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WASHINGTON, Aug. 29, 2008 – Improvements in the security situation south of Baghdad have enabled economic and political progress, and the continued development of the Iraqi security forces will advance those gains, a U.S. commander said yesterday. Progress across those multiple fronts is interconnected, Army Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan, deputy commanding general for operations for Multinational Division Center, explained during a call with military bloggers. “If this were an organism, it would be a symbiotic effect that we have through these different factors operating in concert with each other to achieve an overall more positive effect,” Buchanan said. The general...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28, 2008 – Coalition forces in the Madain community south of Baghdad are shifting their efforts from predominantly offensive operations to improving central services and further developing the local government, a military official posted in Iraq said today. “Progress in Madain is absolutely phenomenal,” Army Col. Pat White, commander of the 1st Armored Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team, known as the Iron Brigade, told Pentagon reporters via teleconference. The Iron Brigade’s main mission in Madain may suggest heavy combat, as they’re responsible for filtering the flow of insurgents and munitions entering Baghdad. But attack levels are down from...

CAMP TAJI, Iraq, Aug. 28, 2008 – Iraqi army maintenance soldiers were honored for their recent achievements and progress during a ceremony at the Taji Level III Wheeled Vehicle Maintenance Facility Aug. 26. Staff Gen. Nasier Abadi, the Iraqi Army deputy chief of staff, stops and talks with one of the Taji Level III Wheeled Vehicle Maintenance Facility soldier as he walked the line of nearly 130 wheeled vehicles and 20 track vehicles that were recently repaired here. Nasier was genuinely proud of the progress made and was the guest of honor at the ceremony on Aug 26, 2008....

BAGHDAD — Leaders from Task Force Mountain, Multi-National Corps - Iraq and other units working with the Iraqi Security Forces met with Iraqi Army commanders for a one-day conference, Aug. 20. "What we are trying to do is identify force generation needs. We are looking at the way ahead," said Capt. Steven Chadwick, an ISF coordinator with 10th Mountain Division. The conference focused on manning, equipping and training the ISF to be a more effective and self-sustaining force. "We already know where we are going to be in six months. We are looking two years-plus, trying to figure out what...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq, Aug. 26, 2008 – Sealing off a cornerstone time capsule marked a new beginning for the farmers in the northern portion of Iraq’s Babil province. Sheik Kudair Ulawi al-Jubori, chairman of the Central Euphrates Farmers Market and Agricultural Center Management Board, signs the official document that was placed in a time capsule during a foundation-stone ceremony in an open field just north of Forward Operating Base Kalsu, Iraq, Aug. 23, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Tami Hillis  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Agriculture leaders, provincial government officials, Iraqi security forces...

RAWAH — The town of Rawah has had many improvements since Coalition forces arrived. With their help, and the assistance of several organizations from Colorado, the local residents will soon be able to see the progress a little better. Coalition forces recently delivered over 700 prescription eyeglasses to help provide the residents of Rawah with badly needed prescription lenses. “We are helping increase the quality of life for many of the people who could otherwise not afford prescription glasses,” said Navy Lt. Malcolm Brown, battalion surgeon for 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5. “There have been instances...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21, 2008 – Washington and Baghdad are close to reaching a status of forces agreement, but negotiations on the deal to determine the future U.S. military role in Iraq are ongoing, a Defense Department official said today. “We’ve made good progress on it; we are close,” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. “There are still some issues to work out, but … it’s very premature at this point to say that we have an agreement.” Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in a surprise one-day visit to Baghdad today, said the discussion about the status of forces is possible only...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq, Aug. 20, 2008 – When Army Staff Sgt. David Cox looks at a map of Baghdad and sees the neighborhoods that form a little block in the southern part of the city known as Abu Tshir, he realizes how tenuous a position his platoon and fellow soldiers are in. Army Staff Sgt. David Pena, a section leader from Grand Junction, Colo., and Army Sgt. 1st Class Thomas Yaudas, platoon sergeant, both assigned to Red Platoon, Troop C, 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multinational Division Baghdad, conduct an...

Maj. Peter Colt, 443rd Civil Affairs Battalion, plays with young Iraqi children in Gaydah village, which is in the Kirkuk province of northeastern Iraq. Colt, along with 2nd Battalion, 22nd Inf. Regt. Soldiers, met with the village leaders recently to discuss developments and projects that will benefit the area. Photo by Spc. Jason Jordan. KIRKUK — In the southern Rishad valley of Kirkuk province lies the remote village of Gaydah, located several miles off the nearest main road and even further from the nearest substantial city or district. Already accustomed to seclusion, the village residents were surprised when Soldiers from...

Madrid, 2008 In 1936, during the great Socialist Terror of the early months of the Civil War, the large monument to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Cerro de los Ángeles, near Madrid, was attacked and demolished, a symbol of one of the harshest large-scale persecutions of the Church in History. From one of the stones of the demolished statue, a small sculpture of the Sacred Heart was sculpted and placed in the public garden outside the Parish Church of San Antonio de la Florida, in Madrid - otherwise a very famous building due to the extensive paintings of...

Sheik Saeed Jassim, sheik council chairman and local head of Tarmiyah government, displays photos of a recent al-Qaida in Iraq attack to local clergy and government officials at the Bukhari Hall in Tarmiyah, Aug. 14, 2008, as he condemns their acts and calls those gathered to action against terrorist activities. Sgt. Whitney Houston. BAGHDAD — Sheiks, local government officials and Iraqi Security Forces from the Tarmiyah area banded together to publicly reaffirm their stance against al-Qaida in Iraq at the Bukhari Hall in Tarmiyah, Aug. 14. The reaffirmation was a reaction to a recent attack by AQI forces in the...

CAMP FALLUJAH — Gen. James T. Conway, commandant of the Marine Corps, visited service members and toured the local battlefield shared by Marine units of Regimental Combat Team 1 on Aug. 16. During his visit, the commandant spoke with Col. Lewis A. Craparotta, commanding officer, RCT-1, and surveyed progress service members are making in Fallujah and the surrounding regions. “I don’t think anyone would have predicted that the al-Anbar province would become a model for elsewhere in the nation,” said Conway, during a town hall meeting aboard the camp. Conway and Craparotta convoyed with a group of Marines from Camp...

BAGHDAD — In January 2008, Multi-National Division – Baghdad’s 18th Military Police Brigade developed a new method to further improve the surging Iraqi police force by implementing the enhanced Police Transition Teams to concentrate on supporting IP systems in Baghdad. The ePTT is a group of Soldiers who have subject matter expertise in: personnel, communications and logistic operations and techniques in support of large organizations; their mission is to assess the IP organization and provide assistance to better the organizational management of the IPs in these areas. Since then, the ePTTs have been embedding with the IP force at the...

Iraqi Army Soldiers with the 3rd Battalion, 42nd Brigade, 11th Iraqi Army Division, sort through a large cache discovered in the Sadr City district of Baghdad, Aug. 14, 2008, after a resident informed the unit of its location. Photo by Sgt. Zachary Mott. PATROL BASE COMANCHE — In the three months since the Iraqi Army began patrolling inside the Sadr City district of Baghdad, the Soldiers conducting these patrols have worked hard to cultivate a relationship with the people there. Constant patrols, handing out food and water as well as providing medical services have helped advance this new relationship. In...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq, Aug. 14, 2008 – Leaders from Iraqi security forces and Multinational Division Baghdad came together Aug. 12 for the grand opening of a new landmark in local security for Iraqis in southwestern Baghdad. Brig. Gen. Yousef Kadhim, commander of the Iraqi Police Rashid District headquarters, speaking on behalf of the Police Forces Command al-Karkh and Iraq’s Ministry of Interior, addresses local leaders, sheiks and Iraqi security forces attending the grand opening of the Radwaniyah Police Station in Baghdad’s Rashid district, Aug. 12, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Brent Williams, Multinational Division Baghdad  (Click...

Iraqi Army Maj. Ahmed Majeed, commander of Company D, 3rd Battalion, 31st Brigade, 8th IA Division goes over a list of high value targets Coalition forces suspected were in the area during Operation Leros, Aug. 5, 2008, in the Shaka 5 region. Photo by Spc. Amanda Mcbride. FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU — Iraqi Army Soldiers led the way in Operation Leros, an early morning house and cache clearing operation, Aug. 5, in the Shaka 5 region, resulting in the detention of five personnel. “We raided the different homes to find caches and to find people on the Iraqi Army’s high...

RAMADI — As Ramadi transitions from an insurgent stronghold to a calm and recovering city, the women of the city are also taking steps to better their future. More than 50 women from the emerging city gathered for the “Women of Tomorrow” women’s conference at the Ramadi Sunni Endowment Center August 2-4.During the conference, women discussed common issues in today’s Iraqi society, and were also introduced to and officially welcomed the Females for Ramadi Council.The council will serve in an advisory role to the city’s mayor concerning issues pertaining to women and children, said Lt. Col. Sandra Rodriguez-Brown, the...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 11, 2008 – While the security situation in northern Iraq has improved, governors of the four provinces there do not believe it is time for provincial Iraqi control, the coalition commander in the region said. Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling gave a rundown of the situation in the four provinces his Multinational Division North has responsibility for during a Pentagon news conference today. Hertling spoke via teleconference from Forward Operating Base Speicher, in Iraq. Hertling praised the progress of Iraqi security forces, saying they “have made monumental strides” in capabilities and professionalism. Still, the division and Iraqi...

A mother stand near the tombstone marking the grave of her son in Taq Taq, Iraq. Her son was killed by al-Qaida in Iraq for assisting the coalition force last year. Soldiers with 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment are attempting to create a sub-district status and council in this region for representation at the district level during Operation Summit Pursuit. Photo by Staff Sgt. Margaret Nelson. FORWARD OPERATING BASE MCHENRY — Amid the turmoil and political uncertainty that clouds the future of their provincial capital city, Operation Summit Pursuit - spearheaded by Soldiers of 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, approximately...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 7, 2008 – Despite the recent drawdown of coalition troops in Iraq, violence levels continue to drop as Iraqi security forces grow in competency and size, a senior coalition spokesman said today during a news conference in Iraq. Throughout the past few weeks, coalition forces have drawn down troop numbers in Iraq. The last of the five original surge brigades, two Marine battalions and an Australian battle group have redeployed without the need for replacements, said Navy Rear Adm. Patrick Driscoll. At the same time, Iraqi forces have grown by more than 148,000 troops, and the Sunni Muslim...