Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

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

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 16 Apr 2004 [PDF]
• Iraqi Civilians Killed, Wounded by Insurgent Attacks in Northern Iraq [CJTF-7 News Release] April 16, 2004
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty

• Transcript: Coalition Provisional Authority Briefing 16 Apr 2004 -- Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, Deputy Director for Coalition Operation, Dan Senor, Senior Advisor, CPA
• Transcript: Central Command Operations Briefing 16 Apr 2004 -- Maj. Gen. John Sattler, Director of Operations, Central Command
• US Troops in Fallujah to Be Repositioned VOA News 16 Apr 2004 -- The U.S. military has agreed to reposition troops in the Iraqi city of Fallujah following direct talks with city officials aimed at ending two weeks of violence in the city.
• MARINES UNCOVER SIGNIFICANT WEAPONS CACHE CENTCOM Release 16 Apr 2004-- Marines in Fallujah April 16 discovered a significant weapons cache and engaged enemy forces after coming under fire.
• Fallujah Standoff Can't Continue, CPA Official Says APFS 16 Apr 2004 -- The standoff between U.S. and coalition forces and insurgents at the Iraqi city of Fallujah can't continue much longer, the Coalition Provisional Authority's chief spokesman said today in Baghdad.
• Military Force May Be Next Option In Fallujah, Myers Says APFS 16 Apr 2004 -- Further military action may be necessary in the city of Fallujah, where despite a cease-fire and strained negotiations, insurgents still are shooting at Marines, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said during an April 15 news conference in Baghdad.
• General: Marines Not Hampered by Rules of Engagement APFS 16 Apr 2004 -- Marines surrounding the volatile Iraqi town of Fallujah may be in an offensive operational pause, but that doesn't affect their ability to defend themselves, a top U.S. Central Command officer said today in Doha, Qatar.
• Flashpoint Areas In Iraq Remain Tense But Relatively Calm RFE/RL 16 Apr 2004 -- The head of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard Myers, said before departing Iraq today that chief U.S. civil administrator in Iraq L. Paul Bremer is using "multiple channels" in negotiations with groups in the restive cities of Al-Najaf and Al-Fallujah.
• Intelligence discoveries paint picture of enemy in Fallujah Marine Corps News 16 Apr 2004-- Marines operating in Fallujah are gaining a clearer picture of the enemy they face. Intelligence gathered from enemy dead, daily patrols and documents is proving links between terrorists and former regime elements loyal to deposed dictator Saddam Hussein.
• Constant movement, contact for Marines in Fallujah Marine Corps News 16 Apr 2004-- The afternoons bring the heat here in this Iraqi city. When the Marines have a chance, they take off their boots and socks to air out their feet. The flies come out and latch themselves to the Marines - feeding on their filthy sweaty feet.
• 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment in Fallujah's fray Marine Corps News 16 Apr 2004-- Their faces are sunburned and grimy from gun battles throughout the week. Their eyes, though, are bright.

Deployments

• Iraq: Rumsfeld Extends Duty For U.S. Troops RFE/RL 16 Apr 2004 -- The recent surge of violence in Iraq has killed nearly 90 U.S. troops since the beginning of April, making it the bloodiest month for Americans since the start of the U.S.-led invasion a year ago. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has admitted he did not foresee such heavy casualties. He is responding to the violence by extending duty for thousands of soldiers already in Iraq. But some politicians say that alone will not be enough to bring order to the country.

US Policy

• U.S. Urges International Support For UN Protection Force In Iraq RFE/RL 16 Apr 2004 -- The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations urged member states today to contribute to a multinational force that would protect UN political experts assisting Iraq.
• REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AND UNITED KINGDOM PRIME MINISTER TONY BLAIR IN PRESS AVAILABILITY Washington File 16 Apr 2004 -- Bush, Blair Welcome U.N. Special Envoy Proposals on Iraq / Bush calls on Palestinian leaders to "rise to the challenge"
• IRAQ SITREP VOA 16 Apr 2004 -- An American diplomat in Iraq has held a rare face-to-face meeting with an Iranian official seeking to mediate an end to an uprising by Shiite fighters led by a rebel cleric. The meeting came as the leaders of the United States and Britain vow not to let the upsurge in violence derail plans for handing over political power on June 30th.
• U.S., British Leaders Say They Won't Abandon Iraq APFS 16 Apr 2004 -- The top U.S. and British leaders today pledged their nations' continued support for a free and democratic Iraq despite all obstacles.
• Civilized World Must Stand Against Terror Tactics, Powell Says Washington File 16 Apr 2004 -- In an April 15 interview with the Tokyo Broadcasting System International, Secretary of State Colin Powell praised the way in which Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi have responded to a rash of kidnappings of foreign aid workers, contractors and journalists by unknown militant elements in Iraq.
• US ambassador urges new multinational force to protect UN in Iraq UN News Centre 16 Apr 2004 -- Voicing hope that the United Nations would return its personnel to Iraq to help with the transition to sovereignty, the United States Ambassador today suggested the establishment of a new multinational force dedicated to protecting the UN in the war-wracked country.
• BUSH / BLAIR / IRAQ VOA 16 Apr 2004 -- President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair are backing a U-N plan for the transfer of political power in Iraq. The two leaders met at the White House Friday.
• EDITORIAL: IRAQ SOVEREIGNTY DRAWS NEAR VOA 16 Apr 2004 -- As the June 30th date for Iraqi sovereignty draws near, small factions are attempting to derail democracy and seize power in some cities. In some places, remnants of the former Saddam Hussein regime have attacked Iraqis and coalition forces.
• U.S Declines Iranian Mediation With Al-Sadr RFE/RL 16 Apr 2004 -- The United States government says it has advised Tehran that it would not be appropriate for Iran to try to mediate an end to the standoff between the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq and militant Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
• Negotiations Continue In Restive Areas Of Iraq RFE/RL 16 Apr 2004 -- The head of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard Myers, said before departing Iraq today that chief U.S. civil administrator in Iraq L. Paul Bremer is using "multiple channels" in negotiations with groups in the restive cities of Al-Najaf and Al-Fallujah.

United Nations

• Annan, Blair agree on need for new Security Council resolution on Iraq UN News Centre 16 Apr 2004 -- The Security Council should pass a new resolution on Iraq to help the country move forward with the upcoming political transition, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and British Prime Minister Tony Blair agreed during their meeting Thursday evening in New York.
• UN electoral team leaves Iraq, returning to New York to brief Annan UN News Centre 16 Apr 2004 -- A United Nations team studying the holding of elections in Iraq has left the country and is expected to return to New York in the coming days to brief Secretary-General Kofi Annan on its work, a UN spokesperson said today.
• U-N/IRAQ OIL-FOR-FOOD VOA 16 Apr 2004 -- Former U-S Federal Reserve Board chief Paul Volcker has been chosen to head an independent investigation into the oil-for-food program that the United Nations ran in Iraq. However, as Peter Heinlein reports, announcement of the appointment is being held up while the Security Council debates whether to formally endorse the probe.
• U-N / IRAQ VOA 16 Apr 2004 -- The United States has appealed to the international community for troop contributions to a military protection force for U-N personnel in Iraq. The force would begin operations after the U-S-led coalition is dissolved at the end of June.

Reconstruction Issues

• Mosul Security Forces Show Way Ahead for Iraq APFS 16 Apr 2004 -- The threat facing members of the coalition's Task Force Olympia here remains the same, but the people responding to it are Iraqis, not Americans.
• IRAQ: International analysts call for transparent budgeting IRIN 16 Apr 2004 -- International analysts have renewed calls for transparency in the Iraqi budget after a report issued by Iraq Revenue Watch (IRW), an international financial watchdog organisation commenting on the Coalition Provisional Authority's (CPA) handling of Iraqi finances.

Foreign Reactions

• Iran: Tehran Delegation In Iraq On 'Fact-Finding' Mission RFE/RL 16 Apr 2004 -- The extent of Iran's diplomatic involvement in Iraq remains unclear. An Iranian fact-finding delegation reportedly visited the holy city of Al-Najaf today, but apparently did not meet with radical Shi'a cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The United States, for its part, says -- publicly at least -- that Iran has a role to play but should not mediate directly between Washington and Shi'a insurgents.
• JAPAN / HOSTAGES VOA 16 Apr 2004 -- After the release of three Japanese hostages in Iraq, attention in Japan is now turning to the whereabouts of two additional missing Japanese last seen near Baghdad.
• Kharrazi says Iran will not mediate between US, Iraqis IRNA 16 Apr 2004 -- Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi here on Friday rejected as baseless speculations that Iran would mediate between the US and the Iraqis to resolve the crisis in the country.
• CHENEY KOREA VOA 16 Apr 2004 -- Vice President Dick Cheney left for the United States Friday, after making the final stop of his Asian tour in South Korea. The U-S Vice President met with the country's acting president to discuss South Korea's Iraq troop deployment and the North Korean nuclear issue.

News Reports

• RFE/RL Iraq Report, Volume 7, Number 14 16 Apr 2004 -- U.S. STANDOFF WITH REBEL CLERIC INTENSIFIES... / ...AS FRAGILE TRUCE HOLDS IN AL-FALLUJAH / MINISTERS APPOINTED, AS GOVERNING COUNCIL DENIES MEMBERS RESIGNING OVER CRISIS / TRAVEL WARNINGS ISSUED AFTER DOZENS KIDNAPPED / AMMAN-BAGHDAD HIGHWAY CLOSED / KING ABDALLAH CALLS FOR URGENT TRANSFER OF POWER TO IRAQIS / GUL CONCERNED ABOUT ESCALATING VIOLENCE IN IRAQ / WEBSITE: HUSSEIN'S WIFE SAYS CAPTURED MAN A 'DOUBLE.' / BRAHIMI DISCUSSES DIRECTION OF IRAQ'S POLITICAL FUTURE / U.S. PRESIDENT SAYS MORE TROOPS MAY BE NEEDED IN IRAQ / POLISH PREMIER PLEDGES TO KEEP TROOPS IN IRAQ DESPITE VIOLENCE / GEORGIAN PRIME MINISTER SAYS PEACEKEEPERS WILL NOT BE WITHDRAWN FROM IRAQ / RUSSIA TAKES STEPS TO EVACUATE ITS CITIZENS FROM IRAQ / CZECH FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS JOURNALISTS MISSING IN IRAQ ARE ALIVE / SLOVAKIA, HUNGARY TO KEEP TROOPS IN IRAQ / BULGARIAN PRESIDENT CALLS ON COALITION TO CHANGE COURSE