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WASHINGTON, March 28, 2007 – The crackdown on insurgents in Baghdad is showing progress, but a senior military official there warned that it’s likely to drive the enemy to strike out dramatically before succeeding. “Like backing a rat into a corner, increasing pressure on the extremists by limiting their available resources and places to hide leads to desperate changes in tactics,” Navy Rear Adm. Mark Fox, a spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq, told reporters during a roundtable session in Baghdad today. Fox cited a Feb. 23 suicide-bomb attempt in Ramadi as an example of that desperation. When Iraqi police...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26, 2007 – When troops ask the military’s highest-ranking officer questions about the war in Iraq, force levels or tour lengths, Marine Gen. Peter Pace is eager to answer frankly and completely. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff fielded questions Feb. 22 and 23 from active duty, National Guard and Reserve troops in Alaska at the Army’s Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, and at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage. After brief opening remarks, Pace told the troops he’d rather answer their questions than “talk at them.” The troops responded with questions on the global picture...

AMES, United States (AFP) - Senator Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record) piled pressure on Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, questioning how she would live up to her vow to end the war in Iraq, a day after launching his White House bid. "I am not clear on how she would proceed at this point to wind down the war in a specific way," Obama, 45, told reporters when asked to critique Clinton's plans for ending the bloody US engagement during a campaign stop in Iowa. "I know she has stated that she thinks the war should end by the start...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2007 – When additional troops arrive in Iraq's Anbar Province, they will be welcomed and put to work, said the commander of a regimental combat team responsible for more than 30,000 square miles in the area. “I don’t think there’s a commander in any conflict in American history that wouldn’t say he’d take more forces,” Marine Col. William Crowe, commander of Regimental Combat Team 7, told reporters today during a video teleconference from Asad, Iraq. “When we do get additional forces … my commanding general knows where they need to go. And when they come here,...

BRUSSELS, Belgium, Nov. 16, 2006 -- The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other NATO defense chiefs reaffirmed their commitment yesterday to the alliance’s security mission in Afghanistan as they evaluated successes made, new approaches under way and challenges ahead. Marine Gen. Peter Pace met at NATO headquarters here with members of NATO’s Military Committee for talks that will lead up to the NATO Summit in Riga, Latvia, later this month. The discussions, led by Canadian Air Force Gen. Raymond Henault, Military Committee chairman, focused heavily on NATO’s historic role in the International Security Assistance Force in...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9, 2006 -- This week’s elections sent a signal that America, just like Iraq, is in a period of transition, but in no way diminish the two countries’ mutual commitment to success in Iraq, the spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq said today in Baghdad. “Here in Iraq, we look forward to working with a new secretary after the Senate confirmation process,” Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told military analysts by phone. “We are aware that there will be changes on Capitol Hill and at the Pentagon and that a period of transition will occur,” he said. “But...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 10, 2006 -- Iraq’s elected leaders are taking measures to address the sectarian strife that has gripped Baghdad and other parts of that country in recent weeks, a senior U.S. military officer said yesterday. “The most telling sign of progress towards reconciliation is that the leaders from diverse factions with different interests are working together and are communicating with each other,” Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told reporters at a Baghdad news conference. Caldwell, a spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq, cited a meeting chaired by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad on Oct. 8 in which...

BAGHDAD — Iraq's young government is making significant progress despite recent violence, the spokesman for Multi-National Force - Iraq said at a press briefing here Monday. Major Gen. William Caldwell IV outlined steps the new government is taking, while reminding attendees of the pressing issues the government faces. “Iraq's young government, though still in its infancy, is facing extremely complex issues, issues that would cripple many mature nations. Today the elected government of Iraq is only 142 days young,” he said. Caldwell highlighted the government’s new plan to quell sectarian violence as an example. "The most telling sign of progress...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2006 – Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld reflected today, the fifth anniversary of the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom, on successes already achieved in Afghanistan and those under way, noting that “the trajectory is a hopeful and promising one.” Writing an op-ed in today’s Washington Post, Rumsfeld recalled five years ago today, when President Bush announced the mission, designed to disrupt and destroy al-Qaeda operations in Afghanistan and the regime that had harbored and supported Osama bin Laden's terrorist network. “It was never going to be an easy mission. Afghanistan was among the world's poorest nations, with little...

BAGHDAD — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Baghdad Oct. 5 to discuss progress being made and challenges ahead and to reaffirm that the United States remains “a committed friend for Iraq.” Rice praised Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for his “excellent leadership” during a critical period in his country’s history. “This is an important time and a challenge for the Iraqi people, but they are a strong people, they are a committed people and we know that they will overcome these challenges,” Rice said. Maliki said he looks forward to discussions about issues important to both the United States...

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region South District Outdated and non-functional transformers fill the electrical maintenance yard of the Ministry of Electricity in An-Nasiriyah, awaiting disposal. Recent efforts by the U.S. Army's Gulf Region South District helped to provide 50 new transformers on short notice. Department of Defense photo by Tim Salthouse. Reconstruction in Iraq is not without its challenges, as members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region Division, learn everyday. Many are aware of the media criticism concerning IraqÂ’s recurring problems of electrical power outages and rationing throughout the country. But seldom is the overall...

BAGHDAD — Gauging the progress of security, reconstruction and governance efforts in Iraq is a challenge unto itself, U.S. officials said Tuesday. While in Baghdad senior U.S., Iraqi and Coalition leaders discussed signs of improved security in the capital’s Adhamiyah district, in Washington Pentagon officials stressed the importance of recognizing that security conditions in Iraq vary widely by region. On Sunday, the Baghdad provincial chairman, accompanied by the deputy chief of mission for the U.S. Embassy and the deputy commanding general for Multi-National Division – Baghdad, visited the recently cleared district of Adhamiyah for the first time since the start...

BAGHDAD -- Money set aside for Iraq reconstruction must be allocated by the end of next month or the remaining balance will revert to the coffers of the U.S. Treasury, the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction said here Thursday. Stuart W. Bowen, Jr. and his team of investigators make sure the $22 billion from the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund gets spent wisely. SIGIR was created by the U.S. Congress in Oct. 2004 to oversee reconstruction by detecting waste, fraud and abuse of the funds. Bowen said nearly $20 billion has been spent or allocated so far and that...

NAVAL AIR STATION FALLON, Nev., Aug. 28, 2006 -- The U.S. military is capable not only of winning the war on terror, but also of fulfilling its other commitments around the world and dealing with unforeseen circumstances, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told a group of sailors and Marines here today. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld takes a picture with a sailor at the conclusion of a town hall meeting at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nev., Aug. 28. Photo by Staff Sgt. D. Myles Cullen, USAF  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “It would be unfortunate if other countries thought...

FT WAINWRIGHT (Army News Service, Aug. 18, 2006) -- When the extension of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team to Iraq was announced, the Department of the Army responded by deploying a Tiger Team to Fort Wainwright to begin working Soldier and family issues. The Tiger team got down to business Aug. 4 and worked long hours before leaving last weekend. While at Fort Wainwright, the Tiger Team confronted a variety of issues affecting deployed Soldiers and their families. “This is the top priority of the Army’s leadership,” Col. Dennis Dingle, chief of the DA Tiger Team said. “We are...

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Unions are increasingly courting immigrant day laborers in hopes of reversing a longtime decline in membership and clout. But labor experts say organizing a work force that is mobile and largely undocumented presents enormous logistical challenges and risks of alienating rank-and-file members. "Everyday there are day laborers who walk in and say, 'I want a union,'" said Janice Fine, a labor professor at Rutgers University. "But the road to getting one is almost an impossible journey." The Laborers' International Union announced Thursday that early next year it will begin recruiting day laborers in the construction industry to become full-fledged union...

WASHINGTON, August 2, 2006 – Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld used today, the 16th anniversary of Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait, as an opportunity to assess progress that’s taken place in Iraq and the threat extremists continue to impose on free people. Rumsfeld cited the string of events Saddam provoked in 1990. “Saddam Hussein’s forces invaded Kuwait, provoking a crisis that led to Iraqi attacks on Israel and threats to Saudi Arabia and to other nations in the region,” he told Pentagon reporters. In contrast, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki -- a man Rumsfeld noted spent some 25 years opposing...

Mike Poulos is a man on a mission. When he was hired in mid-2005 as warden of the California Institution for Men, Poulos' marching orders were clear: Fix the prison. So far, he hasn't shied away from the challenge. "This institution has had a really strong transition into a whole new way of doing things," Poulos, 53, said during a tour of the prison in June. "We are changing the culture at CIM." It's a task simply stated, yet breathtakingly difficult. A yearlong investigation by the Daily Bulletin found that decades of mismanagement and indifference have made CIM one of...

CAMP AL ASAD, Iraq (July 24, 2006) -- Iraqi Army officers serving alongside Marines on this U.S. military air base in Al Anbar province are learning how to plan their own missions – a critical step to independent operations for Iraqi Security Forces, according to Marine officials here. Iraqi leadership within the 2nd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division – one of two Iraqi brigades based in the province – are learning how to evaluate intelligence, organize information and conduct well-thought mission-planning briefs. “These guys have to be able to communicate … and support their battalions, and provide command and control...