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

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 20 Sep 2004 [PDF]
• DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
• ATTACK KILLS ONE 1ST INFANTRY DIVISION SOLDIER
• TWO MARINES DIE IN AL ANBAR PROVINCE

• Transcript: Media Availability with Lt. Gen. Sharp 20 Sep 2004 -- "There's been a lot of reporting in the last few days and there's been a lot of - I think there's been somewhat of a misunderstanding in terms of some of the numbers in security forces and the situation over there. So we've asked General Sharp and General Schwartz if they would just add clarity."
• Most of Iraq Under Local Control by Year's End, Officials Say AFPS 20 Sep 2004 -- If the training and equipping of Iraqi security forces continues apace, then most of the country will be under local control by the end of the year, Pentagon officials said today.
• Precision Strikes Target Fallujah Insurgents AFPS 20 Sep 2004 -- U.S. forces conducted a successful precision strike Sept. 20 -- the second within two days -- on construction equipment used by the enemy to build fighting positions outside the Iraqi city of Fallujah, according to a Multinational Force Iraq news release.
• ANTI-IRAQI PERSONNEL, WEAPONS, AMMO SEIZED CENTCOM 20 Sep 2004 -- Task Force Danger Soldiers detained anti-Iraqi force personnel in the town of Abayach near Balad at about 10 a.m. Sept. 20.
• MULTI-NATIONAL FORCES DETAIN 16 IN MOSUL, COLLECT WEAPONS CENTCOM 20 Sep 2004 -- Multi-National Forces from 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) detained 16 people wanted for anti-Iraqi activities and collected a variety of weapons and munitions Sunday, Sep. 19, in northern Iraq.
• PRECISION STRIKE IN FALLUJAH TARGETS TERRORISTS' EQUIPMENT CENTCOM 20 Sep 2004 -- At approximately 2 p.m., Sept. 20, Multi-National Force - Iraq conducted a successful precision strike against heavy construction equipment used by Anti-Iraqi Forces (AIF) to build fortified fighting positions on the outskirts of Fallujah.
• Continuing Iraqi Violence Targets Sunni Cleric RFE/RL 20 Sep 2004 -- Violence continued today in Iraq as the second Sunni cleric was targeted by attackers within 24 hours.
• IRAQ VIOLENCE VOA 20 Sep 2004 -- Two American and one British hostage in Iraq faced a deadline for their execution Monday, as another radical group threatened to kill 18 Iraqi national guardsmen it apparently seized late last week. The increase in kidnappings and other violence is a matter of rising concern for Iraq's interim government, as it tries to organize elections for January.
• Soldiers Uncover Weapons Cache and Get Information on Recent Attacks 1st Cavalry Division News 20 Sep 2004 -- Soldiers from Oregon's Company B, 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry Regiment, recently uncovered a weapons cache just north of Camp Cooke, with the assistance of the Iraqi National Guard.
• 58th Engineers Bridge Brigade Gap 1st Cavalry Division News 20 Sep 2004 -- Soldiers from the 58th Combat Engineer Company from Fort Irwin, Calif., are supporting numerous battalions in the 2nd Brigade Combat Team (Commandos), 10th Mountain Division.
• 2-15th Field Artillery Fills Infantry Shoes 1st Cavalry Division News 20 Sep 2004 -- Every Soldier is an infantryman first in the Army.
• Lejeune artillerymen provide security for Marine camps in Iraq USMC News 20 Sep 2004 -- The artillerymen of 2nd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, have placed their cannons aside and picked up their rifles to provide security for I Marine Expeditionary Force units operating throughout the Al Anbar Province of Iraq.

Deployments

US Policy

• Speech at New York University John Kerry for President 20 Sep 2004 -- "National security is a central issue in this campaign. (...) That means we must have a great honest national debate on Iraq. The President claims it is the centerpiece of his war on terror. In fact, Iraq was a profound diversion from that war and the battle against our greatest enemy, Osama bin Laden and the terrorists. Invading Iraq has created a crisis of historic proportions and, if we do not change course, there is the prospect of a war with no end in sight."

United Nations

Reconstruction Issues

• U-S/IRAQ INSURGENCY VOA 20 Sep 2004 -- Iraq's interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi is holding firm to his plans for the country's first free elections to happen in January. But U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan says he doubts whether the vote can take place if the current level of violence does not diminish. Restoring control to areas of Iraq held by insurgents is increasingly becoming the focus of U.S. and Iraqi forces.
• ILLEGAL WEAPONS BRING INSURGENTS THREE YEARS IN PRISON CENTCOM 20 Sep 2004 -- In two separate court cases on Sept. 19, the Central Criminal Court of Iraq found four individuals linked to Anti-Iraqi Forces guilty of possessing illegal weapons, with each of the defendants receiving three-year prison terms.
• Allawi Says Instability Will Not Deter Iraqi Elections RFE/RL 20 Sep 2004 -- Iraq's interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi is vowing elections will take place as scheduled in January despite an upsurge in violence and chaos.
• Analysis: Iraqi Political Groups Take Steps To Organize RFE/RL 20 Sep 2004 -- A number of Iraqi political groups have taken steps to organize ahead of the January elections despite numerous comments last week by government and UN officials who said that elections might be postponed due to increasing violence.
• IRAQ: Petrol shortage in north IRIN 20 Sep 2004 -- For the past week, drivers in Iraq's northeastern Sulaymaniyah governorate have been waiting for up to five hours to fill their cars and trucks with fuel as deteriorating security in surrounding areas has slowed the influx of petrol and diesel supplies, according to local officials.

Foreign Reactions

• NATO/IRAQ VOA 20 Sep 2004 -- NATO ambassadors failed to finalize an agreement to expand the alliance's military training mission in Iraq, after meeting in a special session Monday. But officials say they hope to work things out at another meeting later this week.
• BRITAIN / IRAQ VOA 20 Sep 2004 -- British Minister Tony Blair's declaration that "a new Iraqi conflict" is under way has fueled controversy, and raised questions about whether more British troops will be sent to Iraq.

News Reports

• Iraqi Media Monitoring UNAMI 20 Sep 2004
• Iraq: Hostage Takers Accelerate Efforts To Undermine Reconstruction Work RFE/RL 20 Sep 2004 -- Hostage takers in Iraq have stepped up their kidnappings aimed at driving out foreign companies involved in reconstruction projects. Over the past weeks, the operations have moved from highway abductions of drivers to raids on offices and residential sites in Baghdad. Today, two female Italian aid workers, two American contractors, and a British engineer are being held hostage, along with dozens of employees of regional firms doing business in Iraq.
• IRAQ: Visa requirements eased after lobbying IRIN 20 Sep 2004 -- Visa requirements have been confusing and expensive since Iraqi officials took control of the country in late June, according to local aid workers.