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<p>SANAA, Yemen, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Yemeni and U.S. coast guards Wednesday were winding up joint military exercises in the Gulf of Aden where the destroyer USS Cole was attacked in 2000.</p> <p>The weekly magazine al-Tjamoo said the exercises were designed to train Yemen's coast guard on ways to foil suicide attacks that might target tankers and warships docking in Yemeni ports.</p>

4th Infantry Division And Iraqi Police Work Together TIKRIT, Iraq - Soldiers from the 588th Engineer Battalion working with Iraqi Police raided locations in Ba'qubah during the morning of Jan. 25 and captured 46 individuals. Three were specifically targeted for suspected involvement in anti-Coalition activities and 43 were held for violating weapons regulations. Soldiers and Iraqi Police confiscated 58 assault rifles, two rifles and 72 AK-47 ammunition magazines. Release #040125f

Monday India celebrates Republic Day - and worries neighbors, especially Pakistan. NEW DELHI – Every Republic Day, India struts its military stuff, dragging out the latest ballistic missiles and tanks and parading the finest soldiers on the subcontinent. But Monday, on this year's anniversary, India has a bit more to strut about. Just five years after US-imposed sanctions turned India and Pakistan into virtual pariah states for their nuclear-weapons tests in 1998, India has emerged as America's "strategic partner" in South Asia. Far more than its alliance with Pakistan to hunt down Al Qaeda and Taliban remnants, America's new relationship...

British troops to train Libyans London January 26, 2004 Britain is planning to send troops to Libya to train Colonel Gaddafi's armed forces and take part in joint military exercises, the latest evidence of a remarkable thaw in relations between the countries. Ministry of Defence officials and army officers are just back from a secret visit to Libya. The Libyans had initially asked Britain to supply sophisticated missile systems as a "reward" for abandoning weapons of mass destruction, but the request was rejected, not least because Tripoli is still subject to a European Union arms embargo. But the British discussed...

  ICDC And Iraqi Police Conduct Their First Joint Operation Without Coalition Assistance RAMADI, Iraq - The Iraqi Civil Defense Corps in conjunction with the Iraqi Police conducted an independent raid last night in Husaybah to capture anti-Coalition forces responsible for hostile activities and robberies in the area. "Although the Iraqis did not capture any anti-Coalition forces or seize any weapons, it marks a significant milestone for Iraqi security services by conducting their own operations without Coalition forces," said Maj. Neil Harper, 82nd Airborne Division Public Affairs Officer. This was the first independent raid conducted by the Iraqis, which...

Australia is to increase its military presence in Iraq, sending 12 sailors to help rebuild the Iraqi Navy. The Australian sailors will be deployed to the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr next month to help establish a coastal defence force. They will work with British and US Navy personnel in training Iraqi sailors and navy personnel in patrol boat and small vessel operations. Defence Minister Robert Hill has also announced that Australian air traffic controllers deployed at Baghdad International Airport in the wake of the Iraq war will now stay until May. But 61 members of the security team that...

Once again, the United States and Saudi Arabian governments are joining together to ask the United Nations’ 1267 Sanctions Committee to add four branches of the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation to its consolidated list of terrorists tied to al-Qaida, Usama bin Laden and the Taliban. Today’s designation of the Al-Haramain branches in Indonesia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Pakistan under Executive Order 13224 is the latest in a series of public joint actions with our ally in the war on terrorist financing. These branches have provided financial, material and logistical support to the al-Qaida network and other terrorist organizations. "The United States and...

ANKARA (AFP) - Pakistan and Turkey, two Muslim countries targeted by Islamic extremism, signed an anti-terror cooperation deal along with agreements on expanding economic ties during a visit by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. "Turkey and Pakistan are determined to efficiently maintain their joint stance against terrorism. We support the steps that my dear brother has taken against terrorism and extremism," Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer told a news conference held jointly with Musharraf. The anti-terror agreement provides for exchanges of information and experts, Musharraf said. Several of the Muslim extremists blamed for the November car bomb attacks in Istanbul, which...

THE US is likely to use the joint military training facility it is seeking to establish in northern Australia to pre-position equipment and materiel, according to America's highest-ranking soldier, visiting Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Richard Myers. In its global reassessment of its force deployment the US has developed a places, not bases, doctrine under which it stores large amounts of equipment from tanks to aircraft, and fuel and ammunition around the world to allow the rapid deployment of troops into theatres of war. In an interview with The Australian, General Myers said that there was no proposal to station...

IN the new age of international terrorism, even more than before, Australia's alliance with the US is the bedrock of our national defence and security. We now rely on the US, to an unprecedented degree, to bolster our electronic warfare and intelligence capabilities. Following the Bali outrage 15 months ago, and with mounting evidence of organised terror networks throughout Southeast Asia, it has never been more imperative to keep the US, a country with a strong isolationist impulse in its political history, interested in our region from a security standpoint. In that context, provided the details are acceptable, the idea...

ABOARD THE USNS SATURN (AP)--Masked U.S. Marines and their Spanish counterparts streamed out of military helicopters and stormed a naval vessel Saturday, part of a drill in halting traffic in weapons of mass destruction. In minutes, the 26 U.S. Marines and 15 Spanish commandos were in full control of the USNS Saturn, a U.S. supply ship that was outfitted to mimic a merchant ship carrying concealed chemical and biological weapons. More than a dozen Saturn crew were bound with plastic handcuffs. A search team of experts draped in yellow protective suits and armed with high-tech gadgetry screened the shipment for...

  U.S. Not Seeking Bases in Australia, Myers Says By Jim GaramoneAmerican Forces Press Service SYDNEY, Jan. 17, 2004 – The United States is not even thinking about basing American troops in Australia, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said here today. Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers said Jan. 16 that U.S. and Australian officials are considering building a joint training area in Australia. The Australian press has magnified that embryonic project into a U.S. request for permanent bases. Myers said it is no secret that the United States and Australia have a close military relationship....

US, Kenya embark on military exercises January 16 2004 at 11:30AM Gearing up: United States marines pass Kenyan women in the coastal town of Lamu. The marines are carrying out a joint military exercise with the Kenyan army which is aimed at improving the east African country's range of crisis response techniques. Full story Photo: AFP Manda Bay - United States and Kenyan troops have embarked on joint military exercises on the Indian Ocean coast aimed at improving a broad range of crisis response techniques. The manoeuvres, code-named "Edged Mallet 4", are part of a series of annual drills which...

Push to train US troops in Australia By Mark Riley, Political Correspondent January 17, 2004 The Federal Government is looking to further deepen its military ties with the United States with a proposal for a joint military training facility in Australia. The plan would see troops from the US Pacific Command training alongside their Australian counterparts. But America's highest-ranking soldier, General Richard Myers, said that the move should not be seen as an attempt by the US to develop a base for its troops on Australian soil. Both countries emphasised that the plan was at an early stage, but said...

Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com) - The United States is leading a military exercise in the Arabian Sea this weekend that will further test the ability of a new security coalition to prevent rogue states and terrorists from transferring non-conventional weapons by sea. The air and sea maneuver involves naval forces from Australia, Singapore, Spain, Britain and Italy, with several other countries sending observers. The Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), launched by President Bush last year, aims to prevent the illicit buying or selling of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and related technology by stopping and searching suspect ships or planes. The...

The Department of Defense announced today that U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) will conduct the first joint national training capability horizontal training exercise from Jan. 18-30, 2004. This exercise is the first of many planned JNTC exercises, which will pull together service training sites, systems, and exercises to meet the needs of combatant commanders to fight in a joint environment. This and future exercises will lead to initial operational capability of JNTC by October 2004. The joint training will build on the Services’ training exercises to provide a common picture that includes all exercise data from across the military-whether live,...

WASHINGTON - U.S. and Canadian military aircraft have scrambled nearly 1,700 times to intercept or divert suspicious aircraft since Sept. 11, but routine drills illustrate how terrorists could penetrate the airspace around the nation's capital. "We do these tests to push the system, find holes, and when we find holes we correct them," said Canadian Army Maj. Douglas Martin of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). "Every time we do a test, or an evaluation or exercise, we're getting better at defending the national capital region," he said. Officials said the exercises conducted in early- and mid-December are the...

<p>January 9, 2004 -- JERUSALEM - Israel's chief intelligence agency, the Mossad, is now working with Turkey to track down al Qaeda agents in the region. The extraordinary alliance between security officials in Muslim Turkey and the Jewish state shows how seriously the world's intelligence agencies are taking the continuing threat from Osama bin Laden's terror network.</p>

East Africa dispatch -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Idyllic hub of war on terror The presence of US forces in Lamu demonstrates east Africa's strategic importance to George Bush's fight against terror, says Jeevan Vasagar Tuesday January 6, 2004 Lamu, the guidebooks say, is "Kenya's Kathmandu" - a hot, dusty cluster of islands hugging the Indian Ocean coast. The muezzin's call echoes across serried rooftops, fishermen heave dhows across the dunes, and backpackers come to chill out at the end of an African trek. However, combat trousers are not a fashion statement for Lamu's latest wave of western visitors. Military ranges at the Manda...

Israel and Turkey have signed a comprehensive security agreement on cooperation in the "war on terrorism," Israel's Public Security Minister Tzachi HaNegbi said in remarks broadcast on Thursday. The accord, signed on Wednesday, was accompanied by agreement on holding joint exercises both in Israel and Turkey for the respective nations' border police units, Israel Radio reported. The cooperation agreement also covers sharing intelligence and joint development of "anti-terror" technology. "Despite the terrorist attacks, Turkey has not harmed its special relationship with Israel," said HaNegbi, currently visiting Turkey. "Moreover, in this agreement signed by the Turkish interior minister and myself, we...