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WASHINGTON, April 18, 2006 – Negative media reports on continuing violence in Iraq and Afghanistan make it hard for people to recognize political and economic progress being made there and in surrounding countries, the senior enlisted advisor to the commander of U.S. Central Command said here. Air Force Command Chief Master Sgt. Curtis L. Brownhill said progress in the Central Command region -- which runs from Kenya in Africa to Kazakhstan in Central Asia and includes Egypt and Pakistan -- includes more than just what is happening in Afghanistan and Iraq. Progress is measured in many countries taking steps toward...

A police recruit at the Sulymania Training Center demonstrates tactics learned at the academy during his graduation ceremony. U.S. Army photo Iraqi Police Recruits Graduate Coalition Forces, Iraqis train recruits in police science, self-defense, drill and ceremony. By U.S. Army Spc. William Jones 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment SULYMANIA, Iraq, April 18, 2006 — Sixty-three Iraqi recruits graduated from the Sulymania Training Center and earned the right to be called police officers following a morning ceremony April 13, 2006. The training center, operated jointly by the Iraqi Ministry of Interior and Coalition Forces, teaches the recruits police science, weapons,...

Taza based Iraqi Police officers hand out flyers while on patrol with U.S. Army soldiers of Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Lyn Graves Iraqi Police, Army Gain Trust of Iraqi People Gathering information on possible insurgent activity, and at the same time building relationships with the Iraqi people, works in outlying areas the same as it does in towns. By U.S. Army Capt. Lyn Graves 133rd MPAD KIRKUK, Iraq, April 17, 2006 — When an Iraqi factory worker found a bag containing what he believed...

BALAD, Iraq, April 16, 2006 – Iraqi soldiers assumed control of part of Iraq's Salah al Din Province from the U.S. Army's 1-8 Combined Arms Battalion in a transfer of authority ceremony yesterday at an Iraqi Army outpost near here. The 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division, is assuming control of an area of responsibility that encompasses Balad, Duluyah and Yethrib, as well as the smaller villages surrounding these cities. "We're not pulling out of here right away; we're out here to be by their sides," said Army Command Sgt. Maj. Daniel Dailey, command sergeant major, 1-8 CAB,...

KABUL, Afghanistan, April 13, 2006 – The command surgeon of Combined Forces Command Afghanistan presented the renovated Rabia Balkhi Maternity Hospital to Afghanistan 's minister of public health in a ceremony here April 9. Lailuma, a midwife at the Rabia Balkhi Maternity Hospital in the Afghan capital of Kabul, prepares to weigh a baby in the hospital's renovated nursery here April 9. The U.S. departments of Defense and Health and Human Services invested a combined $10 million into renovations, then presented the hospital to Afghanistan's minister of public health in a formal ceremony April 9. Photo by Staff Sgt....

WASHINGTON, April 13, 2006 – Three years after Saddam Hussein's statue, along with his regime, was toppled in Baghdad, an Army planner who served there at the time said he's optimistic about Iraq's progress in forming its government, repairing its infrastructure and establishing its security forces. Army Lt. Col. E.J. Degen works with 6th Iraqi Army Division before their validation exercise during his recent deployment to Iraq. About a month later, the Iraqi division assumed battlespace inside Baghdad. Courtesy photo    Army Lt. Col. E.J. Degen brings unique insights into Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was chief of plans for...

April 10, 2006: The enemy in Iraq is having a manpower shortage. This is noted by the reduction in the number of attacks on American troops, and the smaller groups of attackers involved in things like ambushes. This is one of the reasons for the new American policy of fighting it out with ambushes rather than hitting the accelerator. Because of money and recruiting problems, most ambushes in Iraq are conducted by a very small number of attackers. Unlike Vietnam, where the communists might deploy a hundred or so gunmen for an ambush, in Iraq ambush teams are most frequently...

Three Electrical Substations Completed in Najaf The three substations represent the first of many improvements to electrical service for the city of Najaf. By Suzanne M. Fournier Gulf Region Southern District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers BASE CAMP ADDER (ALI BASE), Iraq, April 10, 2006 — Three new substations were completed recently in Najaf. The Jamiaa, Aden and Shorta substations took approximately one year to build at a cost of $4.8 million each. Final inspections for each substation occurred last week. The intended outcome of each substation is to deliver electrical power to as many as 25,000 homes, depending...

Michael Meoli worked as a special operations medic in countries around the northern Persian Gulf and as a specialized security contractor in IraqI am not alone among Global War On Terrorism (GWOT) veterans who believe that the predominantly liberal media, in pounding home the notion that our country had no authority or cause to lead an attack on Sadaam Hussein's regime in Iraq, are bringing water to terrorists and helping to cement the foundation of al-Qaeda. Numerous articles, op-eds and "news" broadcasts are giving Osama bin Laden exactly what he needs to get Islamic fence-sitters to do their "duty"...

WASHINGTON, April 9, 2006 – The U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, today disputed claims that conditions in Iraq have worsened during the past two years, but said that will happen if the United States abruptly leaves the country, as some have urged. An increase in sectarian violence will occur "only... if we abandon Iraq as some people have called for in our discussions back home," Khalilzad said this morning on the Sunday talk shows. That, in turn, could lead to other countries from the region, including Iran, to take sides and expand the conflict, he said However, Khalilzad said,...

WASHINGTON, April 8, 2006 – U.S. soldiers who served in Iraq three years ago when it was liberated from Saddam Hussein's regime and are back again during its reconstruction said today the country had made and continues to make great progress. But speaking today with military analysts during a conference call from Iraq, they urged U.S. media outlets and politicians to have patience with the mission, noting that Iraq's reconstruction will be a long, arduous, multiyear task. "One of the biggest differences in Baghdad, and throughout Iraq... is that the Iraqi military is doing really well, and they're taking over...

Iraqi Police in action. Words from Iraq. Personal stuff cut out...... I could wait to tell you what we saw today. As usual we were doing our routine patrols and as we were heading back to Mares. We saw that the IP’s (Iraqi Police) had one of the main roads closed. Shortly after, we realized that they were working on an IED placed on the right of the road exactly where we normally pass by to make a right turn. This people have a great sense of bravery, because even with the limitation on the equipment that they were using...

WASHINGTON, April 7, 2006 – Three years ago April 9, the world looked on, captivated by compelling television images of Iraqis ripping down a towering statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad, and burning images of the Iraqi dictator on the streets. The statue of Saddam Hussein topples in Baghdad's Firdos Square on April 9, 2003. Three years later, Iraqi forces increasingly are taking the lead in securing their country.   Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld lauded it as an important sign of things to come. "We're seeing history unfold and events that will shape the course of a country, the fate...

WASHINGTON, April 7, 2006 – Insurgents may still be working to derail the democratic process in Iraq. But it's important to look at the bigger picture as a three-year milestone approaches, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesperson said during a briefing from Baghdad yesterday. "On the 9th of April (2003) ... the statue of Saddam Hussein in Firdos Square was toppled," Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch told reporters. "Sometimes we get so caught up in the event of the day ... we forget progress has been made over the last three years." Saddam's regime was toppled and now Saddam is being...

BAGHDAD (Army News Service, April 3, 2006) – The Iraqi army has proven that they're trained and capable of protecting the Iraqi people, and their nation recognizes that, according to Multinational Division – Baghdad Commander Maj. Gen. James Thurman in a teleconference with the Pentagon press corps March 31. Thurman assumed command of MND-B on January 7, 2006. He leads Coalition operations, which include U.S. forces and those from the Republic of Georgia, Macedonia, Estonia and about 33,000 Iraqi security forces. As the 4th Infantry division arrives at the 90-day mark in theater, Thurman pointed out key strategies and successes...

WASHINGTON, March 27, 2006 – Over the past three years Iraq has witnessed a tremendous boom in reconstruction and economic development, the U.S. director of the Iraq Reconstruction Management Office said. "It's useful to remember where we were in 2003 with liberation," Ambassador Daniel Speckhard said during a press conference in Baghdad March 24. "In 2003, Iraq had the highest debt ... as a share of gross domestic product in the world. And today about two-thirds of that debt has been written off as a result of the support by the international community." Iraq's per capita income had fallen from...

For Immediate ReleaseMarch 18, 2006 President's Radio Address       Audio      THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. In recent weeks, Americans have seen horrific images from Iraq: the bombing of a great house of worship in Samarra, sectarian reprisals between Sunnis and Shias, and car bombings and kidnappings. Amid continued reports about the tense situation in parts of that country, it may seem difficult at times to understand how we can say that progress is being made. But the reaction to the recent violence by Iraq's leaders is a clear sign of Iraq's commitment to democracy.  Radio Address 200620052004200320022001  Radio Interviews 20052004...

WASHINGTON, March 17, 2006 – There's more to do, but U.S. and coalition efforts in Afghanistan have achieved considerable progress in helping that nation to become a stable member of the world community, a senior U.S. military officer told Pentagon reporters yesterday. Army Maj. (Chaplain) Julie Rowan guides an Afghan girl through a line to receive humanitarian supplies at the Egyptian Hospital at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, Feb. 7. Rowan is attached to Task Force Strength, Combined Joint Task Force 76. Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley, commander of CJTF 76, told Pentagon reporters March 16 that "significant accomplishments"...

WASHINGTON, March 16, 2006 – Three years after a multinational force liberated Iraq from Saddam Hussein's regime, steady progress continues to be made in the nation, U.S. military and embassy officials said. Coalition forces and their governments have worked to establish democracy in Iraq since forces entered Iraq on March 20, 2003. Twenty-six nations are currently supporting operations in Iraq. In all, 35 countries have contributed to the effort there, U.S. Embassy officials in Iraq said. The multinational coalition also has helped Iraq rebuild its military and police forces. In three years Iraqi security forces have gone from zero to...

CAMP AL ASAD, Iraq (March 15, 2006) -- Iraqi soldiers are right on schedule with training requirements that will allow them to eventually relieve U.S. military forces in western Al Anbar Province, according to Marine officials here. Soldiers from the 2nd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division - one of two Iraqi Army brigades in western Al Anbar Province - have spent months now learning the administrative and decision-making processes they’ll need to function as a military headquarters element to the three Iraqi infantry battalions which will eventually be under their charge. Partnered with a Military Transition Team - groups of...