Posted on 01/26/2006 5:34:37 PM PST by Gucho
January 26, 2006
KIRKUK, Iraq -- The discovery of ancient artifacts has created another connection between American Soldiers and the citizens of Iraq. Soldiers of the 451st Civil Affairs Battalion returned a collection of historical items found on Forward Operating Base (FOB) Warrior over the past few months, to the community of Kirkuk, Iraq.
The artifacts may appear to be just broken pieces of formed clay to some, but to Ayad T. Hussein, the Civil Engineer Director of the Kirkuk Museum, they hold great value in the history of the Iraqi culture.
"If we have all the pieces then we can carefully put them back together," commented Hussein. "We can send them to Baghdad to be fixed and further examined."
According to Hussein and his assistant, the most valuable item discovered is a child burial urn of which they believe dates back to 250 B.C. They explained that when children passed away, they would first be cremated and then their ashes would be placed inside the urn as part of a proper burial. Although this tradition is no longer practiced among the Iraqi people, Hussein believes it to be a priceless link to history that can be shared with the present generation of Iraqis.
According to Cpt. Cole Calloway, the Team Chief for the Civil Affairs Team A, the Kirkuk Museum suffered from looting by vandals after the first Gulf War and has not fully recovered yet. There are many display cases that sit empty gathering dust waiting to be filled with historical artifacts for the people of Kirkuk to learn and possibly relate to.
"We are hoping that the artifacts we hand over will help the museum reestablish itself," Calloway commented optimistically. "Iraq is rich in ancient culture, and we are trying to allow the people to appreciate it more."
Calloway, who has a degree in anthropology, volunteered to be the cultural affairs officer upon arrival to Iraq. His background and degree gave Calloway a unique perspective on his deployment to Iraq, making it a learning experience and a chance to give back to his profession.
Callaway says his goal is to hand over every artifact found on the base to the community. But it is not as simple as it sounds. Once the artifacts are discovered they must be taken to the "relics room" under care of the Air Force Legal Office, where each individual piece, regardless of size, is logged to indicate when and where it was found before being put into storage.
The artifacts are then slowly handed over to the Kirkuk Museum, where they will possibly go on display depending on their cultural significance.
Although handing over these pieces of history may only be one step towards restoring the museum, in the end, it is sharing the history of Iraq with all.
"Civilization cannot be built by one person," commented Hussein’s assistant. "But by this we can find a part of the old history of Iraq."
By: Spc. Barbara Ospina - 1st BCT Public Affairs
ADDITIONAL PHOTO:
A Civil Engineer and Director of the Kirkuk Museum, Ayad Hussein, and his assistant examine historical artifacts that were discovered on FOB Warrior. All of the artifacts are in the process of being handed over the museum to display for all Iraqis too see and learn from. (U.S. Army Photo By: Spc. Barbara Ospina, 1st BCT Public Affairs)
Bump! - Thanks for the link Ernest.
January 26, 2006
TIKRIT, Iraq -- Task Force Band of Brothers Soldiers captured three terrorists emplacing an IED near Hawijah Wednesday afternoon.
Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team saw the men drive up to the site and watched one man place the explosive device, comprised of two artillery shells, in a hole alongside the road.
The Soldiers engaged and wounded the man with rifle fire, but he was able to get back into the vehicle. With the help of the Iraqi Police, the unit was able to stop the vehicle before it could escape the area.
The wounded terrorist was taken to a nearby military medical facility.
Source : SSG Joel Peavy - 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) - Public Affairs Office Operations NCO
January 26, 2006
TIKRIT, Iraq -- Task Force Band of Brothers Soldiers detained four men near Samarra Tuesday after finding bomb-making materials in their vehicle.
Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team were patrolling near the village of Al Hwaish, west of Samarra, when they spotted the suspicious vehicle.
The Soldiers stopped the car and a search revealed numerous IED components. The vehicle and the components tested positive for explosives residue.
Indiscriminate terrorist IED attacks in the Samarra area have taken a large toll on the local residents. More than 80% of the attacks in the region have been carried out against innocent Iraqis, with dozens of civilians either killed or injured during the past year.
Source : SSG Joel Peavy - 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) - Public Affairs Office Operations NCO
January 26, 2006
TIKRIT, Iraq -- Three men and two women were detained in Mosul Wednesday in two separate searches.
Task Force Band of Brothers Soldiers from the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team detained two men during a raid on a suspected terrorist house Wednesday morning. The raid uncovered weapons and Al Qaeda propaganda.
Another 172nd SBCT patrol detained a man as he attempted to flee from an Iraqi Army patrol. The Soldiers searched the man’s home and his two sisters’ adjacent home, where they discovered a cache of artillery shells and a propane tank rigged to explode.
The explosives were taken to a nearby field and safely destroyed by an explosive ordnance disposal team.
Source : SSG Joel Peavy - 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) - Public Affairs Office Operations NCO
January 26, 2006
TIKRIT, Iraq -- Iraqi security forces and Task Force Band of Brothers Soldiers detained 51 suspected terrorists during a series of unrelated actions throughout northern Iraq Tuesday.
In the largest action of the day, Iraqi troops from the 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division planned and conducted a large early morning raid Tuesday in three villages outside of Baqubah. The unit detained 19 suspects, including eight known to have strong ties to terrorists in the area. In the Bayji area, Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team continued to make progress against terrorists that have plagued the area. Ten known or suspected terrorists were captured in and around the city.
Tips from Bayji area residents generated a series of searches south of the city early Tuesday morning which led to the capture of four men closely tied to a terrorist ring responsible for committing murders and beheadings in the area. A fifth man was killed after firing a pistol at the Soldiers searching his home.
In another positive development, a local tribal leader brought three suspected members of an IED cell from the Bayji area to a coalition base and turned them in to coalition forces.
Soldiers from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment also had a good day taking terrorists off the streets in Tall Afar and the nearby city of Bi’aj.
Working with Iraqi troops from the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Iraqi Army Division, the unit discovered two caches of weapons and stolen Iraqi Army uniforms and captured 12 suspects.
The troops began their mission working from one tip and with each turn of events, another tip surfaced that carried the Soldiers to two separate caches and 12 individuals.
The citizens of northern Iraq continue to build confidence in the security forces protecting the newly established democracy, as the Iraqi Soldiers grow into a mature, capable force, directly responsible for safeguarding the rights and lives of the people of Iraq.
Source : Master Sgt. Terry Webster - 101st Airborne Division - FOB Speicher, Iraq
SANAA, Jan 26 (KUNA) -- A Yemeni court is to try individuals who recently came from Iraq where they took part in fights in the country, and others received by Yemen from the American Cuba-based Guantanamo prison, said a local legal source on Thursday.
The source told KUNA that those individuals are among 14 persons to be tried for forming an armed group and planning to attack foreign people and facilities in the capital.
The court will also try 20 other individuals next week accused of being members of Al-Qaeda network, the source said.
Among the 20 people is Muhammad Al-Ahdal, also known as Abu Asem Almakki, accused of being responsible for the network's financial affairs in the country.
The authorities had recently completed questioning all 20 people as a preparation for the trail, said the source.
Thank you ("Gucho")
Anything for attention: I stopped photographing and stuck my tongue right back out at this boy; he burst out laughing.
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Thank you :}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}
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Q&A: What the Hamas victory means
Thursday 26, January 2006 - 23:58 Makka Time, 20:58 GMT
Here's a look at what the Hamas victory could mean for Palestinian relations, Middle East peacemaking and Palestinian politics.
Q: How did Hamas pull off this shocking upset?
A: Hamas exploited public discontent with the corruption-tainted Fatah Party, which has dominated Palestinian politics for four decades.
While reiterating its commitment to "resistance" against Israel, Hamas focused its campaign on internal Palestinian issues, promising better public services, honesty in government and an end to lawlessness.
Q: Does Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas have to resign?
A: No. Abbas was elected last year for a four-year term as president of the Palestinian Authority. However, he will now have to work with a cabinet and legislature dominated by Hamas, severely limiting his ability to manoeuvre.
Abbas has said he will resign if he cannot pursue his agenda of pursuing a peace deal with Israel. If Abbas steps down, the Palestinians would have to hold new presidential elections.
Q: Is this the end of the peace process?
A: Hamas, which has carried out dozens of suicide bombings, says it remains committed to its goal of destroying Israel. But it has signalled it would allow Abbas to handle negotiations with Israel while it focuses on its domestic agenda.
A top Hamas leader, Mahmoud Zahar, said on Thursday the group is ready to extend a year-old cease-fire with Israel if Israel reciprocates. Hamas has not carried out a suicide attack since the truce went into effect.
Q: Although Hamas will dominate the legislature, it has said it is ready to share power. What are its options?
A: Hamas could try to rule alone, agree with Fatah on installing an independent prime minister to lead the cabinet, or even allow Fatah to hold senior positions in the cabinet while it focuses on social issues.
Zahar promised broad changes on Thursday to "every aspect" of Palestinian life, including health programmes, education and economic policies. But the group was vague about its plans for dealing with Israel.
Q: Would Fatah agree to become a junior partner in a Hamas-run coalition?
A: The party has not yet made a decision. Senior members said on Thursday they would prefer to remain in the opposition. They say this would give Fatah time to rebuild, and force Hamas to see how difficult it is to lead a government.
Q: Is Israel willing to talk to Hamas?
A: Israel on Thursday ruled out negotiations with any Palestinian government that includes armed anti-Israel groups. Earlier, it said it would not deal with Hamas until it disarmed and renounced its calls for Israel's destruction.
Following Hamas victories in municipal elections in recent months, Israel has been forced to co-ordinate with Hamas-backed mayors on day-to-day issues such as providing water and electricity.
Q: Will Hamas agree to disarm, as required under the US-backed road map peace plan?
A: During the campaign, Hamas officials said they would not disarm. Hamas will have to decide whether to fold its military wing into the national Palestinian security forces or let it remain independent.
Q: What is the future of the Palestinian security forces?
A: Hamas has had tense relations with the Fatah-dominated security forces, which were involved in several crackdowns against Hamas in the past decade.
With the next prime minister likely to be backed by Hamas, the group could soon be running those same forces. Hamas officials have sought to assure members of the security forces that they have nothing to fear.
Q: The US has pushed heavily for democracy in the Middle East. How did it react to the Hamas victory?
A: George Bush, the US president, said elections sometime bring unwelcome results. He said any group with an armed wing that advocates violence against Israel "is a party with which we will not deal".
Q: Will Hamas turn the West Bank and Gaza into an Islamic state?
A: Hamas says it has no plans to create an Iranian-style theocracy or interfere in people's daily lives. Instead, it says it will lead by example, encouraging people to respect Islamic customs like avoiding alcohol and having women dress modestly.
Even if Hamas tries to impose its will, it will be difficult to change major laws. Changing Palestinian "basic laws," widely seen as the basis for a future constitution, require a two-thirds majority in parliament.
These laws are a mixture of Islamic, Egyptian and Jordanian law and local traditions. However, Palestinian secular rights activists fear Hamas will try step by step to chip away at personal freedoms.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/6494B7A8-FCC7-4615-A206-04C76D60D0D4.htm
Thank you ("Gucho")
From correspondents in Bogota, Colombia
January 27, 2006
COLOMBIA arrested 19 members of a passport-forging ring with links to Islamic militant groups Hamas and al-Qaeda that enabled foreign nationals to travel in the US and Europe under false documents, the attorney general's office said.
"Some of the suspects are wanted for extradition by the United States for collaborating with terrorist groups Hamas and al Qaeda," Deputy Attorney General Alberto Otalora said. Three members of Colombia's Administrative Security Department, or DAS, the state intelligence agency, were arrested in the sweep.
An employee of Colombia's National Registry, which provides official identification documents, was also among those arrested.
"This network since 2002 has been dedicated to falsifying documents in order to permit foreign citizens to travel as Colombians through Europe and the United States," a statement issued by the Attorney General's Office said.
Citizens of Pakistan, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt sent information to the ring in Colombia, which used that information to create false Colombian passports, the statement said.
"The foreigners were turned into Colombian citizens without ever coming to Colombia," the statement said.
The investigation started in 2002.
Hamas won a majority of seats in elections on Wednesday for the Palestinian Authority's legislature in a surprising defeat of the ruling Fatah party.
27 Jan 2006
Davos: Leaders of some of the most important Muslim countries in the world have said that Islam and democracy are fully compatible but warned that modernisation should take place within the spirit of their faith.
"Islam's principles are inherently democratic," said Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai at a discussion on the role of Islam in the modern world at the World Economic Forum (WEF) here Thursday.
"They stand for equality, participation and protection. The people in the Muslim world are all seeking participation and we saw people in Afghanistan take their chance: today we have an elected parliament. Muslim societies are for reform and will take it."
Hajim Alhasani, president of the Iraq National Assembly, concurred, going so far as to say that the principles of Islam were better reflected in the current western democracies than in Muslim countries.
"When many Muslim thinkers look West, they find Islam better reflected there. Corruption and terrorism are rife in Muslim countries and we have dictatorships," he said.
He also said that implementing democracy should mean giving more roles to women. "Half of Muslim society is unproductive, because women are imprisoned in their homes."
However, the leaders said modernisation and democratisation should not be confused with Westernisation.
"We have different values and want to keep them, just like the West should keep theirs," said Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.
"Modernisation is bringing quality of life through knowledge and technology. The West should not expect us to Westernise."
The leaders said confusion of the issue was part of the reason that extremists were pursuing their policies of attacks on Western targets, and warned against trying to force through change.
They also sent a clear message to the US: Learn to understand our culture or you will keep making mistakes.
"The US has to understand Iraq in a different way. It is not Afghanistan, Pakistan or Jordan," Alhasani said. "Without that understanding, they will continue to implement policies that don't work, as they have been doing."
Drug haul in secret border tunnel
Mexican and US officials entered the tunnel from opposite ends.
Last Updated: Friday, 27 January 2006 - 11:06 GMT
US border officials have unearthed the longest and deepest tunnel ever gouged under the country's Mexican border.
The tunnel begins near the Mexican city of Tijuana, travels under a heavily fortified stretch of frontier, and is equipped with lights and ventilation.
Hacked out of the earth some 26m (85ft) below ground, the tunnel runs 720m (2,400ft) between two industrial warehouses straddling the border.
Officials discovered about two tons of marijuana while exploring the tunnel.
Of more surprise to immigration and customs officials in the US, who discovered the tunnel's entrance, was the route's sophisticated underground infrastructure.
As well as electric lights and ventilation, the tunnel has a concrete floor, groundwater pumping and a pulley system for winching goods in and out.
Security concern
The tunnel was discovered on Wednesday evening by US agents at a warehouse in the Californian town of Otay.
They alerted Mexican authorities and both sides began exploring the tunnel.
Eventually the source was traced to another warehouse on the outskirts of Tijuana.
"We believe this is the largest tunnel ever found in the south-west border." (Michael Unzueta - US Customs and Immigration)
"It's just huge, absolutely incredible," said Michael Unzueta, a US immigration and customs special agent based in San Diego, California.
"We believe this tunnel is, in fact, the largest tunnel ever found on the south-west border."
"Our quick assumption is it's the drug cartels," he said, adding that those responsible for constructing the tunnel needed access to money and connections in construction and engineering.
However, the size and scope of the tunnel meant it could have been a conduit for other criminals or terrorists, Mr Unzueta added.
"We're very concerned. When we find these tunnels, we see that as a vulnerability to our national security."
Two shorter tunnels were found earlier this month underneath the border, one ending in California and the other in Arizona.
The US and Mexico share a 3,200-km (2,000-mile) border that is major pathway for drugs and illegal immigrants into the US.
Thursday, Jan. 26, 2006 - 11:47 a.m. EST
The former number two official in Saddam Hussein's Iraqi air force claims the former Iraqi dictator moved weapons of mass destruction from Iraq to Syria in the months preceding the current Iraq war.
Georges Sada revealed the charges in an interview Wednesday with the New York Sun. They are detailed in his new book, "Saddam’s Secrets.”
"Saddam realized, this time, the Americans are coming," Sada told the Sun. "They handed over the weapons of mass destruction to the Syrians.”
The former Iraqi general said Special Republican Guard brigades loaded WMDs onto two converted Iraqi Airways planes.
He said he was told of the operation by two pilots that helped transport the materials. Sada says 56 flights were made, and were accompanied by a ground convoy of trucks carrying similar materials.
The Sun reports that the flights attracted scant international attention because they occurred at the same time that Iraq was sending relief to Syria for a dam collapse.
Sada’s claims echoed those made by Moshe Yaalon, Israel’s top general in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Yaalon told the Sun in December that Saddam had "transferred the chemical agents from Iraq to Syria.”
According to the Middle East Quarterly, Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon issued a similar warning in a Dec. 23, 2002 television appearance on Israel’s Channel 2.
"Chemical and biological weapons which Saddam is endeavoring to conceal have been moved from Iraq to Syria,” Sharon said.
Together, their claims challenge the conventional wisdom in the United States and Europe that pre-war intelligence estimates were incorrect in suggesting the mass-murdering Iraqi dictator either possessed or was close to possessing WMD.
Even President Bush has conceded the point, telling Americans in a televised address in December, "It is true that many nations believed that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. But much of the intelligence turned out to be wrong.”
Recent reports by Stephen Hayes of the Weekly Standard have similarly challenged the conventional wisdom on Saddam’s relationships with al-Qaida.
Hayes is calling for the release of approximately 2 million unclassified documents recovered in Iraq from the Hussein regime. He claims the documents could prove Saddam maintained significant contacts with al-Qaida.
Sada’s and Yaalon’s claims will be even more difficult, if not impossible, to prove, but several U.S. Senators will try to get to the bottom of the claims. Sada is scheduled to meet with Senators Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and James Inhofe, R-Okla., next week. Both are members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Related article:
Roger that, Sara!
Gucho, you're Operation Phantom Fury threads are always great, thanks!
You're welcome - Thank you blackie.
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