Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

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

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 11 Aug 2004 [PDF]

• IRAQ WRAP VOA 11 Aug 2004 -- U.S. and Iraqi forces say they are preparing a major assault against insurgents loyal to radical Shi'ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in the holy Shi'ite city of Najaf after a week of bloody clashes. Iranian journalists have been detained in Baghdad. And Iraqi politician Ahmad Chalabi returns home to defend himself against charges of financial misdeeds.
• IRAQ/URBAN COMBAT VOA 11 Aug 2004 -- U.S and Iraqi forces backed by heavy armor and air power are poised to move on the holy city of Najaf to flush out insurgents loyal to rebel Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. After a week of heavy fighting and casualties, American forces have been warning a final battle to end what has been a four-month insurrection by Sadr militiamen could be imminent.
• U.S., Iraqi Forces Prepare for Major Assaults in Najaf AFPS 11 Aug 2004 -- U.S. Marines and soldiers and Iraqi National Guardsmen engage in joint training exercises in preparation for major assaults against enemy forces in the Iraqi city of Najaf, a Multinational Force Iraq news release said today.
• MARINES ASSUME CONTROL OF AN NAJAF, AL QADISIYAH PROVINCES CENTCOM 11 Aug 2004 -- I Marine Expeditionary Force assumed control on Monday of the An Najaf and Al Qadisiyah provinces, which include the towns of Najaf, Ad Diwaniyah and Kufa, per the direction of the commander of the Multi-National Forces in Iraq.
• MEU, IRAQI NATIONAL GUARD, SOLDIERS GEAR UP FOR 'ONE TEAM, ONE FIGHT' CENTCOM 11 Aug 2004 -- Sporadic fighting between 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit forces and Anti-Iraqi Forces in the Wadi Al Salam cemetery persists for a sixth day today, as Marines, U.S. Army Soldiers and Iraqi National Guardsmen continue joint training exercises in preparation for major assaults against enemy forces in the city of Najaf.
• Dutch forces involved in gun battle in southern Iraq IRNA 11 Aug 2004 -- Dutch military forces were engaged in a gun battle with an armed group Tuesday night in Rumaythah near the southern Iraqi city of Samawah, where Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force troops are stationed.

Deployments

US Policy

United Nations

Reconstruction Issues

Foreign Reactions

• Iranian Leader Condemns U.S. Attacks On Al-Najaf RFE/RL 11 Aug 2004 -- Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has denounced ongoing U.S. military operations in the Iraqi city of Al-Najaf.
• US will obtain no result in Iraq: Rafsanjani IRNA 11 Aug 2004 -- Chairman of the Expediency Council (EC) Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said here Tuesday that the United States will obtain no result from violation of the sanctity of the holy sites and massacre of people in Iraq.
• INDIA HOSTAGES VOA 11 Aug 2004 -- The Indian government is still trying to free three Indian truck drivers taken hostage in Iraq. The Indian public is eagerly following negotiations in the three-week old drama and it is dominating the Indian news media.

News Reports

• IRAQ/SISTANI VOA 11 Aug 2004 -- In Iraq, where followers of a radical Shia cleric have been battling U.S. forces for days, the country's most revered Shia religious leader has been not only silent, but absent. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has left Iraq for medical treatment in London.
• Four Iranian directors arrested by US troops in Iraq IRNA 11 Aug 2004 -- An official said here on Wednesday that four Iranian directors visiting Iraq for business talks had been arrested by US troops last month and are currently kept in an unknown location.
• Allawi Faces Tough Test In Al-Najaf RFE/RL 11 Aug 2004 -- As fighting rages in Al-Najaf, Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has assumed a tough posture. He has ruled out negotiations with radical Shi'a cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militia even as he invites al-Sadr himself to participate in elections in January.
• Sistani 'no need for surgery,' says his London office IRNA 11 Aug 2004 -- Ayatollah Ali Sistani of Iraq is expected to continue medical consultations in London but has no need for coronary surgery, according to his office.
• IRAQ: Focus on increasing threats against journalists IRIN 11 Aug 2004 -- Despite having more freedom in post Saddam Iraq, journalists in the capital, Baghdad, say they remain under fire, often literally.
• IRAQ: Najaf residents flee fighting as aid agencies move in IRIN 11 Aug 2004 -- Residents in the southern holy city of Najaf, told to leave the besieged city by US troops, appear to be staying with relatives in the nearby city of Karbala, an International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) spokesman told IRIN on Wednesday.