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For the past month or so, while the media have been obsessed with the activities of Moqtada Sadr and his fighters in Najaf, much of the really important news about Iraq has gone largely unreported... Students of journalism, however, know the difference between the events that furnish most of the daily headlines and the undercurrents that shape the broader context of a society’s political life. Now what are the undercurrents that, with eyes fixed on the current events, are largely ignored? The most important is that post-liberation Iraq, defying great odds, has succeeded in carrying out its political reform agenda...

Diyala irrigation canal project is good news in Iraq 1. Capt. Hazel Williams, B Battery, 1st Battalion, 113th Field Artillery, reviews a list of job applicants provided by an Iraqi government official for an upcoming project improving irrigation canal water flow. Funding for the 75 day project will be provided by Multi National Forces funds destine for infrastructure improvements in Iraq. Key to this project is the hiring of local Iraqi labor and contractors. (Photo by Master Sgt. Mike Welsh, 30th BCT PAO) By Master Sgt Mike Welsh30th Brigade Combat Team FOB COBRA, Iraq (8/20/2004) — “It’s very rewarding...

NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND7115 South Boundary BoulevardMacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894 August 18, 2004Release Number: 04-08-54 FIRST NEW GENERATOR COMES ON LINE IN IRAQ BAGHDAD –The first new electricity generator since 1976 came online today in Southern Iraq, adding enough electricity to the national grid to service nearly 120,000 homes. The 40 Megawatt generator located near Basrah fills a void in the Maysan Governorate, which was previously isolated from the Iraqi national grid. “This is a very important step in overcoming the power shortage across the country,” said Raad Shalal, a...

NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND7115 South Boundary BoulevardMacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894 August 18, 2004Release Number: 04-08-55 MNF ASSIST IN RESTORING ORDER TO AL HAYY CAMP DELTA, Iraq -- Task Force Tomahawk deployed Aug. 17 from Camp Delta in Al Kut to Al Hayy at the request of the governor of Al Kut Province to restore civil order to the city of Al Hayy. Multi-National Force patrols encountered AIF resistance during their patrols in Al Hayy. During one incident, a bus inadvertently entered into the crossfire causing several passengers to be hit...

Iraqi Ministers of Defense, State speak to Iraqi troops in historical eventSubmitted by: 11th MEUStory Identification #: 200481774636Story by Gunnery Sgt. Chago Zapata FORWARD OPERATING BASE DUKE, Iraq (Aug. 16, 2004) -- Iraq's Minister of Defense Hazem Sha'alan and a Minister of State Kasim Daoud spoke to members of Iraq's Security Forces during a visit to the base here today. Today's visit marked a historical, first-ever meeting with these specific units for both members of Iraq's Interim Government. They used this opportunity to talk to the soldiers and inspire then to continue their dedicated service to the country of...

Iraqi National Guard soldiers from Samarra graduate basic training Members of the 202nd ING Battalion salute while the Iraqi national anthem is played during their graduation ceremony in Tikrit on Aug 16. Iraqi National Guard soldiers completed the ING basic course and the six day advanced training phase. (Photo by Roland G. Walters, 196th MPAD) FORWARD OPERATING BASE DANGER, TIKRIT, Iraq – Most were once farmers with little education from rival tribes.But on Aug. 16, the more than 300 Iraqi National Guard Soldiers who graduated from basic training were literally on one accord both militarily and rhythmically.“We are ready...

NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND7115 South Boundary BoulevardMacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894 August 16, 2004Release Number: 04-08-44 NEW GENERATOR MEANS MORE LIGHTS ON FOR IRAQ BAGHDAD – For the third time in two weeks, Iraqi and U.S. engineers have brought more electricity to the people of Iraq by commissioning a power plant in Southern Iraq. The 52 Megawatt generator at the Khor Az Zubayr Power Plant, located 40 kilometers south of Basrah, fired for the first time today, bringing enough power on line to service 156,000 Iraqi homes. “This is a very...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - California's elementary and high school students are still improving their standardized test scores, but results released Monday indicate they're not improving as rapidly as before, state education officials said. According to the results of the Standardized Testing and Reporting Program, fewer students are moving from the lower scores of basic, below basic and far below basic to the higher levels of proficient and advanced. The test compiles the results of two tests given to students in grades 2-11 and measures how well students are learning California's academic standards. "This is not where we want to be. This...

THE leadership of Afghanistan's ousted Taliban movement appears to be "falling apart" as more and more Afghans turn against the rebels, the US military claimed today. Two factions have emerged within the hardline militia, each backing different views of how their insurgency should proceed, American spokesman Major Scott Nelson said. "There's a fissure developing," Major Nelson said. "That's a significant development which sort of demonstrates that the Taliban are sort of falling apart a little bit on the leadership side." Major Nelson declined to give details, saying the military was still trying to work out what impact any lasting split...

US President George W Bush has said the coalition in Iraq is "making pretty good progress" in the holy city of Najaf, despite ongoing fighting. US forces are battling supporters of Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr, who rejected an appeal for his men to leave. Mr Bush would not say whether US troops were trying to capture or kill Mr Sadr. The president was speaking after Polish-led forces ceded military authority in two provinces to US marines because of worsening security. In other developments: a British soldier was killed in clashes with militiamen loyal to Mr Sadr on the streets of...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - The trail began with a hunt for the people who ambushed a Pakistani commander as his motorcade tried to cross Karachi's Clifton Bridge in June. It led to a torrent of intelligence and ended with dozens of arrests in Pakistan and Britain and a terror warning in the United States. Along the way, investigators passed through Karachi's teeming streets, to the dusty tribal village of Shakai along the Pakistan-Afghan border, to seemingly placid suburban London, to the world's financial headquarters in New York and to Washington, D.C. The arrests of several senior al-Qaida figures in Pakistan and...

More power added to the Iraqi National Grid August 4, 2004BAGHDAD, Iraq – The people of Iraq woke up to more power this morning as a new generator came on line bringing the country an additional 20 Megawatts of electrical generation.The addition of the generator at the Bayji Power Plant in north central Iraq is the first of many slated to come on line this month. “This marks yet another step forward for the Iraqi people and provides them with additional power,” said Lt. Col. Jeffery Ogden, Director of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Restore Iraqi Electricity Directorate....

Iraqis Graduating from Police, Military Training American Forces Press ServiceWASHINGTON, Aug. 4, 2004 - Within the week, 654 Iraqis will graduate from police academies and join the ranks of those striving to secure their country. After their graduation from Iraqi Police Service basic training on Aug. 5, 552 recruits will report to duty stations in Baghdad. The ceremony comes at the conclusion of eight weeks of basic training. Coalition military police taught recruits the fundamental policing skills, techniques and ideals of law enforcement employed in a free society. The Iraqi Police Service's Adnon Police Training Facility also will hold...

The Real Iraq Story Americans don’t often get the right picture out of Iraq. By Karl Zinsmeister How insightful is the Iraq reporting that you've been consuming? Take a little test. If I tell you that scores of Iraqi detainees have been killed and maimed this year in Abu Ghraib prison, you may not be surprised. But you're probably guessing wrong about who hurt them. The moronic American guards who are now on trial for improperly humiliating some Iraqis caused no deaths or injuries: The many casualties in the prison were all inflicted by Iraq's guerilla terrorists. During this spring's...

Iraqis Assuming More Control in Security Matters American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Aug. 2, 2004 -- Several shifts in authority over the weekend demonstrate that Iraqis are assuming more control within their country. Pilots arriving at Baghdad International Airport will notice a distinct lack of Aussie accents after multinational forces passed control of the country's largest civilian air-traffic-control center back to Iraqi officials. Royal Australian Air Force personnel have spent the past six months training Iraqi controllers to safely operate the country's vital air hub, according to a news release from Multinational Force Iraq. The commander of Australian forces...

The Associated Press PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. Aug. 2, 2004 — Vice President Dick Cheney told nearly 1,000 military personnel on Monday the Bush administration is "doing everything" it can to protect the nation against terrorists and other threats. "I am grateful to stand before so many who defend our homeland so well," Cheney told the camouflage-clad airmen and a handful of civilians gathered in a hangar. "Your mission here is nothing less than the defense of America's land, sea and air space." Cheney, who has been campaigning throughout the West, was addressing members of the North American Aerospace...

Iraqi children swing around in one of the new toys at the Al Buwaib Qu’rter playground in Al Sadiya. The grand opening for the park included a ribbon cutting and soccer ball giveaway July 26 in the Battery B, 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery Regiment, 5th Brigade Combat Team, area of operations. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Al Barrus Soldiers Work to Improve Iraqi Neighborhood By U.S. Army Pfc. Al Barrus / 122nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment   AL SADIYA, Baghdad, Iraq, July 29, 2004 - There were plenty of smiles around Al Sadiya on July 26, when a...

Bin Laden's network 'crumbling' Published: 31 July 2004 ISLAMABAD: The network supporting Osama bin Laden was crumbling after the arrest of a top Al Qaeda operative, one of the world's most wanted men, a senior government minister said yesterday. The Tanzanian-born Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani had a $5 million reward on his head, and is wanted by the United States for his role in the 1998 bombings of two US embassies in East Africa. Investigators are scouring a computer and several discs seized when they captured Ghailani and 13 others after a 14-hour gunbattle with security forces last weekend in the...

The Resilience of Iraqis This week saw yet another car (this time tanker) bombing and a mortar attack directed toward Iraqi police stations here in Baghdad. I continue to think that this strategy by the terrorists of attacking expressly Iraqi targets is a losing one. The Iraqi people are backing increasingly strong measures to root out the foreign fighters and extreme elements in their midst, and attacks like this only strengthen that impulse. Furthermore, the attacks do not seem to be having a substantial effect on recruitment in the security forces, which continues at a brisk clip. In an interview...

Is America safer today than we were four years ago? Yes, absolutely! Throughout the 1990s the terrorist threat grew, Americans were attacked and Americans were killed. The terrorists threw down a gauntlet and America said, ''Excuse me, you dropped your glove.'' Four years ago, in Afghanistan, al-Qaida was training and sending out thousands of terrorists. Pakistan had a significant al-Qaida presence. Saudi Arabia was a major area of support for al-Qaida. In Iraq, Saddam Hussein, a brutal dictator and sworn enemy of America, was in power. Nuclear weapons technology was being sold to Iran, North Korea and Libya. In 1993,...