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Baghdad's Highway of Death 'now safe' By Oliver Poole in Baghdad (Filed: 10/12/2005) The US military says it has secured the road linking Baghdad airport to the city - two and a half years after American troops first entered the capital. Attacks on the five-mile route have dropped from 142 between April and June to fewer than a dozen last month. The road had been a glaring symbol of the US failure to control Iraq. It became known as the Highway of Death since the journey meant risking shootings, suicide car bombs and booby traps. In April, 13 people were...

Easy Sailing Along Once-Perilous Road To Baghdad Airport Army Steps Up Presence to Quell Attacks

BAGHDAD, D.C., Iraq, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- The Baghdad Airport road -- "Route Irish" in U.S. military parlance -- looms large in Western consciousness as one of the most perilous in Iraq. But there hasn't been a car bomb in three months, and the number of smaller, roadside bombs is significantly down as well. Starting in July, Iraqi special police have set up checkpoints at all the feeders on the road, and American forces have been running aggressive patrols and fencing off areas that are habitually used as attack platforms. But rather than trying just to protect the road itself,...

Basrah - After almost 20 years of sporadic flying and finally being grounded, the first Iraqi Airways flight landed at Basrah International Airport June 4 with the help of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region South. The Corps’ goal is to give the Iraqis a functioning civil aviation airport that will allow planes with passengers to land and take off, both domestically and internationally, according to Robert Vanoer, resident engineer for the Basrah Resident Office, Gulf Region District South (GRS).

Jan. 28, 2005, 12:37AM Southwest pulling out of Bush Airport Carrier says it will focus its growth at Hobby By BILL HENSEL JR. Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Southwest Airlines is pulling out of Bush Intercontinental Airport on April 2, citing continued losses at Houston's biggest airport. The nation's low-fare leader is discontinuing six flights at Bush, where it originally began service in 1971. Dallas-based Southwest said it will contact travelers already holding reservations for later travel dates and will accommodate them with flights out of Hobby Airport. After an eight-year absence in the '70s, the carrier has continuously served Bush...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) 12.9.04, 8:10a -- Senator Dianne Feinstein is describing a harrowing experience during her visit to Iraq last week. Feinstein told KCBS radio during take-off from Baghdad, the C-130 military transport plane she was a passenger on was forced to take evasive action because of a what may have been a missile attack. The senator told the station that shortly after take-off, she could see light flashing through portholes on the side. The pilot then began taking what Feinstein described as -- "extraordinary evasive action." Feinstein says once the plane landed the pilot explained to her that there...

...after a week of closure under emergency rule, Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said on Sunday. BAGHDAD, Nov 14, Baghdad international airport will reopen on Monday after a week of closure under emergency rule, Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said on Sunday. "Civil aviation and civilian aircraft will be received in Baghdad airport starting tomorrow," Allawi told Reuters Television. --SPA 2107 Local Time 1807 GMT NNNN

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Iraq's international airport in Baghdad will remain closed for commercial flights until further notice, the office of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said. Allawi on Monday decided to shut the airport for 48 hours after he declared a state of emergency in a desperate bid to curb unrest engulfing the country. On Wednesday, he extended the closure for another 24 hours. Attacks against symbols of the US-backed government and security forces have spiked since US and Iraqi forces invaded the rebel epicentre of Fallujah on Monday in a bid to regain control. Curfews have also been imposed on...

More than 100,000 demonstrators marched past a heavily fortified Republican convention hall on Sunday, chanting denunciations of the administration and the war in Iraq (news - web sites) as delegates flocked to the city to nominate President Bush (news - web sites) for four more years in the White House.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The second-in-command at the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs is recusing herself from Indian gambling and recognition decisions so she can resign and join the private sector - just four months after the head of the department also recused himself from those issues. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Aurene Martin will resign effective Sept. 10, Interior Department spokesman Dan DuBray said Tuesday. Effective immediately, responsibility for tribal gambling and recognition decisions is being given to Mike Olsen, currently the counselor to the assistant secretary. Olsen will become the third official in less than a year...

AN American passenger fatally wounded aboard an Australian RAAF C-130 Hercules in Baghdad was hit by the only bullet to penetrate the aircraft, the Australian Defence Force said today. Casualty ... the C-130 was hit by ground fire about 11pm (AEST), 5pm Baghdad time. Defence spokesman Brigadier Mike Hannan said the aircraft was struck by ground fire soon after it took off from Baghdad airport yesterday. Brigadier Hannan said the aircraft usually carried a crew of four or five Australians comprising two pilots, an engineer and two loadmasters. Three US passengers were being flown out of Baghdad as part of...

Transport aircraft attacked By Chris Tomlinson in Baghdad June 28, 2004 A US Air Force C-130 transport plane was hit by small arms fire after taking off today from Baghdad International Airport, resulting in an unknown number of wounded, US officials said. The aircraft took off at about 5:30pm (local time) and was hit about 22km west of the airport, the officials said on condition of anonymity. The aircraft returned to Baghdad airport and landed safely. Ambulances transported the wounded to hospital. Pilots have in the past reported ground fire near the airport. On January 8, a C-5 transport plane...

Smith says tribal land swap requires 'leap of faith' (Washington-AP) -- Senator Gordon Smith says a plan to return federal land to one of Oregon's poorest Indian tribes requires a leap of faith. But the Oregon Republican says there could be payoffs. Smith wants to transfer nearly 63,000 acres of the Siuslaw National Forest near Florence to the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs. That land would be held for the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians. Smith says recent land swaps have helped Oregon tribes recover economically and culturally. But Smith's plan is drawing criticism from...

Jobs for Indians - American Indians Posted: March 16, 2004 - 10:03am EST Indians are taking jobs from Americans!" That’s the latest outburst of hysteria in U.S. politics, and it’s bound to be a big issue in this year’s presidential election. But for once it’s not about us. The Indians here are India Indians, dwellers on the south Asian subcontinent in the world’s largest democracy. By the wonders of modern telecommunications, large U.S. corporations are finding it cheaper to route help-line calls to answering rooms on the outskirts of Bombay or other centers of that country’s computer boom. Someone...

Tribal leaders call on Congress to deny BIA funds Part one Posted: March 12, 2004 - 10:00am EST by: Jerry Reynolds / Washington D.C. correspondent / Indian Country Today WASHINGTON - Tribal leaders expressed unanimous disapproval of the ongoing BIA reorganization at a Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing March 10. Witnesses from throughout Indian country followed a "starve the beast" strategy of arguing against congressional appropriations for President Bush’s overhaul of the troubled bureau, which is at an advanced stage operationally and politically. "Congress cannot allow this budget to stand," said Tex Hall, president of the National Congress...

Six or seven blasts hit Baghdad's main airport just hours before Iraqi leaders were due to sign an interim constitution, but there were no reports of casualties, a US army spokesman said. "I can confirm that there were six to seven impacts in the northern part of Baghdad International Airport at between 10:00 am and 10:15 am (0700-0715 GMT)," the spokesman said. He was unable to say what explosive devices had caused the blasts at the airport, where the US Army is based, and said an investigation was underway. "There are no reports of damage or injuries at this time,"...

Meetings with military and civilian officials and visits with U.S. troops and Iraqi security forces in Baghdad Feb. 23 marked Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's fourth visit to Iraq since the country's liberation. The day was to have culminated with the secretary having dinner with troops at the Baghdad International Airport dining facility. But when he was inundated with requests from soldiers and airmen to allow a friend to take their picture with him, Rumsfeld spent most of the visit doing just that. Hundreds of troops lined up along the long wall of the building, patiently waiting their turn, and...

PLYMOUTH – A once-tiny, nearly destitute American Indian tribe is pushing hard to build a $100 million casino – but it's not traditional tribal members gunning for riches. Hundreds of people have been newly added to the Ione Band of Miwok Indians' membership rolls, which were opened up by regional Bureau of Indian Affairs officials. Among the new members are several BIA employees and dozens of their relatives. Four congressmen have called for an investigation, though federal officials have so far declined to intervene. Rep. Nick Rahall, ranking Democrat on the House Resources Committee, called the BIA's move an apparent...

Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz Availability at Baghdad International Airport This is my third trip to Baghdad in the nine months since the liberation of Baghdad. It’s exciting to be back here. It always is. I’m looking forward to three things. Number one is to visit with our commanders and troops and get a sense of what they see is the situation on the ground. I always learn an enormous amount from them. I also learn about things we can help back in Washington . Right now, I think you know we are engaged in a major movement. Essentially we’re moving a...

Volunteers take weight off staff   BAGHDAD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Iraq -- Chief Master Sgt. Barry Deal talks with Army Spc. Samuel Tolley at the Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility here. Specialist Tolley suffered a staff infection in his foot. Volunteers help the CASF staff and comfort patients. Chief Deal is assigned to the 447th Expeditionary Communications Squadron and Specialist Tolley is assigned to the 394th Quartermaster Battalian. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Lisa Zunzanyika) View Larger Download HiRes by Capt. Carrie Clear447th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs1/30/2004 - BAGHDAD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Iraq (AFPN) -- Aside from the occasional mortar attack, people at...