Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

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

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 17 Aug 2004 [PDF]
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Marine Casualties
• AIF ATTACK KILLS ONE TF BAGHDAD SOLDIER

• MQ-1 Predator crashes near Balad MNF-I/MNC-I 17 Aug 2004 -- An Air Force MQ-1 Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle crashed at 9:20 a.m. local today, Tuesday, Aug. 17, north of the air base.
• 1st Infantry Division Soldiers conduct Cajun Mousetrap III Army News Service 17 Aug 2004 -- Task Force Danger Soldiers, in an operation dubbed "Cajun Mousetrap III," conducted an overnight raid into the City of Samarra that started late August 13 and ended early the next morning.
• Marines keep strong hold on position near Fallujah Marine Corps News 17 Aug 2004 -- Marines dodged bullets and mortar fire to grab hold of key terrain south of Fallujah Friday. The Marines of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment are keeping a strong position at Traffic Control Point 8 to deter anti-coalition forces from transporting munitions.

Deployments

US Policy

• Powell Highlights Comprehensive U.S. Strategy in Iraq Washington File 17 Aug 2004 -- Defending the U.S. war in Iraq, Secretary of State Colin Powell praised progress in the region and said that while challenges remain, President Bush is determined for Iraq to succeed in the process of creating freedom and democracy.
• Powell Explains U.S. Force Restructuring, Defends Iraq Policy Washington File 17 Aug 2004 -- In a wide-ranging interview with the editorial board of the daily newspaper the Cincinnati Enquirer, Secretary of State Colin Powell defended August 16 the recently announced restructuring of U.S. military forces and U.S. policy in Iraq and Sudan.

United Nations

• Fighting in southern Iraq prompts UN agency to halt refugee returns from Iran UN News Centre 17 Aug 2004 -- The United Nations refugee agency has temporarily suspended its convoys for Iraqis wishing to return from neighbouring Iran because of the fighting raging in the south of the country and a housing shortage in the north.
• IRAQ: Small team of UN personnel attends national conference IRIN 17 Aug 2004 -- About 30 United Nations personnel are in Iraq as part of a conference to name a national assembly, the first time a significant number of UN international staff have been in the country in almost a year, a UN spokesman told IRIN in Baghdad.

Reconstruction Issues

• IRAQ WRAP VOA 17 Aug 2004 -- A three-day conference to choose an Iraqi National Council was extended for an additional day Tuesday. The move came as efforts were stepped up to end the clashes between U.S.-led forces and followers of a radical Muslim cleric holed up in Najaf.
• Iraq: National Conference Speaking For The Nation, But How Representative Is It? RFE/RL 17 Aug 2004 -- Iraq's National Conference is now in its third and what was planned to be its final day in Baghdad. The convention is the first of its kind in the post-Saddam Hussein era and is intended to create a "people's" advisory body to the government of interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi. But despite this limited purpose, the conference has turned into a freewheeling forum, where the some 1,300 delegates are discussing virtually every element of government policy. The enthusiasm of the delegates is a measure of how much Iraqis want to participate in shaping their future. But the event also raises a question. Just how representative of Iraq's population are these delegates now meeting on their behalf?

Foreign Reactions

• IRAQ: NAJAF CRISIS A KEY TEST FOR U.S., IRAQI GOVERNMENT US Dept. of State IIP, Foreign Media Reaction 17 Aug 2004
• NATO Training Implementation Mission arrives in Iraq Washington File 17 Aug 2004 -- The core of the NATO Training Implementation Mission in Iraq (NTIM-I) arrived in Iraq August 14, according to a statement by NATO's Joint Force Command (JFC) Naples.
• Iran calls on UN to interfere to stop fighting in Najaf IRNA 17 Aug 2004 -- Iran has called on the United Nations Organization to interfere in developments in Iraq in order to stop the armed clashes in the holy Shiite Muslim city of Najaf.

News Reports

• Iraqi Delegation's Trip to Al-Najaf Delayed RFE/RL 17 Aug 2004 -- A delegation of Iraqi political and religious leaders due in Al-Najaf today for talks aimed at ending fighting between U.S. forces and Shi'ite militiamen has been delayed due to security concerns.
• IRAQ: Some journalists prevented from covering Najaf IRIN 17 Aug 2004 -- Journalists in Baghdad say they are trying to find other ways to cover the fighting in Najaf, as the US-based watchdog, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), on Tuesday condemned attempts by Iraqi authorities to ban the media from the city.