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

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 05 OCt 2004 [PDF]
• 13TH COSCOM SOLDIER KILLED
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty

• MARINES MAKE CONDOLENCE PAYMENTS IN NAJAF CENTCOM 05 Oct 2004 -- Marines from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit distributed more than $200,300 today in condolence and collateral damage repair payments to demonstrate goodwill to Iraqis caught in the crossfire as multi-national and Iraqi security forces battled to free Najaf and its citizens from Muqtada al-Sadr and his fighters in August.
• IRAQI SECURITY FORCES AND MULTI-NATIONAL FORCES FOIL TWO ROADSIDE BOMBS CENTCOM 05 Oct 2004 -- Iraqi Security forces and Multi-National Forces from 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) foiled two roadside bombs Monday in northern Iraq.
• IRAQI, MULTI-NATIONAL FORCES LAUNCH OPERATION IN NORTHERN BABIL CENTCOM 05 Oct 2004 -- Iraqi and Multi-National forces today kicked off their most sweeping operation to date in Northern Babil, moving against multiple targets across the central Iraqi province in a continuing campaign to restore security and stability here.
• U.S. Planes Strike Baghdad Neighborhood RFE/RL 05 Oct 2004 -- U.S. warplanes bombed suspected insurgent positions in the Shi'a slums of Al-Sadr City in Baghdad overnight.
• 11th MEU Recon out in open in Iraq USMC News 05 Oct 2004 -- Reconnaissance Platoon, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), isn't hiding in the bushes reporting back intelligence.

Deployments

US Policy

• Statement From Pentagon Spokesman Lawrence Di Rita 05 Oct 2004 -- Throughout Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld has relied upon the recommendations of the military commanders and the military advice of the Chairman and the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as the basis for decisions regarding force levels.
• IRAQ/BREMER VOA 05 Oct 2004 -- Two top officials who have been part of the Bush administration's strategic planning on Iraq are now questioning several key assumptions made by the White House in the run up to last year's invasion.

United Nations

• IRAQ/OIL FOR FOOD VOA 05 Oct 2004 -- U.S. lawmakers have criticized foreign governments, companies, and the United Nations, accusing them of acquiescing to corruption that diverted billions of dollars from the former U.N. Oil for Food Program to former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. A congressional hearing (Tuesday) heard officials of contracting companies involved in the U.N. program defend their role

Reconstruction Issues

• IRAQI BORDER FORTS STRENGTHEN SECURITY CENTCOM 05 Oct 2004 -- Iraq's Department of Border Enforcement is beefing up its border defenses with a plan to build or reconstruct more than 300 border forts. Included in the plan is the construction of a command and control structure including 12 brigade headquarters, four sector headquarters, and the national headquarters in Baghdad.
• IRAQ / 100 DAYS VOA 05 Oct 2004 -- Tuesday marked the 100th day since the interim government in Iraq came to power. Government officials say the task they have faced has been monumental, especially with an increasingly violent insurgency. Among the government's main goals have been improving public services, ending corruption and organizing elections for January. And while Iraqi citizens still complain about the lack of security, many say life is slowly starting to improve under the interim government.
• IRAQ: Interview with Minister for Health in Sulaymaniyah IRIN 05 Oct 2004 -- Remedying a brain drain of medical staff is one of the greatest challenges facing the Minister of Health in the northern Iraqi governorate of Sulaymaniyah. In an interview with IRIN, Mohammed Khoshnaw said the authorities were trying to encourage specialist doctors back to the region, not only to practise but to help teach and train other medical staff to meet the needs of the local population.
• IRAQ: Election preparations continue despite violence IRIN 05 Oct 2004 -- At a school in Jadriyah where residents always came to cast their votes under the former regime, Talib al-Karradhi, the headmaster, wants to know why no one has contacted him yet about the election expected in January.
• IRAQ: Water quality control project implemented IRIN 05 Oct 2004 -- A plan to enable millions of Iraqis to have access to clean water is underway, thanks to a joint project by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Iraqi Ministry of Environment (MoE).

Foreign Reactions

• FRANCE/HOSTAGES VOA 05 Oct 2004 -- French President Jacques Chirac appealed for unity Tuesday, as a bungled attempt to rescue two French hostages in Iraq sparked a growing controversy that some fear could hurt efforts to get the men freed. A French politician who was one of the leaders of the failed mission is back in France -- and trying to explain his actions.
• INDONESIA/IRAQ HOSTAGES VOA 05 Oct 2004 -- Indonesia is celebrating the release of two of its female citizens who had been kidnapped by militants in Iraq. But the incident has raised embarrassing questions about the wholesale export of Indonesian labor.

News Reports

• Iraqi Media Monitoring UNAMI 05 Oct 2004
• Iraq: In Rebel Cities, Establishing Civilian Control May Prove As Tough As Military Victories RFE/RL 05 Oct 2004 -- U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says large-scale military operations are needed to regain control of rebel-held parts of Iraq. Rumsfeld referred to the Sunni city of Samarra -- recently retaken by coalition and Iraqi forces in a major offensive -- as the example to be followed. However, establishing effective civilian control over such areas may prove as difficult and challenging as any military victory. If such control is not established, elections will be cast in doubt. And if large numbers of Sunni Muslims cannot vote, there is a risk they will become further alienated after January's scheduled polls.
• IRAQ: Kurds continue to flee cities of Sunni triangle IRIN 05 Oct 2004 -- Pressured by Iraqi insurgents who see them as US collaborators, or caught in the crossfire between Coalition forces and local militias, Iraqi Kurdish families continue to flee their homes in the Sunni Arab cities of Fallujah, Ramadi, Samarrah and Baquba in central Iraq for the Kurdish-controlled north.