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Operations
Deployments
US Policy
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Reconstruction Issues
Foreign Reactions
News Reports

Current Operations

• Oregon Guard Unit Joins Inshore Boat Unit in Kuwait Navy Newsstand 12 May 2003-- Soldiers from the Oregon National Guard joined U.S. Navy and Coast Guard forces in Kuwait recently.
• Mount Whitney Returns to Norfolk Navy Newsstand 12 May 2003-- The Amphibious Command Ship, USS Mount Whitney (LCC/JCC 20), is expected to return to Norfolk June 13, after completing a seven-month deployment. Mount Whitney departed Norfolk Nov. 12 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and the ongoing war on terrorism.
• Guardsmen man guns on ships bound for Iraq Army News Service 12 May 2003-- Puerto Rican National Guardsmen are standing watch over American equipment being shipped to Iraq
• Unit puts the 'deploy' in 'deployment order' ACC News 12 May 2003-- The media broadcast images of jets launching and bombs dropping during Operation Iraqi Freedom, showing Air Force people doing what they're trained to do. What most viewers didn't see were the people responsible for getting those jets over there to put bombs on targets and patrol the skies
• Suspected Weapons Designer Surrenders RFE/L 12 May 2003 -- U.S. officials say coalition forces have taken custody of the Iraqi scientist known as "Dr. Germ" on charges of creating weapons-grade anthrax.
• PENTAGON/IRAQ VOA 12 May 2003 -- U-S forces have detained two more top Iraqi government fugitives. They are Iraq's armed forces chief of staff and a prominent biological weapons scientist, known as "Doctor Germ."
• PENTAGON / DR. GERM VOA 12 May 2003 -- U-S military officials have taken into custody an Iraqi scientist wanted for her involvement in Saddam Hussein's biological weapons program.
• RIHAB RASHID TAHA AL-AZZAWI AL-TIKRITI TAKEN UNDER CONTROL CENTCOM 12 May 2003 -- Rihab Rashid Taha Al-Azzawi Al-Tikriti is now in the control of Coalition forces.
• COALITION FORCES PROVIDE SECURITY AND STABILITY CENTCOM 12 May 2003 -- Coalition forces continue to actively patrol Iraq to make it safe to conduct humanitarian assistance operations.
• Experience and adaptability ensure success for 24th MEU (SOC) in Iraq Marine Corps News 12 May 2003-- As the USS Nassau (LHA-4) Amphibious Ready Group steamed out of the Arabian Gulf, members of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) looked forward to returning home after eight months away. Throughout the deployment, the MEU experienced a variety of foreign terrain and diverse cultures, challenging training exercises and real world missions - all of which helped prepare them for their ultimate test - Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• 24th MEU's jets bomb Baghdad, Tikrit Marine Corps News 12 May 2003-- Harrier pilots of the Aviation Combat Element, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) left a significant mark on Saddam Hussein's regime during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• From the Warlords Marine Corps News 12 May 2003-- Less than a week after ground actions commenced in Operation Iraqi Freedom, members of Battalion Landing Team 2/2 ("The Warlords"), 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) received orders to go ashore in Kuwait and proceed north to Central Iraq for combat operations as part of the Marine Corps' Task Force Tarawa.
• Semper Angels save Iraqi girl Marine Corps News 12 May 2003-- Quick action, warm hearts, and a $1.75 worth of medical supplies recently saved a two-year-old Iraqi girl from near death at the base headquarters for the I Marine Expeditionary Force.
• EOD Marines secure unexploded Iraqi munitions, protect local populace Marine Corps News 12 May 2003-- Marine Explosive Ordnance Disposal specialists are working not only to clean the country of unexploded Iraqi weaponry, but also to protect the local populace.
• Coalition Forces Provide Security, Stability ARCENT CJTF-7 12 May 2003
• Coalition Efforts Aid Iraq's Recovery ARCENT CJTF-7 12 May 2003

Deployments

• EDITORIAL: INTERIM AUTHORITY IN IRAQ VOA 12 May 2003 -- With the ouster of the Saddam Hussein regime, Iraqis are free, in the words of Ahmed Rubai, "to do things that were forbidden before." For Ahmed Rubai [AHKH-med roo-BUY] and his brother Haidar [HIGH-der], that means selling satellite television dishes at their stationery store in Baghdad. Under the old regime, as they told the Wall Street Journal newspaper, anyone found with a satellite dish could be sent to prison for six months. Clearly, Saddam Hussein did not want the Iraqi people to have access to outside information and ideas.
• IRAQ / RELIGION VOA 12 May 2003 -- A leading Iraqi Shiite religious cleric, Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, has returned to the holy shrines in Najaf after 23 years in exile in Iran. Iraq's Shiite Muslim community represents more than 60-percent of a population of more than 25-million. During the years Saddam Hussein was in power, the Shiites were tightly controlled by the government, but since his ouster Iraq's Shiite community has made it clear it wants its voice heard and its rights protected.

US Policy

• Lifting UN Sanctions in Iraq: Supporting Iraqi Recovery and Reconstruction US Dept. Of State 12 May 2003
• Lifting UN Sanctions in Iraq: The Role of the International Community US Dept. Of State 12 May 2003

• Proposed U.N. Resolution Would Help Iraqis Build Their Own Future Washington File 12 May 2003 -- The United Nations Security Council "needs to act quickly to immediately lift the sanctions that have been imposed for many years on Iraq," according to the U.S. assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs.
• A 'Tired' Iraq Faces Future Renewal AFPS 12 May 2003 -- "All of Iraq is tired," said Muhammad, an electrical worker at Baghdad South power station, during an interview in Baghdad May 8.
• IRAQ / U-S VOA 12 May 2003 -- A new American administrator has arrived in Iraq in a shake up of the U-S leadership team there. The veteran diplomat, Paul Bremer, is taking charge of the political and physical reconstruction of Iraq following the ouster of Saddam Hussein by the U-S-led invasion.

United Nations

• UN relief agencies again stress need for security in Iraq UN News Centre 12 May 2003 -- United Nations relief agencies today again stressed the vital need to re-establish security throughout Iraq to enable them to carry out humanitarian functions ranging from providing health care to supplying food.

Reconstruction Issues

• New Civilian Administator Arrives In Al-Basrah RFE/L 12 May 2003 -- The new U.S. civilian administrator of Iraq, Paul Bremer, arrived in Al-Basrah today after what is being reported in the United States as a major shake-up of the U.S. team in Baghdad.
• Shi'ite Leader Arrives In Al-Najaf RFE/L 12 May 2003 -- Iraqi Shi'ite leader Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim arrived in the Shi'ite holy city of Al-Najaf today as part of his ongoing tour of the country following years in exile in Iran. s
• Ayatollah Al-Hakim's Return Adds New Political Uncertainties RFE/L 12 May 2003 -- The leader of Iraq's biggest Shi'ite Muslim political group -- the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) -- has returned home after years of exile in Iran. Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim is bringing out large crowds of supporters as he tours southern Iraqi cities and demands Iraq be governed by Iraqis alone.
• IRAQ-RECONSTRUCTION VOA 12 May 2003 -- Senior U-S officials say they are unhappy with the pace of reconstruction in Iraq -- and the negative media attention that has been getting. By replacing the top tier of the U-S civil authority in Iraq, as well as several other senior members of the civil administration team, the Bush administration hopes to speed up Iraq's post-war recovery.
• Baghdad Zoo Recovering From War, Looting AFPS 12 May 2003 -- It once was the largest zoo in the Middle East. The Baghdad Zoo had more than 600 animals before March 19. Today, it has six.
• IRAQ: Looted medicines hampering health care IRIN 12 May 2003 -- Amidst the proliferation of vegetable stalls in Basra's old market, is the market's "medicine section", where table after table is stacked with a vast array of bottles and boxes of pills.
• IRAQ: Focus on internal displacment in the north IRIN 12 May 2003 -- Shortly after the start of this year's war in Iraq, Imad Barwari calmly drove his family from their home in Dahuk to their ancestral village. "We went because we knew Saddam and what he did in the past. We lost thousands of people, we didn't want to lose more," Barwari said.

Foreign Reactions

• Civilians Filing War Crimes Suit In Belgium Against U.S. Commander Franks RFE/L 12 May 2003 -- A lawyer in Belgium is this week filing a war crimes lawsuit against General Tommy Franks, the commander of U.S.-led forces in Iraq. He's acting on behalf of 19 mainly Iraqi civilians who say coalition forces are responsible for a string of incidents that injured them -- or maimed or killed their loved ones. The lawyer says he wants to shed light on some of the murkier events of the Iraq war. But critics say the lawsuit is politically motivated.
• BRITAIN / POLITICS / IRAQ VOA 12 May 2003 -- One of Britain's senior cabinet ministers has resigned, saying Prime Minister Tony Blair has failed to keep promises he made to her about post-Saddam administration of Iraq.
• U-S-Russia Relations after Iraq VOA 12 May 2003 -- President George Bush has said that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is a man he can trust. But on almost every key decision the American President has made on Iraq, Mr. Putin has tried to thwart him. Most recently, the Russian leader is opposing a call by Washington and London to lift U-N sanctions on Iraq in order to speed up the country's recovery. What is behind the Russian leader's stance, and what might the future hold for US-Russian relations?
• U.S., Iran Discussing Afghanistan, Iraq, Other Issues of Mutual Interest Washington File 12 May 2003 -- The State Department's deputy spokesman, Philip Reeker, said the United States and Iran are communicating with each other through a variety of international channels on Afghanistan, Iraq and other issues of mutual interest, but the question of establishing diplomatic relations is not under consideration.
• IRAQ WAR VIEWED FROM MEXICO BORDER VOA 12 May 2003 -- Differences over the war in Iraq have troubled relations between the United States and its southern neighbor, Mexico. The divisions can be seen most clearly on the three-thousand-kilometer border.

News Reports

• A FEDERATION FOR IRAQ RFE/L 12 May 2003 -- Before and during the brief U.S.-led military campaign to topple Iraqi President Sadaam Hussein's brutal Ba'athist regime a great deal of attention was paid to Iraq's ethnic and religious complexities. Since then, much of the discussion on how to engage nation building has focused on economic issues and the dangers of Iraqi opposition to the U.S. presence.