Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

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

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 13 Dec 2004 [PDF]
• Seven Marines killed in Al Anbar Province
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualties
• VEHICLE ACCIDENT KILLS ONE, INJURES ONE

• Car Bomb Wounds Three Soldiers, One Iraqi MNF-I/MNC-I 13 Dec 2004 -- A vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated at about 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 13, wounding three Task Force Baghdad Soldiers and one Iraqi civilian in northern Baghdad.
• Patrol Discovers Two car Bombs Near Insurgent 'Safe House' In western Baghdad MNF-I/MNC-I 13 Dec 2004 -- Task Force Baghdad Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 156th Armor Regiment discovered an insurgent safe house in western Baghdad Dec. 13, on their first day in a new area of operations. Two individuals were detained.
• IRAQI SECURITY FORCES, MARINES CAPTURE 72 SUSPECTED MILITANTS CENTCOM 13 Dec 2004 -- Iraqi police and national guardsmen beat back an insurgent attack on a police station just south of Baghdad on Dec. 12, fueling optimism that the fledgling security forces are growing more confident and capable even in the face of a concerted campaign of intimidation and terror.
• IRAQ / WRAP VOA 13 Dec 2004 -- At least seven people were killed and more than a dozen others were injured, Monday, when a suicide car bomber attacked a security checkpoint in central Baghdad. The attack occurred on the one-year anniversary of the capture of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
• Car Bomb Explodes In Baghdad RFE/RL 13 Dec 2004 -- A car bomb explosion killed at least seven Iraqis today at an entrance to the Green Zone in Baghdad that houses Iraq's interim government and foreign embassies.
• Stryker troops find weapons cache, car bomb Army News 13 Dec 2004 -- Soldiers from the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) located and destroyed a large weapons cache Dec. 7 in Mosul.
• Navy Recalls COMFISC Reservists to Support War Effort Navy NewsStand 13 Dec 2004 -- Reservists assigned to Commander, Fleet and Industrial Supply Center (FISC) Reserve detachments were recalled in November to support Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• 3/1 Marines, ISF patrol Fallujah to remove weapons USMC News 13 Dec 2004 -- With the city of Fallujah standing in relative calm compared to major offensives weeks before, the Marines of 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, with the help of the Iraqi Security Forces work to cleaning up the city, removing any remaining weapon caches.

Deployments

• CVW-17 Returns from Deployment Navy NewsStand 13 Dec 2004 -- The squadrons of Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 17 returned home Dec. 12 and 13 from USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67) to their various home stations.

US Policy

United Nations

• PRESS BRIEFING BY IRAQ SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE United Nations 13 Dec 2004
• Iraq Asks for More U.N. Election Personnel Washington File 13 Dec 2004 -- Iraq has asked the United Nations to increase the number of its personnel in the country to bolster preparations for the election and help ensure that the elections are fair -- and are seen to be fair.
• UN/LANTOS/OIL FOR FOOD VOA 13 Dec 2004 -- A senior U.S. Congressman says investigators looking into the U.N.-administered Iraq oil-for-food program have uncovered evidence of massive wrongdoing. But the lawmaker staunchly defended Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
• UN/IRAQ ELECTIONS VOA 13 Dec 2004 -- Iraq has appealed to the United Nations for more help in organizing next month's elections. The appeal was laced with biting criticism of the world body's limited role in Iraq.
• International community must close ranks to support Iraq - UN report UN News Centre 13 Dec 2004 -- With violence in Iraq remaining a major challenge, the restoration of security, protection of civilians, credible and inclusive elections, and a closing of ranks by the international community to support political and economic reconstruction are more vital than ever, according to the latest United Nations report on the situation released today.

Reconstruction Issues

• SADDAM/LAWYER VOA 13 Dec 2004 -- One of Saddam Hussein's lawyers says the former Iraqi leader is refusing food, despite reports to the contrary. French lawyer Emmanuel Ludot says he wants the International Red Cross to check on Saddam's condition.
• Iraqi Envoy Calls For Larger UN Election Mission RFE/RL 13 Dec 2004 -- Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations appealed to the UN today to increase its personnel in Iraq, saying a shortfall of experts could hurt preparations for elections.
• Iraq: Hussein's Capture One Year Ago Did Little To Quell Insurgency RFE/RL 13 Dec 2004 -- When U.S. forces captured former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein a year ago, there was hope his arrest would help quell the insurgency in Iraq. It didn't happen. One year on, the insurgency appears to have multiple leaders, including former Iraqi Ba'ath officials believed to be sending money from Syria, home-grown nationalists, and foreign militants.
• IRAQ / BRITAIN VOA 13 Dec 2004 -- The interim president of Iraq, Ghazi al-Yawer, says the U.S.-led coalition made a big mistake when it disbanded the Iraqi armed forces after last year's invasion to topple Saddam Hussein. Mr. al-Yawer spoke during a stopover in London, following his visit to Washington
• Iraqi President Criticizes U.S. For Disbanding Army RFE/RL 13 Dec 2004 -- Iraq's interim President Ghazi al-Yawir says that the U.S.-led coalition was wrong to dismantle the Iraqi security forces following the fall of Baghdad.
• Golden spike finishes Iraq's national highway Army News 13 Dec 2004 -- Iraq's first national highway running from its northern borders to the Persian Gulf in the south was completed Dec. 5 with the driving of a golden spike.
• IRAQ-JORDAN: IOM launches expatriate voter operation in 14 countries IRIN 13 Dec 2004 -- The Iraq Out-of-Country-Voting (OCV) programme for the 30 January elections was launched on Sunday in the Jordanian capital, Amman, by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
• IRAQ: Interview with head of new NGO ministry IRIN 13 Dec 2004 -- Dawood Pasha is Director-General of Iraq's new ministry of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), created to build aid agencies and civil society groups in Iraq. He spoke to IRIN in Baghdad about plans to regulate NGOs, the need for training of local staff and the image of NGOs in Iraq, where a deteriorating security situation has forced many international agencies out of the country.
• IRAQ: Key emergency service to get much-needed improvements IRIN 13 Dec 2004 -- Men wearing civilian clothes without protection, and sometimes even without gloves, can be seen putting out flames after explosions or attacks all over Iraq, reflecting the poor state of the country's fire service.

Foreign Reactions

News Reports

• Iraqi Media Monitoring UNAMI 13 Dec 2004
• SADDAM / ANNIVERSARY VOA 13 Dec 2004 -- One year ago today, the ace of spades in the infamous deck of 55 cards representing the most-wanted people in Iraq, was taken into custody. Saddam Hussein was found by American forces, hiding in a hole not far from where the former dictator was born.