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    Bremer Visits Iraqi Civil Defense Corps U.S. Ambassador Paul Bremer visits Camp Claiborne to observe Iraqi Civil Defense Corps training in Mosul, Iraq, Jan. 27, 2004. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Justin Harris  ~~~~~~~~~   U.S. Ambassador Paul Bremer and Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), visit Camp Claiborne to observe Iraqi Civil Defense Corps training in Mosul, Iraq, Jan. 27, 2004. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Justin Harris   ~~~~~~~   U.S. Ambassador Paul Bremer and Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), observe...

Coalition Provisional Authority     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                   Contact:   Dallas Lawrence January 29, 2004                                                                                                       Office of Strategic Communications                                                                                                                                                                                             New Olympic Committee Elections Welcome Iraq Back Into the Community of Nations   On January 29, 2004, with nations from around the world looking on and with the President of the International Olympic Committee on hand, a new and free Iraq was once again welcomed into the community of nations as it held its first successful democratic election of the National Olympic Committee for Iraq.  The elections were held as part of the day long General Assembly event for...

Flashpoint city shuns Islamists in council elections Anbar, Iraq Press, January 28, 2004 – Political factions with secular and democratic leanings emerged the winners in the first local elections held here since the downfall of Saddam Hussein nearly 10 months ago. Some 18 groups contested the three seats dedicated to the city’s political parties. The city council consists of 40 members, most of them were nominated by the US occupation troops and city elders. The elections for the three seats, in which the majority of the legible voters of Ramadi’s 440,000 people took part, were free and direct. The success...

Thematic in the Democratic primary campaign is that the United States is worse off now than it was before the invasion of Iraq. The harangues from some of the candidates have been quite unbelievable: Saddam Hussein's capture did little to improve our security; we cannot prejudge bin Laden's guilt; we are less safe than ever before and hated to boot; and so on. The proposed alternatives from those who either once voted for or supported the war are equally surreal. We should have just indicted and arrested Saddam Hussein (via the FBI or Interpol?); or withdrawn from Iraq at the...

In a rare high-level meeting between Iran and the United States, Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi and U.S. Senator Joseph Biden held 90-minute talks on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Analysts say the meeting marks an important first step toward improved ties between the two nations. Prague, 27 January 2004 (RFE/RL) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi and U.S. Senator Joseph Biden did not comment on the nature of their talks on 23 January on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. But Iran's Foreign Ministry has since said the meeting was not...

<p>BABA GURGUR, Iraq — With security guards now deployed along Iraq's export pipeline to the Mediterranean, crude from one of the country's biggest oil fields could start flowing to overseas markets "in a matter of days," a senior Iraqi oil official said.</p>

NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND7115 South Boundary BoulevardMacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894 January 26, 2004Release Number: 04-01-63 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE COMBINED FORCES COMMAND AFGHANISTAN RELEASE KABUL, Afghanistan -- In coordination with the Islamic Transitional Government of Afghanistan, Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan continues to train the Afghan National Army, provide civil affairs support, and disrupt, deny, and destroy terrorist and anti-ITGA forces in order to establish a stable and secure Afghanistan. As an example of the continuing cooperation between the people of Afghan and the coalition, an Afghan citizen led Coalition Forces to a...

  Iraqi Improvements Continue With Help From Task Force "All-American" RAMADI, Iraq - The 82nd Airborne Division and its subordinate units continued missions Jan. 25 to bring peace and prosperity to the residents of the Al Anbar province. Civil affairs personnel from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team dispensed $18,700 in Commander's Emergency Relief funding for renovations on three primary schools and a highway clean-up program in Nassir Wa Al Salaam. These efforts will impact more than 600 Iraqi students and employ more than 250 Iraqis. These initiatives provide Iraqis employment, safe highways and schools conducive to learning for the...

<p>After five years, Rich Krause finally gave up AOL. The 46-year-old attorney in Stillman Valley, Ill., got his Internet access from a small local dial-up provider, but also maintained a subscription to America Online, the nation's largest Internet service provider, with its vast array of news and entertainment resources. But Krause rarely used the AOL services.</p>

Air traffic controllers own Iraqi sky TALLIL AIR BASE, Iraq -- Senior Airman Caryn Baksis informs Senior Airman Jesse Fox of an aircraft entering the Tallil airspace that is being controlled by the Kuwaiti Center. Airmen Baksis and Fox are 332nd Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron air traffic controllers. Airman Baksis is deployed from Cannon Air Force Base, N.M., and Airman Fox is deployed from Ellsworth AFB, S.D. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Chris Stagner) View Larger Download HiRes by Staff Sgt. Chris Stagner332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs1/22/2004 - TALLIL AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- From American and coalition aircraft to civilian...

“Most of what you have here is not war damage,” Nash said. “It’s neglect.” Engineer George Gardner said much of the equipment dates to the 1950s and simply cannot be fixed. BAGHDAD — Raad Jumah was in the dark. The floor of his shop was speckled in drops of once-molten metal and dusted in iron filings. But there was no spark of torch, no squeal of grinder, not even the harsh glow of bare bulb. He was, in reality, powerless. “It has a great effect on business,” said the 43-year-old blacksmith. “Before the war, the electricity was nearly steady.” Now...

Conservative Episcopalian bishops and church leaders are organizing a network of socially conservative parishes in order to stem the tide of liberalism within the Episcopal Church USA. Frank Griswold, the leader of the movement, emphasizes that the members of the new network will remain Episcopalian and that their mission is both religious and political. The new group, The Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes, joins the diverse group of religious conservatives commonly known as "The Religious Right." In "The Orthodox Alliance" (November/December 1995), Fred Barnes discusses how theological conservatives of Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant churches, who now have more...

Sistani calls halt to anti-coalition protests Iraqi Shiite leader issues decree to give time to UN study on viability of free elections in war-torn Iraq. By Kamal Taha - KARBALA Iraq's leading Shiite cleric Friday called a halt to mass protests against US plans for handing over power, offering much-needed breathing room to the coalition as it counted the cost of a new wave of rebel attacks on Iraqi civilians. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani issued the decree to give time to a UN study on the viability of free elections, a week after threatening to launch a civil unrest campaign...

The first of nine brigades planned for the new Iraqi army nearly is complete, the officer responsible for helping to rebuild the country's military reported in a Baghdad briefing today. Addressing progress in the rebuilding effort, Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, commander of the coalition's military assistance and training team in Iraq, said three battalions of Iraqi soldiers have graduated from military training academies since October. The desired "end state" is to eventually have "Iraqi officers and soldiers take over the training of their own soldiers," Eaton said. "I would like to emphasize that this will be an Iraqi Army, trained...

After Slaying of Arabs, Residents Say They Will Not Tolerate Foreign Insurgents in Their MidstBy Nadia Abou El-Magd Associated Press WriterPublished: Jan 19, 2004 BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - For six months, the Arab foreigners lived quietly in a Baghdad neighborhood with their wives and children, until neighbors tipped off U.S. forces they could be insurgents. On Monday morning, American soldiers came to the door of a brown-brick house and - speaking in Arabic over a loudspeaker - ordered those inside to surrender. When the raid was over, three men were dead, a Syrian and two Yemenis. Two of the men...

SAMAWA, Iraq, Jan 18 (Reuters) - As Japanese troops ready for their first combat-zone deployment since World War Two, there is a buzz of anticipation in the Iraqi town of Samawa, where the 1,000-strong force will soon be based. In the central marketplace, banners have been strung across the street with welcome messages for the soldiers. "Along with our Japanese friends, we will help to rebuild this city," reads one in Arabic, while another proclaims in Japanese: "Welcome to the Self-Defence Force". An advance contingent of the Ground Self-Defence Force, as Japan's army is called, is currently in Kuwait and...

  2nd ACR Graduates 1st ICDC Classs At Camp Muleskinner BAGHDAD, Iraq – The Iraq Civil Defense Corps (ICDC) Academy at Camp Muleskinner graduated its first class of guardsmen Jan. 9 on Redcatcher Field. The ICDC school, run by noncommissioned officers and soldiers from the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR) and 2nd Battalion, 37th Armor Battalion, 1st Armored Division, puts newly recruited individuals through a rigorous six-day course. The new ICDC recruits eat, sleep, and train on the academy grounds, staying fully immersed in the military environment. The workday begins at 4 a.m. for the students and usually does...

Billions of dollars worth of new, hard-to- counterfeit Iraqi dinar bank notes are now officially in circulation throughout the country, the Coalition Provisional Authority reported today. The new money became the official currency of Iraq Jan. 15 after a three-month exchange period that also has involved the destruction of tons of Saddam Hussein-era notes, according to a joint CPA-Central Bank of Iraq news release. "The new dinar is a real improvement over the old," Ahmed Salman Jaburi, deputy governor of Iraq's Central Bank, asserted in the news release. Because the new money has security features that make it hard to...

TF 1 AD Honors Iraqis for Service to Baghdad’s Communitiesby Spc. Chad D. Wilkerson, 372nd MPAD BAGHDAD, Iraq – Soldiers from Task Force 1st Armored Division, along with personnel from the Coalition Provisional Authority, recognized Baghdad’s police, facility protection and civil defense guardsmen who acted valorously or made significant sacrifices in the line of duty Jan 9. More than 180 awardees were honored during the ceremony at the Iraqi Convention Center in central Baghdad for outstanding acts in the name of peace and security in their country. During the ceremony, Brig. Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, 1st Armored Division commander,...

Soldiers' City Building Efforts Culminate in City Hall Openingreleased by CJTF-7 Public AffairsMOSUL, Iraq – A ribbon cutting ceremony was held Monday in the town of Tal Kayf, honoring the opening of its new city hall. Soldiers from Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), attended the ceremony, along with the 502nd Infantry Regiment, including the 2nd Brigade commander, Col. Joe Anderson. The ceremony marked the culmination of effort the soldiers of Bravo Company put into building the town up and helping it grow, said Capt. Kevin Williams, the company commander. Since arriving in...