News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Truck Kills 20 After Crashing Into Crowd in Iraq
Bush to Meet With Iraqi Shiite With Iran Ties
Iraqi violence "self-sustaining": U.S. intel chief
U.S., Iraqis launch anti-insurgent raids
U.S. rethinking Iraqi unification goal

Homeland Security / War on Terror
Somali govt welcomes U.S. draft on peacekeepers
U.S. gov't terror ratings draw outrage

Other Military News
Senior Pentagon official Stephen Cambone to resign
Rumsfeld honored for citizenship amid protests
New Attempt Planned to Move Intrepid

Mid-East Ceasefire / Hamas Rising / Israel at War
PHOTOS: Beirut Protests - STORY
Hezbollah-led protesters camp out in Beirut - Video
Annan finds 13 incidents of illicit arms in Lebanon
Protesters seek Lebanon PM resignation

Worldwide Wackos
Despite compromise, Iran sanctions measure elusive
Cuba set for military parade, waits for Castro

Politics / Government
Clinton meets sea gypsies on tsunami-hit Thai island
Sen. Obama joins evangelicals in AIDS fight
Reyes to head House intelligence panel
Libby trial may discuss terror, nukes
Bayh moves toward presidential bid

In the Courts
High Court Wants 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus'

Science / Nature
Eastbound Winter Storm Kills 3, Leaves Millions Without Power
U.N. agency sees El Nino stretching to early 2007
Grim hunt for hundreds killed in Philippine typhoon - Video
More bodies uncovered in Philippines

Oddities
Shops destroy Santas giving "Hitler salute"
A saucy mistake about a sex problem..
Ho? Ho? Ho? State says no to Santa label
Ariz. cop had black men rap away ticket

Other News of Note
Fallout Over Nuked Spy Spreads Across Europe - VIDEO
Italian Connection Links KGB to Rome, London, Moscow
Arrest Made in Louisiana Serial-Killer Probe

Fox News
Funeral for Man Killed by Cops on Wedding Day
L.A. Archdiocese Settles 45 Abuse Cases for $60M

Reuters: Top News
Indonesia eyes path for ex-Aceh rebels to form party
Groundwater polluted in 9 out of 10 Chinese cities
Japan gamers brave frosty weather for Nintendo Wii
"Finland's sexiest man" ends romance with txt msg
In U.S., fear and distrust of Muslims runs deep
Ex-bad boy author finds a legal pleasure - wine
HIV drugs reaching more people as AIDS Day marked
Onions, garlic linked to lower cancer risks
Lindsay Lohan attending AA meetings: publicist
Comic Richards to apologize to blacks from L.A. club
Stocks slip on interest-rate, growth worries
Dollar slides after drop in manufacturing data
Nasdaq tumbles after Prudential downgrade
GM stock up as Kerkorian sells, U.S. Nov sales rise
Amgen slips as Congress targets dialysis drug cost
For better or worse
Oil traders again focused on geopolitics
Fed sees inflation risk even as growth slows
Jobs, data to call stocks' year-end tune
Ford slips to No. 4 as U.S. November car sales slump
FCC chief seeks to end AT&T-BellSouth stalemate
Fed's Kohn-inflation has shifted down, risks remain
Fidelity says working with SEC in gifts probe

AP World News
N.D. tribe barring church protesters
Dewey the cat dies in librarian's arms
J.Lo's ex fights to release tell-all
Barry Bonds not offered arbitration
LA fire chief retires amid controversy
Experts reconstruct Leonardo fingerprint
Mavs win 12th straight after 0-4 start
Lindsay Lohan attending AA meetings
Glavine stays with Mets in $10.5M deal
McCartney has seen psychiatrist for help
Ultrasound method may supplant biopsies
Ford's Nov. sales slip; GM, Toyota rise
Clooney, DeVito had 'brutal night' out

Military.com
Op-ed: The Senate Kabuki Dance
Blog: And the Winner Is . . .
Warfighters, Kit Up!
Podcast: Operation Homecoming
Real Been There, Done That Tales
ALERT: VA Retro Pay Update
Gear in the News: RQ-1

CENTCOM: News Releases
DETAINEE DIES AT CAMP CROPPER

FOUR MOSUL CITIZENS KILLED, 29 INJURED IN SUICIDE ATTACK

TWO TERRORISTS KILLED, 27 SUSPECTED TERRORISTS DETAINED

JOINT STATEMENT BY AMBASSADOR ZALMAY KHALILZAD AND GEN. GEORGE CASEY ON IRAQ’S PARTICIPATION IN 15TH ASIAN GAMES

9TH IRAQI ARMY DIVISION LEADS OPERATION IN BAGHDAD

FLORIDA GUARD DELIVERS DONATIONS TO KABUL ORPHANAGE

COMMUNICATIONS CENTER OPENS IN PARWAN

TWENTY-EIGHT BODIES FOUND SOUTH OF BAQUBAH

CCCI CONVICTS 41 INSURGENTS

SENIOR COALITION COMMANDER IN DIYALA PROVINCE SAYS BAQUBAH STILL FUNCTIONING

ILLEGAL CHECKPOINT FOUND, IRAQIS RESCUED

WEAPONS CACHE DISCOVERED IN NW BAGHDAD

COALITION FORCES KILL 14 INSURGENTS

USJFCOM
C4 program to deliver joint training set to begin - podcast

Department of Defense
NEWS UPDATES
Iraqi Officers to Take Command of Four Northern Divisions by February - Story - Video
For Top News Visit DefenseLink

ON THE GROUND
Marines, Sailors Transport Personnel, Cargo - Story
Sibling Tanker Pilots Connect Miles from Home - Story
Close-combat Drills Prepare Recruits for Battle - Story
Infantry Soldiers Help to Rebuild Afghanistan - Story

IN IRAQ
Army Engineers Aid Iraq Reconstruction Efforts
'Port Dawgs' Limit Ground Convoys, Save Lives
U.S., Coalition Forces Train, Support Iraqi Airmen
Musicians Perform for Troops, Visit Wounded
Training Takes Over As Medics Treat Soldiers
Battle Tanks Bring the Thunder to Camp Fallujah

IN AFGHANISTAN
Operation Season's Greetings Stops at Bagram
Florida Guard Delivers Donations to Orphanage
U.S. Units Steadily Secure, Rebuild Afghanistan
Military Missions Change as Afghan Army Evolves

BACKGROUND
IRAQ
Renewal In Iraq
Iraq: Security, Stability
Fact Sheet: Progress and Work Ahead
Report: Strategy for Victory in Iraq
Iraq Daily Update
This Week in Iraq
Multinational Force Iraq
State Dept. Weekly Iraq Report (PDF)
'Boots on the Ground' Audio Archive
Weekly Reconstruction Report (PDF)
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps

AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan Update
Maps

WAR ON TERRORISM
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

CASUALTIES
Officials Identify Army Casualty - Story

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

National Hurricane Center

Today in History
1620 – In Amsterdam, the English language newspaper "Namloos" begins publishing.
1682 – The English Earl of Shaftesbury flees to Amsterdam.
1763 - Touro shul of Newport, RI (the oldest existing U.S. synagogue) is dedicated.
1777 - British General Howe plots an attack on Washington's army for December 4.
1790 – The Austrian army occupies Brussels.
1802 – The English sell Suriname to the Dutch.
1804 – In Paris, Pope Pius VII crowns Napoleon Bonaparte the first emperor of France.
1805 - Napoleon defeats the Russians and Austrians at Austerlitz.
1812 - James Madison is re-elected President of the U.S.
1816 - The first savings bank in the U.S. opens (Philadelphia Savings Fund Society).
1822 - In San Salvador, a congress proposes incorporation into the U.S.
1823 - President James Monroe declares his "Monroe Doctrine."
1840 - William H. Harrison is elected President of the U.S.
1848 - Franz Josef I becomes emperor of Austria and King of Hungary.
1852 – The second French empire is established; Louis Napoleon becomes emperor.
1864 - Skirmish at Rocky Creek Church, GA.
1868 – The first British government of Disraeli resigns.
1887 - French President Grévy resigns.
1891 – The 52nd Congress (1891-93) convenes.
1895 – The 54th Congress (1895-97) convenes.
1899 – The U.S. and Germany agree to divide Samoa between them.
1901 - King Camp Gillette begins selling safety razor blades.
1908 – At age 3, Pu Yi (Hsuan-T'ung) becomes China's Last Emperor.
1914 - The Austrian army occupies Belgrade, Serbia.
1924 – A British-German trade agreement is signed.
1927 – The first Model A Fords are sold, for $385 each.
1939 – British Imperial Airways and British Airways merge to form BOAC; New York's La Guardia Airport begins operations as an airliner from Chicago lands, 1 minute after midnight.
1941 – Naval Intelligence ceases bugging Japanese consul; Yamamoto sends his fleet to Pearl Harbor.
1942 – The first controlled nuclear chain reaction occurs under the supervision of Enrico Fermi at the University of Chicago.
1943 – The first RSHA transport out of Vienna reaches the Birkenau camp.
1944 - General De Gaulle arrives in Moscow; German troops seize the Betuwse dikes, the U.S. 95th Infantry Division occupies the bridge at Saar.
1952 – For the first time, a human birth is publicly televised (KOA-TV, Denver, CO).
1954 – The U.S. Senate censures Joe McCarthy (Senator-WI) for "conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute."
1956 - Fidel Castro lands with "Granma" on the coast of Cuba.
1957 – The first U.S. full-scale atomic electric power plant starts generating power at Shippingport, PA.
1958 – The Benelux treaty is signed by Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
1959 – In France, the Malpasset dam collapses, destroying the Riviera town of Frejus.
1961 - Fidel Castro declares he's a Marxist and will lead Cuba to Communism.
1963 – The first Dutch rocket is launched; it reaches a height of 10 km.
1968 - President Nixon names Henry Kissinger as security advisor.
1969 – the Boeing 747 jumbo jet is first previewed to the public (Seattle WA to New York NY).
1970 – The Environmental Protection Agency begins (Director: William Ruckelshaus).
1971 - Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujeira, Sharjah and Umm ak Qiwain form the United Arab Emirates; Abu Dhabi’s Zayid bin Sultan Al Nuhayyah becomes President; the U.S.S.R.’s Mars-3 is the first to soft-land on the red planet.
1972 – The "December Giant" - largest sinkhole in the U.S. - collapses (Alabama).
1974 - Soyuz-16 is launched into Earth orbit for 6 days.
1975- Laos falls to communist forces; King Sisavang Vatthana resigns, the Lao People's Democratic Republic is proclaimed.
1975 - 7 South Moluccans hijack a train at Wijster Drente, killing 3.
1978 - Chanting "Allah is great,” anti-Shah protesters pour through Tehran.
1979 - Crowds attack the U.S. embassy in Tripoli, Libya.
1980 - 4 American Maryknoll nuns are killed by death squads in El Salvador.
1981 – The Spanish government requests membership in NATO.
1982 – At the University of Utah, the first permanent artificial heart (the Jarvic-7) is successfully implanted in retired dentist Barney Clark; he lives 112 days.
1985 - Philipine Chief of staff General Fabian speaks of B. Aquino's murder.
1988 - 5 gunmen who hijacked a Soviet Aeroflot jet surrender in Israel; the STS-27 (Atlantis) is launched on a secret military mission; the U.N. votes to move the PLO debate to Geneva (151-2; the U.S. and Israel voted no, Britain abstains).
1989 - Vishwanath Pratap Singh is sworn in as President of India.
1990 – The first parliamentary election is held in newly reunified Germany; the U.S.’ 69th manned space mission (STS-35 - Columbia 11) launches into orbit.
1991 – Shiite Muslims release American Joseph Cicippio, held hostage in Lebanon.
1993 – The Space Shuttle STS-61 (Endeavor-5) launches.
1994 – The former Achille Lauro, now the Willem Ruys, sinks off the coast of Somalia; a jury finds Heidi Fleiss guilty of running a call girl ring.

Birthdays
1728 - Ferdinando Galiani, Italian economist/philosopher/diplomat
1802 - Melancthon Smith Wade, Union Brigadier-General
1821 - Rufus Barringer, Confederate Brigadier-General
1825 - Pedro II van Alcantara, Emperor of Brazil (1831-89)
1837 - Charles Garrison Harker, Union Brigadier-General
1846 - Pierre M Waldeck-Rousseau, French Minister of Foreign affairs / premier
1885 - George Minot, American physician, worked on anemia (Nobel 1934); Níkos Kazantazakís, writer (Zorba, Last Temptation of Christ)
1902 - Horace A. Hildreth. (Gov-ME, 1945-49)
1906 - Peter Carl Goldmark, developed color TV and LP records
1908 - Robert F Simon, actor (Custer, MASH)
1915 - Randolph Hearst, newspaper publisher
1924 - Alexander Haig, Jr., U.S. Secretary of State (1981-82) / general
1929 - Jaap Boersma, Dutch Minister for Social Affairs (ARP)
1931 - Edwin Meese III, U.S. Attorney General (1985-88)
1946 - Gianni Versace, fashion designer (Versace)
1954 - Stone Phillips, news host (NBC Dateline)
1981 - Britney Jean Spears, singer (Oops I Did It Again)

Passings
0537 – Sylvester, Italian Pope (536-37)
1463 - Albrecht VI, archduke of Habsburg, dies
1515 - Gonzalo de Córdoba, Spanish general/strategist/viceroy of Naples
1592 - Alexander Farnese, land guardian of Netherlands (1579-92)
1723 – Philip, French duke of Orléans /regent (1715-23) / PM (1723)
1814 - Marquis de Sade, writer
1859 - John Brown, U.S. abolitionist, hanged in Charles Town, WV
1864 - Archibald Gracie, Jr., Confederate Brigadier-General, in battle at age 31
1919 - Henry Clay Frick, builder of the largest coke and steel operation
1935 - Albert Kessel, first to die in the California gas chamber
1944 – J.W. Ummels, Dutch resistance fighter (House of Saxon-Nazi)
1967 - Cardinal Francis Spellman, archbishop of New York
1969 - Kliment J Voroshilov, President of U.S.S.R. (1953-60)
1972 - Friedrich Christian Christiansen, German Luftwaffe General
1981 - Nicolaas "Cola" Debrot, Governor of Dutch Antilles (1962-70); Wallace K. Harrison, U.S. architect (U.N.)
1982 - Marty Feldman, comedic actor (Young Frankenstein), of a heart attack at age 49
1986 - Desi Arnaz, actor (Ricky Ricardo-I Love Lucy), of lung cancer
1990 - Aaron Copland, composer (Fanfare for the Common Man)

Reported Missing in Action
1965
Austin, Carl Benjamin, USN (OR); F4B shot down (pilot), KIA, body not recovered

Logan, Jacob Drummond, USN (WA); F4B shot down (aircrew); KIA, body not recovered

Roberts, Gerald Ray, USN (TX); A1H shot down, KIA, remains returned 1993 – 1994, ID’d October, 1996

1966
The following personnel reported MIA in one incident – two from a SF team, and two during an extraction attempt when their UH1H was shot down:

Bott, Russell P., US Army SF (MA)

Dyer, Irby III, US Army SF (TX); KIA in the UH1D (medic)

Stark, Willie E., US Army SF (NE)

Sulander, Daniel A., US Army (MN); KIA in the UH1D (crew)

Also reported MIA this day in 1966:
Berger, James R., USAF (OH); F4C shot down, released by DRV February, 1973 – retired as a Lt. Colonel - alive as of 1998

Burns, Donald R., USAF (TX); F4C shot down (weapons/systems officer, w/Ducat), released by DRV March, 1973 – retired as a Colonel – deceased April, 1996

Cordier, Kenneth W., USAF (OH); F4C shot down (pilot, w/ Lane), released by DRV March, 1973 – retired as a Colonel - alive and well as of 1998

Ducat, Bruce C., USAF (MD); F4C shot down (pilot, w/Burns), SRV returned remains to PCOM March, 1977

Gregory, Robert R., USAF (MO); RF4C shot down, remains returned March, 1988 – ID’d June, 1988

Lane, Michael C., USAF (FL); F4C shot down (weapons/systems officer, w/Cordier), released by DRV February, 1973 – alive and well as of 1998

McRae, David Edward, USN (GA); F4B shot down (pilot, w/ Rehman), likely KIA

Moorberg, Monte Larue, USAF (NE); F105D shot down, KIA, remains returned August, 1985

Nystrom, Bruce A., USN (OH); A4C shot down (in same incident w/Worrell), likely KIA

Rehmann, David G., USN (CA); F4B shot down (w/McRae), released by DRV February, 1973 – retired as a Lieutenant - alive and well as of 1998

Stutz, Leroy W., USAF (KS); RF4C shot down (w/Gregory), released by DRV March, 1973 – retired as a Colonel alive and well as of 1998

Worrell, Paul L., USN (PA); A4C shot down (in same incident w/Nystrom), remains returned August, 1965

1967
The following US Army personnel reported MIA when their UH1D was shot down:
Crosby, Richard A., (WA); door gunner

Leeper, Wallace W., (CO); aircraft commander

Moreida, Manuel J., (TX); crewchief

Strange, Floyd W., (CA); co-pilot

1969
The following US Army personnel reported MIA when their UH1B was shot down:

Dunlap, William C., (AZ); pilot, remains ID’d February, 1990

Sanderlin, William D., (TX); crewchief, remains ID’d February, 1990

Shanley, Michael H., Jr., (CA); gunner, remains returned March, 1990; mother did not accept ID
Vanden Eykel, Martin D. II, (IL); aircraft commander, ID’d February, 1990 (disputed)

1972
Shine, Anthony C., USAF (NY); A7D shot down, remains returned September, 1996