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WASHINGTON, Dec. 12, 2005 – President Bush traveled today to Philadelphia, the birthplace of U.S. democracy, to remind Americans about their own country's bumpy road to democracy and to underscore what he called "miraculous" political progress taking place in Iraq. Three days before Iraqis go to the polls to elect a 275-member parliament, Bush contrasted America's efforts to put a new democratic government in place with those being instituted at a relative lightning speed in Iraq. America's founders endured naysayers and critics, repeatedly adjusting their approach as they worked toward a constitution that guaranteed personal freedoms, the president noted during...

BAGHDAD, Dec. 12, 2005 – The highest-ranking military officer in Iraq said over the past year his country's armed forces have accomplished "almost a miracle." Speaking through a translator, Army Gen. Babakir Shawkat Zebari said only one battalion was capable of operating with coalition forces when he became the Iraqi military's chief of staff. Now dozens are taking the lead in the counterinsurgency fight, and many more are operating with coalition forces. In the west, he said, Iraqi forces now allow the coalition to hold areas. In the past, coalition forces would move into an area, clear out the terrorists...

First Iraqi Cadet Class Wraps Up Officer Training The group is the first class to complete the basic officer training course under the new Iraqi army. By U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Mark Woodbury Multinational Security Transition Command-Iraq BAGHDAD, Iraq, Dec. 12, 2005 — The Iraqi army will mark another first this week with the expected graduation of 77 cadets at the Iraqi Military Academy at Ar Rustamiyah. The group is the first class to complete the basic officer training course under the new Iraqi army. The 42-week course focuses on developing leaders of soldiers from all backgrounds and...

Spc. Rick Rzepka Staff Sgt. Raymond Piper 2nd BCT Public Affairs AL HILLAH, Iraq — Coalition instructors tested and certified the combat readiness of the 2nd Iraqi Army Brigade this week, and announced that the troops are ready to plan and conduct military operations independently in Babil Province, in south-central Iraq. Meanwhile along the Syrian border, Iraqi forces also assumed greater control of the area. “I won’t forget this day,” Iraqi Defense Minister Saadoun al-Dulaimi said. “The insurgents are no longer con- Iraqis move closer to sovereignty trolling the border. Our friends have helped us.” The ceremony in the Iraqi-...

Associated Press BAGHDAD, Iraq — Sunni Arab clerics urged their followers Friday to vote in next week's national elections — a major shift that the U.S. hopes will lure the community away from the insurgency. In the last major weekly service before the voting, Sunni preacher Ali al-Zandi told worshippers at Umm al-Qura mosque that the Dec. 15 vote would be "a decisive battle that will determine our future." "If you give your vote to the wrong people, then the [U.S.] occupation will continue and the country would be lost," he said, adding that the failure to participate would "pave...

National survey shows that many Americans feel that the media isn't reporting what is really happening in Iraq. Radio show interviews Iraqi activist who discusses what is really going on.

[...] for five weeks this summer, producer Grace Cutler, cameraman John Templeton, myself and others crisscrossed the country to see how folks were faring. [...] In the days to come we would go to places where most TV crews choose not to tread — To find out what real Iraqis are thinking. Like along Main Street in the Karada district of Baghdad. Lined with appliance stores on both sides, it looks like an open air Circuit City. [...] The Iraqi Stock Exchange was an even bigger eye opener. On the day we were there the single trading room was packed...

This is a nice video on the front page of CNN right now. I think you will enjoy it. A rare video showing how much things are better and how peaceful some places are. video link if it doesn't work, goto cnn.com and in the video selection thing, look for a video called Optimism in Iraq

A TOWN IN ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq, Dec. 9, 2005 – Reconstruction is now evident here, due to the improved security environment that followed the November 2004 battle for Fallujah. Though homes are humble, many of them have bricks stacked or heaped alongside, their second stories inching upward. Roads are pitted and pockmarked, but there's little trash blowing along them. Too many children wander streets instead of attending school, yet they are markedly cleaner than those normally seen on Iraqi back roads, and almost all of them are wearing shoes. Even as the U.S. military positioned for that inevitable showdown in...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9, 2005 – Iraqi and U.S. forces continued to make progress in the fight against terrorism in the north-central region of Iraq, detaining suspects and netting weapons and ammunition, officials in Iraq reported today. Raids and patrols throughout the area Dec. 8 resulted in the detention of 22 suspected terrorists and the discovery of four weapons caches, officials said. In an early morning raid near Duluiyah, soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division, captured seven suspected terrorists. The men were wanted for staging roadside bomb and mortar attacks against coalition forces in the area....

In the dangerous Sunni triangle, U.S. soldiers watch from a distance -- with a growing sense of pride -- as security forces carry out predawn raid for insurgentsQadessiya, Iraq -- In the predawn shadows, a squad of Iraqi police officers in black ski masks and flack jackets rapped loudly on the metal gate of a walled-in compound. All around them, hundreds of other Iraqi police officers and army soldiers pounded on gates across this volatile Sunni village in northern Iraq. The low boom of an American 155-mm gun erupted in the distance, and bursts of magnesium illumination lit up Qadessiya...

Notes From a Student at the Naval War College on Army Gen. Abizaid's Recent SpeechClassification: UNCLASSIFIED Caveats: FOUO CSA Sends:This is as clear as it can be stated - please get these words out to all of the men and women in your organizations. I encourage you to personally carry this message to the American People. As Soldiers, we have the most credible voices in America. We need to lead the way.Thanks for your leadership and for all you have given. Cindy and I send our very best wishes to each of you and your families as we serve together...

  NEWS FOR THE WEEK OF DECEMBER 5, 2005PDF Version    "Nearly Twice As Many Iraqi Security Forces Will Be Available To Guard [The Dec. 15 Election] As Were On Hand During Voting In January ..." (Robert Burns, "U.S. General Says Iraqis Will Have Nearly 100,000 More Troops Available For Election Security," The Associated Press, 12/2/05)   "[225,000] Members Of The Iraqi Army And Police Will Be Operating During This Month's Elections ... Compared To The 130,000 Fielded During Parliamentary Elections In January." (Robert Burns, "U.S. General Says Iraqis Will Have Nearly 100,000 More Troops Available For Election Security,"...

Najaf, Mosul and the Iraqi economy: These were the three pillars of President Bush's speech yesterday before the Council on Foreign Relations, and they are three of the best reasons why Howard Dean is utterly wrong to predict American defeat in Iraq. One wouldn't know it from the acrimonious debate in Washington, but the two former trouble spots are rapidly joining the 80 percent or so of Iraq that suffers little or no violence, while the Iraqi economy is looking better than it has in years.

SINJAR, Iraq — Aouf Hasoon has spoken English for most of his 48 years, but it was at the precise moment the Iraqi was to begin work as an interpreter for invading U.S. forces that his tongue suddenly froze. Standing on the dusty outskirts of Qaim, Hasoon watched with mounting fear as a wall of American tanks and armored vehicles bore down on him. “I was so scared I could not translate for 10 minutes,” Hasoon said. The interpreter watched nervously as a wiry officer with a shaved head stepped from one of the vehicles and strode toward him. The...

Here we go! I'll hunt for streaming audio but that isn't one of my strong suits.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7, 2005 – President Bush today highlighted reconstruction achievements made in Iraq over the past two years as positive evidence that that country is making progress toward becoming a self-sufficient, productive state. U.S. and coalition forces continue to assist the Iraqi government to establish its own military and police to confront remnant Saddam Hussein supporters and terrorists, Bush said in his speech before the Council on Foreign Relations here. And, as Iraqi security forces are increased to eventually take over the mission of combating terrorists, progress on the reconstruction front also is being made for the benefit of...

First All-Iraqi Aircrew Shows Security Forces' Progress By Sgt. Sara Wood, USAAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Dec. 7, 2005 – The first Iraqi air force C-130 mission with an all-Iraqi aircrew Dec. 5 is an indicator of Iraqi security forces' progress, a U. S. military official said here Dec. 6. In addition to this, elements of the Iraqi army's 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade, 9th Division, completed gunnery qualifications in preparation for operations in western Iraq, the official said, speaking on background. More than 214,000 members of the Iraqi security forces are engaged in operations to secure the country for...

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld conceded yesterday that the insurgency in Iraq has been stronger than anticipated but also said the news media have focused on the war's growing body count rather than progress that has been achieved. "To be responsible, one needs to stop defining success in Iraq as the absence of terrorist attacks," Rumsfeld said in remarks at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He added, "It's appropriate to note not only how many Americans have been killed - and may God bless them and their families - but what they died for or,...

The "Cut and Run Crowd" are proving to be the worst kind of pessimists on Iraq - refusing to see the significant evidence that things are starting to go our way militarily. No, no one should be turning cartwheels just yet over security and stability in Iraq - there is still a lot to be done. But several favorable developments should make even the "Doom-n-Gloomers" take note. The U.S. military is having significant success securing the Syrian border - previously a sieve for Iraqi and foreign insurgents/ terrorists seeping into Iraq. Result: It's tougher for Syria-based Sunni insurgents to orchestrate...