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Chief Master Sgt. Praises Afghan Progress U.S. Central Command’s top enlisted leader praised Afghanistan for its progress in rebuilding and developing its armed forces over the past five years. By U.S. Army Spc. Carina M. Garcia KABUL, Afghanistan, Aug. 16, 2006 -- The U.S. Central Command’s top enlisted leader visited Afghanistan from Aug. 5 to 8 and praised the country for its progress in rebuilding and reconstructing, and developing its armed forces over the past five years. Just a month away from the fifth anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Curtis L. Brownhill toured bases...

BAGHDAD — Iraqi Interior Ministry forces have reached 92 percent of a planned strength of 188,000 troops, the commander of the Coalition's Civilian Police Assistance Training Team said Monday in the capital. The Iraqi police are 90 percent trained and 83 percent equipped, according to Army Maj. Gen. Joseph Peterson, speaking to reporters from Baghdad Monday with Army Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, spokesman for Multi-National Force – Iraq. Members of the Iraqi National Police, formerly called special police, are 98 percent trained and equipped, the general said. The Interior Ministry also controls the Department of Border Enforcement. Its...

Soldiers from the 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division capture insurgents during a demonstration of military ability that took place at Forward Operating Base Mahmudiah South Monday. Story and photos by Sgt. Trevor Snyder124th Mobile Public  Affairs Detachment BAGHDAD -- Iraqi forces took control of another area of Baghdad on Monday after the latest in a series of transfer of authority ceremonies near the capital. Army Col. Claude Ebel, commander of the 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division said responsibility for Forward Operating Base Mahmudiyah South, a base of operations for security forces south of the capital, was transferred to...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 14, 2006 – About 92 percent of Iraq’s 188,000 Ministry of Interior forces now are trained and equipped, and all Iraqi National Police soon will receive new official uniforms, the commander of the Civilian Police Assistance Training Team told Baghdad reporters today. Army Maj. Gen. Joseph Peterson reported major strides in preparing Iraq’s police elements for their security mission. Among Iraqi police, the largest group of Interior Ministry forces, about 90 percent are trained and 83 percent equipped, he reported. Those operating in nine key Iraqi cities U.S. forces have been working with are about 99 percent equipped....

BAGHDAD — As news here this week centered on bolstering Baghdad security, quality of life projects are still progressing with notable results in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq. For nearly two years, the Al Wathba Water Treatment Plant has been undergoing a $22 million upgrade to bring fresh, potable water to Baghdad residents. That facility serves the Rusafa area in northeast Baghdad with markets, businesses, medical facilities, and about 300,000 residents dependent on its output. “Al Wathba is more than 40 years old and the dilapidated, poorly maintained equipment was producing about 1,000 cubic meters (264172.1 gallons) of drinking water...

WASHINGTON, August 2, 2006 – Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld used today, the 16th anniversary of Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait, as an opportunity to assess progress that’s taken place in Iraq and the threat extremists continue to impose on free people. Rumsfeld cited the string of events Saddam provoked in 1990. “Saddam Hussein’s forces invaded Kuwait, provoking a crisis that led to Iraqi attacks on Israel and threats to Saudi Arabia and to other nations in the region,” he told Pentagon reporters. In contrast, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki -- a man Rumsfeld noted spent some 25 years opposing...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - President Jalal Talabani said Wednesday that Iraqi forces will take over security in all provinces in the country by the end of the year. U.S. forces currently are responsible for security in 17 of Iraq's 18 provinces. The optimistic statement by Talabani comes at a time when the country is reeling under intense sectarian violence, mainly involving Shiite and Sunni militias. On Tuesday, more than 70 people were killed in one of the worst days of bloodshed. Talabani, a Kurd from northern Iraq, said the government is confident of vanquishing terrorism. "We are highly optimistic that we...

KABUL, Afghanistan, July 29, 2006 – The top U.S. general yesterday told the Afghan people they have made huge strides and that Afghan forces are now helping protect the country. In a news conference here, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke on several issues affecting Afghanistan. “Last night I had the privilege of having dinner with General Bismullah Khan (chief of the general staff of the Afghan National Army) and with several of his staff and several of the deputy ministers of the Ministry of Defense,” he said. “I found that setting to be...

Before we get to the latest good news from Iraq, a brief clarification is in order concerning why it is important to compile this good news here in the first place: because it receives sparse or no coverage from the mainstream media. The purpose of these compilations is not to whitewash the situation in Iraq, nor to suggest that there haven’t been problems with the administration’s handling of the conflict. They are simply an attempt to fill in the news gaps, to help form a more complete picture of the current state of affairs, so that readers can be better...

CAMP AL ASAD, Iraq (July 24, 2006) -- Iraqi Army officers serving alongside Marines on this U.S. military air base in Al Anbar province are learning how to plan their own missions – a critical step to independent operations for Iraqi Security Forces, according to Marine officials here. Iraqi leadership within the 2nd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division – one of two Iraqi brigades based in the province – are learning how to evaluate intelligence, organize information and conduct well-thought mission-planning briefs. “These guys have to be able to communicate … and support their battalions, and provide command and control...

Iraqi soldiers track down and detain terrorists based on citizens’ information. American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, July 23, 2006 — Better-trained and more confident Iraqi troops increasingly are taking the fight to the terrorists, and U.S. troops are securing better and more actionable intelligence, thanks to their daily, long-standing efforts on behalf of the Iraqi people, U.S. military officials reported this week. Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, killed five terrorists, wounded 13, and detained 47 during a two-hour firefight in Mahmudiyah South on July 21 ‘They heard the cry for help from the Iraqi...

OK, how come Liberals are against outsourcing yet for Illegal Immigration to take the jobs Americans won't do, yet are against ANWR even if the Unions want to drill there. How come Hollywood actors and actresses wear gowns that cost milliona and millions of dollars for one day, yet complain about Conservatives and charity? How come Liberals wear Che T-shirts, yet no Conservative wears an Augusto Pinochet T-shirt? How come Liberals even support somewhat a policy system that has led to the worst environmental, mass murder, dissent crushing and working records yet pledge to stand behind it? How come Liberals...

July 10, 2006, 5:54 a.m. Do You Know That...?More good news from Iraq. By Bill Crawford We begin this installment with a brief overview of the positive trends seen in Iraq over the last few weeks. The media frenzy over Zarqawi’s death is over now, and the only news being reported out of Iraq these days is car bombs and accusations against our soldiers. But that is not the whole story. On the economic front, Iraqi-oil output is now at its highest level since the liberation: Iraq’s new oil minister offered an optimistic forecast for the country’s oil industry...

Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq May 2006 Report to Congress In accordance with the Department of Defense Appropriations Act 2006 (Section 9010) Gleaned from the quarterly progress report that is required by Congress, the below information from the May 2006 report (Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq, May 2006) paints a picture of widespread progress. In Political, Economic, and Military spheres, advances are occuring all over Iraq, and have been for years. Here's a summary of some information that is in the Department of Defense's May 2006 Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq report, each point is listed along...

Space Adventures, Venture capitalist firm Prodea, and Russian aerospace firm Myasishchev Design Bureau are planning to share their science notes to build suborbital flight vehicles that can take you and me into space. Myasishchev will design and build the ships. Vienna, Va.-based Space Adventures -- which has already sent three tourists to the international space center since 2001 -- will do the selling. Prodea will beam up the necessary funds when required. The spaceship is expected to hold 5 very very wealthy travelers who have lots and lots of time on their hands to prepare for the trip. If I...

Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro continues to please veterinarians with his progress in his recovery from surgery to repair his shattered right hind leg sustained in the Preakness Stakes on May 20. The colt remains in intensive care at the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. "Barbaro continues to improve; he is maintaining his weight and his coat looks good," said Corinne Sweeney, D.V.M, executive director of the Widener Hospital. "I would say he is a happy, healthy horse."

WASHINGTON, June 28, 2006 – Life has improved for Afghanistan's people since the days of Taliban rule, a senior U.S. military commander told U.S. legislators here today. Progress made in Afghanistan "is truly significant," Army Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry told House Armed Services Committee members at a Capitol Hill hearing. Afghanistan today boasts a democratically elected president and parliament, a confirmed cabinet, a functioning constitution, a growing security force and ongoing reconstruction projects, Eikenberry said. That wasn't the case when the Taliban seized power in 1996 and governed Afghanistan with an iron fist. They also allowed al Qaeda to run...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2006 WWW.USDOJ.GOV CRM (202) 514-2007 TDD (202) 514-1888 Department of Justice Examples of Terrorism Convictions Since Sept. 11, 2001 Below are examples of some of the convictions obtained by the Department of Justice in terrorism cases since Sept. 11, 2001: Hassan Moussa Makki (Eastern District of Michigan) – In September 2003, Hassan Makki pleaded guilty to racketeering charges and providing material support to Hizbollah in conjunction with the Mohammed Hammoud case in Charlotte, NC. Makki was sentenced to 57 months in prison. Richard Reid (District of Massachusetts) – British national Richard Reid was sentenced...

BAGHDAD, Iraq, June 25 — Enrollment in Iraqi schools has risen every year since the American invasion, according to Iraqi government figures, reversing more than a decade of declines and offering evidence of increased prosperity for some Iraqis. Despite the violence that has plagued Iraq since the American occupation began three years ago, its schools have been quietly filling. The number of children enrolled in schools nationwide rose by 7.4 percent from 2002 to 2005, and in middle schools and high schools by 27 percent in that time, according to figures from the Ministry of Education. The increase, which has...

Asia has a paltry 5% of the world's oil reserves. Compare that to the former Soviet Union which has more than one fifth (20.8%) and Africa and the Middle East, which have nearly 2/3s of the oil reserves (60.5%). What to do...China National Petroleum Co. and India's Oil & Natural Gas Corp. teamed up to buy a Syrian oil field! I thought about doing that once -- buying a gas station. But then, I realized I still had to buy the gas before I could pump it out. The reason India and China went in to buy the field together...