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Operations
Deployments
US Policy
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Reconstruction Issues
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News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 09 Dec 2003 [PDF]

• Transcript: Defense Department Operational Update Briefing 09 Dec 2003

• U.S. Developing Iraqi Task Force to Use Against Terrorists Washington File 09 Dec 2003 -- The United States is developing a task force of Iraqis drawn from existing militias to fight terrorists in Iraq, according to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
• HELICOPTER MAKES AN EMERGENCY LANDING NEAR FALLUJAH CENTCOM Release 09 Dec 2003-- At approximately 1430 today, an OH-58D, Kiowa Helicopter of the 1/82d Aviation Brigade (Attack), took fire south of Fallujah. The helicopter was conducting a reconnaissance/security mission when it was forced to make an emergency landing.
• 250 MORE IRAQI POLICE OFFICERS GRADUATE FROM V CORPS-RUN INTEGRATION PROGRAM V Corps Release 09 Dec 2003-- The city of Baghdad has 250 newly trained Iraqi Police thanks to the to soldiers of the 18th Military Police Brigade. December 8, 2003 marked the 7th graduation from Iraqi Police Integration Program. Bringing the total of graduates to 1,395 since the program started back on June 28, 2003.
• PENTAGON / IRAQ VOA 08 Dec 2003 -- America's top military officer says U-S-led coalition forces in Iraq are "clearly" winning the war against loyalists of Saddam Hussein's ousted regime.
• Blast Wounds 31 U.S. Soldiers in Iraq; Stryker Accident Kills 3 AFPS 09 Dec 2003 -- A car bomb exploded early today outside a U.S. military compound west of Mosul, Iraq, wounding 31 American soldiers, according to U.S. Central Command.
• U.S. Army Helicopter Forced Down in Iraq; Crew OK AFPS 09 Dec 2003 -- U.S. Army helicopter made a hard landing near Fallujah, Iraq, today, according to U.S. Central Command.
• Defense Leaders Outline Conditions for Success in Iraq, Coalition Progress AFPS 09 Dec 2003 -- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld today outlined the conditions to be met for the coalition to achieve its goals in Iraq: Iraqi self- governance, responsibility for its own internal security and a growing economy that encourages people "to come back to the country rather than leave."
• IRAQ / ROADSIDE BOMBS VOA 09 Dec 2003 -- In Iraq, roadside bombs targeting U-S troops and their Iraqi allies have proven to be the most lethal weapon in the hands of attackers.
• IRAQ / EXPLOSIONS VOA 09 Dec 2003 -- U-S military officials in Baghdad say an apparent suicide bomber has wounded more than 30 American soldiers near the tense northern city of Mosul. Meanwhile, an explosion at a mosque in Baghdad is reported to have killed three Iraqi civilians.

Deployments

• Troop Rotations Won't Affect Readiness, Defense Leaders Say AFPS 09 Dec 2003 -- Troop rotations in Iraq during the next several months will create a temporary transition time in Iraq-but will in no way affect U.S. readiness in Iraq or anywhere else in the world, Defense leaders told Pentagon reporters today.

US Policy

• CONGRESSMEN / IRAQ VOA 09 Dec 2003 -- Two congressman just returned from Iraq say the United States needs to redouble efforts to internationalize the U-S Coalition Provisional Authority and the rebuilding of the country. Republicans Christopher Shays and Frank Wolf spoke at a news conference on Capitol Hill

United Nations

• U-N/IRAQ APPOINTMENT VOA 09 Dec 2003 -- U-N Secretary General Kofi Annan is naming a veteran humanitarian relief official as his interim special envoy to Iraq.
• UN: Its Fate Unsettled, UNMOVIC Continues Review Of Iraqi Weapons File RFE/RL 09 Dec 2003 -- One year ago, the UN inspection mission in Iraq -- known as UNMOVIC -- was at the center of international efforts to determine whether Saddam Hussein's regime was developing weapons of mass destruction. In mid-March, its efforts were sidelined by the U.S.-led war that toppled Hussein. But UNMOVIC continues to function, cataloging Iraq's biological and missile programs and awaiting word from the UN Security Council as to whether it will play a role again in Iraq -- or elsewhere.

Reconstruction Issues

• Iraq Humanitarian and Reconstruction Assistance Updates USAID 09 Dec 2003 [PDF]
• PENTAGON/IRAQ CONTRACTS VOA 09 Dec 2003 -- The Pentagon has ruled that firms from countries that did not support the U-S-led coalition in Iraq will be barred from bidding on lucrative reconstruction contracts.
• Hoarding, Truckers Strike Caused Iraq Gas Shortage AFPS 09 Dec 2003 -- Black marketers, hoarding, and a recently-ended transportation strike combined to cause a shortage of gasoline in some areas of Iraq, a senior Coalition Provisional Authority spokesman told reporters at a Dec. 8 Baghdad press briefing.
• Iraq: Leadership To Expel Iranian Opposition Group RFE/RL 09 Dec 2003 -- The U.S.-backed Iraqi Governing Council today announced it is expelling the Iranian opposition group Mujahedin-e Khalq, or the People's Mujahedin.

Foreign Reactions

• Robertson plays down Nato role in Iraq IRNA 09 Dec 2003 -- The outgoing secretary general of Nato, Lord Robertson, Tuesday dismissed US suggestions that the transatlantic military alliance could play a major role in Iraq.
• JAPAN/ IRAQ TROOPS VOA 09 Dec 2003 -- The Japanese government has endorsed sending members of its military to Iraq next year to aid the U-S led reconstruction effort. But he government is leaving up in the air exactly when its forces will go.

News Reports

• IRAQ: Petrol shortage raising tempers IRIN 09 Dec 2003 -- After waiting in line with his car for more than an hour to fill up, Wisam Amir was still sitting close to a mile away from the petrol station, and getting irritated. He and queuing fellow drivers believe the petrol station managers in the capital keep half of every fuel consignment to sell on the black market, thereby creating an artificial shortage.