Quote of the Day
"The most deadly thing on the battlefield is one well-aimed shot."
GySgt. Carlos N. Hathcock II, USMC Sniper

Gerstein: Coca-Cola and predictability
Boeing, Airbus hope for soft landing
Calif. bill would bar toxins in cell phones, iPods
NTP claims RIM "mischaracterization" of its patents

AP World News
Murder of Jew in Paris Rekindles Concerns
Spain Marks 25th Anniversary of Coup Try
War Crimes Suspect Mladic Reportedly Ill
Acting Israeli PM Begins Election Campaign
School Roof Believed Found in Mudslide

Military.com
Pentagon Details Added Spending
GI Bill Change Endorsed
Marines Sell Gear on E-Bay

CENTCOM: News Releases

Department of Defense
Bush Condemns Samarra Mosque Attack - Story
England Discusses Port Security Issue on Hill - Story
Nine Charged With Stealing Protective Gear - Story
Iraqis Grow More Confident in Security Forces - Story
Forces Detain 11 Insurgents, Find Weapons

ON THE GROUND
Team Brings Medical Care to Afghan Village - Story
Coalition Priority: Restore Essential Services - Story
U.S. Soliders Take to Water to Combat Terrorists - Story

IN IRAQ
U.S. Troops Provide Tents to Bedouin Families
U.S., Iraqi Medics Share Experience, Knowledge

IN AFGHANISTAN
Commander Meets With Army, Police Leaders
10th Mountain Takes Command of Task Force

FACE OF DEFENSE
Army Reservist Achieves Cycling Dream - Story

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Country Music, Rodeo Stars Entertain - Story
Project Sews Heat Relief for Troops

TOP NEWS
IRAQ
4 U.S. Troops Killed Near Hawijah
Iraqi Soldiers, Police Find Weapons
Police Add More Than 1,000 to Force
Attack Kills 21 Iraqis
Iraqis Assume Baghdad Duties
Casey: Iraqis Benefit from Efforts
Terrorist Bombs Kill 11 Iraqis
U.S. Troops Find Weapons Caches
Fact Sheet: Progress and Work Ahead
Report: Strategy for Victory in Iraq
Iraq Daily Update
This Week in Iraq (pdf)
Multinational Force Iraq
Eye on Iraq Update (pdf)
State Dept. Weekly Iraq Report (pdf)
'Boots on the Ground' Audio Archive
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps

AFGHANISTAN
Police, Coalition Respond to Attack
Afghanistan Update
Maps

WAR ON TERRORISM
Flow of Info is Vital in Terror War
Bush: India, Pakistan Key Allies
Commitment to Mideast Continues
U.S. Must Network to Defeat Terror
Three Ohio Men Indicted
Army Chief: Soldiers Must Adapt
Weapons Found in Iraq, Afghanistan
Intel Director Outlines Threats
Global Hawk UAV Returns Home
USS Reagan Group Enters 5th Fleet
Fact Sheet: Budget Request
Fact Sheet: War on Terror
Fact Sheet: Terror Plots Disrupted
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

MILITARY NEWS
Domestic Violence Hotline Launched
Mom Pens Books to Help Kids
Efforts Help Change Image
USS Gonzalez Conducts Sea Swap
Unmanned Stryker Convoys Tested
Navy Ships Provide Disaster Relief
Photos: Philippine Relief Efforts
National Guard, Reserve Update

Weather
Iraq
Al Azamiyah Al Basrah Al Hillah Al Karkh Al Kazimiyah Al Kut An Nasiriyah Baghdad Baqubah Mosul Najaf Nineveh Tall Kayf

Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul Qandahar

Gitmo

Today in History
0303 - 1st official Roman edict for persecution of Christians issued
1208 - St. Francis of Assisi, 26, receives his vocation in Portiuncula, Italy
1389 - Battle at Falköping - Danes defeat King Albert of Sweden
1496 - England's Henry VII ends commercial dispute with Flanders
1510 - Pope Julius II excommunicates the republic of Venice
1525 - Battle at Pavia - Emperor Karel V's troops beat French king, François I caught taken / 8700 killed
1527 - Ferdinand of Austria crowned as King of Bohemia
1528 - János Zápolyai, Hungarian king, recognizes Sultan Suleiman's suzerainty
1530 - 1st imperial coronation by a Pope, Charles V crowned by Clement V
1538 - King Ferdinand of Austria & King János Zápolyai of Hungary sign Peace of Grosswardein
1541 - Santiago, Chile founded by Pedro de Valvidia
1582 - Pope Gregory XIII announces New Style (Gregorian) calendar
1708 - Prince Johan Willem Friso sworn in as viceroy of Groningen
1779 - George Rogers Clark captures Vincennes from British
1786 - Charles Cornwallis appointed Governor-General of India
1793 - French troops conquer Breda
1803 - Supreme Court 1st rules a law unconstitutional (Marbury vs Madison)
1807 - 17 die & 15 wounded in a crush to witness execution of Holloway, Heggerty & Elizabeth Godfrey in England
1821 - Mexico gains independence from Spain
1836 - 3,000 Mexicans attack 182 Texans at the Alamo, lasts 13 days
1839 - Steam shovel patented by William Otis, PA
1848 - King Louis-Philippe abdicates, 2nd French republic declared
1855 - US Court of Claims established for cases against the government
1857 - 1st perforated US postage stamps delivered to the government
1863 - Arizona Territory created; Forrest's raid on Brentwood, TN
1864 - Battle of Tunnel Hill, GA (Buzzard's Roost)
1868 - House of Representatives vote 126 to 47 to impeach President Andrew Johnson; 1st US parade with floats (Mardi Gras-Mobile AL)
1881 - De Lesseps' Company begins work on Panamá Canal
1888 - Louisville, KY becomes 1st government in US to adopt Australian ballot
1891 - French troops under Captain Archinard occupy Diéna, West Sudan
1894 - Nicaragua captures Tegucigalpa, Honduras (National Day, sort of)
1895 - Cuban war of independence begins
1902 - Battle at Yzer Spruit - Boer General De la Rey beats British
1903 - US signs agreement acquiring a naval station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
1917 - German plan to get Mexican help in WWI exposed (Zimmerman telegram); Russian revolution breaks out
1918 - Estonia declares independence from Russia
1920 - Peace treaty gives Estonia independence
1921 - 1st transcontinental flight in 24 hours flying time arrives in Florida
1923 - Flying Scotsman goes into service; Mass arrests of Mafia in US
1924 - Greek parliament proclaims republic
1924 - Mahatma Gandhi released from jail
1933 - Final demonstration of German communist party in Berlin; League of Nations tells Japanese to pull out of Manchuria
1938 - Du Pont begins commercial production of nylon toothbrush bristles
1940 - Frances Langford records "When You Wish Upon a Star"
1941 - 43 Geuzen resistance fighter trial opens in the Hague; Anti Nazi meeting at Noordermarkt Amsterdam
1942 - Voice of America begins broadcasting (in German)
1943 - General Bradley flies to Algiers; Texas League announces it will quit for the duration of WWII
1944 - Argentina coup by Juan Peron minister of war
1945 - Egypt & Syria declares war on Nazi-Germany; Manila freed from Japanese; Nazi occupiers begin state of siege
1946 - Juan Peron elected President of Argentina
1948 - Communist Party seizes complete control of Czechoslovakia
1949 - V-2/WAC-Corporal 1st rocket to outer space, White Sands NM, 400 km; Israel & Egypt sign an armistice agreement
1950 - Labour wins British parliamentary election
1955 - Pact of Baghdad between Iraq & Turkey signed
1960 - Italian government of Segni falls
1961 - Explorer (10) fails to reach Earth orbit
1965 - East German President Ulbricht visits Egypt
1966 - Coup ousts President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana
1968 - 1st pulsar discovered (CP 1919 by Jocelyn Burnell at Cambridge); US troops reconquer Hue Vietnam
1969 - Mariner 6 launched for Mars fly-by
1970 - 29 Swiss Army officers die in avalanche (Reckingen, Switzerland)
1971 - Algeria nationalizes French oil companies
1974 - Pakistan officially recognizes Bangladesh
1976 - Cuba adopts its constitution
1976 - Leonid Brezhnev opens 25th congress of CPSU; President Carter announces US foreign aid will consider human rights
1979 - Highest price ever paid for a pig, $42,500, Stamford, TX; War between North & South Yemen begins
1981 - Jean Harris is convicted of murdering Scarsdale diet doctor Tarnower; Britain's Prince Charles announces engagement to Lady Diana Spencer
1984 - Iraq resumes air attack on Iran
1985 - Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev crowned King of Nepal
1986 - Voyager 2, 1st Uranus fly-by; Texas Air buys Eastern Airlines for $676 million
1987 - Radio personality Larry King suffers a heart attack
1988 - Supreme Court votes 8-0 Jerry Falwell cannot collect for Hustler parody
1989 - 150-million-year-old fossil egg (oldest dinosaur embryo) found
1989 - US Boeing 747 loses parts of roof over Pacific, 9 die
1991 - US & Allies begin a ground war assault on Iraqi troops
1996 - Cuba downs 2 US planes
1997 - Deng Xiaoping, leader of China, cremated (died Feb 19th)
1997 - South Africa announces it is constructing largest modern day blimp
2002 - XIX winter Olympics closes in Salt Lake City, UT

Birthdays
1500 - Emperor Charles V, King of Spain (1516-56)/Holy Roman Emperor
1536 - Clement VIII [Ippolito Aldofireini], last Counter-Reformation pope (1592-1605)
1545 - Don John of Austria, the elder, Austrian general
1547 - Jan of Austria, Spanish military man/land guardian of the Netherlands
1557 - Matthias C. Sarbiewski [Sarbievius], Polish Jesuit/poet/Holy Roman emperor (1612-19)
1684 - Catherine I Empress of Russia 1725-27
1786 - Wilhelm Karl Grimm, German story teller (Grimm's Fairy Tales)
1809 - Edwin H.K. Freiherr von Manteuffel, governor/viceroy (Elzas-Lutherian)
1811 - Edward Dickinson Baker, Union Major General
1824 - John Crawford Vaughn, Confederate Brigadier General
1827 - Charles Davis Jameson, Union Brigadier General
1831 - Georg Leo earl von Caprivi, German chancellor/premier of Prussia
1833 - Eduard earl von Taaffe, Austrian premier (1868-93)
1838 - Thomas Benton Smith, Confederate Brigadier General
1885 - Admiral Chester Nimitz, USN (commanded Pacific fleet in WWII); Joseph Sprinzak, Speaker of Israeli Knesset (1949-59)
1898 - Kurt Tank, German WWII aircraft designer
1924 - William Pillar, British Admiral
1926 - Reginald Freeson, British MP
1929 - David Houston, Major-General/Lord Lieutenant of Sutherland
1931 - Inge Bernstein, British judge; Lev Vasilyevich Vorobyov, cosmonaut
1932 - Andrew Jacobs, Jr. (Representative-IN)
1934 - Bettino Craxi, Italy's 1st socialist premier (1983-87)
1937 - Jerry Wiggin, British MP
1942 - Joe Lieberman (Senator-CT)
1955 - Steven Jobs cofounder of Apple Computer
1972 - Manon Rheaume, 1st female NHLer (Tampa Bay)

Passings
1563 - François Guise, French General/duke, assassinated at 44
1815 - Robert Fulton steamboat pioneer
1829 - Auguste Chouteau, St. Louis co-founder
1944 - Leo H.A. Baekeland, Belgian/US chemist (bakelite), dies at 80
1945 - Ahmed Maher Pasha, Egypt's PM, assassinated in parliament
1953 - Karl R.G. von Rundstedt, German General-field marshal (Ardennes), dies at 77
1975 - Nikolai A. Bulganin, marshal/premier of USSR (1955-58), dies at 79
1990 - Malcolm Forbes CEO (Forbes Publishing), dies of a heart attack at 70; Sandro Pertini, President of Italy (1978, 85), dies at 93
1994 - Lores Bonney, aviator, dies at 96
1998 - Henny Youngman, comedian (Take my wife please), dies at 92

Reported Missing in Action
1965
Frakes, Dwight Glenn, USN (CA); A3B shot down, got tangled in chute and sank, KIA, body not recovered

1966
Hetrick, Raymond H., USAF (PA); A1E shot down

1968
Friese, Laurence V., USMC (SD); A6A shot down (w/Marvel), released by DRV March, 1973 - transferred to the Navy after his return, and retired as a Commander - alive and well as of 1998

Marvel, Jerry W., USMC (IN); A6A shot down (w/Friese), released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Colonel - deceased May, 1995