U.S. Army soldiers prepare to enter a school during an early morning raid in the Tameem district of Ramadi, Iraq, Sept. 3, 2006. The soldiers are with Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Division based out of Baumholder, Germany. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jeremy T. Lock

U.S. Army soldiers look for weapons during a morning raid at a school in the Tameem district of Ramadi, Iraq, Sept. 3, 2006. The soldiers are with Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Division based out of Baumholder, Germany. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jeremy T. Lock

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Shawn Re' searches a school office during a morning raid in the Tameem district of Ramadi, Iraq, Sept. 3, 2006. Re' is with Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Division based out of Baumholder, Germany. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jeremy T. Lock

U.S. Army soldiers search a school for weapons caches during a morning raid in the Tameem district of Ramadi, Iraq, Sept. 3, 2006. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jeremy T. Lock

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Ian Blackstone checks on his soldiers' status while searching a school during a morning raid in the Tameem district of Ramadi, Iraq, Sept. 3, 2006. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jeremy T. Lock

U.S. Army soldiers search a school for weapons caches during a morning raid in the Tameem district of Ramadi, Iraq, Sept. 3, 2006. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jeremy T. Lock

U.S. Army soldiers escort Iraqi men out of a school during a morning raid in the Tameem district of Ramadi, Iraq, Sept. 3, 2006. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jeremy T. Lock

U.S. Army soldiers move to their next objective during a morning raid in the Tameem district of Ramadi, Iraq, Sept. 3, 2006. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jeremy T. Lock

by Petty Officer 2nd Class Eli J. Medellin
September 15, 2006Spc. Anthony D. Johnston, from the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, conducts a reconnaissance mission in Sadr City.

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Bomb Attacks Kill More Than 20 in Iraq's Oil-Rich North
Bombs kill 23 in Iraq's Kirkuk - Video

Operation Enduring Freedom
Taliban warn against Pakistan pact violation: report
NATO says anti-Taliban operation is done

Homeland Security / War on Terror
Italian Nun Killed by Somali Gunmen
Shots fired at Oslo synagogue: police

Other Military News
Philippines president honors war vets
Women to fly GIs home before Iraq duty

Mid-East Ceasefire / Israel at War
Israelis Make Progress in Efforts to Retrieve Soldier
Abbas's office, Hamas row over unity government
Israel says hands over most of south Lebanon to UN
Israeli Cabinet authorizes war inquiry

NSA / CIA
CIA in middle of election-year battle

Worldwide Wackos
U.S. and U.N. bashed at Cuba summit - Video

Homegrown Moonbats
PeaceJam Draws 7,000 Teens
Peace Prize winners take aim at U.S.

Politics / Government
Keith Ellison may be first Muslim in U.S. Congress
Ann Richards to lie in state Sunday

Mother Nature
Hurricane Lane Downgraded
Hurricane Gordon speeds up slightly

Oddities
Mayor's offer to film movie backfires
Madagascan leader's jet grounded by soldier's shots

Other News of Note
Federal, NY Officials to Rent Space in Freedom Towers
Hungarian Nun Who Saved Jews in World War II Beatified
Pope 'Deeply Sorry' for Muslim Reaction
Spinach Absent From Stores, Menus After E. Coli Outbreak
Video: Scared of Spinach?
U.S. expands warning to cover all fresh spinach
Shoppers work with new spinach shortage
Little elation in India, Pakistan over peace moves
Activists around the world focus on Darfur

Fox News
Atlantis Astronauts Leave International Space Station
Cops Arrest Suspect in Text-Message Kidnapping Case
Woman Slashes Mother's Throat and Kidnaps Baby
First Major Mexican Drug Kingpin Extradited to U.S.

Reuters: Top News
Bird flu pandemic could cost $2 trln: World Bank
Singapore politician plans prolonged standoff
Shuttle Atlantis undocks from space station
"Bella" wins top Toronto film prize
Stocks may hit new highs if Fed stays put - Video
Stocks at 4-month highs, oil at 5-month lows - Video
Freescale shares climb - Video
Bull market gallop slows to a trot
DirecTV, EchoStar shares down on News Corp talks
Insurance an absolute surprise
Erik Dellith finds Embraer on the radar
Stocks may skip September slide
World Bank, regional lenders to share graft evidence
IMF ministers eye trade progress, quarrel on votes
Paulson urges vigilance on terror finance
China criticizes WTO auto parts case
BP denies misleading Texas environmental regulator
Hollywood Studios mulls Dubai listing: paper

AP World News
Shuttle astronauts begin their trip home
Family begs attacker to return Mo. baby
Body washes up near set of 'CSI: Miami'
No. 11 Mich. bruises No. 2 Irish 47-21
R.E.M. inducted into Music Hall of Fame
'All the King's Men' debuts in Big Easy
Study: Annual shot of drug helps bones
Madrid fashion show bans 5 thin models
No. 3 Auburn stops 6th-ranked LSU 7-3
Wall Street: Ford needs a better idea
Top-ranked OSU thumps Cincinnati 37-7
Mom: Teen accused in school plot bullied
San Francisco Opera loses music director

Military.com
Op-ed: Ollie North Says Save the Battleships
Blog: Andi's Outrage of the Day
Miitary Insurance Made Easy
First Look at a New Novel About Leyte Gulf

CENTCOM: News Releases
ANA COMBAT CARE TEAM PROVIDES RELIEF FOR AFGHAN FORCES

EDUCATION IS WINNING THROUGH BUILDING SCHOOLS

AFGHAN NATIONAL ARMY CONDUCTS SECURITY TRAINING IN GERMANY

USJFCOM
Empire Challenge 06 focuses on joint, coalition warfighting operations - podcast Liveblogging: Urban Resolve 2015 - Read Chris' liveblog
Deputy director for joint force training to take NATO post
USJFCOM Navy chief petty officer shines in ride to cure diabetes - podcast
USJFCOM employee recognized as high school volunteer of the year
Command surgeon, wife participate in week-long bicycle ride across Iowa

Department of Defense
NEWS UPDATES
Car Bomb Attack Kills Two Soldiers - Story
For Top News Visit DefenseLink

ON THE GROUND
Iraq Reconstruction and Security Work in Tandem - Story
Iraqi Police, U.S. Soldiers Seize Weapons, Suspects - Story
25th Infantry Division Continues Transition Role - Story

IN IRAQ
Iraqi Police Department Recruits 67 Men-in-Blue
Iraqi Army Reaffirms Faith in Future of Iraq
Marines Make Midnight Run to Aid Iraqi Girl
A Moment for Historical Reflection in Mosul
Airmen Deploy to Monitor Airspace, Battlefield
Soldiers, Civilians Hold 9-11 Memorial Race
Troops in Iraq Honor Victims of Sept. 11 Attacks
Quality of Life Projects Continue to Find Success
Marines Work to Enhance Communications

IN AFGHANISTAN
10th Mountain Division Soldiers Thwart Extremists
Legacy of Fallen Citadel Graduate Lives On
Coalition Forces Deliver Cement to Afghan Village
Reconstruction Team Donates Prayer Rugs

DefendAmerica Week in Review
Sunday - Monday - Tuesday - Wednesday - Thursday - Friday - Saturday

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

Gitmo

Today in History
1394 - Jews are expelled from France by order of King Charles VI.
1787 - The Philadelphia convention adopts the U.S. Constitution.
1789 - William Herschel discovers Saturn's satellite Mimas.
1862 -At the Battle of Sharpsburg (Antietam), the Civil War sees its bloodiest day.
1908 - Thomas Selfridge becomes powered flight's first fatality.
1928 - A hurricane hits Lake Okeechobee, FL - 1,800-2,500 drown.
1934 - "Beethoven's 5th" is the first 33 1/3 rpm recording released.
1939 - The U.S.S.R. invades Poland.
1943 - A load of "ammunition in transit" explodes at Norfolk Naval Air Station.
1947 - James Forrestal is sworn in as the first U.S. Secretary of Defense.
1952 - "I am an American Day" and "Constituion Day" are renamed "Citizenship Day."
1953 - For the first time, "Siamese" twins are successfully separated.
1957 - Scott Crossfield takes the X-15 up for its first powered flight.
1959 - Transit 1A, the first navigational satellite, is launched; it fails to reach orbit.
1959 - A typhoon kills 2,000 in Japan and Korea.
1963 - "The Fugitive" premiers on ABC TV.
1964 - "Bewitched" premiers on ABC TV.
1967 - "Mission Impossible" premieres on CBS-TV.
1968 - Zond-5 completes its circumnavigation of the Moon.
1972 - "M*A*S*H," premiers on TV.
1976 - NASA publicly unveils the space shuttle Enterprise.
1978 - Begin, Sadat and Carter sign the Camp David accords.
1985 - The Soyuz T-14 carries three cosmonauts to the ..Salyut 7 space station
1986 - The U.S. Senate confirms William Rehnquist as the 16th Chief Justice.
1989 - Hurricane Hugo begins its 4-day sweep through the Caribbean, during which it will kill 62.
1990 - The U.S.S.R. and Saudi Arabia restore diplomatic ties.
1991 - North and South Korea joins the U.N.

Birthdays
0879 - King Charles III (The Simple) of France (893-923)
1271 - King Wenceslas II of Bohemia and Poland (1278-1305)
1730 - Baron Frederick von Steuben
1819 - Thomas Andrews Hendricks, 21st U.S. Vice President; while in office
1857 - Tsiolkovsky, rocket/space research pioneer
1869 - Christian Lange, pacifist/internationalist, Nobel Prize winner (1921)
1907 - Warren E. Burger, Supreme Court chief justice (1969-86)
1921 - Virgilio Barco Vargas, president of Colombia (1986-90)
1928 - Roddy McDowall, actor (Planet of the Apes)
1930 - Edgar Dean Mitchell, Captain USN/astronaut (Apollo 14); Thomas P. Stafford, USAF/astronaut (Gemini 6, 9, Apollo 10, 18)
1933 - Charles Grassley (Sen-IA)
1939 - David Souter, Supreme Court Justice

Passings
1908 - Thomas Selfridge, early aviator, in an air crash
1948 - Count Folke Bernadotte, U.N. mediator for Palestine, assassinated by Jewish extremists
1961 - Adnan Menderes, PM of Turkey (1950-60)
1980 - Anastasio Somoza, former Nicaraguan President, assassinated

Reported Missing in Action
1965
Klenda, Dean Albert, USAF (KS); F105 shot down

1966
Leetun, Darel D., USAF (ND); F105D shot down

1967
Grubb, Peter A., USAF (NY); RF4C shot down (w/Nellans)

Nellans, William L., USAF (IN); RF4C shot down (w/Grubb)

Stavast, John Edward, USAF (CA); RF4C shot down (pilot, w/Venanzi), released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Colonel - alive and well as of 1998

Venanzi, Gerald S., USAF (NJ); RF4C shot down (navigator, w/Stavast) released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Colonel - alive as of 1998

1968
Davis, Edgar F., USAF (NC); RF4C shot down ("backseater" - pilot was rescued)

1972
Buell, Kenneth R., USN (IL); A6A shot down (co-pilot, w/Donnelly)

Donnelly, Verne G., USN (CA); A6A shot down (pilot, w/Buell), remains returned February, 1991

Goetsch, Thomas August, USN (TN); sea casualty - drowned, body not recovered

Turose, Michael Stephen, USAF (OH); F105D shot down, KIA, body not recovered (pilot was rescued)

Zorn, Thomas O'Neal, Jr., USAF (GA); F105G shot down, KIA, body not recovered