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CAMP AL ASAD, Iraq (July 24, 2006) -- Iraqi Army officers serving alongside Marines on this U.S. military air base in Al Anbar province are learning how to plan their own missions – a critical step to independent operations for Iraqi Security Forces, according to Marine officials here. Iraqi leadership within the 2nd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division – one of two Iraqi brigades based in the province – are learning how to evaluate intelligence, organize information and conduct well-thought mission-planning briefs. “These guys have to be able to communicate … and support their battalions, and provide command and control...

After a day of near quiet, a wave of five Kassam rockets was launched at Israel from northern Gaza Thursday morning. An Arutz Sheva TV was on the scene - live. Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal called on the government to resign in light of its failure to protect the city's residents. Visiting MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union) decried the fact that while Sderot residents are suffering the consequences of the last withdrawal, "Olmert is abroad, declaring that the next withdrawal is a fait accompli." An Arutz Sheva English TV crew was in Sderot filming a live shoot of the hunger...

MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (May 19, 2006) -- What makes a first-term Marine with two combat tours, nearing the end of his four years in the Marine Corps, want to reenlist? This is a question many career planners aboard the Combat Center face daily when dealing with Marines nearing their end of active service date as they tailor both that question and incentives to each Marine. Their mission is to retain these combat veterans and other experienced Marines despite the possibility of deployments and hardships while a conflict overseas continues. Yet they still meet their...

The Capitol's state-budget dance has begun, and the governor hopes that this year it will be a quick two-step. First, resolve the bonds to face voters in November. Then, flush with new money from a strong economy, approve a 2006-2007 spending plan of perhaps $127 billion. Above all, keep the bonds and budget separate. "That's because the budget bill is a leverage point that the Legislature can use against the governor on the bonds. It gives the Legislature control because of the timing," says Bill Leonard, a Republican and former legislative leader who served in both the Assembly and the...

NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba, April 7, 2006 – The military commissions proceedings for suspected terrorist Binyam Ahmed Muhammad began dramatically here yesterday, with the defense team essentially boycotting the proceedings and Muhammad requesting to represent himself. At the start of the proceeding, Muhammad was joined at the defense table only by his detailed defense counsel, Air Force Maj. Yvonne Bradley. Muhammad's two civilian attorneys, Clive Stafford Smith and Joseph Margulies, were in the commissions room but did not sit at the table. Bradley refused to give a reason the civilian attorneys were not at the table and, in fact,...

With new restrictions on political giving, this was supposed to be a challenging year for candidates to round up cash in the race for governor. But with the contest barely under way, some experts already predict that the 2006 campaign will set a record for statewide political spending. Even with first-time caps on donations, the combined $130 million spent by then-Gov. Gray Davis and other candidates for governor in 2002 is almost certain to be eclipsed. Davis' campaign spent a state record $78 million that year, and some say that figure might be toppled, too. "All the factors, all the...

WASHINGTON, March 6, 2006 – Cpl. Jordan S. Pierson, 22, is an unquestionably loyal and determined Marine. Despite the loss of his left leg due to combat injuries sustained in Iraq Dec. 7, Pierson is set upon returning to active duty. As first lady Laura Bush looks on, President Bush hugs Candace Pierson of Auburndale, Fla., after her son, Marine Cpl. Jordan S. Pierson, was presented the Purple Heart for injuries suffered while serving in Iraq. The ceremony took place Dec. 21, 2005, at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. Also in the room are Cpl. Pierson's...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27, 2006 – Iraq's security forces are providing a model of unity for their countrymen, working together to maintain security in the face of sectarian violence, a U.S. spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq told reporters in Baghdad this weekend. Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch called the days following the Feb. 22 bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra a "difficult ... and confusing time" for Iraq, but said officials see no indication that a civil war is imminent. "There have been pockets of violence, but we don't see that as a precursor to civil war," he told reporters...

Despite the forced removal of 10,000 residents, the construction of the Partition Wall and ongoing terror attacks, the number of Jews living in Yesha (Judea and Samaria) increased in 2005. According to figures released by the Peace Now group and confirmed by the Central Bureau of Statistics, 12,000 new residents moved into Judea and Samaria, resulting in a net population growth following the expulsion of close to 10,000 people from communities in Gaza and northern Samaria. The number of Jews living in Judea and Samaria, not counting eastern Jerusalem neighborhoods, is 250,000. The report also says that the natural growth...

Dog Deaths Surpass 100 Despite Toxic Pet Food Recall At least 100 dogs in the United States have been killed in recent weeks by toxic pet food despite a recall of the products, scientists said today.Some 19 brands of Diamond, Country Value and Professional dog foods have been recalled. But many pet owners are not aware of the recall, researchers at Cornell University said Friday.Dogs have refused to eat the food and, in some cases, their owners have enticed them with gravy and other lures without knowing they were killing the animals."Entire kennels have been wiped out, and because of...

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia : The image of the United States in tsunami-hit parts of Asia may have enjoyed a boost thanks to its massive aid donations, but one year on, residents say US policy speaks louder than dollars. The US-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, along with Washington's pro-Israeli stance, have incensed Muslims across the region, and no amount of aid -- even in tsunami-ravaged Indonesia -- has soothed their anger. "I don't like the leader of the American people. I don't mind the people, I just don't like their leader," says Yan, a 35-year-old Acehnese dried fish trader who...

BEIRUT, LEBANON - Tehran and Iranian opposition websites in recent weeks are rife with rumors that the regime is about to replace ultraconservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Such allegations feature claims that the new president was rebuffed when he tried to meet with regime stalwarts, such as the head of the country's wealthiest religious foundation, and when he sought guidance from leading mainstream clerics. Contributing to the speculation on official displeasure with Mr. Ahmadinejad was Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's grant of executive branch oversight powers in October to the Expediency Council, a state agency headed by Ayatollah Ali-Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, who...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31, 2005 – Despite a desperate media battle in Iraq, terrorists are failing to stop Iraqis from advancing on the political and security fronts, a senior military official in Baghdad told reporters Oct. 30. "To the terrorists, the media is a vital force multiplier," said Air Force Brig. Gen. Donald Alston, director of strategic communications for Multinational Force Iraq during a briefing at the Combined Press Information Center in Baghdad. That's why terrorists targeted Baghdad's Palestine Hotel, a base for many media outlets, during an Oct. 24 car bombing, Alston said. He called the bombing a signature al...

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Oct. 26, 2005) -- There are those who might focus on the fact that the Army missed its self-imposed recruiting goals in fiscal year 2005, yet ignore the fact that the total end strength and capabilities of the Army are what matter most. The men and women of the Army clearly derive a great deal of satisfaction from their decision to serve our nation as evidenced by the fact the Army exceeded its re-enlistment goals across the board. “America’s Army remains the pre-eminent land force in the world today,” said Secretary of the Army Francis Harvey....

Clinton vows to fight on, despite defeat of 'Katrina Commission' bill 2 hours, 23 minutes ago WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Senator Hillary Clinton vowed to continue to fight for a "Katrina Commission" probing the federal government's sluggish early response to last month's massive hurricane -- even after the defeat of a bill she authored to create such a panel. "I called for an independent Katrina Commission because it is simply not appropriate for government to investigate itself," said Clinton, whose bill was defeated by a party-line vote of 44 to 54. "If we are truly going to provide the people...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 31, 2005 – Debate about policy decisions and his approval rating as president are not reflections on the value of the service military members are providing every day, President Bush said in San Diego, Calif., Aug. 30. After speaking at a ceremony commemorating the Allied victory over Japan 60 years ago, the president and first lady Laura Bush sat down to an interview with the Pentagon Channel and discussed the importance of support for the troops, regardless of what people may think of his politics. "There's a difference between whether or not people support the decisions I have...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 25, 2005 – Insurgents continued their attempts to derail the democratic process and discredit the Iraqi government this week, a spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq said during a briefing from Baghdad, Iraq, today. "They continue to target the innocent men, women and children of Iraq with horrific acts of violence," Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch said. "Insurgents conducted a complex attack (Aug. 24) against civilians and Iraqi police officers, resulting in the unfortunate death 13 police officers and 27 innocent civilians." Insurgents entered a home in western Iraq, killed the five occupants, and then blew up the home,...

Despite an upsurge in the frequency and severity of terrorist attacks, the IDF is going ahead with plans to transfer control of five key cities in Judea and Samaria to the Palestinian Authority. Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz is scheduled to meet with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in the next few days in order to coordinate the IDF withdrawal. The withdrawal, agreed upon at the Sharon-Abbas summit in Sharm El-Sheik, has been held up due to a terrorist attack on a Tel Aviv night club on February 25, which killed five and wounded 50. The suicide bomber came from Tulkarem, one...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - California's workers' compensation costs are going down, but you wouldn't know it by looking at Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget proposals. They include big increases in the state's own workers' comp costs. The Republican governor's budget predicts the state's cost of dealing with job-related injuries and illnesses among its employees will jump 30 percent over two fiscal years - despite much-touted changes Schwarznegger pushed through the Legislature last April. Jim Zelinski, a spokesman for the State Compensation Insurance Fund, a quasi-governmental agency that administers the state's workers' compensation program, said savings from the 2004 legislation and cost-cutting bills...

He may be under the cloud of an FBI investigation, but incoming state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata is not being at all shy about his feelings regarding Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, his fellow Democrats or his plans for this year's legislative session. We sat down for an interview with Perata on the eve of the Oakland Democrat's ascension to what is often described as the state's second-most- powerful job. Some of the highlights: M&R: One recent poll commissioned by your own caucus showed that Gov. Schwarzenegger's popularity is still at a sky-high 62 percent among voters. Perata: That's right....