Mon Aug 21, 12:31 PM ET - US President George W. Bush, seen here, has said he was worried that Iraq might slip into civil war but forcefully rejected calls for an immediate US withdrawal, saying that would be a "disaster." (AFP/Paul J. Richards)
Posted on 08/21/2006 4:14:52 PM PDT by Gucho
A BIG FINGER BUMP to this thread Gucho.
President Bush is impressive when he's angry.
By JUSTIN M. NORTON - The Associated Press
Monday, August 21, 2006
SAN FRANCISCO — Photographer Joe Rosenthal, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his immortal image of six World War II servicemen raising an American flag over battle-scarred Iwo Jima, died Sunday. He was 94.
Mr. Rosenthal died of natural causes at an assisted-living facility in the San Francisco suburb of Novato, said his daughter, Anne Rosenthal.
"He was a good and honest man; he had real integrity," Anne Rosenthal said.
His photo, taken for The Associated Press on Feb. 23, 1945, became the model for the Iwo Jima Memorial near Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. The memorial, dedicated in 1954 and known officially as the Marine Corps War Memorial, commemorates the Marines who died taking the Pacific island in World War II.
The photo was listed in 1999 at No. 68 on a New York University survey of 100 examples of the best journalism of the century.
The photo actually shows the second raising of the flag that day on Mount Suribachi on the Japanese island. The first flag had been deemed too small.
"What I see behind the photo is what it took to get up to those heights — the kind of devotion to their country that those young men had, and the sacrifices they made," Mr. Rosenthal once said. "I take some gratification in being a little part of what the U.S. stands for."
The small island of Iwo Jima was a strategic piece of land 750 miles south of Tokyo, and the United States wanted it to support long-range B-29 bombers and a possible invasion of Japan.
On Feb. 19, 1945, 30,000 Marines landed on the southeast coast. Mount Suribachi, at 546 feet the highest point on the island, took four days for the troops to scale.
Ten years after the flag-raising, Mr. Rosenthal wrote that he almost didn't go up to the summit when he learned that a flag had already been raised.
He decided to up anyway, and found servicemen preparing to put up the second, larger flag.
"Out of the corner of my eye, I had seen the men start the flag up. I swung my camera and shot the scene. That is how the picture was taken, and when you take a picture like that, you don't come away saying you got a great shot. You don't know."
In a file photo U.S. Marines of the 28th Regiment of the Fifth Division raise the American flag atop Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima, on Feb. 23, 1945. Joe Rosenthal, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his immortal image of six World War II servicemen raising an American flag over battle-scarred Iwo Jima, died Sunday. He was 94. (AP Photo/Joe Rosenthal)
Mon Aug 21, 3:27 AM ET - In a file photo Joe Rosenthal, left, AP photographer with the wartime pool, takes time out to rest, March 2, 1945, with Bob Campbell, a Marine from San Francisco, in front of a large Japanese gun knocked out by Marines at the base of Mt. Suribachi. Rosenthal scaled the mountain to make the picture of the U.S. flag being raised there. Rosenthal, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his immortal image of six World War II servicemen raising an American flag over battle-scarred Iwo Jima, died Sunday. He was 94. (AP Photo)
Mon Aug 21, 5:33 AM ET - In a file photo with the Iwo Jima Memorial in the background, Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Joe Rosenthal poses for photographers Wednesday, June 28, 1995 in Arlington, Va., during a ceremony honoring photographers who lost their lives covering military conflicts around the world. Rosenthal won a Pulitzer Prize for making the photo that the Iwo Jima Memorial is modeled after. Rosenthal died Sunday, Aug. 20, 2006. He was 94. (AP Photo/Doug Mills)
Mon Aug 21, 3:18 AM ET - In a file photo Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Joe Rosenthal smiles Wednesday, Oct. 16, 1996 while autographing copies of his famous Associated Press photo at the AP NewsPhoto Library in New York. . Rosenthal, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his immortal image of six World War II servicemen raising an American flag over battle-scarred Iwo Jima, died Sunday. He was 94. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
By U.S. Army Spc. Michael Pfaff
TIKRIT, Iraq, Aug. 21, 2006 — Chief of Staff of the Army, Gen. Peter Schoomaker visited troops at Contingency Operating Base Speicher, Iraq, Aug. 16.
Schoomaker met with troops during several reenlistment, award, and "coin" ceremonies, in which Schoomaker personally swore in the reenlisting troops, honored soldiers receiving awards by personally pinning the awards and handing out his coin to soldiers nominated for outstanding performance.
He also gave a speech to the soldiers, many of whom are assigned or attached to the 101st Airborne Division, Task Force Band of Brothers, which is nearing the end of their deployment.
Of the many soldiers awarded for their outstanding performance, Spc. Rebecca Macintyre, a motor transportation operator with the 96th Aviation Support Battalion, 101st Airborne Division, and a Houston, Texas, native had a chance to speak with Schoomaker.
Macintyre’s vehicle was hit with an improvised explosive device on Mother’s Day of this year. The explosion injured her and she was recognized with a Purple Heart and Combat Action Badge.
Among a handful of other Purple Heart recipients, Schoomaker pinned the awards on her during a ceremony and also recognized her actions with his coin.
Macintyre, seemingly overwhelmed with emotion, reflected on the ceremony by praising Schoomaker for making the trip to visit with the troops.
"It was an honor to have him give me the award," she said. "It is an incredible morale booster. We’re going home in a couple weeks, but it still affects us a lot."
Schoomaker also took time to swear in several soldiers that were reenlisting, many of them on their second or third tour to Iraq.
During his speech, Schoomaker made a point of recognizing the amount of soldiers with multiple deployments by asking all of them to raise their hands. He emphasized the importance of the soldiers sacrificing for the cause.
Besides the Purple Heart and Combat Action Badge recipients, a large number of the troops Schoomaker visited were awarded a personalized coin with Schoomaker’s name and the Army values inscribed on it.
While not as significant as a Purple Heart or Combat Action Badge, the coins are a way to reward troops for excellent performance during the deployment.
Despite the strict time constraints, Schoomaker made it to three different ceremonies and took time to speak with each of the soldiers he awarded.
"He was interested in the soldiers and why they were getting the awards," Macintyre explained. "He puts on his pants one leg at a time just like the rest of us, but he’s an important man who doesn’t have to take the time to do this for us."
Most of the troops under the 101st Airborne Division, Task Force Band of Brothers are winding down toward the end of their tour.
During each of the ceremonies, Schoomaker ended by urging the troops to not give up the fight and to "sprint through the finish line."
U.S. Marine tankers and mechanics rest aboard their M1A1 Main Battle Tank following a 12-hour workday at Al Qa’im, Iraq, Aug. 5, 2006. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Antonio Rosas)
Story and photos by Army Sgt. Kevin McSwain - 210th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
Sunday, 20 August 2006
BAQOUBA — Iraqi police now have more protection thanks to the recent donation of 2,000 protective vests by a U.S. nonprofit.
The vests, presented during an Aug. 15 ceremony in Baqouba, were shipped overseas free of charge and delivered by the U.S. Army to the Iraqi National Police.
One e-mail between an Army officer deployed in Iraq and the nonprofit group Brotherhood of the Badge paved the way for the donation.
“When I received my mobilization order, I had a 5-month-old baby and a 3-year-old and I promised them that I wasn’t going to come to Iraq a just do my time … I was going to make a difference,” said Lt. Col. Jodee Kautzman, 40th Corps Support Group intelligence and operations officer.
She got the ball rolling with a message to Brotherhood of the Badge founder Mike Harris.
The three-year old organization based in California collects used police gear from across the United States and sends it to Iraq to help the national police force.
“My husband worked with Mike Harris when he was in Baqouba during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003,” Kautzman said. “Brotherhood of the Badge shipped used police equipment to his military police unit.”
The goodwill gesture did not come without obstacles.
Lt. Col. Jodee Kautzman thanks the pilot that flew the aircraft which delivered the vest to Balad, Iraq.
Kautzman noted that while transporting the gear by sea was free, it also took months. Sending the donations space-available on boats served to stagger shipments and often left equipment sitting on docks.
“It was like reinventing the wheel since 2004 … by the time the equipment arrives, the original point of contact is gone,” Kautzman said. “I am trying to forge an enduring path for shipment of donated equipment.”
Seeking help, Harris called his congressman, California Rep. George Radanovich, who made some calls to DHL asking for assistance with the shipping.
DHL paid the overseas shipping to Balad, and allowed the Brotherhood of the Badge to pay only $6,000 of the $197,000 charge to ship the equipment to New York.
“The donation from DHL made this delivery possible,” Kautzman said. “The Brotherhood of the Badge had already purchased the vests, which were worth approximately $2.5 million, and did not want to waste money they could use to purchase more equipment.”
On Aug. 15, Kautzman traveled to Forward Operating Base Warhorse to witness the presentation of the vests to Iraqi police officers in Baqouba.
“This donation will help in their fight against terrorists,” said Lt. Col. William Benson, who works with the Iraqi police as part of a 4th Infantry Division police transition team.
Gen. Ghassan A Al-Bawy, Iraqi chief of police for Diyala province, said that with the arrival of the vests his officers will be able to better train.
“We have over 10,000 officers,” Al-Bawy said. “We will make sure the new vests are inventoried and distributed to the officers that need them the most.”
Along with the military training, the Iraqi police are mentored by a group of privately contracted U.S. police officers.
According to someone who has been in the Iraqis’ position, U.S. police officer Derek France, “As fellow police officers, we want to give them the best training and equipment possible.”
Aug 21, 2006
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, right, talks to Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier during a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Aug. 21, 2006. Steinmeier said Sunday the international community should not forget about Afghanistan's plight as the crisis in Lebanon garners much of the world's attention. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Iraqi Forces Capture Key Insurgent Leaders, Rescue Kidnap Victims
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 21, 2006 – Iraqi forces captured two key insurgent leaders in Baghdad yesterday and rescued five kidnap victims in separate operations Aug. 18 and 19 in different areas of Iraq, U.S. military officials reported.
Iraqi army forces conducted simultaneous, precision raids on three objectives in southern Baghdad yesterday, capturing two key insurgent leaders as part of Operation Together Forward.
As coalition advisers supported, Iraqi forces captured these two insurgents without incident at a residence in the Rasheed district. Both men exercise control over all death squad activity in the Dora, Sahha and Abu D’Shair districts in Baghdad, officials said. One of these individuals also allegedly controls a Baghdad “husainiyah,” or Shiite religious center, where he tortures and kills Iraqi citizens.
Four other suspicious individuals also were detained during this operation.
Elsewhere, soldiers from 5th Battalion, 6th Iraqi Army Division, rescued a kidnapped woman from a house in Karkh at about 4 p.m. Aug. 19.
A woman who claimed she had been kidnapped entered the Iraqi soldiers’ office and led them to a house nearby, where she said another kidnapped woman was inside. The soldiers raided the house and found the other woman and two kidnappers.
Soldiers arrested the kidnappers, and the women were released unharmed.
In another operation, Iraqi army soldiers conducted a raid and rescued a kidnap victim after receiving a tip from a concerned Iraqi citizen that led them to a location in Baghdad’s Adhamiyah neighborhood Aug. 18.
The Iraqi citizen led soldiers from 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, to a house where the victims and a weapons cache were located.
Inside the building they seized two rocket-propelled-grenade launchers, 20 RPG rounds, nine RPG propellant charges, an AK-47, two sniper rifles and 12 hand grenades. Two suspected terrorists were detained in connection with the kidnapping.
In a separate event, Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers rescued three kidnap victims after receiving a tip from an Iraqi citizen southeast of Baghdad Aug. 18.
Soldiers from Company C, 1st Battalion, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, were approached by a young man who informed an interpreter that there were kidnap victims inside a nearby house.
The soldiers moved to the house, where they found three victims tied up, blindfolded and lying on the floor with a kidnapper watching over them. Soldiers entered the house and rescued the victims and detained the kidnapper.
(Compiled from Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)
http://www.defenselink.mil/News/NewsArticle.aspx?id=514
By Gerry J. Gilmore - American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 21, 2006 – Amid national debate about whether or not to stay the course in Iraq, President Bush today firmly placed himself in the “stay” category.
It’s imperative America continues to support the new Iraqi government in its struggle against an insurgency that seeks to divide and topple it, Bush told White House reporters here.
“A failed Iraq would make America less secure,” Bush declared. The end of democracy in Iraq, he said, would provide a haven for terrorists and extremists in the heart of the Middle East.
Bush acknowledged that some Americans are saying it’s time for U.S. forces to leave Iraq. However, a premature troop withdrawal before the job is completed would prove disastrous, he said.
“It would be a huge mistake for this country,” Bush said. And, things would only get worse in Iraq, he added, if U.S. troops depart before the Iraqi government, its armed forces and police are firmly established.
Bush said Iraqi government leaders are “determined to thwart the efforts of the extremists and the radicals and al Qaeda.”
Additionally, “Iraqis want a unified country,” Bush pointed out, downplaying talk of civil war precipitated by sectarian strife.
The U.S. strategy includes assisting the Iraqis to establish democracy, Bush said, and to help them defeat extremists in their country.
“We’re not going to leave before the mission is complete,” the president said.
U.S. commanders have changed tactics, Bush said, since sectarian violence erupted across Iraq after the bombing of a holy mosque in Samarra on Feb. 22, noting more U.S. forces have flowed into Baghdad to confront the escalating violence there.
Bush predicted the Iraqis would succeed in establishing a free society and defeating the extremists.
“And, our job is to help them succeed,” Bush concluded.
Related Sites:
Local leaders, Iraqi Security Forces, U.S. Army soldier meet to discuss stability and security in Baghdad neighborhood.
Soldiers from Multi-National Division – Baghdad, pull security in Ameriyah during a meeting of local leaders, members of the Iraqi Security Forces and MND-B Soldiers. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Rodney Foliente)
By U.S. Army Spc. Rodney Foliente
BAGHDAD, Aug. 21, 2006 — Local leaders, Iraqi Security Forces representatives and Multi-National Division Baghdad soldiers conducted a meeting in Baghdad’s Ameriyah neighborhood as part of Operation Together Forward, an undertaking designed to increase stability and security throughout the city.
In the midst of a cordon and search and tandem civil affairs mission, the elected neighborhood representatives of Ameriyah plus religious leaders, representatives of the Iraqi army and police, soldiers from Company A, 412th Civil Affairs Battalion, and 2nd Brigade Combat Team, shared refreshments and began discussions on how the gathered elements could work together to improve the safety and infrastructure of the neighborhood.
“You are the most powerful people of Ameriyah,” said Col. Robert Scurlock, commander, 2nd Brigade Combat Team.
“We are here to help you. This needs to be an Iraqi solution, with the Iraqi army, Iraqi police and the Iraqi government.
“If there are items we can help you fix, we will,” continued Scurlock. “We need to establish a system that will last.”
He added that they needed to work together to stabilize the area and increase job opportunities, boost the economy and create an environment where the citizens feel safe. “We have to keep the terrorists out. We’d like you to help us devise the plan. We will provide the muscle to put it in place.”
The assembled local Iraqi leaders expressed their agreement and willingness to cooperate.
“You can consider us your right hand,” said the neighborhood advisory council leader through a translator. “We were chosen by the people. We are talking on behalf of the people. What benefits Ameriyah, benefits us. What hurts Ameriyah, hurts us.”
Some of the topics discussed were reopening the neighborhood’s bank, clearing the roads of trash, debris and barriers, providing other essential services to strengthen Ameriyah’s infrastructure and adjusting checkpoints and other security measures to keep terrorists out of the area. The NAC members also offered use of their government building as well as assistance in future operations.
“We exist to help our people,” said an imam through a translator. “We feel very happy and feel safer if we see American and Iraqi Forces in this area.”
U.S. Army Col. Robert Scurlock, commander, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, attached to Multi-National Division – Baghdad, greets a local imam and member of Ameriyah’s neighborhood advisory council during a meeting of local leaders, members of the Iraqi Security Forces and MND-B soldiers.
Another imam described an incident where Iraqi unity proved more important than sectarian division. He explained that, earlier that day, there was a group of Shiite soldiers patrolling an area next to a mosque guarded by local Sunnis.
At first, he continued, both sides were nervous about being so close and “exposed” to each other. The guards, however, brought food and shared a meal with the soldiers; the soldiers followed suit for the next meal.
By sharing food and companionship, both sides parted with a new sense of trust and confidence that they could work together, said the imam.
“The soldiers had very good feedback after leaving Ameriyah,” said an Iraqi army soldier as he nodded his agreement.
That and similar experiences during Operation Together Forward will potentially allow the overall populace of the Sunni neighborhood to trust the predominately Shiite soldiers in the area, said an imam.
Overall, the local citizens were compliant and understanding of the necessity of the searches and agreed that they welcome the sense of security that follows such efforts to root out terrorism.
“We appreciate your help in Ameriyah and the security you bring,” said one of the imams through a translator. “You have our continued cooperation.”
Monday, August 21, 2006
Bomb blast kills three policemen in Afghanistan
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Congrats to Spc. Rebecca Macintyre. She looks pretty hot too, btw.
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