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WASHINGTON, Aug. 6, 2008 – For the eleventh straight week, violence in Iraq continues at the lowest levels in four years, despite ongoing threats from al-Qaida in Iraq and Iranian-backed militants, a coalition general said today. Army Brig. Gen. David Perkins, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman, attributed the nearly three-month lull in attacks to the Iraqi and coalition forces working toward establishing security, enforcing the rule of law and rebuilding Iraq. “We have entered a phase where the progress in security is building upon itself and is allowing for Iraqi government institutions, economic development, and civil society to mature...

Report: Sadr to disarm Mahdi Army Stars and Stripes Mideast edition, Wednesday, August 6, 2008 Anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr intends to disarm his once-dominant Mahdi Army militia and remake it as a social-services organization, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. The transformation would represent a significant turnaround for a group that has been one of the most destabilizing anti-American forces in Iraq. A new brochure, obtained by The Wall Street Journal and confirmed by al-Sadr’s chief spokesman, Sheik Salah al-Obeidi, states that the Mahdi Army will now be guided by Shiite spirituality instead of anti-American militancy. The group will focus...

Hato Abdul Hassan, 9 Nissan district council chairman, takes a drink of purified water from a tap at a water distribution site at Joint Security Station Al Khansa in eastern Baghdad, Aug. 3. Photo by Staff Sgt. Matthew Meadows. FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY — More than 500,000 Iraqi residents have purified water headed to their neighborhoods as Baghdad Water Authority officials, along with Iraqi leaders and leaders from the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, opened a water distribution site at Joint Security Station Al Khansa in eastern Baghdad, Aug. 3. After officials opened the...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5, 2008 – The Afghan National Army is increasingly able to seek out and defeat enemies autonomously in southern Afghanistan, a U.S. military official there said. “The [Afghan] army now interacts with the Taliban and other enemies of Afghanistan, and they’re doing extremely well against them,” Army Col. Thomas McGrath, commander of Afghanistan Regional Security Transition Command South, told online journalists and bloggers in a teleconference Aug. 1. McGrath, who has led force development in southern Afghanistan for 14 months, cited steady improvement in the Afghan army’s capability and professionalism. “Every day,” he said, “we’re seeing and experiencing...

DIYALA — A transfer of responsibility from U.S. Soldiers to Iraqi Security Forces in the Southern Balad Ruz area in the Eastern Diyala Province was completed Aug. 2. The volatile area of Diyala, where two operations are currently being conducted, has seen success in security for the Iraqi Army, Iraqi Police and local residents. The 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, relinquished their security responsibility to the Balad Ruz Police Chief Col. Faris Radi Abbas, and the 18th Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division Commander Staff Brig. Gen. Jafa Kadhim. “The Iraqis are ready to take over this area,” Faris said....

WASHINGTON, Aug. 4, 2008 – Iraqi security forces have made such an improvement that coalition forces in Baghdad’s Rashid district are able to turn their attention to rebuilding the area, the commander of the brigade assigned there said today. Army Col. Ted Martin, commander of the 4th Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team, said he has seen “phenomenal progress” since he was first in Iraq in 2003. “For the first time, I've seen Iraqi security forces that can plan, prepare and execute first-class offensive operations,” Martin said via video teleconference from Camp Falcon. “I've also seen a high level of...

CAMP VICTORY — Coalition forces once named the predominantly Sunni area in central Iraq, consisting of the cities of Yusuifiyah, Mahmudiyah, Iskandariyah and Latifiyah, the “Triangle of Death.” The troop surge initiated in 2007 neutralized much of the area enabling Iraqi Security Forces to take a leading role in the securing the region. An uprising there in March raised concerns and directed attention to the Iraqi Security Forces operating in that area; Coalition forces feared the ISF would struggle to maintain rule of law in the communities. “We got word that special group members were going to be coming down...

DIYALA — A transfer of responsibility from Multi-National Division – North Soldiers to Iraqi Security Forces was finalized in the southern Balad Ruz area of the Diyala province of Iraq Aug. 2. The volatile area of Diyala, where two operations are currently being conducted, has seen success with security for the Iraqi Army, Iraqi Police and local residents. The 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment handed over its security responsibility to Col. Faris Radi Abbas, Balad Ruz police Chief and the 18th Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division Commander Staff Brig. Gen. Jafa Kadhim to allow the ISF to maintain security in their...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 3, 2008 – A combination of factors is responsible for the improved conditions in Iraq, the commander of coalition forces in the northern part of the country said today. Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, commander of Multinational Division North, appeared on CNN’s “Late Edition With Wolf Blitzer.” Hertling said the coalition’s troop surge, Iraq’s security forces, national and provincial officials and the population’s rejection of violent extremism all have contributed to a sharp decline in violence and economic progress. The surge did much to improve security in Baghdad and other regions, he said, and “Sons of Iraq”...

Organizers of a Christian prayer ministry are expecting over a million people will fill the National Mall in Washington, D.C, on Aug. 16 for a 12-hour assembly of fasting and prayer for the country. The group is called TheCall, and according to their website, volunteers are working hard to gather people from every state in the country to fill the massive park between the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol on one day to fervently ask God for his undeserved mercy on the nation. Originally inspired by the 1997 Promise Keepers "Stand in the Gap" assembly at the same location,...

DIYALA PROVINCE, Iraq – A transfer of responsibility from Multi-National Division – North Soldiers to Iraqi Security Forces was finalized in the southern Balad Ruz area of the Diyala province of Iraq Aug. 2. The volatile area of Diyala, where two operations are currently being conducted, has seen success with security for the Iraqi Army, Iraqi Police and local residents.   The 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment handed over its security responsibility to Col. Faris Radi Abbas, Balad Ruz police Chief and the 18th Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division Commander Staff Brig. Gen. Jafa Kadhim to allow the ISF to maintain security in...

U.S. Deaths In Iraq Fall To Lowest Of the War Bush Suggests Gains May Allow More Troops To Come Home Sooner By Amit R. Paley Washington Post Foreign Service Friday, August 1, 2008; Page A01 BAGHDAD, July 31 -- Five American troops died in July as a result of combat in Iraq, by far the lowest monthly U.S. death toll of the five-year war. The number of Iraq-related American troop fatalities in July -- a total of 13 when noncombat deaths and the discovered bodies of two missing soldiers are included -- is a dramatic drop from just over a...

CAMP STRIKER — U.S. Soldiers are preparing to hand over their area of operations in Southern Baghdad and believe the conditions are set for making a successful change. “Our plan is to conduct a transfer of authority of Southern Baghdad, not with another Coalition forces element, but with the 17th Iraqi Army Division,” said Col. Dominic Caraccilo, commander of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). “The conditions are set for the 17th IA Div. to take charge of its area of operations – which is virtually all of the Mahmudiyah Qada,” said Maj. David Jones, operations...

BAGHDAD, July 30 (Reuters) - The number of U.S. soldiers killed in combat in Iraq has dropped sharply in July and the monthly total is likely to be the lowest since the U.S.-led invasion of the country in 2003. Five U.S. soldiers have been killed in combat in Iraq so far in July compared to 66 in the same month last year, according to the independent website icasualties.org, which keeps records of U.S. military losses in the conflict. The drop underscores the dramatic fall in violence in Iraq to lows not seen since early 2004. Seeking to build on those...

POLL: What do you think? Bush declares progress in Iraq; says troop reductions may follow WASHINGTON — President Bush declared significant progress in the Iraq war Thursday, saying terrorists "are on the run" and that generally improved security likely will permit further U.S. troop reductions. Standing on the Colonnade outside the Oval Office of the White House, Bush also announced that effective Thursday, the duration of troop tours in Iraq will be cut from 15 months to 12 months. Bush said this reduction "will relieve the burden on our forces and it will make life easier for our wonderful military...

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq, July 30, 2008 – Last month, Iraqi soldiers in Taji recovered two broken-down Humvees on their own and restored them without any help from coalition maintenance personnel. Small accomplishments like that are becoming more and more common, and cumulatively they mark milestones toward the Iraqi security forces becoming self-sufficient. A member of the Iraqi security forces pulls security duty during the inauguration ceremony for the Najaf International Airport, July 20, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Michel Sauret, Multinational Division Center  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The difference between the partnership he experienced with...

BAGHDAD — The $615,000 renovation and expansion of the Ameriya Technical High School in the Mansour District of Baghdad will soon provide vocational technical training for high school students. “This school is very important,” said Mohammed Abdullah, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region Central district’s International Zone project engineer. “It will have a great impact on the families who cannot afford to send their children to universities. They will learn a profession to earn a living.” As the executor of the contract, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region Division, over-watch the contracting and construction management and...

Iraqi Army Soldiers assigned to 3rd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division, recently seized a weapons cache in the Rusafa District of eastern Baghdad. The cache included four rocket-propelled grenade rounds and two boosters. U.S. Army photo. FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY -- Since their arrival into the critical Baghdad District of Rusafa, Iraqi Army Soldiers of 3rd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division, have played a critical role in the safety and security of the Iraqi people. Recently, Soldiers from 3rd Bn., 4th Bde., 1st IA Div., acted on a citizen tip to prevent possible attacks against Iraqi...

MOSUL, IRAQ: The Battle for Mosul over the past several years has worked as a microcosm for the larger Iraqi conflict, with Coalition and Iraqi forces successfully imposing its will only after Al Qaeda and other insurgent groups held large parts of the city and region for long periods. Control over the city of 1.9 million people and the surrounding Ninewa province have been lost to Coalition and government forces twice since 2003. Only a successful security operation in May has brought attacks to their lowest recorded levels since the conflict began. Operation “Lion’s Roar” in May involved 5,000 Coalition...

Yesterday I had an interesting conference call with Royal Navy Captain Paul Abraham. He is the Director of Maritime Strategic Transition Team in Iraq. The call focused on the development of the Iraqi Navy (no, it's not a joke. They DO have a Navy); specifically: " his experiences working with Iraqi partners in building and developing the Iraqi Navy, which led to their recent operational success in seizing control of their own territorial port of Umm Qasr, protecting 90 percent of all of Iraq's imports and exports." Currently, the Iraqi Navy consists of about a dozen hard-used small patrol boats...