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A Monday through Friday feature of The Mudville Gazette, the Morning Briefing is the same roundup of world-wide news stories previously only available to military members and DoD personel.
TOP STORIES
1. U.S. Vows To Find Civilians' Killers
(Washington Post)...Sewell Chan and Karl Vick
U.S. officials vowed Thursday to hunt down those responsible for the killing and mutilation of four American civilians in western Iraq and acknowledged that ordinary Iraqis, not just religious extremists, are behind some of the violence against the American-led occupation.
2. U.S. Vows To Find Killers
(Los Angeles Times)...Edmund Sanders and Tony Perry
...Military officials said they planned to move cautiously, keeping troops on the outskirts of the city for now and warning foreigners to stay out. The aim, they said, is to take control of the community and find the men who killed the contractors and mutilated their remains. "We are not going to do a pell-mell rush into the city," said Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, senior military spokesman in Iraq. "It's going to be deliberate. It will be precise, and it will be overwhelming. We will reestablish control of that city, and we will pacify that city."
NA
3. Race to Get Lights On In Iraq Shows Perils Of Reconstruction
(Wall Street Journal)...Neil King Jr.
...In September, the U.S. sent in Col. Semonite of the Army Corps of Engineers to oversee three additional U.S. contractors armed with almost unlimited muscle and wads of cash -- mostly from Iraqi oil revenue. The group has since installed hundreds of megawatts of new power generation, erected 692 huge transmission towers and strung thousands of miles of high-voltage cable. The Corps' success on the electricity push is one reason the U.S. military, instead of the Agency for International Development, will now guide most of the $14 billion in additional rebuilding work slated for Iraq this year. But that success has come at a high price. Attacks so far have killed 27 of the Army Corps' subcontractors and security guards, most in roadside ambushes similar to the one that killed the four American security guards in Fallujah on Wednesday.
4. Private U.S. Guards Take Big Risks For Right Price
(New York Times)...James Dao
...The proliferation of ethnic conflicts and civil wars in places like the Balkans, Haiti and Liberia provided employment for the personnel of many new companies. Business grew rapidly after the Sept. 11 attacks prompted corporate executives and government officials to bolster their security overseas. But it was the occupation of Iraq that brought explosive growth to the young industry, security experts said. There are now dozens, perhaps hundreds of private military concerns around the world. As many as two dozen companies, employing as many as 15,000 people, are working in Iraq.
5. Army Divisions Hit Re-Up Targets
(Washington Times)...Rowan Scarborough
Army divisions that fought the past 12 months in Iraq have met virtually every re-enlistment goal, a sign that the all-volunteer force remains strong under the stress of frequent deployments and hazardous duty.
6. Bush Aides Block Clinton’s Papers From 9/11 Panel
(New York Times)...Philip Shenon and David E. Sanger
The commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks said on Thursday that it was pressing the White House to explain why the Bush administration had blocked thousands of pages of classified foreign policy and counterterrorism documents from former President Bill Clinton's White House files from being turned over to the panel's investigators.
IRAQ
7. Favored By Saddam, Fallujah Seething Since His Fall
(USA Today)...Steven Komarow
Fallujah is a hardscrabble town where the U.S. occupation started badly and never recovered.
8. Mix Of Pride And Shame Follows Killings And Mutilation By Iraqis
(New York Times)...Jeffrey Gettleman
As the rage cooled in Falluja on Thursday and the burned and beaten bodies of four American civilians were wrapped in white cloth, many townspeople said they were torn between pride in the attack and shame over the mutilations.
9. Commander Calls Fallujah Most Difficult Area
(St. Louis Post-Dispatch)...Ron Harris
It is easily the most dangerous region in Iraq. Scores of Iraqis and U.S. servicemen and women have died in and around this city of about 250,000, located just 30 miles west of Baghdad, since President George W. Bush declared the end of major hostilities in May.
10. To Iraqi Press, Killing Of Americans Was Not Biggest News Of The Day
(New York Times)...Christine Hauser
The gruesome killing of four Americans in Falluja on Wednesday was almost automatically the lead article in newspapers across the United States on Thursday, but not in four of the leading papers in Iraq.
11. As Iraq Handover Looms, Transition Questions Remain
(Christian Science Monitor)...Dan Murphy and Howard LaFranchi
With Iraq hurtling towards sovereignty, US administrator Paul Bremer is running out of time.
12. Violence Likely To Rise As Iraq Turnover Nears
(Washington Times)...Sharon Behn
The savage attack on U.S. civilians in the city of Fallujah is a sign of the violence to come in the countdown to the June 30 turnover of sovereignty to Iraqis, security experts said yesterday.
13. U.N. Mission To Address Turnover
(Washington Times)...Betsy Pisik
A U.N. political mission will arrive in Baghdad soon for a listening, and perhaps prodding, tour of Iraqi leaders who, just 90 days before the return of sovereignty, still do not agree on how an interim government will be selected.
14. Powell Sees New U.N. Resolution On Role In Iraq
(Los Angeles Times)...Times Staff and Wire Reports
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell added momentum Thursday to the drive for a new U.N. Security Council statement on Iraq, telling Germany's ZDF television, "I think there will be a new resolution."
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
15. Southcom Consolidation Idea Is Not Well-Received
(Miami Herald)...Frank Davies
Top Pentagon officials are studying a plan to combine the U.S. Southern Command, based in Miami, with the Northern Command, created in 2002 to defend the U.S. homeland from terrorist attacks.
NA
16. Rumsfeld Promises No Action On Tankers Until After Independent Study
(Defense Daily)...Sharon Weinberger
Even with the preliminary results of an Inspector General report now out, Rumsfeld in a recent letter promised Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) that no action would be taken on Air Force tankers until after an independent study is completed by the Pentagon’s outside advisory body, the Defense Science Board.
NA
17. Forces Need Improved Intelligence, More UAVs, Commanders Say
(Aerospace Daily)...Brett Davis
Military forces overseas need more unmanned aerial vehicles and improved intelligence-gathering technology, regional commanders told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee April 1.
18. Pentagon Wants To Hear From All Corners About New Pay System
(Washington Post)...Stephen Barr
In the next few weeks, Pentagon officials hope to set up a process that will reach out to Defense Department managers, employees, unions and others for advice and ideas on how to design a new civilian pay and personnel system.
19. Pentagon Making Case For New Nukes
(UPI.com)...Pamela Hess, United Press International
A panel of independent advisers is counseling the Pentagon to develop smaller, specialized nuclear weapons using money saved from cutting back on the number of older nuclear warheads and their attendant maintenance costs.
20. Corrections
(Washington Post)...Unattributed
An April 1 article incorrectly stated that March was the second-deadliest month for the U.S. military since the start of the Iraq war. It was the second-deadliest month since May 1, when President Bush declared the end of major combat
WHITE HOUSE
NA
21. Rice Is To Testify To The 9/11 Panel Next Thursday
(Wall Street Journal)...Scot J. Paltrow
The 9/11 Commission reserved Thursday as the day for National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice to testify publicly under oath, with much at stake politically for the Bush administration.
22. After 2 Months, Bush's Iraq Panel Starts To Stir
(New York Times)...Douglas Jehl
Nearly two months after President Bush named a bipartisan commission to look into intelligence failures on Iraq and weapons proliferation, the panel is only now beginning its work, a spokesman for the group said Thursday.
NA
23. Bush To Attend AFA Graduation In June
(Denver Post)...Unattributed
President Bush has chosen the Air Force Academy for his annual service-academy commencement address, on June 2. The motto of this year's graduating class: "Parati ad Bellum" - "Ready for war."
CONGRESS
24. Legislators Seek U.S. Intelligence Director
(Washington Post)...Walter Pincus
The Democratic members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence yesterday recommended establishment of a director of national intelligence who would have both budgetary and operational control over the CIA and the much larger collection of Pentagon and other agencies that collect and analyze intelligence.
TERRORISM
25. Untested Islamic Militants Emerging, U.S. Official Says
(Washington Post)...Robin Wright
A new cadre of untested Islamic militants is emerging to take the place of leaders in Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network, which is now under "catastrophic stress" as a result of international operations over the past 30 months, the senior State Department counterterrorism official told a House International Relations subcommittee yesterday.
26. Squeeze On Osama
(New York Daily News)...James Gordon Meek
Osama Bin Laden is so hounded by U.S. forces that he no longer controls Al Qaeda, a top American counterterrorism official said yesterday.
AFGHANISTAN
27. U.S. Officials Call For More Efforts To Curb Afghan Opium
(Los Angeles Times)...Sonni Efron
Afghanistan's opium poppy cultivation has soared, and this year's harvest could be twice as large as last year's near-record crop unless eradication efforts are stepped up immediately, a State Department official said Thursday.
28. International Supporters OK Spreading Out Afghan Force
(Philadelphia Inquirer)...Geir Moulson, Associated Press
Afghanistan's international backers agreed yesterday to help make the country more secure by dispatching troops outside the capital and reaffirmed their long-term support for the pro-Western government of President Hamid Karzai.
ASIA/PACIFIC
29. Beijing Advises Taiwan Caution
(Washington Times)...Combined Dispatches
China yesterday cautioned the United States against sending the "wrong message" to Taiwan after the Pentagon approved the sale of a $1.7 billion early warning radar system to the self-ruled island.
30. S. Korea To Send New Iraq Troops
(Los Angeles Times)...Associated Press
South Korea will send nearly 3,600 troops to the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, the military said today, two weeks after Seoul rattled allies by scrubbing plans for a mission to the northern town of Kirkuk.
AMERICAS
31. For Handful Of U.S. Troops, A Hopeful Homecoming
(Los Angeles Times)...Henry Chu
Through the crisply appraising eyes of a military man, U.S. Marine Col. Mario LaPaix gazes out at this city and sees a strife-torn capital that needs the help of American troops to restore calm.
32. Colombia's Peace Process Grinds To A Halt
(Los Angeles Times)...Ruth Morris
With peace talks stagnating between the government and right-wing paramilitary forces, warlords operating along the miry Magdalena River announced a gesture of goodwill: the unconditional withdrawal of hundreds of fighters from this grimy oil town and several hamlets upstream. But the deadline, March 14, came and went with little fanfare and no visible troop movement, deepening concerns that Colombia's peace process has entered an unruly and precarious phase.
BUSINESS
33. Slain Contractors Were In Iraq Working Security Detail
(Washington Post)...Dana Priest and Mary Pat Flaherty
The four men brutally slain Wednesday in Fallujah were among the most elite commandos working in Iraq to guard employees of U.S. corporations and were hired by the U.S. government to protect bureaucrats, soldiers and intelligence officers.
34. Private Firms Take On More Military Tasks
(Christian Science Monitor)...Ann Scott Tyson
The deaths of security workers in Fallujah show risks of 'outsourcing' war-zone jobs.
35. Bush Puts Penalties On Nuclear Suppliers
(New York Times)...Judith Miller
The Bush administration is imposing sanctions on 13 foreign companies and individuals in seven countries that it says have sold equipment or expertise that Iran could use in nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs, according to administration and congressional officials.
36. GAO Hoists Red Flag Over Costly Boeing Army Project
(Seattle Times)...Darrell Hassler and Tony Capaccio, Bloomberg News
Boeing's family of Army ground-combat systems, designed to improve battlefield communications, may exceed projected costs and not meet requirements, the General Accounting Office said yesterday.
37. Flaws In Osprey Being Corrected
(Seattle Post-Intelligencer)...Tony Capaccio, Bloomberg News
The Boeing Co. and Textron Inc. are making progress in correcting flaws in the assembly of the V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft that have hampered production and raised costs, the General Accounting Office said in a report yesterday.
OPINION
38. An Offer Of Help On Iraq
(Washington Post)...E. J. Dionne Jr.
The gruesome killings and mutilations in Fallujah on Wednesday and the new attacks yesterday raise serious doubts about the administration's confident predictions that it will be able to hand over power to Iraqi authorities by June 30.
NA
39. What Has Gone Right In Iraq
(Boston Globe)...Jeff Jacoby
...Operation Iraqi Freedom stands as one of the great humanitarian achievements of modern times. For all the Bush administration's mistakes and miscalculations, for all the monumental challenges that remain, Iraq is vastly better off today than it was before the war. And the Iraqi people know it.
40. No End In Sight
(New York Times)...Bob Herbert
...If you talk to the troops who have served in Iraq, you can only marvel at their bravery and commitment to duty, and the lack of bellyaching at the difficult hands they were dealt. I've interviewed several servicemen and servicewomen who have returned from the war zone, including some who were horribly wounded, and I've yet to hear one of them utter any variation of the complaint, "Why me?" But I inevitably come away from these conversations asking the question for them. Why were they ever placed in harm's way in Iraq? Wednesday's atrocity was inexcusable — unconscionable — and those responsible should be tracked down and punished. But even if that happens, the greater tragedy of the war itself will continue indefinitely.
41. Need An Army? Just Pick Up The Phone
(New York Times)...Barry Yeoman
...Think about it: a private military firm might decide to pack its own bags for any number of reasons, leaving American soldiers and equipment vulnerable to enemy attack. If the military really can't fight wars without contractors, it must at least come up with ironclad policies on what to do if the private soldiers break local laws or leave American forces in the lurch. What happened in Falluja was a tragedy, no matter what uniform the slain men wore. Private contractors are viewed by Iraqis as part of the occupation, yet they lack the military and political backing of our combat troops. So far, the Pentagon has failed to prove it can take responsibility for either the actions or the safety of its private-sector soldiers.
42. For Rights, A Wrong Choice
(Washington Post)...Edward M. Kennedy
...With Haynes playing a key role, the administration arrogantly refuses to follow the plain language of the Geneva Conventions, which guarantee basic legal protections to soldiers of all nations. It categorically denies that any of the more than 600 detainees at Guantanamo -- even those who served in the army of the former Afghan government -- qualify as prisoners of war. It flatly refuses to convene the special tribunals required by the Geneva Conventions to resolve doubts about the status of particular prisoners, even though we have routinely done so in such cases in the past.
EDITORIAL
43. A Response To Fallujah
(Washington Post)...Editorial
...The reality is that during the past month there has been a major increase in casualties, both U.S. and Iraqi, military and civilian, even as a troop rotation has reduced the number of U.S. forces by 20 percent and replaced many regular Army units with reservists. The turning point against Iraqi insurgents that U.S. commanders have been talking about for months simply hasn't happened in Fallujah or elsewhere in the Sunni heartland, and other parts of the country are growing more dangerous. The lack of security is not only blocking economic recovery: As June 30 rapidly approaches, the risk is growing that the end of the occupation period will be followed not by a transition to democratic government but by chaos or civil war.
44. Four Deaths In Falluja
(New York Times)...Editorial
...At the same time, letting those emotions shape the future of American occupation policy in Iraq — pushing it either toward vengeful reprisals or toward a panicky, casualty-driven withdrawal — would be a terrible mistake. America's future course in Iraq must be decided on broader considerations, especially the prospects for successful nation-building.
45. Why America Won't Cut And Run
(Chicago Tribune)...Editorial
...No Americans want to see the lives of their fellow citizens--soldiers or civilians--extinguished, particularly in such grisly ordeals as Wednesday's two group killings in Iraq. But for a year now, Americans have demonstrated a conviction not to let their nation's foreign policy be driven by death tolls in a far-off land.
