Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48264
Coalition Troops Detain 12 in Iraq Operations
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2007 – Coalition forces detained 12 suspects during operations today targeting al Qaeda in central and northern Iraq.
— Coalition forces captured a wanted individual during operations in Tarmiyah while targeting a foreign terrorist facilitator and associate of senior al Qaeda leaders. They also detained two other suspects without incident.
— Coalition forces captured a wanted individual north of Samarra during operations targeting foreign terrorist facilitators and senior terrorist leader associates. The wanted individual is believed to be an al Qaeda leader in the area.
— Coalition forces detained four suspects while targeting al Qaeda members responsible for assassination-style murders in Hawija. Coalition forces also targeted their associates in Mosul, detaining three suspects without incident.
— Forces detained one suspect in Bayji while further targeting al Qaeda terrorists involved in kidnappings, money extortion and sectarian-related murders.
“We’re continuously attacking al Qaeda in Iraq to bring down the networks responsible for conducting attacks against the Iraqi people,” said Army Col. Donald Bacon, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman.
In other operations today, coalition forces killed two armed men and detained five other suspected criminals during operations in the Khan Bani Said area, north of Baghdad.
The targeted individual reportedly was a significant facilitator and trainer specializing in explosively formed penetrators within “special group” criminal elements in the Khan Bani Said area and Baghdad who have not honored Muqtada al-Sadr’s pledge for a ceasefire. The suspected criminal also reportedly was an associate of several other senior-level criminal element leaders who were involved in attacks on coalition forces.
During the assault on the targeted building, two armed men came out of the building with assault rifles aimed toward coalition forces. The ground force engaged the armed men, killing them in self-defense. During the operation, coalition forces detained five additional suspected criminals without incident.
“We will continue to show restraint towards those who honor Muqtada al-Sadr’s pledge to stop attacks,” said Army Maj. Winfield Danielson, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman. “While Iraqi and coalition forces are making progress against criminals who are not honoring this pledge, their networks remain a dangerous enemy of Iraq that must be removed.”
In operations earlier this week:
— Apache helicopter crews killed three insurgents southeast of Baghdad after an attack on a coalition forces convoy Nov. 27. The attack originated from a house near the road the convoy was on near the Tigris River. The Apaches, from the 3rd Infantry Division, were called to engage the enemy forces in the house. After positive identification of the enemy was made and clearance was given by ground forces, the Apaches attacked the enemy forces at the house with 30 mm cannon and Hellfire missiles, killing three.
— A group of local citizens turned in a weapons cache to a checkpoint in Hawr Rajab, Nov. 27. The cache consisted of seven blasting caps, 13 pressure plates, two fire extinguishers and 28 two-liter bottles filled with homemade explosives.
— Soldiers from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, were conducting a foot patrol near Maderiyah on Nov. 25 when they found an abandoned house with copper wires extending out of a window. This led them to believe the house was rigged with explosives. Iraqi citizens confirmed the house was abandoned. An explosive ordnance disposal team was called, and saw the copper wires were attached to blasting caps on jugs filled with homemade explosives. It was determined that approaching the house to destroy the bombs would be too much of a risk, so the area was cleared, and an Air Force F-16 destroyed the house.
(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48268
“Army Funds Crunch Would Affect Installations Worldwide”
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2007
#
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/11/20071129-6.html
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 29, 2007
“Just the Facts: 2007 War Funding by the Numbers”
“Congress Is Ignoring The Recommendations Of Our Military Commanders By Withholding Funding For Troops In The Field”
White House News
In Focus: Iraq
In Focus: National Security
#
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/11/20071129-31.html
For Immediate Release
November 29, 2007
President Bush Receives Briefings at Department of Defense
Pentagon
Arlington, Virginia
3:59 P.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon. Thanks for coming. I just finished briefings with Secretary Gates, Deputy Secretary England, Admiral Mullen, and the Joint Chiefs. We discussed the long-term needs of our military services and the importance of progressing with modernization.
The men and women of this department, the Department of Defense, are helping to carry out the government’s most important duty: protecting the American people. Every day they confront America’s enemies. Every day they work to stop the spread of dangerous weapons. And every day they guard against those seeking to bring another day of destruction to our shores. The missions of this department are essential to saving American lives. And they are too important to be disrupted, or delayed, or put at risk.
Beginning in February, I submitted detailed funding requests to the United States Congress to fund operations in the war on terror. Our military has waited on these funds for months. The funds include money to carry out combat operations against the enemy in Afghanistan and Iraq. They include money to train the Afghan and Iraqi Security Forces to take on more responsibility for the defense of their countries. They include money for intelligence operations to protect our troops on the battlefield.
Pentagon officials have warned Congress that the continued delay in funding our troops will soon begin to have a damaging impact on the operations of this department. The warning has been laid out for the United States Congress to hear. Recently Secretary Gates sought to clear up any misperception that the department can fund our troops for an indefinite period simply by shifting money around. In fact, Congress limits how much money can be moved from one account to the other. Secretary Gates has already notified Congress that he will transfer money from accounts used to fund other activities of the military services to pay for current operations in Iraq and Afghanistan
— and no more money can be moved. So he has directed the Army and Marine Corps to develop a plan to lay off civilian employees, to terminate contracts, and to prepare our military bases across the country for reduced operations. These are contingency steps that a prudent manager must take.
Secretary Gates and America’s senior military officials have made a reasoned case to Congress for the funds they need to keep the military running. They have carefully explained the need to plan prudently should those funds not be forthcoming. Secretary Gates puts it this way: “The Defense Department is like the world’s biggest supertanker. It cannot turn on a dime and I cannot steer it like a skiff.”
The American people expect us to work together to support our troops. That’s what they want. They do not want the government to create needless uncertainty for those defending our country, and uncertainty for their families. They do not want disputes in Washington to undermine our troops in Iraq just as they’re seeing clear signs of success.
Here in Washington, leaders have a responsibility to send the right message to the rest of the world. Let us tell our enemies that America will do what it takes to defeat them. Let us tell Afghans and Iraqis that we will stand with them as they take the fight to our common enemies. Let us tell our men and women in uniform that we will give them what they need to succeed in their missions — without strings and without delay.
I ask Congress to provide this essential funding to our troops before the members leave on their Christmas vacation. And I thank the members of this department for their hard work, their sacrifice, their courage, and their dedication to peace.
God bless.
END 4:04 P.M. EST