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

Current Operations

• Operation Iraqi Freedom Troops Return for R&R AFPS 26 Sept 2003-- Some came wanting little more than those creature comforts they said they took for granted before deploying to Iraq: long, hot baths, fast food restaurants and shopping malls.
• 4TH ID SOLDIERS ASSIST CLINICS DURING IMMUNIZATION DAY CENTCOM Release 26 Sept 2003-- Fourth Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade's soldiers along with local Iraqi healthcare workers provided immunizations for Iraqi children during the monthly Immunization Day in Ba'qubah on Sep. 22.
• IRAQIS ASSUME FACILITIES PROTECTION RESPONSIBILITIES CENTCOM Release 26 Sept 2003-- Coalition forces turned over responsibility for the Facility Protection Security Forces to the Iraqis during a formal change of responsibility ceremony held Sept. 23 in Mosul.
• IRAQ/FRIDAY VOA 26 Sept 2003-- The U-S military in Iraq says a mortar shell has hit a crowded market north of Baghdad, killing eight civilians and wounding 18 others. Meanwhile, the country declared three days of mourning for a Governing Council member killed by assassins
• U.S. Rules of Engagement 'Well In Place' In Iraq, Sanchez Says AFPS 26 Sept 2003-- U.S. combat troops in Iraq are trained to obey established rules of engagement designed to protect their lives as well as those of Iraqi noncombatants, Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez said Sept. 25 at a Baghdad news conference.

Deployments

US Policy

• U.S.: White House Faces Questions Over Iraqi Weapons Report RFE/RL 26 Sep 2003 -- A long-awaited report by the U.S. administration's chief weapons inspector in Iraq -- due out as soon as next week -- is not expected to provide concrete evidence that Baghdad possessed banned weapons. The White House -- which had hoped the report would show evidence that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction -- is now scrambling to play down the significance of the report.
• Iraq: Powell Advocates Six-Month Deadline For Leaders To Write Constitution RFE/RL 26 Sep 2003 -- U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell says Washington is considering imposing a six-month deadline for Iraqi leaders working under U.S. administration to produce a new constitution.
• Costly, Dangerous Effort in Iraq Worth the Risk, Rumsfeld Says AFPS 26 Sept 2003-- U.S. and coalition efforts in Iraq are "difficult, costly and dangerous," Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Sept. 25. But the work, he stressed, "is worth the risk, and it's worth the cost, because if the coalition succeeds then we deal terrorism a powerful blow."
• CONGRESS / IRAQ RECONSTRUCTION VOA 26 Sept 2003-- U-S lawmakers, including members of President Bush's Republican Party, are increasingly concerned about the cost to American taxpayers of rebuilding Iraq. The House and Senate are considering Mr. Bush's 87-billion-dollar emergency request for U-S operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• PENTAGON / BREMER VOA 26 Sept 2003-- The head of the U-S provisional administration in Iraq, Paul Bremer, is urging Congress to approve the entire 87-billion dollar emergency spending bill for Iraq and Afghanistan
• CONGRESS / IRAQ CONTRACTS VOA 26 Sept 2003-- Two U-S Senators have introduced legislation aimed at ensuring competition on future contracts for work on the reconstruction of Iraq. It comes in the wake of allegations of favoritism in the contracts that have been awarded so far to companies doing work in Iraq

United Nations

• Iraq: UN Scales Back Presence Amid Security Concerns RFE/RL 26 Sep 2003 -- The United Nations has announced further reductions in its international staff in Iraq. The move comes as leaders gathered in New York this week for the UN General Assembly sessions to discuss strengthening the organization's role in stabilizing Iraq.

Reconstruction Issues

• Transcript: Iraq Reconstruction Update Briefing with Ambassador Bremer 26 Sep 2003 -- "First of all, the $20 billion of the $87 billion for which the CPA would be responsible is an important part in the overall effort to win the war against terrorism in Iraq. This is an integrated budget request where no one part is more important than another, and the $20 billion is an essential part of supplementing the other $66 billion. And the proposition behind the $20 billion is that if we don't succeed in the reconstruction effort in Iraq, there is a very real risk, indeed, I think a likelihood, that Iraq will, because of the continued instability and poverty, become the kind breeding ground for terrorism that we've seen in other countries in the last 20 years."
• Iraq Reconstruction Update Briefing with Ambassador Bremer 26 Sept 2003-- Bremer: have spent most of the week, as you may know, making the case for the President's supplemental, $87 billion supplemental. And I just want to make a couple of points.
• Bremer Again Makes Case for Bush Supplemental Request AFPS 26 Sept 2003-- The $20 billion reconstruction portion of President Bush's $87 billion supplemental for Iraq is "an important part of the war against terrorism in Iraq," Ambassador L. Paul Bremer said at the Pentagon today.
• The World's Task Is to Help Rebuild Iraq, Says Powell AFPS 26 Sept 2003-- After many meetings at United Nations headquarters in New York this week, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said world leaders are putting aside past differences to help the Iraqi people.
• Powell Says U.S. Hopes Iraq Has Constitution in Six Months Washington File 26 Sept 2003-- Secretary of State Colin Powell says the United States hopes that a constitution will be ratified in Iraq within the next six months, but he adds that it will be at least a year and a half before a new Iraqi government will be in place.
• POWELL / IRAQ VOA 26 Sept 2003-- Secretary of State Colin Powell says the United States has set a six-month target date for Iraqi leaders to produce a constitution. He expects that will lead to elections and a transfer of full authority from the U-S-led coalition to a new government, next year. The move is intended to help build support for a draft U-N resolution aimed at bringing more peacekeeping troops and reconstruction aid to Iraq

Foreign Reactions

• Kharrazi says Iran will not remain indifferent towards Iraq IRNA 26 Sep 2003 -- Iran`s Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said here on Thursday that as a neighbor, Iran will not remain indifferent towards ongoing developments and their adverse consequences in Iraq.
• All UK ministers to blame for Iraq war, says Cook IRNA 26 Sep 2003 -- The entire British government, not just Prim Minister Tony Blair, must take the blame for leading Britain into the disastrous Iraq war, according to former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook.
• Iraq: Putin Stresses UN Importance; Straw Warns Against Inaction In Face Of Threats RFE/RL 26 Sep 2003 -- The debate over UN legitimacy and the war in Iraq continues to dominate the UN General Assembly session. Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw -- representing the final two Security Council powers to speak -- both cited the primacy of the United Nations in confronting terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. But while Putin emphasized solving problems through the UN, Straw warned against inaction in the face of threats.
• EGYPT / U-S VOA 26 Sept 2003-- Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher says his country will not send troops to Iraq to help U-S security operations. But he says Egypt is willing to help train the new Iraqi police force

News Reports

• U.K.: Hutton Inquiry Ends, With Reputations Of Blair, BBC Tarnished RFE/RL 26 Sep 2003 -- The independent public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of British weapons expert David Kelly ended yesterday. The final day at the Royal Courts of Justice in London saw lawyers for all the main parties present their closing arguments.
• Rumsfeld Says Iraqis Must Fashion Solutions to Their Future Washington File 26 Sept 2003-- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says the sooner Iraqis are equipped to defend themselves, the faster foreign forces can depart Iraq and the Iraqis can embrace the task of "fashioning Iraqi solutions to their future."
• BUSH/IRAQ VOA 26 Sept 2003-- Several public opinion polls this week indicate that President Bush's approval rating has dropped to its lowest level since the 2001 terrorist attacks. Political experts say the lower approval ratings are being driven by concern over the domestic economy and worries about the reconstruction of Iraq