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http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Mar2006/20060310_4446.html
U.S., Iraqi Troops Score Successes
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 10, 2006 – Iraqi and U.S. soldiers found and destroy 26 roadside bombs and 17 weapons caches and killed and captured suspected insurgents in several operations in Iraq in recent days.
U.S. soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, captured three suspected terrorists in New Baghdad, after soldiers found possible bomb-making materials during a traffic stop and search early March 10.
Responding to a tip, Iraqi soldiers from 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, found a roadside bomb March 9 Baghdad's Adhamiyah district. An Iraqi police explosive ordnance disposal team disarmed the bomb.
Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, responded to a rocket-propelled-grenade attack south of Baghdad March 9. The soldiers detained three suspected terrorists who had batteries, wire and detonation cord in their possession.
U.S. soldiers from Multinational Division Baghdad's 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Iraqi troops from the 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, on a joint patrol southwest of Baghdad found two weapons caches March 9. The first cache consisted of 94 60 mm fused mortar rounds and 300 pounds of explosives. The second cache contained seven 60 mm mortar rounds, one 120 mm mortar round, and a 14-inch-long missile with tripod. An explosive ordnance disposal team performed a controlled detonation to eliminate the threat.
Members of 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division defeated the enemy and captured two suspects after the unit was attacked by small-arms fire at a checkpoint at about 10 p.m. March 8 in Baghdad's Adhamiyah district.
In other news, soldiers from the 6th and 9th Iraqi Army Divisions, supported by Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers, conducted one of the largest operations of the past six months to gain control of a terrorist stronghold in that area, officials said.
"Operation Glory Light" was designed to deny terrorists sanctuary and preempt enemy attacks in the Baghdad area. The week-long operation was launched March 2 with a joint air assault by U.S. and Iraqi troops into the Sadr-Yusufiyah area by soldiers of 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, and 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division soldiers.
Following the air assault, the soldiers were attacked by indirect and small arms fire. They also discovered a roadside bomb. Soldiers from the 6th and 9th Iraqi Army Divisions then moved into position to clear, search and secure roads and houses in the town. March 5-6, the 9th uncovered nine weapons caches, consisting of 131 mortar rounds, nine 50 mm mortars, 17 rockets, two rocket-propelled-grenade launchers, six AK-47 rifles, two BKC machine guns, and a large amount of bomb-making materials.
In total, U.S. and Iraqi soldiers found 26 roadside bombs, two car bombs and 15 weapons caches. The operation also involved seven firefights with the enemy resulting in the detention of 16 suspected terrorists, two terrorists killed and one wounded, officials said.
(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq news releases.)
ON THE NET...
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/03/20060310-2.html
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 10, 2006
"President Addresses National Newspaper Association Conference"
Wyndham Washington Hotel
Washington, D.C.
9:45 P.M. EST
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ON THE NET...
Note: The following text is a quote:
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http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Mar2006/20060310_4450.html
Bush: Al Qaeda Still Biggest Threat Facing United States Today
By Kathleen T. Rhem
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 10, 2006 – Al Qaeda is still the biggest short-term threat facing the United States, President Bush said here today, adding that North Korea and Iran pose equal security threats to the U.S.
President Bush addresses the National Newspaper Association's Government Affairs Conference in Washington, March 10. Photo by Eric Draper
"They would like to attack us again," Bush said of al Qaeda at the National Newspaper Association's Government Affairs Conference. "I think about al Qaeda and their potential to attack all the time."
The president also recalled his "axis of evil" remark in his 2002 State of the Union Address, in which he said North Korea, Iraq and Iran were threats to the United States. "I did that because I'm concerned about totalitarian governments that are not transparent, that have stated their intentions to develop nuclear weapons," he said of the speech.
The U.S. invaded Iraq the following year, deposing dictator Saddam Hussein. Today Bush said the remaining two countries in the axis of evil, Iran and North Korea, are roughly equal in terms of the security threat they pose. "Any time there's a nontransparent regime without a free press to hold people to account, it creates unpredictability in the world," he said.
Bush noted Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadi-Nejad has announced his desire to see Israel, a close U.S. ally, destroyed. "So when you start listening to what he has said (and consider) their desire to develop a nuclear weapon, then you begin to see an issue of grave national security concern," Bush said.
Great Britain, France, Germany and Russia stand together with the U.S. in concern over Iran's nuclear ambitions, the president said. "We want the Iranians to hear loud and clear that the world is speaking with one voice when it comes to their capacity to develop a nuclear weapon," he said.
Alliance building is critical in dealing with the nuclear threat posed by North Korea as well, Bush said, noting that China, South Korea, Japan and Russia are now involved in the international effort to engage North Korea through so-called Six-Party talks.
Wherever threats may come, Bush said the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, taught the United States several valuable lessons in dealing with them.
"I understand that this is a different kind of war, and there are some in our country that may not believe there is a global war on terror," he said. "They may believe (Sept. 11) is an isolated incident.
"I don't," he added. "I know we're at war with a jihadist movement that has got strategies and tactics to back up those strategies."
Because of this, Bush said, the United States cannot take its security for granted. "We must remain on the offense, and we are," he said. "We're dismantling al Qaeda. It takes time. But whoever is the president of the United States after me must always keep the pressure on al Qaeda."
Secondly, the president said, the United States cannot allow terrorists to find safe haven. "They found safe haven in Afghanistan where they could plot and plan and attack," he said. "And therefore, it's very important for the United States to deny safe haven."
Finally, Bush said, Americans must take potential threats seriously and not allow them to fully materialize. "The first choice of any president ought to be to deal with issues diplomatically, and we dealt with the issue of Iraq diplomatically, (U.N.) Security Council resolution after Security Council resolution after Security Council resolution," he said.
The world gave Saddam a choice to disarm or face consequences with Security Council Resolution 1441, Bush said. "Saddam Hussein chose otherwise. He was removed from power," he said. "And there's no doubt in my mind that the United States is more secure and the world is better off without Saddam Hussein in power."
Terrorists know they can't defeat the United States militarily, but they're still dangerous, Bush said. "They do not have an ideology that is appealing to people, but they do have the capacity to kill innocent life, and they're willing to do so all attempting to shake our will and cause us to leave the Middle East, so they can find safe haven from which to launch attacks," he said.
"That is what they have said, and as your president, it is important for me to see the world the way it is -- the realities of the world, not the way some would hope it would be."
Related Site:
Transcript of the President's Address