Posted on 06/19/2005 11:21:55 PM PDT by TexKat
Workers lay feeder cable to the Hamdan electric substation project in Basrah, Iraq, June 7, 2005. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region South is providing quality assurance and design work on the project. U.S. Army photo by B.J. Weiner
M. O'BRIEN: Beginning with Iraq this morning, insurgent suicide bombers attacked two police stations this morning. Twelve were killed in Erbil and five more died in an attack on a Baghdad police station. U.S. and Iraqi forces are conducting a large-scale anti-insurgent operation near the Syrian border.
Jane Arraf is embedded with the military. She joins us by phone from Karabila, Iraq, where the Operation Spear is in its fourth day.
Jane, give us the latest.
JANE ARRAF, CNN SR. BAGHDAD CORRESPONDENT: Miles, the latest is that the Marines have destroyed what they believe is a major car bomb factory. Early this morning, they fired tank rounds and then dropped a JDAM 500-pound bomb from the air on to a complex that they said had a dozen cars. Many of them, they're still trying to determine how many, rigged with explosives to be used as car bombs here along the Syrian border and elsewhere, sent elsewhere, into Iraq, they believe.
They caused a massive secondary explosion. The explosions -- explosives inside the cars were detonated, which is how they knew that they had hit their target, they say. This is all part of an operation to crack down on what has become, according to the Marines, a haven for foreign fighters. They say that they have killed approximately 50 insurgents and foreign fighters.
One Marine has lost his life. Six more have been wounded in this operation -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Jane, that's obviously an important find, and I assume that the officers there are fairly pleased that they've been able to identify a target like that.
ARRAF: They are. They're particularly pleased, because this is one of the things that's happening with this insurgency, foreign fighters coming through Syria. And one of the other things they've found is a series of passports.
We just had a look at some of these passports from Libya, from Saudi Arabia, from Algeria, people who went through Damascus and entered into Iraq without entry visas, meaning that they entered here illegally. These were found with large amounts of weapons and ammunition.
This is a city that the Marines say has been taken over by foreign fighters and insurgents. And what they're trying to do is sweep through parts of the city where these people are hiding and capture or kill them. They say it will have an affect not just here, but in the rest of Iraq. They see this as essentially a transit point for some of these insurgents -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Jane Arraf, embedded with the U.S. military. Thank you very much. Appreciate that.
More news from Iraq. Carol Costello has that and the other top stories this morning for us.
Carol, good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: That I do. Good morning, everyone.
"Now in the News," Iraq is offering a $10 million reward for the capture of its highest ranking official still on the run. Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri was a deputy commander of armed forces under Saddam Hussein. He is number six on the U.S. military's list of 55 most wanted Iraqi officials.
LOL - good to hear. I was just looking out for you! ;*)
I don't think you'd have ever heard things like that in Saddam's days.
No, absolutely not. Bless their hearts. I won't comment on the hip-hop, however!
;*)
Funny, I spoke to one of America's finest who says the exact opposite. He VOLUNTEERED to go back to Iraq for a second deployment. He speaks VERY highly of the Iraqi's and the progress and enthusiasm they have to get their country on track. I will take his word over anyone in Congress.
I agree with you - Hagel should sit down and STHU!!!
UNITED NATIONS, June 20 (KUNA) -- The UN high-level coordinator for the return of Kuwaiti detainees and property Yuli Vorontsov on Monday said he expects the US to interrogate former Iraqi leaders on the Kuwaiti archives whereabouts.
"I emphasized the need to intensify the efforts to find the Kuwaiti archives because it is impossible that everything has been lost or burned. some traces must be found," Vorontsov told KUNA following a Security Council closed meeting to discuss Secretary-General Kofi Annan's latest report on the issue.
"Interrogation of the former leaders of Iraq will help. They must know about the whereabouts of the archives. Tarik Aziz and some other people must be aware of this. It is very important for the people who are interrogating the former leaders" to do it, he added.
He said "I will get in touch with the Americans to tell them that. I don't think the Iraqis are now controlling the situation in that respect. It is the Americans. They should put more emphasis on the archives." He said he told the council during the meeting that he expects the allied forces to do "better than what they are doing now on the archives." In his report to the council last week, Annan expressed regret that the Kuwaiti national archives stolen by the Saddam Hussein regime during the occupation are still missing and urged the Iraqi government and the Multinational Force to intensify their search for them.
"It is regrettable that, more than two years after the fall of the regime of Saddam Hussein, the Kuwaiti national archives have not been found and returned to Kuwait," he said.
On the issue of the spare parts belonging to the Kuwaiti Airways on board two Iraqi airplanes seized by Tunisia after the council imposed sanctions on Iraq for invading Kuwaiti in 1990, Vorontsov said he told the council: "I don't understand why" the Iraqis are still not ready to send a team along with a Kuwaiti team and himself to Tunisia to recuperate the spare parts. Procrastination in this respect bewilders me very much." He argued that half a year ago, the Iraqis sent a team of experts to inspect those airplanes. "Why don't they do the same thing now, together with the Kuwaitis and myself?" he wondered.
He said he is scheduled to meet with the Iraqi ambassador later in the day to bring up this issue with him.
Updated On: 6/20/2005 12:34:59 PM
Some American soldiers are shedding some light on Saddam Hussein's life as a prisoner.
The soldiers were among the members of a National Guard unit from northeastern Pennsylvania chosen by the F-B-I to guard the deposed Iraqi leader after his capture in late 2003.
They tell G-Q magazine the Saddam they guarded was a talkative "clean freak" who loved Raisin Bran for breakfast, did his own laundry, and insisted he was still president of Iraq.
One soldier says Saddam clearly didn't like President Bush or his father, once saying, "The Bush father, son, no good." But he admired President Reagan and thought President Clinton was "O-K."
The soldiers say Saddam learned the names of his guards, was interested in their lives, which they weren't supposed to discuss, and sometimes offered fatherly advice.
The nine-month assignment was so secret the soldiers couldn't even tell their families at the time.
U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman Michael Gehrz of St. Paul, Minnesota, eats lunch at the cafeteria at a U.S. Marine base in Qaim, 320 kilometers (200 miles) west of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, June 18, 2005. In its second day, Operation Spear killed some 50 insurgents so far during battles in nearby Karabilah. (AP Photo/Jacob Silberberg)
Thank you all
This is total Iraq news Information thank you
http://www.iraq.net/index.php
http://www.iraqwarnews.net
By Jim Garamone - American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, June 19, 2005 – Americans cannot forget the progress being made in Iraq, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said from Jerusalem today. Rice took time off from her trip to the Middle East to speak to Fox News Channel. She said Americans cannot ignore the political and military successes in Iraq.
"I would say to the American people, 'Yes, this is very hard and very difficult, but we are making a lot of progress in what will be a strategic breakthrough for the United States, which is to have a different kind of Middle East'" Rice said.
Recent polls show support for operations in Iraq is dropping among the American people. Casualty lists, car bombs and suicide bombers dominate the news, but Rice said there are clear signs of progress. Among them is the capture of "the Emir of Mosul" -- Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's lieutenant Abu Talha.
The Iraqi security forces are growing in numbers and sophistication, Rice said. Iraqi forces took the lead in security for the January elections, for example. Since then, Iraqi forces have taken on increasing security burdens. The 40th Brigade of the Iraqi army handles security for much of Baghdad. Marines participating in Operation Spear in Karabilah are operating with Iraqi forces.
The Iraqi security forces now consist of about 170,000 trained and equipped soldiers and police. As those forces grow and gain experience, the security responsibility for coalition forces will shrink, Rice said.
Rice repeatedly made the point that "insurgencies are defeated not just militarily, they are defeated politically."
The Iraqi people are engaged in a political process that will result in a united and democratic Iraq, Rice said. A deal reached in the past week brought more Sunni Arab representatives into writing the new Iraqi constitution. The deadline for the constitution is Aug. 15, with a referendum on the document to be held by Oct. 15. If the constitution is accepted, Iraqis are to hold elections for a permanent government by Dec. 15.
But not all is rosy, the secretary admitted. "(Iraqis) are going to continue to suffer, I'm afraid, for some time from these insurgents and terrorists who wish to kill innocent Iraqis because they have no other alternative," she said. "That does not mean (the terrorists) are going to win the battle for Iraq, because that is being won by the Iraqi people on the political front."
But even on the military side there is progress. Rice said more and more Iraqis are providing coalition and Iraqi forces intelligence to go after the insurgents and terrorists. "They don't want these terrorists and so-called insurgents to blow up their children standing at a school. They don't want these terrorists and so-called insurgents to kill the brave men and women who are volunteering for the Iraqi security forces," she said. "The Iraqi people are not supportive of these insurgents."
The terrorists can continue their bloody attacks, "but what they are losing is the Iraqi people," she said. "And that is the most important loss you can inflict on an insurgency."
Bump!!
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Scout sniper section leader Staff Sgt. Logan Siebert, from 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, Task Force Liberty, cautiously advances during a raid on an enemy weapons cache near Forward Operating Base Mackenzie, Iraq. Photo by Sgt. Matthew Acosta.
Staff Sgt. Charles Houck and Spc. Tom Blalock, from the 98th Cavalry Regiment, 155th Brigade Combat Team, search for insurgents near Al Tunis, Iraq, after their fellow Soldiers and Marines were attacked. Photo by Lance Cpl. Nicholas Lapinski.
Soldiers in their Bradley Fighting Vehicle, from the 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, support Iraqi troops as they search for insurgents near Samarra, Iraq. Photo by Senior Master Sgt. Kim Allain.
050619-N-6811L-212 Queensland, Australia (June 19, 2005) - Australian Army Soldiers move up the beach at Sabina Point after disembarking from a U.S. Navy Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC), assigned to Assault Craft Unit Five (ACU-5), during the combined exercise, Talisman Sabre 2005. Talisman Sabre is an exercise jointly sponsored by the U.S. Pacific Command and Australian Defense Force Joint Operations Command, and designed to train the U.S. Seventh Fleet commander's staff and Australian Joint Operations staff as a designated Combined Task Force (CTF) headquarters. The exercise focuses on crisis action planning and execution of contingency response operations. U.S. Pacific Command units and Australian forces will conduct land, sea and air training throughout the training area. More than 11,000 U.S. and 6,000 Australian personnel will participate. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 1st Class David A. Levy (RELEASED)
050616-N-3136P-196 Coral Sea (June 16, 2005) - An Australian media group photographs a C-2A Greyhound of the "Providers" of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron Three Zero (VRC-30) landing aboard the flight deck of the conventionally-powered aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63). Kitty Hawk tours are conducted to raise awareness of 7th Fleet's mission and the importance of forward-deployed naval forces. Kitty Hawk, is currently operating off the coast of Australia's Queensland region as part of exercise Talisman Saber 2005. Talisman Sabre is an exercise jointly sponsored by the U.S. Pacific Command and Australian Defense Force Joint Operations Command, and designed to train the U.S. 7th Fleet commander's staff and Australian Joint Operations staff as a designated Combined Task Force (CTF) headquarters. The exercise focuses on crisis action planning and execution of contingency response operations. U.S. Pacific Command units and Australian forces will conduct land, sea and air training throughout the training area. More than 11,000 U.S. and 6,000 Australian personnel will participate. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate Airman Jimmy C. Pan (RELEASED)
Great pix and great reports ~ thanks Sara!
Thanks for the links, Sara!
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