Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

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

Current Operations

• Transcript: DoD News Briefing - Acting ASD Di Rita and Gen. Abizaid 16 Jul 2003 -- DoD news briefing. Participating were Lawrence Di Rita, acting assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, and Gen. John Abizaid, commander, U.S. Central Command

• Abizaid Says Coalition Is Facing Guerrilla Warfare in Iraq Washington File 16 Jul 2003 -- Coalition forces are facing a classic guerrilla-type warfare campaign being waged by Ba'athist remnants and some foreign terrorist elements throughout Iraq, and are adapting their tactics in order to end the attacks, says General John Abizaid, commander of the U.S. Central Command.
• PENTAGON/IRAQ VOA 16 Jul 2003 -- The commander of U-S forces in Iraq says he believes coalition successes are forcing increasingly desperate supporters of the former regime to step up their guerrilla attacks.
• Iraq: More Attacks On U.S. Forces And Iraqis Working With Coalition RFE/L 16 Jul 2003 -- There have been more attacks today on U.S. forces and Iraqis working with the U.S.-led coalition.
• CENTCOM: US Facing Guerrilla War in Iraq VOA News 16 Jul 2003 -- The new head of the U.S. Central Command says U.S. troops in Iraq are facing a classic guerilla war led by people loyal to ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
• Attackers Assassinate Iraqi Mayor in Sunni Heartland VOA News 16 Jul 2003 -- An Iraqi mayor seen as close to U.S. and British forces has been assassinated as he drove through his small town in Iraq's Sunni heartland. The attack is just one of several on a particularly violent day in Iraq, that included the first attempt to hit a U.S. military aircraft with a surface to air missile.
• US Commander: Attacks On Troops More Sophisticated, Coordinated VOA News 16 Jul 2003 -- The commander of U.S. forces in Iraq says he believes coalition successes are forcing increasingly desperate supporters of the former regime to step up their guerrilla attacks.
• Baathist Opposition Organized, Coalition Faces 'Guerrilla-type Campaign' AFPS 16 Jul 2003 -- U.S. and coalition forces are facing organized opposition by Baathist remnants throughout Iraq, U.S. Army Gen. John Abizaid told reporters at the Pentagon July 16.
• Soldier Killed, Marine Dies, C-130 Receives SAM Fire in Iraq AFPS 16 Jul 2003 -- An American soldier was killed in an attack on a convoy west of Baghdad today. Three other soldiers were wounded in the attack.
• 2 Iraqi Civilians, 1 US Soldier Killed in Baghdad Area Attacks VOA News 16 Jul 2003 -- One U.S. soldier and two Iraqi civilians have been killed in two separate attacks in and around Baghdad. Wednesday's violence comes on what was once an important day for followers of Saddam Hussein.
• IRAQ / ATTACK UPDATE VOA 16 Jul 2003 -- An Iraqi mayor seen as close to U-S and British forces has been assassinated as he drove through his small town in Iraq's Sunni heartland. The attack is just one of several on a particularly violent day in Iraq, that included the first attempt to hit a U-S military aircraft with a surface to air missile.
• US Convoy Attacked Near Baghdad VOA News 16 Jul 2003 -- In Iraq, assailants attacked a U.S. military convoy on a highway north of Baghdad on Wednesday, killing one soldier and wounding two others. U.S. military officials tell VOA that a convoy of about 30 military vehicles, traveling north on Highway One, came under small arms fire and was attacked with rocket-propelled grenades early Wednesday.
• Attack on Military Convoy in Iraq Kills US Soldier VOA News 16 Jul 2003 -- The U.S. military says one American soldier was killed and three others wounded Wednesday, when their convoy was attacked in the western part of Baghdad.
• SODA MOUNTAIN CONTINUES TO SECURE IRAQ CENTCOM 16 Jul 2003 -- The 4th Infantry Division continued to lead the way in Operation Soda Mountain with supporting operation, Operation Ivy Serpent, in order to create a secure environment in Iraq.
• ONE SOLDIER KILLED, THREE WOUNDED IN ATTACK ON CONVOY CENTCOM 16 Jul 2003 -- A soldier from the 3rd Corps Support Command was killed and three others wounded at approximately 9:55 a.m. today in a rocket-propelled grenade attack on their convoy as it was traveling near Abu Ghuraib prison in the western part of Baghdad.
• MARINE DIES FROM FALL CENTCOM 16 Jul 2003 -- A 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Marine died here July 15, as a result of injuries received after falling from the top of a building where he was standing guard duty.

• Air Guardsmen Detail Iraqi Freedom Close-air Support AFPS 16 Jul 2003 -- Three days into Operation Iraqi Freedom, Air Force Lt. Col. Dave Kennedy got a new mission: Go to Tallil air base in Iraq and ready it for A-10 Thunderbolt II missions.
• Thunderbolt Over Baghdad, 'Pilot-Dude' Down in the Countryside AFPS 16 Jul 2003 -- Air Force Maj. Jim Ewald had just finished a close-air support mission over Baghdad when his A-10 Thunderbolt II was hit by an Iraqi surface-to-air missile April 8. It physically moved the plane "like the hand of God," Ewald said during a Pentagon interview July 16.

Deployments

US Policy

• Bremer Says Freedom Is Beginning to Blossom for People of Iraq Washington File 16 Jul 2003 -- Americans can be proud of the role their fighting men and women played in freeing Iraq of Saddam Hussein and his cronies. The people of Iraq are on the road to political and economic independence.
• CQ CONGRESS / IRAQ / INTELLIGENCE VOA 16 Jul 2003 -- The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, George Tenet, was expected to face tough questions about pre-war intelligence on Iraq's weapons program before a Senate panel Wednesday.
• CONGRESS IRAQ INTELLIGENCE VOA 16 Jul 2003 -- U-S Senate Democrats say the White House should be held responsible for including faulty pre-war intelligence on Iraq's weapons program in a speech by President Bush earlier this year. They spoke Wednesday night after attending a closed hearing at which the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency testified about the matter.
• PENTAGON / AFRICA / URANIUM VOA 16 Jul 2003 -- The new commander of U-S forces in Iraq is defending the quality of intelligence the military received before the latest Gulf war, but there is still disagreement about how that intelligence might have been used by politicians.
• EDITORIAL: CREATING A STABLE IRAQ VOA 16 Jul 2003 -- The United States and its coalition allies are working with the new Iraqi governing council and the people of Iraq to improve security and the quality of life.
• BUSH / NIGER URANIUM VOA 16 Jul 2003 -- dispute over the accuracy of a charge made by President Bush in his State of the Union address about a supposed Iraqi uranium purchase in Niger continues to get attention in Washington. It has fueled criticism of the President by Democrats, especially presidential contenders, and caused C-I-A Director George Tenet to accept blame for an inaccurate intelligence assessment.
• CIA Director Tenet Expects Tough Questions from Senate Panel VOA News 16 Jul 2003 -- The head of the Central Intelligence Agency is expected to face tough questions before a Senate panel Wednesday concerning faulty intelligence about Iraq's weapons program. That intelligence was cited by President Bush as he made the case for war in Iraq earlier this year.
• CIA Director to Appear Before Senate Intelligence Panel VOA News 16 Jul 2003 -- CIA Director George Tenet appears before a U.S. Senate panel Wednesday, where is he expected to face tough questioning about pre-war intelligence on Iraq's weapons program.
• CIA Director to Appear Before Senate Intelligence Panel VOA News 16 Jul 2003 -- CIA Director George Tenet appears before a U.S. Senate panel Wednesday, where is he expected to face tough questioning about pre-war intelligence on Iraq's weapons program.

United Nations

• IAEA says looted Iraqi uranium poses no proliferation threat UN News Centre 16 Jul 2003 -- Uranium compounds dispersed in the reported looting of nuclear and radioactive material at the Tuwaitha complex in Iraq pose no danger from the point of view of proliferation, the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency has determined.
• UN to send team to Iraq to help organize elections for next year UN News Centre 16 Jul 2003 -- The United Nations is sending an electoral team to Baghdad early next month to help the newly constituted Iraqi Governing Council organize elections for next year "hopefully as early as possible," the top UN envoy to Iraq said today.
• IAEA / IRAQ VOA 16 Jul 2003 -- The International Atomic Energy Agency says most of the missing uranium at a major nuclear site in Iraq has been recovered and resealed.
• UN: Broader United Nations Role In Iraq A Looming Issue For Coalition RFE/L 16 Jul 2003 -- The United States has stepped up calls for greater international support as it confronts the mounting costs of its mission in Iraq. But a number of key states have linked their participation to a broader UN mandate to guide postwar Iraq to self-sufficiency. There are no immediate plans to expand UN authority, but Washington's renewed engagement with the UN, notably in Africa, is seen as a sign of improving relations, with implications for Iraq.
• Most Missing Iraqi Uranium Accounted For, says UN Atomic Agency VOA News 16 Jul 2003 -- The International Atomic Energy Agency said most of the missing uranium at a major nuclear site in Iraq has been recovered and resealed.
• IRAQ: Preparing for the new school year IRIN 16 Jul 2003 -- The United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, has told IRIN the children of Iraq should be encouraged and assisted to return school in the first week of September, adding that parents were reluctant to send their children to school because of security concerns and fear of rape and abduction.

Reconstruction Issues

• New Council Offers Promise of "Free and Democratic Iraq" Washington File 16 Jul 2003 -- History is being made as the 25 members of the new Iraqi Governing Council begin work on a constitution and on "the process toward a free and democratic Iraq," White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan told reporters July 16.
• Iraq: NGOs Urge International Role In Trials RFE/L 16 Jul 2003 -- Yesterday Iraq's new Governing Council decided to create a commission to prosecute members of deposed President Saddam Hussein's regime accused of crimes against humanity. Such a body, however, would need lots of international help.

Foreign Reactions

• BLAIR / CONGRESS OVERNIGHTER VOA 16 Jul 2003 -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair addresses the U-S Congress later today (Thursday) amid continuing controversy over the question of pre-war intelligence used by Britain and the United States to justify military action in Iraq. Mr. Blair's address to a joint meeting of the House and Senate comes as U-S and coalition forces face increased resistance from remnants of Saddam Hussein's regime:
• Mayor of Iraqi City Shot Dead VOA News 16 Jul 2003 -- The mayor of an Iraqi city has been killed after some residents reportedly accused him of cooperating with American forces.
• U.S. anti-north move condemned in S. Korea KCNA 16 Jul 2003 -- The Japanese reactionaries have no justification in adopting a law on supporting Iraq in its rehabilitation, still less any ground to dispatch heavily-armed troops of the "self-defence forces" to Iraq, says Rodong Sinmun today commenting on a "bill on special measures to support Iraq in its rehabilitation" which was passed at the house of representatives of Japan recently.
• Blair Reaffirms Support for Intelligence on Iraq's WMD Program VOA News 16 Jul 2003 -- In Britain, Prime Minister Tony Blair has again stated that he did not mislead the British people or parliament over the threat of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. The British leader made the statement during Question Time in the House of Commons.

News Reports

• U.S.: The Iraq-Niger Link: -- The Tangled History Of A Discredited Story RFE/L 16 Jul 2003 -- The White House is scrambling to deal with the political fallout of President George W. Bush's use of a faulty intelligence report about Baghdad seeking uranium in Africa. But the allegation used in Bush's State of the Union address in January to justify the war in Iraq was not new. It had already been cited by British Prime Minister Tony Blair and senior U.S. officials, even after the CIA had concluded the charge lacked any proof.
• Iraq: Human Rights Watch Calls On U.S. Troops To Do More For Rape Victims RFE/L 16 Jul 2003 -- A human rights group has urged U.S. troops in Iraq to do more for rape victims who are being turned away by Iraqi police.