Posted on 02/15/2005 7:10:00 PM PST by TexKat
Standing Guard
02/11/05 - U.S. and Iraqi Soldiers stand at attentions as Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld enters the Mosul airfield theater in Mosul, Iraq, to presents awards to Soldiers on Feb. 11, 2005. DoD photo by Tech. Sgt. Cherie A. Thurlby, U.S. Air Force. Released.
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Feb. 15, 2005 - A series of recent raids conducted by Task Force Baghdad soldiers netted 13 suspected terrorists in western Baghdad.
The 256th Brigade Combat Team of the Louisiana National Guard detained 10 suspects during a four-hour operation today.
Members of the 10th Mountain Division's 2nd "Commando" Brigade Combat Team brought in three suspects Feb. 14 in a series of raids.
The suspects are being detained for further questioning.
In other news, Iraqi soldiers from Public Order Battalion 1 seized a weapons cache in western Fallujah Feb. 14 after receiving a tip from an Iraqi citizen.
The weapons cache consisted of 64 PG-9 warheads, 36 57 mm rounds, 25 152 mm projectiles, 36 OG-7 recoilless rounds, 15 122 mm projectiles, two rocket- propelled grenade-7s, 28 82 mm mortar rounds, 18 60 mm mortar rounds, 35 electric blasting caps, 150 pounds of PE-4, 6,000 23 mm rounds, 3,000 14.5 mm rounds, 4,500 20 mm rounds, 50 feet of detonation cord and a 14.5 mm anti- aircraft gun.
Over the last 24 hours, Marines and soldiers from the 1st Marine Division of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force detained four suspected insurgents and seized several weapons caches during operations throughout Anbar province.
Weapons and munitions taken during the operation included an AK-47 automatic rifle, 16 RPG rounds, 22 RPG motors, one sniper rifle, one machine gun, 7,800 7.62 mm rounds, 960 12.7 mm rounds, 420 14.5 mm rounds, 285 30 mm rounds, nine blasting caps, 1,528 time fuses, 144 mortar primers, 15 23 mm projectiles, 3 57 mm rockets, 1 60 mm mortar round, 71 120 mm mortar increments, two 120 mm projectiles, 1 122 mm mortar round, seven 155 mm artillery rounds, two 160 mm mortar rounds, three improvised rockets, 93 rockets of various types, 169 primers, five sighting systems, 48 one-quarter-pound blocks of TNT explosive and two land mines.
Insurgent propaganda and materials to make improvised-explosive devices were also found with the weapons.
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Feb2005/n02152005_2005021503.html
By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Feb. 15, 2005 – With the Army's 18th Airborne Corps taking over as the Multinational Corps Iraq headquarters, the 2004-2006 rotation of troops is well under way.
Troops have been flowing into and out of Iraq since October as part of the rotation. When finished, there will be about 138,000 American servicemembers in Iraq.
DoD officials said spreading out the rotation makes sense from both an operational and logistical standpoint. Spreading out the rotation allows for a mix of experienced and new units in country. Logistically, the flow in and out of theater is more manageable.
The 18th Airborne Corps, based at Fort Bragg. N.C., replaced the Army's 3rd Corps, based at Fort Hood, Texas. The headquarters is at Camp Victory outside Baghdad. The Multinational Corps commands all coalition forces in country with the exception of special operations forces, the Multinational Transition Security Command Iraq and coalition forces involved in detention operations.
The New York National Guard's 42nd Infantry Division headquarters took over command of Multinational Division North Central from the 1st Infantry Division on Feb. 14. The division is headquartered in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit and includes such hotspots as Samarra and Baqubah. Units of the Big Red One have been returning to their bases in Germany. Two brigades of the 3rd Infantry Division will serve under the 42nd as will the Idaho National Guard's 116th Brigade Combat team and the Tennessee Guard's 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment.
The troopers of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment out of Fort Irwin, Calif., took command from Task Force Olympia on Feb. 13. The 1st Brigade (Stryker), 25th Infantry Division, is serving under the cavalry's command. The unit has been in country since September.
In the west, the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, normally based at Camp Pendleton, Calif., is due to turn over command to the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. The MEF is responsible for Anbar province, which includes Fallujah, Ramadi and all the way to the Syrian and Jordanian borders. The Army's 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, will serve under the MEF commander.
Concurrently, the 2nd Marine Air Wing, Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station, N.C., will replaced the 3rd Wing – Miramar Naval Air Station, Calif. The unit is based in Al Asad, Iraq.
The 3rd Infantry Division will begin its second tour in Iraq when it relieves the 1st Cavalry Division by the end of February. The 3rd – out of Fort Steward, Ga. – will lead Multinational Division Baghdad and will consist of two brigades of the 3rd, the 256th Brigade Combat Team from the Louisiana National Guard, the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Armored Division and the 2nd Brigade of the 10th Mountain Division. The 1st Cav will return to Fort Hood.
The Hawaii Guard's 29th Brigade Combat Team will replace Washington State's 81st brigade around Baghdad.
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Feb2005/n02152005_2005021508.html
VOICE OF AMERICA SLUG: 5-56535 Iraq / Constitution DATE: NOTE NUMBER: DATE=2/15/2005 TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT TITLE=IRAQ/CONSTITUTION NUMBER=5-56535 BYLINE=CHALLISS McDONOUGH DATELINE=BAGHDAD CONTENT= VOICED AT:
HEADLINE: Iraqis Debate Islamic Law's Influence on New Constitution
INTRO: A broad coalition of religious Shiite Muslims has won nearly half the votes in Iraq's election and will be the largest group in the National Assembly that is to write a new Iraqi constitution. Shiite leaders have said they want the document to be consistent with Islamic law, Sharia. But many secular politicians will be in the assembly and there will be serious debate about how much Sharia to incorporate into the constitution. VOA's Challiss McDonough has more from Baghdad.
TEXT: Although it is clear the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance will be the single largest group in the national assembly, it will have to work with others in drafting the constitution. Whatever they come up with will have to be approved by at least 16 of the 18 provinces, including those dominated by Sunni Arabs and largely secular Kurds.
A key question, then, is how much Islamic law will become enshrined in Iraq's constitution, and in what form.
Islamic religious law called Sharia governs the daily lives of Muslims, including dress code, diet, marriage, and inheritance. Different schools of Islam interpret Sharia in different ways, secular Muslims are less strict in observing some of its tenets, and the prescriptions of Islamic law do not apply to non-Muslims. So Sunnis, secularists and non-Muslim Iraqis are concerned about what the Shiite alliance has in mind for the constitution.
One of the Shiite alliance's leading contenders for prime minister, Dawa Party leader and Iraqi Interim Vice President, Ibrahim Jafari told VOA the constitution needs to be consistent with Sharia, but he does not expect it to be the only influence.
/// JAFARI ACT ///
"I think we have to do our best to be far from anything against Sharia. Nothing. Otherwise, we are flexible. There are very wide areas, and we can deal with many things in our society... Of course, because our society, the majority of them, more than 97-percent, they are Muslims, so it is expected that you have to mention in the constitution that the official religion is Islam."
/// END ACT ///
But what is "consistent with Sharia" is open to interpretation. There are several factions within the United Iraqi Alliance, and insiders say they have different ideas about how much Islamic law should be written into the constitution.
Mr. Jafari and other alliance members say they do not envision an Iranian-style system for Iraq, with direct rule by a group of senior clerics.
/// JAFARI ACT ///
"So we have here, we have a special experiment, we have special characters in our society. We cannot do implanting and cloning of Iran or Turkey to Iraq. We have to open our peoples, and give them a chance to do what they believe."
/// END ACT ///
It is clear that the clerics will influence the writing of the constitution, even if they are not directly involved in governing the country. A key figure will be the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most senior Shiite cleric in Iraq. One of his Baghdad representatives, Sheikh Abbas al-Rubaie, acknowledged the ayatollah's influence over the process.
/// AL-RUBAIE ACT IN ARABIC, ESTABLISH AND FADE ///
He says, "Sayyid Sistani will not intervene himself in the writing of the constitution, but he will supervise it through is representative in the national assembly."
The sheikh says the constitution will need to respect the religious beliefs of all Iraqis, Muslim or Christian, Shiite or Sunni.
He also says drinking alcohol could be outlawed, and women could be required to cover their heads and forbidden from wearing makeup, whether they are Muslims or not. That possibility worries many secular Iraqis and non-Muslims.
But it is not certain Shiite Islamists could get such prescriptions written into the constitution, if they want to. Outside the Shiite coalition, there is resistance
The second largest group in the National Assembly will be the secular Kurdish alliance. Kurdish interim Vice President Rowsh Nuri Shawis indicates that his group is not interested in enshrining Islamic law into the constitution.
/// SHAWIS ACT ///
"First of all, the federal issue is one of the most important issues. Second, the democratic issue: This federal state should be democratic and secular."
/// END ACT ///
/// OPT /// Some secular Arabs doubt the Kurds commitment to establishing a secular state in all of Iraq, fearing that they could be content with a federal system where the laws governing Kurdish regions could differ significantly from those in the rest of the country.
Many residents of Baghdad, both Shiite and Sunni, express some skepticism and even outright fear about the possible establishment of a clerical state in Iraq. Some people do not seem familiar with the moderate rhetoric being espoused by many of the Shiite leaders, while others do not seem to believe they mean what they say.
University student Amer Mohammed Moadh, who is studying international relations, says he thinks Iraq is on its way to becoming a religious state to some degree, and he does not like the idea.
/// OPT MOADH ACT IN ARABIC, ESTABLISH AND FADE ///
He says, "If you ask me why I do not want religious rule here in Iraq, despite my Islamic roots, it is because I think if the religious leaders come to power, they will favor one group over the other. Secular rule would include all the different ethnic and religious groups." /// END OPT ///
Some Shiite clerics also worry the Iraqi constitution will be too heavily influenced by Islamic law. One is Ayad Jamal al-Din who is dismayed at what he foresees for Iraq's constitution, given the Islamists' dominance.
/// OPT JAMAL AL-DIN ACT IN ARABIC, ESTABLISH AND FADE ///
He says, "Simply put, the constitution is not going to be a secular one. We are going to have an artificial democracy. It is not going to be democracy. Real democracy is always parallel to secularism."
/// OPT /// Ayad Jamal al-Din is a Shiite religious scholar, dressed in clerical robes and wearing the black turban of a direct descendant of the Prophet Mohammed. A set of prayer beads clicks rhythmically in his right hand. But despite outward appearances, he is a staunch proponent of establishing a thoroughly secular state. /// END OPT ///
/// JAMAL AL-DIN ACT IN ARABIC, ESTABLISH AND FADE ///
He says, "You cannot implement real democracy without secularism. Democracy is not just elections. It is a system for the whole nation." He says, "Democracy has so many elements: free economy, culture, human rights, separation of powers. And all people should be equal before the law. This is secularism."
/// OPT /// In the past, Sayyid Jamal al-Din has been a steadfast defender of America's intervention in Iraq, believing it would lead to a secular democracy. But he is now disappointed with the way he thinks things are headed. He says the Americans have refrained from pressing for a secular state because they are afraid to clash with the religious leaders. /// END OPT ///
Sayyid Jamal al-Din continues to believe that most Iraqis want a secular state. He just no longer believes they are going to get one. (SIGNED)
NEB/CEM/FC/RAE
Iraqi people take first steps towards democracy; Independent electoral commission announces official results of vote count Vice-President Ibrahim al-Ja'fari receives EU envoy Baghdad military commander: Plan to receive security in capital centre began (News agencies quoted) Iraqi security forces interrogate three Saudis for entering Karbala illegally (News agencies quoted) Italy, Saudi Arabia sign contract to implement projects in Al-Nasiriyah Iraq giant port to be established on 40m-square-metre area Planning minister: 2.5bn dollars expended from UN, World Bank funds for reconstruction Health Ministry signs agreement with Jordan to control border exits in field of food safety Jordanian port, hotels, residential projects on Iraqi border Voter turnout 75 per cent in Al-Diwaniyah
The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Investigations Subcommittee conducts a hearing United Nations Oil for Food Program on Capitol Hill Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2005. Being sworn in prior to testyfing are, left to right, Robert Massey, CEO Cotecna Inspections; Andrew Pruniaux, former senior vice president of Cotecna; Arthur Ventham, former Cotecna inspector; Verne Kulyk, former U. N . customs officer; and John Denson, general counsel, Saybolt Group. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook)
Senate Panel Hears Oil-for-Food Testimony
By KEN GUGGENHEIM, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - U.S. officials knew of problems in the U.N. oil-for-food program but were concerned international support for Iraqi sanctions could crumble if they insisted on stricter rules, a U.S. diplomat told the Senate on Tuesday.
Patrick Kennedy, deputy ambassador to the United Nations, said the main goal of the United States was to preserve the sanctions, even if they were flawed.
"If we couldn't have a solid wall, then we wanted a screen," Kennedy told the Senate Governmental Affairs investigations subcommittee, one of several congressional panels examining the program.
The program, created as an exception to U.N. sanctions, allowed Iraq to sell oil and use proceeds to buy humanitarian items. Investigations have found that Saddam manipulated the program to obtain illegal revenues and try to influence world leaders.
At Tuesday's hearing, subcommittee Chairman Norm Coleman, R-Minn., released documents he said point to greater evidence of corruption by the program's former director, Benon Sevan, who already faces U.N. disciplinary charges. Sevan has denied wrongdoing.
Coleman said other documents show that an inspector for a U.N. contractor took bribes. Others raise questions about the role of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites)'s son, Kojo Annan, who worked for another U.N. contractor, he said.
Kojo Annan issued a statement Tuesday saying he was never involved in negotiations or lobbying for the oil-for-food contract. He said Coleman's criticisms "were politically motivated and intended to harm my father and the United Nations."
U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Louise Frechette said Tuesday the United Nations was unprepared for the mammoth task of providing humanitarian relief for 24 million Iraqis. "If ever, God forbid, we were to be given that kind of responsibility in the future, we certainly would go about it differently and we certainly would apply the lessons that we are learning from the exhaustive investigations that are going on at the moment," she said.
The oil-for-food scandal has prompted Coleman and other U.S. lawmakers to call for Kofi Annan's resignation. Some say it reflects broader problems of U.N. mismanagement and raises questions about its ability to administer sanctions at a time when they may have to be considered for other nations, such as Iran and North Korea.
Kennedy said the program was "certainly not perfect" but met its goals of helping Iraqi civilians while keeping Saddam from rearming after the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
U.S. officials pushed to keep sanctions intact in the face of international concerns they were harming innocent Iraqis, Kennedy said. They had to agree to a provision — one allowing Saddam to choose buyers of Iraqi oil_ that ultimately helped Saddam subvert the program, he said.
After U.S. officials concluded that Saddam was manipulating the program's oil pricing mechanism, it took months to persuade Security Council members to change procedures, Kennedy said.
Much of Tuesday's hearing focused on two U.N. contractors: Saybolt International BV, the Dutch company hired to inspect oil shipments, and Cotecna, a Swiss company that inspected humanitarian goods imported under the program. Both have been criticized for not stopping illegal payments or shipments to Iraq.
By UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL
Published February 15, 2005
BAGHDAD -- Top Iraqi politicians are in Jordan at the behest of American advisers to hammer out details of what a new constitution will look like.
In August, Iraqis are to go to the polls to vote on its acceptance.
Whether or not to include "sharia," or religious law, in the constitution is expected to be a part of the discussion, said Adnan Ali al-Kadhimi, an adviser to Ibrahim Jafaari, an interim vice president and a moderate Shiite Muslim now considered to be the top candidate for the post of prime minister.
Jafaari is No. 2 on the United Iraqi Alliance list of politicians which took an estimated 47 percent of the vote in a Jan. 30 election to seat a new 275-member assembly. The constitutional conference was largely kept under wraps because of security concerns, but it includes foreign constitutional and legal experts, al-Kadhimi said.
"Where do religion and civil law intersect?" al-Kadhimi said Sunday. "Foreign countries are worrying to see the outcome, but we don't see that religion will play a big part in this constitution."
Most Iraqis feel they should not impose their personal religious beliefs on others, al-Kadhimi said. In addition, the new assembly's mandated 25 percent female members will serve as a moderating force, Jafaari said. Six interim ministers are women, Jafaari pointed out -- a higher percentage of the 30 ministers than any other public job in Iraqi society.
"We need to be a government that represents all groups, all voices, and has justice and respect for basic human rights," Jafaari said.
Sunni Muslims who boycotted the election but now want to join in writing the constitution should be invited to help, Jafaari said.
In fact, Jafaari's message of inclusiveness and reconciliation is similar to that of other top prime minister candidates, from Adel Abdul Mehdi, a key member of the Supreme Council of Islamic Revolution in Iraq, currently interim finance minister and No. 6 on the Alliance list to and Ahmed Chalabi, a Shiite Muslim who has lived in the United States for more than 30 years and is No. 5 on the list.
When explaining the role religion should play in the new constitution, Mehdi uses the example of a religious doctor whose beliefs have nothing to do with his job other than making sure he does it well. Mehdi was said to have withdrawn from furious negotiations surrounding the post Tuesday after receiving major concessions from other politicians.
But more important than the constitution right now is security, Jafaari said, to keep the country from slipping into civil war. New security forces need all of the training and equipment they can get to do their jobs well, he said.
"We have to increase the efficiency of the people doing security work," Jafaari said. "But we also will use education and the media, to let the extremists know that we are serious."
The new assembly's first job is to elect a president and two vice president by a two-thirds majority. Those three then would choose a new prime minister. Chalabi is believed to have more than half of the Alliance member's support to be prime minister.
Iraq should also hire foreign help to get its economy going again, Jafaari said. More than 50 percent of Iraqis are estimated to be out of work, a problem made worse by violence in the streets and frequent power outages.
A political expert at Baghdad University agrees. Iraqis need to respect each other to become more democratic, said Ameur Hassan Fayadh, a professor. Those who are suspicious of foreigners because of the U.S. troops occupying the country need to separate the idea of occupation from workers who can help the country in other ways, he said.
"Anyone who negotiates with the occupation should not be seen as an agent or a spy to the United States, just as anyone who does not should be labeled a terrorist," Fayadh said.
Even though voters turned out in many parts of the country to cast ballots on Jan. 30, democracy is going to take awhile to take hold in Iraq, Fayadh said.
"Democracy all over the world was not instituted under weak governments," Fayadh said. "There's no magic wand to implement democracy. People have to have patience to build the new government."
Once a constitution is voted on, a new government could be elected as soon as December, under a timetable drawn up by American advisers.
Thank you for the good news......
This is an interesting report, I like the "we found" and
"we captured" reports....
I shake to think of the danger they are in, while doing their jobs, every minute of the day and nights.
How Brave they all are.
Ping to a good "we found" and "we captured" report.
By UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL
Published February 15, 2005
AMMAN, Jordan -- The assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri in a massive explosion in Beirut Monday splashed front-page headlines and editorials in Arab newspapers Tuesday. Lebanon's al-Mustaqbal daily, owned by the late Hariri, wrote that he had fallen martyr as he was involved in a "great battle to retrieve democracy to Lebanese political life through free parliamentary elections." The paper, describing Hariri as a "symbol of moderate Islam, a man of national accord and a statesman," had fallen "as a result of instigation against him and the others who refuse to accept the Lebanese status quo." It added he was martyred at the hands of "organized crime and its services" because he was a "man with Arab and international standing who used his relations to serve his homeland and nation." It speculated that his assassins had thought they were "cutting off the road to freedom and democracy," adding that he had fallen martyr "because they thought there was no place for great people in Lebanon." Saying he was the "martyr of the nation," the daily added that his death was a loss to Lebanon and "every other place where he planted his moderate and loving soul." It said that because Hariri had represented all these values, "all of Lebanon wept."
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Another Lebanese daily, an-Nahar commented in a front-page editorial that nothing could compensate for the death of Hariri, saying his "challenging the (civil) war and rebuilding Lebanon's capital stand testimony to the persistence of life, with freedom, beauty and prosperity." The independent mass-circulation daily, which opposes the Syrian presence in Lebanon, argued that Hariri had not only left behind his immediate family, but hundreds of thousands whom he had sponsored for an education instead of "carrying a gun or emigrating." The paper asked why justice was not served when the assassins of other former Lebanese leaders in the past few decades were left unknown. It supported opposition calls for an international investigation into Hariri's murder, insisting that every Lebanese would be making this demand. It also called for "international protection for Lebanon's security," accusing the government of failing to take responsibility "when the volcano of hell exploded, while the rulers were busy enflaming the fire of the volcanoes." The paper warned the government of Prime Minister Omar Karami against "thinking it can exploit this disaster" to delay the scheduled legislative elections next spring. It said the Lebanese people will have their say in the polls, "in which they will say: You killed Hariri, but you don't know that his martyrdom was for the sake of Lebanon's resurrection."
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The London-based al-Quds al-Arabi commented that the assassination of Hariri in the heart of Beirut puts Lebanon and Syria before an unknown future because the Lebanese opposition had blamed Syria for the crime. The independent Palestinian-owned daily, which said the death of Hariri was a great loss to Lebanon, noted that some Lebanese forces had accused the Syrian government of responsibility "whether Syria was responsible or not, and even though it would be the most harmed by this assassination." The paper, with pan-Arab nationalist trends, said that although Hariri had quietly opposed Syrian policy in Lebanon, he was against a "confrontation with the stronger neighbor." It warned that throwing premature accusations before investigations reveal anything was based on "political and emotional basis, and contradicts objectivity," adding it had hoped that the Lebanese opposition would exercise self-restraint "before slipping into blaming this party or the other." The daily argued that while Lebanon was shocked by the loss of one of its most prominent leaders in modern history, it called on the political forces to exercise "the highest level of wisdom and patience, and to work on minimizing the losses instead of escalating them in order to let off steam or out of desire for revenge." It insisted that the conditions in Lebanon were very sensitive, saying that "any wrong behavior might pull the country toward destruction and return to the years of bloody chaos."
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Jordan's ad-Dustour said in its editorial the death of Hariri was a loss to all the Arabs and accused "outside forces" of carrying out the attack to "redraw the map of the Middle East." The mass-circulation daily, which describes itself as independent but is partially owned by the government, said the crime reflected "the ugliness of its perpetrators and translates their evil plans that target the security and stability of all the Arab countries, especially this region," in reference to the Levant. It said that whether the audiotape of the Islamic group that claimed responsibility for the attack was genuine or not, the size of the explosion "serves outside schemes more than anything else." The paper argued that it was clear the operation did not only aim to end the life of a "great politician and noble human being as Hariri" as much as it was an attempt to establish chaos and corruption similar to that in Iraq and Palestine. It said that grief "will not blind us from seeing the truth of what happened yesterday in Beirut ... for we know very well that that the Arab region is targeted." It said the Lebanese people recognized the "real motives" behind the assassination, adding that it was "betting on their awareness of the nature of the conspiracy that is targeting them as a state and this region as a whole, requiring all of us to be cautious and to unite ourselves to confront and destroy (the conspiracy)."
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The United Arab Emirates' al-Khaleej also called for caution, self-restraint and behaving responsibly to protect Lebanon from the "earthquake that struck Beirut" with the assassination of Hariri. It said the attack was a "security, political and economic earthquake that is aimed at destroying civil peace and stability in Lebanon" and the rest of the region. The daily, with independent Islamic leanings, opined that the only beneficiaries were those who wanted evil for Lebanon and the Arabs, insisting that the "Zionist enemy" was the sole beneficiary in trying to pull the country back into a war. It said the only way to respond to the crime was through the unity of the Lebanese, "since it is the immunity for all." The daily said the safety of the country was now before a test, and therefore "it is the responsibility of all to keep this national objective above any other consideration." It said while the "massacre is ugly and condemned by all, we hoped that all the Lebanese will rise to the level of the dangers surrounding their country by not permitting internal gaps to open that will allow the perpetrators of the crime to achieve their malicious objectives."
You've got private mail.
Joseph J. Taluto accepts the 42nd Infantry Division colors, marking the beginning of his command of Task Force Liberty, during the Task Force Danger to Task Force Liberty Transfer of Authority Ceremony in Tikrit, Iraq, on Monday.
Rick Kozak / Military Times staff
Iraqi Army Lt. Gen. Abdul Aziz Al Mufti and incoming commander Maj. Gen. Joseph J. Taluto cut a cake marking the start of Task Force Liberty and the command of the 42nd Infantry Division during the Task Force Danger to Task Force Liberty Transfer of Authority Ceremony in Tikrit, Iraq, on Monday.
Soldiers with Headquarters Company, 121st Signal Battalion, 1st Infantry Division, prepare to board one of two Chinook helicopters in Tikrit, Iraq, on Sunday for their return deployment to Germany.
Spc. Chymetra Ross, 27, of Rolling Fork, Miss., with Headquarters Company, 121st Signal Battalion, 1st Infantry Division, rests on her duffle bag in Tikrit, Iraq, on Sunday while waiting for a Chinook helicopter to transport her to her return deployment to Germany.
Cheif Warrent Officer Two Mike Stehn in Mosul talks to a reporter at KOMO in Seattle, Washington. Video from 139th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.
Brigadier General Carter Ham, Commanding General of Task Force Olympia, talks to a CNN reporter just prior to the elections about what he expects, the state of security for the elections and the readiness of the Iraq security forces. Video from 366th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.
Specialist Stewart in Mosul talks to a reporter at WRAL in Raleigh, NC. Video by 366th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.
Private First Class Justin Bowman in Mosul talks to a reporter at WRAL in Raleigh, NC. Video by 366th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.
Sergeant First Class Richard Haynes in Mosul talks to a reporter at WRAL in Raleigh, NC about being part of a quick-reaction force for the Iraqi elections. Video by 366th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.
Captain Phil Ludvigson (from Carterville, Illinois) in Mosul talks to a reporter at WPSD, Paducah, Kentucky. Video from 139th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.
Specialist Wieck in Mosul talks to a WRAL reporter in North Carolina. Video from 366th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.
Sergeant First Class Mark Dasch in Mosul, Iraq talks to a WRAL TV reporter in North Carolina. Video from 366th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.
(TFF Press Release)
MOSUL, IRAQ (February 15, 2005) – Iraqi Security Forces and Multi-National Force Soldiers from the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) detained five suspected insurgents during operations in northern Iraq today.
Iraqi Intervention Force troops and Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment detained five suspected insurgents during raids conducted in the Mosul area. Suspects are in custody with no ISF or MNF injuries reported.
Iraqi Security Forces have stepped up their involvement in security operations and are conducting numerous independent and joint operations. The ISF and MNF continue operations to protect the rights of Iraqi citizens to live free of fear and intimidation from terrorists.
Iraqi Security Forces continue to work together with Multi-National Forces from Task Force Freedom, leaders and citizens of Iraq to help build and maintain a prosperous and democratic nation. Anyone with information on anti-Iraqi insurgent minority activities should call the Joint Coordination Center’s telephone numbers at 513462 or 07701623300.
(TFF Press Release)
MOSUL, IRAQ (February 15, 2005) – Iraqi Security Forces discovered a large weapons cache and took improvised explosive devices off the street in northern Iraq yesterday.
Iraqi Intervention Forces discovered a large weapons cache while conducting a cordon and search operation in southeastern Mosul. The cache included artillery rounds, detonation devices, anti-tank mines, TNT, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and bomb making equipment. The weapons were confiscated for future destruction. No ISF injuries were reported.
Soldiers from the 102nd Iraqi Army were patrolling in Kabruk when they discovered five IEDs placed along the road. The 102nd confiscated and disposed of the explosives. No ISF injuries were reported.
Iraqi Security Forces continue to work together with Multi-National Forces from Task Force Freedom, leaders and citizens of Iraq to help build and maintain a prosperous and democratic nation. Anyone with information on anti-Iraqi insurgent minority activities should call the Joint Coordination Center’s telephone numbers at 513462 or 07701623300.
JIM MACMILLAN | The Associated Press
THE NEWS TRIBUNE Last updated: February 15th, 2005 06:41 AM
In the photo to the right, Army Staff Sgt. Joseph Robeson, right, of Fort Lewis’ 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, salutes Lt. Col. Erik Kurilla after receiving a Purple Heart medal Monday in Mosul, Iraq. Purple Hearts were awarded to 25 soldiers in the battalion Monday, for a total of 86 since they arrived in Mosul last October. Robeson was wounded in an insurgent truck bomb attack on an outpost in December.
The Purple Heart was established by George Washington in 1782. It was originally called the Badge of Military Merit. After the Revolutionary War, the medal was retired, to be brought back in 1932 in its present form.
Courtesy to Stripes Dr. Phillip Ritchey, 69, was asked by the Army in November 2003 to return to active duty for a tour in Baghdad. Ritchey accepted.
Older soldiers answer the call to arms
By Lisa Burgess, Stars and Stripes European edition, Wednesday, February 16, 2005
ARLINGTON, Va. — Old soldiers never die. Sometimes, they don’t even fade away.
“As long as my country needs me — and I can positively contribute — when the flag goes up, I’ll be there,” said retired Army Col. Emil Zimmerman, who is 57 and is now waiting to see if he can clear the Army’s medical requirements before returning to duty.
The flag went up in November 2003 for retired Army Lt. Col. Phillip Ritchey, when facing a critical shortage of eye surgeons, the Army phoned him with a request: Would you consider putting your uniform back on and deploying to Baghdad?
Ritchey, 69, didn’t hesitate.
Baghdad isn’t so different from many of the places where Ritchey and his wife of 48 years, June, had traveled to volunteer their medical skills, he said in a recent telephone interview with Stars and Stripes.
“My wife and I have been doing volunteer work all over the world,” said Ritchey, a 1957 graduate of West Point. said. “Baghdad isn’t so bad, compared to some of the other places I’ve been. It’s definitely not like Vietnam,” where he spent a year in 1967.
The terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, prompted a wave of inquiries from retirees who wanted to serve once again.
But it wasn’t until Iraq rotations began to strain the Army and Marine Corps that the services’ personnel officials began not only to take such offers seriously, but to actively seek volunteers to fill critical shortages.
The Army has received 12,000 telephone calls and e-mails from veterans offering to come back to active duty, according to Wayne Maricle, chief of operations in the Mobilization Operations Division of the Army’s Human Resources Command, or HRC, in St. Louis.
About 2,300 have followed through with formal applications and are considered “confirmed” volunteers, Maricle said.
The Army has returned 357 retirees to active duty, including 286 who are now serving, according to Don Ashenfelter, chief of the Army’s retiree mobilization program at HRC.
The Marine Corps has 77 older Marines back on duty and is seeking more volunteers with critical skills who left the Corps within the past five years, according to Lt. Col. Jeffrey Riehl, the Corps’ plans and mobilization officer for manpower and reserve affairs.
But the Navy and Air Force, which are working to reduce their active-duty end strength, have chosen not to bring retirees back, spokesmen for those services said. The Air Force did bring back some retired pilots beginning in early 2001, the program has been suspended.
In December, Army officials decided to actively solicit retirees for a potential volunteer re-mobilization, instead of waiting for veterans to initiate the re-entry process.
Retirees may be somewhat slower than their younger counterparts, but they make up in experience for what they may lack in the physical arena, Zimmerman said.
Zimmerman received an e-mail from HRC on Dec. 30, 2004, asking if he might consider a return.
“I said, not only do I volunteer, I volunteer with both hands.”
Now Zimmerman is “on pins and needles,” waiting to see if he will be allowed to re-enter after taking a special hearing test the Army required because he wears hearing aids.
“I’m not in it for the glory or the pay,” Zimmerman said. “I’m in it because we have troops in harm’s way, and I want to take care of troops.”
You've got private mail.
(said Texkat)
LOL, so do you........
(says granny)
Tuesday, February 15, 2005 - ©2005 IranMania.com
LONDON, Feb 15 (IranMania) – Commander of Iran’s border guards, Behnam Shariatifar reported of the closure of the Iran-Iraq border and Baghdad’s ban on Iranian pilgrims.
“Iraq is to diminish the country’s population in the areas where the holy shrines are located out of security fears.” Shariatifar told Iran’s Labor News Agency (ILNA).
He warned Iranian pilgrims against seeking illegal ways to enter Iraq adding: “On average, 200 illegal Iranian pilgrims to Iraq are arrested at border regions per day.”
Under Iraqi ruler, Saddam Hussein, Iranian pilgrims were not allowed in Iraq and thus after the US-led invasion of the country and Saddam’s downfall, enthusiastic Iranian pilgrims began journeys to Iraq through both legal and illegal channels.
Six of the 12 imams revered in the Shiite branch of Islam dominant in Iran are buried in Iraq.
Najaf features the shrine of Imam Ali, the first Shiite Imam and is considered by Shiite Muslims to be the rightful successor to the Prophet Mohammad as leader of the Muslim community.
In Karbala is the shrine of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the prophet and central figure in the Shiite faith. After Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia, the two Iraqi cities are the holiest places for Shiite Muslims.
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