By Sgt. 1st Class Stacy Niles, USA
Special to American Forces Press Service
March 14, 2008 - Their school's infrastructure may be behind the times, but education has been thrust into the modern era at an Iraqi school for girls. Thanks to the Wasit Provincial Reconstruction Team, the Kut Girls Secondary School received an Internet center, complete with 10 computer and furniture. The school, established in 1932, educates 1,000 girls in grades 10 to 12.
Girls from throughout the province will use the center, School Manager Zahrah Aljdrey said. In addition to giving students the ability to do research and work on projects, the center will allow girls to complete exam they otherwise would have to travel to Baghdad to take.
Aljdrey said the computers will help students get a better education and will give them the opportunity to learn about different cultures.
Army Sgt. Amanda Timmer, the Wasit PRT's head of women's initiatives and program manager for the Internet center, the project provided her with a feeling of satisfaction.
"It was great, especially after talking with the girls and seeing how optimistic and energetic they were," Timmer said. "It was as if they could sense that the world was at their fingertips -- like they knew they were the future of Iraq.
"They already had the initiative, but this gives them the tools to help accomplish their initiatives and ambitions," she said.
The project was a cooperative effort between the Wasit PRT, the Wasit provincial council and the Iraqi director general of education.
(Army Sgt. 1st Class Stacy Niles serves with the 214th Fires Brigade Public Affairs Office.)
Showing posts with label internet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label internet. Show all posts
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Micro-Grants Put Iraq Small Business Back on Track
By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 14, 2007 - In the Arab Jabour area of Iraq, a local butcher is back to work in a new shop with plenty of business and plans to expand, thanks in part to some small grants given to local businesses to help jump-start their operations. Six months ago, the area was an insurgent stronghold, and the butcher sold only one or two sheep a month. Now he is butchering four or five a day and has added cows two days a week, Army Lt. Col. David Kennedy, a deputy economic provincial reconstruction team leader in Iraq, said in a conference call with Internet reporters and "bloggers."
"What we found is that just a small injection of capital into many of the small businesses in our (area) has yielded immediate results to many of the shops and merchants," he said.
The mostly Sunni population of the southern-Baghdad region of Arab Jabour is about 120,000. The area was once one of the main routes for weapons, bombs and money infused into the Baghdad insurgency, but order has since been restored, and U.S. officials are busy helping the population rebuild their cities.
Kennedy's small team has passed out about 57 "micro-grants" to local businesses averaging about $400 to $500 each paid for by Commander's Emergency Response Program funds. So far his group has pumped about $90,000 worth of the grants into the local businesses, he said.
Kennedy said he visits the areas once a week to distribute the grants and check on the progress of the businesses. The grants are not handouts, and business owners are expected to have a plan for the money. Also, Kennedy tries to link training to receiving the grants and reinforces any successes with more grants.
"We don't want this to be just a cash grab. They have to actually show us how they are improving their business," Kennedy said.
"If we see that a business is using their money prudently and they're making a lot of improvements, then we'll give them another one," he said.
With the funds, the butcher renovated a new shop next to his old one and then was given a new butcher table. He has plans to eventually open a restaurant employing 15 people, a place for families to come together, relax and be normal people, Kennedy said.
"This guy has a vision," Kennedy said. "Me and the team leader have made it a goal to eat dinner there before they leave this summer.
"Hopefully we can make that a reality," he said.
This is Kennedy's second tour to the area, and he has seen incredible improvements, he said. Along with the economic revitalization, Kennedy works with local governments to rebuild their infrastructure. He meets weekly to discuss improving essential services, such as electricity, water and education. Arab Jabour now has streetlights for the first time in five years or more.
"This is not the U.S. coalition people doing the work. These are Iraqis," Kennedy said. "These are college-educated, professional people who are very anxious to do their jobs. All they need to do their jobs is security.
"They want to do their jobs. They just want to be safe while they're doing it. They're all chomping at the bit to get back to work and do what they're trained to do. They just need our help," Kennedy said.
Local concerned citizens groups are being transitioned from security functions to public works efforts, he said. The activities are modeled after successful efforts in areas such as Anbar province.
One potential hurdle to sustaining the growth is that the U.S. government -- not the Iraqi government -- is still providing money for the improvements, Kennedy said. But, that, too, is changing.
Local councils are strong, forming subcommittees and attending training, and, most importantly, establishing representation within the Iraqi government structure.
"We still have to provide the money. In most cases, ... if they can get those spigots turned on from the government up in Baghdad flowing down, ... they're going to be well on their way to success over here," he said.
A new government center is set to open this week, and the local council has plans for five days of training in Baghdad on how to be an effective governing body.
"They are serious people realizing that there is serious work to be done, and they want to be part of the future of their people. They're good, honest Iraqis," Kennedy said.
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 14, 2007 - In the Arab Jabour area of Iraq, a local butcher is back to work in a new shop with plenty of business and plans to expand, thanks in part to some small grants given to local businesses to help jump-start their operations. Six months ago, the area was an insurgent stronghold, and the butcher sold only one or two sheep a month. Now he is butchering four or five a day and has added cows two days a week, Army Lt. Col. David Kennedy, a deputy economic provincial reconstruction team leader in Iraq, said in a conference call with Internet reporters and "bloggers."
"What we found is that just a small injection of capital into many of the small businesses in our (area) has yielded immediate results to many of the shops and merchants," he said.
The mostly Sunni population of the southern-Baghdad region of Arab Jabour is about 120,000. The area was once one of the main routes for weapons, bombs and money infused into the Baghdad insurgency, but order has since been restored, and U.S. officials are busy helping the population rebuild their cities.
Kennedy's small team has passed out about 57 "micro-grants" to local businesses averaging about $400 to $500 each paid for by Commander's Emergency Response Program funds. So far his group has pumped about $90,000 worth of the grants into the local businesses, he said.
Kennedy said he visits the areas once a week to distribute the grants and check on the progress of the businesses. The grants are not handouts, and business owners are expected to have a plan for the money. Also, Kennedy tries to link training to receiving the grants and reinforces any successes with more grants.
"We don't want this to be just a cash grab. They have to actually show us how they are improving their business," Kennedy said.
"If we see that a business is using their money prudently and they're making a lot of improvements, then we'll give them another one," he said.
With the funds, the butcher renovated a new shop next to his old one and then was given a new butcher table. He has plans to eventually open a restaurant employing 15 people, a place for families to come together, relax and be normal people, Kennedy said.
"This guy has a vision," Kennedy said. "Me and the team leader have made it a goal to eat dinner there before they leave this summer.
"Hopefully we can make that a reality," he said.
This is Kennedy's second tour to the area, and he has seen incredible improvements, he said. Along with the economic revitalization, Kennedy works with local governments to rebuild their infrastructure. He meets weekly to discuss improving essential services, such as electricity, water and education. Arab Jabour now has streetlights for the first time in five years or more.
"This is not the U.S. coalition people doing the work. These are Iraqis," Kennedy said. "These are college-educated, professional people who are very anxious to do their jobs. All they need to do their jobs is security.
"They want to do their jobs. They just want to be safe while they're doing it. They're all chomping at the bit to get back to work and do what they're trained to do. They just need our help," Kennedy said.
Local concerned citizens groups are being transitioned from security functions to public works efforts, he said. The activities are modeled after successful efforts in areas such as Anbar province.
One potential hurdle to sustaining the growth is that the U.S. government -- not the Iraqi government -- is still providing money for the improvements, Kennedy said. But, that, too, is changing.
Local councils are strong, forming subcommittees and attending training, and, most importantly, establishing representation within the Iraqi government structure.
"We still have to provide the money. In most cases, ... if they can get those spigots turned on from the government up in Baghdad flowing down, ... they're going to be well on their way to success over here," he said.
A new government center is set to open this week, and the local council has plans for five days of training in Baghdad on how to be an effective governing body.
"They are serious people realizing that there is serious work to be done, and they want to be part of the future of their people. They're good, honest Iraqis," Kennedy said.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Iraqi Security Forces Take Huge Steps Forward
By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 29, 2007 - Iraqi security forces have taken "huge steps forward" in growing and moving toward independent operations, a senior commander in Iraq said today. And they've made this progress despite fighting a war on their own soil and working through an immature bureaucracy, said British Army Brigadier S. M. Gledhill, deputy commanding general for the Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq. The command is charged with helping the Iraqis to organize, man and equip their force and to develop the ministries of Defense and Interior.
"Fundamentally, Iraqis are now taking ownership of the battle space themselves. I think this is an extremely positive move and it really demonstrates their capability," Gledhill said to a group of Internet journalists and "bloggers" in a conference call.
"An increasing number are moving into the leading role, and I have every confidence that over the next 12 months Iraqi battalions and brigades will increasingly take the lead in the battle space," he said.
In the past year, the Iraqi security forces have rocketed to nearly a half million, including both the police and army. The 158,000-member armed forces are expected to grow to 190,000. The police forces number more than 300,000, Gledhill said. A year ago, the police forces numbered less than 200,000, and the armed forces were about 135,000 strong.
Between the army and national police, 191 Iraqi battalions are in the fight, with more than half operating without coalition force support, he said.
This progress has come as U.S. forces put more into developing training infrastructure in the country. A combat training center about 50 miles east of Baghdad can train a brigade at a time. Plans are for each army division to have its own training center that will be able to host battalion-level training.
Now is the time to develop logistics capabilities that have not kept pace with the combat forces, Gledhill said.
"As the size of the force and the nature of it matures, we need to put in place a proper functioning logistics system. It's partly in place, but not entirely," he said.
Some of the higher level maintenance for Iraqi equipment now is provided by contractors who are paid by the United States. "Clearly that's not something that can carry on for much longer," he said.
He called the Iraqi security forces logistics efforts problematic and fragile. But, he said, "that was not a surprise. We have been ... focused upon producing combat units to get them into the fight as a first priority."
Plans are to deliver "considerable enhancements" to the logistics capabilities over the next year. For example, each Iraqi army division will have its own logistics support base in its operating area, offering supply and maintenance services. Now units have only regional support that is no longer capable of serving the expanded force, Gledhill said.
More depots will be built, offering maintenance and wheeled- and tracked-vehicle repair.
In the next 18 months, the Iraqis will become self-sufficient with their own logistics capabilities, Gledhill predicted.
Another growth area for the force has been developing the bureaucratic processes within the Defense and Interior ministries, which Gledhill called immature. But, he said, the war and the expeditious growth of the force have made it a challenge to develop even the most basic services.
Now, monthly progress is measured by an objective process developed jointly with Iraqis. Basic functions are evaluated, such as the ability to acquire material and field it, the ability to recruit, train and equip and the ability to pay its force. The results are assessed with the Iraqis, and focus areas are decided, Gledhill said.
When Gledhill arrived, the ministries were almost totally dependent on coalition support, he said. Now most are capable of performing nearly independently.
"In the past eight months, it is quite clear that there has been steady improvement ... in both ministries," Gledhill said. "It's definitely moving in the right direction. But there's still a lot work to do."
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 29, 2007 - Iraqi security forces have taken "huge steps forward" in growing and moving toward independent operations, a senior commander in Iraq said today. And they've made this progress despite fighting a war on their own soil and working through an immature bureaucracy, said British Army Brigadier S. M. Gledhill, deputy commanding general for the Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq. The command is charged with helping the Iraqis to organize, man and equip their force and to develop the ministries of Defense and Interior.
"Fundamentally, Iraqis are now taking ownership of the battle space themselves. I think this is an extremely positive move and it really demonstrates their capability," Gledhill said to a group of Internet journalists and "bloggers" in a conference call.
"An increasing number are moving into the leading role, and I have every confidence that over the next 12 months Iraqi battalions and brigades will increasingly take the lead in the battle space," he said.
In the past year, the Iraqi security forces have rocketed to nearly a half million, including both the police and army. The 158,000-member armed forces are expected to grow to 190,000. The police forces number more than 300,000, Gledhill said. A year ago, the police forces numbered less than 200,000, and the armed forces were about 135,000 strong.
Between the army and national police, 191 Iraqi battalions are in the fight, with more than half operating without coalition force support, he said.
This progress has come as U.S. forces put more into developing training infrastructure in the country. A combat training center about 50 miles east of Baghdad can train a brigade at a time. Plans are for each army division to have its own training center that will be able to host battalion-level training.
Now is the time to develop logistics capabilities that have not kept pace with the combat forces, Gledhill said.
"As the size of the force and the nature of it matures, we need to put in place a proper functioning logistics system. It's partly in place, but not entirely," he said.
Some of the higher level maintenance for Iraqi equipment now is provided by contractors who are paid by the United States. "Clearly that's not something that can carry on for much longer," he said.
He called the Iraqi security forces logistics efforts problematic and fragile. But, he said, "that was not a surprise. We have been ... focused upon producing combat units to get them into the fight as a first priority."
Plans are to deliver "considerable enhancements" to the logistics capabilities over the next year. For example, each Iraqi army division will have its own logistics support base in its operating area, offering supply and maintenance services. Now units have only regional support that is no longer capable of serving the expanded force, Gledhill said.
More depots will be built, offering maintenance and wheeled- and tracked-vehicle repair.
In the next 18 months, the Iraqis will become self-sufficient with their own logistics capabilities, Gledhill predicted.
Another growth area for the force has been developing the bureaucratic processes within the Defense and Interior ministries, which Gledhill called immature. But, he said, the war and the expeditious growth of the force have made it a challenge to develop even the most basic services.
Now, monthly progress is measured by an objective process developed jointly with Iraqis. Basic functions are evaluated, such as the ability to acquire material and field it, the ability to recruit, train and equip and the ability to pay its force. The results are assessed with the Iraqis, and focus areas are decided, Gledhill said.
When Gledhill arrived, the ministries were almost totally dependent on coalition support, he said. Now most are capable of performing nearly independently.
"In the past eight months, it is quite clear that there has been steady improvement ... in both ministries," Gledhill said. "It's definitely moving in the right direction. But there's still a lot work to do."
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Iraqi Targeting Success Now Equals Coalition Efforts
By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 27, 2007 - Iraqi forces can now gather intelligence and go after targets as successfully as U.S. units there, a senior intelligence advisor in the region said today. Iraqi intelligence gathering and processing has progressed at the tactical level to the point that target information is collected, processed and approved and then sent to Iraqi units, who go after the target. The cycle is successful in yielding results about 30 percent of the time.
That is about the same as U.S. efforts, said Daniel M. Maguire, the senior intelligence advisor and director of the Iraqi Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Interior intelligence transition team, speaking via telephone to a group of Internet journalists and "bloggers."
"They are right now on par in terms of going after targets and having success ... with the rest of the coalition forces," Maguire said.
Maguire's joint team of about 80 military members and civilians work within the ministries of Defense and Interior, advising and mentoring Iraqi officials as they build the capacity of the intelligence efforts. His department falls under Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq, which is responsible for training, manning and equipping Iraqi security forces.
Maguire said he believes intelligence capabilities within the Iraqi government should be self-sustaining by this time next year. In Baghdad "we have gone from submitting probably less than a dozen targets on a weekly basis, of which none were actionable, to most recently being able to submit between 50 and 60 on a weekly basis, 90 percent which are actionable" or have sufficient details that Iraqi forces can go out and make an arrest, seize a target or pick up the weapons cache, Maguire said.
Some targets, though, still are sent to coalition forces, depending on their sensitivity or if they are out of Iraqi forces' technical capabilities.
"But the success story is really (that), from the front end to the back end, (the) complete cycle is Iraqi-run and Iraqi-executed," he said.
Under Saddam Hussein's rule, intelligence organizations within Iraqi security divisions were there more often to spy on commands than to collect outside target information.
Maguire said his team is working to resolve commanders' suspicions by directly working with commanders and assigning senior intelligence officers at division levels so the commander and the intelligence officers establish working relationships.
Iraqi intelligence efforts are limited in some technical capabilities, such as intelligence gathering. Maguire's office is working to get the Iraqis some low-level capabilities that would apply against target sets they are confronting, he said.
At a more senior level, the biggest challenge is recruiting trained analysts and supplying them with secure communications devices and analysis computers and software. They have about 80 percent of what they need, Maguire said.
But, he added, the Iraqi government is hiring and recruiting mostly by word of mouth at universities and reaching out to former military and intelligence officers.
Maguire said he thinks that this time next year they will be "perfectly capable of collecting (intelligence) against a target and executing against a target probably in most of the provinces."
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 27, 2007 - Iraqi forces can now gather intelligence and go after targets as successfully as U.S. units there, a senior intelligence advisor in the region said today. Iraqi intelligence gathering and processing has progressed at the tactical level to the point that target information is collected, processed and approved and then sent to Iraqi units, who go after the target. The cycle is successful in yielding results about 30 percent of the time.
That is about the same as U.S. efforts, said Daniel M. Maguire, the senior intelligence advisor and director of the Iraqi Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Interior intelligence transition team, speaking via telephone to a group of Internet journalists and "bloggers."
"They are right now on par in terms of going after targets and having success ... with the rest of the coalition forces," Maguire said.
Maguire's joint team of about 80 military members and civilians work within the ministries of Defense and Interior, advising and mentoring Iraqi officials as they build the capacity of the intelligence efforts. His department falls under Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq, which is responsible for training, manning and equipping Iraqi security forces.
Maguire said he believes intelligence capabilities within the Iraqi government should be self-sustaining by this time next year. In Baghdad "we have gone from submitting probably less than a dozen targets on a weekly basis, of which none were actionable, to most recently being able to submit between 50 and 60 on a weekly basis, 90 percent which are actionable" or have sufficient details that Iraqi forces can go out and make an arrest, seize a target or pick up the weapons cache, Maguire said.
Some targets, though, still are sent to coalition forces, depending on their sensitivity or if they are out of Iraqi forces' technical capabilities.
"But the success story is really (that), from the front end to the back end, (the) complete cycle is Iraqi-run and Iraqi-executed," he said.
Under Saddam Hussein's rule, intelligence organizations within Iraqi security divisions were there more often to spy on commands than to collect outside target information.
Maguire said his team is working to resolve commanders' suspicions by directly working with commanders and assigning senior intelligence officers at division levels so the commander and the intelligence officers establish working relationships.
Iraqi intelligence efforts are limited in some technical capabilities, such as intelligence gathering. Maguire's office is working to get the Iraqis some low-level capabilities that would apply against target sets they are confronting, he said.
At a more senior level, the biggest challenge is recruiting trained analysts and supplying them with secure communications devices and analysis computers and software. They have about 80 percent of what they need, Maguire said.
But, he added, the Iraqi government is hiring and recruiting mostly by word of mouth at universities and reaching out to former military and intelligence officers.
Maguire said he thinks that this time next year they will be "perfectly capable of collecting (intelligence) against a target and executing against a target probably in most of the provinces."
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