Posted on 03/17/2006 4:01:35 PM PST by Gucho
By Jeff Schogol - Stars and Stripes Mideast edition
Friday, March 17, 2006
ARLINGTON, Va. — U.S. forces are seeing roadside bombs in Afghanistan similar to the devices insurgents are using against U.S. forces in Iraq, said the commander of Joint Task Force 76.
“What we’ve seen in the past primarily are IED cells that are Afghan-led, but some of the devices that we are seeing are similar to the devices that are being used in Iraq and our current line of thinking is determining what connects those two and how is that technology transferred — or that technique transferred — from one to the other, and we’re looking for those threads as we continue to fight this common enemy,” said Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin Freakley.
Freakley said he did not believe the people who use roadside bombs are themselves migrating from Iraq to Afghanistan.
“I think that the techniques and some of the technology may have come from similar personnel who were instructed on how to build a bomb,” he said.
Freakley said U.S forces continue to look for a “migratory pattern” of roadside bombs from one area to another.
“We do some similar techniques and so we’re trying to determine how the technology transfer is occurring and who is training the bombmakers — how are they being trained and how are they getting ideas from one another.”
Afghanistan shares a border with Iran, from where roadside bomb components have allegedly shown up in neighboring Iraq, according to British Maj. Gen. J.B. Dutton, commander of Multinational Division Southeast.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Tuesday that it is impossible to know definitively if the Iranian government is helping to move roadside bombs into Iraq.
“All you know is that you find equipment — weapons, explosives, whatever — in a country that came from the neighboring country,” he said.
Friday, March 17, 2006
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Friday, March 17, 2006
By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA - American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 17, 2006 – The sectarian violence that surged after the Feb. 22 bombing of a Shiite mosque in Samarra, Iraq, has tapered off, and Iraqis are optimistic about the future, a top U.S. commander in Iraq said today.
Violence is now at a lower level than it was before the mosque bombing, and the attacks are of the same type they were then, Army Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, commander of Multinational Corps Iraq, said during a video news conference from Iraq.
"I don't want to downplay the tragedy of the violence that has occurred; however, it may be unfair to characterize every post-Feb. 22 event sectarian in nature," Chiarelli said. "Some of those events are sectarian, but far fewer than are being reported. Most of the events are a combination of the work of al Qaeda in Iraq, insurgent attacks designed to prevent progress in building the government, and pure, unadulterated crime."
Chiarelli stressed that civil war is still far away for Iraq, as most of the people there do not see the sectarian divisions that are being stressed by the media. "Many Iraqis are part of mixed marriages and live in mixed neighborhoods and consider themselves Iraqis first," he said.
The Iraqi security forces' response to the recent sectarian violence is just another indicator of their continued progress, Chiarelli said. The Iraqi army is increasingly taking the lead in operations and taking responsibility for battle space, he said. In current operations, such as Operation Swarmer, Iraqi forces take on the majority of the responsibility, with U.S. and coalition forces in supporting roles, he said.
"We're finding Iraqi units, with our support, can be used in just about any operation we do in a counterinsurgency role," he said. "This is a force we have built and the Iraqis have built for that counterinsurgency fight, and I think they're particularly well-prepared, well-trained, and have the ability to do that in just about any area."
The goal is for Iraqis to control about 75 percent of the battle space by the end of summer, Chiarelli said, and all indications are that they will meet that goal. "We're doing a very, very good job, and the Iraqis are doing a great job moving forward," he said.
U.S. and coalition forces will spend extra time this year training the Iraqi police, Chiarelli said. Police training teams, unit partnerships and mentoring will be used to help develop the capability of the police force, which will eventually take responsibility for urban areas, he said.
The U.S. is working with the Iraqi government to build ministerial capacity so the government can provide essential services for all Iraqis, Chiarelli said. Provincial reconstruction teams will work with provincial governments in developing economic systems and building infrastructure so Iraqis can have clean water, electricity, fuel, proper sewage systems and trash removal, he said.
Iraqi citizens remain confident about the future and the progress their country is making, Chiarelli said. The seating of the Council of Representatives yesterday was a big step toward a national unity government, which the citizens are looking forward to, he said.
"I remain convinced that the resiliency and optimism of the Iraqi people will keep Iraq moving in the right direction," he said.
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By Seth Robson - Stars and Stripes European edition
Friday, March 17, 2006
GRAFENWÖHR, Germany — Inactivation and transformation of two Multiple Launch Rocket System battalions will leave the 1st Battalion, 94th Field Artillery Regiment as the last MLRS unit in Europe.
By July, 1st Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment will inactivate, while 1st Battalion, 33rd Field Artillery Regiment will trade its MLRS for 105 mm artillery pieces and join the 173rd Airborne Brigade at Vicenza, Italy, according to Lt. Col. Patrick Hogan, the 1-94 commander.
The Baumholder-based 1-94 will eventually swap its tracked MLRS’s for wheeled high-mobility artillery rocket systems in order to support the 2nd Cavalry (Stryker) Brigade, which is scheduled to arrive at Vilseck this summer, he said.
Being the only MLRS unit left in Europe has its advantages. The 1st Armored Division unit was allocated more than 300 rockets, enough for all three battalions, for a gunnery session at Grafenwöhr this week, Hogan said.
With so many rockets, the battalion was able to do something it had not done since it was formed in 2000 — fire all 18 of its MLRS’s at the same time.
When the rockets fired from 17 of the launchers on Thursday (one was down with a technical glitch), it was like the Fourth of July in broad daylight as glowing rockets sent clouds of smoke trails across a snow-covered landscape.
The rockets, which have an unclassified range of more than 20 miles, disperse hundreds of bomblets over a wide area to destroy targets such as infantry, command posts and logistics sites, Hogan said.
Battery A unit commander Staff Sgt. Reuben Newton, 25, of Decatur, Ala., said it was a big challenge to get all of the MLRS’s firing together.
“There are a lot of safety checks to go through,” he said, standing in front of his MLRS, which he calls “Alabama.”
Alabama’s driver, Spc. Jose Salazar, 24, of Espanola, N.M., said it was tough moving the MLRS about in the snow at Grafenwöhr. The soldiers estimated 18 inches of snow fell while 1-94 was on the range.
Gunner, Spc. Thomas Morris, 23, of Abingdon, Md., who wants to call Alabama “Anger Management,” said he preferred shooting rockets to taking on an infantry role, which is what the unit did when it deployed to Baghdad, from November 2003 to July 2004.
“We did raids, cordon and searches, IED (improvised explosive device) sweeps and route patrols. Everything except our real job. We brought the MLRS units with us but sent them back early. I’d rather shoot rockets. It’s an adrenaline rush,” he said.
Story by Cpl. Mark Sixbey
CAMP SMITTY, Iraq (March 15, 2006) -- The sound of gunfire rips through a long building, bouncing off walls and resonates throughout the entire Marine base near Ferris Town. No one even raises an eyebrow.
The sound has repeated itself hundreds of times each day since February, when I Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, converted one of the base’s many large buildings into an indoor shooting range, giving the company a unique training tool.
“Gunfighting is especially useful in an urban environment, when you may constantly engage targets less than 50 yards away,” said Lance Cpl. Sean Alan Moore, a 21-year-old mortarman from Claremore, Okla., assigned to Weapons Platoon.
Beneath the shade of the ceiling and behind the protection of thick concrete walls, Marines shoot weapons ranging from the 9 mm pistol to the M-240G crew-served machine gun. They also practice with foreign weapons, like the AK-47 to become familiar with the enemy’s firepower.
“It’s nice to have indoor shooting,” said Staff Sgt. Felipe Brachetti, platoon sergeant, Weapons Platoon. “I haven’t heard of other indoor ranges in Iraq.”
The biggest advantage, according to the Marines who frequent the range, is the location. It lies well within the perimeter of Camp Smitty.
“If we go outside the wire, we run the risk of taking indirect fire,” said Sgt. Keith Pelton, the company police sergeant.
Aside from keeping their marksmanship skills sharp, regular range time gives Marines the ability to make sure their sights are properly adjusted and ready to kill, should the need arise.
“I try to take them as often as possible, because we rely on a proper battle sight zero to engage the enemy,” said Brachetti, 36, from Colton, Calif.
Spray-painted lines on the concrete floor indicate the 7, 10, 36, 50 and 100-yard lines. A row of wire-caged barriers filled with sand and a wall of dirt stop bullet impacts with a blast of dust and dirt hundreds of times a day.
Lance Cpl. Josh Alfredson, assigned to Weapons Platoon, has no complaints about firing his weapon on a regular basis.
“It’ll keep us up to date on our gunfighting skills,” said 21-year-old Alfredson, a mortarman from Sioux City, Iowa. It helps them to stay sharp “to quickly engage multiple targets, shooting from different positions and running through different scenarios.”
One shooting drill scenario that’s a favorite is the “Pat Rogers drill,” where Marines practice close-encounter scenarios from the 25-yard line and closer.
“You’ve just entered the room – he’s got a gun!” the instructor yelled. Marines respond with rapid fire, change magazines and shoot again.
The only thing missing on this range are orange range flags, which indicate wind value. Here though, there’s no need courtesy of the concrete walls.
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Story by Lance Cpl. C. Lindsay
IWO JIMA, Japan (March 16, 2006) -- Marines, sailors, U.S. and Japanese World War II veterans and their family members gathered at the Reunion of Honor Monument March 8, in commemoration of the 61st anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima.
The ceremony honored service members killed during the battle and celebrated the current relationship between the U.S. and Japan.
Keith M. Little, a Marine veteran and Navajo code talker, was one of the 35 Iwo Jima veterans who shared their stories with the Marines that day.
“We faced much resistance (at Iwo Jima),” Little said. “Most of the fighting was personal confrontation.”
The Battle of Iwo Jima began on Feb. 19, 1945 at 8:30 a.m. when the order, “Land the landing force,” sent the first wave of Marines toward the shores of Iwo Jima. Once ashore, the Marines were slowed by the loose volcanic sand that made up the beach. Unable to find cover or concealment, the U.S. service members were exposed to persistent, enemy gun fire.
“We weren’t supposed to land here – they were saving us for Okinawa,” said Allan Lichens, a Marine veteran.
Marines used flame throwers and grenades to clear bunkers dug by the Japanese. More than 100,000 men fought on the island, which is roughly one-third the size of Manhattan Island, New York.
After the battle, nearly 21,000 Japanese and more than 6,000 U.S. service members died. Most of the Japanese fought to the death, 200 were taken prisoner.
“One can almost hear the exploding ordnance and (smell the) stench of gun powder and death,” said retired Lt. Gen. Larry F. Snowden, an Iwo Jima veteran. “War is a poor way to solve differences.”
Many of the former U.S. and Japanese service members and their families shook hands and spoke with their former enemies.
“I didn’t want to come back initially, but the officials (in my group) wanted me to come,” Little said. “I feel good about coming back, compared to my initial visit as a warrior in February of 1945.”
For many of the veterans, this anniversary was the first time they had been back since landing on the black sands in early 1945.
“Perhaps time is the best healing, but healing leaves scars,” Snowden said. “We can only hope that over time, the scars will fade away. And we can seek together the peace our nations deserve.”
More Photos (scroll down)
3/17/2006
By NICK WADHAMS - Associated Press Writer
UNITED NATIONS - Russia's U.N. ambassador on Friday rejected proposals that would have the U.N. Security Council demand a quick progress report on Iran's suspect nuclear program, saying — half in jest — that fast action could lead to the bombing of Iran by June.
Andrey Denisov spoke just before a U.N. Security Council meeting where diplomats planned to consider a revised list of British, French and American proposals for a statement on Iran. The latest draft proposals, obtained by The Associated Press, retain many elements that Russia and China have opposed.
A key sticking point for Russia is a proposal asking Mohamed ElBaradei, the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, to deliver a progress report in two weeks on Iran's progress toward clearing up suspicions about its nuclear program. Russia and China say two weeks is far too soon.
"Let's just imagine that we adopt it and today we issued that statement — then what happens after two weeks?" Denisov said in an interview. "In such a pace we'll start bombing in June."
Denisov chuckled after he made the remark, but it reflected Russia's fears that the international community has not yet decided how to respond if Iran continues to resist demands that it make explicitly clear it is not seeking nuclear arms.
To address that concern, senior officials from six key countries involved in negotiations over Iran's nuclear program will convene Monday to discuss both initial council action and the larger strategy toward Iran. The officials from Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany will talk about both the proposals circulated Friday and overall strategy.
For the last week, the Security Council has debated the best way to address the Iran issue. The split is now between Britain, France and the United States, which want a statement spelling out a number of detailed demands, and Russia and China, which believe that such action would send the wrong message to Iran.
Russia and China, which are allies of Iran, have said in the past that tough council action could spark an Iranian withdrawal from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. They also fear council action could eventually lead to tougher measures, such as sanctions.
Backed by the United States, Britain and France have proposed a statement that would spell out a list of demands that have already been made by the IAEA. They include a demand that Iran suspend uranium enrichment and take steps toward greater transparency and more cooperation.
Uranium enrichment can be used either in electricity generation or to make nuclear weapons. Iran insists its program is to produce nuclear energy — not weapons — but the IAEA has raised concerns that Tehran might be seeking nuclear arms.
Even though the demands in the British and French proposals are not new, Denisov said Russia would prefer the council to simply refer to IAEA documents that also contained those demands.
The primary concern of Russia and China throughout has been that the IAEA play the main role in handling Iran. They fear that such demands by the council would mean that the council, which has the power to impose sanctions, would be taking the lead.
"We need to send a message ... that the Security Council is supporting and reinforcing the role of the IAEA, not to replace or take it over from the IAEA," China's U.N. Ambassador Wang Guangya said.
The discussions came a day after Tehran offered to enter into talks with the U.S. aimed at stabilizing Iraq. The Bush administration said it would discuss the insurgency with the Islamic republic, but both sides said the talks would not address the standoff over Iran's nuclear activities.
KABUL, March 17 (KUNA) -- At least half a dozen policemen were killed and as many wounded Friday when a roadside bomb flipped over the vehicle they were aboard, in southern Afghanistan. The policemen arrived in the area to retrieve bodies of four foreigners killed by Taliban earlier this week.
Asadullah Khalid, Governor of the Kandahar province, where the blast took place, told newsmen after being told about the killing of the four foreigners - three Albanians and one German national - by Taliban, that an investigation team was formed to locate and bring the bodies to the provincial headquarters.
When the police team was on its way back with the four bodies, one of their vehicles hit the roadside bomb planted by Taliban, killing six policemen and injuring as many. He said the injured were rushed to the provincial headquarters for treatment.
The fresh incident happened at a time when Taliban chief Mullah Omar, in a purported statement, warned of severe attacks against local and foreign forces in Afghanistan.
BAGHDAD, March 17 (KUNA) -- An Iraqi civilian was killed, four others wounded, on Friday when an explosive device targeted a civilian vehicle west of Kirkuk, northern Iraq.
An Iraqi police source told reporters that the explosive device went off when a car transporting workers passed by on a road between Hawijah and Baiji, noting that the blast killed the driver of the car and wounded four other occupants.
By Gerry J. Gilmore - American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 17, 2006 – There's more to do, but U.S. and coalition efforts in Afghanistan have achieved considerable progress in helping that nation to become a stable member of the world community, a senior U.S. military officer told Pentagon reporters yesterday.
"As we enter this fifth year of operations in Enduring Freedom we can see significant accomplishments, and while there's still a great amount of work to be done, we think that also this nation of Afghanistan clearly is moving forward every day," Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley, commander of Combined Joint Task Force 76, said from Afghanistan during a satellite news conference.
Freakley also commands a 15,000-member contingent of 10th Mountain Division soldiers as well as a group of U.S. airmen, Marines and sailors who make up the bulk of the task force's 21,000 personnel. Other task force members include 4,300 coalition troops from the Netherlands, Romania, Britain and Canada. JCTF-76 has its headquarters at Bagram Air Base in the south-central part of Afghanistan.
Freakley said his task force is focused on three major areas:
Security in partnership with Afghan troops, including the training of Afghan security forces;
Governance, centered on the provincial reconstruction teams that combine military, diplomatic and aid elements, and;
Reconstruction, where U.S. military and other government agencies such as the U.S. Agency for International Development partner with nongovernmental aid organizations and international partners to provide expertise in helping Afghanistan rebuild or improve its infrastructure.
The primary threats to Afghan stability include remnant Taliban members, Freakley said, followed by al Qaeda-affiliated and some other terror groups, and criminals engaged in the opium trade.
"The key to this security pillar that we're working is partnership with the Afghan National Army, the Afghan National Police and the Afghan Border Police," Freakley said. The general said his troops routinely fight alongside Afghan troops in anti-terrorist operations.
"We're also partnered with the Office of Security Cooperation, Afghanistan, which has the mission to train the Afghan army and the Afghan police," Freakley said.
The provincial reconstruction teams "are out with the local governors, with the local police force," Freakley said, "working on developmental plans to further the infrastructure and governance internal to each district and province that makes up this country."
Reconstruction efforts seek to build up Afghanistan's "very embryonic" infrastructure, Freakley said, noting that infrastructure improvements produce more security and provide better quality of life for the Afghan people.
NATO's International Security Assistance Force has led security and reconstruction efforts in the northern and western regions of Afghanistan, Freakley said. This fall, U.S. forces in eastern Afghanistan will come under the command and control of NATO's ISAF, he said.
"And, this is a great opportunity for all of us, in that NATO will take the responsibility for all of Afghanistan for security, reconstruction and helping with governance," Freakley said.
"We think that it's a logical and constructive step in the growth of the international community's assistance to Afghanistan," the general said.
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AFN makes a promise: No more early ends to NCAA coverage
By Leo Shane III - Stars and Stripes European edition
Saturday, March 18, 2006
WASHINGTON — Did you catch the end of the Marquette-Alabama game last night? Neither did the rest of the American Forces Network viewers.
With 4:44 left in the opening round NCAA basketball tournament game Thursday, Marquette went on a 7-0 run to close the gap to 81-77. But instead of the late scoring run, AFN viewers saw “Pardon the Interruption” on AFN Sports, and “The Hot List” on AFN Xtra, as the network cut away from the live action.
Officials promise it won’t happen again.
“We’re telling our operators now that if CBS is still showing games, don’t switch over,” said Mary Carnes, spokeswoman for the American Forces Network Broadcast Center. “In the future, during live coverage, AFN will stay with CBS as long as they are in tournament coverage.”
The problem Thursday, she said, was due in part to the bomb scare at San Diego State University earlier in the day, which pushed tip-off times for games at Cox Arena back 70 minutes.
Most viewers barely noticed the delay because CBS switched to coverage of other games. But, at 11:30 p.m. Central Europe Time, when CBS primary coverage feed was scheduled to break for several hours, the Marquette-Alabama contest was still a few minutes from completion.
Since the games being aired were considered “bonus coverage” at that point, Carnes said, AFN operators switched over to the regularly scheduled programming. So viewers missed Alabama hanging on for a 90-85 upset.
Carnes said the game — including its final minutes — was rebroadcast Friday morning as part of AFN’s plans to show tape-delayed games at more convenient time slots. The network will continue that second-day coverage through the tournament as well.
But viewers, like those in the United States, still won’t see every match-up; on Thursday, CBS decided to cut away from the Nevada-Montana contest on Thursday after it turned into a blowout.
Those kinds of programming decisions aren’t made by AFN, Carnes said, so video is not available for those games.
On Saturday, the network will show 22 hours of live and taped NCAA coverage on AFN Prime, AFN Sports and AFN Xtra. Live broadcasts resume at 7 p.m. CET.
Stars and Stripes reporter Geoff Ziezulewicz contributed to this story.
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=35822
By Ben Murray and Bryan Mitchell - Stars and Stripes European edition
Saturday, March 18, 2006
RAF MILDENHALL, England — Sigurjon Hafsteinsson is mad. Not to mention worried about his financial future.
Days after the U.S. government announced plans to withdraw its military forces from Iceland, Hafsteinsson is one of nearly 900 locals employed by the American military who wonder about their job prospects.
“What we are mostly concerned about is that it was such a surprise,” Hafsteinsson said. “They said there were going to be ongoing discussions.”
On Thursday, U.S. officials informed Icelandic officials about the plan to withdraw its forces, which make up the only military presence in the country.
The decision affects around 3,000 U.S. military members, dependents and civilian employees at Naval Air Station Keflavik, home to a helicopter rescue squadron, a hospital, various support units and a rotating quartet of fighter jets from England.
The move has left a raft of unanswered questions for both Americans and Icelandic locals who live in, work at or depend on the northern outpost. A lack of official information has only exacerbated the problem.
“Nobody let us know nothing,” Hafsteinsson said. “They are just telling us that they are leaving and that we are going to be unemployed. It’s just not the right way to do it.”
Fridthor Eydal, spokesman for the U.S. military contingent in the country, the Icelandic Defense Force, said no specific decisions have been made on exactly who would go, or when.
Eydal confirmed that “the fighter unit and the helicopter rescue unit will be withdrawn,” before October, but said potential talks between the two governments about the final status of the base have prevented the announcement of specifics.
The fighters that patrol the skies above Iceland are based out of the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, England. Those planes will cease to rotate into Iceland, according to 48th spokeswoman Capt. Beth Horine.
The impact of the drawdown will fall on the more than 700 members of the Air Force’s 85th Group and 540 Navy personnel at NAS Keflavik, plus the nearly 100 U.S. employees and around 1,700 family members.
Eyedal said he did not have a breakdown of how many personnel in some affected units would be moved, such as the 56th Rescue Squadron, home unit of the station’s rescue helicopters.
Those helicopters, since their arrival in the early 1970s, have helped save the lives of about 310 people in the icy waters and rugged terrain around the base, according to Eydal.
The base could not say how many of the 592 local hires or 250 Icelandic contract workers would be retained after the withdrawal, leaving some employees to fear the worst: a total shutdown and across-the-board firings.
“I think it will be a catastrophe,” said Gudbrandur Einarssor, chairman of a Keflavik trade and office workers union with about 120 workers on the U.S. base.
Keflavik, a community of about 11,000 people, can’t accommodate nearly 900 unemployed workers on such short notice, he said.
“It was a complete surprise,” Einarssor said of the American announcement. “We thought that it would be coming, but not this fast.”
Given two years’ notice, the community might have been able to find work for such a large number of people, but six months is not enough, he said.
“They will not have any work when they come back to town,” Einarssor said of his workers.
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