TOP STORIES
Growing Problem For Military Recruiters: Parents
[New York Times, June 3, 2005, Pg. 1]
Parents have become hard-core opponents of military recruiting efforts.
Mothers and fathers around the country say they are terrified that their
children would have to kill---or be killed--- in a war that many see as
unnecessary and without end.
Georgia Unit Hit In Iraq Blast
Casualties in rocket attack
[Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 3, 2005, Pg. 1]
One soldier was killed and 16 wounded---including five from Georgia's
48th Brigade Combat Team---in a rocket attack at the Baghdad airport.
Iraq Puts Civilian Toll At 12,000
Insurgency Claiming About 20 People a Day
[Washington Post, June 3, 2005, Pg. 1]
Insurgent violence has claimed the lives of 12,000 Iraqis in the past
18 months, according to Interior Minister Bayan Jabr. His statement put
the first official count on the latest category of victims from bombings,
ambushes and other increasingly deadly attacks in Iraq.
Thousands Of Stolen Iraqi Artifacts Found
Museum credits U.S.
[Washington Times, June 3, 2005, Pg. 1]
About half of the 15,000 items looted from Iraq's National Museum
in 2003 have been recovered. Museum director Donny George thanked Americans
for assistance in restoring the building and reclaiming some of Iraq's
stolen artifacts.
Honor Thy Koran
Guantanamo prison commander frustrated by critical accounts
[Washington Times, June 3, 2005, Pg. 1]
Army Brig. Gen. Jay Hood, the senior commander at Guantanamo Bay, is frustrated
by journalists and human rights groups that unfairly portray the military's
handling of terror suspects at the detention center. He is also "terribly
disappointed" by the "absurd" allegations contained
in last week's Amnesty International report that called Guantanamo
the "gulag of our times."
Syria Test-Fires 3 Scud Missiles, Israelis Say
[New York Times, June 3, 2005]
Syria test-fired three Scud missiles last Friday, including one that broke
up over Turkish territory and showered missile parts down onto unsuspecting
Turkish farmers.
RUMSFELD TRIP
Meeting To Focus On North Korea
Defense Ministers to Urge U.S. to Address Security In Asia-Pacific Region
[Wall Street Journal, June 3, 2005]
Asia-Pacific defense ministers meeting this weekend in Singapore are expected
to tell Secretary Rumsfeld that Washington must focus more attention and
resources on a deteriorating security situation in North Korea.
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Pentagon Finishes Report On Buying Practices
[New York Times, June 3, 2005]
The Pentagon has finished a major investigative report into buying practices
by the Air Force and into a $23 billion deal with Boeing that collapsed
amid a procurement scandal. The 256-page report has yet to be released.
It goes beyond looking into the activities of convicted former acquisitions
officer Darleen Druyun and examines the actions of a broader array of
Air Force and Pentagon officials responsible for oversight of Air Force
acquisition policy.
Ex-Pentagon Arms Buyer Rejects Boeing Tanker Blame
[Reuters.com, June 3, 2005]
Former Air Force top weapons buyer Marvin Sambur denounced as counterproductive
a Pentagon report that assigns blame for a doomed $23.5 billion plan to
lease Boeing aircraft as refueling tankers. Sambur, who retired in January
as a casualty of the tanker fiasco, is criticized in the report.
The Lineup Limbo At The Pentagon
With No Department Deputy, Rumsfeld's Absence Warranted Executive
Action.
[Philadelphia Inquirer, June 3, 2005]
With Secretary Rumsfeld currently traveling to Asia/Pacific destination,
who is in line to run the Pentagon while he is gone? There is no deputy
defense secretary, and Navy Secretary Gordon England, by law, cannot assume
that post temporarily because he has an active position. President Bush
issued an executive order that altered the line of succession and allowed
England to act at deputy secretary while Rumsfeld travels.
Pentagon Chief Orders Staff To Give Allies Better Access To Classified
Data
[London Financial Times, June 3, 2005]
Pentagon intelligence chief Stephen Cambone has ordered all U.S. military
officials to be more forthcoming in sharing classified information with
allies. He said overly restrictive caveats on intelligence reports have
hindered U.S. efforts to work with coalition partners.
New Pentagon Acquisition Chief To Be Sworn In
[DefenseNews.com, June 2, 2005]
Kenneth Kreig has been approved by the Senate and could be sworn in as
the Pentagon's new acquisition chief by Friday, June 3.
Wreath For Those Killed, Even At Their Own Hands
[New York Times, June 3, 2005]
Pentagon records show that 40 soldiers in Iraq and seven in Afghanistan
killed themselves, while 21 Marines committed suicide either in the region
or while on active duty in the U.S. Those numbers don't include
suicides after discharge, which veterans' advocates say number more
than 30. On Memorial Day, the mother of one of those suicides laid a wreath
honoring her son at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery---a
rare and public tribute to a soldier who took his own life.
DoD Assumes Responsibility For Releasing Recruiting Stats
Individual services no longer authorized to announce numbers at beginning
of the month
[ArmyTimes.com, June 1, 2005]
Army and Marine Corps recruiting numbers will not longer be announced
at the beginning of each month. All four services will now have their
recruitment numbers released in one consolidated monthly report. June
10 is the scheduled date for releasing the most current enlistment figures.
Military Targets NASCAR Fans
[Long Island Newsday, June 2, 2005]
NASCAR fans are seen as a "target market" by military recruiting
officials. The Air Force, Navy, Marines and Army all sponsor either Nextel
Cup or Busch racing teams, ditto for the Coast Guard and Army National
Guard.
FBI Tapped Talks About Possible Secrets
Case Against Ex-AIPAC Officials Could Focus on Several Contacts With Defense
Analyst
[Washington Post, June 3, 2005, Pg. 7]
The FBI recorded a conversation between a DoD analyst and a senior official
from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee when the analyst warned
that Iranian agents were planning attacks against U.S. troops and Israeli
agents in Iraq. AIPAC officials were unaware that the FBI was recording
the conversation, and did not know that the analyst was cooperating in
an investigation into whether classified U.S. information was being passed
on to Israeli government.
IRAQ
Guerrilla Violence At Feverish Pace As Attacks Kill 34 Iraqis
In the worst assaults, 12 are slain by a suicide bomber in the north and
a convoy opens fire on Baghdad shoppers, taking nine lives.
[Los Angeles Times, June 3, 2005]
Thursday's spree of attacks by insurgents in Iraq killed at least
34 Iraqis. Saboteurs also blew up a key stretch of the pipeline in the
north, hampering Iraq's efforts to resume full-scale oil production.
Insurgents Kill More Than 30 In Wave Of Attacks
General expects pace of violence to slacken soon
[USA Today, June 2, 2005, Pg. 7]
Attacks and suicide bombings across Iraq killed more than 30 people Thursday.
Maj. Gen. Joseph Taluto, commander of the 42nd Infantry Division, headquartered
in Tikrit, expects the intense pace of attacks will diminish soon.
Iraqi Official Appeals For Greater U.S. Role
[Washington Post, June 3, 2005, Pg. 19]
Iraq's new government wants the Bush administration to take a much
more assertive role to help prevent the breakdown of the government's
trouble transition and a potential civil war. Foreign Minister Hoshyar
Zebari met with Vice President Cheney and Secretary of State Rice on Wednesday.
He requested greater U.S. and coalition help in crafting a new constitution
that is schedule to be completed in less than three months.
Potential Arms Material Missing In Iraq, U.N. Says
[Los Angeles Times, June 3, 2005]
U.N. satellite photos indicate that material which could be used to make
bio-chem weapons and banned long-range missiles has been removed from
109 sites in Iraq. A report to the Security Council doesn't say
who was responsible for the materials' removal, nor does it identify
where they went.
Friend-Or-Foe Frustration
Attacks leave U.S. troops with little choice but to suspect everyone
[San Francisco Chronicle, June 2, 2005, Pg. 1]
U.S. troops daily face elusive Iraqi insurgents who launch hit-and-run
attacks on coalition forces. That doesn't keep soldiers from passing
out crayons, notepads and toothpaste to Iraqi children on the streets.
But they remain on guard, not sure who might be faking friendly to gain
some deadly advantage.
Bosnia's First Unified Army Platoon Deployed To Iraq
Unit brings together factions once at war
[San Diego Union-Tribune, June 2, 2005]
Serbs, Croats and Muslims who last month completed training for the first
army unit bringing together Bosnia's warring factions of 10 years
ago are deploying to Iraq. Thirty six volunteers, including one woman,
have been trained to destroy unexploded ordnance and ammunition in a mission
expected to last two turns of six months.
IRAQ---ABU GHRAIB
Two Army Dog Handlers Charged In Abuse Scandal
Soldiers say they were following orders and deny using the animals in
a game to scare Abu Ghraib prisoners into soiling themselves.
[Los Angeles Times, June 3, 2005]
Two military dog handlers face criminal charges stemming from their alleged
roles at Abu Ghraib prison. The men are charged with "intentionally"
scaring inmates with their dogs.
Army Ordered To Release Images >From Abu Ghraib
[Washington Post, June 3, 2005, Pg. 24]
A judge ordered the government to release four videos from Abu Ghraib
prison and dozens of photos from the same collection of pictures that
touched off the prison-abuse scandal.
BASE REALIGNMENT AND CLOSURE
Officials Fear For Security Of Base Data
[Washington Times, June 3, 2005, Pg. 3]
Pentagon officials sent Congress an unprecedented classified database
on every military base worldwide that could become a handbook for future
attacks if it fell into the hands of al Qaeda or other terrorist groups.
Some national security officials are uneasy about congressional access
to so much information.
Fort Meade May Gain Up To 10,000 New Jobs
[Baltimore Sun, June 3, 2005]
Maryland officials anticipate that upwards of 10,000 new jobs will open
up at Fort Meade within seven years as the military consolidates and the
ranks of the super-secret National Security Agency are boosted.
Portsmouth Base Would Shut By '08, Report Says
[Boston Globe, June 3, 2005]
The Pentagon's base closing recommendations would have the Portsmouth
Naval Shipyard closed by 2008, far sooner than previously thought.
Thune And Fellow Lawmakers Try To Slow, Terminate BRAC Round
[Inside The Air Force, June 3, 2005, Pg. 1]
Sen. John Thune, in an effort to save South Dakota's Ellsworth AFB,
is pushing several pieces of legislation that would delay DoD's
entire 2005 base realignment and closure round. One measure would cancel
the process entirely if the Pentagon does not submit to Congress all documentation
related to its closure recommendations.
Subpoena Likely As Senators Seek Base-Closing Documents
[CQ Today, CQ.com, June 2, 2005]
The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs is close
to presenting the Pentagon with a subpoena to obtain materials that explain
Secretary Rumsfeld's plans to close or reorganize numerous military
bases.
ARMY
To Fill Ranks, Army Acts To Retain Even Problem Enlistees
[Wall Street Journal, June 3, 2005, Pg. B1]
The Army has struggled to keep enlistment numbers from dropping off the
chart. Now it is fighting to keep the new GIs it brought into the force.
More of the new enlistees are washing out of the Army before completing
their first enlistment. The Army is responding by issuing new rules meant
to make it more difficult to summarily discharge a soldier for poor fitness,
pregnancy, alcohol and drug abuse or generally unsatisfactory performance.
MARINE CORPS
North Carolina: Officer To Resign
[New York Times, June 3, 2005]
Marine 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano is resigning his commission. He was cleared
last month of murder after a review of records by a division commander
said Pantano acted in self-defense when he killed two Iraqi insurgent
suspects.
NAVY
Pilots, Book Blamed In Jet Crash
A Navy report blamed a new Blue Angels pilot, his instructor and an outdated
manual for a December crash. The pilot was rescued in good condition.
[Miami Herald, June 3, 2005]
Two Blue Angels pilots and an outdated flight manual are blamed for the
crash of one of the flying unit's $18 million F/A-18 Hornet jets.
AIR FORCE
Officers Acquit Air Force Cadet Of Rape Charge
[Los Angeles Times, June 3, 2005]
Air Force Academy senior cadet Benjamin Kuster was cleared of rape charges
relating to an incident that occurred during a scuba-diving-club trip
to New Mexico in 2004. Now an Air Force 2nd Lieutenant, Kuster was convicted
of an indecent act. That could get him five years in prison and dismissal
from the service.
NATIONAL GUARD/RESERVE
Health Scare For Military Families
Repayment rate of the Tricare plan limits their choices
[Houston Chronicle, June 3, 2005]
Thousands of reservists and National Guard members have been called to
active duty, leaving their families concerned that the military's
Tricare health plan doesn't pay enough to attract local physicians
into the system.
Officer Can Stay In Military
[Dayton Daily News, June 2, 2005]
Maj. Catherine Kaus, the former Ohio Army Reserve commander who served
a six-month confinement after members of her unit salvaged parts of abandoned
Army vehicles in Kuwait to help carry out its mission in Iraq, will not
be dismissed from the military.
Finding Work Hard For Troops Back From War
[New York Times on the Web, June 3, 2005]
Some veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are having trouble finding
work. Many employers take pride in hiring veterans and make up any pay
an employee lost while on active duty. Others are reluctant to hire reservists
and National Guard troops who might be called up again.
NORTH KOREA
N. Korea Cancels Search For Missing American MIAs
U.S. suspended effort last month amid dispute over nuclear programs
[USA Today, June 2, 2005, pg. 13]
North Korea is ending a decade-old program that searches for and recovers
the remains of Americans still missing from the Korean War.
North Korea Denounces The U.S. And Calls Cheney ‘Bloodthirsty'
[New York Times, June 3, 2005]
North Korea leveled a series of verbal attacks against the U.S., including
one that called Vice President Cheney a "bloodthirsty beast."
N.K. Hacking Ability Matches That Of CIA, Analyst Says
[Korea Herald, June 3, 2005]
North Korea has hundreds of well-trained cyber soldiers and its intelligence
wartime capabilities are thought to have reached the level of the CIA,
according to a South Korean arms expert. Pyongyang uses its specially
trained hackers to gather military information from South Korea, the U.S.
and others and erode the online defense command network.
AFGHANISTAN
Amnesty Offers Taliban Chance To Come Home
A former top official grew weary of hiding in Pakistan. The government
hopes others will join him and deplete the rebel ranks.
[Los Angeles Times, June 3, 2005]
Habib Rahman was a key Taliban figure who fled into the Pakistan mountains
to escape capture or death. He is now a key figure in the Afghanistan
government's plan to offer amnesty to Taliban members, in hopes
that they will return home in peace.
Attack Jeopardizes Aid
[Fayette Observer, June 2, 2005]
U.S. troops operating in the province of Khost, in Afghanistan, are angry
because after they treated 250 Afghanis for various medical problems,
the local leaders won't tell them who mounted an attack that injured
three American troops.
ASIA/PACIFIC
Japan, U.S. Plan Missile Interception Test
[Korea Times, June 3, 2005]
America and Japan plan to carry out a missile interception test for a
jointly developed sea-based system in Hawaii next March.
U.S. Citizens In Jakarta Warned Of Bomb Plots
[Los Angeles Times, June 3, 2005]
U.S. citizens have been warned by the embassy in Jakarta that terrorists
plan to bomb hotels in the Indonesian capital.
RUSSIA
Russia Issues Warning On Space-Based Weapons
Defense official's remarks believed aimed at the U.S.
[Baltimore Sun, June 3, 2005]
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov threatened retaliatory steps should
any country put weapons on space and said Moscow won't negotiate
controls over nuclear arms with nations that deploy them abroad.
U.S., Russian Troops Become Fast Comrades
[European Stars and Stripes, June 3, 2005]
Russian and American troops took part in a historic training program at
the Grafenwohr training area in Germany. U.S. troops showed their Russian
counterparts how to drive and fire American tanks.
AFRICA
Jones: Rwanda Could Get Airlift, Peacekeeping Help
[AirForceTimes.com, June 2, 2005]
Marine Gen. James L. Jones, Supreme Commander of NATO, discussed with
Rwandan officials about plans to airlift peacekeepers from the small central
African country to Sudan's western Darfur region, scene of one of
the world's worst humanitarian crises.
NATO
NATO Give Palestinians Observer Status
[Jerusalem Post, June 3, 2005]
NATO is giving the Palestinians observer status. Israeli officials reacted
coolly to that information.
Solutions Sought For War-Torn Nations
[Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, June 3, 2005]
NATO officials are meeting in Norfolk to seek solutions to problems faced
by nations that have been shattered by war.
INTELLIGENCE
Counterterrorism Center Awaits Presidential Action
Director and Chain of Command Are Needed by June 17]
[Washington Post, June 3, 2005, Pg. 21]
The National Counterterrorism Center is waiting for President Bush to
name a director and settle whether that person will report directly to
the president of go through Director of National Intelligence John D.
Negroponte.
OPINION
The Sobering Reality Of The Iraq War
Suicide bombings have gained adherents not because so many fanatics are
looking for an excuse to throw their lives away, but because they work.
Steve Chapman
[Chicago Tribune, June 2, 2005]
White House wishful thinking would have us believe things are going well
in Iraq. We are not seeing major progress and aren't likely to anytime
soon, if ever. We are fighting a new kind of war our leaders don't
understand, and continue to say is the last ditch effort by fanatical
thugs intent on achieving holy favor. Suicide bombers are a very real
danger because they have been successful in killing people. Our continued
stay in Iraq will only make the matter worse.
We Need To Talk To North Korea
Susan E. Rice
[Washington Post, June 3, 2005, Pg. 23]
North Korea's growing nuclear arsenal poses a real threat to the
U.S. We have three options to use against that threat---Strike North Korea's
nuclear facilities or use force to change the regime; we could accept
a nuclear North Korea, even though Kim Jong Il could still try to sell
fissile material to other countries; we could pursue intensive bilateral
negotiations within the framework of the Chinese-led six-party talks.
Time is not on our side. Talks must begin soon if we are to eliminate
North Korea's nuclear program. Continued White House refusals to
try would waster our "last best chance" to salvage a nightmarish
policy failure.
Immaculate Destruction
Frances Fitzgerald
[New York Times, June 3, 2005]
The Air Force has been pressing the White House for a new national security
directive that would permit deploying space weaponry. The record of the
last century suggests that, like long-range bombers and aircraft carriers,
killer satellites won't save the U.S. from the messy realities of
international engagement.
An Ally Worth The Trouble
David Ignatius
[Washington Post, June 3, 2005, Pg. 23]
Democratic reforms have produced a Turkey that engages in noisy and nasty
public debate about various issues, including the country's relationship
with America. Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, visits
Washington next week to meet with President Bush. This affords us the
chance to repair some of the damage done in recent years by differences
created by the in Iraq, which have badly frayed the once solid U.S./Turkey
relationship.
Gitmo Grovel: Enough Already
Charles Krauthammer
[Washington Post, June 3, 2005, Pg. 23]
Reports of prisoner abuse at Guantanamo Bay have created a full-scale
panic. The U.S. is being urged to shut down the place, which is a terrible
idea. Shutting down Guantanamo won't solve a thing. We are still
going to capture more terrorists, and they will need to be interrogated.
Where should that occur but at a place like Guantanamo? Our self-flagellation
on this issue has continued for far too long.
Source: Defense News
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