Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

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

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 09 Dec 2004 [PDF]
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty

• IRAQ / WRAP VOA 09 Dec 2004 -- As Iraq moves closer to national elections next month, insurgents continue their efforts to intimidate Iraqis into staying away from the polls. Car bombs and mortars were used in attacks Thursday against civilians and military personnel in Baghdad and in the north.
• Blast Wounds One Soldier in Eastern Baghdad MNF-I/MNC-I 09 Dec 2004 -- An improvised explosive device detonated at approximately 2 p.m. today wounding one Task Force Baghdad Soldier.
• Airmen add 'information armor' to Iraq convoys AFPN 09 Dec 2004 -- When a convoy heads out on the roads of Iraq, it can be a life or death mission. Faced with violent threats from insurgents, the troops are armed and ready. But in this hostile environment, a "protective posture" requires more than mere Kevlar.

Deployments

US Policy

• Transcript: Special Defense Department Briefing on Armored Vehicles 09 Dec 2004 -- Commander, Third Army and Coalition Forces Land Component Command, Lieutenant General R. Steven Whitcomb
• RUMSFELD/IRAQ VOA 09 Dec 2004 -- Bush administration officials continue to react to a complaint from an American soldier headed for Iraq that U.S. forces deployed for battle there are not getting the vehicle armor they need to protect themselves from attacks.
• Rumsfeld Not Surprised at Tough Questions From Soldiers AFPS 09 Dec 2004 -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he is not surprised that soldiers at a town-hall meeting in Kuwait Dec. 8 asked him tough questions. He is surprised, however, that the media has chosen to focus on the concerns of a few and ignore the overall positive tone of the event.
• Armor Effort 'Good News Story' for Troops AFPS 09 Dec 2004 -- None of us wants to send a young man or woman into harm's way without adequate protection," said the top general in Kuwait today.

• Article 32 Hearing Begins MNF-I/MNC-I 09 Dec 2004 -- The Article 32 hearing for Sgt. Michael P. Williams, a member of Company C, 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment, Fort Riley, Kan., began Dec. 9, 2004 on the Camp Al-Tahreer (Camp Liberty).
• General Court Martial Set for Staff Sergeant Charged with Murder MNF-I/MNC-I 09 Dec 2004 -- The General Court-Martial for Staff Sgt. Johnny M. Horne Jr., a member of Company C, 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment, Fort Riley, Kan., is set to begin Dec. 10 at 8 a.m. on the Camp Al-Tahreer (Camp Liberty).

United Nations

• US / ANNAN SUPPORT VOA 09 Dec 2004 -- The United States' top U.N. diplomat says the Bush administration has confidence in Secretary-General Kofi Annan and intends to continue working with him. Ambassador John Danforth's comments came in response to calls from some conservative congressmen for the U.N. leader's resignation in the wake of the U.N. oil-for-food scandal.

Reconstruction Issues

• IRAQI POLICE SERVICE GRADUATES 140 FROM SPECIALTY TRAINING CENTCOM 09 Dec 2004 -- The Iraqi Police Service graduated 140 officers from four advanced instruction courses at the Adnan Training Facility, Dec. 9, as part of the Iraqi government's ongoing effort to train up its security forces.
• IRAQI POLICE GRADUATE 914 FROM BASIC TRAINING CENTCOM 09 Dec 2004 -- The Iraqi Police Service graduated 914 officers from Basic Police Training Courses at the Baghdad Public Safety Academy, Dec. 9, as the Iraqi government continues the police force training effort in the country.
• More than 5,000 candidates have registered for next month's Iraqi elections, UN says UN News Centre 09 Dec 2004 -- Iraq's national elections, scheduled to take place at the end of next month, are on track, with more than 5,000 candidates registered from over 200 political parties, United Nations spokesman Fred Eckhard said today.
• Iraq May Extend Election Amid Violence RFE/RL 09 Dec 2004 -- The Iraqi Interior Ministry yesterday said it supports a proposal from interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi to spread the 30 January elections over several weeks in different regions to give people a better chance of voting in safety.
• IRAQ: NGO prepares to publish major survey of Kurdish women IRIN 09 Dec 2004 -- Looking at Kurdish society in northern Iraq, it's not hard to see that women very much take the back seat: in the ministries they're the secretaries and cleaners; in the villages you're lucky if you see them at all.
• IRAQ: Interview with Minister of Displacement and Migration IRIN 09 Dec 2004 -- Sorya Isho Warda, Minister of Displacement and Migration, was once displaced herself.

Foreign Reactions

• Japan Extends Mandate For Troops In Iraq RFE/RL 09 Dec 2004 -- Japan's cabinet approved a plan today to keep Japanese troops in Iraq for another year.
• NATO MINISTERS UPDATE VOA 09 Dec 2004 -- The NATO alliance has announced that it will boost its training mission in Iraq after some European members responded to appeals to send instructors there to train Iraqi security forces. But, as VOA's Roger Wilkison reports from Brussels, U.S. and NATO officials say they are disappointed that some members of the 26-nation alliance are still refusing to take part in the mission.
• NATO MINISTERS VOA 09 Dec 2004 -- NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels are grappling with the thorny problem of how to get the alliance's European members to boost their commitment to NATO's training mission in Iraq and its peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan. But tensions with Russia over the situation in Ukraine have eased after both sides agreed to back free and fair elections.
• NATO Chief Calls For Dedication In Iraq, Afghanistan RFE/RL 09 Dec 2004 -- NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer opened a meeting of the alliance's 26 foreign ministers in Brussels today with a call to boost their commitment in Afghanistan and Iraq.

News Reports

• Iraqi Media Monitoring UNAMI 09 Dec 2004