Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

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

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 26 Jun 2006 [PDF]
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualties
• CENTAF releases combined airpower summary AFPN 26 Jun 2006 -- U.S. Central Command Air Forces officials have released the airpower summary for June 24 to 26.
• JFCOM Prepares U.S., Coalition Forces for Iraq Deployment AFPS 26 Jun 2006 -- U.S. Joint Forces Command yesterday concluded a week-long mission rehearsal exercise here, designed to help prepare the 21,000 U.S. servicemembers scheduled for rotational deployment to Iraq later this year meet their upcoming mission.

Deployments

US Policy

• White House Confirms Iraq Troop Reduction Plan VOA 26 Jun 2006 -- The White House has confirmed a plan to reduce troop numbers in Iraq, but said it is one of several options being considered by military officials.
• Bush Says Withdrawal From Iraq to Be Conditions Based VOA 26 Jun 2006 -- The White House says a plan for a major U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq has been drafted by top commanders, but emphasizes it is one of several options under consideration.
• Commander Stresses Non-Lethal Targeting in Eastern Baghdad AFPS 26 Jun 2006 -- As the nature of the war on terror in Iraq has changed, so have the targets sought by coalition and Iraqi forces.

United Nations

• Iraq: UN pledges support for Prime Minister's national reconciliation plan UN News Centre 26 Jun 2006 -- The senior United Nations envoy in Iraq today pledged the world body's support for Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki's wide-ranging initiative to seek national reconciliation in the war-torn and faction-ridden country.

Reconstruction Issues

• IRAQ: Observers greet PM's reconciliation plan with cautious optimism IRIN 26 Jun 2006 -- A national reconciliation plan proposed on Sunday by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki represents a positive step towards ending sectarian violence, according to experts.
• IRAQ: Large-scale oil smuggling operations lead to reconstruction delays IRIN 26 Jun 2006 -- The smuggling of petroleum products from the port city of Basra - some 560km south of the capital, Baghdad - to neighbouring countries has led to the delay of a number of Iraqi development projects, said one high-level petroleum official.
• Iraqi Minister Says Oil Production Increased VOA 26 Jun 2006 -- Iraq's new oil minister says the country's oil production has reached two-and-a-half million barrels a day.

Foreign Reactions

• Russia Confirms Deaths Of Hostages In Iraq RFE/RL 26 Jun 2006 -- The Russian Foreign Ministry today confirmed the deaths of four employees of its embassy in Iraq.
• Russia admits captured diplomats in Iraq likely dead RIA Novosti 26 Jun 2006 -- Russia's Foreign Ministry said that four diplomats captured earlier this month in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, had likely been executed.
• MP calls for anti-terror rethink after diplomats' murder in Iraq RIA Novosti 26 Jun 2006 -- Russia should reconsider forms of cooperation in the global war on terrorism following the kidnapping and murder of Russian diplomats in Iraq, a high-profile lawmaker said Monday.
• Arab League Welcomes Iraq Reconciliation Plan RFE/RL 26 Jun 2006 -- The secretary-general of the Arab League has welcomed an Iraqi government's national reconciliation plan, which is aimed at curbing violence in Iraq.
• Russia Doubts Claims That Diplomats Executed RFE/RL 26 Jun 2006 -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says he is not certain of the authenticity of video footage purportedly showing the execution of Russian Embassy workers abducted in Iraq.
• Russia says no info on killing of abducted diplomats in Iraq RIA Novosti 26 Jun 2006 -- Russia has not received any information confirming the murder of four diplomats kidnapped on June 3 in Iraq, a deputy foreign minister said Monday.
• Russia Cannot Confirm Hostage Killings in Iraq VOA 26 Jun 2006 -- Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says it is not 100 percent clear that Russian embassy workers taken hostage in Iraq have been killed.

News Reports

• Marketplace Bomb Blasts Kill At Least 22 in Iraq VOA 26 Jun 2006 -- Iraqi police say at least 22 people were killed and many injured Monday as two separate bomb attacks tore through crowded markets near Baghdad.
• Analysis: Talk of Amnesty and Some Withdrawals in Iraq cfr.org 26 Jun 2006 -- A vaguely worded reconciliation plan for Iraqi insurgents has left some U.S. lawmakers puzzled and angry. "Unconscionable," fumed Senator Carl Levin (D-MI).