Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

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

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 15 Nov 2005 [PDF]
• MARINE DIES FROM SMALL-ARMS FIRE
• MARINE DIES FOLLOWING IED ATTACK
• Marine dies in IED attack during Operation Steel Curtain
• THREE U.S. SOLDIERS KILLED BY ROADSIDE BOMB
• DoD Identifies Marine Casualties

• Transcript: News Briefing with Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld and Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani Jr 15 Nov 2005 -- Presenter: Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld and Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani Jr.
• CENTAF releases airpower summary AFPN 15 Nov 2005 -- U.S. Central Command Air Forces officials released today's airpower summary.
• Controllers keep Balad traffic flowing AFPN 15 Nov 2005 -- A director producing a blockbuster film must know where each actor and camera is at all times to ensure the right shot.
• Teamwork keeps Balad power on AFPN 15 Nov 2005 -- A group of Airmen has the tough and fast-paced job of maintaining all the generators that power this desert base.
• Coalition Forces Capture High-Level Baath Party Leader AFPS 15 Nov 2005 -- Coalition forces captured the leader of the New Baath Party in Diyala province, Iraq, during a Nov. 9 patrol, officials announced today.
• Roadside Bomb Kills Three U.S. Soldiers Near Baghdad AFPS 15 Nov 2005 -- Three Task Force Baghdad soldiers were killed today when their patrol struck an improvised explosive device northwest of Baghdad, military officials in Iraq reported.
• U.S. Servicemember Killed, Another Wounded in Afghanistan AFPS 15 Nov 2005 -- A U.S. servicemember was killed by an improvised explosive device near the Pakistani border southeast of Gayan, Afghanistan, today.
• New phase of 'Steel Curtain' continues in Ubaydi Army News 15 Nov 2005 -- Iraqi and U.S. Soldiers, together with Marines in Regimental Combat Team-2, began a new phase of "Operation Steel Curtain" Nov. 14 by entering the town of Ubaydi, located on the banks of the Euphrates River about 20 kilometers from the Syrian border.
• US, Iraqi Forces Encounter Resistance in Western Iraq VOA 15 Nov 2005 -- The U.S. military says American and Iraqi forces fighting insurgents in western Iraq have encountered strong resistance as they battle to secure the border region and prevent terrorist infiltrations from Syria.
• Insurgents in Iraq Kill 8 Policemen in Separate Attacks VOA 15 Nov 2005 -- Iraqi police say at least eight policemen were killed in separate insurgent attacks in Baghdad and the northern city of Kirkuk Tuesday.
• Soldiers discover cache near Iskandariyah MNF-I 15 Nov 2005 -- Soldiers of the 1st Battalion 155th Infantry, 155th Brigade Combat Team, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), discovered a weapons cache in an area west of Iskandariyah Nov.13th
• Steel Curtain continues in Ubaydi MNF-I 15 Nov 2005 -- Iraqi Army soldiers and Marines, Soldiers and Sailors with Regimental Combat Team -2 continue Operation Al Hajip Elfulathi (Steel Curtain) in the town of Ubaydi Nov. 15.
• Coalition Forces capture high level Ba'ath Party leader MNF-I 15 Nov 2005 -- Coalition Forces captured Hamid Sharki Shadid, the leader of the New Ba'ath Party in Diyala Province, during a patrol November 9th.
• Arrest warrants issued for two leaders in the insurgency; one has ties to al Zarqawi MNF-I 15 Nov 2005 -- The Iraqi Central Investigating Court in Baghdad issued arrest warrants for two men suspected of leading and facilitating the insurgency against Coalition and Iraqi Forces and who are responsible for many Iraqi deaths.
• Operation Steel Curtain continues MNF-I 15 Nov 2005 -- Iraqi Army Soldiers and Marines, Soldiers and Sailors continue Operation al Hajip Elfulathi (Steel Curtain) in Ubaydi.

Deployments

US Policy

• Senate Approves Spending Measure Governing Detainee Treatment Washington File 16 Nov 2005 -- The Senate overwhelmingly approved a 2006 defense policy spending bill November 15 that also includes amendments that prohibit inhumane and cruel treatment of detainees held in U.S. detention centers and that establish new legal rights for terrorism suspects held by the United States.
• US Senate Calls for Iraqis Take Lead in Securing Iraq VOA 15 Nov 2005 -- The Republican-led U.S. Senate has approved a measure calling for Iraqis to take the lead in securing their country next year to allow for a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops.
• Rumsfeld Defends Iraq Policy VOA 15 Nov 2005 -- U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has issued a sharp defense of the Bush administration's decision to go to war in Iraq, following a similar statement Monday by President Bush.
• Iraq Intelligence Mistakes Were Honest, Rumsfeld Says AFPS 15 Nov 2005 -- The decision to send troops into Iraq was made in good faith based on shared intelligence, and the servicemembers risking their lives in the war on terror need to know that, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said here today.
• Bush Fires Back at Democratic Party Critics VOA 15 Nov 2005 -- President Bush is stepping up his attacks on Democrats in the U.S. Congress who have challenged his handling of crucial evidence prior to the war in Iraq.
• US Senate to Call on Bush to Begin Planning End of Iraq War VOA 15 Nov 2005 -- The U.S. Senate is expected to debate two proposals Tuesday calling on President Bush to establish a strategy that will lead to the eventual withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.

United Nations

• In Jordan, UN envoy says recent terror attacks underscore need for peace in Iraq UN News Centre 15 Nov 2005 -- The recent terror attacks in Jordan underscore the urgency of bringing peace to Iraq, a senior United Nations official said today following high-level meetings in Amman.
• UN Reinstates Lone Official Fired in Oil- For-Food Scandal VOA 15 Nov 2005 -- The United Nations has reinstated the only official fired over the Iraq oil-for-food scandal.

Reconstruction Issues

• Top Iraqi security official: Iran plays no role in Iraq's internal affairs IRNA 15 Nov 2005 -- Iraq's National Security Advisor Mowafaq al-Rubai said here Tuesday that there is no evidence to prove that the Islamic Republic of Iran engaged in sending arms to Iraq or interfere in the country's domestic affairs.
• Iraqis expand their basic training Army News 15 Nov 2005 -- Ten days has been added to Iraqi basic training and a second group of Iraqi soldiers has begun the new 24-day cycle.
• Iraq's Chalabi Meets With Cheney, Rumsfeld RFE/RL 15 Nov 2005 -- Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Chalabi has held private meetings in Washington with U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
• Iraqi Sunnis Accuse Government Of Cleansing Operations RFE/RL 15 Nov 2005 -- The Sunni-Arab led Iraqi Accordance Front has accused Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Ja'fari's administration of carrying out sectarian cleansing operations in areas north and west of Baghdad in an attempt to thwart Sunni Arab participation in next month's parliamentary elections.

Foreign Reactions

News Reports

• Jordan Bombing Suspect Had 3 Brothers Killed in Iraq VOA 15 Nov 2005 -- An Iraqi woman who confessed to participating in the triple suicide bombing attacks in Jordan's capital last week had three brothers killed by U.S. forces in Iraq.
• Iraq: Resistance Ready To Talk -- But Only With The U.S. RFE/RL 15 Nov 2005 -- The self-described spokesperson for the Iraqi resistance, Ayham al-Samarra'i, told reporters in Baghdad over on 12 November that seven Iraqi resistance groups are ready to enter into dialogue with the United States in a bid to end the violence in Iraq