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The GAO and Pentagon cited less violence but also Iraqi forces unprepared to go it alone. WASHINGTON - Two new government reports, one by the Pentagon, pointed Monday to encouraging security improvements in Iraq but were pessimistic about prospects for political and economic progress and warned that costly military gains remain fragile.One report, by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, concluded that many political reconciliation efforts have stalled, that Iraq's security forces remain largely unable to operate without U.S. assistance and that its central government has not fulfilled commitments to spend its own money on reconstruction efforts....

(CNSNews.com) - Progress in Iraq has been so substantial that by the end of this year, the U.S. may be able withdraw forces from Iraq to support its troops in Afghanistan, where violence has been rising, Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters Monday. "I am hopeful that if the turnaround in Iraq continues as it has in recent months, then we will be able to create some additional force [in Afghanistan] at the same time that we are growing the Army and the Marine Corps," he said at a Pentagon news briefing. "Through that...

BAGHDAD (AFP) — The US military is to hand over security control of the former Sunni insurgent bastion of Anbar province to Iraqi forces in the next 10 days, a US military spokesman announced on Monday."The handover of Anbar is expected to take place in the next 10 days," Lieutenant David Russell told AFP, declining to provide an exact date.Anbar would be the tenth of Iraq's 18 provinces to be handed back to Iraqi forces by the US-led coalition amid a push to transfer security control of the entire country back to Baghdad.Anbar province in western Iraq, the country's largest,...

FALLUJAH — Marines geared for war walk in tactical columns through the once mean streets of Fallujah, ready for what may lay around the next corner.“Mister, mister shokalata! Shokalata!”shout exuberant children from a crowded neighborhood as Marines and Iraqi police pass out candy.Marines with Company B, Police Transition Team 8, Regimental Combat Team 1, have been working diligently over the past few months to help train Iraqi police to take over their respective areas and become self-supportive in day-to-day operations in the city.Recent increases in the number of Iraqi police have drastically subdued the violence in the city.According to...

BAGHDAD – At first glance it doesn’t look like much: a construction site with a large wooden box strapped to a forklift, a crane, approximately 15 Iraqi Army and Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers, and a small pile of equipment. Such were the humble beginnings of a project that involves installing solar-powered street lights in order to deter militant and criminal activity, improve public safety and security, and ease the burdens on the growing Iraqi infrastructure. “The 4th Infantry Division has been the driving force through this project,” said Capt. Adam Levitt, currently on a military transition team from 4th...

TIKRIT, Iraq – Leaders from the provincial government of the Salah ad Din province along with their Coalition partners from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, met in Tikrit XXXXX to discuss broadening the reconciliation process in the area. The meeting established a common understanding between Coalition Forces and Salah ad Din leadership regarding coordination mechanisms between Qadah, provincial and national governments, and CF. Governor Hamood Shekti, Maj. Gen. Hamed, provincial director of police, and other regional and provincial leaders met with the 1st BCT, 101st Abn. Div., commander and other Coalition leaders to further establish a common...

BAGHDAD — What’s going right? And can it last? Violence in all of Iraq is the lowest since March 2004. The two largest cities, Baghdad and Basra, are calmer than they have been for years. The third largest, Mosul, is in the midst of a major security operation. On Thursday, Iraqi forces swept unopposed through the southern city of Amara, which has been controlled by Shiite militias. There is a sense that Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki’s government has more political traction than any of its predecessors. Consider the latest caricatures of Mr. Maliki put up on posters by the...

Sons of Iraq (Abna al-Iraq) wait in line outside the the Furat Iraqi Police Training Facility, June 17, to start the process of becoming IP recruits. The four day recruiting drive is part of the Multi-National Division - Baghdad plan of Iraqi police expansion. Photo by Sgt. Daniel Blottenberger. CAMP VICTORY — As a sandstorm blanketed Baghdad, June 17, an estimated 2000 Iraqi citizens endured the elements to start the process of becoming Iraqi police at the Furat Iraqi Police Training Facility. Iraqi police officials and military police Soldiers with the 18th Military Police Brigade, Multi-National Division - Baghdad set...

Media: Haven't heard much news coming out of Iraq recently? Consider the near silence a clear indication that things are going well there.Reports of good news from Iraq since the U.S. and allied forces took down Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003 have been about as common as Bigfoot sightings. The mainstream media have religiously dwelled on the bad news, but have decided that progress isn't worth the coverage. That's left others to fill in the gaps. One largely unreported bit of positive news is the decline in casualties caused by improvised explosive devices — homemade roadside bombs. According to the...

(CNSNews.com) - Deploying more U.S. troops in Iraq has resulted in a dramatic decline in the number of U.S. troops being killed by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in that country. IED-caused casualties have dropped 89 percent since the surge went full force last June, according to a Cybercast News Service database of Iraq casualties. IED-caused casualties spiked in the early part of last year as the surge began. In January 2007, the U.S. started deploying an additional 30,000 troops to the country. The surge in forces was completed in mid-June. Click For Larger Image On June 17, Gen. David Petraeus,...

CAMP TAJI — As an elected official, it is important to support all of the people who live and work within the political boundaries of responsibility. Hussein al-Tahan, governor of Baghdad, proved his dedication to the areas of Mushada and Tarmiyah, northwest of Baghdad, June 13, with visits in the area and attendance to the first Joint Rural Planning Committee at Bukhari Hall in Tarmiyah. The meeting brought together leaders from the Tarmiyah Qada, members of the Provincial Council and a special visit from al-Tahan. It served as a forum for local leaders in the area to discuss specific issues...

WASHINGTON, June 18, 2008 – The Iraqi air force is making great strides as it continues to train and begins supporting Iraqi army and police forces, the U.S. advisor to the force said today. During a news conference in Baghdad, Air Force Brig. Gen. Brooks L. Bash spoke said the security situation in Iraq is improving each day, thanks to the investments the citizens have made in their country’s future and to coalition training efforts. Bash, commander of the Coalition Air Force Transition Team in Iraq, said the Iraqi air force, though small and still developing, is providing important capabilities...

WASHINGTON, June 18, 2008 – Coalition construction worth about $2.5 billion is under way in Iraq, despite attacks that have injured workers and damaged buildings, development delays caused by land-deed disputes, and low-level corruption. Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq, responsible for developing the infrastructure of Iraq’s Defense and Interior ministries, is managing more than 300 projects in various phases of completion: 170 under construction, 85 in contract negotiation, and 60 others being handed off to Iraqis. But as Iraq rebuilds, concerns about site security and worker safety can exact hidden costs, said Navy Capt. John D. Rice, engineering staff director...

CAMP STRIKER — Iraqi Army Soldiers and Coalition forces conducted an air assault census mission, named “Operation New Town,” June 10 in Shakriyah. The 4th Company, 3rd Battalion, 22nd Brigade, 6th IA Division company commander also participated in the air assault mission to get a first-hand perspective on what his Soldiers will be doing in the near future. “I was very impressed,” said Maj. Ahmed Hassan, 4th Co., 3/22/6 IA commander. “The Coalition Soldiers were treating the people with respect and helping form a tighter bond with the people we are all responsible for; everything went as expected.” Combined with...

Democrats no longer talk of the 18 benchmarks for measuring progress in Iraq because so much progress has now taken place. Way back in the dark days of 2007, when the only popular question about the Iraq war concerned the degree of tragedy, Congress’s Iraq “benchmarks” were all the rage among Democrats. Every argument against a continued U.S. presence in Iraq was constructed around the Maliki administration’s apparent inability to meet the political and security-based milestones as outlined by America’s Democratic-majority Congress. Then something happened. The gains of the troop surge allowed the Iraqi government and citizenry to implement the...

HABBANIYAH — Two years ago, al-Anbar was said to be the most violent province in Iraq. It was a place where the insurgency in Iraq had begun and where the bloodiest battles took place. Today, thanks to the hard work and sacrifices made by the Marines, Sailors, Soldiers and Airmen who served in the area, it has become a model for the rest of Iraq. Marines of 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, have put in countless hours and have risked their lives every day to ensure their area of operations within al-Anbar Province stays that way...

It’s official. There will be no more argument from the Democrats about the success of the troop surge. Their plan is to bury their error in judgment in a larger fabricated argument about American hegemony. Not only is Barack Obama acknowledging progress in Iraq–he’s now pleased with it. And he let Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari know as much when the two spoke by telephone earlier today. However if you’re a Democrat, a smidgen of U.S.-praise must come with a heaping pile of “but.” Here’s Obama on his talk with Zebari:

BAGHDAD, June 13, 2008 – Iraq’s Interior Ministry yesterday conducted an internal review of strategic goals and objectives it has achieved so far in 2008. The review was a first in the ministry’s history, and it follows a few months after Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani approved the strategic plan in February. “We are here to look into our achievements, and most importantly, to solve the obstacles we are facing,” said Senior Deputy Minister Adnan al-Asadi. The strategic plan for 2008 identified eight goals with 54 underlying objectives and 152 tasks to achieve them. The eight major goals were to create...

Gulf Region South district A student practices his welding skills in one of the newly renovated shops at the Al Khaseeb Vocational Technical Center in Basrah. Students there can choose between a variety of classes including carpentry, electric installation, auto mechanics, air conditioning and refrigeration, masonry, painting, computer basics and plumbing installation. USACE photo by Norris Jones. BASRA — Students in Basra are now attending a newly refurbished vocational technical school as they acquire important job skills.The school’s headmaster, Mohammed Hassan Al Hassani, said he is very pleased with the $1.24 million rehabilitation of the Al Khaseeb Votech Center that...

WASHINGTON, June 12, 2008 – Improvements in overall security incidents and Iraqi forces continued to rise during the past week, enabling the central government and coalition forces to begin progress in other areas vital to Iraq’s growth and sovereignty, a senior U.S. military official in Iraq said yesterday. The country began to see a reduction in security incidents four weeks ago, marking the lowest levels since March 2004, Army Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman, told reporters at a Baghdad news conference. The Iraqi government is undertaking broader efforts to provide services that were not possible...