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All charges were dropped Thursday against Marine Lance Cpl. Justin L. Sharratt, who had been accused of killing three Iraqi brothers in response to a roadside bomb attack in Haditha in 2005. "The evidence does not support a referral to a court-martial," Lt. Gen. James Mattis wrote in his written decision. Under military law, a commanding general has total jurisdiction over a case. Sharratt, 22, of Canonsburg, Pa., had been charged with murder in the deaths of three of those killed after the bomb attack on Nov. 19, 2005. The decision to drop the charges followed an earlier recommendation from...

CAMP PENDLETON – A general has cut short the sentences of two Marines imprisoned in the Hamdaniya murder case and might do the same for two others. Pvts. Tyler Jackson and Jerry Shumate Jr. were released Monday by order of Lt. Gen. James Mattis, commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton. The base announced Mattis' decision Tuesday. Jackson and Shumate had been sentenced to 21 months in the brig as part of pretrial deals in which they pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and conspiracy to obstruct justice. They were demoted in rank – from corporal to private....

WASHINGTON, July 31, 2007 – The Army’s senior civilian announced today that a retired three-star general will receive a letter of censure as the result of a review of previous military investigations into the death of Army Spc. Patrick D. Tillman. Secretary of the Army Pete Geren said a “perfect storm” of events initially obfuscated the facts regarding the April 22, 2004, death of Tillman, an Army Ranger who was killed by friendly fire near the Afghan-Pakistani border. Tillman, a former National Football League star, was initially reported to have died as a result of enemy fire. After reading...

From the Gavel -- At a House Armed Services Committee Hearing on Iraq Legislation this morning, Kansas Congresswoman Nancy Boyda apparently heard as much good news as she could stand. So she did the old cut-and-run by walking out (as The Gavel explains, "She is responding in part to General Jack Keane, who testified before the Committee but left before Rep. Boyda’s remarks, and was reportedly one of the architects of the escalation policy"; there should probably be a "from" before the second mention of Keane's name): "I was certainly hoping that General Keane would be able to be here...

BAGHDAD - The top U.S. general and diplomat in Iraq warned on Thursday against cutting short the American troop buildup and suggested they would urge Congress in September to give President Bush's strategy more time. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and Gen. David Petraeus, in separate Associated Press interviews at their offices in the U.S. Embassy on the banks of the Tigris, were careful not to define a timeframe for continuing the counterinsurgency strategy — and the higher U.S. troop levels — that began six months ago. Still, Petraeus' comments signaled that he would like to see a substantial U.S. combat force...

Army Secretary Peter Geren is expected to recommend that a retired three-star general be demoted for his role in providing misleading information about the death of Army Ranger Pat Tillman, military officials say, in what would be a stinging and rare rebuke. Lt. Gen. Philip Kensinger, who headed Army special operations, is one of six high-ranking Army officers expected to get official reprimands for making critical errors in reporting the circumstances of Tillman's purported friendly-fire shooting in Afghanistan in April 2004. The officials requested anonymity because the punishments under consideration by Geren have not been made public. The Army said...

7/11/2007 - ST. LOUIS (AFPN) -- A once-young usher who worked at Busch Stadium, home of the World Series multi-champion Cardinals, is now a man who now ushers in technologies which go way out of the ballpark. Nearly 40 years after his days of ushering people to the stands at Busch Stadium, Maj. Gen. Thomas F. Deppe, the 20th Air Force Air Force commander at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo., returned to the ballpark July 8 to throw out the "first pitch" during the Cardinals vs. (San Francisco) Giants' game. It was part of the Air Force Week St....

US must stop yelling at Iraqis, says general By Tim Shipman in Washington, Sunday Telegraph Last Updated: 12:36am BST 24/06/2007 The US troop "surge" in Iraq is being jeopardised by the failure to launch an equivalent offensive on the hearts-and-minds front, according to the general in charge of working with the civilian population. A US trainer takes the traditional drill sergeant approach to Iraqi troops In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Lieutenant General Jack Stultz, the head of the US Army Reserve, gave a stark warning that not enough use was being made of civilian affairs officers under his...

NORFOLK, Va., June 15, 2007 – Although he would never voluntarily leave the battlefield while troops are at war, Marine Gen. Peter Pace said he accepts the decision to not renominate him for a second term. On June 8, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced that he was going to recommend that President Bush nominate Adm. Michael G. Mullen as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff rather than nominate Pace for another two-year term. Pace discussed that decision process in response to a question posed following an address to students, faculty, and local military and community leaders at the...

SINGAPORE (AFP) - China's military build-up is purely defensive, the deputy chief of the world's biggest standing army said Saturday, amid US concerns over Beijing's intentions. "Strategically, we adhere to self-defence and would win only by striking after the enemy has struck," Lieutenant General Zhang Qinsheng, deputy chief of the general staff of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), told an international defence forum in Singapore. "China shall never fire the first shot. Such an approach is consistent with the ancient Chinese thought to use caution before getting into a war, use force only for a just cause, put people first...

VIENNA, Va. — A former commander of the main Signal Corps unit on Fort Huachuca and of the post in the 1970s died Saturday at Walter Reed Medical Center, in Washington, D.C. For nearly five years Maj. Gen. Jack A. Albright commanded the Army Strategic Communications Command beginning on Oct. 29, 1971. STRATCOM was renamed the Army Communications Command in October 1973, which he headed until his retirement on April 29, 1976. Maj. Gen. Albright Albright, who was 86 when he died last week, was assigned to the fort as brigadier general and the deputy commander of STRATCOM in December...

LONDON --Britain's Prince Harry will not be sent with his unit to Iraq, Britain's top general said Wednesday, citing specific threats to the third in line to the throne. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Sir Richard Dannatt said the changing situation on the ground exposed the prince to too much danger.Prince William and Prince Harry, right, parade in suits and bowler hats with the Combined Cavalry Old Comrades' Association, in Hyde Park, London, on Sunday, May 13, 2007. The tradition of officers wearing black bowler hats and carrying umbrellas goes back to the First World War.

WASHINGTON - President Bush is "squandering" American lives in Iraq and should sign legislation to begin pulling out U.S. troops on Oct. 1, retired Army Lt. Gen. William Odom said yesterday. "I hope the President seizes this moment for a basic change in course and signs the bill Congress has sent him," Odom said, delivering the Democrats' weekly radio address. Odom, an outspoken critic of the war who served as the Army's top intelligence officer and headed the National Security Agency during the Ronald Reagan administration, delivered the address at the request of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). He said...

Many people live extraordinary lives. Many have extraordinary deaths. But very, very few can hope to save the world 90 years after they have passed away. One such man was the remarkably colourful Sir Tatton Benvenuto Mark Sykes, one of those larger-than-life Victorians who lived in an era when great men really could, and did, change the shape of the world. Sir Mark Sykes was a baronet, a diplomat, a father of six children, Tory MP, a senior general in the Army and a skilled negotiator. A close friend of T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia) and Chaim Weizmann - who went...

OVER THE ATLANTIC OCEAN - The long U.S. effort to stabilize western Iraq, a hotbed of the Sunni Arab insurgency, has reached a turning point with new prospects for success, the top Marine general said Monday. "I think, in that area, we have turned the corner," Gen. James T. Conway, commandant of the Marine Corps, said in an Associated Press interview as he flew back to Washington after four days in Iraq. His assessment of Anbar province marks a sharp departure from the view that prevailed for much of the past four years, a time of deadly battles with the...

Yesterday, cheap David Letterman look-alike and Miami Vice-wardrobed Brigadier General Robert Holmes--one of the top Generals at Central Command--gushed over Muslim Arab extremists he met with in Dearbornistan. And you--the American taxpayer--paid for the trip. It's very important that we involve Arab Americans. Arab Americans play a huge role today, and play a very important role in where we have got to go. But Holmes didn't meet with Christian Arab leaders in town. Instead, he carefully chose only the most extremist Muslim Arabs in town--the ones who openly endorse terrorist groups and homicide bombings. Brig. Gen. Holmes met with Osama...

BEIJING, March 23, 2007 – Military-to-military contacts will help China and the United States avoid misunderstandings and help build greater stability and prosperity in Asia, Marine Gen. Peter Pace said here today. ... The chairman said he enthusiastically supports Liang’s proposals and will work with Chinese officials to speed their implementation. One is an exchange program for young officers and military academy cadets and midshipmen. Another proposal will expand search-and-rescue exercises between the nations. A third looks toward cooperating in humanitarian operations. ... President Bush has succinctly expressed American policy in regard to Taiwan, and the chairman reaffirmed that policy...

The top U.S. military officer, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, doesn't plan to apologize for telling a newspaper that homosexuality is immoral. Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Chicago Tribune on Monday that he supports the "don't ask, don't tell" policy banning openly gay people from serving in the U.S. armed forces. The general also compared homosexuality to adultery -- behavior that is prosecuted in the military, he said. "My upbringing is such that I believe that there are certain things, certain types of conduct that are immoral," Pace told the Tribune. "I believe that military members...

WASHINGTON, March 8, 2007 – Sensational attacks like the March 6 suicide bombing that killed more than 100 religious pilgrims in Karbala, Iraq, illustrate insurgents’ lack of respect for human life, the top U.S. military officer in Iraq told reporters today. Those “Shiite pilgrims were killed in a barbaric manner by thugs with no soul,” Army Gen. David H. Petraeus said today in Baghdad during his first news conference as the chief of Multinational Force Iraq. Petraeus took command of MNFI on Feb. 10. However, new security initiatives instituted as part of Operation Law and Order should assist in...

"According to part of the information, his wife and children managed to leave Iran before his disappearance," Mr Amir told Israel's Army Radio, without elaborating on his sources. Gen Azkari flew to Istanbul from Damascus, the Syrian capital, and checked into a hotel. But after leaving his possessions in the room he never returned.

Iran says West may have seized ex-defense official 54 minutes ago Western intelligence services may have kidnapped a former Iranian deputy defense minister who went missing in Turkey, Iran's police chief was quoted as saying on Tuesday. Ali Reza Asgari was on a personal trip and vanished after arriving in Turkey from Damascus, Iranian police chief Ismail Ahmadi-Moghaddam was quoted as saying by the Iranian ILNA news agency. "It is possible that former deputy defense minister Asgari was kidnapped by Western intelligence services because of his Defense Ministry background," Ahmadi-Moghaddam said. "He went missing after three days stay in Turkey....

KABUL (Reuters) - In the final hours of British General David Richards' command of NATO forces in Afghanistan, a much-vaunted and equally criticized truce with tribal elders fell apart as the Taliban overran a key southern town. His U.S. replacement General Dan McNeill who took over the 33,000 NATO-led troops on Sunday as part of a regular command rotation is expected to place a heavier emphasis on fighting than peace deals, analysts say. McNeill's command comes as the United States doubles its ground combat troops in Afghanistan in what is likely to be the decisive year in the battle for...

A Palestinian source has said that the Iranian general nabbed in Gaza by Palestinian security officers supervised the manufacturing weapons and explosives for Hamas. The source told Ynet on Friday that the expert was in charge of several labs in the university, mainly chemistry labs in which he instructed Hamas activists, most of them women, manufacturing the explosives. At least five Iranian citizens were arrested during a raid at the Islamic University, a Hamas stronghold in Gaza City. One of the Iranians committed suicide during the raid. Six to nine Palestinians were killed in the raid, sources said. The raid...

Friday will mark the 200th birthday anniversary of future Confederate Gen. Robert Edward Lee. Lee was born Jan. 19, 1807, at Stratford House in Westmoreland County, Virginia, the son of "Light Horse" Harry Lee and Ann Hill Carter Lee. Lee would be educated in the schools of Alexandria, Va., and in 1825 he entered West Point Military Academy. He graduated from West Point in 1829, second in his class and without a single demerit, a record that still stands today. In June 1831, Lee wed Mary Anna Randolph Custis, the daughter of George Washington Parke Custis, who was the grandson...

Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is sponsoring the "End Racial Profiling Act. The proposed bill is said to have been prompted by the recent removal of six imams.... The other co-sponsor is of the bill is Rep.John Conyers (D-MI) who is also preparing documents to lead to Articles of Impeachment against President Bush.

Last updated at 15:17pm on 13th October 2006 [familyop: Originally posted on the 12th according to the Daily Mail search engine.] A blistering assessment of British policy in Iraq from the country's top soldier left Tony Blair reeling today. General Sir Richard Dannatt said troops should come home within two years - flatly contradicting the Prime Minister's policy that the military will stay "as long as it takes". In unprecedented comments he warned that the Army could 'break' if British soldiers are kept too long in Iraq. "I want an Army in five years time and 10 years time. Don't...

BRITAIN'S top soldier spoke out against the government's handling of the campaign in Iraq because he feared Britain was being "held hostage" by US policy in the region, friends claimed last night. General Sir Richard Dannatt sparked a furious row over Tony Blair's foreign policy last week when he warned that British troops should leave Iraq soon because they were "exacerbating the security problems" there. Allies of Sir Richard last night claimed he had been expressing deep concerns shared by colleagues in the highest ranks of the military - and that the real target of his attack was Washington, not...

The call from General Sir Richard Dannatt that British forces should leave Iraq "sometime soon" has met with overwhelming support on the unofficial Army Rumour Service website, which includes forums where officers can air their views anonymously. Many express shock about the frankness of his words and there are several references to Sir Richard’s "moral" courage in speaking his mind, as well as calls for the Prime Minister to take heed of his remarks. "...I am thoroughly heartened by this and have the beginings [sic] of a thaw in the cynicism which has dogged my service thinking since 2003," admits...

General Sir Richard Dannatt came under fire last night for his outspoken comments from sections within the Army, of which he is in overall command."I think that his remarks about us being part of the problem are a little inaccurate," said one senior serviceman in Basra. Another senior officer who returned from Basra in the past few days could barely hide his anger."In the past few weeks we are beginning to have a positive effect on the local population but we realise our time here now is limited," he said. "These comments are hardly good for morale." But Sir Richard...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Oct. 5, 2006 – At each stop during a visit here yesterday, people asked Marine Gen. Peter Pace what stories are not getting out to the American people about the war on terror. In response, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff listed the three most significant stories from the war on terror that are not getting coverage. Pace said one of the most significant aspects of the war not getting coverage is the enormous number of women going to school in both Iraq and Afghanistan. The Taliban in Afghanistan forbade women from attending school. Now, almost...

BOSTON, Oct. 1, 2006 – The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff turned an honor to him into a tribute to the families of American servicemembers during the Patriot Dinner of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society here yesterday. The society presented Marine Gen. Peter Pace the Patriot Award. The Congressional Medal of Honor Society is made up of the men who have received the nation’s highest award for battlefield valor. They present the Patriot Award annually to “those persons, who through their life’s work, have distinguished themselves as Americans who are dedicated to freedom and the ideals represented”...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2006 – The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recognized five servicemembers here last night for their contributions to the war on terror, calling them the hope for a peaceful future. “The fight for freedom has been and always will be continual,” Marine Gen. Peter Pace said at the annual Keeper of the Flame dinner at Union Station. “What makes me feel so good about the future of our country is the five individuals standing behind me tonight, because they truly are the future of our country.” The five servicemembers -- one from each branch of...

BAGHDAD — Coalition forces reiterated their commitment to the Iraqi security forces and the Government of Iraq on Monday, pledging to stand by them as they face the complex challenges inherent in building and protecting a new democracy. During a joint press conference, representatives of the Iraqi government and the multi-national Coalition discussed ongoing efforts to secure peace and prosperity throughout the country. Brig. Gen. Qassim Mousawi, spokesman for the general commander of the Iraqi Armed Forces, discussed the strength of Iraqi forces and the positive trend in the number of Iraqis who have volunteered to serve their country. “The...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19, 2006 – Iraqi security forces are becoming more capable every day and are fighting and dying for their country, where the future depends on them and their fellow citizens, the commander of U.S. Central Command said yesterday. “I come to the conclusion that Iraqis are fighting and dying for their country, that the government has pledged their sacred honor and their future to making this work,” Army Gen. John Abizaid said in an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “Their lives are on the line.” Iraqi forces now number more than 300,000, and while they still have some...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2006 – The U.S. military’s goal is to win the fight against insurgents in Anbar province and across Iraq, but leaders recognize that winning will take more than just military operations, a top U.S. general in Iraq said today. “We are fighting to win, but we understand that winning is a combination of a whole bunch of things in this insurgency we're fighting, and as I've indicated time and time again, this is different than any other fight I believe the United States of America has ever found itself in,” Army Lt. Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, commander...

Israeli general quits over conduct of Lebanon war Rory McCarthy in Jerusalem Wednesday September 13, 2006 The Guardian (UK) Major General Udi Adam with Israeli soldiers on the border with southern Lebanon during the war. Photograph: EPA A senior Israeli army officer resigned today, the first high-ranking figure to quit in the fallout after the war in Lebanon. Major General Udi Adam was head of Israel's Northern Command, a key role in the war with Hizbullah, but faced criticism in the press for being overly cautious and hesitant. During the 34-day conflict he was effectively sidelined when another general was...

FORT HUACHUCA — The red, white and blue American Airlines plane was about two hours from the East Coast. Flight 49, a Boeing 767, was heading from Paris to Dallas. But this day the aircraft would not make its final destination. Like many planes on Sept. 11, 2001, the flight was ordered to land — but not in the United States. Barbara Fast, then a brigadier general, was on the flight. She planned to make a connecting flight to Tucson and then drive to Fort Huachuca to attend a conference of senior Army intelligence officers. It turns out Fast, who...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8, 2006 – It was an “eerie feeling” returning to the United States after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, said Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Peter Pace. Pace, then the commander of U.S. Southern Command, had just been confirmed as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He was in Bogota, Colombia, when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon. “First, like all Americans I felt shock and anger,” Pace said during a recent interview. That was followed by determination “and the certain knowledge … that...

Ahmadinejad to take part in UN General Assembly THE JERUSALEM POST Sep. 6, 2006 MK Dan Naveh (Likud) called on Israel Wednesday evening to demand that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad be barred from attending next week's United Nations General Assembly. Ahmadinejad announced that he was to participate in the assembly by his own initiative. Naveh said that it was impossible for a man who has called for the destruction for the State of Israel to participate in a United Nations meeting.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 30, 2006 – The primary threats to Iraq's security are terrorists and death squads, the coalition commander in the country said today, and both must be addressed if Iraq is going to progress. Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr. said the Iraqi people “aren't going to have the security that they want until the Iraqi security forces are the primary and dominant providers of security in the country. That won't happen until all militias and insurgents are disbanded.” Casey spoke to reporters this morning in Baghdad. He said the Iraqi security forces are developing and continue to evolve...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 27, 2006 – Despite a recent increase in violence in Baghdad, Iraq is not on a path toward civil war, the commander of U.S. Central Command said yesterday. Army Gen. John Abizaid recently visited Baghdad and talked with Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the highest-ranking military commander in Iraq, as well as Iraqi government officials. He also had the opportunity see the situation in Baghdad firsthand while moving around the city with coalition forces. Abizaid said he left confident that progress is being made on the Baghdad security plan. “It’s still too soon to say how the...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22, 2006 – Iraq is experiencing some localized sectarian strife, but it’s not embroiled in a full-blown civil war as reported by some news media, a senior coalition officer said here today. “In my judgment, we are not in a situation of civil war,” said British Royal Marine Lt. Gen. Robert Fry, deputy commander of Multinational Force Iraq and the senior British military representative in Iraq. He spoke to Pentagon reporters via a satellite connection from his Baghdad headquarters. Fry acknowledged a “very intense sectarian conflict” in Iraq and said violence is mostly occurring in an area that...

By Sgt. Jeff Lowry124th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment The first full Iraqi Army division will soon be operating without the mentoring of U.S. advisors, a U.S. Army official who oversees Iraqi security forces’ training said Monday in Baghdad.Brig. Gen. Dana J.H. Pittard discussed the formation of the Iraqi National Police and security concerns throughout Iraq in a briefing to reporters.Pittard, commander of the Iraqi Assistance Group, said that after Sept. 3, the 8th Iraqi Army Division will be operating independently.Coalition forces will provide only guidance going forward to what will become the first Iraqi Army division to reach such...

Treasury Department freezes the generals' U.S.-based assets Washington – The U.S. Treasury Department August 15 froze the U.S.-based assets of two Syrian generals as a result of their support for terrorist organizations and their contributions to Syria’s military occupation of Lebanon. In his position with Syria’s General Intelligence Directorate, Major General Hisham Ikhtiyar contributed to Syria’s policies in Lebanon and provided support for Hezbollah, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC), and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the Treasury says. Another Syrian military chief, Brigadier General Jama'a Jama'a, served as commander of Syrian military intelligence in Beirut. Assistant...

KHIMKI, Russia (AFP) - In an anonymous compound next to a suburban Moscow shopping centre a retired Russian army general is planning his next galactic conquest. Georgy Polishchuk, head of the Lavochkin Association, is preparing an unmanned mission to a moon of Mars that will search for signs of life on the red planet and try to unlock the universe's secrets. "We have to find life and whether it can be sustained," Polishchuk said, his eyes glinting as his pen drew out the planned route during an interview this month at the installation. The theory that there may be life...

CAMP LIBERTY — Troops serving at this large logistics base near Baghdad International Airport were provided a rare opportunity Saturday to meet and talk with Gen. Peter Pace, the sixteenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Pace answered questions from Soldiers of Multi-National Division – Baghdad and the 4th Infantry Division. “We came a long way to do one very special thing, and that is to say thank you to you for what you are doing over here. We are so proud of what you do,” said Pace to the room of about 50 service members. “Sometimes, when you...

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq, Aug. 15, 2006 – Iran is fighting two proxy wars, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told servicemembers here Aug. 13. Marine Gen. Peter Pace told servicemembers gathered at the camp chapel that Iran is “fighting a proxy war against Israel by supporting Hezbollah” in Lebanon. Iran also is fighting a proxy war against Iraq and the United States by supporting elements inside Iraq. Pace said the preferred method of dealing with Iran is via diplomacy. The international community must place pressure on Iran to end its support of the Hezbollah terror group in southern...

Pace Focuses on Human Dimension of Iraq WarBy Jim GaramoneAmerican Forces Press Service MOSUL, Iraq, Aug. 14, 2006 -- Meeting with troops during visits to combat zones helps keep Marine Gen. Peter Pace focused and gives him “ground truth,” the general said during an interview here yesterday. Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, meets with Marines at Camp Fallujah, Iraq, Aug. 13. Photo by Staff Sgt. D. Myles Cullen, USAF  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. A meeting with troops a day earlier at Camp Liberty, near Baghdad, turned poignant when a young lieutenant...

PARIS - The French general who leads the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon said Monday he wants reinforcements quickly, warning that even one "stray act" could unravel a diplomatic effort to halt the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Maj. Gen. Alain Pellegrini, in a telephone interview with The Associated Press, said a U.N. Security Council resolution approved Friday could give unprecedented new strength to the 28-year-old UNIFIL force that often has been criticized as ineffective in the past. Diplomats and military advisers were working Monday to decide which countries could help boost the 2,000-strong force to 15,000, as was approved...

Story by Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service Maj. Gen. James Thurman meets with residents of a Baghdad neighborhood in the spring. BAGHDAD -- The Coalition commander responsible for operations in the Iraqi capital is optimistic about what he has seen since operations to quell sectarian violence here started. Army Maj. Gen. James Thurman, commander of Multi-National Division - Baghdad, said forces have been concentrating on four major hot spots. Essentially, the concept calls on Coalition and Iraqi forces to cordon off an area and search each street, house by house, Thurman said. Al-Doura, a mixed Shiia and Sunni...