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Operations
Deployments
US Policy
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Reconstruction Issues
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News Reports

Current Operations

• Transcript: 101st Airborne Division Commander Live Briefing from Iraq 13 May 2003 -- Briefing from Mosul, Iraq, on the involvement of the 101st Airborne Division in the conflict and in post-war stabilization efforts. Participating were Bryan Whitman, deputy assistant secretary of defense for public affairs (media operations), and Army Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus, commanding general, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).

• U.S. Troops Find Second Biological Weapons Trailer Near Mosul Washington File 13 May 2003 -- Troops from the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division - - stationed in northern Iraq and headquartered in Mosul -- have found what military authorities believe may be a second mobile biological weapons laboratory, says the division commander.
• SOLDIERS EXPOSED TO UNKNOWN CHEMICAL CENTCOM 13 May 2003 -- Fourth Infantry Division soldiers moving barrels in order to get to ammunition in a warehouse in the vicinity of Taji this afternoon were exposed to an unknown industrial chemical that leaked out of a 55-gallon drum.
• STATUS REPORT ON COALITION ACTIONS AGAINST THE MAJOHEDEEN-E-KHALQ CENTCOM 13 May 2003 -- Mojahedeen-e-Khalq forces inside Iraq -- also known as the Peoples Mojahedeen Organization of Iran (MEK/PMOI) - are coming under the military control of Coalition Forces, and they are completely disarming.
• PENTAGON/IRAQ VOA 13 May 2003 -- A senior U-S military commander in northern Iraq has confirmed the discovery of what appears to be another mobile biological weapons laboratory.
• Winning the Peace in Baghdad AFPS 13 May 2003 -- Winning the peace takes a different type of soldier. "Somebody this morning called the command 'the complaint department,'" said Army Brig. Gen. Jack Kern, the commander of the 352nd Civil Affairs Command during a May 6 interview in Baghdad. "I guess that's fair."
• COALITION EFFORTS AID IRAQ'S RECOVERY CENTCOM 13 May 2003 -- Coalition forces continue to assist in developing a safer and more secure environment in Iraq.
• TWO MARINES KILLED IN ACCIDENTAL EXPLOSION CENTCOM 13 May 2003 -- Two First Marine Expeditionary Force Marines died May 12 of wounds inflicted when unexploded ordnance they were handling detonated.
• 101st Airborne Commander Describes Stability Ops, Past Battles AFPS 13 May 2003 -- The troopers of the 101st Airborne Division are making significant progress in stabilization operations in northern Iraq, the division commander said today during a teleconference with the Pentagon press corps.
• Soldiers of 173d Airborne Brigade remain neutral during turf battles US Army Europe Release 13 May 2003-- At some point during the night, a group of armed Kurds stormed into Mohammad Hamady's home to force him and his family out. During the argument Hamady reached for a glass of water, the Kurds fired a burst of AK47 fire at his feet to punctuate their point, there would be no more debate, and there was no more time, not even for a drink of water.
• Explosion at Camp Arifjan ARCENT CJTF-7 13 May 2003
• Coalition Forces Provide Security and Stability ARCENT CJTF-7 13 May 2003
• Coalition Efforts Aid Iraq's Recovery ARCENT CJTF-7 13 May 2003
• Soldiers Exposed to Unknown Chemical ARCENT CJTF-7 13 May 2003
• NEWS RELEASE ARCENT CJTF-7 13 May 2003 -- Two First Marine Expeditionary Force Marines died Monday of wounds inflicted when unexploded ordnance they were handling detonated.

Deployments

US Policy

• Snow Vows to Help Iraq Develop Economic Policies Washington File 13 May 2003 -- The U.S. Department of Treasury will assist the emerging leadership of a free Iraq in the formulation and execution of financial and economic policies aimed at developing a market-based economy in that country, Treasury Secretary John Snow says.
• U.S. Provides Jordan $700 Million in Emergency Aid Washington File 13 May 2003 -- In response to a request from President Bush, the United States Congress has appropriated $700 million in emergency assistance to Jordan, the State Department announced in a fact sheet released May 13.
• CONGRESS/IRAQ VOA 13 May 2003 -- The U-S House of Representatives has unanimously approved a resolution calling on the United Nations to end economic sanctions against Iraq. Lawmakers say they want to make clear to the U-N Security Council that the U-S government is united on the need to end restrictions so Iraq's people can move ahead with reconstruction.
• Analysts See Shake-Up In U.S. Administration RFE/L 13 May 2003 -- Yesterday, a respected U.S. diplomat arrived in Baghdad to take up his duties as head of the U.S. civil administration in Iraq. He is replacing a retired U.S. Army general in that post. In addition, several other senior American officials in Iraq are reportedly being recalled in what analysts say is tantamount to a shake-up.
• EDITORIAL: IRAQI NIGHTMARE IS OVER VOA 13 May 2003 -- By the 1980s, most people in the former Soviet Union and eastern Europe had lived their entire lives under oppressive regimes. Few believed they would live to see a change. Then, in November 1989, the Berlin Wall came crashing down. That event marked the beginning of a chance for hundreds of millions of people to be free.

United Nations

• U-N / W AFRICA / IRAQ VOA 13 May 2003 -- The United Nations Security Council has canceled a mission to war-torn West African nations to focus on the negotiations on lifting sanctions against Iraq.
• U-N-H-C-R / IRAQ VOA 13 May 2003 -- The U-N refugee agency says it is becoming increasingly alarmed by the mistreatment of Palestinian and Iranian refugees in Iraq. The agency says many of the refugees have been robbed and forced from their homes, sometimes at gunpoint.
• Iraq: Annan believes Security Council will produce 'helpful' resolution UN News Centre 13 May 2003 -- As United Nations relief agencies continued to increase their presence in Iraq with more than 250 international staff now back in the country, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today he believed the Security Council would be able to produce a "helpful" resolution on the UN's role there.
• TURKEY: WFP distributes one month's food aid in the north IRIN 13 May 2003 -- The World Food Programme (WFP) has successfully distributed one month's food assistance to millions of people living in northern Iraq.

Reconstruction Issues

• IRAQI PROBLEMS MOUNT VOA 13 May 2003 -- With basic services still unavailable in Baghdad and presumably worse situations in the rest of the nation, editorial writers' criticism of U-S post-war planning is becoming increasingly caustic.

Foreign Reactions

• Britain: UN Authority Needed For Creating New Iraq Government RFE/L 13 May 2003 -- British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon says the United States and Britain will need UN authority to set up a new government for Iraq.
• U-S-Russia Relations after Iraq VOA 13 May 2003 -- President Bush has said that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is a man he can work with. But on Iraq, Mr. Putin has frequently been an opponent. Currently, he is opposing a call by the United States and Britain to lift U-N sanctions to speed up Iraq recovery.
• U.S./Russia: Secretary Of State Visit Comes Amid Signs Moscow Is Softening Stance On Iraq RFE/L 13 May 2003 -- U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell will visit Moscow tomorrow. His trip comes as Russia shows signs of softening its staunch opposition to Washington's plans for Iraq, but only after relations between the two sides markedly deteriorated over the U.S.-led war. It remains to be seen whether Powell's fence-mending visit will bridge the gap any more than last month's attempt by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was caught off guard by the Kremlin's brusque treatment.

News Reports

• IRAQ / SATELLITE DISHES VOA 13 May 2003 -- Under President Saddam Hussein, it was illegal for Iraqis to own satellite dishes and receive foreign television broadcasts. Now that he's gone, there's a booming business catering to the needs of an information-starved public.
• Iraq Expert Says It's Too Early to Assess Saddam's WMD Program Washington File 13 May 2003 -- It is much too early to make a determined assessment as to what the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq did or did not have in the way of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), according to Iraq analyst and author Kenneth Pollack.