder, looting and the forced expulsion of Arabs in northern Iraq and called on all parties to respect the fundamental human right to live free from intimidation and forced expulsion.
• Annan calls for joint UN-EU action to heal rifts caused by Iraq war UN News Centre 17 Apr 2003 -- Addressing the assembled leaders of the 25 states of the enlarged European Union (EU), United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today it was vital to heal the rifts in the international community caused by the war in Iraq, declaring that the EU and UN must work together for the good of the world.

• THE FUTURE OF THE UNITED NATIONS VOA 17 Apr 2003 -- When the United Nations Security Council suggested it would not support military action in Iraq, the United States assembled what they called a "coalition of the willing." The determination of President Bush to wage war against Iraq split the permanent five members of the Security Council, pitting the United States and Britain against France, Russia and China. Now that the U-S and Britain are well on their way to an overwhelming military victory, what is to become of the fractured United Nations?
• Model U-N and Iraq War VOA 17 Apr 2003 -- European leaders have called for a central role for the United Nations in rebuilding war-shattered Iraq. but the failure of the world body to avert the US-led operation has many people questioning its effectiveness. Still, many American high school students want to learn about the U-N's potential to solve global conflicts.
• IRAQ: Jordan food pipeline opens IRIN 17 Apr 2003 -- The World Food Programme (WFP) began trucking food in quantity to the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on Thursday from its base in Jordan. A convoy of 50 private trucks carrying wheat flour were about 200 km inside Iraq by early evening and were expected to reach the capital by Friday noon.
• IRAN-IRAN: First WFP food convoy leaves for Iraq IRIN 17 Apr 2003 -- The first food aid convoy from the World Food Programme [WFP] in Iran is on the way to northern Iraq to meet the needs of people who only have between four and six weeks' worth of food left. "There is a great need for this food to be sent in urgently," the agency's spokesperson in Iran, Ramin Rafirasme, told IRIN from the capital, Tehran, on Thursday.

Reconstruction Issues

• IRAQ / CHALABI VOA 17 Apr 2003 -- The U-S administration is helping to set up an interim government and restore law and order in Iraq. An exiled Iraqi businessman who heads the umbrella opposition grouping known as the Iraqi National Congress -- the I-N-C -- has returned to Iraq to try to lead that effort. Iraqis say they do not want outsiders running their lives.
• Victors Now Turn To Repairing The Economy RFE/L 17 Apr 2003 -- One of the major challenges facing the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq will be to repair Iraq's ailing economy. While damage to economic infrastructure was relatively light in the war, the Iraqi economy has suffered more than 20 years of conflict and economic sanctions. Added to this, Iraq had a centrally planned, command economy on the model of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Restoring market mechanisms under these conditions could take years.
• HUMANITARIAN AID IN IRAQ VOA 17 Apr 2003 -- Three weeks ago, Kuwait was the launching pad for the U-S-led coalition's entry into Iraq. Today it serves as the staging area for the humanitarian aid flowing into Iraq.
• IRAQ / MUSEUMS / UNESCO VOA 17 Apr 2003 -- Archeologists and Iraqi experts called today (Thursday) for coalition forces to immediately secure Iraq's museums and historic sights and for a temporary ban on exports of Iraqi artifacts. The demands came during a Paris meeting to assess the damage the war has done to Iraq's priceless cultural heritage.
• POST-WAR IRAQ VOA 17 Apr 2003 -- The meeting in Nasiriyah to discuss Iraq's political future and the hunt for weapons of mass destruction are the subject of many editorials in the world's press
• Signs of hope amid 'horrible' picture in Baghdad, UN local staff say UN News Centre 17 Apr 2003 -- Even as the United Nations pressed ahead today with its first relief lifeline into Baghdad along what could become its most important aid corridor into Iraq, UN local staff today painted a "horrible" picture on the ground, yet with highlights of hope and humanitarian heroism.

Foreign Reactions

• ARAB VIEWS ON IRAQI LIBERATION VOA 17 Apr 2003 -- The quick collapse of the regime of Saddam Hussein came as a shock to many people in Arab countries. They had been led to believe by Arab newspapers and television that Iraqis would put up a fierce fight to defend Saddam. Instead, crowds of Iraqis welcomed U-S-led coalition forces in Baghdad and other cities, greeting them as liberators. Many Arab viewers saw Iraqis in Baghdad take a sledgehammer to the base of a massive statue of Saddam. They watched as Iraqis enlisted American soldiers to pull down the statue, and when the giant metal Saddam was finally toppled, Arab television audiences saw an Iraqi crowd cheer and surge forward to deface the image of the fallen dictator. What does the outcome of the war in Iraq mean to Arabs? And how will they view the process of reconstruction?
• EU: Will United Stand On Iraq Alienate The U.S.? RFE/L 17 Apr 2003 -- The European Union today issued a statement calling for a central role for the United Nations in postwar Iraq and declaring Europe's willingness to help with reconstruction. This statement follows strenuous efforts by EU leaders at their Athens summit to heal the split in their ranks caused by the Iraq war. But does the EU's united stand now run the risk of creating new tensions with the United States?
• Mood Still Wary In The Arab World After The Toppling Of Hussein RFE/L 17 Apr 2003 -- Before the war in Iraq, public opinion across the Arab world was overwhelmingly opposed to a U.S.-led military intervention. What is the mood like now that Saddam Hussein's regime has been overthrown and U.S. forces occupy Baghdad?
• U-S / FRENCH RELATIONS VOA 17 Apr 2003 -- Relations between the United States and France have been sour since the French at the United Nations actively opposed the tough U-S and British stance in favor of military action to disarm Iraq.
• EU Says UN Must Play 'Central Role' RFE/L 17 Apr 2003 -- The European Union today said the United Nations must have a "central role" in rebuilding Iraq, but also stressed U.S.-led forces in the country have a responsibility to restore stability.
• EUROPEAN AXIS OF DISSENT VOA 17 Apr 2003 -- The war in Iraq seems to be well on its way to a successful conclusion, but the fallout in the run up to the war among the transatlantic allies might not be healed as quickly as many would hope. Some analysts say an 'axis of transatlantic dissent' is emerging that runs from Paris through Berlin to Moscow and is based on the issue of challenging America's dominance in the world.

News Reports

• Carnegie Scholars Say Cultivating Democracy in Iraq a Huge Task Washington File 17 Apr 2003 -- The United States faces a huge task in setting up a democratic government in Iraq, says Thomas Carothers, director of the Democracy and Rule of Law Project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
• Abbas Arrest Raises Legal, Diplomatic Questions RFE/L 17 Apr 2003 -- U.S. forces in Iraq have captured a leading terrorist. The man, Abu Abbas, already has been convicted in Italy of a notorious hijacking, but the United States may be interested in prosecuting him for the death of an American during that act of terror. The case, however, has many legal and diplomatic angles, and it may be a while before it is resolved
• ROLE OF ARAB MEDIA IN IRAQ WAR VOA 17 Apr 2003-- Coalition forces now control Saddam Hussein's hometown, Tikrit. This week, Kuwait University held a seminar to discuss the role of Arab media during the war in Iraq
• BYMAN-IRAN AND SYRIA VOA 17 Apr 2003 -- Joining us now, Professor Daniel Byman, of Georgetown University's Security Studies Program. Dr. Byman is also a Senior Fellow at the Saban Center at the Brookings Institution here in Washington. Thanks for joining us. A lot to talk about. I would like to focus on Iran and Syria for our segment.
• CNN COVERUP VOA 17 Apr 2003 -- C-N-N's chief news executive Eason Jordan recently admitted that he withheld reports he says would have jeopardized the safety of Iraqis in C-N-N's Baghdad bureau and Iraqis who had been in contact with C-N-N reporters. The confession has shocked other parts of the American media who accuse C-N-N of sacrificing its journalistic duty by deferring to Saddam's regime in order to keep its Baghdad bureau open.
• Chaldeans Prosper in the U.S. VOA 17 Apr 2003 -- Although the vast majority of the people of Iraq are Muslims, a percentage of the population of the country about three and a half percent is Christian. In the last ten years quite a number of these Christians, or Chaldeans, as they are known, fled the repression of Saddam Hussein's regime and immigrated to the United States.