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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - A key Taliban commander in southern Afghanistan has been dismissed for disobeying the militant group's rules, a Taliban spokesman said Saturday. Mansoor Dadullah was "disobeying orders" and conducting activities "against the Taliban's rules and regulations," said Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid. He did not provide any details. "For this reason Mullah Mansoor Dadullah is no longer in the Taliban and no longer a Taliban commander," Mujahid said in a statement he attributed to Taliban leader Mullah Omar. Dadullah rose in the militia's ranks as a key commander in southern Afghanistan after his brother, Mullah Dadullah, was killed during...

WASHINGTON – President Bush's top Iraq war commander said Sunday that as far as he knows, his command performances now and in the future will be strictly military, not political. In fact, Army Gen. David Petraeus cited the words of Civil War-era Gen. William T. Sherman in declaring he has no interest in shedding his uniform and running for the White House, as Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower did 55 years ago. “None,” Petraeus replied, when asked on “Fox News Sunday” if he had an interest in running. “I have great respect for those who do choose to serve our country...

BAGHDAD - The top U.S. commander in northern Iraq warned Wednesday that al-Qaida in Iraq was still capable of staging spectacular attacks despite a 50 percent drop in bombings and other violence in his region. Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling said that al-Qaida in Iraq was being pushed north by the increased numbers of U.S. troops that surged into Baghdad over the summer and fall, and from Anbar province by "awakening councils" — the groups of Iraqi Sunni tribesmen that the U.S. military has backed to help fight al-Qaida in Iraq and its allies. "Many of them have transited...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5, 2007 – Though the rapid growth of Iraq’s Interior Ministry has posed challenges, the Iraqis are forging ahead with the process, the commander of the coalition police assistance training team in Iraq said yesterday. Army Maj. Gen. Michael Jones spoke to Web journalists and “bloggers” via telephone from his headquarters in Baghdad. The Interior Ministry has grown 450 percent since 2003, he said. “As I thought about it, I tried to imagine if this was the U.S. Army,” he said. If the Army grew at the same rate, there would be an active force of more than...

WASHINGTON -- A Marine company involved in the shooting of civilians in Afghanistan last March responded appropriately to an ambush against them, and should not have been pulled out of the country, the commander of Marine Corps special forces said Thursday. Marine Maj. Gen. Dennis J. Hejlik, head of Marine Corps Special Operations Command, also told reporters that a legal tribunal investigating the incident has been postponed until mid-January at the request of one of the officers involved. "Obviously it was not my decision to bring the company out of theater," Hejlik said. "It was the theater commander's decision. I...

COMBAT OUTPOST CLEARY — “My brigade must fight the enemy, communicate with the people of Salman Pak, and bring back public service all at once,” Col. A’amer Khamees Hameed, commander of the 1st Brigade, 1st National Police (NP) Division, said at a meeting with leaders from the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, Nov. 13. “This meeting is the first step in all three directions,” Hameed said through a translator. The leaders met at the 1st NP brigade headquarters in Salman Pak, to welcome the new commander. Hameed took command of the unit in early November, assuming command from Brig. Gen....

HAWR RAJAB, Iraq, Nov. 9, 2007 – When Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander of 3rd Infantry Division, walked the streets of Hawr Rajab on Nov. 7, he saw real progress in the city's security climate. Maj. Gen. Rich Lynch, 3rd Infantry Division commander, (center) walks the streets of Hawr Rajab, Iraq, with Col. Terry Ferrell (far right), commander of the 3rd Infantry Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team, Sheik Ali (to Lynch's left) and Sheik Mahir (to Lynch's right), Nov. 7, 2007. Photo by Sgt. Jason Stadel, USA   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Four months ago, any U.S....

Nuclear Submarine Commander Removed Friday October 26, 2007 3:16 AM By CHELSEA J. CARTER Associated Press Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) - The commanding officer of the nuclear-powered submarine USS Hampton was relieved of his duty Thursday because of a loss of confidence in his leadership, the Navy said. Cmdr. Michael B. Portland was relieved of duty after a U.S. Navy investigation found the ship failed to do daily safety checks on its nuclear reactor for a month and falsified records to cover up the omission. ``His oversight of the crew's performance did not identify these issues'' on his own, Navy...

We can attack Iran, says US commander By Alex Spillius in Washington Last Updated: 8:14pm BST 19/10/2007 America's top military officer said the country does have the resources to attack Iran, despite the strain of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Adm Michael Mullen, who took over as chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff three weeks ago, said diplomacy remained the priority in dealing with Iran's suspected plans to develop a nuclear weapon and its support for anti-US insurgents in Iraq. But at a press conference he said: "there is more than enough reserve to respond (militarily) if that,...

Ex-US commander at Iraq jail faces trialSat Oct 13, 2:25 PM ET BAGHDAD - A former U.S. commander at the jail that held Saddam Hussein will face trial next week on charges of aiding the enemy by providing a cell phone to detainees and acting inappropriately with an interpreter, the military said Saturday. Army Lt. Col. William H. Steele, a reservist from Prince George, Va., pleaded guilty on Oct. 7 to three of seven charges, which carry a maximum sentence of six years in prison, forfeiture of pay and dismissal from the Army, according to the military. He will be...

The following directive was issued by the commanding officer of all naval installations in the Middle East; includes Marines as well: To: All Commands Subj: Inappropriate T-Shirts Ref: ComMidEast For Inst 16134//24 K All commanders promulgate upon receipt. The following T-shirts are no longer to be worn on or off base by any military or civilian personnel serving in the Middle East: 1. a. "Shrine Busters" [Show burning minarets or bomb/artellery shells impacting Islamic shrines. Some with unit logos.] b. "Napalm - Sticks Like Crazy" [Both English & Arabic versions] c. "Goat - it isn't just for breakfast any more."...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2007 – Afghan national police advised by coalition forces detained a Taliban district commander in an operation designed to disrupt insurgent activities in Ghazni province early this morning. Maulawi Ahmad Jan is known to be extensively involved in coordinating insurgent activities in the province. He has directed bombings and ambush attacks against Afghan and coalition forces throughout the region. During a search of the commander’s compound, Afghan police discovered a weapons and ammunition cache. “With Ahmad Jan now detained, Ghazni will be a less dangerous place,” said Army Maj. Chris Belcher, a Combined Joint Task Force 82...

Commander killed in Pakistan mosque siege By Isambard Wilkinson Last Updated: 7:33pm BST 08/07/2007 A Pakistani commander was killed today after troops came under heavy fire from students and suspected militants holed up in a besieged mosque in the capital, Islamabad. A lieutenant-colonel was killed as his troops attempted to blow holes in the walls of the mosque compound in the hope that hundreds of women and children could escape. Troops have surrounded the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, in Islamabad since Tuesday when clashes between armed students and security forces began after months of tension. The known death toll...

WASHINGTON, May 31, 2007 – Iraqi troops captured a militia commander, a U.S. helicopter crew destroyed a heavily armed vehicle, and an Iraqi police chief and more than a dozen associates have been arrested, military officials reported. Iraqi special operations forces apprehended a commander in radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s illegal militia during an early morning raid in Kadamiyah, a central suburb of Baghdad, yesterday. The suspect allegedly is responsible for providing financial, logistical and political support for insurgent groups and terrorist organizations. He also is suspected of managing operations to murder and intimidate local Iraqis, ordering several attacks on coalition...

DUBAI (AFP) - Al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri praised the slain Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah and called his death a "good omen for victory" against the US-led coalition in Afghanistan, in a video posted on the Internet Tuesday. Dadullah, known as the Taliban's top military strategist, was killed in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province on May 11 in a joint Afghan and international operation. One-legged Dadullah was the most senior Taliban figure to be killed since the 2001 toppling of the extremist group's government. A purported voice recording of Zawahiri confirms Dadullah's death in the video produced by As-Sahab, a media...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- America's top military commander in Iraq has sent a letter to troops challenging them to "occupy the moral high ground" after a Pentagon survey showed some service members were reluctant to report the "illegal actions" of fellow personnel. In the letter, dated Thursday, Gen. David Petraeus wrote he was "concerned" with the poll's findings. "This fight depends on securing the population, which must understand that we -- not our enemies -- occupy the moral high ground," he said. The survey of ethics, released last week, assessed the mental health and ethical attitudes of more than 1,300...

BAGHDAD - The top U.S. commander in Iraq reminded troops Thursday they must fight by the rules after a Pentagon survey found many of them support torture in certain cases and would not report a comrade for killing or wounding civilians. In a letter to U.S. service members, Gen. David Petraeus said that adhering to high moral values "distinguishes us from our enemy" and is essential to winning support among the Iraqi population — the cornerstone of the new U.S. counterinsurgency strategy. By contrast, Petraeus said al-Qaida's "indiscriminate attacks" had finally begun "to turn a substantial proportion of the Iraqi...

A former U.S. prison camp commander in Iraq will learn within weeks whether he’ll face court-martial for aiding the enemy by allowing detainees to make unsupervised calls on his cell phone, a charge that could carry the death penalty if he is convicted. Lt. Col. William H. Steele, a 51-year-old Army reservist from Virginia, is also accused of fraternizing with a detainee’s daughter, mishandling classified information, maintaining an inappropriate relationship with an interpreter, possessing pornographic videos, failing to obey an order and dereliction of duty for misusing government funds. Testimony wrapped up earlier this week during a two-day hearing to...

Baghdad - The commander of the US military prison in Iraq which held former dictator Saddam Hussein has been detained by military police and is under investigation, a military spokesperson said on Thursday. Lieutenant Colonel William Steele will face a hearing before a panel of officers to decide whether he should face a court martial, Lieutenant Colonel Josslyn Aberle told AFP in Baghdad, without specifying the charges. "He has been detained and is now in Kuwait. His current status is that he is in confinement and waiting for his Article 32 hearing. All other details will be released soon, including...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - A Hamas military commander was killed Tuesday in a shootout with Fatah gunmen shortly before the leaders of the two groups met to try to bridge their differences over a power-sharing deal. At least seven people were wounded in the gun battle in Gaza City. A spokesman for Hamas' military wing, Abu Obeidah, blamed the killing of Allah Haddad, 35, on the Preventive Security force loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah. The security force confirmed that one of its people was wounded in a shooting incident, but said the matter was a family feud...