WASHINGTON - More nations are involved in the coalition against terror than participated in the Persian Gulf War, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said during a Pentagon press conference today.

JACKSON, Miss. - Looking to improve its business practices throughout the department, DoD celebrated its headquarters-level African-American History Month events on the road this year.

WASHINGTON - A government-sponsored supplemental food and health education program is available to service members and their families stationed stateside and overseas.

WASHINGTON - President Bush today told Homeland Security Department employees that their efforts are critical components in the campaign against global terrorism.

WASHINGTON - "The most dangerous thing in this whole scenario is the fact that we're dealing with a dictator who had weapons of mass terror, who continues to hold on to them at great cost to his country and to his own regime," Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz told ABC's Diane Sawyer today on "Good Morning America." "And that's the scariest part of it."

WASHINGTON - There will be a "Balikatan" activity in the Philippines this year, but the shape and size of the activity remain to be worked out, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said at the Pentagon today.

WASHINGTON - The State Department rolled out a collection of horror stories in a new publication called "Iraq's Voices for Freedom" during a briefing at the Foreign Press Center here Feb. 26.

WASHINGTON - The specter of terrorists allied with democracy-hating regimes like Saddam Hussein's Iraq seeking weapons of mass destruction presents a danger America cannot afford to ignore, the U.S. military's top officer said Feb. 26.

WASHINGTON - Top noncommissioned officers moved up in the world at annual TRICARE conference late last month. They ascended from having a little impromptu powwow in the back of a room last year to a full-fledged track in this year's conclave.

WASHINGTON - The presidents of the United States and Afghanistan today discussed post-war reconstruction accomplishments in Afghanistan at a White House meeting.

WASHINGTON - Government officials today have decided to return the threat level of terrorist attack to an "elevated" risk, or "yellow."

WASHINGTON - It is akin to parking B-2 bombers at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Or like rounding up civilians in Austin, Texas, and chaining them around ammunition bunkers at nearby Fort Hood.

WASHINGTON - The war against terrorism is "largely over" in Afghanistan, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said during a Pentagon news conference today.

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department cannot answer how much a war on Iraq might cost or how many troops it would take to pacify the country afterward, because the answers are "unknowable," Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said today.

WASHINGTON - The United States is honoring its pledge to rebuild Afghanistan, senior defense officials said in a background briefing today.

WASHINGTON - The United States and the European Union share the same objectives in Iraq, Secretary of State Colin Powell said today following a meeting with EU ministers here.

WASHINGTON - Afghan President Hamid Karzai delivered a sobering message to the U.S. Congress today: Don't forget Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON - U.N. inspections weren't imposed on Saddam Hussein so he could "dribble out little pieces of the weapons program that he claims he doesn't have in the first place. The purpose was for him to disarm and he's clearly not," Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said Feb. 26.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Coast Guard has tabbed 10 ships for deployment in support of the global war on terrorism.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Philippine Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes will meet at the Pentagon Feb. 28 to hammer out details of U.S. participation in operations against the Abu Sayyaf terror group.

WASHINGTON - President Bush today called Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein a "master of disguise and delay."

WASHINGTON - There will be a "rebalancing" of the missions between the active duty component and reserve components of the Total Force, said Thomas F. Hall, assistant defense secretary for reserve affairs.

JACKSON, Miss. - Inside a small college gym, military officers dressed in neat, crisp uniforms with shiny medals and colorful ribbons extolled the benefits of military service. Saleem Baird, 21, a computer science and economics major at Tougaloo College here, wasn't buying into the message.

WASHINGTON - If the United States is forced into a war with Iraq, the American public can expect "incredibly robust coverage," the woman in charge of facilitating that coverage said today.

WASHINGTON - The safety of the American people depends on ending the direct and growing threat of Iraq, President Bush said here tonight in a speech to the American Enterprise Institute. But beyond that, removing Saddam Hussein's regime from power "will contribute greatly to the long-term safety and stability of our world."

DEARBORN, Mich. - A horrible, barbarous thing happened to Ahsan Alwatan when he was about a year old.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld dismissed as "utter nonsense" the notion that the United States is after Iraqi oil.

WASHINGTON - The men and women who make up America's military will be featured on an ABC-TV production entitled "Profiles from the Front Line" beginning Feb. 27.

WASHINGTON - The Coast Guard welcomed Homeland Security Department Secretary Tom Ridge aboard today as its new chief civilian during a symbolic transfer of leadership here.

WASHINGTON - President Bush suspects Iraq's Saddam Hussein "will try to fool the world one more time," he said at the White House today.

WASHINGTON - The United States and close allies Britain and Spain proposed a follow-up resolution on Iraq at the U.N. Security Council meeting in New York Feb. 24. France and Germany offered a weaker counterproposal.

WASHINGTON - A Black Hawk helicopter crash in the Kuwaiti desert killed four American soldiers early this morning.

WASHINGTON - Preventing an attack is always difficult, but convincing the world to take preventive action is even more difficult, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told guests today at a Hoover Institution luncheon here.

WASHINGTON - While there has been no decision to go to war with Saddam Hussein, the U.S. military has been working to avert a humanitarian crisis in the country should conflict become inevitable.

WASHINGTON - Even if the United States disarms Iraq by force and gives Saddam Hussein the boot, its military campaign's success may be judged on different things: how well and quickly it restores Iraq and leaves.

WASHINGTON - Abumuslim Al-Hayder was a political prisoner in Iraq before Saddam Hussein became president of Iraq in 1979. In fact, he was among those Hussein gave amnesty to after taking over the government.

WASHINGTON - "Americans do not submit to fear," the nation "will be prepared," the chief of the Department of Homeland Security reminded emergency management directors from the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories today.

WASHINGTON - The military is aiming to improve the quality of medical care for women having a baby.

WASHINGTON - U.S. soldiers are training Iraqi exiles and expatriates at a Hungarian air base to aid U.S. forces should an invasion of Iraq become necessary.

WASHINGTON - It would be a "bad day" for the United Nations if it refuses to deal with Iraqi noncompliance with U.N. resolutions, Secretary of State Colin Powell said in Beijing today.

DEARBORN, Mich. - The United States seeks to liberate Iraq, not occupy it, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said here Feb. 23 to nearly 300 members of the Iraqi-American community.

WASHINGTON - The U.N. Security Council faces "a clear choice" regarding disarmament of Iraq, President Bush said Feb. 22.

WASHINGTON - The United States, Britain, and other countries will table a U.N. Security Council resolution "sometime early next week," Secretary of State Colin Powell said in Japan today.

WASHINGTON - U.S. experts are helping the Colombian armed forces search for three Americans captured by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, embassy officials said today.

WASHINGTON - It was Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz's turn this week to relay a simple message to Iraq's Saddam Hussein: Disarm or be disarmed; time is running out.

WASHINGTON - A little-known organization that canvasses private industry to quickly find and develop innovative solutions to problems inherent in fighting terrorism may be emerging from the shadows.

WASHINGTON - The United States and its coalition allies have "ample" forces in the Persian Gulf region to take on Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Feb. 20.

WASHINGTON - NATO Secretary-General George Robertson labeled displays of European anti-Americanism and American anti- Europeanism as "damaging," "not fair" and "it's not right." He made these remarks as preparations continue for a possible showdown with Iraq and anti-war demonstrations escalate.

WASHINGTON - Some people call February Black History Month. Others call it African-American History Month.

WASHINGTON - U.S. and Philippine forces will conduct combined operations against the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group in the Southern Philippines, DoD officials said today.

WASHINGTON - Military environmental health risk experts were unprepared in 1991 when Saddam Hussein ordered engineers to blow up hundreds of Kuwaiti oil wells. Over the next seven months, more than 1 billion barrels of oil went up in flames, some creating huge, dark soot plumes.

WASHINGTON - Service members deployed worldwide in the war against terrorism should know that DoD expends great effort in providing support services for their families at home.

WASHINGTON - Military action against Iraq is America's last option, President Bush told an audience today in Kennesaw, Ga.

WASHINGTON - NATO's decision to protect Turkey from potential attack by Iraq is an example of how alliance members can work together to resolve tough issues, Secretary of State Colin Powell said today.

WASHINGTON - Every person on the Pentagon reservation will receive "escape masks" in the event the building is attacked again, DoD officials said today.

WASHINGTON - A U.S. soldier lost his foot Feb. 19 in a mine strike in eastern Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON - The Academy Life Insurance Co. seeks immediate contact with an estimated 110,000 current and former service members who may be eligible to receive payments from a fund established as part of a settlement it reached with the Justice Department Dec. 19, 2002.

WASHINGTON - NATO is sending several defensive weapons systems to Turkey to protect that alliance member from possible attack by neighboring Iraq.

WASHINGTON - The United States welcomes South Korean President-elect Roh Moo-hyun's proposal to discuss "rebalancing" the relationship between the two countries, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said today.

CLEVELAND - Guard and Reserve members who have child support obligations and whose civilian income is larger than their military one should review their rights before they get orders.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Postal Service is selling a stamp that lionizes an African American who is credited with ending legal segregation in the United States and who fought for minority equality in the armed forces.

WASHINGTON - A Moroccan man has been sentenced to 15 years in a German prison for his part in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

WASHINGTON - Opposition to U.S. initiatives on Iraq are not surprising, given the complexity of the issues confronting the world, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said today.

WASHINGTON - Americans should stay informed of world events, but never surrender to fear, "because fear is the terrorists' most effective weapon," Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said today.

WASHINGTON - The United States is working with its allies to get another resolution from the U.N. Security Council on Iraq, President Bush said today.

WASHINGTON - National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice propelled the administration's clear message to Saddam Hussein during a Sunday morning talk show: "If you're ever going to comply, this is the time."

NEW YORK - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told an audience of civic and business leaders that the U.S. remains steadfast to its promise to aid Afghanistan's stability.

WASHINGTON - The United States is winning the war on terrorism, in part, because intelligence efforts span the federal bureaucracy and link to the world.

WASHINGTON - With more than 150,000 reserve component members called to active duty, the nation understands the crucial role they play in the defense of the United States, Thomas F. Hall said at the Pentagon today.

WASHINGTON - Transformation of the U.S. armed forces is at the heart of the president's fiscal 2004 defense budget request. Yet at the same time, America must fight a global war on terrorism.

WASHINGTON - The current method of handling the remains of U.S. service members will remain in place, DoD officials said today.

WASHINGTON - Both Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei cited increased cooperation from Iraq as inspections proceed, but U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Iraq is playing its same old game of dragging its feet.

WASHINGTON - President Bush has said the war on terror is a war for freedom.

WASHINGTON - Fighting continues in southern Afghanistan with heavy aircraft called in to pound cave positions in northern Helmand Province, military officials report.

WASHINGTON - There are heroes among today's service members, just as there have been throughout our nation's history, Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz told America's military heroes of yesteryear during a Feb. 12 black-tie dinner at the New York Stock Exchange.

WASHINGTON - Possible outcomes in Iraq could lead to vastly different levels of outside military intervention in that country, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said today.

WASHINGTON - North Korea has missiles capable of reaching the West Coast of the United States.

ARLINGTON, Va. - Millions of fans have screamed themselves hoarse while watching stock cars, gleaming with familiar names and numbers, compete in Winston Cup races nationwide. Now a new contender seeks their approval.

WASHINGTON - President Bush rallied America's military members today, telling them "great tasks lie ahead" during a visit to Naval Station Mayport, near Jacksonville, Fla.

WASHINGTON - "No one wants war," U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said today, "but sometimes it's necessary when you need it to maintain international order."

WASHINGTON - Increased tensions between America and her allies and Iraq could lead to an increase in "global hacking activities," the government body dedicated to protecting the nation's infrastructure warned.

WASHINGTON - About 90,000 babies are born to U.S. military families each year. Army families welcome 40 percent of the babies; the Air Force, 25 percent; Navy, 24 percent; and Marine Corps, 11 percent. Military babies are born in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and overseas. California, Texas and Virginia report the highest number of military births annually -- more than 7,000 each. Nearly 10 percent of military births occur outside the United States.

WASHINGTON - U.S. troops serving overseas in support of the war on global terrorism and military families are getting handmade valentines courtesy of "Operation Heart to Heart."

WASHINGTON - A senior official from America's staunchest ally joined Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld at the Pentagon podium today and explained why the United Kingdom is so firmly behind the U.S. position on Iraq.

WASHINGTON - Osama bin Laden - or someone "we believe to be bin Laden" - will be sending a message of solidarity to the people of Iraq, Secretary of State Colin Powell advised the Senate this morning.

ARLINGTON, Va. - The National Guard Bureau's first Excellence in Diversity Awards went recently to Georgia, Massachusetts and New York for their efforts in bringing diversity to the force during 2002.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Special Forces soldiers came under heavy weapons fire Feb. 10 as they patrolled an area north of Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The Defense Department has changed the way it will track and assess the health care given military personnel before, during and after deployments, a senior Pentagon health official said recently.

WASHINGTON - Noting that DoD's anthrax and smallpox vaccination plans are part of the global war on terrorism, Army Col. John D. Grabenstein said vaccines shield people from dangerous germs, keep them healthy so they can live better lives, and help them do their military missions and return home healthy.

WASHINGTON - Once Saddam Hussein's regime is history, the United States and its coalition partners will pitch in to help the Iraqi people restore their country, Douglas J. Feith, undersecretary of defense for policy, said on Capitol Hill today.

WASHINGTON - The information that prompted national security leaders to raise the nationwide threat level to "high" last week is the "most specific we have seen," Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet said today.

WASHINGTON - Commercial airlines have been enlisted by DoD to transport troops and equipment as part of the buildup for possible war with Iraq.

WASHINGTON - Iraq provided some additional information to U.N. inspectors over the weekend, but not enough to answer serious questions about chemical and biological weapons materiel.

WASHINGTON - If North Korea continues on its nuclear path, it will find itself increasingly isolated, U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said Feb. 9.

WASHINGTON - Should Iraq force the United States to engage in armed conflict, this country will do everything possible to protect innocent Iraqi civilians, President Bush said today.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld today downplayed talk of a rift in NATO over Iraq, saying the alliance will ultimately work to protect Turkey should force be necessary against Saddam Hussein.

WASHINGTON - Australian Prime Minister John Howard said today that if there is "a faint hope" of the Iraq problem being solved peacefully, the entire world must continue to put pressure on Saddam Hussein.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2003 - Iraq's latest offers to allow more U-2 reconnaissance flights and to allo - a little bit in order to release the pressure," Rice said on CBS Face the Nation.

WASHINGTON - As some nations called for more U.N. inspectors backed by U.N. peacekeeping forces, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell held firm to the U.S. position that Iraq must disarm or face serious consequences.

WASHINGTON - Weapons of mass destruction and terrorist ties coupled with deception and defiance make up the core of the Iraq threat, according to President Bush. In this week's radio address, Bush again pressed home his intention to take action.

MUNICH - U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told members of a multinational defense organization gathered here Feb. 8 that world leaders must not waver in coercing Saddam Hussein to jettison his weapons of mass destruction -- by peaceful, or other means.

MUNICH - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld arrived at this Bavarian city Feb. 7 after a bevy of meetings with Italian defense officials in Rome and U.S. troops at Aviano Air Base, Italy.

WASHINGTON - Two boards will oversee the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency's Total Information Awareness program, said Pete Aldridge, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, today.

WASHINGTON - Citing an increased threat of terrorist attacks within the United States, President Bush agreed today to raise the homeland security threat condition to "orange," designating a high likelihood of attack.

WASHINGTON - U.S. citizens around the world are at a heightened risk of terrorist attacks, according to a State Department caution issued Feb. 6.

WASHINGTON - America's service members stand between safety and an evil that must not be allowed to win, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told U.S. troops this morning at Aviano Air Base, Italy.

WASHINGTON - Just over 1,800 Defense Security Service investigators will transfer to the Office of Personnel Management under a new DoD-OPM agreement, defense officials said.

WASHINGTON - Chief Master Sgt. David L. Hamel delighted the audience with his rendition of the "Missing Person Table" ceremony during DoD's 9th annual POW/MIA Prayer Breakfast here today.

WASHINGTON - President Bush said today Saddam Hussein will play a last-minute game of deception, empty promises and false denials in response to U.S. evidence given the United Nations, but, "The game is over."

WASHINGTON - The Stars and Stripes newspaper has joined the likes of The New York Times, Boston Globe and other big-name counterparts by publishing new full-text electronic versions of itself.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld will leave today for Europe to consult with allies and meet American troops, DoD officials announced Feb. 6.

WASHINGTON - A one-year test starting April 1 will permit space-available air travel within the continental United States by family members who accompany their military sponsors.

WASHINGTON - This is "a testing time" for the United States, and at times like this, prayer is more appropriate than ever, President Bush said at the National Prayer Breakfast here this morning.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. military build-up in the U.S. Central Command area of operations continues, with more than 100,000 troops now serving in the region, DoD officials said.

WASHINGTON - Representatives of three countries made statements of strong support for the U.S. position on Iraq following Secretary of State Colin Powell's presentation to the U.N. Security Council Feb. 5. A few appeared strongly against war, and others appear to be fence-sitting.

WASHINGTON - Orson G. Swindle III, who spent six years and four months as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, told the audience at DoD's 9th annual POW/MIA Prayer Breakfast about the horrors of prison camp and that the nation "must get it right" during such troubled times.

WASHINGTON - Satellite photos, recordings of intercepted phone calls and intelligence reports paint an "irrefutable" picture of Saddam Hussein's intentions, Secretary of State Colin Powell told the U.N. Security Council this morning.

WASHINGTON - The National Guard Civil Support teams called to duty to handle the aftermath of the Columbia tragedy are uniquely suited to the purpose.

WASHINGTON - Coalition soldiers continue to clear caves in the Spin Boldak area, U.S. officials said in Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON - America's top general thanked Americans Feb. 4 for their outpouring of support to their armed forces.

WASHINGTON - Following the 1991 Persian Gulf War, the U.S. military gathered huge piles of information and came up with a long list of "lessons learned."

ARLINGTON, Va. - February is African- American History Month, but the tributes and testimonies actually begin about two weeks earlier, around Jan. 15, the birthday of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

WASHINGTON - The fiscal 2004 defense budget request is the first to incorporate the Bush administration's new defense strategies and priorities, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told the House Armed Services Committee today.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld asked Congress to enact sweeping changes in the way the department is managed as he presented the defense portion of the president's fiscal 2004 budget request.

WASHINGTON - An immediate cost to North Korea for normal relations with other nations is to stop trying to commit suicide and blackmail, Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage said today.

WASHINGTON - The president's nominee to become DoD's chief liaison to the Department of Homeland Security told U.S. lawmakers during a recent confirmation hearing that he sees the Guard and Reserve assuming more homeland defense duties.

WASHINGTON - They come from all ethnic backgrounds. About 95 percent are males, 70 percent are white, and they're only about 15 years old when they start molesting children. Startlingly, molesters and victims are related in a third of the known cases.

WASHINGTON - U.S. officials in Afghanistan have said the Afghan national army units are gaining operational experience and are working well with coalition troops.

WASHINGTON - America's space program will go on, President Bush vowed today at a memorial service for the seven Columbia astronauts in Houston.

WASHINGTON - The king of Bahrain stood in front of the Pentagon today and told reporters Saddam Hussein should disarm.

WASHINGTON - America's top defense leaders expressed strong support today for Army Gen. Tommy Franks, the U.S. Central Command commander who is the subject of a defense inspector general investigation over alleged irregularities.

WASHINGTON - The world stage isn't a court of law, and the United States isn't trying to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Saddam Hussein is a threat, but to convince reasonable people of this, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said today.

WASHINGTON - Three members of the FBI Washington Field Office Evidence Response Team at the Pentagon after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack returned today to present a $5,000 check to the Pentagon Memorial Fund.

WASHINGTON - President Bush's fiscal 2004 budget request includes $6 billion for Project BioShield, a plan to quickly make available safer and more effective vaccines and treatments against biological agents such as smallpox, anthrax, botulinum toxin, ebola and plague.

WASHINGTON - Officials at TRICARE contractor TriWest say they're working with Pentagon security experts to ensure the medical records and personal information of millions of beneficiaries remain safe.

ARLINGTON, Va. - National Guard airmen and soldiers joined the grim and painstaking search for debris from the ill-fated space shuttle Columbia soon after it disintegrated over Texas Feb. 1.

WASHINGTON - Retired Adm. Harold Gehman, the first commander of the U.S. Joint Forces Command, will head the Space Shuttle Mishap Interagency Investigation Board to look into the cause of the Columbia shuttle tragedy.

WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service recently clarified a home sales rule affecting service members seeking a capital gains tax exemption worth up to nearly $500,000 for a couple.

WASHINGTON - For more than a year, the brave men and women of the U.S. military, together with their civilian counterparts in the Department of Defense, have been working to preserve peace and defend freedom against terrorist forces and those who would harbor and protect them around the world.

WASHINGTON - The president's fiscal 2004 defense budget request would fund the ongoing war on terrorism while continuing the transformation of the armed forces to meet the threats of the future.

WASHINGTON - Funding the global war on terrorism, maintaining a quality force and transforming the military to face 21st century threats are at the heart of the president's fiscal 2004 defense budget request.

WASHINGTON - Five of the seven astronauts killed aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia were serving U.S. military officers.

WASHINGTON - NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe said the loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia and its crew of seven a "tragic day" for the NASA family and America.