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Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)


17 October Iraq Special Weapons News

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

Current Operations

  • Several Army MPs Killed, Wounded In Recent Iraq Attacks AFPS 17 Oct 2003 -- Four American military police were killed and nine were wounded as the result of insurgent attacks in Iraq over the past two days, according to U.S. Central Command press releases.
  • 4th Infantry Division Operation Supplies Iraqi School Children AFPS 17 Oct 2003 -- More than 4,000 pounds of school supplies reached Iraq recently thanks to the U.S. Army's Task Force Iron Horse, according to Maj. William Kennedy, 4th Infantry Division.
  • IRAQ WRAP VOA 17 Oct 2003 -- As the U-S Congress has approved President Bush's request for 87 billion dollars to help pay for reconstructing Iraq, Friday turned into another deadly day for U-S forces in that country.
  • Iraq: Five Dead In Karbala Attack, Second Attack In Kirkuk RFE/RL 17 Oct 2003 -- Three U.S. military police and two Iraqi police officers were killed overnight when unknown assailants fired at them from rooftops in the central Shi'ite Muslim holy city of Karbala.
  • IRAQ / ATTACK VOA 17 Oct 2003 -- Three American soldiers were killed and four wounded during a gun battle late Thursday south of Baghdad. Two Iraqi police officers were also killed and five wounded in the attack.

Deployments

US Policy

  • Powell Says U.N. Vote Shows Nations "Coming Together" on Iraq Washington File 17 Oct 2003 -- The international community is coming together "to restore full sovereignty of Iraq to the Iraqi people, but doing it in a way that is careful ... deliberate ... and prepares the people of Iraq to elect their own leaders," says Secretary of State Colin Powell.
  • U.S. Welcomes Japan's Support for Iraq Reconstruction Washington File 17 Oct 2003 -- President Bush, in talks in Tokyo October 17 with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, thanked him for Japan's assistance in gaining passage of a new U.N. resolution on Iraq and Japan's commitment to help with Iraq's reconstruction, according to a senior Bush administration official.
  • Internationalization Strategy on Track for Iraq, U.S. Says Washington File 17 Oct 2003 -- White House Report, October 17: Iraq, Gaza attack
  • CONGRESS IRAQ VOA 17 Oct 2003 -- The U-S Congress has approved President Bush's 87 billion dollar spending request for Iraq and Afghanistan, after the Senate defied the Bush administration by voting to convert some Iraq reconstruction money to a loan.
  • CONGRESS/IRAQ UPDATE VOA 17 Oct 2003 -- The House of Representatives has approved (303 to 125) an 87 billion dollar bill funding military needs and reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the Senate, where a final vote is expected later, President Bush was dealt a blow earlier when an amendment was approved that would convert half of reconstruction aid for Iraq to a loan.
  • CONGRESS / IRAQ VOA 17 Oct 2003 -- An 87 billion dollar bill funding military needs and reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan is in the final hours of debate on Capitol Hill. President Bush was dealt a blow in the Republican-controlled Senate when it earlier approved an amendment to convert half of reconstruction aid for Iraq to a loan. Republicans in the House rejected similar efforts as the bill moves toward expected overwhelming approval
  • EDITORIAL: RUMSFELD ON THE COALITION IN IRAQ VOA 17 Oct 2003 -- Since Iraq's liberation, some eighty-thousand Iraqis have been working with coalition forces to provide security. "Now, as Basel Misfer, an Iraqi police lieutenant, points out: "We [the Iraqis] make the decisions." As U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld says, these Iraqis "are not simply observing or helping"
  • EDITORIAL: RICE ON IRAQ AND THE MIDDLE EAST VOA 17 Oct 2003 -- The people of Iraq are free from the oppressive regime of Saddam Hussein. Iraqis are now working toward self-government.
  • EDITORIAL: CHENEY ON IRAQ VOA 17 Oct 2003 -- Iraq has become the central front in the war on terror, said U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney

United Nations

  • IAEA finds no evidence of revival of Iraqi nuclear weapons programme UN News Centre 17 Oct 2003 -- The UN agency charged with uncovering evidence of an Iraqi nuclear weapons programme has found no such evidence, according to a report issued today.
  • U.N. Security Council Approves U.S. Resolution on Iraq VOA 17 Oct 2003 -- The United Nations Security Council this week approved an American resolution on Iraq. All fifteen members voted Thursday to support the resolution. These included France, Germany, Russia and Syria, which had all opposed the war in Iraq.
  • UN: Security Council Unanimously Approves Resolution On Iraq RFE/RL 17 Oct 2003 -- Yesterday, the UN Security Council approved the U.S. resolution on Iraq. France, Germany, and Russia, supported the resolution, but only for the sake of unity. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has said that the resolution is not a "door-opener" for more troop contributions.
  • UN: Council Sends Mixed Message After Unanimous Vote On Iraq RFE/RL 17 Oct 2003 -- United Nations Security Council members have hailed their unanimous vote on Iraq as sign of a new willingness to forge consensus to solve the country's problems after a period of bitter divisions. But just moments after the vote, a number of key members also stressed they could not contribute further to security or reconstruction costs in Iraq, one of the main goals of the United States and other resolution sponsors.
  • IRAQ: Security must improve before more Iraqi refugee repatriations IRIN 17 Oct 2003 -- The office of the United Nations High Commissioner (UNHCR) in Turkey has said it is prepared to help repatriate Iraqis if and when security permits. "We are not encouraging Iraqi refugees to return home as yet," Metin Corabatir, a UNHCR spokesman, told IRIN in the Turkish capital, Ankara, on Thursday.

Reconstruction Issues

Foreign Reactions

  • EU determined to play significant role in Iraq reconstruction IRNA 17 Oct 2003 -- EU leaders have confirmed the EU`s determination and commitment to play a significant role in the political and economic reconstruction of Iraq, within the framework of the relevant UNSC resolutions.
  • US / Bulgaria / Iraq VOA 17 Oct 2003 -- The leader of Bulgaria's parliament again say they expect to find a solution to Iraq satisfying a one-point-seven billion-dollar debt. The comments come as the United States and Bulgaria celebrate 100 years of diplomatic relations.
  • Iraq: Many Iraqis Oppose Deployment Of Turkish Troops RFE/RL 17 Oct 2003 -- Many Iraqis oppose the deployment of Turkish troops in their country, saying it will make an already unstable situation even worse. Particularly strong resistance is coming from Iraq's Kurds, who have a history of hostile relations with the Turks.
  • BUSH / JAPAN VOA 17 Oct 2003 -- President Bush is in Tokyo where he thanked Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi for pledging one-point-five billion dollars to help rebuild Iraq.
  • IRAQ/GOVERNING COUNCIL REAX VOA 17 Oct 2003 -- Thursday's U-N Security Council resolution on Iraqi reconstruction got a mixed reception at the U-S-appointed Iraqi Governing Council. Some council members fear Thursday's resolution gives them no authority to govern.

News Reports




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