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Iraqi Rebuilding Contracts Proceeding Well, Nash Reports By Donna MilesAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, March 10, 2004 — Iraq's reconstruction is proceeding smoothly and on schedule, the U.S. head of reconstruction in Iraq told Pentagon reporters today. Retired Navy Rear Adm. David J. Nash said the $18.4 billion aid package approved by Congress last fall rapidly is translating into tangible, on-the- ground improvements in Iraq's infrastructure, internal security and services. "Work is moving along very nicely. We … have construction under way, although we are just beginning. There is more to follow," he said. "I'm very pleased at our...

Basra is booming Luxury market ... electrical goods on sale in Basra From George Pascoe-WatsonDeputy Political Editor in Iraq PROSPERITY has returned to the streets of Iraq, and The Sun has been there to see it. On the first anniversary of the end of the Iraq War a new nation is under construction thanks to the tireless efforts of British and US forces. While the world’s TV cameras focus on the darkness of the post-war problems, the REAL story is of dramatic improvement in the everyday lives of millions of ordinary Iraqis. Some £15BILLION of British and American taxpayers’...

U.S. casualties in Iraq have sunk to their lowest level since the war began, with the fatality rate for G.I.'s on the front lines dropping to less than half the monthly average since the war began. November 2003 was by far the bloodiest month for U.S. forces, with two helicopter crashes boosting the death rate to 82. By February 2004, however, the number of U.S. troop deaths had dropped to less than a quarter of that number, with 20 Americans killed. Casualty rates compiled by the website lunaville.org, which is now considered by journalists, military personnel and their families...

There's a war going on in Iraq. Who's winning? Hardly anyone noticed, but U.S. troops aren't losing. American casualties have been steadily declining since they peaked last November (414, including 82 dead). The casualties went down to 306 in December, 234 in January and 167 last month. In February there were twenty American soldiers killed in action, or .79 per day. This was the first month, since the war began, that the troops killed fell to less than one a day. The reason for the decline in casualties are numerous. Probably the most important one has been the improvements in...

  Iraq Standing Up to Terrorist Attacks, President Says By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, March 6, 2004 – The Iraqi people are making "excellent progress" toward democracy in spite of the terrorist attacks that attempt to derail the process, President Bush said in his weekly radio address today. Bush said terrorists targeting Shiia pilgrims in Baghdad and Karbala during the region's holiest day – Ashoura – was tragic, but the Iraqi response was encouraging. Terrorists killed more than 200 Iraqis and wounded 500 others in the bombings. "Some of these killers behind these attacks are supporters...

  Mosul Police Station Rebuilt, Opened 32 Days After Bombing MOSUL, Iraq - Security concerns remained high as local Iraqi police officers and Coalition officials attended a ribbon cutting ceremony March 3 at the Althaqafa Police Station, celebrating its reconstruction after a suicide bombing nearly five weeks ago. The Jan. 31 explosion occurred when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated outside the station. The blast killed 10 Iraqi police officers, some of whom were waiting in line to receive their paychecks. Following the attack on the police station, the 503rd Military Police Battalion took responsibility to complete the statement...

    Iraqi Children to Participate in Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts   BAGHDAD, Iraq, March 2, 2004 — Thousands of children throughout Iraq will soon be able to participate in an Iraqi Boy Scout and Girl Scout program, according to Coalition Provisional Authority officials. The scouting initiative was launched recently with the backing of the World Scouting Organization, the Arab Scout Organization, and some 100 former scouters serving in Iraq. The program will allow boys and girls of all ethnic and cultural backgrounds to join together in activities that promote good citizenship, community service, honor, and self-confidence. Volunteer scouting...

Though reserve component forces are going through a stressful time, the Defense Department is working hard to improve the situation, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told Guard and Reserve leaders here today. Wolfowitz, speaking at the Adjutants General Association of the United States mid-winter meeting, told the group the nation is asking National Guard and Reserve members to serve for longer periods and in larger numbers and "with greater uncertainty than I think any of us ever envisioned." Wolfowitz cited several burdens being placed on both reserve components, noting that National Guard and Reserve soldiers make up 40 percent of...

US troops starting to repel shadowy forces By Patrick Bishop in Falluja (Filed: 28/02/2004) In their frustrating war with Iraqi enemies of the occupation, coalition troops are enjoying a run of success, killing a notorious bomb-maker and capturing a group suspected of two bloody suicide bombings. At the same time, the shadowy forces battling the occupiers appear to have admitted they are now under severe pressure from the Americans and local security forces. The latest coalition success is the death of Abu Mohammed Hamza, a bomb-making expert and lieutenant of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, whom America has identified as its No...

SECDEF Meets with Task Force 1st Armored Division Soldiers, Views ICDCby Capt. Sean P. Kirley, 2nd ACR Regimental PAO BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The Office of the Secretary of Defense sent word to the military leadership in Iraq earlier this month: The Hon. Donald Rumsfeld, U.S. Secretary of Defense, was coming to Iraq, and he specifically wanted to see the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, which is assigned to Task Force 1st Armored Division The communiqué continued: The Secretary of Defense, in addition to meeting with the Regiment’s troopers, was interested in seeing the Iraqi Civil Defense Academy at Camp Muleskinner....

The Associated Press BAGHDAD, Iraq Feb. 26 — Retired Iraqi special forces Gen. Mudir Aboud greeted U.S. forces with a white flag when they rolled into Baghdad 10 months ago and told them where they could find Saddam Hussein's remaining fighters. After months of U.S.-supervised training, Aboud on Wednesday took command of 6,800 Iraqi Civilian Defense Corps soldiers based in Baghdad. American officers say the new force will soon take over security duties in the capital as they reduce their presence here. Apart from a few grumbles about his new rank he is now a colonel Aboud says he is...

"Our enemies are not idle, and neither are we," said Homeland Security Deputy Secretary James Loy today, echoing the words of President Bush. Although the president used those words to challenge terrorists, they might also describe the flurry of activity at the Department of Homeland Security, which has worked to achieve better security in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, tragedy and introduced several new security initiatives. Loy, speaker at the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association Homeland Security Conference here, said DHS has made "great strides" over the past year and yielded a "pretty impressive" record of accomplishments....

<p>Today is Gov. Arnold's Schwarzenegger's 100th day in office, a trivial benchmark in every chief executive's first term made significant only by the roundness of the number and, in this case, the ambitious plans of the politician.</p> <p>Schwarzenegger, showing signs of the chutzpah that would characterize the early days of his tenure as governor, laid out plans for his the first 100 days on Oct. 1 - six days before he won the election. So it's only fair to judge him on his own lofty expectations.</p>

<p>Sacramento -- On a Friday night just two weeks into his administration, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made a round of last-ditch phone calls to try to persuade Democratic lawmakers to vote for his first big budget proposal. As midnight approached, the lawmakers stopped returning his calls.</p>

"These are the best times I have ever had since I began my business as second-hand car dealer three years ago," said Adnan Abdul Majeed of Karada, west of Baghdad. "Last month, I sold 65 cars and I see the demand for new cars is on the rise almost daily since the ousting of the old (Saddam Hussein's) regime," Majeed added. According to official statistics, more than 250,000 new cars have entered Iraq in the past 10 months since the US-led coalition forces swept Saddam from power last April. Naji Mehdi who deals with electronics believes that the Iraqi economy...

<p>BAGHDAD, Iraq: The Shiite holy cities of Najaf and Karbala are back in business. The streets surrounding the great golden domes of the shrines of Imam Ali in Najaf and of Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas in Karbala teem with thousands of pilgrims drawn from across the Middle East and Asia. After decades of persecution and marginalization by Saddam Hussein’s regime, the Shiite reawakening in these two holy cities could mark the resurgence of Najaf’s traditionally “quietist” clergy at the expense of Iran’s all-embracing system of clerical rule known as the Wilayet al-Faqih, or governance of the religious jurist.</p>

</ Kickin’ it in Kirkuk by Senior Airman Nishant Roy50th Space Wing Security Forces Squadron2/20/2004 - KIRKUK AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- Four months ago, Schriever Air Force Base deployed a nine-person team from the 50th Security Forces squadron to support Operation Iraqi Freedom. I am one of the nine. Our destination was Kirkuk Air Base, Iraq, a city declared to be the second most important in Iraq by Gen. Tommy Franks, former commander of U.S. Central Command. In April of last year, the Army took over Kirkuk and it became a key strategic base for military planners. Security forces are playing an extremely...

Interesting, isn't it? The buildings that AREN'T burning in Iraq. "They have a saying in the news business," Geraldo Rivera related this week. "Reporters don't report buildings that don't burn." And with that introduction, he told a TV audience about the story that is being systematically denied to our entire nation: the success story of post-Saddam Iraq. Are we losing some soldiers each week? Yes. Is there some frustration in the public about electricity and waterservice? Yes. Are some Saddam Hussein loyalists throughout the land, making trouble? Yes. Has this opened a window for some terrorist mischief? Yes. But that's...

<p>Iraq's economy is providing pleasant surprises, including booming consumer demand, strong oil revenue and healthy foreign exchange reserves, a top Treasury official said Thursday. "The economy is beginning to work and thrive again and grow," John Taylor, undersecretary for international affairs, said by telephone from Baghdad.</p>

The United States is doing "pretty well" in the war on terror, but more needs to be done and more progress is necessary to transform American military capabilities, Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers said Feb. 18. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff spoke at a "Space at the Crossroads" conference co-sponsored by the Space Foundation and Space News. The audience came mostly from industry, and Myers seemed to relish the chance to speak on military transformation and what it means for civilian partners. But first, he gave a report on progress in the war on terror. In...