Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

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

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 05 Dec 2005 [PDF]
• TASK FORCE BAGHDAD SOLDIER KILLED
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Marine Casualty

• Task Force Baghdad Soldiers find two weapons caches MNF-I 05 Dec 2005 -- Soldiers from 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division discovered two significant weapons caches Dec. 2, adding them to the growing list of terrorist stockpiles they've found in south Baghdad.
• Citizen's tip yields weapons cache, two terror suspects MNF-I 05 Dec 2005 -- A tip from a local citizen resulted in the capture of two terror suspects and the discovery of a large weapons cache in western Rashid Dec. 3.
• U.S. Army officials meet with local sheiks MNF-I 05 Dec 2005 -- Task Force Baghdad officials met with local sheiks Nov. 28 to discuss developments in south Baghdad.
• 24 terror suspects taken off streets of Baghdad MNF-I 05 Dec 2005 -- Launching operations based on tips from Iraqi citizens and intelligence developed over time, Task Force Baghdad Soldiers captured 24 terror suspects in the Al Rasheed district during a 12-hour period Dec. 3-4.
• Operation Rams kicks off in Ramadi MNF-I 05 Dec 2005 -- Approximately 100 Iraqi Army Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Division and 400 Soldiers from the 2/28 Brigade Combat Team, launched Operation Rams (Tallie) in Ramadi Dec. 4.
• CENTAF releases airpower summary AFPN 05 Dec 2005 -- U.S. Central Command Air Forces officials released today's airpower summary.
• Red Horse builds it all at Q-West AFPN 05 Dec 2005 -- The sounds of hammers smashing nails and the buzzing of saws cutting wood, typically resonate through this forward Army outpost -- simply knows as Q-West.
• Roadside Bomb Kills Soldier; Ops Nab Fighters, Weapons AFPS 05 Dec 2005 -- A Task Force Baghdad soldier was killed Dec. 4 when his patrol struck an improvised explosive device in eastern Baghdad, officials reported today.
• 52 suspected terrorists snared; Kirkuk cache demolished Army News 05 Dec 2005 -- Iraqi and U.S. forces captured more than 50 suspected terrorists in operations in northern and central Iraq Dec. 1, 2.
• Weapons seized in cache discoveries MNF-I 05 Dec 2005 -- Five weapons caches were discovered over the weekend by Iraqi and U.S. troops throughout north-central Iraq.
• IEDs discovered, five suspects detained MNF-I 05 Dec 2005 -- Five suspected terrorists were detained Dec. 4 after Iraqi Police and U.S. troops found an IED near Bayji and a cache of IEDs near Kirkuk.
• Operation Rams continues MNF-I 05 Dec 2005 -- Approximately 100 Iraqi Army Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Division and 400 Soldiers from the 2/28 Brigade Combat Team, continued Operation Rams (Tallie) in Ramadi today.

Deployments

• Japan Expected to Heed Iraqi Plea to Keep Troops in Samawah VOA 05 Dec 2005 -- Japan is expected to heed a plea by the Iraqi prime minister, currently on a visit to Tokyo, to extend the country's deployment of non-combat troops in southern Iraq.

US Policy

• Transcript: Secretary Rumsfeld's Remarks to the John Hopkins, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies 05 Dec 2005 -- Presenter: Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld
• Rumsfeld: Quitting Is No Option in Iraq AFPS 05 Dec 2005 -- Quitting in Iraq before the mission is finished would be an invitation to more terrorist violence against the United States, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said today.
• U.S.: Rumsfeld Says Media Too Negative About Iraq RFE/RL 05 Dec 2005 -- The latest problem in Iraq to trouble the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush is news that a private Pentagon contractor paid to plant favorable stories about the U.S. mission with Iraqi journalists and newspapers

• Corps of Engineers Restructures Contracting Support in Iraq AFPS 05 Dec 2005 -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has changed the way it administers contracts for rebuilding Iraq, officials said.

United Nations

• Top UN Elections Official Faces Dismissal; US Criticizes Timing VOA 05 Dec 2005 -- The head of the United Nations Elections agency is being fired 10 days before crucial elections that her office is overseeing in Iraq.

Reconstruction Issues

• Court Hears Testimony of Massacre as Saddam Trial Resumes VOA 05 Dec 2005 -- An angry and defiant Saddam Hussein appeared in court in Baghdad Monday, proclaiming his innocence and daring the judges to sentence him to death.
• Saddam Trial Continues Despite Courtroom Drama AFPS 05 Dec 2005 -- Despite reported histrionics displayed today by Saddam Hussein and others during his court appearance in Baghdad, the trial goes on.
• First Witness Testifies at Saddam Hussein Trial VOA 05 Dec 2005 -- At the trial of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad Monday, the former Iraqi dictator told the court he is not afraid of execution and warned the chief judge he would be held accountable for the proceedings if they resumed.
• Hussein Trial Resumes After Lawyer Walkout RFE/RL 05 Dec 2005 -- The trial in Baghdad of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein resumed today after a 90-minute recess caused when defense lawyers staged a walkout.
• Iraq: Hussein Lawyers Contest Tribunal's Legitimacy RFE/RL 05 Dec 2005 -- Defense attorneys for deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein briefly walked out of the courtroom during an unruly session on 5 December.
• First Witness Testifies at Saddam Trial VOA 05 Dec 2005 -- The first witness to appear in person at the trial of Saddam Hussein has given graphic testimony about the 1982 killing of more than 140 people in a mainly Shi'ite town.
• Saddam Trial Resumes, Clark Questions Iraqi Court's Legitimacy VOA 05 Dec 2005 -- The trial of ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has resumed in Baghdad after a brief recess prompted by a dispute with defense lawyers.

• Fallujah's electric network to be upgraded Army News 05 Dec 2005 -- Fallujah's electric network is undergoing a huge upgrade.

Foreign Reactions

• U.S. Chemical Warfare Denounced KCNA 05 Dec 2005 -- It is the aggressive nature and brutality of the U.S. imperialists that remains unchanged though century and the times have changed. The U.S. imperialists' loudmouthed "peace" and "anti-terrorism" seek dangerous plots for aggression and their nuclear and biological and chemical weapons are gravely threatening the existence of humankind.

News Reports

• Former Iraqi PM Dies In U.S. Custody RFE/RL 05 Dec 2005 -- Former Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Hamzah al-Zubaydi, once one of Saddam Hussein's most senior deputies in the early 1990s, has died in U.S. detention.

• Iraqis Foil Attempt to Bomb Saddam Trial VOA 05 Dec 2005 -- Iraqi authorities say they have foiled an insurgent plot to bomb the trial of Saddam Hussein, which resumes in Baghdad Monday.
• Gunmen Kidnap a French Engineer in Baghdad VOA 05 Dec 2005 -- Iraqi police say gunmen have abducted a French engineer working at a water plant in Baghdad.

• Iraq: Do U.S. Troops Encourage Iraq's Insurgency? RFE/RL 05 Dec 2005 -- U.S. President George W. Bush has said that the United States will not set even a provisional timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. forces until the Iraqis forces are properly trained and capable of ensuring security.

• RFE/RL Iraq Report, Volume 8, Number 41 05 Dec 2005 -- IRAQ'S KURDS CLAIM THEIR RIGHT TO OIL / NEW SURGE OF KIDNAPPINGS TARGET WESTERNERS / HAMAD TRIES TO BREAK THE CYCLE OF SECTARIAN POLITICS