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QUDS — One… two… three—the signal is given; with a fierce kick, the door crashes open. Before the door makes contact with the adjacent wall, the Emergency Response Battalion 4 flood into the living room of a house in a small village in the eastern region of Mosul, Iraq. The ER 4 is one of several special tactics units within the Iraqi National Police. ER 4 is comprised of approximately 100 Iraqi Police. ER 4 applied the training provided to them by Company B, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment during a clearing operation. We’ve trained units on vehicle searches, marksmanship,...

BAGHDAD — Soon, hundreds of Ghazaliyah’s Sons of Iraq, or Abna’a al Iraq, will come under new management. In an effort to reorganize and integrate these concerned citizens, known locally as the Ghazaliyah guardians, they will fall solely under the control of the Government of Iraq. Though the change will be quite transparent to the citizens who cross these volunteers’ checkpoints daily, it will have a profound effect on the direction and authority of the regions Iraqi Security Forces. “Today we are transferring you from American authority to the Iraqi government,” said Capt. Thomas Melton, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault),...

TAJI AIR BASE — The vaguely comforting scent of oil and mechanical parts drifted through the air as an Mi-17 Hip helicopter sat in the shade of a hangar here, Sept. 11. Its rear door lay open, and panels along its tail boom were lifted away and stowed as Iraqi Airmen crawled through the vehicle's innards. Two Airmen straddled the tail, about a meter from the tail blade, while a third had shimmied inside the tail boom, inspecting the inside. On a nearby table sat an Mi-17 technical order -- a step-by-step repair and maintenance manual that is just one...

KHARMAR — When he speaks, they want to listen. That is how respected Sheik Fares Mohammad Al Taha is to his people of the Al Jehaishi tribe. So when Iraqi Soldiers stopped by to deliver food and water to his village, Taha delivered an unprecedented speech. Addressing many of the village head-of-households, Taha, surrounded by Iraqi and U.S. Soldiers, publicly declared his support for the Government of Iraq along with the Iraqi security and Coalition forces. “Having this [food] campaign only brings us closer to the Government of Iraq,” Taha told the men and women present from his tribe. “We...

CAMP TAJI — Iraq has seen remarkable gains in security during the last nine months, due in part to the hard work of the Iraqi Army (IA). Until recently the IA only dealt with kinetic-type missions such as kicking in doors, serving arrest warrants, patrolling and defending security sites. However, the continued growth of the IA, both in terms of numbers and operational experience, allows them to take on missions formerly handled exclusively by Coalition forces. Now, due to the increased confidence and experience of IA Soldiers and their leaders, they are beginning to tackle missions through diplomacy, public relations...

But the way ahead is becoming clearer, with a road map provided by men such as Col. Dominic Caraccilo, a brigade commander in the 101st Airborne whose men patrol a patch south of Baghdad that used to be called the Triangle of Death. The soldiers now laughingly refer to it as the "Triangle of Love." A year ago, there were as many as 50 attacks every week; now there are just a few. Caraccilo is overseeing a drawdown of U.S. forces; his brigade of about 4,000 soldiers is shipping out, to be replaced by a task force of fewer than...

FOB LOYALTY — Justice and the institution of law in Iraq took a large step forward recently when Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki officially opened a new courthouse in the Rusafa District of eastern Baghdad. Iraqi Chief Justice Medhat al-Mahmoud, along with Ryan Crocker, the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, and Gen. David Petraeus, the outgoing commanding general of Multi-National Force – Iraq, joined al-Maliki and other distinguished visitors for the courthouse grand opening. After al-Maliki and al-Mahmoud cut a ribbon at the courthouse entrance, they entered the building to address those in attendance. Al-Maliki spoke about the importance of re-establishing the...

BAGHDAD — A large Iraqi security force (ISF) convoy, which included several Iraqi Army Humvees, exited the international zone in Baghdad at midday, Sept. 10, 2008. At the front and back of the convoy was an Iraqi Police (IP) patrol vehicle providing escort security for the convoy. “That says something in itself,” said Capt. Nathan Brookshire, a Military Police commander, while viewing the long line of Humvees exiting the international zone. “Iraqi Police pulling security for an Iraqi Army convoy, you don’t see that every day.” At least you don’t in Baghdad, where until recent months the local populace security...

COB ADDER — An Iraqi Army (IA) training center in southern Iraq graduated nearly 200 new Soldiers, Sept. 4, 2008. The new troops are set to fill positions in the 10th and 14th IA Divisions. “I give credit to my officers for training me into being a better Soldier,” said Pvt. Talal Maki, a recent graduate of Camp Ur’s truck driving school. Maki is scheduled to join the 39th Brigade, located in Samawah. “They prepared me and my fellow troops to fight and defend our country.” The IA is putting better trained troops into its operational divisions in the southern...

Three young Iraqi children bearing a platter holding an Iraqi flag surrounded by roses wait to present the flag to the Iraqi color guard during a ceremony at Combat Outpost Cleary Sept. 9, 2008. Photo by Pfc. Michael Schuch, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division Public Affairs. FOB HAMMER — The 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, handed authority of Combat Outpost Cleary to Soldiers of the 4th Battalion, 34th Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army Division in a ceremony at the outpost near Salman Pak, Sept. 9. Iraqi Soldiers celebrated with song and dance after raising the Iraqi flag,...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 12, 2008 – When security responsibility for Iraq’s Anbar province was turned over to the Iraqi government this month, it validated the security model that has been applied throughout the country, a coalition spokesman said Sept. 11. Successful coordination of a surge in U.S. forces, the emergence of the Awakening movement, and political movement by the Iraqi government resulted in the weakening of the al Qaeda in Iraq terrorist network into a more containable scattering of individual cells, said Rear Adm. Patrick Driscoll, deputy chief of strategic communications, Multinational Force Iraq. Anbar province, Driscoll said, is “now kind...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 9, 2008 – At the end of 2006, Iraq seemed on the verge of a civil war. Al-Qaida was inciting divisions between Sunni and Shiia Iraqis. The newly elected government seemed ineffectual. Militia groups roamed neighborhoods and intimidated those who did not agree with them. More than 100 U.S. servicemembers per month were being killed in fighting in the country. Today, that number has dropped dramatically, thanks largely to the troop surge and a new strategy that senior military officials credit with laying the groundwork for success throughout Iraq. U.S. officials understood the challenges in Iraq and studied...

While a Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldier searches a vehicle, an Iraqi policeman pulls security in the northwestern Baghdad community of Ghazaliyah, Iraq, Aug. 29, 2008. Photo by Sgt. Matthew Vanderboegh, 101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs. BAGHDAD --- During a joint patrol with Iraqi Police, Capt. Michael Kolton, a native of Fairfax Station, Va., stopped to talk with a group of men standing in the shade of a cluster of trees. The conversation went from questions regarding security, to the future of Iraq, elections and the Iraqi Police. “The Iraqi people would rather have Iraqis fix their own problems,”...

Navy Lt. Mickey Deel listens to an Iraq boy's lungs during a combined medical engagement Aug. 30, 2008. Photo by Lance Cpl. Scott Schmidt, Regimental Combat Team 1. JIKO --- Local City Council leaders successfully planned and executed a combined medical engagement at the Jiko medical clinic, providing care to the people of Jiko, Mukalan and Sattack, Aug. 30. Almost 400 Iraqis received care from Capt. Kadhim Ali Kadhim, an Iraqi battalion surgeon, and U.S. doctors and corpsmen.“This has been the largest Iraqi-lead event in the area,” said Mohammed Hussein, Jiko’s medical nurse and member of the Tri-Cities City Council.Hussein...

BAGHDAD — It was a grand opening without any grandeur. No ribbons were cut, and no speeches were given. But an Iraqi Assistance Center (IAC) opened Sept. 1 in Baghdad’s Sadr City district nonetheless. The center, housed in a trailer near the Sadr City District Advisory Council building, is where Iraqi citizens go to file damage and condolence claims for losses suffered due to combat between Coalition forces and enemy elements in this northeastern Baghdad district. The second client for the IAC at its new location was a father seeking help for his son. The father was going over documents...

Iraq War: We interrupt coverage of Bristol Palin's pregnancy to announce that the U.S. has turned over control of Iraq's wild, wild west to Baghdad. Memo to Barack Obama: Soon you will have nothing left to surrender.On Monday, while Democrats waited to see if Hurricane Gustav would be another Katrina and the GOP juggled its convention schedule, U.S. commanders formally returned responsibility for security in Iraq's Anbar province to the Iraqi Army and police. Maybe you missed it. The New York Times Web page had three stories on Bristol Palin. The Washington Post's online magazine, Slate, is running a "Name...

One-third (32%) of Americans believe the situation in Iraq is getting better, two in five (41%) say things are staying the same and 16 percent say things are getting worse. This is better than in May when only one in five (22%) said things were getting better; and,

BAGHDAD in 2008 is a city tantalisingly close to a genuine transformation. The first impression after an absence of two years is the stunning reduction in the appalling level of violence that had torn the city's suburbs apart over the past four years. A relative calm has now descended. On the day I arrived, there was not a single serious security incident across the whole of Baghdad. As Ramadan begins, it seems Iraqis are increasingly weary with war and yearn for a more normal life. Last week, 60,000 people crowded into a city stadium for a major football match. Rocket...

The U.S. military Monday handed control of Iraq's Anbar province to Iraqi security forces. U.S. forces will withdraw to bases and rejoin Iraqi operations in Anbar only at the request of the provincial governor. Anbar is a Sunni-dominated province whose inhabitants turned against U.S. forces soon after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Anbar towns, such as Fallujah and Ramadi became insurgent strongholds, where militants waged fierce battles against U.S. troops. Violence in Anbar began to subside in 2006 when Sunni tribes became weary of al-Qaida's brutality against the local population. The tribes formed councils and joined U.S.-led forces...

NAJAF, Iraq - The city's first airport is weeks away from opening, but already a bigger one is talked about. Land prices are soaring. Merchants say they don't remember business ever being so good. Four years ago, Najaf was an urban battlefield, with American troops fighting Shiite militiamen loyal to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Today, the Shiite holy city is a hot spot of a different kind, thanks to improved security, a free-for-all market economy - and a direct pipeline to the Shiite-led government.