Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

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

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 21 Nov 2005 [PDF]
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty

• Soldiers kill one, capture two terrorists MNF-I 21 Nov 2005 -- Iraqi Police and Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team responded to a potential IED attack, killing one bomber and injuring two more Nov. 19.
• Task Force Baghdad Soldiers detain 3 bomb suspects MNF-I 21 Nov 2005 -- Three suspected terrorists were detained in two separate incidents Nov. 19 by 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division operating in southwest Baghdad.
• Iraqi Soldiers capture 9 terrorists in east Baghdad MNF-I 21 Nov 2005 -- Iraqi Army Soldiers in east Baghdad launched operations against terrorists in Rusafa and Adhamiyah Nov 19-20.
• More weapons caches turn up in south Baghdad MNF-I 21 Nov 2005 -- More large weapons caches were discovered by 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division in south Baghdad.
• Tips lead Iraq Soldiers to weapons cache MNF-I 21 Nov 2005 -- Acting on tips from local residents, Iraqi Army Soldiers confiscated a large number of terrorist weapons and bomb-making materials Nov. 20 in west Baghdad.
• Operation Bruins concludes MNF-I 21 Nov 2005 -- Approximately 150 Iraqi Army Soldiers and 300 Marines and Soldiers from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team (2 BCT) and 2nd Marine Division concluded Operation Dhibbah (Bruins) in northern ar Ramadi Nov. 20.

Deployments

• South Korea Cabinet Approves Iraq Troop Cut VOA 21 Nov 2005 -- Officials in Seoul say the South Korean government has approved a proposal to withdraw one-third of the country's troops from Iraq, while extending the remaining soldiers' deployment by a year.

US Policy

• Biden Delivers Major Address on Iraq Office of US Senator Jospeh Biden 21 Nov 2005 -- "Today, I want to talk to you about Iraq. I want to start by addressing the question on the minds of most Americans: when will we bring our troops home?"

• Vice President's Remarks on the War on Terror The White House 21 Nov 2005 -- "My remarks today concern national security, in particular the war on terror and the Iraq front in that war. Several days ago, I commented briefly on some recent statements that have been made by some members of Congress about Iraq."
• Cheney: U.S., Coalition Must Stay Course in Iraq AFPS 21 Nov 2005 -- To those who advocate a speedy withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, Vice President Dick Cheney posed two questions today.
• Cheney Says Retreat from Iraq Would Threaten US Security VOA 21 Nov 2005 -- Vice President Dick Cheney has delivered a strong defense of the Bush administration's record in Iraq, and lashed out at critics who suggest that prewar intelligence was distorted as the case was being made to oust Saddam Hussein.

• Iraq Withdrawal Possible Next Year if Conditions Right VOA 21 Nov 2005 -- There have been reports in recent days of plans for a significant reduction in the number of U.S. troops in Iraq early next year. The reports come amid increasing calls from some members of the U.S. congress for such a withdrawal.

• Toughest Battlefields Are Not in Iraq, Rumsfeld Says Washington File 21 Nov 2005 -- The toughest battlefields no longer are in Iraq, but in the American and international media, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld says.

• U.S. Denies Reports Al-Zarqawi Killed RFE/RL 21 Nov 2005 -- U.S. forces left a cordoned area around a house in northern Iraq today following a gun battle in which eight suspected Al-Qaeda members were killed and 11 American soldiers were wounded.

• Bush Thanks Mongolia For Support RFE/RL 21 Nov 2005 -- U.S. President George W. Bush today visited Mongolia, where he expressed appreciation for the country's support in Iraq and Afghanistan, and compared the struggle against Islamic radicalism to the Asian country's battle against communism.
• Bush Thanks Mongolia for Help in Afghanistan, Iraq VOA 21 Nov 2005 -- President Bush is in Mongolia on the last stop of an eight-day trip to Asia which has also taken him to Japan, South Korea, and China

United Nations

• Annan lauds Arab League meeting seeking Iraqi reconciliation, vows UN support UN News Centre 21 Nov 2005 -- Praising the Arab League for holding a preparatory meeting of Iraqi factions in Cairo over the weekend to pave the way towards national reconciliation in the strife-torn country, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today pledged continued United Nations support for a full-blown conference to achieve the goal.

Reconstruction Issues

• Iraqi Minister Urges Insurgents To Join Security Forces RFE/RL 21 Nov 2005 -- Iraqi Interior Minister Bayan Jabr has said Iraqi troops will be ready to take charge of security in the country by the end of next year.

Foreign Reactions

• Talabani: Sovereign Iraq cannot be prevented from approaching Iran IRNA 21 Nov 2005 -- No world country, including the US, would dare stop Baghdad from approaching Tehran since Iraq is an independent state, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani was quoted as saying Sunday evening.
• Iran respects national sovereignty of Iraq, President Ahmadinejad IRNA 21 Nov 2005 -- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday that Iran respects national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq.
• Iraqi Conference Separates 'Resistance' from Terrorism VOA 21 Nov 2005 -- After a quarrelsome three-day meeting, Iraqi politicians have hammered out a final agreement at an Arab League-sponsored conference in Cairo.
• U.S. Urged to End Its Military Presence in Iraq KCNA 21 Nov 2005 -- If the U.S. imperialists continue to pursue their policy of military occupation and rule over Iraq, defying the demand of the Iraqi people and the mind-set of the world public, they will meet only bitter shame and miserable death.

News Reports

• Iraqis Divided Over Timing of US Troop Withdrawal VOA 21 Nov 2005 -- Iraqi delegates attending an Arab League-sponsored reconciliation conference in Cairo say they have agreed to reconvene in late February or early March to decide on a timetable for the withdrawal of coalition troops from Iraq.
• Dutchman Goes On Trial For Supplying Hussein With Chemicals RFE/RL 21 Nov 2005 -- The trial of a Dutch businessperson accused of complicity in war crimes and genocide for selling chemicals to former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's regime opened today in the Netherlands.
• SYRIA: Palestinians from Iraq seek shelter in Syria IRIN 21 Nov 2005 -- A group of Palestinian refugees from Iraq have been allowed into Syria, settling in shelters at a UN refugee camp after having been stranded on the border for over a month, the UNHCR in Damascus confirmed on Sunday.