American Forces Press Service
March 7, 2007 – Coalition forces have killed five and captured five terrorists in Iraq in recent days. Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers discovered five terrorists emplacing improvised explosive devices at a village near the banks of the Euphrates River in Baghdad on March 5. Soldiers engaged the terrorists with small-arms fire, killing four.
Following the firefight, the soldiers recovered two AK-47 assault rifles. They turned the terrorists' bodies over to local authorities and confiscated the weapons.
Elsewhere in Iraq that day, Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers discovered a weapons cache along the main highway into Baghdad, near the Radwaniyah village. The cache contained 10 fragmentation hand grenades, 165 mortar primers, eight 12.7 mm machine gun rounds, two bags of bulk explosives with blasting caps, a box with 100 blasting caps, 1,000 9 mm pistol rounds, six hand grenade fuses, a bag of plastic explosives, 1,000 AK-47 rounds, and an improvised explosive device.
This week in Tikrit, aerial surveillance helicopters killed a terrorist and wounded two March 4 as the terrorists attempted to remove munitions from a cache site. Paratroopers from Battery B, Task Force 1-319th, were immediately dispatched to search the area and discovered more than 600 mortar rounds and anti-tank mines with fuses. An explosive ordnance detachment detonated the munitions at the site.
In Baghdad that day, soldiers of 5th Battalion, 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, with coalition partners, detained three individuals found with bomb-making materials. The three suspects were detained for questioning, military officials said.
That day in Yusufiyah, Iraqi army and Multinational Division Baghdad troops found three caches containing weapons and ammunition. The caches, hidden in camouflaged buckets, contained 22 Katyusha rockets, 13 rocket-propelled grenade rounds, a 60 mm mortar tube, two full drums of PKC medium machine gun ammunition, and 12 rolls of detonation cord.
"This is another significant find in our area of operations," Army Maj. Web Wright, a spokesman, said. "We find lots of mortar rounds in this area, but finding the mortar tube is important, because the tube is the only way to launch the rounds.
"Without the tube, the enemy loses not just a weapon, but a capability," he said.
Police and military personnel who have authored books along with criminal justice online leadership sponsored this article.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Baghdad Security Efforts Seem to Yield Results
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
March 7, 2007 – Although it's too early to draw firm conclusions, the new combined Iraqi-U.S. security effort to reduce violence in Iraq's capital city already seems to be bearing fruit, a senior U.S. military officer said today in Baghdad. Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, a spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq, talked with a group of Internet journalists and bloggers during a telephone conference call from Baghdad today.
Caldwell said that there has been an increase of citizen-provided tips to Iraqi and coalition authorities in the three weeks since Operation Law and Order kicked off. These tips have been used to find several insurgent bomb-making sites and weapons caches in the Baghdad area.
Despite renewed suicide-bomber attacks on religious pilgrims, like the one in Karbala yesterday that killed more than 100 people, Sunnis and Shiites living together in Baghdad's mixed neighborhoods are demonstrating restraint in not escalating the violence, Caldwell said.
Another positive sign is that more people are staying put, the general said. "We're very encouraged over these last two or three weeks and seeing people not moving out (of Baghdad), not changing homes," he said.
Part of Baghdad residents' determination to stay the course is likely due to a more proactive security stance adopted by U.S. and Iraqi forces, Caldwell said. American troops and Iraqi soldiers and police have been establishing 10 security districts across Baghdad to institute an around-the-clock presence to deter insurgent violence.
The strategy of establishing dozens of joint Iraqi-U.S. security posts across Baghdad appears to be working, Caldwell said. Original plans called for setting up 35 or 40 such outposts, he said, but now it appears there'll be nearly twice that number.
"We're now looking at 70 of them," Caldwell said. Although U.S. troops and Iraqi soldiers and police may be increasing their exposure by operating from such outposts, he said, this blanketing-of-forces strategy actually decreases the overall risk.
Officials believe that placing high-visibility outposts in Baghdad's neighborhoods will serve to assuage citizens' security concerns while deterring insurgent activity, Caldwell said. This is a change from the U.S. maintaining large compounds of troops that were relatively isolated from surrounding Iraqi communities.
To be successful in prosecuting counterinsurgency operations, "you have to protect the people," Caldwell said.
"We are finding, at least here (in Baghdad), in the initial couple of weeks, that there is much greater protection being provided to them by (instituting) a greater, enduring presence out in the city than there was going back and forth from large operating bases," Caldwell said.
Iraqi residents of the Sadr City section of Baghdad, a formerly violent part of the municipality, are being non-confrontational and cooperative as U.S. and Iraqi forces move in, Caldwell said.
Earlier this year, President Bush directed the deployment of more than 21,500 additional U.S. soldiers and Marine to Baghdad and restive areas of western Iraq. However, the Iraqis are taking the lead for the operation, Caldwell said, noting that Iraqi Lt. Gen. Abboud Gambar is directing both U.S. and Iraqi security forces from his Baghdad headquarters, which was activated March 1.
Two of the five additional U.S. brigades involved in the force plus-up have arrived in Iraq, Caldwell said. The third brigade is now in Kuwait awaiting deployment into Iraq. And, seven of a projected nine Iraqi battalions involved in the surge are now in Baghdad, he said.
Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the new Multinational Force Iraq commander, has been busy visiting U.S. and Iraqi commanders and troops across Iraq in recent weeks, Caldwell said. Petraeus will hold his first news conference as MNFI commander tomorrow.
Petraeus will emphasize that pacification of Baghdad and other parts of Iraq, while difficult, "is doable," Caldwell predicted, cautioning that this will take some time to accomplish. He added that insurgents are likely to continue their resistance against Iraq's unity government.
Caldwell said Iraqi soldiers and police are stepping up to assume security planning and operational responsibilities as never before.
"There are truly a lot of very positive steps being taken forward as they continue to develop their capabilities to command and control their organization," he said.
Police and military personnel who have authored books along with criminal justice online leadership sponsored this article.
American Forces Press Service
March 7, 2007 – Although it's too early to draw firm conclusions, the new combined Iraqi-U.S. security effort to reduce violence in Iraq's capital city already seems to be bearing fruit, a senior U.S. military officer said today in Baghdad. Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, a spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq, talked with a group of Internet journalists and bloggers during a telephone conference call from Baghdad today.
Caldwell said that there has been an increase of citizen-provided tips to Iraqi and coalition authorities in the three weeks since Operation Law and Order kicked off. These tips have been used to find several insurgent bomb-making sites and weapons caches in the Baghdad area.
Despite renewed suicide-bomber attacks on religious pilgrims, like the one in Karbala yesterday that killed more than 100 people, Sunnis and Shiites living together in Baghdad's mixed neighborhoods are demonstrating restraint in not escalating the violence, Caldwell said.
Another positive sign is that more people are staying put, the general said. "We're very encouraged over these last two or three weeks and seeing people not moving out (of Baghdad), not changing homes," he said.
Part of Baghdad residents' determination to stay the course is likely due to a more proactive security stance adopted by U.S. and Iraqi forces, Caldwell said. American troops and Iraqi soldiers and police have been establishing 10 security districts across Baghdad to institute an around-the-clock presence to deter insurgent violence.
The strategy of establishing dozens of joint Iraqi-U.S. security posts across Baghdad appears to be working, Caldwell said. Original plans called for setting up 35 or 40 such outposts, he said, but now it appears there'll be nearly twice that number.
"We're now looking at 70 of them," Caldwell said. Although U.S. troops and Iraqi soldiers and police may be increasing their exposure by operating from such outposts, he said, this blanketing-of-forces strategy actually decreases the overall risk.
Officials believe that placing high-visibility outposts in Baghdad's neighborhoods will serve to assuage citizens' security concerns while deterring insurgent activity, Caldwell said. This is a change from the U.S. maintaining large compounds of troops that were relatively isolated from surrounding Iraqi communities.
To be successful in prosecuting counterinsurgency operations, "you have to protect the people," Caldwell said.
"We are finding, at least here (in Baghdad), in the initial couple of weeks, that there is much greater protection being provided to them by (instituting) a greater, enduring presence out in the city than there was going back and forth from large operating bases," Caldwell said.
Iraqi residents of the Sadr City section of Baghdad, a formerly violent part of the municipality, are being non-confrontational and cooperative as U.S. and Iraqi forces move in, Caldwell said.
Earlier this year, President Bush directed the deployment of more than 21,500 additional U.S. soldiers and Marine to Baghdad and restive areas of western Iraq. However, the Iraqis are taking the lead for the operation, Caldwell said, noting that Iraqi Lt. Gen. Abboud Gambar is directing both U.S. and Iraqi security forces from his Baghdad headquarters, which was activated March 1.
Two of the five additional U.S. brigades involved in the force plus-up have arrived in Iraq, Caldwell said. The third brigade is now in Kuwait awaiting deployment into Iraq. And, seven of a projected nine Iraqi battalions involved in the surge are now in Baghdad, he said.
Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the new Multinational Force Iraq commander, has been busy visiting U.S. and Iraqi commanders and troops across Iraq in recent weeks, Caldwell said. Petraeus will hold his first news conference as MNFI commander tomorrow.
Petraeus will emphasize that pacification of Baghdad and other parts of Iraq, while difficult, "is doable," Caldwell predicted, cautioning that this will take some time to accomplish. He added that insurgents are likely to continue their resistance against Iraq's unity government.
Caldwell said Iraqi soldiers and police are stepping up to assume security planning and operational responsibilities as never before.
"There are truly a lot of very positive steps being taken forward as they continue to develop their capabilities to command and control their organization," he said.
Police and military personnel who have authored books along with criminal justice online leadership sponsored this article.
Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Pvt. Mark W. Graham, 22, of Lafayette, La., died Mar. 7 at Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit while on combat patrol Mar. 2 in Baghdad, Iraq. Graham was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
For more information in regard to this release the media can contact the Fort Hood public affairs office at (254) 287-9993; after hours, (254) 291-2591.
Pvt. Mark W. Graham, 22, of Lafayette, La., died Mar. 7 at Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit while on combat patrol Mar. 2 in Baghdad, Iraq. Graham was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
For more information in regard to this release the media can contact the Fort Hood public affairs office at (254) 287-9993; after hours, (254) 291-2591.
Army Casualties
The Department of Defense announced today the death of six soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died Mar. 5 in Samarra, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their unit during combat operations. They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
Killed were:
Staff Sgt. Justin M. Estes, 25, of Sims, Ark.
Staff Sgt. Robert M. Stanley, 27, of Spotsylvania, Va.
Sgt. Andrew C. Perkins, 27, of Northglenn, Colo.
Spc. Ryan M. Bell, 21, of Colville, Wash.
Spc. Justin A. Rollins, 22, of Newport, N.H.
Pfc. Cory C. Kosters, 19, of The Woodlands, Texas.
For more information in regard to this release the media can contact the 82nd Airborne Division public affairs office at (910) 432-0661.
Killed were:
Staff Sgt. Justin M. Estes, 25, of Sims, Ark.
Staff Sgt. Robert M. Stanley, 27, of Spotsylvania, Va.
Sgt. Andrew C. Perkins, 27, of Northglenn, Colo.
Spc. Ryan M. Bell, 21, of Colville, Wash.
Spc. Justin A. Rollins, 22, of Newport, N.H.
Pfc. Cory C. Kosters, 19, of The Woodlands, Texas.
For more information in regard to this release the media can contact the 82nd Airborne Division public affairs office at (910) 432-0661.
Coalition, Iraqi Forces Detain Suspects, Find Weapons
American Forces Press Service
March 7, 2007 – Coalition and Iraqi forces detained 48 suspected terrorists and found several weapons caches in operations throughout Iraq in the past two days. Coalition forces detained 24 suspected terrorists today during several raids targeting al Qaeda in Iraq networks.
-- In southern Baghdad, ground forces detained eight suspected terrorists during a raid in which they targeted a group reported to be involved in the coordination, movement and emplacement of car bombs used against Iraqi and coalition forces.
-- In Rutbah, coalition forces detained five suspected terrorists while targeting a suspected weapons dealer who is known for providing improvised explosive device-making material and is also believed to be involved in foreign fighter facilitation.
-- In Samarra, coalition forces detained two suspected terrorists. Intelligence reports indicate terrorists in the targeted area are involved in weapons trafficking and the acquisition of identity cards and passports.
-- Northeast of Karmah, coalition forces detained nine suspected terrorists with alleged ties to senior al Qaeda in Iraq leadership.
"Coalition forces operations continue to systematically dismantle the al Qaeda in Iraq network," said Army Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman. "The al Qaeda in Iraq network is contrary to the peace and stability Iraqi citizens deserve."
In other developments, Iraqi army troops and paratroopers from Multinational Division Baghdad worked together to successfully complete "Operation White Rockets" yesterday, finding two ammunition caches and detaining two suspects.
Soldiers of 5th Battalion, 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, and 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Squadron, dismounted to clear out suspected insurgent sanctuary areas near Bin Muhammad, south of Baghdad.
They discovered and confiscated caches consisting of homemade explosives, some unknown substances, weapon parts and ammunition.
While troops clearing buildings, they detained two suspects. An explosive ordnance disposal team secured the ammunition caches for controlled detonation. The unknown substances are being tested for identification.
Elsewhere, Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers detained 22 insurgent suspects and secured weapon and ammunition caches south of Baghdad yesterday.
Soldiers of 3rd Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, conducted targeted raids to capture known terrorists and secure weapons and ammunition near Jabella. Besides the 22 detainees taken into custody, several caches were found.
The caches consisted of a 60 mm mortar round, two sticks of dynamite, 9 feet of detonation cord, three blasting caps, three AK-47 ammunition magazines, three passports, a machine gun barrel, an AK-47 butt stock, two empty ammunition boxes, one box of primers, two AK-47s, six 7.62 mm ammunition magazines, one 8 mm round, two 8 mm mortar fuses, five blasting caps, and a rocket-propelled-grenade booster.
Police and military personnel who have authored books along with criminal justice online leadership sponsored this article.
March 7, 2007 – Coalition and Iraqi forces detained 48 suspected terrorists and found several weapons caches in operations throughout Iraq in the past two days. Coalition forces detained 24 suspected terrorists today during several raids targeting al Qaeda in Iraq networks.
-- In southern Baghdad, ground forces detained eight suspected terrorists during a raid in which they targeted a group reported to be involved in the coordination, movement and emplacement of car bombs used against Iraqi and coalition forces.
-- In Rutbah, coalition forces detained five suspected terrorists while targeting a suspected weapons dealer who is known for providing improvised explosive device-making material and is also believed to be involved in foreign fighter facilitation.
-- In Samarra, coalition forces detained two suspected terrorists. Intelligence reports indicate terrorists in the targeted area are involved in weapons trafficking and the acquisition of identity cards and passports.
-- Northeast of Karmah, coalition forces detained nine suspected terrorists with alleged ties to senior al Qaeda in Iraq leadership.
"Coalition forces operations continue to systematically dismantle the al Qaeda in Iraq network," said Army Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman. "The al Qaeda in Iraq network is contrary to the peace and stability Iraqi citizens deserve."
In other developments, Iraqi army troops and paratroopers from Multinational Division Baghdad worked together to successfully complete "Operation White Rockets" yesterday, finding two ammunition caches and detaining two suspects.
Soldiers of 5th Battalion, 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, and 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Squadron, dismounted to clear out suspected insurgent sanctuary areas near Bin Muhammad, south of Baghdad.
They discovered and confiscated caches consisting of homemade explosives, some unknown substances, weapon parts and ammunition.
While troops clearing buildings, they detained two suspects. An explosive ordnance disposal team secured the ammunition caches for controlled detonation. The unknown substances are being tested for identification.
Elsewhere, Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers detained 22 insurgent suspects and secured weapon and ammunition caches south of Baghdad yesterday.
Soldiers of 3rd Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, conducted targeted raids to capture known terrorists and secure weapons and ammunition near Jabella. Besides the 22 detainees taken into custody, several caches were found.
The caches consisted of a 60 mm mortar round, two sticks of dynamite, 9 feet of detonation cord, three blasting caps, three AK-47 ammunition magazines, three passports, a machine gun barrel, an AK-47 butt stock, two empty ammunition boxes, one box of primers, two AK-47s, six 7.62 mm ammunition magazines, one 8 mm round, two 8 mm mortar fuses, five blasting caps, and a rocket-propelled-grenade booster.
Police and military personnel who have authored books along with criminal justice online leadership sponsored this article.
U.S. Sending 2,200 More Troops to Iraq, Gates Says
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
March 7, 2007 – The United States will send another 2,200 troops into Iraq, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today. Gates and Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the troops would be in addition to the 21,500 troops that are going into the country as part of the surge. Gates made the announcement during a news roundtable here.
The cost of deploying the additional troops has not been figured into the fiscal 2007 emergency supplemental-funding request, the secretary said.
"What has happened is that subsequent to the submission of the supplemental, we sent a new commander to Iraq," Gates said. "And he has come back with a request for an additional couple of thousand people to help oversee detainees."
Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, anticipates that, as additional U.S. and Iraqi brigades join the Baghdad security plan, there will be an increase in the number of detainees, Gates said.
"He wants more military police to help with that," the secretary said. "That's a new requirement by a new commander subsequent to the submission of the supplemental to the Congress."
Petraeus has made other personnel requests that have not yet been approved, Gates said. "They have not been reviewed and a recommendation made by the Joint Staff, and we will look at those going forward," he said.
The numbers are not large, the secretary added.
At this early stage in the Baghdad security plan, the operative phrase is, "So far, so good," Gates said.
The Iraqis are meeting the goals they set for themselves. Almost all of the personnel from the three additional brigades the Iraqis promised have arrived in the capital, Pentagon officials said. In addition, political leaders have stayed out of operations like the joint Iraqi-U.S. operation in Sadr City.
Both Gates and Pace stressed that operations are very early, but there has been progress. "The murders between Sunni and Shiia are down," the chairman said. "The numbers of bombs that have gone off killing large numbers ... has gone up."
Those facts show that the Iraqi people want to stop killing each other "but that the al Qaeda wants to find ways to get them to start killing each other again," Pace said.
Article Sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
March 7, 2007 – The United States will send another 2,200 troops into Iraq, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today. Gates and Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the troops would be in addition to the 21,500 troops that are going into the country as part of the surge. Gates made the announcement during a news roundtable here.
The cost of deploying the additional troops has not been figured into the fiscal 2007 emergency supplemental-funding request, the secretary said.
"What has happened is that subsequent to the submission of the supplemental, we sent a new commander to Iraq," Gates said. "And he has come back with a request for an additional couple of thousand people to help oversee detainees."
Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, anticipates that, as additional U.S. and Iraqi brigades join the Baghdad security plan, there will be an increase in the number of detainees, Gates said.
"He wants more military police to help with that," the secretary said. "That's a new requirement by a new commander subsequent to the submission of the supplemental to the Congress."
Petraeus has made other personnel requests that have not yet been approved, Gates said. "They have not been reviewed and a recommendation made by the Joint Staff, and we will look at those going forward," he said.
The numbers are not large, the secretary added.
At this early stage in the Baghdad security plan, the operative phrase is, "So far, so good," Gates said.
The Iraqis are meeting the goals they set for themselves. Almost all of the personnel from the three additional brigades the Iraqis promised have arrived in the capital, Pentagon officials said. In addition, political leaders have stayed out of operations like the joint Iraqi-U.S. operation in Sadr City.
Both Gates and Pace stressed that operations are very early, but there has been progress. "The murders between Sunni and Shiia are down," the chairman said. "The numbers of bombs that have gone off killing large numbers ... has gone up."
Those facts show that the Iraqi people want to stop killing each other "but that the al Qaeda wants to find ways to get them to start killing each other again," Pace said.
Article Sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
Army Casualties
The Department of Defense announced today the death of three soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died Mar. 3 in Baghdad when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle. They were assigned to the 630th Military Police Company, Bamberg, Germany.
Killed were:
Sgt. Brandon A. Parr, 25, of West Valley, Utah.
Sgt. Michael C. Peek, 23, of Chesapeake, Va.
Sgt. Ashly L. Moyer, 21, of Emmaus, Pa.
For more information on these soldiers, contact the 1st Armored Division public affairs office at 011-49-611-705-4859.
Killed were:
Sgt. Brandon A. Parr, 25, of West Valley, Utah.
Sgt. Michael C. Peek, 23, of Chesapeake, Va.
Sgt. Ashly L. Moyer, 21, of Emmaus, Pa.
For more information on these soldiers, contact the 1st Armored Division public affairs office at 011-49-611-705-4859.
Army Casualties
The Department of Defense announced today the death of three soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died Mar. 5 in Baqubah, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their unit.
Killed were:
Spc. Blake Harris, 22, of Pueblo, Colo. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
Spc. Ryan D. Russell, 20, of Elm City, N.C. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
Pvt. Barry W. Mayo, 21, of Ecru, Miss. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
For more information on these soldiers, contact the Fort Hood public affairs office at (254) 287-9993 or after hours at (254) 291-2591.
Killed were:
Spc. Blake Harris, 22, of Pueblo, Colo. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
Spc. Ryan D. Russell, 20, of Elm City, N.C. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
Pvt. Barry W. Mayo, 21, of Ecru, Miss. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
For more information on these soldiers, contact the Fort Hood public affairs office at (254) 287-9993 or after hours at (254) 291-2591.
Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Staff Sgt. Darrel D. Kasson, 43, of Florence, Ariz., died Mar. 4 in Tikrit, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle at Bayji, Iraq. He was assigned to the 259th Security Forces Company, Phoenix.
For more information on this soldier, contact the Arizona Army National Guard public affairs office at (602) 267-2550
Staff Sgt. Darrel D. Kasson, 43, of Florence, Ariz., died Mar. 4 in Tikrit, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle at Bayji, Iraq. He was assigned to the 259th Security Forces Company, Phoenix.
For more information on this soldier, contact the Arizona Army National Guard public affairs office at (602) 267-2550
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Ten Soldiers Killed, Five Wounded in Iraq
American Forces Press Service
March 6, 2007 – Ten soldiers died and five were wounded recently during operations in Iraq, military officials reported today. The Defense Department also identified three previous casualties.
-- Six Task Force Lightning soldiers died yesterday in Salah ad Din province from wounds suffered in an explosion near their vehicles. Three other soldiers were wounded in the explosion and taken to a coalition medical facility for treatment.
-- Three other Task Force Lightning soldiers died yesterday in Diyala province from wounds suffered in an explosion near their vehicles. One other soldier was wounded in the explosion and taken to a coalition medical facility for treatment.
-- One 13th Sustainment Command Expeditionary soldier died March 4 south of Tikrit when an improvised explosive device detonated near the soldier's vehicle. Another soldier wounded in the explosion was evacuated to Combat Operating Base Speicher for treatment. The servicemembers' names are being withheld pending notification of next of kin. Meanwhile, DoD released the names of two sailors and one soldier who died recently supporting U.S. operations in Iraq.
-- Navy Lt. Cmdr. Morgan C. Tulang, 36, of Hilo, Hawaii, died March 2 in Kuwait from apparent natural causes. Tulang was assigned to U.S. Central Command Deployment Distribution Operations Center, Kuwait City.
-- Army Spc. Christopher D. Young, 20, of Los Angeles, died March 2 in Safwan when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. He was assigned to Company C, 3rd Battalion, 160th Infantry Regiment, California Army National Guard, San Pedro, Calif.
-- Navy Seaman Lucas W.A. Emch, 21, of Kent, Ohio, died March 2 in Anbar province when an improvised explosive device detonated near him. Emch was a hospital corpsman assigned to 1st Marine Logistics Group, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
March 6, 2007 – Ten soldiers died and five were wounded recently during operations in Iraq, military officials reported today. The Defense Department also identified three previous casualties.
-- Six Task Force Lightning soldiers died yesterday in Salah ad Din province from wounds suffered in an explosion near their vehicles. Three other soldiers were wounded in the explosion and taken to a coalition medical facility for treatment.
-- Three other Task Force Lightning soldiers died yesterday in Diyala province from wounds suffered in an explosion near their vehicles. One other soldier was wounded in the explosion and taken to a coalition medical facility for treatment.
-- One 13th Sustainment Command Expeditionary soldier died March 4 south of Tikrit when an improvised explosive device detonated near the soldier's vehicle. Another soldier wounded in the explosion was evacuated to Combat Operating Base Speicher for treatment. The servicemembers' names are being withheld pending notification of next of kin. Meanwhile, DoD released the names of two sailors and one soldier who died recently supporting U.S. operations in Iraq.
-- Navy Lt. Cmdr. Morgan C. Tulang, 36, of Hilo, Hawaii, died March 2 in Kuwait from apparent natural causes. Tulang was assigned to U.S. Central Command Deployment Distribution Operations Center, Kuwait City.
-- Army Spc. Christopher D. Young, 20, of Los Angeles, died March 2 in Safwan when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. He was assigned to Company C, 3rd Battalion, 160th Infantry Regiment, California Army National Guard, San Pedro, Calif.
-- Navy Seaman Lucas W.A. Emch, 21, of Kent, Ohio, died March 2 in Anbar province when an improvised explosive device detonated near him. Emch was a hospital corpsman assigned to 1st Marine Logistics Group, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Organization Makes Progress Defeating IEDs
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
March 6, 2007 – Improvised explosive devices are to the war in Iraq what artillery and mortars were to World War II, Korea and Vietnam -- the main troop killers, a retired general working to defeat the deadly devices said here yesterday. Retired Army Gen. Montgomery Meigs, head of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, briefed media on progress in countering IEDs in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"IEDs are hybrid, idiosyncratic things that go off in surprising ways," Meigs said. "But all they are, are the enemy's fire system. The question is, 'How do we deal with this fire system?' And we spend a lot of time on that."
In previous wars, the enemy delivered artillery shells through guns. In Iraq, the enemy delivers the ordnance "through the labyrinth of structures in that society," Meigs said.
But the coalition is making progress against the improvised weapons. "We have gotten better at it, (and we) know more what our enemies are doing," Meigs said.
He added that his organization also has done a better job of finding appropriate technologies to counter these weapons.
Car bombs and IEDs are responsible for about 65 percent of the coalition casualties in Iraq, he said. More than 2,500 Americans have died as a result of hostile fire in Iraq, according to DoD officials.
But advances in defending against these weapons are working. The ratio of wounded to killed in Iraq is 9 to 1, Meigs said. In Vietnam, that ratio was 2 to 1, and in Korea it was 2.5 to 1.
Progress is also shown in the number of IEDs found and disarmed and the number of IEDs that go off but have no effect. The number of Americans being killed and wounded by the weapons has remained about the same, even though the enemy is planting far more of them, Meigs said. "The enemy is putting out four to five times the number of IEDs to cause one casualty that they did three and a half years ago," he said.
The number of attacks is going up because the opportunity is there. "It's very easy for a young, unemployed, angry male to collect $300 for setting out an IED and (video)taping it," Meigs said. "There's a lot of money on the street, so market factors also play a part."
Terrorists have built Internet sites that give step-by-step instructions in how to build and plant IEDs. Saddam Hussein bought millions of tons of ammunition and stashed it all over the country. All this makes it easy for enemies to "weaponize leftover ammunition," Meigs said.
The general said the best strategy is to attack the IED network. His organization helps fund that effort. Thirteen percent of the organization's $3.5 billion fiscal 2006 budget was dedicated to offensive operations. That number jumped to 31 percent of the budget in fiscal 2007, he said.
Meigs would not get specific about offensive actions his organization is funding. "It's the most sensitive part of what we do, and saying that would give (the enemy) an idea into our thinking, and they could counter it," he said.
Improving defensive capacity is also important. The Joint IED Defeat Organization is working on improvements to armor, hardening targets, and so on. The budget for defensive operations went from 78 percent in 2006 to 62 percent of the Joint IED Defeat Organization's budget in 2007.
Intelligence is at the heart of defeating the IED threat, and the Iraqi people are coming forward and giving intelligence on bomb makers in their neighborhoods. "My gut says more people are tired of the craziness and want to stop it," Meigs said.
The trend line in tips is very important, and it has constantly moved up. In September 2006, there were 4,250 tips. In October, that number rose to 7,467. In January 2007, 10,070 tips came in. "If that was a stock, you'd want to be in it," Meigs said.
The general said his organization is working to get ahead of the enemy's tactics. He said his analysts are able to look at intelligence on the bombs and see what is new and different and quickly get that information back to the war zone. His organization can recommend changes to tactics, techniques and procedures, but the ultimate decision on those has to come from the services training centers. "But we are wired into that," he said.
The organization will continue to work on defeating roadside bombs and will continue to refine intelligence collection and information distribution, Meigs said.
"If you want to stop artillery, you don't try to stop the artillery coming out of the sky, you go after the fires system," he said. "In conventional warfare during the Cold War, one of the advantages you wanted to take away from the enemy was the overbearing artillery advantage they had.
This article was sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have written books.
American Forces Press Service
March 6, 2007 – Improvised explosive devices are to the war in Iraq what artillery and mortars were to World War II, Korea and Vietnam -- the main troop killers, a retired general working to defeat the deadly devices said here yesterday. Retired Army Gen. Montgomery Meigs, head of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, briefed media on progress in countering IEDs in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"IEDs are hybrid, idiosyncratic things that go off in surprising ways," Meigs said. "But all they are, are the enemy's fire system. The question is, 'How do we deal with this fire system?' And we spend a lot of time on that."
In previous wars, the enemy delivered artillery shells through guns. In Iraq, the enemy delivers the ordnance "through the labyrinth of structures in that society," Meigs said.
But the coalition is making progress against the improvised weapons. "We have gotten better at it, (and we) know more what our enemies are doing," Meigs said.
He added that his organization also has done a better job of finding appropriate technologies to counter these weapons.
Car bombs and IEDs are responsible for about 65 percent of the coalition casualties in Iraq, he said. More than 2,500 Americans have died as a result of hostile fire in Iraq, according to DoD officials.
But advances in defending against these weapons are working. The ratio of wounded to killed in Iraq is 9 to 1, Meigs said. In Vietnam, that ratio was 2 to 1, and in Korea it was 2.5 to 1.
Progress is also shown in the number of IEDs found and disarmed and the number of IEDs that go off but have no effect. The number of Americans being killed and wounded by the weapons has remained about the same, even though the enemy is planting far more of them, Meigs said. "The enemy is putting out four to five times the number of IEDs to cause one casualty that they did three and a half years ago," he said.
The number of attacks is going up because the opportunity is there. "It's very easy for a young, unemployed, angry male to collect $300 for setting out an IED and (video)taping it," Meigs said. "There's a lot of money on the street, so market factors also play a part."
Terrorists have built Internet sites that give step-by-step instructions in how to build and plant IEDs. Saddam Hussein bought millions of tons of ammunition and stashed it all over the country. All this makes it easy for enemies to "weaponize leftover ammunition," Meigs said.
The general said the best strategy is to attack the IED network. His organization helps fund that effort. Thirteen percent of the organization's $3.5 billion fiscal 2006 budget was dedicated to offensive operations. That number jumped to 31 percent of the budget in fiscal 2007, he said.
Meigs would not get specific about offensive actions his organization is funding. "It's the most sensitive part of what we do, and saying that would give (the enemy) an idea into our thinking, and they could counter it," he said.
Improving defensive capacity is also important. The Joint IED Defeat Organization is working on improvements to armor, hardening targets, and so on. The budget for defensive operations went from 78 percent in 2006 to 62 percent of the Joint IED Defeat Organization's budget in 2007.
Intelligence is at the heart of defeating the IED threat, and the Iraqi people are coming forward and giving intelligence on bomb makers in their neighborhoods. "My gut says more people are tired of the craziness and want to stop it," Meigs said.
The trend line in tips is very important, and it has constantly moved up. In September 2006, there were 4,250 tips. In October, that number rose to 7,467. In January 2007, 10,070 tips came in. "If that was a stock, you'd want to be in it," Meigs said.
The general said his organization is working to get ahead of the enemy's tactics. He said his analysts are able to look at intelligence on the bombs and see what is new and different and quickly get that information back to the war zone. His organization can recommend changes to tactics, techniques and procedures, but the ultimate decision on those has to come from the services training centers. "But we are wired into that," he said.
The organization will continue to work on defeating roadside bombs and will continue to refine intelligence collection and information distribution, Meigs said.
"If you want to stop artillery, you don't try to stop the artillery coming out of the sky, you go after the fires system," he said. "In conventional warfare during the Cold War, one of the advantages you wanted to take away from the enemy was the overbearing artillery advantage they had.
This article was sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have written books.
Troops Capture Terrorists in Afghanistan; Rocket Misses Coalition Base
American Forces Press Service
March 6, 2007 – American and Afghan forces captured five suspected terrorists yesterday during a joint operation in Khowst province, and an enemy rocket missed a coalition base during an attack in Kapisa province the same day, U.S. officials reported. Afghan and coalition forces arrested five suspected terrorists, two of whom attempted to flee to a neighboring building, during a joint operation west of Khowst city yesterday evening. The suspects were arrested following a thorough search of the buildings, which also yielded a supply of grenades and armor-piercing rounds.
U.S. and Afghan authorities had been tipped off about terrorist meetings and activity at the suspected compound in Khowst province. No shots were fired during the operation, and there were no reported injuries or damages. Contraband grenades and ammunition were destroyed at the scene.
Meanwhile, an undetermined number of enemy forces fired a rocket at a coalition base located near Nijrab, in Kapisa province, late yesterday evening, officials said. The rocket missed the base, and there were no coalition casualties.
After the rocket attack, enemy forces were observed entering a nearby compound. Coalition forces requested close-air support, and aircraft dropped two 2,000-pound bombs on the enemy position, ending the engagement. There are unconfirmed reports that nine people were killed, officials said.
"Coalition forces observed two men with AK-47s leaving the scene of the rocket attack and entering the compound," Lt. Col. David Accetta, a coalition forces spokesman, said.
"These men knowingly endangered civilians by retreating into a populated area while conducting attacks against coalition forces," Accetta said.
This article was sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have written books.
March 6, 2007 – American and Afghan forces captured five suspected terrorists yesterday during a joint operation in Khowst province, and an enemy rocket missed a coalition base during an attack in Kapisa province the same day, U.S. officials reported. Afghan and coalition forces arrested five suspected terrorists, two of whom attempted to flee to a neighboring building, during a joint operation west of Khowst city yesterday evening. The suspects were arrested following a thorough search of the buildings, which also yielded a supply of grenades and armor-piercing rounds.
U.S. and Afghan authorities had been tipped off about terrorist meetings and activity at the suspected compound in Khowst province. No shots were fired during the operation, and there were no reported injuries or damages. Contraband grenades and ammunition were destroyed at the scene.
Meanwhile, an undetermined number of enemy forces fired a rocket at a coalition base located near Nijrab, in Kapisa province, late yesterday evening, officials said. The rocket missed the base, and there were no coalition casualties.
After the rocket attack, enemy forces were observed entering a nearby compound. Coalition forces requested close-air support, and aircraft dropped two 2,000-pound bombs on the enemy position, ending the engagement. There are unconfirmed reports that nine people were killed, officials said.
"Coalition forces observed two men with AK-47s leaving the scene of the rocket attack and entering the compound," Lt. Col. David Accetta, a coalition forces spokesman, said.
"These men knowingly endangered civilians by retreating into a populated area while conducting attacks against coalition forces," Accetta said.
This article was sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have written books.
Multi-service Crew Fights War on Terror From Aboard USS John C. Stennis
By Lt. Nathan Christensen, USN
Special to American Forces Press Service
March 6, 2007 – Navy, Marine Corps and Army personnel are working side by side aboard the USS John C. Stennis Strike Group supporting Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. The Stennis Strike Group is afloat in the 5th Fleet area of responsibility, which encompasses about 7.5 million square miles and includes the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman and parts of the Indian Ocean.
"This is the epitome of a joint operation," said Navy Rear Adm. Kevin Quinn, commander of Carrier Strike Group 3. "Our primary mission is to conduct air operations in support of joint and coalition forces on the ground in Afghanistan. Every single mission we conduct is a joint one."
Stennis' commanding officer, Capt. Bradley Johanson, noted that everyone on board plays an important role in joint operations.
"Support for coalition forces on the ground in Afghanistan starts here on the deck plates of Stennis, where everyone on board plays a vital role in achieving overall mission success in OEF," Johanson said. "From those preparing food in the galley to personnel on the flight deck helping launch aircraft to the engineers who provide propulsion for the ship, everyone has important responsibilities. The men and women of Stennis ensure that the ship is able to successfully launch aircraft to execute operations in support of OEF."
Navy personnel aboard Stennis, support coalition ground forces in Afghanistan, but Army soldiers and Marines on board the ship that give a traditionally "blue" Navy ship, a more "purple" flavor.
"Retired Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn stated that carrier aviation could be considered 'the world's largest and most complex team sport,'" said Capt. Sterling Gilliam, commander of Carrier Air Wing 9. "That analogy resonates with me because one only has to observe the activities on the flight deck to make the connection."
The "Death Rattlers" of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323 embarked on Stennis for the first time in 2006 as part of Carrier Air Wing 9 during the strike group's operational work-up cycle. They departed San Diego with the strike group on Jan. 20.
The squadron consists of 18 Marine Corps pilots who fly the all-weather carrier strike fighter F/A-18C Hornets, capable of ground and air attacks, and 145 Marines that help maintain, repair and service the aircraft.
"Ultimately, a Marine squadron operates just like a Navy squadron," said Marine 1st Lt. Bradley Byers, a pilot with the unit. "We bring a different perspective and help provide close-air support to Marines and soldiers on the ground operating in support of OEF. We have a great respect and understanding for what the Marines and soldiers on the ground deal with. We put a heavy emphasis on doing what it takes to help those on the ground and are here to support them."
Stennis' purple color also is enhanced by Army soldiers serving on board. Army Maj. Dave Lander and Sgt. 1st Class John Reardon work in Stennis' carrier intelligence center as liaisons to coordinate operations between the pilots of Marine Carrier Air Wing 9 and the soldiers on the ground in theater.
Lander and Reardon translate Army language for Navy pilots and then back again to Army speak for ground forces operating in Afghanistan.
"The incorporation of the ground liaison officer team has made a tremendous difference in the effectiveness of (Carrier Air Wing) 9," Gilliam said. "Their combat expertise, insight and ability to communicate rapidly with the ground elements have allowed our air crews to arrive on station with much better battle-space awareness."
Lander said the team's mission on Stennis is to support joint OEF operations and make sure the pilots are better prepared to support ground forces. "We've got the same mission," Lander said. "We bring the ground forces together with the Navy air power in the same place to defeat the enemy."
"We are flying missions in support of troops that we have on the ground," said Lt. Steve Neebe, a pilot with Attack Fighter Squadron 147. "It's not a personal fight for us most of the time; it's a guy on the ground who is calling for support, and we're there to provide that support for them."
The men and women of the Stennis Strike Group have formed a joint team to support coalition forces on the ground as well as help bring security and stability to the region. "Every day we conduct joint operations," Quinn said. "Navy and Marine Corps air crews fly missions; Army (ground liaison officers) communicate with ground elements; and we are dependent on Air Force tankers to conduct operations over Afghanistan."
The USS John C. Stennis Strike Group began conducting its combat operations over Afghanistan at the beginning of March in support of OEF. Stennis entered the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations Feb. 19 to provide support for ground forces operating in Afghanistan and also to conduct maritime security operations.
These operations help set the conditions for security and stability in the maritime environment, as well as complement the counter-terrorism and security efforts of regional nations. They deny international terrorists use of the maritime environment as a venue for attack or to transport personnel, weapons or other material.
This article was sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have written books.
Special to American Forces Press Service
March 6, 2007 – Navy, Marine Corps and Army personnel are working side by side aboard the USS John C. Stennis Strike Group supporting Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. The Stennis Strike Group is afloat in the 5th Fleet area of responsibility, which encompasses about 7.5 million square miles and includes the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman and parts of the Indian Ocean.
"This is the epitome of a joint operation," said Navy Rear Adm. Kevin Quinn, commander of Carrier Strike Group 3. "Our primary mission is to conduct air operations in support of joint and coalition forces on the ground in Afghanistan. Every single mission we conduct is a joint one."
Stennis' commanding officer, Capt. Bradley Johanson, noted that everyone on board plays an important role in joint operations.
"Support for coalition forces on the ground in Afghanistan starts here on the deck plates of Stennis, where everyone on board plays a vital role in achieving overall mission success in OEF," Johanson said. "From those preparing food in the galley to personnel on the flight deck helping launch aircraft to the engineers who provide propulsion for the ship, everyone has important responsibilities. The men and women of Stennis ensure that the ship is able to successfully launch aircraft to execute operations in support of OEF."
Navy personnel aboard Stennis, support coalition ground forces in Afghanistan, but Army soldiers and Marines on board the ship that give a traditionally "blue" Navy ship, a more "purple" flavor.
"Retired Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn stated that carrier aviation could be considered 'the world's largest and most complex team sport,'" said Capt. Sterling Gilliam, commander of Carrier Air Wing 9. "That analogy resonates with me because one only has to observe the activities on the flight deck to make the connection."
The "Death Rattlers" of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323 embarked on Stennis for the first time in 2006 as part of Carrier Air Wing 9 during the strike group's operational work-up cycle. They departed San Diego with the strike group on Jan. 20.
The squadron consists of 18 Marine Corps pilots who fly the all-weather carrier strike fighter F/A-18C Hornets, capable of ground and air attacks, and 145 Marines that help maintain, repair and service the aircraft.
"Ultimately, a Marine squadron operates just like a Navy squadron," said Marine 1st Lt. Bradley Byers, a pilot with the unit. "We bring a different perspective and help provide close-air support to Marines and soldiers on the ground operating in support of OEF. We have a great respect and understanding for what the Marines and soldiers on the ground deal with. We put a heavy emphasis on doing what it takes to help those on the ground and are here to support them."
Stennis' purple color also is enhanced by Army soldiers serving on board. Army Maj. Dave Lander and Sgt. 1st Class John Reardon work in Stennis' carrier intelligence center as liaisons to coordinate operations between the pilots of Marine Carrier Air Wing 9 and the soldiers on the ground in theater.
Lander and Reardon translate Army language for Navy pilots and then back again to Army speak for ground forces operating in Afghanistan.
"The incorporation of the ground liaison officer team has made a tremendous difference in the effectiveness of (Carrier Air Wing) 9," Gilliam said. "Their combat expertise, insight and ability to communicate rapidly with the ground elements have allowed our air crews to arrive on station with much better battle-space awareness."
Lander said the team's mission on Stennis is to support joint OEF operations and make sure the pilots are better prepared to support ground forces. "We've got the same mission," Lander said. "We bring the ground forces together with the Navy air power in the same place to defeat the enemy."
"We are flying missions in support of troops that we have on the ground," said Lt. Steve Neebe, a pilot with Attack Fighter Squadron 147. "It's not a personal fight for us most of the time; it's a guy on the ground who is calling for support, and we're there to provide that support for them."
The men and women of the Stennis Strike Group have formed a joint team to support coalition forces on the ground as well as help bring security and stability to the region. "Every day we conduct joint operations," Quinn said. "Navy and Marine Corps air crews fly missions; Army (ground liaison officers) communicate with ground elements; and we are dependent on Air Force tankers to conduct operations over Afghanistan."
The USS John C. Stennis Strike Group began conducting its combat operations over Afghanistan at the beginning of March in support of OEF. Stennis entered the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations Feb. 19 to provide support for ground forces operating in Afghanistan and also to conduct maritime security operations.
These operations help set the conditions for security and stability in the maritime environment, as well as complement the counter-terrorism and security efforts of regional nations. They deny international terrorists use of the maritime environment as a venue for attack or to transport personnel, weapons or other material.
This article was sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have written books.
Bush Discusses Emergency Funding For War
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
March 6, 2007 – There are no shortcuts in Iraq, President Bush told members of the American Legion here today. During remarks, Bush said he is urging Congress to approve the defense budget request he submitted Feb. 5, which includes a $93.4 billion emergency supplemental measure to cover the cost of operations in the war on terror for fiscal 2007.
"Here in Washington ... the most pivotal question is whether the United States Congress will stand behind General (David) Petraeus (commander of Multinational Force Iraq) and our troops as they work to secure Baghdad," Bush said. "General Petraeus has my confidence, and he also has the confidence of the United States Senate."
According to documents released by the Defense Department, the supplemental request will provide $39.3 billion to sustain warfighting operations, including supplies, support and maintenance.
Congress has "a responsibility to fund our warfighters," Bush said. "I ask the Congress to approve the funds we requested and our troops are counting on without strings and without delay."
The president also said that supporting U.S. military veterans has been another high priority in his administration.
"This year I've asked Congress for more than $86 billion for veterans services, and if Congress approves my request, this would amount to a 77 percent increase of the budget since I took office," Bush said. "It would be the highest level of support for our veterans in American history."
Since 2001, over 1 million veterans have taken advantage of the Veteran's Affairs health care system, Bush said.
"The 2008 budget proposal will increase the VA health care budget by 83 percent since I took office," he said. "The Department of Defense's health care budget has grown from 19 billion to 38 billion.
"That's an important commitment, ... and I look forward to working with Congress to say to our veterans, 'We care about you,'" he said. "Money is one thing; delivery of services is another."
This article was sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have written books.
American Forces Press Service
March 6, 2007 – There are no shortcuts in Iraq, President Bush told members of the American Legion here today. During remarks, Bush said he is urging Congress to approve the defense budget request he submitted Feb. 5, which includes a $93.4 billion emergency supplemental measure to cover the cost of operations in the war on terror for fiscal 2007.
"Here in Washington ... the most pivotal question is whether the United States Congress will stand behind General (David) Petraeus (commander of Multinational Force Iraq) and our troops as they work to secure Baghdad," Bush said. "General Petraeus has my confidence, and he also has the confidence of the United States Senate."
According to documents released by the Defense Department, the supplemental request will provide $39.3 billion to sustain warfighting operations, including supplies, support and maintenance.
Congress has "a responsibility to fund our warfighters," Bush said. "I ask the Congress to approve the funds we requested and our troops are counting on without strings and without delay."
The president also said that supporting U.S. military veterans has been another high priority in his administration.
"This year I've asked Congress for more than $86 billion for veterans services, and if Congress approves my request, this would amount to a 77 percent increase of the budget since I took office," Bush said. "It would be the highest level of support for our veterans in American history."
Since 2001, over 1 million veterans have taken advantage of the Veteran's Affairs health care system, Bush said.
"The 2008 budget proposal will increase the VA health care budget by 83 percent since I took office," he said. "The Department of Defense's health care budget has grown from 19 billion to 38 billion.
"That's an important commitment, ... and I look forward to working with Congress to say to our veterans, 'We care about you,'" he said. "Money is one thing; delivery of services is another."
This article was sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have written books.
Guantanamo Bay 2006 Administrative Review Board Results Announced
The Department of Defense announced today the completion of the second round of annual administrative review boards (ARB) conducted for enemy combatants detained at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The ARB is a review process which provides an opportunity for the detainee to appear before and present information to a three-member board of military officers. The outcome, which is based primarily on current threat assessment and intelligence value of each detainee, can be to release, to transfer to the control of another country, or to continue to detain the detainee at Guantanamo for another year.
All hearings for the second round were conducted from Jan. 30, 2006, to Dec. 6, 2006, at Guantanamo Bay. Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England, the designated civilian official (DCO) for the ARB process, has now made final decisions on all 328 board recommendations consisting of 55 (17 percent) transfers and 273 continued detentions. Transfer decisions by the DCO lead to negotiations by the Department of Defense and the State Department to repatriate detainees to their home country.
More detainees have been released or transferred than remain in Guantanamo, underscoring the fact that the United States has put in place processes to assess each individual and make a determination about whether they may be released or transferred during the course of ongoing hostilities. This process is discretionary, administrative and is not required by the Geneva Convention or by U.S. or international law.
In 2006, 111 detainees were either released or transferred from Guantanamo resulting in a cumulative total of approximately 390 releases and transfers since 2002. The number of detainees currently at Guantanamo is approximately 385, of which more than 80 have been designated for release or transfer, pending discussions with other nations or pending resolution of litigation in U.S. courts.
All of the detainees remaining at Guantanamo are enemy combatants and represent a threat to the United States and our allies. Although individuals in the U.S. and in the international community have called for closing Guantanamo, no one has suggested a viable option to deal with these dangerous men. Guantanamo remains the most secure and efficient environment to process and contain these individuals. The ARB process represents an effective way for the U.S. Government to achieve a balance between the risk posed by these detained enemy fighters and the U.S. Government's desire to not hold these individuals any longer than necessary. The rigor of the ARB process helps mitigate the risk that a released/transferred detainee will return to the fight and the Global War on Terror.
This article was sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have written books.
All hearings for the second round were conducted from Jan. 30, 2006, to Dec. 6, 2006, at Guantanamo Bay. Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England, the designated civilian official (DCO) for the ARB process, has now made final decisions on all 328 board recommendations consisting of 55 (17 percent) transfers and 273 continued detentions. Transfer decisions by the DCO lead to negotiations by the Department of Defense and the State Department to repatriate detainees to their home country.
More detainees have been released or transferred than remain in Guantanamo, underscoring the fact that the United States has put in place processes to assess each individual and make a determination about whether they may be released or transferred during the course of ongoing hostilities. This process is discretionary, administrative and is not required by the Geneva Convention or by U.S. or international law.
In 2006, 111 detainees were either released or transferred from Guantanamo resulting in a cumulative total of approximately 390 releases and transfers since 2002. The number of detainees currently at Guantanamo is approximately 385, of which more than 80 have been designated for release or transfer, pending discussions with other nations or pending resolution of litigation in U.S. courts.
All of the detainees remaining at Guantanamo are enemy combatants and represent a threat to the United States and our allies. Although individuals in the U.S. and in the international community have called for closing Guantanamo, no one has suggested a viable option to deal with these dangerous men. Guantanamo remains the most secure and efficient environment to process and contain these individuals. The ARB process represents an effective way for the U.S. Government to achieve a balance between the risk posed by these detained enemy fighters and the U.S. Government's desire to not hold these individuals any longer than necessary. The rigor of the ARB process helps mitigate the risk that a released/transferred detainee will return to the fight and the Global War on Terror.
This article was sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have written books.
Administrative Tribunals to Begin for High-Value Guantanamo Detainees
By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA
American Forces Press Service
March 6, 2007 – The Defense Department announced today that administrative tribunals will begin March 9 for 14 high-value detainees transferred in September to the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Combatant Status Review Tribunals, which determine whether or not a detainee can be qualified as an enemy combatant, will be held at Guantanamo Bay without media coverage, Bryan Whitman, a DoD spokesman, told reporters. There is no time limit for the completion of the tribunals, but all 14 high-value detainees will go through the process, as all other detainees at Guantanamo Bay have, he said.
In an effort to be transparent in dealings with detainees, DoD will provide transcripts of the tribunals as they are completed, Whitman said. He noted that these transcripts will have to be edited to remove information that could be dangerous to national security.
Security concerns exist, "given the nature of these individuals and the information that will be necessary as a part of these combatant status review tribunals," Whitman said, adding that the proceedings will have to be provided to the "in a redacted form."
A senior defense official, speaking on background, said that the information presented in the CSRTs is unclassified, but the concern is that the detainees, when given the chance to speak, will reveal information relevant to U.S. concerns and activities. This is the first time CSRT hearings have not been open to media coverage, he acknowledged.
"The goal of the department and the United States government here is to be as transparent as possible," Whitman said, addressing the same issue. "But I think everybody recognizes that these individuals are unique for the role that they have played in terrorist operations and in combat operations against U.S. forces. So obviously, we're going to have to look at information that's presented by them in their combatant status review tribunals to ensure that we're protecting information that's important to national security."
The 14 high-value detainees, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah, and Ramzi bin al-Shibh, were transferred Sept. 6, 2006, from CIA custody to Guantanamo Bay. At the time, President Bush said that Mohammed is believed to be the mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Abu Zubaydah smuggled al Qaeda leaders out of Afghanistan at the start of the U.S. military action there in late 2001, and bin al-Shibh helped Mohammed plan the Sept. 11 attacks.
The U.S. government established the CSRT process at Guantanamo Bay as a result of a June 2004 Supreme Court decision in the case of Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a former driver for Osama bin Laden who challenged his detention at Guantanamo Bay. Between July 2004 and March 2005, DoD conducted 558 CSRTs at Guantanamo Bay. At the time, 38 detainees were determined to no longer meet the definition of enemy combatant, and 520 detainees were found to be enemy combatants.
Also today, DoD announced the completion of the second round of annual administrative review boards at Guantanamo Bay. The boards, which ran from Jan. 30, 2006, to Dec. 6, 2006, resulted in 55 recommendations for transfer and 273 recommendations for continued detention.
Administrative review boards are review processes that provide detainees an opportunity to appear before and present information to a three-member board of military officers. The board members make a decision about the detainees' status based on the current threat assessment and intelligence value of each detainee.
In 2006, 111 detainees were either released or transferred from Guantanamo, resulting in a cumulative total of about 390 releases and transfers since 2002. About 385 detainees are at Guantanamo now, more than 80 of whom have been designated for release or transfer, pending discussions with other nations or pending resolution of litigation in U.S. courts, DoD officials said.
More detainees have now been released or transferred from Guantanamo Bay than remain there in custody, said a senior defense official speaking on background. Determinations about the continued detention or transfer of detainees are based on the best information and evidence available at the time, both classified and unclassified, he said.
"Our goal is to balance the safety and security of the American people and our coalition partners with our desire not to be the world's jailer," the official said. "The ARB process presents an effective way for the U.S. government to achieve a balance between the risk posed by these detained enemy fighters and the government's desire not to hold these individuals any longer than necessary."
This article was sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have written books.
American Forces Press Service
March 6, 2007 – The Defense Department announced today that administrative tribunals will begin March 9 for 14 high-value detainees transferred in September to the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Combatant Status Review Tribunals, which determine whether or not a detainee can be qualified as an enemy combatant, will be held at Guantanamo Bay without media coverage, Bryan Whitman, a DoD spokesman, told reporters. There is no time limit for the completion of the tribunals, but all 14 high-value detainees will go through the process, as all other detainees at Guantanamo Bay have, he said.
In an effort to be transparent in dealings with detainees, DoD will provide transcripts of the tribunals as they are completed, Whitman said. He noted that these transcripts will have to be edited to remove information that could be dangerous to national security.
Security concerns exist, "given the nature of these individuals and the information that will be necessary as a part of these combatant status review tribunals," Whitman said, adding that the proceedings will have to be provided to the "in a redacted form."
A senior defense official, speaking on background, said that the information presented in the CSRTs is unclassified, but the concern is that the detainees, when given the chance to speak, will reveal information relevant to U.S. concerns and activities. This is the first time CSRT hearings have not been open to media coverage, he acknowledged.
"The goal of the department and the United States government here is to be as transparent as possible," Whitman said, addressing the same issue. "But I think everybody recognizes that these individuals are unique for the role that they have played in terrorist operations and in combat operations against U.S. forces. So obviously, we're going to have to look at information that's presented by them in their combatant status review tribunals to ensure that we're protecting information that's important to national security."
The 14 high-value detainees, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah, and Ramzi bin al-Shibh, were transferred Sept. 6, 2006, from CIA custody to Guantanamo Bay. At the time, President Bush said that Mohammed is believed to be the mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Abu Zubaydah smuggled al Qaeda leaders out of Afghanistan at the start of the U.S. military action there in late 2001, and bin al-Shibh helped Mohammed plan the Sept. 11 attacks.
The U.S. government established the CSRT process at Guantanamo Bay as a result of a June 2004 Supreme Court decision in the case of Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a former driver for Osama bin Laden who challenged his detention at Guantanamo Bay. Between July 2004 and March 2005, DoD conducted 558 CSRTs at Guantanamo Bay. At the time, 38 detainees were determined to no longer meet the definition of enemy combatant, and 520 detainees were found to be enemy combatants.
Also today, DoD announced the completion of the second round of annual administrative review boards at Guantanamo Bay. The boards, which ran from Jan. 30, 2006, to Dec. 6, 2006, resulted in 55 recommendations for transfer and 273 recommendations for continued detention.
Administrative review boards are review processes that provide detainees an opportunity to appear before and present information to a three-member board of military officers. The board members make a decision about the detainees' status based on the current threat assessment and intelligence value of each detainee.
In 2006, 111 detainees were either released or transferred from Guantanamo, resulting in a cumulative total of about 390 releases and transfers since 2002. About 385 detainees are at Guantanamo now, more than 80 of whom have been designated for release or transfer, pending discussions with other nations or pending resolution of litigation in U.S. courts, DoD officials said.
More detainees have now been released or transferred from Guantanamo Bay than remain there in custody, said a senior defense official speaking on background. Determinations about the continued detention or transfer of detainees are based on the best information and evidence available at the time, both classified and unclassified, he said.
"Our goal is to balance the safety and security of the American people and our coalition partners with our desire not to be the world's jailer," the official said. "The ARB process presents an effective way for the U.S. government to achieve a balance between the risk posed by these detained enemy fighters and the government's desire not to hold these individuals any longer than necessary."
This article was sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have written books.
Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Spc. Christopher D. Young, 20, of Los Angeles, Calif., died March 2 in Safwan, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. He was assigned to Company C, 3rd Battalion, 160th Infantry Regiment, California Army National Guard, San Pedro, Calif.
For further information on this soldier, contact the California Army National Guard public affairs office at (916) 854-3304.
Spc. Christopher D. Young, 20, of Los Angeles, Calif., died March 2 in Safwan, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. He was assigned to Company C, 3rd Battalion, 160th Infantry Regiment, California Army National Guard, San Pedro, Calif.
For further information on this soldier, contact the California Army National Guard public affairs office at (916) 854-3304.
Marine Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Lance Cpl. Raul S. Bravo, 21, of Elko, Nev., died March 3 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Bravo was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.
For more information in regard to this release the media can contact the Camp Pendleton public affairs office at (760) 830-5476.
Lance Cpl. Raul S. Bravo, 21, of Elko, Nev., died March 3 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Bravo was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.
For more information in regard to this release the media can contact the Camp Pendleton public affairs office at (760) 830-5476.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
As Afghan Troops Build Capacity, Decisive Battles Loom
By Tim Kilbride
American Forces Press Service
March 2, 2007 – The anticipated spring offensive may mark the beginning of the end for the Taliban in Afghanistan, a military official told bloggers and online journalists in a conference call yesterday. "If the Taliban do not make it through this offensive, we feel that by next year they'll have limited access to Afghanistan," Army Col. David B. Enyeart, deputy commander of Task Force Phoenix V, said.
Enyeart, whose soldiers oversee training of the Afghan forces, said coalition officials fully expect a surge in Taliban and insurgent attacks in time with the country's spring thaw.
"We know there's going to be a spring offensive," he said. "There always is."
Enyeart characterized the upcoming battles as a key fight. "We believe that this offensive is going to be probably the worst one they've had here in quite a while," he said.
However, Enyeart noted, the country's security forces are in a better position than ever to face the threat, thanks to increased recruiting numbers, solid training and a strong sense of national identity among the Afghan forces.
Enyeart compared the current Afghan National Army with what he observed during his last tour of Afghanistan in 2002. "The Afghan National Army itself is growing not only in size, but it seems that they're growing smarter in the way they do things," he said.
The colonel noted that more than two dozen ANA battalions are capable of operating "on their own with minimal support" from U.S. or coalition forces. "Two years ago, we weren't even close to that," he said.
High numbers of new recruits have added to the end-strength and quality of the Afghan force, Enyeart said. "We're recruiting so many now we've had to split off from our Kabul military training center, where most of the basic training is going on, and added two more basic training areas," he said.
Along with training that matches the curriculum U.S. soldiers undertake, training for Afghan forces also focuses on literacy, writing and language skills in a country where the education system has been moribund for decades.
Military trainers also take pains to ensure diversity within the ranks. Enyeart said that in a country with 14 different tribes and ethnic groups, "they have to have the right basic ethnic balance" to construct a true national army.
The colonel related an anecdote in which an ANA unit visited a remote village in central Afghanistan. For residents who had never yet seen their new army, he said, "They were amazed that they could tell the different tribal or ethnic groups. It just gave them such good insight that here their army was a true national army, it wasn't just from one tribe."
That sense of national identity is crucial to long-term success. "The best thing that's going" for Afghanistan "is the Afghan National Army," Enyeart said.
The ANA is a "very spirited army; they're not afraid to go after the enemy, and they're not afraid to die for their country," he said.
At the same time, Enyeart explained, a large and capable police force is needed to supplement the army's strength. "You'll never have enough Afghan National Army to cover the whole country," he said, "And so you've got to train up the police to fill in the areas that the army cannot be at all the time, and to keep the terrorists and (insurgents) out of the area."
While police training is viewed as behind schedule, important improvements are being made to strengthen the end force, Enyeart said. Counter-corruption mechanisms, in particular, are being put in place to bolster the institution.
"Corruption is a way of life here," Enyeart explained. "It's a way of their survival." But that doesn't mean trainers have to accept corruption as inevitable, the colonel said. "It's our job as mentors to teach them that this is not really the right way to go, and you will not be able to build an honorable team or section by doing this," he said.
He said salaries for both the police and army have been raised above the national average to reduce the temptation to skim funds.
Meanwhile, as recruitment and training continue on or above pace, the ANA is continuing to expand its presence in the country with a focus on counterterrorism.
Enyeart explained that recently increased hostilities in certain Taliban and al Qaeda holdout areas were the result of Afghan and coalition forces "operating (in) more and more areas, in areas we haven't been before. ... We're pushing them around quite a bit."
Describing a fundamental shift in the nature of the fight, the colonel said that in the past year he's watched the Afghan people replace U.S. soldiers as the primary drivers for peace and stability.
"Now it's more of the Afghans want the war to be over with, and they want a secure state themselves," he said. "This is a winnable war over here."
This article was sponsored by police and military personnel who have written books; and, by criminal justice online leadership.
American Forces Press Service
March 2, 2007 – The anticipated spring offensive may mark the beginning of the end for the Taliban in Afghanistan, a military official told bloggers and online journalists in a conference call yesterday. "If the Taliban do not make it through this offensive, we feel that by next year they'll have limited access to Afghanistan," Army Col. David B. Enyeart, deputy commander of Task Force Phoenix V, said.
Enyeart, whose soldiers oversee training of the Afghan forces, said coalition officials fully expect a surge in Taliban and insurgent attacks in time with the country's spring thaw.
"We know there's going to be a spring offensive," he said. "There always is."
Enyeart characterized the upcoming battles as a key fight. "We believe that this offensive is going to be probably the worst one they've had here in quite a while," he said.
However, Enyeart noted, the country's security forces are in a better position than ever to face the threat, thanks to increased recruiting numbers, solid training and a strong sense of national identity among the Afghan forces.
Enyeart compared the current Afghan National Army with what he observed during his last tour of Afghanistan in 2002. "The Afghan National Army itself is growing not only in size, but it seems that they're growing smarter in the way they do things," he said.
The colonel noted that more than two dozen ANA battalions are capable of operating "on their own with minimal support" from U.S. or coalition forces. "Two years ago, we weren't even close to that," he said.
High numbers of new recruits have added to the end-strength and quality of the Afghan force, Enyeart said. "We're recruiting so many now we've had to split off from our Kabul military training center, where most of the basic training is going on, and added two more basic training areas," he said.
Along with training that matches the curriculum U.S. soldiers undertake, training for Afghan forces also focuses on literacy, writing and language skills in a country where the education system has been moribund for decades.
Military trainers also take pains to ensure diversity within the ranks. Enyeart said that in a country with 14 different tribes and ethnic groups, "they have to have the right basic ethnic balance" to construct a true national army.
The colonel related an anecdote in which an ANA unit visited a remote village in central Afghanistan. For residents who had never yet seen their new army, he said, "They were amazed that they could tell the different tribal or ethnic groups. It just gave them such good insight that here their army was a true national army, it wasn't just from one tribe."
That sense of national identity is crucial to long-term success. "The best thing that's going" for Afghanistan "is the Afghan National Army," Enyeart said.
The ANA is a "very spirited army; they're not afraid to go after the enemy, and they're not afraid to die for their country," he said.
At the same time, Enyeart explained, a large and capable police force is needed to supplement the army's strength. "You'll never have enough Afghan National Army to cover the whole country," he said, "And so you've got to train up the police to fill in the areas that the army cannot be at all the time, and to keep the terrorists and (insurgents) out of the area."
While police training is viewed as behind schedule, important improvements are being made to strengthen the end force, Enyeart said. Counter-corruption mechanisms, in particular, are being put in place to bolster the institution.
"Corruption is a way of life here," Enyeart explained. "It's a way of their survival." But that doesn't mean trainers have to accept corruption as inevitable, the colonel said. "It's our job as mentors to teach them that this is not really the right way to go, and you will not be able to build an honorable team or section by doing this," he said.
He said salaries for both the police and army have been raised above the national average to reduce the temptation to skim funds.
Meanwhile, as recruitment and training continue on or above pace, the ANA is continuing to expand its presence in the country with a focus on counterterrorism.
Enyeart explained that recently increased hostilities in certain Taliban and al Qaeda holdout areas were the result of Afghan and coalition forces "operating (in) more and more areas, in areas we haven't been before. ... We're pushing them around quite a bit."
Describing a fundamental shift in the nature of the fight, the colonel said that in the past year he's watched the Afghan people replace U.S. soldiers as the primary drivers for peace and stability.
"Now it's more of the Afghans want the war to be over with, and they want a secure state themselves," he said. "This is a winnable war over here."
This article was sponsored by police and military personnel who have written books; and, by criminal justice online leadership.
Texas Teen Focuses on Supporting Troops
As a senior in high school, Tania Foster could easily focus all her energy in preparing for her collegiate pursuits in biochemistry this autumn. However, the 18-year-old is instead putting her spare time into helping others -- primarily the men and women of the armed forces -- through her nonprofit organization "Dallas is Love."
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Coalition Forces Kill Terrorists, Find Weapons; Insurgents Kill 4 Iraqis
American Forces Press Service
March 2, 2007 – Over the past two days in Iraq, coalition forces killed eight terrorists and found a car bomb and weapons cache, Iraqi forces detained five suspects, and insurgents killed four civilians with mortar fire. Coalition forces killed eight terrorists yesterday during a raid targeting al Qaeda in Iraq operating in the Salman Pak region. Intelligence reports indicate a significant number of individuals involved with the al Qaeda terrorist network currently operate in the area, officials said. Activities in this area have been linked to a roadside-bomb and car-bomb network. Terrorists in the area are also believed to be involved in smuggling weapons and facilitating foreign fighters.
During the raid, in which coalition forces were repeatedly confronted by small-arms and mortar fire, coalition forces identified three armed terrorists moving toward them with hostile intent. Ground forces engaged the enemy, killing the three terrorists. Twenty minutes later, ground forces were again confronted by eight terrorists, who began firing upon them. Ground forces returned fire, killing four terrorists. The other four fled the area.
Ground forces also saw armed terrorists in a vehicle accessing a weapons cache and removing small arms. Coalition forces engaged, killing one terrorist. Two terrorists were wounded and fled. Coalition forces recovered several sniper rifles, AK-47s and rocket-propelled launchers from one of the engagement sites.
"Successful coalition operations continue to disrupt al-Qaeda in Iraq operations, restricting freedom of movement and reducing the organization's manpower pool," said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman.
In Baghdad, special Iraqi army forces with coalition advisors yesterday detained five suspects during operations targeting an improvised explosive device builder. During the operations, coalition forces killed a suspected terrorist after observing him moving between rooftops with an assault rifle, aiming it at Iraqi and coalition forces. Coalition forces and Iraqi army medics rendered immediate aid to the gunman to help stabilize him for movement to a hospital, but he died before being transported.
Elsewhere, insurgents used mortar fire to kill four Iraqi civilians and wound 10 others south of Baghdad yesterday. A building was also damaged in the attack in Iskandariyah.
In another operation, soldiers of Task Force Iron Claw, from 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), found a car bomb along a road outside Yusufiyah yesterday. The burned-out vehicle was found near a settlement known to coalition forces as Janabi Village. The soldiers saw wires leading out of the trunk of the vehicle and called for an explosive ordnance disposal team to investigate further. Explosive ordnance personnel destroyed the vehicle with a controlled detonation.
Separately, Multinational Division Baghdad troops found and seized a massive weapons cache along one of Baghdad's main highways Feb. 28. Soldiers from Company A, 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment "Golden Dragons," 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), discovered the cache while conducting a combat patrol along Mulla Fayad Highway, west of Yusufiyah. The cache consisted of two Sanger missiles with launch tubes, many different types of ammunition, grenades and homemade explosives.
This article was sponsored by police and military personnel who have written books; and, by criminal justice online leadership.
March 2, 2007 – Over the past two days in Iraq, coalition forces killed eight terrorists and found a car bomb and weapons cache, Iraqi forces detained five suspects, and insurgents killed four civilians with mortar fire. Coalition forces killed eight terrorists yesterday during a raid targeting al Qaeda in Iraq operating in the Salman Pak region. Intelligence reports indicate a significant number of individuals involved with the al Qaeda terrorist network currently operate in the area, officials said. Activities in this area have been linked to a roadside-bomb and car-bomb network. Terrorists in the area are also believed to be involved in smuggling weapons and facilitating foreign fighters.
During the raid, in which coalition forces were repeatedly confronted by small-arms and mortar fire, coalition forces identified three armed terrorists moving toward them with hostile intent. Ground forces engaged the enemy, killing the three terrorists. Twenty minutes later, ground forces were again confronted by eight terrorists, who began firing upon them. Ground forces returned fire, killing four terrorists. The other four fled the area.
Ground forces also saw armed terrorists in a vehicle accessing a weapons cache and removing small arms. Coalition forces engaged, killing one terrorist. Two terrorists were wounded and fled. Coalition forces recovered several sniper rifles, AK-47s and rocket-propelled launchers from one of the engagement sites.
"Successful coalition operations continue to disrupt al-Qaeda in Iraq operations, restricting freedom of movement and reducing the organization's manpower pool," said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman.
In Baghdad, special Iraqi army forces with coalition advisors yesterday detained five suspects during operations targeting an improvised explosive device builder. During the operations, coalition forces killed a suspected terrorist after observing him moving between rooftops with an assault rifle, aiming it at Iraqi and coalition forces. Coalition forces and Iraqi army medics rendered immediate aid to the gunman to help stabilize him for movement to a hospital, but he died before being transported.
Elsewhere, insurgents used mortar fire to kill four Iraqi civilians and wound 10 others south of Baghdad yesterday. A building was also damaged in the attack in Iskandariyah.
In another operation, soldiers of Task Force Iron Claw, from 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), found a car bomb along a road outside Yusufiyah yesterday. The burned-out vehicle was found near a settlement known to coalition forces as Janabi Village. The soldiers saw wires leading out of the trunk of the vehicle and called for an explosive ordnance disposal team to investigate further. Explosive ordnance personnel destroyed the vehicle with a controlled detonation.
Separately, Multinational Division Baghdad troops found and seized a massive weapons cache along one of Baghdad's main highways Feb. 28. Soldiers from Company A, 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment "Golden Dragons," 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), discovered the cache while conducting a combat patrol along Mulla Fayad Highway, west of Yusufiyah. The cache consisted of two Sanger missiles with launch tubes, many different types of ammunition, grenades and homemade explosives.
This article was sponsored by police and military personnel who have written books; and, by criminal justice online leadership.
Two Soldiers Killed in Iraq; DoD Identifies Previous Casualties
American Forces Press Service
March 2, 2007 – Two Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers and an interpreter were killed today when their vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb.
The unit was conducting a route clearance patrol to free a commonly traveled route of improvised explosive devices northwest of Baghdad. Another soldier was injured in the incident.
The deceased soldiers' names are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
Meanwhile, the Defense Department released the identities of one soldier and two Marines who were killed recently supporting the war on terror.
Marine Sgt. Chad M. Allen, 25, of Maple Lake, Minn., died Feb. 28 while conducting combat operations in Anbar province, Iraq. Allen was assigned to 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Marine Pfc. Bufford K. Van Slyke, 22, of Bay City, Mich., died Feb. 28 while conducting combat operations in Anbar province. Van Slyke was assigned to Marine Forces Reserve's 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Saginaw, Mich.
Army Pfc. Daniel Zizumbo, 27, of Chicago, died Feb. 27 in Bagram, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered from an improvised explosive device. Zizumbo was assigned to 1st Transportation Movement Control Agency, 21st Theater Support Command, Kaiserslautern, Germany.
March 2, 2007 – Two Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers and an interpreter were killed today when their vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb.
The unit was conducting a route clearance patrol to free a commonly traveled route of improvised explosive devices northwest of Baghdad. Another soldier was injured in the incident.
The deceased soldiers' names are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
Meanwhile, the Defense Department released the identities of one soldier and two Marines who were killed recently supporting the war on terror.
Marine Sgt. Chad M. Allen, 25, of Maple Lake, Minn., died Feb. 28 while conducting combat operations in Anbar province, Iraq. Allen was assigned to 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Marine Pfc. Bufford K. Van Slyke, 22, of Bay City, Mich., died Feb. 28 while conducting combat operations in Anbar province. Van Slyke was assigned to Marine Forces Reserve's 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Saginaw, Mich.
Army Pfc. Daniel Zizumbo, 27, of Chicago, died Feb. 27 in Bagram, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered from an improvised explosive device. Zizumbo was assigned to 1st Transportation Movement Control Agency, 21st Theater Support Command, Kaiserslautern, Germany.
Progress Must Continue in Afghanistan, Commander Says
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
March 2, 2007 – Afghanistan is making progress, but big challenges remain, the man with ultimate responsibility for NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan said today. Meeting with reporters at the Pentagon today, Army Gen. Bantz J. Craddock, NATO's supreme allied commander for Europe, said that in addition to dealing with Taliban fighters and other insurgents in the country, Afghanistan is plagued by problems caused by opium cultivation and the drug trade.
ISAF has about 35,000 troops from 35 different nations in Afghanistan. The United States has 15,000 troops serving there under the ISAF banner and a further 11,000 separate from the command.
Craddock recently returned from a visit to Afghanistan. He said he believes the Taliban and other insurgent groups will continue to test ISAF in the spring and summer, but that NATO will be up to the challenge.
Reconstruction and construction are keys to winning in Afghanistan, he said. One reason Afghan farmers turn to growing opium poppy is because there is no alternative. In many areas of the country, there are no decent roads. In other areas, the irrigation system has been destroyed. In many places, drug lords have replaced warlords, and insurgents - including the Taliban - are receiving much of their money from the drug trade.
World Bank and United Nations reports say that Afghanistan is in danger of becoming a "narco-state." U.S. estimates are that between 30 percent and 50 percent of the gross domestic product on the nation comes from drugs.
Such a problem does not have an easy answer, Craddock said. Security and stability are tied to reconstruction and economic growth, and all aspects must work together for progress.
NATO and the United States must continue efforts to train the Afghan National Army and the Afghan police, he said. The Afghan people have confidence in their nation's security forces, and the forces' competence and numbers grow each day. And they have an effect on insurgents. "When there's a presence of either the Afghan security forces or ISAF, the Taliban or insurgent forces don't stay around," he said.
The problem is there are not enough forces right now to spread this control into all regions of the country.
"We have to have the numbers, which is why we have to train the Afghan security forces and have all the NATO forces that countries have pledged," he said. Conditions are getting better, with NATO nations pledging more forces for the effort. The United States, United Kingdom, Norway and Poland are among the nations that will contribute more forces to the effort. Overall, 7,000 more troops will be part of the effort.
This will help NATO do more stability operations, Craddock said. In the past, NATO forces had to move from place to place to "put out security fires." Now the troops will be able to dwell in an area and provide that long-term stability that is needed for economic growth.
This stability leads to the counter-narcotics mission. NATO does not have responsibility for the counter-drug mission, Craddock said. Afghan security forces, under guidance and training from the United Kingdom, have that mission.
But NATO does have some authorities to support Afghan forces in the counter-narcotics fight. "My judgment is ... we optimize those right to the limit," Craddock said. NATO forces are authorized to provide information and intelligence to the Afghan forces. They also can provide some security and logistical support to the Afghan efforts.
Craddock said there has to be a concerted effort across the board against narcotics. Afghanistan is going to have to look at stopping production, taking down processors, interdicting distribution lines and in Europe - where most of the heroin is abused - officials are going to have to address consumption, he said.
Craddock said he does not think eradication programs - such as ones used in Colombia now to destroy the coca crop - are the answer in Afghanistan, because there is nothing to replace that opium poppy crop. "It's not like there are other jobs available," he said. "We need to provide livelihoods for the people."
Nations have pledged enormous resources to help Afghanistan, he said, but those must be integrated and synchronized to be effective. With stability, he explained, it is possible for roads, bridges, wells, irrigation projects and so on to get into place. Jobs and other opportunities will follow. "If there is an opportunity for licit, legal employment, the Afghans will choose that over the insurgents," he said.
But even with this working perfectly, there is a showstopper to the east. "NATO cannot prevail without greater control of the border areas with Pakistan and greater cooperation and coordination between Pakistan and Afghanistan," Craddock said.
Afghanistan and Pakistan must work together to know who is coming across the borders and to stop undesirables from coming in. In January, a force of about 250 Taliban fighters came across the border from Pakistan. They were detected and destroyed by U.S. and Afghan forces.
"There are 2 million Afghan refugees living in Pakistan, and they are a great source of Taliban fighters because they don't have any choice," he said. The United Nations and refugee agencies will have to be brought in to work a solution to this problem, he added.
The military-to-military contacts among Afghanistan, Pakistan and NATO, which work well, can extend to the political side, and there is some hope that will happen, he said.
This article was sponsored by police and military personnel who have written books; and, by criminal justice online leadership.
American Forces Press Service
March 2, 2007 – Afghanistan is making progress, but big challenges remain, the man with ultimate responsibility for NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan said today. Meeting with reporters at the Pentagon today, Army Gen. Bantz J. Craddock, NATO's supreme allied commander for Europe, said that in addition to dealing with Taliban fighters and other insurgents in the country, Afghanistan is plagued by problems caused by opium cultivation and the drug trade.
ISAF has about 35,000 troops from 35 different nations in Afghanistan. The United States has 15,000 troops serving there under the ISAF banner and a further 11,000 separate from the command.
Craddock recently returned from a visit to Afghanistan. He said he believes the Taliban and other insurgent groups will continue to test ISAF in the spring and summer, but that NATO will be up to the challenge.
Reconstruction and construction are keys to winning in Afghanistan, he said. One reason Afghan farmers turn to growing opium poppy is because there is no alternative. In many areas of the country, there are no decent roads. In other areas, the irrigation system has been destroyed. In many places, drug lords have replaced warlords, and insurgents - including the Taliban - are receiving much of their money from the drug trade.
World Bank and United Nations reports say that Afghanistan is in danger of becoming a "narco-state." U.S. estimates are that between 30 percent and 50 percent of the gross domestic product on the nation comes from drugs.
Such a problem does not have an easy answer, Craddock said. Security and stability are tied to reconstruction and economic growth, and all aspects must work together for progress.
NATO and the United States must continue efforts to train the Afghan National Army and the Afghan police, he said. The Afghan people have confidence in their nation's security forces, and the forces' competence and numbers grow each day. And they have an effect on insurgents. "When there's a presence of either the Afghan security forces or ISAF, the Taliban or insurgent forces don't stay around," he said.
The problem is there are not enough forces right now to spread this control into all regions of the country.
"We have to have the numbers, which is why we have to train the Afghan security forces and have all the NATO forces that countries have pledged," he said. Conditions are getting better, with NATO nations pledging more forces for the effort. The United States, United Kingdom, Norway and Poland are among the nations that will contribute more forces to the effort. Overall, 7,000 more troops will be part of the effort.
This will help NATO do more stability operations, Craddock said. In the past, NATO forces had to move from place to place to "put out security fires." Now the troops will be able to dwell in an area and provide that long-term stability that is needed for economic growth.
This stability leads to the counter-narcotics mission. NATO does not have responsibility for the counter-drug mission, Craddock said. Afghan security forces, under guidance and training from the United Kingdom, have that mission.
But NATO does have some authorities to support Afghan forces in the counter-narcotics fight. "My judgment is ... we optimize those right to the limit," Craddock said. NATO forces are authorized to provide information and intelligence to the Afghan forces. They also can provide some security and logistical support to the Afghan efforts.
Craddock said there has to be a concerted effort across the board against narcotics. Afghanistan is going to have to look at stopping production, taking down processors, interdicting distribution lines and in Europe - where most of the heroin is abused - officials are going to have to address consumption, he said.
Craddock said he does not think eradication programs - such as ones used in Colombia now to destroy the coca crop - are the answer in Afghanistan, because there is nothing to replace that opium poppy crop. "It's not like there are other jobs available," he said. "We need to provide livelihoods for the people."
Nations have pledged enormous resources to help Afghanistan, he said, but those must be integrated and synchronized to be effective. With stability, he explained, it is possible for roads, bridges, wells, irrigation projects and so on to get into place. Jobs and other opportunities will follow. "If there is an opportunity for licit, legal employment, the Afghans will choose that over the insurgents," he said.
But even with this working perfectly, there is a showstopper to the east. "NATO cannot prevail without greater control of the border areas with Pakistan and greater cooperation and coordination between Pakistan and Afghanistan," Craddock said.
Afghanistan and Pakistan must work together to know who is coming across the borders and to stop undesirables from coming in. In January, a force of about 250 Taliban fighters came across the border from Pakistan. They were detected and destroyed by U.S. and Afghan forces.
"There are 2 million Afghan refugees living in Pakistan, and they are a great source of Taliban fighters because they don't have any choice," he said. The United Nations and refugee agencies will have to be brought in to work a solution to this problem, he added.
The military-to-military contacts among Afghanistan, Pakistan and NATO, which work well, can extend to the political side, and there is some hope that will happen, he said.
This article was sponsored by police and military personnel who have written books; and, by criminal justice online leadership.
Iraqi Forces Take Control of Baghdad Security
By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service
March 2, 2007 – Iraqi security forces for the first time have taken control of Baghdad's security, a senior military official there said today. Iraqi security forces took control yesterday of Operation Fard al-Qanun, or "Enforcing the Law," a plan designed by the Iraqi government and led by Iraqi army Lt. Gen. Abboud Gambar, said Army Brig. Gen. Joseph Anderson, Multinational Corps Iraq chief of staff.
U.S. forces are working in concert with Iraqi security forces to provide a 24-hour presence in the city, but Abboud and his staff now plan and execute the strategy from a new command post established in Adnan Palace in the Green Zone.
Anderson called establishing the Iraqi-led Baghdad operations command a "monumental feat," and said that the Iraqi security forces have come a long way in the past month as a command organization.
Both the Iraqi police and the Iraqi army are "very capable, competent, ... and the ability to plan and coordinate operations with coalition forces gets better every day," he said.
Coalition and Iraqi forces have built joint security stations and combat outposts throughout the city to begin securing the area.
This presence represents a critical shift away from operating out of forward operating bases and instead maintaining a constant presence in the city - a presence that is needed to hold areas security forces have cleared, Anderson said.
"In the past, we have been able to clear areas, but were not able to hold the areas and secure them over time," Anderson said. "We must demonstrate our ability to maintain the security in Baghdad over a long period of time."
Anderson said making it safe for local citizens is necessary to develop the economic and political processes needed to achieve stability in the area.
About 20,000 Iraqi security force troops will eventually operate in Baghdad, he said. Currently, the 6th and 9th Iraqi army divisions and two national police divisions patrol the city.
Up to 15 U.S. Army brigade combat teams will be stationed there. The U.S. Army's 2nd BCT, 82nd Airborne Division, and the 4th BCT, 1st Infantry Division, have recently moved into Baghdad, he said. It is expected that the full complement of U.S. troops will be on the ground by the end of May, Anderson said.
Anderson said that the increased presence already has resulted in as many as 20 fewer daily attacks on coalition forces and the local population. Still, he said, there are typically up to 90 attacks per day in Baghdad.
Iraqi citizens also are more willing to help coalition forces with the increased presence, Anderson said. This has led to recent large weapons caches found in the area.
Even with the operation's recent successes, Anderson acknowledged it will not be an easy road to a safe and secure Baghdad.
"We know hard days certainly lie ahead," he said.
This article was sponsored by police and military personnel who have written books; and, by criminal justice online leadership.
American Forces Press Service
March 2, 2007 – Iraqi security forces for the first time have taken control of Baghdad's security, a senior military official there said today. Iraqi security forces took control yesterday of Operation Fard al-Qanun, or "Enforcing the Law," a plan designed by the Iraqi government and led by Iraqi army Lt. Gen. Abboud Gambar, said Army Brig. Gen. Joseph Anderson, Multinational Corps Iraq chief of staff.
U.S. forces are working in concert with Iraqi security forces to provide a 24-hour presence in the city, but Abboud and his staff now plan and execute the strategy from a new command post established in Adnan Palace in the Green Zone.
Anderson called establishing the Iraqi-led Baghdad operations command a "monumental feat," and said that the Iraqi security forces have come a long way in the past month as a command organization.
Both the Iraqi police and the Iraqi army are "very capable, competent, ... and the ability to plan and coordinate operations with coalition forces gets better every day," he said.
Coalition and Iraqi forces have built joint security stations and combat outposts throughout the city to begin securing the area.
This presence represents a critical shift away from operating out of forward operating bases and instead maintaining a constant presence in the city - a presence that is needed to hold areas security forces have cleared, Anderson said.
"In the past, we have been able to clear areas, but were not able to hold the areas and secure them over time," Anderson said. "We must demonstrate our ability to maintain the security in Baghdad over a long period of time."
Anderson said making it safe for local citizens is necessary to develop the economic and political processes needed to achieve stability in the area.
About 20,000 Iraqi security force troops will eventually operate in Baghdad, he said. Currently, the 6th and 9th Iraqi army divisions and two national police divisions patrol the city.
Up to 15 U.S. Army brigade combat teams will be stationed there. The U.S. Army's 2nd BCT, 82nd Airborne Division, and the 4th BCT, 1st Infantry Division, have recently moved into Baghdad, he said. It is expected that the full complement of U.S. troops will be on the ground by the end of May, Anderson said.
Anderson said that the increased presence already has resulted in as many as 20 fewer daily attacks on coalition forces and the local population. Still, he said, there are typically up to 90 attacks per day in Baghdad.
Iraqi citizens also are more willing to help coalition forces with the increased presence, Anderson said. This has led to recent large weapons caches found in the area.
Even with the operation's recent successes, Anderson acknowledged it will not be an easy road to a safe and secure Baghdad.
"We know hard days certainly lie ahead," he said.
This article was sponsored by police and military personnel who have written books; and, by criminal justice online leadership.
Convoy Attack Kills Three Soldiers; Previous Casualties Identified
Three Multinational Corps Iraq soldiers were killed yesterday when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in central Baghdad.
The soldiers' names are being withheld pending notification of their families.
Meanwhile, the Defense Department released the identities of three soldiers who were killed recently supporting the war on terror.
Sgt. Richard A. Soukenka, 30, of Oceanside, Calif.;
Cpl. Lorne E. Henry, Jr., 21, of Niagara Falls, N.Y.; and,
Spc. Jonathan D. Cadavero, 24, of Takoma Park, Md.,
died Feb. 27 in Baghdad of wounds suffered when a roadside bomb detonated near their vehicle.
They were assigned to the 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.
The soldiers' names are being withheld pending notification of their families.
Meanwhile, the Defense Department released the identities of three soldiers who were killed recently supporting the war on terror.
Sgt. Richard A. Soukenka, 30, of Oceanside, Calif.;
Cpl. Lorne E. Henry, Jr., 21, of Niagara Falls, N.Y.; and,
Spc. Jonathan D. Cadavero, 24, of Takoma Park, Md.,
died Feb. 27 in Baghdad of wounds suffered when a roadside bomb detonated near their vehicle.
They were assigned to the 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Two Die in Iraq; Two Previous Casualties Identified
March 1, 2007 – A Marine died yesterday and an Army soldier died Feb. 27 in Iraq, military officials reported today. The Defense Department also identified three previous casualties.
The Marine, assigned to Multinational Force West, died yesterday of wounds suffered during combat in Anbar province. The soldier, assigned to Multinational Force Baghdad, died Feb. 27 of wounds suffered during combat in western Baghdad.
The servicemembers' names are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
Meanwhile, DoD released the names of a soldier and a Marine who died recently supporting U.S. operations in Iraq.
-- Army Sgt. William J. Beardsley, 25, of Coon Rapids, Minn., died Feb. 26 in Diwaniyah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Beardsley was assigned to the 260th Quartermaster Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Troop Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.
-- Marine Lance Cpl. Anthony Aguirre, 20, of Channelview, Texas, died Feb. 26 of wounds suffered during combat in Anbar province. Aguirre was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.
The Marine, assigned to Multinational Force West, died yesterday of wounds suffered during combat in Anbar province. The soldier, assigned to Multinational Force Baghdad, died Feb. 27 of wounds suffered during combat in western Baghdad.
The servicemembers' names are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
Meanwhile, DoD released the names of a soldier and a Marine who died recently supporting U.S. operations in Iraq.
-- Army Sgt. William J. Beardsley, 25, of Coon Rapids, Minn., died Feb. 26 in Diwaniyah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Beardsley was assigned to the 260th Quartermaster Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Troop Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.
-- Marine Lance Cpl. Anthony Aguirre, 20, of Channelview, Texas, died Feb. 26 of wounds suffered during combat in Anbar province. Aguirre was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.
Office of Military Commissions Refers Charge Against 'Australian Taliban'
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
March 1, 2007 – The Defense Department's Office of Military Commissions referred a charge today against David Matthew Hicks, an Australian captured in Afghanistan in December 2001. Judge Susan J. Crawford, the convening authority, referred one charge with two specifications of providing military support for terrorism. DoD officials said this is not a capital case.
The referral is the first under the Military Commissions Act of 2006. Hicks became known as "the Australian Taliban" following his capture. He is being held at the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba.
Under new procedures, Hicks must be arraigned within 30 days of receiving the charges. Within 120 days of receiving the charges, the military judge will assemble the military commission for trial on the merits. DoD officials said they expect the Hicks trial will begin in the summer.
Just as in the United States, Hicks is presumed innocent until proven guilty. He has legal representation, officials said.
If convicted, Hicks can serve his sentence in Australia, U.S. government officials said.
DoD officials expect referrals for other detainees shortly.
Police and military personnel who have authored books in addition to criminal justice online leadership sponsored the publication of this article.
American Forces Press Service
March 1, 2007 – The Defense Department's Office of Military Commissions referred a charge today against David Matthew Hicks, an Australian captured in Afghanistan in December 2001. Judge Susan J. Crawford, the convening authority, referred one charge with two specifications of providing military support for terrorism. DoD officials said this is not a capital case.
The referral is the first under the Military Commissions Act of 2006. Hicks became known as "the Australian Taliban" following his capture. He is being held at the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba.
Under new procedures, Hicks must be arraigned within 30 days of receiving the charges. Within 120 days of receiving the charges, the military judge will assemble the military commission for trial on the merits. DoD officials said they expect the Hicks trial will begin in the summer.
Just as in the United States, Hicks is presumed innocent until proven guilty. He has legal representation, officials said.
If convicted, Hicks can serve his sentence in Australia, U.S. government officials said.
DoD officials expect referrals for other detainees shortly.
Police and military personnel who have authored books in addition to criminal justice online leadership sponsored the publication of this article.
Terror, Iran, North Korea Top List of Threats
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 28, 2007 – Terror remains the No. 1 threat to the United States and its interests, the new U.S. director of national intelligence said in congressional testimony yesterday. In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Retired Navy Vice Adm. John M. "Mike" McConnell gave a tour of the world from a threat level.
Al Qaeda remains the terrorist network that poses the greatest threat to the United States, he said. "While many of al Qaeda's senior leadership have been killed or captured, its core elements are resilient," he said. "They continue to plot attacks against the homeland and other targets with the aim of inflicting mass casualties."
Al Qaeda and other terror groups continue to seek chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons or materials, he said. "Al Qaeda also is forging stronger operational connections that radiate outward from their camps in Pakistan to affiliated groups and networks throughout the Middle East, North Africa and Europe," the admiral said.
Hezbollah, the Shiite organization backed by Iran and Syria, remains a source of serious concern to the United States also, McConnell said. "Last summer, hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah have increased Hezbollah's self-confidence," he said.
Cooperation among nations remains the best defense against these terror organizations, McConnell said. "Our ability to prevent attacks abroad and at home has been aided considerably by cooperation from many foreign governments, among them Iraq, the United Kingdom, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan," he said.
In Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States faces challenges exacerbated by terrorism.
In summarizing a national intelligence estimate on the situation in Iraq, McConnell said the current security and political trends in Iraq "are moving in a negative direction." The Samarra mosque bombing in February 2006 caused sectarian violence that has become self-sustaining. "Unless efforts to reverse these conditions gain real traction during the 12- to 18-month timeframe of this estimate, we assess that the security situation will continue to deteriorate at a rate comparable to the latter half of 2006," he said.
Success by the stronger and more loyal Iraqi security forces supported by the coalition in reducing violence "could give Iraqi political leaders breathing space to pursue political compromise needed for progress and stability," McConnell said.
However, he added, even if violence declines, the current level of sectarian animosity will make political reconciliation difficult over the next 12 to 18 months.
If the coalition withdraws rapidly, intelligence officials foresee a significant increase in the scale and scope of sectarian conflict, he said. A withdrawal would also intensify Sunni resistance to the Iraqi government and have adverse consequences for national reconciliation. In addition, al Qaeda almost certainly would use Anbar province to plan for increased attacks.
While outside actors are not likely to be a major driver of either violence or stability, Iranian lethal support for select groups of Iraqi Shiite militants clearly intensifies the conflict in Iraq. Syria also continues to provide safe haven for expatriate Iraqi Baathists, McConnell said.
In Afghanistan, 2007 is a pivotal year, the admiral said. "They must build central and provincial government capacity, confront perverse drug cultivation and trafficking, and, with NATO and the United States, arrest the resurgence of the Taliban," he said.
Progress in Afghanistan will not be easy. "There is a chronic shortage of resources and of qualified, motivated government officials," he said. "Once more, although the insurgency probably does not now directly threaten the government, it is deterring economic development and undermining popular support for President (Hamid) Karzai. The drug trade contributes to endemic corruption and undercuts public confidence. In addition, a dangerous nexus exists between drugs, the insurgents, and warlords who derive funds from cultivation and trafficking."
McConnell said that Iran and North Korea are of particular concern to the United States. These regimes have pursued nuclear programs in defiance of U.N. Security Council restrictions. "We assess that Tehran seeks to develop nuclear weapons and has shown greater interest in drawing out the negotiations rather than reaching an acceptable diplomatic solution," he said.
In addition, a nuclear Iran could cause a nuclear arms race in the region, McConnell said. "While our information is incomplete, we estimate Iran could produce a nuclear weapon by early to mid next decade," he said.
With North Korea, six-party talks have produced an agreement intended to lead to a declaration of all North Korean nuclear programs and to the country's disabling all existing nuclear facilities. "The agreement is the initial step in the denuclearization process and will be closely observed as we watch for its implementation," McConnell said.
Police and military personnel who have authored books in addition to criminal justice online leadership sponsored the publication of this article.
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 28, 2007 – Terror remains the No. 1 threat to the United States and its interests, the new U.S. director of national intelligence said in congressional testimony yesterday. In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Retired Navy Vice Adm. John M. "Mike" McConnell gave a tour of the world from a threat level.
Al Qaeda remains the terrorist network that poses the greatest threat to the United States, he said. "While many of al Qaeda's senior leadership have been killed or captured, its core elements are resilient," he said. "They continue to plot attacks against the homeland and other targets with the aim of inflicting mass casualties."
Al Qaeda and other terror groups continue to seek chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons or materials, he said. "Al Qaeda also is forging stronger operational connections that radiate outward from their camps in Pakistan to affiliated groups and networks throughout the Middle East, North Africa and Europe," the admiral said.
Hezbollah, the Shiite organization backed by Iran and Syria, remains a source of serious concern to the United States also, McConnell said. "Last summer, hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah have increased Hezbollah's self-confidence," he said.
Cooperation among nations remains the best defense against these terror organizations, McConnell said. "Our ability to prevent attacks abroad and at home has been aided considerably by cooperation from many foreign governments, among them Iraq, the United Kingdom, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan," he said.
In Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States faces challenges exacerbated by terrorism.
In summarizing a national intelligence estimate on the situation in Iraq, McConnell said the current security and political trends in Iraq "are moving in a negative direction." The Samarra mosque bombing in February 2006 caused sectarian violence that has become self-sustaining. "Unless efforts to reverse these conditions gain real traction during the 12- to 18-month timeframe of this estimate, we assess that the security situation will continue to deteriorate at a rate comparable to the latter half of 2006," he said.
Success by the stronger and more loyal Iraqi security forces supported by the coalition in reducing violence "could give Iraqi political leaders breathing space to pursue political compromise needed for progress and stability," McConnell said.
However, he added, even if violence declines, the current level of sectarian animosity will make political reconciliation difficult over the next 12 to 18 months.
If the coalition withdraws rapidly, intelligence officials foresee a significant increase in the scale and scope of sectarian conflict, he said. A withdrawal would also intensify Sunni resistance to the Iraqi government and have adverse consequences for national reconciliation. In addition, al Qaeda almost certainly would use Anbar province to plan for increased attacks.
While outside actors are not likely to be a major driver of either violence or stability, Iranian lethal support for select groups of Iraqi Shiite militants clearly intensifies the conflict in Iraq. Syria also continues to provide safe haven for expatriate Iraqi Baathists, McConnell said.
In Afghanistan, 2007 is a pivotal year, the admiral said. "They must build central and provincial government capacity, confront perverse drug cultivation and trafficking, and, with NATO and the United States, arrest the resurgence of the Taliban," he said.
Progress in Afghanistan will not be easy. "There is a chronic shortage of resources and of qualified, motivated government officials," he said. "Once more, although the insurgency probably does not now directly threaten the government, it is deterring economic development and undermining popular support for President (Hamid) Karzai. The drug trade contributes to endemic corruption and undercuts public confidence. In addition, a dangerous nexus exists between drugs, the insurgents, and warlords who derive funds from cultivation and trafficking."
McConnell said that Iran and North Korea are of particular concern to the United States. These regimes have pursued nuclear programs in defiance of U.N. Security Council restrictions. "We assess that Tehran seeks to develop nuclear weapons and has shown greater interest in drawing out the negotiations rather than reaching an acceptable diplomatic solution," he said.
In addition, a nuclear Iran could cause a nuclear arms race in the region, McConnell said. "While our information is incomplete, we estimate Iran could produce a nuclear weapon by early to mid next decade," he said.
With North Korea, six-party talks have produced an agreement intended to lead to a declaration of all North Korean nuclear programs and to the country's disabling all existing nuclear facilities. "The agreement is the initial step in the denuclearization process and will be closely observed as we watch for its implementation," McConnell said.
Police and military personnel who have authored books in addition to criminal justice online leadership sponsored the publication of this article.
Gates, Pace Call on Congress to Fund IED Research
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 28, 2007 – Defense leaders yesterday called on Congress to approve a further $2.4 billion to defeat the biggest killer of Americans in the Middle East: the improvised explosive device. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Peter Pace told the Senate Appropriations Committee that the fiscal 2007 emergency supplemental request includes money to fund research into defeating IEDs. The money is in addition to $2 billion Congress already has appropriated this year to deal with the problem.
Gates stressed to the senators that this is an overriding concern in DoD. "The most unpleasant aspect of my job is every night going home and hand-writing notes to the families of those who have been killed in action," Gates said. "And there's a sheet behind every one of those letters that tells me how they died, and about 70 percent of them are the IEDs. So the whole Department of Defense is as highly motivated as an organization can be to try and figure out a way to get around these."
Gates said he has met with retired Army Gen. Montgomery Meigs, the director of the Joint IED Defeat Organization. "I asked General Meigs, ... 'Do you have enough money? Are you pursuing every avenue that makes any sense at all?'" he said. "And he assured me that with the enactment of the request that we have made both for the supplemental and then for (fiscal) '08 that he has the resources that he needs to do this."
Pace said the effort against IEDs is more than simply looking for a technological answer. Experts in Iraq learn from every device that explodes, then they take the information and share it widely "so the troops training right now to go over overseas in the future have the information from the most recent tactics, techniques and procedures of the enemy," Pace said.
Pace said the coalition and Iraqi forces look at the entire IED process, adding that coalition forces have secured 435,000 tons of ammunition from more than 15,000 locations in Iraq. "Just getting at the source of the explosives is part of the problem," he said, "then the factories where they're built, and the individuals who build them, and then the individuals who deliver them, and then the individuals who put them in place. So we go after the entire chain of events."
Pace said coalition and Iraqi security forces find more than half of IEDs that are emplaced. "And then, thanks to the technologies involved, we have fewer and fewer casualties for the explosions that do take place," he said.
There is no easy solution, Gates said, and the United States must keep pushing at the problem. "The reality is we face an agile and a smart adversary, and as soon as we ... find one way of trying to thwart their efforts, they find a new technology or a new way of going about their business," he said. "But I can assure you this is a very high priority for us."
Police and military personnel who have authored books in addition to criminal justice online leadership sponsored the publication of this article.
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 28, 2007 – Defense leaders yesterday called on Congress to approve a further $2.4 billion to defeat the biggest killer of Americans in the Middle East: the improvised explosive device. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Peter Pace told the Senate Appropriations Committee that the fiscal 2007 emergency supplemental request includes money to fund research into defeating IEDs. The money is in addition to $2 billion Congress already has appropriated this year to deal with the problem.
Gates stressed to the senators that this is an overriding concern in DoD. "The most unpleasant aspect of my job is every night going home and hand-writing notes to the families of those who have been killed in action," Gates said. "And there's a sheet behind every one of those letters that tells me how they died, and about 70 percent of them are the IEDs. So the whole Department of Defense is as highly motivated as an organization can be to try and figure out a way to get around these."
Gates said he has met with retired Army Gen. Montgomery Meigs, the director of the Joint IED Defeat Organization. "I asked General Meigs, ... 'Do you have enough money? Are you pursuing every avenue that makes any sense at all?'" he said. "And he assured me that with the enactment of the request that we have made both for the supplemental and then for (fiscal) '08 that he has the resources that he needs to do this."
Pace said the effort against IEDs is more than simply looking for a technological answer. Experts in Iraq learn from every device that explodes, then they take the information and share it widely "so the troops training right now to go over overseas in the future have the information from the most recent tactics, techniques and procedures of the enemy," Pace said.
Pace said the coalition and Iraqi forces look at the entire IED process, adding that coalition forces have secured 435,000 tons of ammunition from more than 15,000 locations in Iraq. "Just getting at the source of the explosives is part of the problem," he said, "then the factories where they're built, and the individuals who build them, and then the individuals who deliver them, and then the individuals who put them in place. So we go after the entire chain of events."
Pace said coalition and Iraqi security forces find more than half of IEDs that are emplaced. "And then, thanks to the technologies involved, we have fewer and fewer casualties for the explosions that do take place," he said.
There is no easy solution, Gates said, and the United States must keep pushing at the problem. "The reality is we face an agile and a smart adversary, and as soon as we ... find one way of trying to thwart their efforts, they find a new technology or a new way of going about their business," he said. "But I can assure you this is a very high priority for us."
Police and military personnel who have authored books in addition to criminal justice online leadership sponsored the publication of this article.
U.S. Should Use Counterinsurgency Methods in War on Terror, General Says
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 28, 2007 – The United States should approach the global war on terrorism as it would an insurgency, a senior military official said today at the 18th annual Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict Symposium here. "If we look at is as terrorism, we have a tendency to think that the solution is to kill or capture all the terrorists. That's a never-ending process," Army Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin, undersecretary of defense for intelligence and warfighting support, said.
"We'll never be successful, we'll never get there, if we think that's the primary solution," he said. "But if we approach it from the perspective of an insurgency, we use the seven elements of national power."
The general defined the seven elements of national power as diplomacy, military, economy, finance, law enforcement, information and intelligence. Focusing on the latter two elements in a keynote speech here, Boykin first discussed the shortcomings of the U.S.'s information capability.
"In the information age," he said, "information should be something we're good at, ... and I do not believe that to be the case.
"It is my view that one of the most underutilized elements of national power is information," he said. "It should be something we are applying robustly, with a great deal of coordination and synergy.
"The question is 'on a day-to-day basis, who in this country is responsible for information operations?'" he said. "The answer is 'nobody.'"
Every organization, agency and department has its own individual responsibilities, but there is no central direction and no one in charge, Boykin said. "That's problematic," he added.
If U.S. efforts in the war on terror mirrored counterinsurgency measures, then "information becomes a key component of winning the hearts and minds," he said.
Boykin defined such strategic communications as "the informational instrument of national power in an era of globalization." Establishing its "unity of effort," he said, is an evolving process.
The Defense Department's vision is to synchronize lines of information operations and establish it as a core capability for the combatant commands, Boykin said.
Shifting gears, Boykin then discussed U.S. intelligence, which he characterized as "an element of national power that we're actually doing pretty well."
For the Defense Department, human intelligence is "much broader than clandestine operations," Boykin said. "Interrogations and debriefings, the things our attaches do, two guys in a spider hole putting eyes on a target is human intelligence."
Boykin said the Defense Department has been working "hand in glove with the CIA" on rebuilding DoD's HUMINT capabilities. "Now that we're in an insurgency, there's nothing more important than human intelligence," he said. "We need to leverage every HUMINT capability.
"The Army now has a saying, that says 'Every soldier is a sensor,'" Boykin said. "That sounds like a counterinsurgency measure, doesn't it?
"If we believe it's a global insurgency, we have to use HUMINT in every environment," he said. "We're moving towards the recognition that every soldier on the street has something to add or something to contribute to intelligence."
Police and military personnel who have authored books in addition to criminal justice online leadership sponsored the publication of this article.
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 28, 2007 – The United States should approach the global war on terrorism as it would an insurgency, a senior military official said today at the 18th annual Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict Symposium here. "If we look at is as terrorism, we have a tendency to think that the solution is to kill or capture all the terrorists. That's a never-ending process," Army Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin, undersecretary of defense for intelligence and warfighting support, said.
"We'll never be successful, we'll never get there, if we think that's the primary solution," he said. "But if we approach it from the perspective of an insurgency, we use the seven elements of national power."
The general defined the seven elements of national power as diplomacy, military, economy, finance, law enforcement, information and intelligence. Focusing on the latter two elements in a keynote speech here, Boykin first discussed the shortcomings of the U.S.'s information capability.
"In the information age," he said, "information should be something we're good at, ... and I do not believe that to be the case.
"It is my view that one of the most underutilized elements of national power is information," he said. "It should be something we are applying robustly, with a great deal of coordination and synergy.
"The question is 'on a day-to-day basis, who in this country is responsible for information operations?'" he said. "The answer is 'nobody.'"
Every organization, agency and department has its own individual responsibilities, but there is no central direction and no one in charge, Boykin said. "That's problematic," he added.
If U.S. efforts in the war on terror mirrored counterinsurgency measures, then "information becomes a key component of winning the hearts and minds," he said.
Boykin defined such strategic communications as "the informational instrument of national power in an era of globalization." Establishing its "unity of effort," he said, is an evolving process.
The Defense Department's vision is to synchronize lines of information operations and establish it as a core capability for the combatant commands, Boykin said.
Shifting gears, Boykin then discussed U.S. intelligence, which he characterized as "an element of national power that we're actually doing pretty well."
For the Defense Department, human intelligence is "much broader than clandestine operations," Boykin said. "Interrogations and debriefings, the things our attaches do, two guys in a spider hole putting eyes on a target is human intelligence."
Boykin said the Defense Department has been working "hand in glove with the CIA" on rebuilding DoD's HUMINT capabilities. "Now that we're in an insurgency, there's nothing more important than human intelligence," he said. "We need to leverage every HUMINT capability.
"The Army now has a saying, that says 'Every soldier is a sensor,'" Boykin said. "That sounds like a counterinsurgency measure, doesn't it?
"If we believe it's a global insurgency, we have to use HUMINT in every environment," he said. "We're moving towards the recognition that every soldier on the street has something to add or something to contribute to intelligence."
Police and military personnel who have authored books in addition to criminal justice online leadership sponsored the publication of this article.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Eight Terrorists Killed, Six Detained in Iraq Raids Today
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 28, 2007 – Coalition forces killed eight suspected al Qaeda terrorists and detained six today in operations northeast of Taji, Iraq.
As coalition forces moved into the area, several armed men in a nearby palm grove reportedly moved toward them. Coalition forces called in close-air support to kill the terrorists. Two suspected terrorists were detained.
Also today, coalition forces captured two suspected terrorists in Amiriyah and two more in Baghdad, all with alleged ties to the al Qaeda.
In operations throughout Iraq yesterday:
-- Samarra Iraqi police and coalition forces captured a suspected insurgent bomber yesterday southwest of Samarra. The suspect was captured during operations targeting an insurgent improvised-explosive-device cell. Iraqi police detained three other suspects for questioning.
-- In southeastern Ramadi, 30 locals and one Iraqi soldier suffered wounds from flying glass and debris from an intentional detonation of recovered explosives yesterday. The wounded were evacuated to a nearby coalition aid station. The more seriously injured were flown to a nearby military hospital. None of the injuries were reported as life threatening. Iraqi and U.S. forces had uncovered 15 bags of explosives and were disposing of them. The resulting blast was larger than expected and shattered glass in surrounding buildings.
Elsewhere in Iraq earlier this week:
-- Paratroopers freed two hostages and uncovered an insurgent safe house and weapons cache south of Baghdad on Feb. 26. Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, found the hostages and safe house near Mahmudiyah. The cache contained three AK-47s, 14 30-round magazines, one 100-round magazine drum, and two fragmentary grenades.
-- In the Wardiyah district of Hillah, an Iraqi SWAT team caught eight suspected members of the Mahdawiyah insurgent group Feb. 26. The suspects are believed to have attacked Iraqi civilians and security forces in the area.
-- In the Ameriya district of Baghdad Feb. 24, soldiers found the largest weapons cache to date in that area. U.S. soldiers in the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, working with Iraqi soldiers in the 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 6th Iraqi army, found the cache in a school near the Fridas mosque. The find uncovered 17 improvised rocket-propelled grenades, 10 Kutusa rockets, five 60 mm mortars, 13 81 mm mortars, one 81 mm mortar tube and two 60 mm mortar tubes.
So far in February, soldiers from Multinational Division Baghdad have found 150 weapons caches and 417 improvised explosive devices.
On Feb. 23 Iraqis celebrated the re-opening of a Yusufiyah mosque. The mosque was closed after an attack by terrorists in October. U.S. soldiers from the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), and Iraqi soldiers the 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division and the Iraqi police secured the area for the event. No major violence was reported.
Article sponsored by police and military personnel who authored books as well as criminal justice online leadership.
Feb. 28, 2007 – Coalition forces killed eight suspected al Qaeda terrorists and detained six today in operations northeast of Taji, Iraq.
As coalition forces moved into the area, several armed men in a nearby palm grove reportedly moved toward them. Coalition forces called in close-air support to kill the terrorists. Two suspected terrorists were detained.
Also today, coalition forces captured two suspected terrorists in Amiriyah and two more in Baghdad, all with alleged ties to the al Qaeda.
In operations throughout Iraq yesterday:
-- Samarra Iraqi police and coalition forces captured a suspected insurgent bomber yesterday southwest of Samarra. The suspect was captured during operations targeting an insurgent improvised-explosive-device cell. Iraqi police detained three other suspects for questioning.
-- In southeastern Ramadi, 30 locals and one Iraqi soldier suffered wounds from flying glass and debris from an intentional detonation of recovered explosives yesterday. The wounded were evacuated to a nearby coalition aid station. The more seriously injured were flown to a nearby military hospital. None of the injuries were reported as life threatening. Iraqi and U.S. forces had uncovered 15 bags of explosives and were disposing of them. The resulting blast was larger than expected and shattered glass in surrounding buildings.
Elsewhere in Iraq earlier this week:
-- Paratroopers freed two hostages and uncovered an insurgent safe house and weapons cache south of Baghdad on Feb. 26. Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, found the hostages and safe house near Mahmudiyah. The cache contained three AK-47s, 14 30-round magazines, one 100-round magazine drum, and two fragmentary grenades.
-- In the Wardiyah district of Hillah, an Iraqi SWAT team caught eight suspected members of the Mahdawiyah insurgent group Feb. 26. The suspects are believed to have attacked Iraqi civilians and security forces in the area.
-- In the Ameriya district of Baghdad Feb. 24, soldiers found the largest weapons cache to date in that area. U.S. soldiers in the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, working with Iraqi soldiers in the 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 6th Iraqi army, found the cache in a school near the Fridas mosque. The find uncovered 17 improvised rocket-propelled grenades, 10 Kutusa rockets, five 60 mm mortars, 13 81 mm mortars, one 81 mm mortar tube and two 60 mm mortar tubes.
So far in February, soldiers from Multinational Division Baghdad have found 150 weapons caches and 417 improvised explosive devices.
On Feb. 23 Iraqis celebrated the re-opening of a Yusufiyah mosque. The mosque was closed after an attack by terrorists in October. U.S. soldiers from the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), and Iraqi soldiers the 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division and the Iraqi police secured the area for the event. No major violence was reported.
Article sponsored by police and military personnel who authored books as well as criminal justice online leadership.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
