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BAGHDAD — Just weeks before Multi-National Corps - Iraq cases its colors and rolls into the new U.S. Forces - Iraq organization, its commander said plenty of operational activity still is under way here. The mission here continues in support of the strategy of turning the security lead over to increasingly capable Iraqi Security Forces, Army Lt. Gen. Charles H. Jacoby recently told reporters traveling with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates. U.S. forces in Iraq are “fully engaged,” supporting that mission in two primary ways, Jacoby said during a roundtable session Dec. 10. In addition to partnering with Iraq Security...

BAGHDAD, Dec. 10, 2009 – Three weeks before Multinational Corps Iraq cases its colors and rolls into the new U.S. Forces Iraq organization, its commander said plenty of operational activity still is under way in partnership with Iraqi security forces and on track with the U.S. drawdown timetable. The mission here continues in support of the strategy of turning the security lead over to increasingly capable Iraqi security forces, Army Lt. Gen. Charles H. Jacoby told reporters traveling with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates. U.S. forces in Iraq are “fully engaged,” supporting that mission in two primary ways, Jacoby said...

BAGHDAD, Dec. 10, 2009 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates arrived here today to meet with Iraqi and U.S. military leaders about continuing progress toward building Iraqi security forces and drawing down the U.S. force presence here to 50,000 by late August. The visit, Gates’ first since July, comes as the Iraqis have resolved election law issues and set a March 7 date for national elections, and amid a rash of violence that a senior defense official called an act of desperation by the greatly weakened al-Qaida remnants here. During Gates’ sessions with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, President Jalal...

In this file photo, Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of Multi-National Force-Iraq, hands a challenge coin to Crestview, Fla., native, Pfc. William Robson, an artilleryman assigned to 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, during Odierno's visit to Joint Security Station Sheik Amir, Nov. 26. Photo by Pfc. Adam Halleck, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs. WASHINGTON — On the eve of holding parliamentary elections early next year, Iraq continues to make steady progress as a sovereign country that is a valued U.S. ally in the Middle East, the commander of Multi-National Force - Iraq said in Killeen,...

COS MAREZ — When members of the 401st Civil Affairs Battalion (CAB) first began assessing the Zanjili neighborhood in Mosul, the area, a long-time insurgent stronghold, was anything but secure. Months later, the CAB team, escorted by Iraqi Federal Police (FP), walked the neighborhood market place, interacting with residents and shopkeepers during a joint project oversight patrol. Zanjili, one of the largest neighborhoods in western Mosul with about 30,000 residents, is steadily improving under the watchful eye of the FP battalion responsible for security in the area. According to 1st Lt. Glen Taylor, a team leader with Co. D., 401st...

There are only 35 shopping days left until Christmas. I'm keenly aware of this primarily because of those overcaffeinated Glee-show-choir-in-red-white-and-blue-alpine-sweaters-and-ear-flaps-making-high school-cheerleading-pyramids Gap ads that started running about a week ago. You know, the ones where they chant a little ditty titled, annoyingly, "Happy Dowhateveryouwannukah." "Go Christmas! Go Hannukah! Go Kwanzaa! Go Solstice!" the exceptionally good-looking, multicultural, skinny-jeans-clad cheerbots shout. "You 86 the rules, you do what just feels right," they cheer, before entreating us to "do whatever [we] wannukkah" this ambiguous winter holiday season. Their jangly dance number ends by wishing us "a cheery night." How festive, you say? Meh....

Diplomacy: If there's good news from Saturday's APEC summit, it's Asia's ninja blow to a global climate pact in Copenhagen. The dynamic region recognized the economy-killer for what it was and refused to commit suicide. Global summits galore have paid obeisance to the holy grail of a global pact binding nations to cut carbon emissions by 50% by 2050. President Obama, who is calling for a United Nations treaty in Copenhagen this December, said, "We're out of time" shortly before leaving for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. So that's why Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen, who leads the...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16, 2009 – As the drawdown of U.S. forces in Iraq advances, efforts to build the nation’s police force have made great strides, the team leader of the police training and advisory mission said last week. “The traction that we’re getting is really impressive. It truly is a partnership,” Army Brig. Gen. Michael Smith said during a Nov. 13 “DoDLive” bloggers roundtable. Smith said Iraqi police agencies have impressed him with their growing abilities to recruit and train their own forces and run their own operations. He’s also noted a dissipation of ethnic tension at top levels. “The...

Members of the Iraqi Emergency Response Brigade stand ready to train on an Iraqi military compound in Baghdad, Nov. 16. Photo courtesy of Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force - Arabian Peninsula. BAGHDAD — The Emergency Response Brigade (ERB), the counter-terrorism unit here comprised of elite Iraqi Police officers, continues to act proactively against Iraq's insurgent groups to foster a safe and secure region. "The Emergency Response Brigade had a very small change in their operations," said ERB Commander, Staff Brig. Gen. No'aman Jewad, about his brigade’s mission following the June 30 withdraw of U.S. forces from Iraqi cities. “The...

In a stinging setback for the national gay-rights movement, Maine voters narrowly decided to repeal the state’s new law allowing same-sex marriage. With 87 percent of precincts reporting early this morning, 53 percent of voters had approved the repeal, ending an expensive and emotional fight that was closely watched around the country as a referendum on the national gay-marriage movement. Polls had suggested a much closer race. With the repeal, Maine became the 31st state to reject same-sex marriage at the ballot box. Five other states - Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire and Vermont - have legalized same-sex marriage, but...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 20, 2009 – The security situation in northern Iraq has improved greatly in recent years, a senior U.S. military officer told Pentagon reporters today. Al-Qaida, which several years ago launched attacks with abandon in northern Iraq, is now “desperate,” Army Brig. Gen. Robert B. Brown, deputy commanding general for Multinational Division North and the 25th Infantry Division, said during a satellite-carried teleconference. Today, the division’s area of operations “has completely changed,” said Brown, who was in northern Iraq as a Stryker brigade commander in 2004 and 2005. Brown, whom President Barack Obama has nominated for promotion to major...

CAMP TAJI – The shift of U.S. forces out of Iraqi cities has created a new set of tasks for troops in the Iraqi countryside, and a newly-formed group is concentrating on infrastructure projects here. Combining the talents of the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment's leadership with members of the embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team North and the 1479th Civil Affairs Company to form a Project Working Group, the goal is to highlight projects that benefit the local populace. During a meeting held at the Tarmiyah Center, Oct. 13, district engineers from Tarmiyah, Abayachi, and Mushada met with members of the...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8, 2009 – Attacks committed by al-Qaida and other insurgents operating in Baghdad and its environs continue to drop three months after U.S. combat troops moved out of Iraqi cities, a U.S. brigade commander posted there said today. “Security is still the first order of business for the units in this brigade, as well as our Iraqi partners in uniform. Overall, I think we’ve been making steady progress in this area,” Army Col. Tobin L. Green, commander of the 1st Cavalry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team, told Pentagon reporters during a satellite-carried news conference. Green’s Fort Hood, Texas,-based...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8, 2009 – Iraqi security forces are making tremendous progress throughout southern Iraq, the commander of coalition forces in the region said today. Army Maj. Gen. Richard Nash, who commands the Minnesota National Guard’s 34th Infantry Division as well as Multinational Division South in Iraq, said the Iraqi army, police and border police are performing very well. “The Iraqi security forces have had tremendous success in establishing security throughout the nine provinces of southern Iraq,” Nash said in a video conference with Pentagon reporters today. The spreading security is encouraging local Iraqis to side with the government and...

In an interview with Philadelphia-based radio host Michael Smerconish, President Obama said the following about critics who called his healthcare proposal “socialist:” “FDR was called a socialist when he passed Social Security. JFK and Lyndon Johnson - they were both accused of a government takeover of health care when they passed Medicare. This is the process that we go through, because understandably the American people have a long tradition of being suspicious of government until the government actually does something that helps them.” Obama is right. What we often call “socialism” is simply the same old welfare state most Americans...

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq, July 28, 2009 – The commander of Multinational Forces Iraq said today he’s extremely pleased with the way Iraqi security forces have stepped to the plate following the June 30 withdrawal of American forces from the cities and towns of the country. Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno said he is on track to fulfill the mission he and his command of 130,000 Americans in the country have received. “I’ve been given very clear guidance: one is that we will have a change of mission on Aug. 31, 2010, and we will no longer have a combat mission,”...

WASHINGTON, July 21, 2009 – Several weeks after American forces in Baghdad handed over security leadership to their Iraqi counterparts, friction is giving way to a smoother transition of power, a top U.S. commander in the Iraqi capital said. Maj. Gen. Daniel Bolger, commander of Multinational Division Baghdad, today described “hiccups and friction” that followed the American withdrawal from Iraqi cities in accordance with the June 30 deadline. “Despite those initial frustrations, it seems to be going well,” he told reporters at the Pentagon, adding: “I think each day that goes by we get a little bit better at working...

The Iraqi National Police take the lead and escort a U.S convoy through Baghdad, July 6. Photo by Capt. Tommy Avilucea. Multi-National Security Transition Command – Iraq. BAGHDAD — The Iraqi National Police (NP) and Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq (MNSTC-I) joined forces for convoy operations July 5 - 6, to comply with U.S./Iraq Security Agreement articles. The NP led a convoy through the streets of the Iraqi capital, supporting a U.S. Army mission to transport Americans to various locations. The well-coordinated movement took the convoy through city streets and on highways. The convoy aggressively moved through the traffic...

WASHINGTON, July 9, 2009 – A detainee transfer and two base renaming ceremonies recently signified the changing role of U.S. forces in Iraq. Soldiers salute behind a tribute to Army Staff Sgt. Todd Olson during a base renaming ceremony in Samarra, Iraq, June 30, 2009. The base had been named in honor of Olson, who was killed in an attack in Samarra in 2006. It is now called Fond'k Abo Hera. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jazz Burney   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Iraqi officials traveled to the Remembrance II theater internment facility on Camp Cropper in Baghdad...

BAGHDAD — The historic Ibn Sina Hospital will return to Iraqi Government control this fall. In accordance with the Iraq Security Agreement, U.S. forces are scheduled to return the facility to the Iraqis, October 1. Currently operated by the U.S. Army’s 10th Combat Support Hospital (CSH), the staff will continue to provide quality healthcare for all patients throughout the next two months of transition. Col. Raphael De Jesus, 10th CSH Commander, wants to reassure servicemembers and civilians that they need not worry about care. "The mission of the 10th CSH is sustaining,” says De Jesus. “Our ability to provide excellent...