Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

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

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 14 May 2004 [PDF]
• MARINE DIES AT CAMP AL ASAD

• Transcript: Coalition Provisional Authority Briefing 14 May 2004 -- Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, Deputy Director For Coaltion Operations, Dan Senor, Senior Advisor, CPA
• Transcript: Major General Miller Interview in Baghdad with Pentagon Press Corps 14 May 2004 -- Major General Miller
• IRAQ SITREP VOA 14 May 2004 -- There's been another day of heavy fighting (Friday) in southern Iraq between American troops and gunmen loyal to rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr near some of the holiest Shiite shrines.
• Lejeune battalion recognizes combat wounded Marine Corps News 14 May 2004-- Sixty Purple Heart medals were awarded to Marines from 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment during multiple ceremonies here recently.
• HMM-764 provides 'Combat Bus' in Iraq Marine Corps News 14 May 2004-- Day or night, rain or shine, sandstorms, wind, small arms fire and rockets, it doesn't matter what obstacles are in the way, the Marines of Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 764, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, accomplish their mission of moving troops and supplies to the furthest reaches of Western Iraq.
• MARINES CONTINUE COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE DESPITE TERRORIST ATTACKS CENTCOM Release 14 May 2004-- In spite of recent insurgent attacks, U.S. Marines are continuing their support of communities here.

Deployments

US Policy

• Transcript: Defense Department Background Briefing 14 May 2004 -- "There's been a lot of discussion about the question of the Geneva -- the applicability of the Iraq conflict and the Geneva protocols. There's been questions about what techniques are being used in Iraq. There's been a lot of discussion across a series of hearings over the last 10 days or so that has left room for clarity. So we thought it would be useful to have the people who were much more directly involved in exactly how those procedures were determined and on what basis they were determined come in to talk with you today."

• New Commands in Iraq to Replace Combined Joint Task Force AFPS 14 May 2004 -- Two new military commands will stand up in Iraq May 15, replacing the current coalition military organization.

• THREE SOLDIERS TO BE ARRAIGNED CENTCOM Release 14 May 2004-- A military judge will arraign Staff Sgt. Ivan L. Frederick, II, Sgt Javal S. Davis, and Spec. Charles A. Graner on May 20. All three soldiers are facing trial by general court-martial.
• Three Soldiers Face Court-Martial for Alleged Prisoner Abuse Washington File 14 May 2004 -- Army Lieutenant General Thomas Metz, commanding general of III Corps at Coalition Joint Task Force 7 (CJTF-7) in Iraq, has referred charges against three U.S. soldiers for court-martial proceedings related to the alleged abuse of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib detention facility, according to a May 13 press statement.
• Powell Hopes Judicial Process Against Abuses Will Restore U.S. Image Washington File 14 May 2004 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell has acknowledged that the photographs of Iraqi prisoner abuse at the hands of U.S. military personnel have hurt the image of the United States around the world.
• Bush Officials Address Congressional Concerns about Iraqi Sovereignty Washington File 14 May 2004 -- Senior members of the Bush administration have sought to allay fears among members of Congress about potential problems that could arise after the restoration of sovereignty to the Iraqi Interim Government on June 30.
• Coalition Provisional Authority Report, May 14: Iraq Update Washington File 14 May 2004 -- A Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) spokesman sought to clarify the relationship between coalition military forces and the Iraqi interim government after June 30.
• IRAQ / BEHEADING VOA 14 May 2004 -- The top U-S law enforcement official is vowing to bring justice to the killers of American Nicholas Berg, the young man kidnapped and beheaded on videotape by terrorists in Iraq. Attorney General John Ashcroft made the comment at a Washington news conference Friday as a memorial service was being held for Mr. Berg in his native Pennsylvania.
• PENTAGON/PRISONERS VOA 14 May 2004 -- The U-S military has banned the use of so-called "stress positions" and other severe interrogation techniques in dealing with detainees in Iraq.
• Powell-G-8-Iraq VOA 14 May 2004 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell said Friday U-S-led coalition forces would leave Iraq if asked to do so by the interim government that assumes power July 1st, though he says such a request is unlikely. He discussed the pending transfer of sovereignty in Iraq with fellow foreign ministers of the G-8 industrial nations and Russia.
• U.S.: Pentagon Acknowledges Some Prison Abuse Violates Geneva Conventions RFE/RL 14 May 2004 -- The Pentagon yesterday acknowledged that some of the abuse of Iraqis at Baghdad's Abu Ghurayb prison was in violation of the Geneva Conventions. The acknowledgement adds fuel to a growing debate in the United States over the extent to which the U.S. administration has loosened observance of the Geneva Conventions to pursue terrorists and whether that may have confused operating procedures in Iraq.
• CHARGES AGAINST SOLDIER REFERRED TO COURT-MARTIAL CENTCOM Release 14 May 2004-- Lt. Gen. Thomas F. Metz, commanding general of III Corps, referred charges against Specialist Jeremy Sivits on May 5 to a special court-martial empowered to adjudge a Bad Conduct Discharge.
• CHARGES AGAINST SOLDIER REFERRED TO COURT-MARTIAL CENTCOM Release 14 May 2004-- Lt. Gen. Thomas F. Metz, Commanding General of III Corps, referred charges against Sergeant Javal S. Davis to a General Court-Martial on April 28.

• PATRIOT MISSILE, TORNADO FRIENDLY FIRE INVESTIGATION COMPLETED CENTCOM Release 14 May 2004-- The investigation into the March 22, 2003 friendly fire incident between a U.S. Patriot missile system and a British Royal Air Force aircraft is complete.

• Consolidated Weekly Economic Report Coalition Provisional Authority 14 May 2004 [MSWord]

United Nations

• UN officials continue talks on Iraq's transition, elections UN News Centre 14 May 2004 -- United Nations officials are in Iraq continuing their discussions on the country's political transition at the end of June and the organization of elections slated for early next year.
• IRAQ: UN to host grass roots election meetings IRIN 14 May 2004 -- Ordinary Iraqis will be asked their opinion about how to run the country in coming weeks in a series of town meetings that will encourage community participation, a top UN election official in Iraq said on Thursday.

Reconstruction Issues

Foreign Reactions

• Central Asia: Disappointment And Anger As Prison Scandal Cuts Into America's Democratic Image. RFE/RL 14 May 2004 -- By now, the disturbing photographs documenting U.S. prisoner abuse in Iraq have been seen in nearly all corners of the Earth. In Central Asia, the scandal has drawn virtually no official response from governments reliant on U.S. aid and loathe to draw attention to their own human rights records. But many citizens in the region are angry about the treatment of the Iraqi detainees -- and disappointed that a human rights standard-bearer like the United States could stoop to torture and abuse.
• U.K.: British Official Says Abuse Photos 'Categorically' Not Taken In Iraq RFE/RL 14 May 2004 -- The photographs of alleged British Army abuse of Iraqi prisoners, published earlier this month in the "Daily Mirror" newspaper and since shown around the world, were "categorically" not taken in Iraq. This according to Adam Ingram, the British armed forces minister, who addressed parliament yesterday in an attempt to clear allegations that British troops, like their U.S. counterparts, are guilty of abusing Iraqi detainees. But a report issued yesterday by the Danish Defense Ministry adds alarming details to at least one case of abuse by British forces.
• RUSSIA / US VOA 14 May 2004 -- President Bush's national security adviser, Candoleezza Rice, is visiting Moscow Friday to talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other top officials, mainly about a new U-N resolution on Iraq.
• BRITAIN / IRAQ VOA 14 May 2004 -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair has rejected appeals from the left wing of his Labor party that he put some political distance between himself and President Bush over the Iraq issue.

News Reports