Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

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

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 21 Apr 2005 [PDF]
• TWO MARINES KILLED IN AR RAMADI
• DoD Identifies Marine Casualties
• DoD Identifies Army Casualties

• Transcript: Defense Department Briefing 21 Apr 2005 -- Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Larry Di Rita
• Insurgents Say They Shot Down Helicopter in Iraq, Killing 11 VOA News 21 Apr 2005 -- A militant group in Iraq says it shot down a civilian helicopter that crashed near Baghdad Thursday, killing all 11 people on board.
• Iraq: Tens Of Bodies Discovered In Tigris As Violence Continues RFE/RL 21 Apr 2005 -- The bodies of more than 50 people have been reported found in the Tigris River south of Baghdad. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, announcing the discovery, said the victims are believed to be Shi'ite Muslim hostages executed by Sunni militants in the city of Madain. Reports earlier this week (16-17 April) said the militants had taken tens of Shi'ite civilians hostage and had threatened to kill them unless all of Madain's Shi'ite residents left the city. But Sunni authorities denied the claim, and the Iraqi Army failed to find any hostages after entering Madain.
• 2nd Platoon now 'on offensive' in Ramadi USMC News 21 Apr 2005 -- A Camp Pendleton-based platoon drew fire from a drive-by shooter here April 14 - further evidence that enemy fighters are still lurking in a town that was once an insurgent hotbed.

Deployments

US Policy

• Attack Uptick Doesn't Undermine Progress AFPS 21 Apr 2005 -- It's difficult to know whether the uptick in attacks on Iraqi and coalition targets in Iraq is a trend or an aberration, said Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita today.
• Naming of Iraqi Government Reportedly Delayed VOA News 21 Apr 2005 -- Reports from Iraq say last-minute disagreements are threatening Thursday's plan to announce a new cabinet, nearly three months after elections.
• US Military Court Convicts Sergeant of Murdering 2 Officers in Kuwait VOA News 21 Apr 2005 -- A U.S. military court has convicted an Army sergeant of murdering two of his comrades and wounding 14 others in a grenade and rifle attack two years ago in Kuwait.

United Nations

• UN envoy resumes broad-spectrum talks on Iraqi political transition UN News Centre 21 Apr 2005 -- Fresh from consultations at Headquarters in New York, the senior United Nations envoy for Iraq is back in Baghdad, re-immersing himself in efforts to ensure that all sectors of society take part in the political transition, especially with the task of writing a new constitution.

Reconstruction Issues

• Iraq Humanitarian and Reconstruction Assistance Updates USAID 21 Apr 2005 [PDF]
• Iraq: Doubts Raised About Militias' Ability To Restore Law And Order RFE/RL 21 Apr 2005 -- Iraqi President Jalal Talabani recently told the BBC that "popular forces" such as Kurdish and Shi'ite militias should be used to fight Iraqi insurgents. However, the U.S. military opposes the idea of using forces such as the Kurdish Peshmergas or the Shi'ite Badr Brigade to suppress the insurgency. Analysts say that allowing the militias free rein could lead to bitter civil warfare.

Foreign Reactions

News Reports

• Iraq: Dispute Over Alleged Hostage Incident Continues Despite Discovery of Corpses VOA News 21 Apr 2005 -- The dispute over whether Sunni gunmen took dozens of people hostage last week remains unresolved, despite the discovery of dozens of corpses in the Tigris river.
• Iraqi Insurgents Show Their Gruesome Methods VOA News 21 Apr 2005 -- Al Qaida in Iraq -- the group headed by the most-wanted terrorist in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi -- claimed responsibility for a suicide car bombing that targeted interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's convoy.