A U.S. Army soldier from Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, speaks with an Iraqi man during operations in Baghdad, Iraq, Sept. 23, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Holley Baker

U.S. Army soldiers from Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, provide security as fellow soldiers search the backyard of a home in Baghdad, Iraq, Sept. 23, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Holley Baker

A U.S. Army soldier from Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, searches a home in Baghdad, Iraq, Sept. 20, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Holley Baker

A U.S. Army soldier from Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, provides security as his unit searches homes in Baghdad, Iraq, Sept. 20, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Holley Baker

A U.S. Army soldier from Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, sorts through illegal weapons and ammunition found in a home during a raid in Baghdad, Iraq, Sept. 23, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Holley Baker

U.S. Army Pfc. Steven Hall, from Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, drinks water as he searches homes in Baghdad, Iraq, Sept. 21, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Holley Baker

VILLAGE MEETING — U.S. Army 1st Lt. Eric Sofge, from Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, speaks with mukhtars from surrounding villages at the police department in Tuza, Iraq, Sept. 26, 2006. Sofge spoke with the village leaders to establish friendly relations and explain the role of coalition forces in the region. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Samuel Bendet

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Iraqi Government Orders Baghdad Curfew
U.S. unable to confirm Muhajir in Qaeda Iraq audio

Homeland Security / War on Terror
Zawahiri Attacks Bush in New Internet Video
Military trials to affect few detainees

Troops on Trial
USAF Drops Rape Case Against Academy Grad
West Point Cadet Found Guilty of Rape

Other Military News
Bush chief of staff urged Rumsfeld be fired: book
Lawmakers to Limit Military Loan Rates

Mid-East Ceasefire
UN: Israel used precision bomb to hit UN officers
Israel destroys home of Hamas militant: witnesses

Immigration / Border Control
Senate backs fence along Mexico border

Politics / Government
Florida Rep. Foley QuitsOver E-Mails to Male Page - VIDEO
Report: Abramoff Had 485 White House Contacts
Democrats press White House on Abramoff contacts

In the Courts
Mass. judge allows out-of-state gay couple to wed

U.N. News
Tooth a key clue in UN probe into Hariri killing - Video
UN hears case for sanctions on top Sudan officials

Mother Nature
Scientists: St. Helens eruption slowing

News from My Neck of the Woods
R.I. Nightclub Owners Sentenced in 2003 Fire Deaths
Victims' kin furious at R.I. sentencing

Oddities
Ethnic games tainted by cross-dressing cheats
White House gates shut to "Kazakh reporter" comic
Car to driver: Please replace my fuel pump

Fox News
Airliner Missing Over Amazon
Jet disappeared over heart of rainforest
Principal Shot By Student Dies
Colorado School Gunman Sent 'Apology' - VIDEO
FDA Lifts Ban on Most Fresh Spinach
Baby's Grave Found at Torrez' Missouri Home
Trucker Held Without Bail in Death of Ark.Teen
Fla. Police Kill Gunman Who Shot Cop to Death
Main Camera on Hubble Telescope Shuts Down

Reuters: Top News
Amaranth to liquidate remaining positions - Video
Scientists develop more powerful nuclear fuel
NASA hopes to launch next shuttle a week early
Sony battery woes deepen on more PC maker recalls
U.S. homework outsourced as "e-tutoring" grows
Touch a light switch, catch a cold, study finds
Michael Jackson, ex-wife end child custody dispute
Brush with TV segregation over at "Survivor"
Dow may test highs; jobs on tap
Stocks fall after 4-day rally - Video
Dollar gains on majors as third quarter winds down - Video
Oil up after BP shuts Alaska crude, cuts pledged
Gold falls, $600/oz under pressure again
Housing bashes lumber price despite U.S.-Canada deal
On the radar: Talisman Energy
Sony battery woes deepen on more PC maker recalls
Consumers bright, Midwest business strong in Sept
Cingular sues firm, others linked to HP pretexting

AP World News
Judge won't dismiss charges against Karr
Stones rock Kentucky Derby site
Big Unit questionable for playoffs
Chess unification bout takes nasty turn
Robin Williams talks about his rehab
Study: Hotel rooms have unseen guests
Woods off to best start in 6 years
'Ugly Betty' on ABC is TV's top-rated
Esquire: Scarlett Johansson 'Sexiest'
Dow ends down 39 on gloomy economic news
3 members of J. Crew Group board resign
Twins win, catch Tigers atop AL Central
'Survivor' ends segregation game
Russia may revise Georgia troops plan

Military.com
Bush: Taliban Will be Defeated
New Bomber Program to Begin 'Black'

CENTCOM: News Releases
AFGHAN, COALITION FORCES RESPOND TO IEDS

MNF-I OFFICIALS REITERATE SUPPORT FOR IRAQI GOVERNMENT

NPS, MND-B SOLDIERS KILL 4 TERRORISTS, DETAIN 7, CONFISCATE WEAPONS

GEORGIAN BATTALION CONTINUES SECURITY MISSION IN INTERNATIONAL ZONE

CCCI CONVICTS 22 INSURGENTS

IA AND CF SOLDIERS DISCOVER LARGE WEAPONS CACHE IN MOSUL

SOLDIERS FIND, THWART IED EMPLACEMENT

IA FINDS, DESTROYS VBIED, MND-B SOLDIERS DETAIN TERRORIST, SEIZE MUNITIONS

IP, IA, MND-B SOLDIERS DETAIN 8 SUSPECTED TERRORISTS, SEIZE WEAPONS CACHE

IRAQI SECURITY FORCES TARGET IED CELL

ISF CAPTURE TWO TERRORISTS SUSPECTED OF VIOLENCE AGAINST IRAQI CIVILIANS

USJFCOM
USJFCOM sends support teams to CENTCOM - podcast
Newsmaker Profile: Col. Eugene V. "Gene" Bonventre - podcast
Command working to meet the warfighter's needs with focused efforts - podcast
Command seeking information from industry on access management

Department of Defense
NEWS UPDATES
President Reaffirms CommitmentTo Stand By Afghanistan, Iraq - Story
For Top News Visit DefenseLink

ON THE GROUND
Corpsmen Test Combat Skills, Prepare for Iraq - Story
Combat Cooks Provide Hot Meals in Field - Story
U.S. Marines Aid in Police Station Makeover - Story
U.S., Iraqi Soldiers Team Up to Find Terrorists - Story

IN IRAQ
Ceremony Notes Re-opening of Al Bawasil School
Marines Work to Restore Safety on the Roads
British Forces Kill Escaped al-Qaida Terrorist
Weapons Cache Found Near Kathamayan Mosque
Deployed 'Doc' Mends Bodies and Minds in Iraq
MP Brigade Takes Charge of Detainee Operations

IN AFGHANISTAN
Harriers Complete Combat Runs in Afghanistan
Coalition Routs Taliban, Extremists in Ghazni
10th Mountain Division Soldiers Thwart Extremists

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 Casualties - 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

National Hurricane Center

Today in History
1452 - Johann Guttenberg's Bible becomes the first book published.
1630 - J. Billington is the first person executed in America (by hanging, in Plymouth, MA)
1659 - Robinson Crusoe is shipwrecked (according to Defoe).
1846 - Dr. William Morton uses Ether as an anaesthetic for the first time during a tooth extraction.
1857 - The U.S. occupies Sand, Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands, south of Hawaii.
1867 - The Midway Islands are formally declared a U.S. possession.
1895 - France proclaims Madagascar a protectorate.
1898 - The City of NY is established.
1929 - Auto maker Fritz von Opel makes the first manned rocket plane flight.
1934 - FDR dedicates Boulder Dam (Hoover Dam).
1938 - In the Munich Agreement, Czechoslovakia is forced to give territory to Germany.
1939 - Germany and Russia agree to partition Poland.
1941 - 3,721 Jews are buried alive at Babi Yar ravine, in the Ukraine.
1944 - Calais is reoccupied by Allies.
1946 - 22 Nazi leaders are found guilty of war crimes at Nuremberg -- Von Ribbentrop and Goering are sentenced to death.
1949 - After 277,000 flights, the Berlin Airlift ends.
1954 - The submarine Nautilus, the first atomic-powered vessel, is launched.
1966 - Botswana (Bechuanaland) gains independence from Britain.
1967 - The U.S.S.R.'s Kosmos-186 and -188 complete the first automatic docking.
1968 - The first Boeing-747 rolls out.
1980 - Iran rejects a truce call from Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
1986 - The U.S. releases soviet spy Gennadiy Zakharov.
1988 - IBM announces the shipment of the three-millionth PS-2 personal computer .
1991 - Haitian President Jean-Bertand Aristide is ousted.

Birthdays
1627 - Robinson Crusoe, according to Daniel Defoe
1870 - Jean Perrin, physicist (studied Brownian motion, Nobel Prize winner (1926)
1915 - Lester Garfield Maddox (Gov-GA), restaurant owner
1917 - Chung Hee Park, general/president of South Korea (1961-79), assassinated
1928 - Elie Wiesel, author (Souls on Fire) / Nazi hunter / Nobel Prize winner (1986)
1935 - Johnny Mathis, singer (Chances are, 12th of Never)
1936 - Jim Sasser (Sen-TN)

Passings:
1955 - James Dean, killed in a car accident
1988 - Joachim Prinz, author/Rabbi of Berlin (1926-37)

Reported Missing in Action:
1965
Chesnutt, Chambless M., USAF (AR); F4C shot down (w/Chwan), remains recovered March, 1985

Chwan, Michael Daniel, USAF (NJ); F4C shot down (w/Chesnutt), remains recovered March, 1985

Killian, Melvin Joseph, USAF (IA); F105D shot down (pilot), remains recovered March, 1985

1968
Fieszel, Clifford W., USAF (TX); F105F shot down (co-pilot, w/Smith)

Smith, Howard H., USAF (OK); F105F shot down (pilot, w/Fieszel)

Spinelli, Domenick A., USN (WA); A6A shot down (bombardier / navigator, w/Van Renselaar)

Van Renselaar, Larry J., USN (NV); A6A shot down (pilot, w/Spinelli), complete remains returned 1989 - family accepted ID July, 1990

1971
Bond, Ronald L., USAF (NJ); F4E shot down (navigator, w/Donovan)

Donovan, Michael L., USAF (KS); F4E shot down (pilot, w/Bond)