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WASHINGTON, Sept. 3, 2008 – The United States will provide $1 billion in recovery aid to Georgia, President Bush announced today. Russia invaded the Caucasus republic in August and still has troops in the country in violation of a cease-fire agreement reached Aug. 13. Through Operation Assured Delivery, the U.S. military has delivered more than 2 million pounds of humanitarian supplies to the former Soviet republic. Bush said the new funds will help meet Georgia’s humanitarian needs and support its economic recovery. “More than half of these funds will be made available in the near term and will support reconstruction...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 2, 2008 – U.S. military aircraft and ships continue to bring humanitarian supplies to Georgia, defense officials said today. The humanitarian need still exists in the former Soviet republic, and the United States will continue sending help “as long as it’s needed,” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. Russian troops continue to be in violation of the cease-fire agreement signed in August, Whitman said. “There has been some progress, but they remain in violation,” he said. So far, 62 air sorties have flown humanitarian aid to Georgia, and two ships – the USS McFaul and U.S. Coast Guard Cutter...

Israel's extraordinary help for the Arab "Palestinians" should overshadow any consequences in it's war on terror stemming out of "Palestinian" initiated violence      Let alone current contributions and aid, even in the years that the "Palestinians" love to refer to as "occupation", just How "bad" was it really for them?   1967 - 1993   * Economic prosperity, Israeli investment in "Palestinian" business, industry and infrastructure helped the PA GNP grow 13% annually between 1967 and 1980, per capita income grew tenfold, unemployment dropped from 40% to below 5%.   * Standard of living soared, Health gains: Israel built 166...

Iraqi children wait for their turn in line during an aid drop to the people of the industrial zone in Adhamiyah, as Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldiers provide security Aug. 25, 2008. Photo by Sgt. Philip Klein. BAGHDAD — Soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, provided food packs, soccer balls, backpacks and pencil sets for residents of an Iraqi apartment complex Aug. 25.The aid drop was spearheaded by the Iraqi Army Civil Affairs Team, the 404th Civil Affairs Battalion and Soldiers from Multi-National Division-Baghdad to provide relief to a working class neighborhood around the Adhamiyah industrial zone.The aid...

"The European Union is now helping pay the salaries and pensions of Palestinian Authority workers. On August 20, officials in Brussels announced that the EU will be providing the PA with an extra €40 million ($58.8 million) in financial aid. This money comes on top of the €440 million ($650 million) in aid the EU pledged to the PA at a donors’ conference in Paris last December." "In addition to covering some of the Palestinian Authority’s salary and pension costs, a part of this European cash has been earmarked for the construction of a new Palestinian security force headquarters in...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28, 2008 – The Coast Guard Cutter Dallas has finished off-loading humanitarian relief supplies in the Georgian city of Batumi and has left port, a Defense Department official said here today. Since Russia invaded Georgia on Aug. 9, all of the U.S. aid that has gone to the nation has been humanitarian relief, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters. Defense officials said that Russia still has troops in Georgia and is not living up to the terms of a cease-fire agreement. The Dallas unloaded 34 short tons of aid at the port, raising the U.S. total to 947...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28, 2008 – The Defense Department and U.S. European Command stand ready to assist as required to save lives and alleviate human suffering during the humanitarian crisis in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, a senior EuCom official said yesterday. “Working side by side with the republic of Georgia and international organizations, U.S. European Command is providing immediate life-saving support and restoring essential life-support systems as part of a coordinated interagency effort,” Michael Ritchie, EuCom’s director of interagency engagement, said in a teleconference with bloggers and online journalists to discuss the relief effort dubbed Operation Assured Delivery. Operation...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 24, 2008 – The U.S. military has delivered more than 1 million pounds of humanitarian relief supplies to Georgia. Georgian soldiers, working with U.S. soldiers, assist in delivery of humanitarian assistance supplies to the people of Georgia Aug. 21, 2008. Defense Dept. photo by Marine Maj. Rob James  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. As of Aug.22, 36 missions had been flown by Air Force C-17 Globemaster III and C-130 Hercules transport aircraft as well as Navy C-9 Skytrain, C-130 Hercules and C-40 Clipper aircraft, U.S. European Command officials said. Two U.S. ships are on the way,...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22, 2008 – Although some movement of Russian troops in Georgia has occurred, it’s difficult to determine whether it’s an indication of withdrawal or just a repositioning of forces, a Defense Department official said today. “There have been some movements around [the town of] Gory, but it’s unclear whether that is the beginning of a significant withdrawal,” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. “The only movements we’ve seen are relatively minor.” The Defense Department remains steadfast in its support to Georgia as officials work to determine whether Russia is commencing with the drawdown terms it agreed to or is...

NAPLES, Italy, Aug. 21, 2008 – Two Navy ships and a Coast Guard cutter are transporting humanitarian relief supplies to Georgia. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Jeff Weaver and Petty Officer 2nd Class Gary Smith prepare humanitarian aid supplies for loading aboard USS McFaul at Souda Bay, Crete, Aug. 20, 2008. Nearly 55 tons of supplies were loaded as part of the humanitarian assistance for the Georgia following the conflict between Russian and Georgian forces in the former Soviet republic. U.S. Navy Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Eddie Harrison   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. These deployments...

STUTTGART, Germany, Aug. 19, 2008 – U.S. European Command is coordinating sustained airlift support as the United States continues to send humanitarian supplies and medical supplies to the former Soviet republic of Georgia. So far, the U.S. military has delivered more than 270,000 pounds of aid on 12 missions to the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, with more relief on the way in the coming days, officials said. Flying out of Ramstein Air Base, Germany, the missions are delivering bandages, surgical supplies and medicine, as well as emergency shelters and bedding. The joint effort, with the Army, Navy, Air Force and...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 18, 2008 – The U.S. military has delivered $2 million worth of humanitarian aid to Georgia in an ongoing effort to relieve the war-torn former Soviet republic that came under Russian attack 10 days ago. In addition to 130 tons of airlifted cargo, U.S. European Command has granted the Georgian government in Tblisi access to a $1.2 million stockpile of disaster relief and medical supplies stored in Georgia. “We are going to continue to flow in assistance,” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said today. “We have been over the weekend, and we will continue this week.” More than...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 16, 2008 – The U.S. military flights that have delivered humanitarian assistance to Georgia this week will continue in the days ahead, President Bush said today. American C-17 aircraft began delivering aid to Georgia Aug. 14 in the wake of attacks by Russian forces in two breakaway Georgian regions and other parts of the former Soviet republic. “In recent days, U.S. cargo planes carrying humanitarian supplies have arrived in Georgia. In the days ahead, we will continue using U.S. aircraft and other assets as needed to deliver more humanitarian and medical supplies,” Bush said today in his...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 14, 2008 – The humanitarian mission under way in Georgia is intended to alleviate suffering for now and will move into longer-range help in the future, officials said at a Pentagon news conference today. The Air Force has sent two supply-filled C-17 Globemaster III transports into Georgia’s capital of Tbilisi. More flights will follow, officials said, but none are scheduled just yet. Russian troops who invaded Georgia last week are beginning to pull back, Marine Corps Gen. James E. Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said today. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates also spoke at...

TBILISI, Georgia, Aug. 14, 2008 – A U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III transport jet departed Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and landed at Tbilisi International Airport here yesterday, delivering $1 million in humanitarian aid to reduce the suffering of the people of the former Soviet republic of Georgia. Air Force Staff Sgt. Chris Broegemueller, assigned to the 86th Airlift Wing's Contingency Response Group at Sembach Air Base, Germany, helps to push out the first of 16 pallets aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III in Tbilisi, Georgia, Aug. 13, 2008. The humanitarian assistance delivery consisted of $1 million...

North Korea is refusing to proceed further with its nuclear disarmament unless other countries at arms talks guarantee promised energy aid, a South Korean official said Thursday. Seeking to break the latest stalemate at the nuclear negotiations, the five other countries in the arms talks - the U.S., China, Japan, Russia and South Korea - met with the North on Wednesday in the truce village of Panmunjom in the middle of the Demilitarized Zone dividing the Koreas. "The North has taken the position that if that (energy aid) is not fully guaranteed, it cannot cooperate in making further steps" at...

MONTERREY, Mexico - U.S. lawmakers will review the language of a US$1.4 billion anti-drug plan that Mexican officials contend infringes on their nation's sovereignty, a senior U.S. senator said Sunday.

Myanmar cyclone: Burma's junta turns away US aid ships By Thomas Bell, South East Asia Correspondent Last Updated: 1:46PM BST 04/06/2008 Four American navy ships, laden with relief supplies, are steaming away from the Burmese coast because the military junta will not allow them to help starving cyclone victims. On board the boats were 22 urgently needed heavy-lift helicopters, amphibious vehicles and water purification equipment. The Burmese regime claimed that, far from wanting to help the 2.5 million survivors of last month’s cyclone, the US was in fact intent on stealing the country’s oil resources. "I am both saddened and...

U.S. Navy ships positioned off the coast of Myanmar will soon leave the area after the country's junta refused to give them permission to deliver aid to cyclone victims, a top U.S. commander said Wednesday. Adm. Timothy Keating, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, said the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier Essex and other ships will resume their previous operations Thursday.

Mr Bush wrote that the July 7-9 summit of the Group of Eight major industrial powers, to be held in Japan, needed to take concrete action to tackle AIDS and other scourges afflicting Africa. "My message to my fellow leaders will be that our past promises are just empty words unless we provide meaningful follow-through," Mr Bush wrote. "And if we do, we can continue to help save lives and spread hope across the continent of Africa." Mr Bush said the US was doubling aid to Africa by 2010 and highlighted a $US15 billion ($A15.7 billion) AIDS relief fund launched...

BAGHDAD — Leaders and Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division distributed humanitarian aid to residents in Shula, a neighborhood in northwest Baghdad, May 26. Soldiers travelled door-to-door handing out staples such as rice, lentils and tomato paste to 100 residents. At the end, nearly 300 residents throughout Shula received aid during a three-day period beginning, May 24. Shula resident’s movement to and from markets had been hampered by criminal activity in the area, making Soldiers clad in desert uniforms bearing boxes filled with food a welcome sight. Capt. Joseph Sincere, a fire support officer with...

The United States has reached a deal with North Korea to provide 500,000 tons of food aid over the coming year to the isolated communist nation. The U.S. administration says the aid has little to do with its nuclear disarmament deal with Pyongyang, although both have involved an unusual intensity of U.S. diplomacy with North Korea, a nation President George W. Bush once included as part of a rhetorical ``axis of evil.'' ``We don't see any connection,'' State Department spokesman Sean McCormack was quoted as saying. ``We're doing this because America is a compassionate nation and the United States and...

Myanmar's junta kept a French navy ship laden with aid waiting outside its maritime border on Saturday, and showed off neatly laid out state relief camps to diplomats. The stage-managed tour appeared aimed at countering global criticism of the junta's failure to provide for survivors of Cyclone Nargis, which left at least 134,000 people dead or missing. The junta flew 60 diplomats and U.N. officials in helicopters to three places in the Irrawaddy delta where camps, aid and survivors were put on display. The diplomats were not swayed.

Myanmar cyclone: Burma junta may be prosecuted over aid block By Philip Sherwell in New York Last Updated: 6:17PM BST 17/05/2008 Burma's ruling generals could be threatened with prosecution for crimes against humanity as a last resort to pressure them to allow an international relief operation to reach desperate cyclone survivors. A boy looks out onto his devastated village near Yangon, Burma "The strategy is to raise the bar for the consequences of not allowing humanitarian intervention by introducing the threat of prosecution for crimes against humanity," said a senior US health expert involved in the discussions. "The goal is...

The letter shows that the US has resisted the idea of loans, preferring to give developing countries grants. "We understand that grants would be the US preferred approach," the British ministers say. Both their departments are understood to have argued strongly that the money should be in direct grant form on principle, but were overruled by the Treasury. Last night several countries joined environment and development groups to condemn the loans. "We need urgently to prepare for climate change, but we are not in a position to pay back loans," said a spokesman for the Bangladesh high commission in London....

CHINA may allow more countries to help in rescue efforts in the earthquake-devastated south-west region, a Chinese embassy spokesman says. Beijing has agreed so far to allow rescue teams from Russia, Singapore, South Korea and Japan, as well as Taiwan - which China considers to be part of its territory - and Hong Kong. "I personally expect more foreign rescue teams being allowed into China," Wang Baodong, spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, told reporters. The offers from the four nations were accepted based on their proximity to China, "which may ensure promptness of the aid. "As I understand,...

A soldier of the Iraqi army 42nd Brigade, 11th Iraqi army division, hands out water to young boys before they wait in line for medical care at an abandoned school in the southern portion of the Sadr City District of Baghdad on May 8. The Iraqi army handed out relief supplies and provided medical care in an effort to help the people in the district. More than 250 people showed up to receive free food and medical supplies. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Cohen Young. CAMP LIBERTY — Residents in Sadr City continue to receive humanitarian aid from...

THERE is a certain familiarity to the concomitant series of actions and reactions when disaster strikes in the world. The US stands ready, willing and able to offer assistance. It is often the first country to send in millions of dollars, navy strike groups loaded with food and medical supplies, and transport planes, helicopters and floating hospitals to help those devastated by natural disaster. Then, just as swift and with equal predictability, those wedded to the Great Satan view of the US begin to carp, drawing on a potent mixture of cynicism and conspiracy theories to criticise the last remaining...

Burma cyclone: Burmese officials selling emergency aid supplies in local markets By Alan Brown in Yangonpauk Last Updated: 7:24PM BST 12/05/2008 Officials in Burma's cyclone-hit Irrawaddy delta area are appropriating emergency aid supplies and selling them in local markets, it was claimed on Monday. Burmese officials have been accused of selling aid supplies Burmese volunteers who are operating their own private aid missions to the area have said that they are having to hide from local apparatchiks in order to prevent them commandeering their aid and selling it on at markets. The Daily Telegraph learned of the alleged scam from...

President Bush weighed in as well at a White House meeting Wednesday with Republicans. But Hunter’s stance reflects what has been a steady undercurrent of criticism on the right. In trying to pull together the wartime spending bill and still meet other budget priorities, Democrats argue that it is unrealistic for Rice to expect the full $500 million at this time. In his letter to Bush, for example, Hunter argues that the $500 million has no place in the bill “much like other programs not intended to support military operations in the combat theaters of the global war on terrorism.”...

Teams of aid experts allowed into the cyclone-ravaged Irrawady delta have returned to Thailand with the bleakest of warnings: Burma is on the brink of a “devastating public health crisis” compounded by an emerging refugee disaster. But for the hundreds of aid workers who have flown into Bangkok from around the world, the chances of a sudden glut of the precious entry visas appeared slimmer by the hour. Rumours have begun circulating between international aid organisations that the Burmese regime is preparing to close its doors altogether: a decision, warned UN-affiliated aid workers, that will cost the lives of thousands.

The United States is offering to help China in its fight against a viral infection that has killed 34 children, including two reported Friday, and sickened thousands of others. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt is making a previously scheduled trip to Beijing next week and plans to discuss health issues with Chinese officials, with the outbreaks of hand, foot and mouth disease expected to feature prominently, U.S. Embassy spokesman Susan Stevenson said. The scope and volume of infections brings to mind the SARS epidemic of 2003, when China was criticized internationally for trying to conceal the emergence of...

The United Nations this week said the refusal of Burma's government to allow workers into the country's devastated agricultural region was unprecedented in the history of humanitarian relief. The human catastrophe produced by Burma's refusal to permit aid in the wake of Cyclone Nargis has stunned the senses of a world that has watched this spectacle for a week. There are uncounted numbers of persons dead, homeless and orphaned. Bodies still float in water. The World Health Organization has warned there could be outbreaks of cholera and especially malaria. U.N. member-state India warned the junta the deadly cyclone was headed...

(IsraelNN.com) Israel re-opened Gaza crossings Thursday for shipments of humanitarian aid after terrorist attacks forced a restriction of shipments on Wednesday. The Nahal Oz fuel depot also was re-opened, and 180 tons of cooking and 681,000 liters of fuel were transferred. More than 160 trucks moved through the Sufa and Karni crossings with medical supplies and medications, fruit, poultry, cleaning products, meat, juice, dairy products, sugar, garlic, nylon, fish, carrots, salt, soy sauce, meat preservatives, nylon for greenhouses, wheat and corn.

UN forced to halt Gaza food aid to a million By Tim Butcher in Jerusalem Last Updated: 2:38am BST 25/04/2008 The United Nations says it is being forced to stop delivering food aid to Gaza because of the fuel shortages caused by Israel's response to militant attacks. Palestinian refugees carry UN food aid at a Rafah refugee campAlmost a million Palestinians will go hungry if the UN stops deliveries, compounding an already dire humanitarian situation. The fuel blockade means pumps have already been turned off, causing water shortages and sewage problems, while the vaccination stocks at Gaza's main hospital were...

RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Palestinian West Bank, besieged by Israeli occupation, political division and weak leadership, got a boost on Monday: the announcement of a plan, led by the American government, to help tens of thousands of people buy homes. The plan, which establishes a $500 million mortgage company, aims to build 10 new neighborhoods over the next five years and, in the process, create thousands of jobs in construction and real estate. In doing so, it could improve the depressed local economy and the political prospects of the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, of the relatively pro-West Fatah party.

Caption for picture in Day in Pictures: "A woman in the Afghan capital, Kabul, receives bags of wheat from the World Food Programme sent by Japan."

The Bush Administration’s search for partners to promote “peace” and “democracy” within the Palestinian Authority (PA) resembles Lord Charles Bowen’s “blind man in a dark room looking for a black hat – which isn’t there”. For the first time, the Bush Administration plans to give $150 million in cash directly to the Palestinian Authority (PA) Treasury, as part of a $496.5 million “aid” package, including $410 million for development programs. This added to the $86.5 million for CIA “security training”, which Congress authorized in April 2007. The CIA has apparently assumed the Palestinian terrorist-training role previously held by the former...

American officials have agreed to a $23 million aid package from which most will go towards purchasing technology to prevent the fence from being perforated and for locating underground smuggling conduits, according to information received in the Israeli political circuit. From details that were made known to Ynet, the US intends to send teams from the US Army Corps of Engineers to the Egyptian side of the Gaza-Egypt border in the near future. Theses teams will assist Egyptian forces deployed along the frontier pinpoint the locations of smuggling tunnels west of the border in the Rafah area. In Jerusalem, Israel...

Congress is poised to pass the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) authorizing up to $50 million in unconstitutional foreign aid. The bill passed out of the Foreign Affairs Committee with a bipartisan agreement to nearly double the President's requested amount. It is always distressing to see officials in our government reach across the aisle to disregard Constitutional limitations. Much of this aid will run through government-to-government channels and will be vulnerable to corruption. Some of the aid will be sent to faith-based organizations who, along with accepting government largess, will now be subject to governmental controls and will...

The US government has pledged 148 million dollars this year to the UN refugee agency to aid Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and neighboring countries, both said Wednesday. The UN Relief and Works Agency said the amount includes 91 million dollars to UNRWA's fund for refugees in the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria as well as 57 million dollars to its 2008 West Bank and Gaza emergency appeal. The statement on the UNRWA website follows a similar one on the US State Department's website. "This support is essential for improving the daily lives of Palestine...

WASHINGTON - The U.S. government's humanitarian relief agency will significantly scale back emergency food aid to some of the world's poorest countries this year because of soaring global food prices, and the U.S. Agency for International Development is drafting plans to reduce the number of recipient nations, the amount of food provided to them, or both, officials at the agency said. USAID officials said that a 41 percent surge in prices for wheat, corn, rice and other cereals over the past six months has generated a $120 million budget shortfall that will force the agency to reduce emergency operations. That...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, Feb. 19, 2008 – Harsh winter weather, coupled with rising food and fuel prices, has created a burgeoning humanitarian crisis in some areas of Herat province, in western Afghanistan near the Iran border. Village elders from Ala Udin, Jamali and Amma Sakina in Herat province sought help from the Afghan government to ease the suffering of villagers and avoid disaster in their villages. The commander of the Afghan National Army’s 207th Kandak met with the village elders, who presented him with a list of 327 families who were on the brink of starvation and needed immediate...

President Bush, in the midst of a warmly recieved visit here, today signed off on a $698 million aid package -- the latest and largest installment in an innovative program aimed at holding recipient countries accountable for the loans they recieve. The agreement, signed by Mr. Bush and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete in front of the massive State House here in Tanzania’s capital, will go toward building infrastructure, clean water projects, and hydro power development. Also today, Mr. Bush signaled support for Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia at a press conference with Mr. Kikwete several hours before a declaration...

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania - President Bush is betting Congress will hear him better from the heart of Africa than it does from down the street in Washington. Foreign aid programs that Bush sees as crowning achievements — and which he holds dear — are having their spending levels questioned on Capitol Hill. By visiting Africa for six days to showcase their results, Bush aims to change that in the short term and secure the programs' future beyond his presidency. His first stop Saturday was Benin, a tiny sliver on West Africa's coast. Hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars are...

Sgt. 1st Class Steven Bailey from 1st Platoon, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, shows an Iraqi boy how to carry his stuffed animal. Multi-National Division – North Soldiers brought food, supplies and toys to children at an orphanage in Kirkuk, Feb. 3. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Laura M. Buchta. KIRKUK — Soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, visited a Kirkuk orphanage, Feb. 3.  The Soldiers passed out food, supplies and toys, hoping to “brighten the children’s faces and provide them with some things that they...

Kenya violence prompts US to review its aid By Mike Pflanz in Naivasha and David Blair, Diplomatic Editor Last Updated: 3:53am GMT 31/01/2008 Kenya's tribal bloodshed amounts to "ethnic cleansing" and America is reviewing the £135 million aid it gives to the country, a senior US official has said. Authorities have pledged to restore calm. Some reports suggest that police have been given 'shoot-to-kill' orders Speaking in neighbouring Ethiopia, Jendayi Frazer, the assistant secretary of state for Africa, said that members of President Mwai Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe were being forced from their homes. "The aim originally was not to kill,...

ISRAEL VS ARAB - THE WAR OF THE HUMANITARIAN VS THE UN-HUMANITARIAN     January 22, 2008   No one has been talking in the mainstream media about the daily "Palestinian" barrage of missiles aimed specifically at Israeli kids, the southern Israel under siege of "Palestinian" occupation, the trembling fear of Israeli women for their children's safety in Sderot ( Fear and trauma as rockets impact Israeli town), but everyone is up in arms if Israel acts.   No one has been talking in mainstream media as Israel has been successfully eliminating terrorists [with unimaginable efforts in carrying it out]...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 17, 2008 – Defense Department officials are assessing what help, if any, the department could extend to the government of Pakistan. Pakistan has become increasingly volatile due to political instability after the Dec. 27 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and stepped-up extremist activity in the ungoverned areas near the Afghanistan border. “The character of the fight in Pakistan has changed to some extent, and it is more focused inward, and we're watching that very carefully,” Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. James E. Cartwright said in a news briefing at the Pentagon...

KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Jan. 17, 2008 – Surrounded by snow-covered mountains, the medical personnel of Task Force Saber work side-by-side to provide a first-class, life-saving aid station on Forward Operating Base Naray located in northeastern Afghanistan along the Pakistan border. U.S. Army Spc. Melissa A. Hoffman, from Avondale, Ariz., assigned to Charlie Company, 173rd Brigade Support Battalion, prepares an Afghan mother to draw blood for testing Jan. 3, 2008, at FOB Naray Aid Station in northeastern Afghanistan. The aid station has seen more than 5,400 locals since Task Force Saber took over in May 2007. (U.S. Army photo by...