Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

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

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 07 Oct 2005 [PDF]
• FOUR MARINES KILLED BY IED
• TWO MARINES KILLED BY IED
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty

• Transcript: Defense Department Special Briefing on Operations in Western Iraq 07 Oct 2005 -- Presenter: Commanding General, Multinational Force West and 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force Forward, Maj. Gen. Stephen T. Johnson
• Operation Iron Fist concluded USMC News Release 07 Oct 2005 -- Approximately 1,000 Marines, Soldiers and Sailors assigned to Regimental Combat Team -2 concluded Operation Kabda Bil Hadid (Iron Fist) in the Al Qa'im region of Western Al Anbar late yesterday.
• Pentagon Says al-Qaida Leader Criticizes Iraq Insurgents VOA 07 Oct 2005 -- U.S. officials say they have intercepted a letter from the number two official in the al-Qaida terrorist network to its chief in Iraq, outlining a broad strategy to dominate the Middle East and saying some of the Iraqi insurgents' most brutal tactics are hurting the movement.
• Baghdad raids net well-known terrorists Army News 07 Oct 2005 -- - In a lightning-fast pre-dawn raid Oct. 6, Iraqi Army Soldiers raided the homes of two well-known terrorists in Sadr City, while other Baghdad raids that same day netted 58 suspects.
• Operation Iron Fist Update MNF-I 07 Oct 2005 -- Approximately 1,000 U.S. Marines, Soldiers and Sailors completed their sixth day of Operation Kabda Bil Hadid, or Iron Fist in English, in Western Al Anbar on Oct. 6.
• Operation River Gate Update MNF-I 07 Oct 2005 -- Approximately 350 Iraqi Security Force Soldiers and 2,500 Marines, Soldiers and Sailors from Regimental Combat Team - 2 continued Operation Bawwabatu Annaher, or River Gate, in the cities of Haditha, Haqlaniyah and Barwana Oct. 6.
• Improvised explosive device Emir captured MNF-I 07 Oct 2005 -- Multi-National forces killed two foreign fighters and captured two others during a raid in Karabilah Sept. 6.
• Iraqi, U.S. forces nab 34 terror suspects MNF-I 07 Oct 2005 -- Task Force Baghdad Soldiers teamed up with Iraqi Special Police Commandos to conduct a series of raids in south Baghdad Oct. 6 and netted 34 terror suspects.
• Security forces capture terror suspects, seize weapons MNF-I 07 Oct 2005 -- Multi-National forces from Task Force Freedom detained 48 suspected terrorists, seized weapons caches, and killed a terrorist during operations in northern Iraq Oct. 3-6.
• Iraq Offensives Kill 20 Suspected Militants RFE/RL 07 Oct 2005 -- Two military offensives aimed at rooting out insurgents continued today in western Iraq.
• 6 US Marines Killed in Iraqi Operations VOA 07 Oct 2005 -- U.S.-led anti-insurgent operations are continuing in western Iraq, in an effort to prevent attacks on voters in the lead-up to next week's constitutional referendum.
• Intel from Iraq Raids Leads to New York City Security Hike AFPS 07 Oct 2005 -- Information from Iraq collected by the U.S. military and passed through the chain of command to other U.S. federal agencies was part of New York City's decision to announce a security alert on its mass transit system, defense officials confirmed today.
• Pentagon Claims Intel that Led to New York Alert VOA 07 Oct 2005 -- The U.S. Defense Department says the terrorist alert in New York was based on information it gathered in recent weeks, and that the information also led to a raid on a suspect location in Iraq during the last few days.
• US and Iraqi Forces Finalizing Security Plans for Next Week's Referendum VOA 07 Oct 2005 -- The U.S. military say it is confident that the recent seizures of large weapons caches and the on-going military offensives against insurgents in western Iraq and will help minimize violence in next week's constitutional referendum.
• Roadside Bomb Blasts Kill Six Marines in Iraq AFPS 07 Oct 2005 -- Six Marines were killed in action by improvised explosive devices Oct. 6 in Iraq, Multinational Force Iraq officials reported.
• Major Offensive Operations Continue in Iraq AFPS 07 Oct 2005 -- Three major offensive operations are ongoing in Iraq, as Iraqi security forces and coalition troops continue weeding out terrorists and eliminating weapons that threaten ongoing progress in the country, military officials reported.
• Insurgent Attacks Increase as Iraqi Elections Near AFPS 07 Oct 2005 -- As Defense Department officials predicted, insurgents in Iraq have stepped up their attacks as important Iraqi elections approach, senior DoD officials told reporters here Oct. 6.

Deployments

US Policy

• Pentagon Claims Intel that Led to New York Alert VOA 07 Oct 2005 -- The U.S. Defense Department says the terrorist alert in New York was based on information it gathered in recent weeks, and that the information also led to a raid on a suspect location in Iraq during the last few days.
• Coalition Forces Ready for Iraq Referendum, General Says AFPS 07 Oct 2005 -- Multinational Force West, in Iraq's Anbar province, has sufficient strength to complete all its missions, including providing security for the country's Oct. 15 constitutional referendum and the December elections, the unit's commander said today.
• Iraqi Forces 'Unbelievably Better,' General Says AFPS 07 Oct 2005 -- Iraq's security forces are better organized and more combat-ready than they were a year ago, a senior U.S. military officer told reporters here Oct. 6.
• Political Process Viewed as Key To Ending Iraq's Violence Washington File 07 Oct 2005 -- The U.S. military officer responsible for current military operations in western Iraq says violence there will end when the Iraqis use the political process to make life better.

United Nations

Reconstruction Issues

• Iraq opens border guard academy Army News 07 Oct 2005 -- A border enforcement academy in northern Iraq is now ready to train Iraqi guards to protect their country's borders.
• Iraq Begins Distributing Draft Constitution RFE/RL 07 Oct 2005 -- Iraqi authorities have begun handing out copies of a draft constitution ahead of a hotly contested referendum on the charter next week.

Foreign Reactions

News Reports

• Referendum Voting in Iraq Brings Violence Now, Hope for Future VOA 07 Oct 2005 -- Iraqis will go to the polls on October 15th to vote whether to approve a draft constitution that will pave the way for the election of a new government in December
• New Letter Shows Bin Laden's Goals in Iraq VOA 07 Oct 2005 -- U.S. officials say they have obtained a letter sent from Osama bin Laden's top deputy to the leader of Iraq's insurgency, outlining a goal of forming an Islamic state in Iraq.
• Iran: Experts Say Infrared Bombs Used By Iraqi Insurgents Can't Be Homemade RFE/RL 07 Oct 2005 -- The diplomatic row continues between the United Kingdom and Iran over British officials' charges that there is a link between Iranian elements or Hizballah with new explosive devices being used by insurgents in Iraq