Free Republic

Poor President Obama, he just can't bring himself to acknowledge the surge worked better than he and other skeptics, thought it would? I just don't understand why Senator Obama is being such a baby about the surge. Why can't he admit the obvious? It worked. Even as recently his Afghanistan speech last week: Today, after extraordinary costs, we are bringing the Iraq war to a responsible end. We will remove our combat brigades from Iraq by the end of next summer, and all of our troops by the end of 2011. That we are doing so is a testament to...

Strategy: Democracy is finally taking hold in the wake of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship. That, not American withdrawal, should be the big story. It's time to acknowledge success and to learn from it. You wouldn't know it from most news coverage, but the Iraq story continues and — get this — it's a story of emerging victory. What else can you call it when a stable democracy, the ultimate goal in America's military intervention, is in sight? With last Sunday's passage of a law that paves the way for the first national elections since 2005, the Iraqi people will soon be...

I've been asked by many to repost this for Veteran's Day. This is what I have so far. Happy Veterans day to vets and active duty military. We love you and are praying for you every day! God Bless You! Photos of my soldier in Iraq, enjoy...... 6-10-05 As many of you know, my daughter is in Iraq. Here's a photo essay detailing some of her activities there. I hope you all enjoy...... My daughter, left, and her Iraqi roommate before they left for Iraq. They are in the same platoon. A convoy... A baby goat... Nora, her 10 year...

Washington, DC (AHN) - The Pentagon has decided not to send about 4,000 troops to Iraq to replace a unit scheduled to leave the country in January. The Defense Department announced that it would not be sending the 3,500-member brigade from Fort Drum, New York because the security situation continues to improve, despite some recently-reported violence. The brigade was from the 10th Mountain Division, which was going to replace a unit from the North Carolina National Guard. The Guard unit is still coming home in January, Lt. Col. Eric Butterbaugh told CNN. Almost 120,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq, while...

WASHINGTON (Oct. 17) -- More than 3,000 U.S. troops scheduled to deploy to Iraq won't go after all, as the military tries to draw down troop levels in the war-torn country, a Pentagon spokesman said Saturday. The 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division will not replace a North Carolina National Guard unit already in Iraq, Lt. Col. Eric Butterbaugh told CNN. The 3,500-troop combat team, based in Fort Drum, New York, was to leave in January, he said. "[The cancellation] reflects a thorough assessment of the security environment in Iraq and continued improvement in the ability of the...

The Taliban have released a clever piece of disinformation today, which clearly is aimed at US policymakers as well as the American public as the Obama administration decides on a new path forward in Afghanistan. In this latest statement, the Taliban are claiming they have no aspirations to be involved in the global jihad. From the Voice of Jihad, the Taliban's official propaganda arm online: We announce to all the world, our aim is obtainment of independence and establishment of an Islamic system. We did not have any agenda to harm other countries including Europe nor we have such agenda...

Lt. Col. Kristan L.K. Hericks (center), CO of the 419th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion "Wolfpack," and her 419th Soldiers successfully completed a 12-month tour at Camp Taji and will be redeploying home to Irvine, Calif, soon. Photo courtesy of the 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary). CAMP TAJI — After a long and often-times grueling year here, the 419th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion (CSSB) "Wolfpack" is on its way home. Over the next few days, the Wolfpack Soldiers will see a Relief in Place/Transfer of Authority ceremony where they officially pass the torch to the 541st CSSB, as well as an awards...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8, 2009 – An Army armored cavalry unit and three brigade combat teams will deploy to Iraq next summer as part of annual troop rotations there, according to a Defense Department news release issued today. Also, an Army headquarters unit and elements of a Marine expeditionary force now in Iraq have been issued deployment extensions, the release said. The number of troops involved in the movement will total about 15,000 servicemembers. The units will replace redeploying units, with no increase in overall force levels. Units identified for deployment are: -- 3rd Infantry Division’s 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team,...

Four-year old Paige didn't want to say goodbye to her daddy before he was shipped off to Iraq. A family photo that shows a little girl beside her father and his fellow soldiers in uniform as they prepare to go to war has resonated well beyond the tight knit Bennethum clan. Four-year-old Paige Bennethum really, really didn't want her daddy to go to Iraq. So much so, that when Army Reservist Staff Sgt. Brett Bennethum lined up in formation at his deployment this July, she couldn't let go. No one had the heart to pull her away. The commanding officer...

<p>Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009 | 3:15 a.m.</p> <p>The U.S. military says a Blackhawk helicopter has crashed inn an American base in Iraq, killing 1 service member and wounding 12 others.</p> <p>The military says the helicopter went down Saturday night at the Balad Air Base, 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Baghdad. It says the cause of the crash is unknown and under investigation.</p>

Apache's 30mm turns four jihadis into a fine red Allah-mist. Note: Sound on for added effect.

ON A blustery August afternoon in Edinburgh last week, the most celebrated military commander of his age was quietly doing the rounds with a group of injured British soldiers in the south of the capital. The commander of US Central Command, General David Petraeus, was talking about his legendary running exploits. Ten years ago, he fractured his pelvis after falling 60ft to the ground when, at the end of a skydiving jump, his parachute collapsed. At the newly opened Army Recovery Centre in Edinburgh, funded partly by the Homes for Heroes campaign, Petraeus was attempting to encourage a soldier who,...

Rushing out of a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, Iraqi Soldiers hit the ground and take up security positions during a training exercise in Baghdad, Aug. 18. Photo by Sgt. Travis Zielinski, 1st Cavalry Division. BAGHDAD — American servicemembers here continue to train the Iraqi Army (IA) using the same methods available to U.S. military forces. Starting off with the basic steps and procedures, a crawl, walk then run approach helps the Iraqis attain professional military standards. The 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, teamed up with 150th Armed Reconnaissance Squadron, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team,...

US troops now a 'coalition of one' in Iraq By CHELSEA J. CARTER, Associated Press Writer Saturday, August 1, 2009 The war in Iraq was truly an American-only effort Saturday after Britain and Australia, the last of its international partners, pulled out. Little attention was paid in Iraq to what effectively ended the so-called coalition of the willing, with the U.S. — as the leader of Multi-National Force, Iraq — letting the withdrawals pass without any public demonstration. The quiet end of the coalition was a departure from its creation, which saw then-U.S. President George W. Bush court countries for...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Eight years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq. About 4,000 members of the U.S. military killed in action. More than 34,000 wounded. Just six considered worthy of America's highest military award for battlefield valor. For some veterans and members of Congress, that last number doesn't add up. They question how so few Medals of Honor—all awarded posthumously—could be bestowed for wars of such magnitude and duration. Pentagon officials say the nature of war has changed. Laser-guided missiles destroy enemy positions without putting soldiers in harm's way. Insurgents deploy roadside bombs rather than engage in firefights they're certain...

BAGHDAD — Britain says it will withdraw its remaining forces in Iraq to Kuwait, after the Iraqi parliament failed to pass a deal allowing the British troops to stay beyond the end of the month. The deal would have let up to 100 British troop stay in Iraq to protect oil platforms and provide training in the south of the country. The rest of the British forces are withdrawing under a separate agreement. British Embassy spokesman Jawwad Syed said Tuesday it's a procedural delay and that the remaining British forces will pull back to Kuwait until the issue is resolved....

WASHINGTON, July 20, 2009 – U.S. forces made headway in an investigation of a rocket attack on a base in Iraq, and Iraqi-led forces detained suspected terrorists and seized weapons in recent operations in Iraq, military officials reported. U.S. soldiers pursued criminals suspected of launching a rocket attack against Contingency Operating Base Basra on July 16 that resulted in the deaths of three Multinational Division South soldiers. Following the attack, U.S. troops were flown by helicopter to the suspected launch location, northeast of Basra Airport, where the soldiers were met by 14th Iraqi Army Division soldiers. A U.S. patrol pursued...

A missile strike in Iraq Thursday killed three Minnesota soldiers, all members of the National Guard's 34th Red Bull Infantry Division, family and friends said Friday. One of those killed near Basra was Carlos Wilcox, 27, of Cottage Grove, whose mother said her son asked her to mail him books so he could study for a medical school entrance exam when he got home. "He knew that God had called him to be a soldier and a doctor," said Charlene Wilcox. Dan Drevnick, 22, a graduate of Woodbury High School, was also killed in the attack. The third soldier, James...

The news is not that American combat troops withdrew from Iraqi cities. The news is that American combat troops withdrew from Iraqi cities in victory — rather than in defeat. Two years ago at this time, few in the foreign-policy establishment considered that outcome possible. Some did not even see it as desirable. There were those who believed that the conflict in Iraq was “unwinnable,” that America had met its match on the hot and dusty streets of 21st-century Mesopotamia. Others thought Americans needed a Vietnam-like refresher course about the futility of the use of U.S. military force anywhere in...

HILLAH, Iraq, June 30, 2009 – Soldiers with the 172nd Infantry Brigade are helping documentarians, historians and preservationists as they work to ensure that ancient Iraqi history is preserved and documented in Babil province. Army 1st Lt. Bryan Kelso stands watch outside a deserted palace built under Saddam Hussein at the Babylon ruins, June 21, 2009. Saddam ordered the construction of the palace on a manmade hill overlooking the ancient city of Babylon, where many projects are under way to enhance tourism in the area. U.S. Army photo by Maj. Mike Feeney  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The brigade...