Free Republic

Capt. Christopher Ieva comes from a military family. His grandfather won a Bronze Star in World War II and his father served during Vietnam. Throughout his boyhood in Brooklyn, N.Y., and then North Jersey, Ieva wanted to be a Marine. On May 8, Ieva found himself leading a Marine assault in western Iraq. U.S. forces were in the midst of Operation Matador, an effort to clean out the insurgent safe havens in the towns along the Iraqi-Syrian border. Ieva and his men were to help bridge the Euphrates River and attack insurgent strongholds to the north. But as they got...

Jack Kelly: Shooting the new messenger An article about blogger Bill Roggio shows mainstream media running scared Sunday, January 01, 2006 It was the journalistic equivalent of a drive-by shooting. The targets of Washington Post reporters Jonathan Finer and Doug Struck were two of journalism's favorites: Web loggers and the U.S. military.           "Bloggers, Money, Now Weapons in Information War," read the headline over their story, which appeared Monday. "U.S. Recruits Advocates to the Front, Pays Iraqi TV Stations for Coverage," the subhed said. "Retired soldier Bill Roggio was a computer technician living in New Jersey...

AL QA’IM, Iraq (Sept. 20, 2005) -- In February, the Marines and sailors of 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team-2 deployed to the relatively lawless area of Iraq, Al Qa’im, about 20 miles from the Iraqi-Syrian border. Seven months and three major operations later, the Marines and Sailors of Task Force 3/2 celebrated the accomplishments of their deployment and their return home to the United States. Lt. Col. Tim Mundy, the commanding officer of 3/2, explained his battalion’s mission here in Western Iraq. “Our mission was to disrupt and interdict insurgent activity out here in the west. We...

In the wake of the resounding success of Operation Matador, American forces have launched a new offensive Haditha, Iraq. More than 1,000 troops have descended on this city, on the Euphrates River, in the troubled Anbar province. Like Operation Matador, this offensive is aimed at uprooting insurgents who have killed more than 620 people since a new Iraqi government was announced on April 28. The new offensive, is called Operation New Market, will focus on this city of about 90,000 people. Earlier this month insurgents launched a multistage attack from a Haditha hospital, killing four U.S. troops in an ambush...

Was talking to Gino and he asked for some details on the MATADOR fight. Figured, by now since many of you might have caught some of the interviews, you’d like to hear, ‘the rest of the story...“ Matador is now officially over, supposedly, they were going to fight our way back and ”destroy“ us - guess they missed the turn at the dairy queen. We are back and the final tally was Good Guys - 125+ enemy dead, many more wounded, and 39 detainees of some significant value. The bad guys, who talk a real good game - 9 Killed...

In this photo provided by the USO, country music star Toby Keith, right, plays with Scotty Emerick, left, during a United Service Organizations (USO) performance at Camp Victory in Baghdad, Iraq for U.S. troops, Tuesday, May 17, 2005. (AP Photo/Mike Theiler, USO)

BAGHDAD - When foreign fighters poured into villages with jihad on their minds and weapons in their hands, some Iraqi tribesmen in western desert towns fought back. They set up checkpoints to filter out the foreigners. They burned down suspected insurgent safe houses. They called their fellow tribesmen in Baghdad and other urban areas for backup. And when they still could not uproot the fighters streaming in from Syria, tribal leaders said, they took a most unusual step: They asked the Americans for help. They now say they wish they hadn't. While the U.S. military hailed last week's Operation Matador...

MILITARY OFFENSIVE IN IRAQ   May 16, 2005   A published report on a week-long battle between Marines and insurgents in western Iraq, near the Syrian border, said Marines were outgunned. A discussion with embedded reporter Ellen Knickmeyer, Baghdad bureau chief for The Washington Post, about her report.   MARGARET WARNER: Ellen Knickmeyer, welcome. Thanks for joining us. Give us a sense, first of all, how big this Marine offensive was in the west, and why did they launch it now? ELLEN KNICKMEYER: It was the largest operation they've had since Fallujah. At one point they had -- when...

U.S. Army Staff Sergeant and Special advisor to the Iraqi Police Tlaloc Cutroneo, age 32, takes up a defensive position on the airport road in Baghdad, Iraq on May 9, 2005. Cutroneo, an officer in Boston's elite MOPP police unit, has been training Iraq's special Police commandos as an Army reservist for the past 7 months.

Iraqi, U.S Soldiers nab terror suspects, seize weapons BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraqi Army and Task Force Baghdad units conducted a series of independent and joint operations here May 15 to crack down on terrorists and root out weapons caches. A joint patrol of Iraqi and U.S. Soldiers captured a self-professed bomb maker near the Saadoun neighborhood in central Baghdad. The Soldiers caught the man with $4,500 of U.S. currency in sequential $100 bills. The Iraqi Soldiers also found washing machine timers that could be used to detonate bombs. Minutes later, Task Force Baghdad Soldiers acting on a tip from...

ARABI, Iraq -- Cpl. Alexander Kalouf snapped an ammunition clip into his M-16 assault rifle and strapped grenades to his chest in the crowded hold of an armored vehicle, bursting into excited snatches of songs with other Marines as they headed into hoped-for battle. Two seats away, Cpl. Jason Dominguez shouted as he led the fighters in prayer. "This is your chance to rid the world of these evil bastards," he began, struggling to be heard over the rumble of the Amtrac armored vehicle's engine and the roar of the exhaust. "We ask the Lord God to help us and...

Tennessee National Guardsman Sgt. 1st Class Joel Gibbons, a cavalry scout platoon sergeant from 1st Squadron, 278th Regimental Combat Team, 42nd Infantry Division, Task Force Liberty, stands guard while an Iraqi child passes along information of an enemy weapons cache found near the Iranian border to the commander of the squadron. by Sgt. Matthew Acosta This photo appeared on www.army.mil.

Iraqi rebels better armed than we first thought, say US marines By Oliver Poole in Baghdad (Filed: 16/05/2005) Iraqi insurgents have proved to be better equipped and more elusive than expected, United States marines have said at the end of a week-long operation near the Syrian border. Many rebels wore bullet-proof vests and a number had Soviet-designed armour piercing bullets and night sights, equipment rarely seen previously in Iraq. In one clash two marines were killed when militant fighters lay on their backs in the narrow gap under a house and fired through the concrete floor. The end of the...

Iraq’s most wanted terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, may have been seriously wounded. A doctor who claims to have treated him last week told an Iraqi reporter in the western city of Ramadi that Zarqawi was bleeding heavily when he was brought into hospital on Wednesday. After treating his wounds the doctor tried to persuade him to remain, but the Jordanian-born terrorist’s minders drove him away. According to Fox News, The claim was supported yesterday by a senior commander in the Iraqi resistance who had been to Ramadi to investigate the report. The doctor, who refused to specify the nature of...

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq’s most wanted terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (search ), has been seriously wounded, according to a doctor who claims to have treated him last week. The doctor told an Iraqi reporter in the western city of Ramadi that Zarqawi was bleeding heavily when he was brought into hospital on Wednesday. After treating his wounds the doctor tried to persuade him to remain, but the Jordanian-born terrorist’s minders drove him away. The claim was supported yesterday by a senior commander in the Iraqi resistance who had been to Ramadi to investigate the report. The doctor, who refused to...

Iraq rebels 'flushed out by US' Many people have fled to the desert as a result of the US campaign The US has said its forces have cleared an area in north-west Iraq of insurgents following a week-long operation codenamed Matador.The Americans said they had killed more than 125 rebels for the loss of nine of their own men, with 40 wounded. The campaign, involving air strikes and at least 1,000 ground troops, took place close to the border with Syria. Meanwhile, in the capital Baghdad, a senior foreign ministry official has been shot dead outside his home. The...

  Iraq rebels 'flushed out by US' The US has said its forces have cleared an area in north-west Iraq of insurgents following a week-long operation codenamed Matador. The Americans said they had killed more than 125 rebels, for the loss of nine of their own men. The campaign involving air strikes and at least 1,000 ground troops took place close to the border with Syria. Meanwhile, in the capital Baghdad, a senior foreign ministry official has been shot dead outside his home. The assassination of Jassim al-Muhammadawy, the director general of administration at the ministry, followed a suicide car...

OBEIDI, Iraq (AP) - The U.S. military wrapped up a major offensive in a remote desert region near the Syrian border Saturday, saying it had cleaned out the insurgent haven and killed more than 125 militants during the weeklong campaign against followers of Iraq's most wanted terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Secretary of State of Condoleezza Rice, meanwhile, arrived in Iraq on Sunday on a surprise one-day trip. She flew to the mountain stronghold of Kurdish Democratic Party leader Massoud Barzani to discuss the new government's upcoming tasks, including writing a constitution. Nine U.S. Marines were killed and 40 injured during...

Operation Matador was a resounding success. The major offensive took place in a remote desert region near the Syrian border. It wrapped up Saturday, with the U.S. military saying it had cleaned out the insurgent haven and killed more than 125 militants during the weeklong campaign against followers of Iraq's most wanted terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Sadly, 9 Marines were killed and 40 wounded. . .

The U.S. military in Iraq has wrapped up a major offensive in a remote northern desert region near the Syrian border, killing at least 125 insurgents and injuring hundreds more. US Black Hawk helicopters fly over black smoke billowing from the site of explosion in Baghdad, May 14th, 2005. Iraqi insurgents pressed their campaign to undermine the new government, killing at least nine people in bombings, as fierce fighting between US troops and rebels near the Syrian border. It was one of the largest American campaigns since militants were driven from Fallujah six months ago. In a statement issued Saturday,...