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Iraqis Pay Tribute to U.S. Service Members By Donna Miles American Forces Press Service ARLINGTON, Va., May 27, 2004 — As the sound of "Taps" wailed from Army Sgt. Major Henry Sgrecci's bugle today, seven Iraqi citizens pressed their new prosthetic hands against their hearts at the Tomb of the Unknowns here to honor U.S. service members who have given their lives in Iraq. Seven Iraqi merchants put their new prosthetic hands across their hearts May 27 while laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery in honor of U.S. service members killed in Iraq....

AL ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq(July 11, 2004) -- Sally's children were taken away from her more than six months ago. Her husband beat her. Her brother threatened her life while holding a gun to her head. Her own father contracted her death with a $5,000 reward. Sally, an Iraqi translator working with Coalition Forces, lost everything by working to help Americans rebuild Iraq. Still, she feels her service with Americans is the right thing for her country "I lost everything I have, but I have gained so much," Sally said. "If I had to do it over again I would. I...

BAGHDAD -- On Wednesday the sovereignty of Iraq will be restored, and the Iraqi people will take their first major steps toward a free and prosperous future, after more than three decades of tyrannical rule, repression, wars and sanctions. This will be an important milestone for Iraq, the region and indeed the whole world, endorsed by the unanimous approval of the U.N. Security Council in Resolution 1546 earlier this month. As Iraqis, we thank the coalition for the sacrifices made by its soldiers and its people for the liberation and rebuilding of Iraq, and for the contributions by all the...

Thatcher will win the verdict of history GERALD WARNER AND then there was one... The striking, poignant image of a black-clad Margaret Thatcher bowed over the coffin of Ronald Reagan was an iconic snapshot of history. The partnership that demolished Communism had finally been dissolved by death. In the present era of candy-floss soundbite politics, predicated upon nothing more than the acquisition of office by manipulation of the public mood - rootless and purposeless - that wordless farewell was a moment of greatness revisited. Lady Thatcher is now the sole survivor of a very personal alliance that remoulded the world....

We have lost a great president, a great American, and a great man. And I have lost a dear friend. In his lifetime Ronald Reagan was such a cheerful and invigorating presence that it was easy to forget what daunting historic tasks he set himself. He sought to mend America's wounded spirit, to restore the strength of the free world, and to free the slaves of communism. These were causes hard to accomplish and heavy with risk. Yet they were pursued with almost a lightness of spirit. For Ronald Reagan also embodied another great cause — what Arnold Bennett once...

AND then there was one... The striking, poignant image of a black-clad Margaret Thatcher bowed over the coffin of Ronald Reagan was an iconic snapshot of history. The partnership that demolished Communism had finally been dissolved by death. In the present era of candy-floss soundbite politics, predicated upon nothing more than the acquisition of office by manipulation of the public mood - rootless and purposeless - that wordless farewell was a moment of greatness revisited. Lady Thatcher is now the sole survivor of a very personal alliance that remoulded the world. It is all too easy to overlook that prodigious...

JEWELLER Nazaar Joudi cries as he remembers the Americans taking over Abu Ghraib prison. But the tears in his eyes are of gratitude, not humiliation. He knows that a handful of US soldiers have brought shame upon themselves and their nation for the way they treated Iraqi prisoners at the jail. But he also knows how much worse the prison was under Saddam Hussein’s regime.

Nearly 30 years after it ended, the Vietnam War has, in the minds of some, come back to life in the Middle East. With every snippet of news from the battlefield — especially if it's bad — the debate gets a little hotter on both sides. The entire episode has given me a strange feeling of déjà vu. The first time I heard the phrase, "another Vietnam," was 20 years ago, and back then, the would-be debacle in question was El Salvador. Iraq today far more closely resembles that place than Vietnam. To understand this, cast your mind back to...

From "60 Minutes:" The president still believes with some conviction, that this was absolutely the right thing, that he has the duty to free people, to liberate people. And this was his moment,” says Woodward. But who gave President Bush the duty to free people around the world? “That's a really good question. The Constitution doesn't say that's part of the commander in chief's duties,” says Woodward. “That’s his stated purpose. It is far-reaching, and ambitious, and I think will cause many people to tremble.”

HOUSTON (AP) - This time the tears streaming down Laith Aqar's face weren't the result of fear and loss, but of hope and a sense of rebirth. In 1995, Aqar was one of a group of Iraqi men who had their right hands amputated by Saddam Hussein's government for alleged trading in foreign currency. Nearly 10 years later, Aqar sat in a Houston hospital bed Monday after doctors had operated on his right arm to prepare it for a technologically advanced prosthetic he will soon receive. "The first time was hard. We were crying because we knew we were going...

CHOMAN, Iraq, April 9 (Reuters) - As much of Iraq marked the anniversary of Saddam Hussein's fall with fighting and bloodshed, Kurds in the relatively stable north celebrated with parties and the melting of an ice statue of the ousted dictator. In the mountains north of Arbil, hundreds of people held a carnival to cheer the fall of a regime that oppressed Iraq's Kurdish minority, in stark contrast to large parts of the country further south where insurgents battled foreign troops. "Those people who are fighting now don't like freedom for Iraq. We are celebrating this day," said the mayor...

<p>March 19, 2004 -- A YEAR ago, on the evening of March 20, 2003, I was sitting on an MII3 armored personnel carrier on the Kuwait-Iraq border, wearing full chemical gear, when the artillery opened up behind us, signaling the beginning of the liberation of Iraq by the U.S.-led coalition. A few hours later, that same MII3, crammed with six combat engineers in full "battle rattle," plus one film critic-turned-embedded-war-correspondent, crossed the border into Saddam Country.</p>

In Iraq, as in the War on Terror, we're the good guys. In fact, rarely in the course of world history has the essential goodness of a nation been revealed so starkly as in America's conduct of the war against Saddam Hussein. The question is: Why is it so hard for so many Democrats, liberals and Europeans to accept it? What is it about the liberation of 25 million people and the removal of a barbaric tyrant — a tyrant who either directly or indirectly murdered at least 1 million of his own people and waged wars that killed another...

It struck me the other day that the usual left-wing media has been subliminally skewing its coverage of the liberation of Iraq by mislabeling the US “coalition authority” as the US “occupation authority,” thus adopting the terrorists’ language. For example: “coalition authority” cites Knight Ridder 3/15/04 article http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/special_packages/iraq/8194910.htm “…yet the coalition authority can boast of notable successes that US officials argue have laid the groundwork for Iraq's prosperity. ...” UPI in the Washington Times 3/18/04 article http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20040318-072123-7284r.htm “…Jordan is training members of the new Iraqi army and new police force under an agreement it signed with the coalition authority in...

BALAD, Iraq — As a crowd of Iraqis clapped and cheered, leaders of the 4th Infantry Division unit that brought calm to this city gave a gift meant to symbolize peace and friendship. Lt. Col. Nate Sassaman and Capt. Matt Cunningham — battalion and company commanders from the 4th ID’s 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment — presented a statue of a dove flying above a map of Iraq. It stands atop a red-tile pedestal and fountain built by local artisans. The officers dedicated the statue to 1,500 men, women and children from the Shiite city of 170,000 who were slaughtered...

It has now been almost a year since the liberation of Iraq, the fury of the antiwar rallies, and the publicized hectoring of Michael Moore, Noam Chomsky, Sean Penn, and other assorted conspiracy freaks — and we have enough evidence to lay some of their myths to rest. I just filled up and paid $2.19 a gallon. How can that be, when the war was undertaken to help us get our hands on "cheap" oil? Where is the mythical Afghan pipeline when we need it? "No Blood for Oil" (never mind the people who drove upscale gas-guzzlers to the rallies...

Iraq War Veteran Meets With Students, Recounts Experiences By Gerry J. GilmoreAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Feb. 27, 2004 –- As her unit moved toward Baghdad, liberated Iraqis "were tearing down things in celebration of the fall of the regime," Army 1st Lt. Emily Woolsey, a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, recalled during a Feb. 26 visit with seventh- and eighth-graders. Army 1st Lt. Emily Woolsey, of the 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky., describes captured Iraqi military equipment during a Feb. 26 visit with students at Franklin Middle School in Chantilly, Va. Photo by Gerry J. Gilmore(Click photo...

“Ah, you are from America. Thank God for George Bush!” It’s the first thing Ghazi Suleiman – a devout Muslim and one of Sudan’s top human-rights lawyers – says as I sit down in his living room in Khartoum one night. Dressed in a white tunic-like robe, he explains why he’s such a fan of President Bush. First, he says, America’s ouster of Saddam Hussein has put pressure on leaders all over the Muslim world to loosen political and religious strictures. In Sudan – a nation with a predominantly Muslim North and predominantly Christian South - the government has continued...

"My satisfaction came when we were riding through from Kuwait and all these children were shouting 'America is number one'," said Staff Sgt. Temu Gibson from Schenectady, N.Y.

Saudi Columnist: 'America is a Liberator and not an Occupier... Bush will Go Down in Arab History as the Liberator of Baghdad' In a column in the Saudi daily Arab News, columnist Dr. Muhammad Al-Rasheed praised the American capture of Saddam Hussein, and hailed President Bush as a liberator. The following are excerpts from his column: [1] "Beware the march of history or the ides of March, whichever appeals to you. Those who have eyes and ears will learn from the demise of Saddam Hussein and the pathetic pictures shown to the world. Gone are the palaces, the swagger, the...

<p>At first I thought I was dreaming. I was half asleep and only turned on the TV for a weather report. Snow and an accompanying "wintry mix" had been forecast for the Washington area, and I was concerned about not being able to shop for family Christmas presents.</p>

BY LATE October, there seemed widespread agreement in the Western press that the United States was failing in Iraq, where I had been living for the past month and a half. Saddam Hussein, I was reminded by television reports and pieces on the Internet, was still at large; the weapons of mass destruction that had been the ostensible reason for American intervention were looking like figments of "sexed-up" intelligence reports, if not a plot by the Bush administration to deceive the American people; and, by precipitously overturning the rock of the Baathist regime, the U.S. had succeeded only in releasing...

A lot more people have reason to be thankful this year by Staff Sgt. Scott T. SturkolUnited States Central Air Forces-Forward Public Affairs 11/25/2003 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- When I was in Iraq in late October, out on a Basra street patrol with the British Army, we had an Iraqi interpreter with us named Ahmed. Ahmed was a man is his late 30s who was partially bald and spoke broken English, but whenever he spoke it was easy enough to understand what he meant. During the patrol we had discussed many things, but one thing he said sticks with me today and will for...

[...snip...] Thousands of slogans in the Arabic script snake across acres of gray walls that line city squares, apartments and office buildings, a perfect canvas for the outpourings of a population intoxicated by new freedoms. Hussein loyalists shout their yearning for the deposed dictator - "Saddam will come again" - followed by the coda on the same line from a detractor: "Through my behind!" [...snip...] "I walk around reading these writings, and some of them move me so much I don't know whether to laugh or to cry," said Amir Nayef Toma, 52, a retired radar operator in the Iraqi...

In the lead-up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said U.S. forces would be welcomed by the Iraqi citizenry and that Saddam Hussein had large stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons. Now, after both statements have been shown to be either incorrect or vastly exaggerated, Rumsfeld - with the same trademark confidence that he exuded before the war - is denying that he ever made such assertions. In recent testy exchanges with reporters, Rumsfeld interrupted the questioners and attacked the premise of the questions if they dealt with his pre-war comments about weapons of mass destruction...

Is it too early to adopt a revisionist view of the US war in Iraq and for this column to admit its mistake in having vehemently opposed it from the outset? At issue here is whether the Iraqi people have benefited from the overthrow of the Baathist regime and whether the American occupation will eventually benefit their country even more. I’m convinced — and berate me here from your patriotic bleachers, if you must — that what we have seen in the land between the Tigris and the Euphrates in recent months may turn out to be the most serendipitous...

Liberator Honored by Holocaust SurvivorsBy Jennifer C. Kerr Associated Press WriterPublished: Nov 1, 2003 WASHINGTON (AP) - As a 20-year-old GI during World War II, Vernon Tott saw someone waving to him and thought he and his captain had stumbled upon American POWs. But what he saw on that April day in 1945 was a place he can only describe years later as "hell on Earth" - a German slave labor camp. Tott, 78, was honored Saturday by some of the survivors he helped free from the Ahlem labor camp near Hanover, Germany, nearly six decades ago. The ceremony at...

GOTTA SEE THIS - War for Enduring Freedom 10/28/03 - Baghdad in Liberated Iraq BREAKING: Baghdad - Liberated by America BREAKING: Baghdad - Terrorized by Baathists, Syrians and others QFN ==== QUAGMIRE-FREE NEWS ========= Baghdad ========= LIBERATED BY THE USA In Baghdad, Iraq, Iraqi children and US heroes, who liberated them. LIBERATED BY THE USA In Baghdad, Iraq, Iraqi children freed by the USA attend classes at the new Al Shaima'a secondary school. In Baghdad, Iraq, at the market. In Baghdad, Iraq, US heroes celebrate the reopening of the 14th of July bridge. In Baghdad, Iraq, the Red Cross, long...

Rumsfeld: Reagan Legacy Present in Iraq Today By John D. BanusiewiczAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Oct. 10, 2003 – Former President Ronald Reagan's legacy is present in Iraq today, as many nations freed from the grasp of tyranny now are helping the coalition bring freedom to the Iraqi people, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said today. Speaking at the Ronald Reagan Library and Museum in Simi Valley, Calif., Rumsfeld named 19 of the 32 countries that now have military forces in Iraq -- Albania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, El Salvador, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova,...

Freedom's Flame: Wolfowitz Accepts Award on 'True Liberators' Behalf By Linda D. KozarynAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Oct. 10, 2003 – Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz is known around the nation's capital as a humble guy. Even though he holds a doctorate and has served as U.S. ambassador to Indonesia, he'd rather forego his titles. Rather than accept a prestigious award from the Center for Security Policy, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization committed to promoting international peace through American strength, Wolfowitz accepted the honor on behalf of what he calls the "true liberators of Iraq," the military men and...

SCOTT TWP. — Stephen Sinkovich said Iraqis wave to U.S. servicemen and women and blow them kisses as they try to rebuild and keep peace in Iraq. "They're glad we're there," Stephen said. "They're so glad to have their freedom." Protesters represent just a small percentage of the population, Michael Sinkovich, Stephen's twin brother, said. For the most part, people respect the troops, and troops respect the people, he said. The residents of Iraq overwhelmingly support the U.S. troops, the twins said. Stephen and Michael are assigned to the same Army Reserve unit, the 131st out of Williamstown, now stationed...

Comment Free after 50 years of tyranny We may have fought for the wrong reasons, but there is more good than bad in post-Saddam Iraq Julie FlintSunday October 5, 2003The Observer Half a century ago, in a blistering denunciation of the Korean war, the British war correspondent Reginald Thompson wrote: 'It was clear that there was something profoundly disturbing about this campaign and something profoundly disturbing about its commander-in-chief.' Thompson's words could equally well apply to the US-led campaign in Iraq and its commander-in-chief: George W. Bush, head of a cabal that seeks to install a client regime in...

Taking the war on terrorism to Afghanistan was a triumph of international cooperation, the country’s president said today. Addressing delegates at Labour’s Bournemouth conference, Hamid Karzai received a standing ovation as he hailed Britain for its support of his country. He also expressed support for the coalition operation in Iraq, but said he hoped it would soon have its own government. September 11 had awoken the world to the gravity of the situation in Afghanistan, he told party activists. As a result Afghanistan witnessed “in a magnificent way the cooperation of civilisations,” he said. He added: “A poor, deeply believing...

<p>Much of the discourse on Iraq continues to be dominated by myths - provable falsehoods that happen to confirm the prejudices of the antiwar crowd and/or those disposed to think our mission is failing now.</p> <p>The mythos now culminates in the notion that a patriotic Iraqi "resistance" is slowly gaining ground against a hated occupation. But the distortions go back much farther.</p>

<p>The war in Iraq has been worth the hardship, according to those who have lived through both.</p> <p>Despite continued violence and few basic amenities, 62 percent of Baghdad residents believe the ousting of Saddam Hussein justified "any hardships they might have personally suffered," according to a Gallup poll released yesterday.</p>

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Most residents of Baghdad say that ousting Saddam Hussein was worth the hardships they've endured since then, says a Gallup poll that shows they are divided on whether the country is worse off or better off than before the U.S. invasion. Two-thirds, 67 percent, say they think that Iraq will be in better condition five years from now than it was before the U.S.-led invasion. Only 8 percent say they think it will be worse off. But they're not convinced that Iraq is better off now -- 47 percent said the country is worse off than...

Foreign Affairs: President Bush delivered a clear message to the United Nations and the world Tuesday. The U.S. did the right thing in Iraq and offers no apologies.Anyone hoping for a contrite speech was disappointed. Bush was confident and decisive. He displayed the sort of leadership expected of a U.S. president. Rather than beg, he challenged. Instead of downplaying America's role in the world and apologizing for toppling Saddam Hussein's regime, he drew attention to its importance.While diplomats seek multilateral agreements and tend to talk rather than do, Bush, in a forum where indecision is sometimes paralyzing, didn't leave anything...

Drudge: TWO-THIRDS OF IRAQIS SAY OUSTER OF SADDAM A GOOD THING, GALLUP POLL FINDS...

NAJAF, Iraq, Sept 23 (Reuters) - U.S. Marines handed over on Tuesday to a Spanish-led force in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf, scene of the country's deadliest postwar bomb attack which killed more than 80 people including a top Shi'ite cleric. At a ceremony in bright sunshine on the outskirts of Najaf, U.S. Marine Brigadier General John Kelly transferred authority to Brigadier General Alfredo Cardona of the Spanish army. "We've spilled blood to hand this province over to you," Kelly said sombrely in an address to the Spanish-led force, recalling the Marines' key role in the war that...

<p>BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Army Spc. Chris Savolskis, a 21-year-old from Orange County, Calif., didn't support going to war against Iraq. It's all about oil, he thought.</p> <p>Now in Iraq, he thinks differently.</p> <p>"We have a duty and a responsibility," he says. "We came here to liberate the Iraqis and we have to make sure they stay liberated.... We can't let Saddam Hussein come back."</p>

Proud to Have Liberated Iraq Barry FarberWednesday, September 3, 2003The nice lady in the synagogue, knowing I was in the opinion business, politely asked me how I felt about the situation in Iraq. Sizing up the landscape – the bombing of the U.N. Headquarters, the bombing of the mosque in Najaf, the unending loss of American and Iraqi life, and the fact that the overwhelming majority of the members of my synagogue are liberals – I figured she didn't want my REAL opinion, but I'm afraid I let her have it anyhow. I couldn't help myself. I over-responded. "I have...

Iraqis welcomed U.S. troops, local Marine says BY BRIAN WILLIAMS Times Staff Writer KOUTS -- On a peaceful rural porch overlooking a broad stretch of cornfield, with silent hummingbirds hovering at a feeder, Pfc. Jacob Cristea shows photos of blown-out tanks, himself assembling shrapnel grenades and the grim discoveries in a mass grave. Cristea has blood and guts war stories from his six months in Iraq and Kuwait, but he says the last thing he wants to do is to tell them. Instead, the Marine prefers Americans see beyond the fighting and dying in Iraq and know the good he...

A recent visit to Iraq convinced me of several things. We were right to go to war to liberate Iraq. The Iraqi people welcome their liberation from tyranny. A free Iraq could transform the Middle East. And failure to make the necessary political and financial commitment to build the new Iraq could endanger American leadership in the world, empower our enemies and condemn Iraqis to renewed tyranny. If we are to avoid a debate over who "lost" Iraq, we must act urgently to transform our military success into political victory.

<p>Thursday, August 28, 2003 BAGHDAD, Iraq — It's a fair bet that one Baghdad baby won't run into anybody else in Iraq with the same name.</p> <p>An Iraqi couple has named their 6-week-old baby boy George Bush (search) to show their appreciation for U.S. efforts to force Saddam Hussein (search) out of power.</p>

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- It's a fair bet one Baghdad baby won't run into any one else in Iraq with the same name. Iraqi parents named their 6-week-old son George Bush, to show their appreciation for U.S. efforts to get Saddam Hussein out of power. If the couple had twin boys, the other baby would have been named Tony Blair, because the father says both the United States and Britain liberated Iraq. The boy's mom told Associated Press Television News that all Iraqis hated Saddam's regime -- and that President Bush saved the Iraqi people from Saddam. As the woman was...

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Sitting at a rickety desk with only a ceiling fan to cool Baghdad's searing summer air, Sajida hopes learning English will help her talk to the U.S. soldiers she sees as saviors. It could also save her life. She and the four other students in her beginners' English conversation class at Baghdad's Mamoun language institute are trying to gain an upper hand in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq -- where the streets are largely ruled by U.S. soldiers. Few soldiers have a command of Arabic and misunderstandings have been blamed for more than one fatal checkpoint shooting. But Sajida...

  For Immediate ReleaseJuly 22, 2003 Liberation Update News accounts are painting vivid pictures of the joy and relief of free Iraqis, who are living without fear of Saddam's brutality and beginning to enjoy freedoms unknown for decades. These voices have been silenced for too long, but now they are heard inside Iraq and around the world. For more personal stories of life under Saddam, visit Tales of Saddam’s Brutality. VOICES OF FREEDOM“On July 4, some shops and private homes in various parts of Iraq, including the Kurdish areas and cities in the Shiite heartland, put up the star-spangled...

This isLONDON23/07/03 - News and city sectionWild celebrations in BaghdadBy Colin Freeman in Baghdad, Evening StandardBaghdad's curfew was broken by the crackle of gunfire as word spread last night that Saddam's hated sons had been killed. "It's a celebration, people have heard about what happened," a US military spokesman said. On the streets, many Iraqis were prepared to speak out for the first time about Uday and Qusay. But while some celebrated their deaths, others wished they had been captured alive. Alaa Hamed, regularly beaten with clubs while he worked as a producer for Uday's television station, said: "I don't...

<p>Diplomatic relations between the United States and France may be strained because of the war in Iraq, but at least one American is being treated like a hero by the small French village of Feternes.</p> <p>This week the villagers will honor Middleborough resident Robert A. Price, whom French Resistance fighters rescued from the Germans 59 years ago during World War II after his plane crash-landed nearby.</p>