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WASHINGTON, Oct. 4, 2006 – Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 8th Iraqi Army Division, prevented a large-scale sectarian attack in Iraq’s Obiedi region, south of Baghdad Sept. 30 after receiving reports that local residents had been driven out of their homes. Soldiers from 2nd Brigade linked up with soldiers from 3rd Brigade, 8th Iraqi Army Division, and conducted a cordon-and-search operation in the eastern section of the Obiedi region. Eight suspects were detained for questioning. In a separate incident, soldiers from 3rd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, and 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 3, 2006 – Iraqi army and coalition forces detained two suspected insurgents and captured a sizable cache Sept. 29 in a combined operation in Khan Bani Saad, Iraq, south of Baqubah, military officials reported. Soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division, and 1-68 Combined Arms Battalion, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, made the find as part of ongoing operations in the town and surrounding villages. The cache consisted of a rocket-propelled-grenade launcher, four RPG rounds, one sniper rifle, three hand grenades, seven AK-47 assault rifles, several rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition and...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1, 2006 – Iraqi soldiers today captured a person suspected of complicity in recent murders and kidnappings during a raid in northeastern Baghdad, while another Iraqi operation conducted yesterday near Mahmudiyah netted two suspected terrorists, according to Multinational Corps Iraq news releases. The person caught in today’s Iraqi military operation is believed to be involved with illegal militias and improvised explosive bomb attacks against civilians, officials said. The raid was conducted in conjunction with Operation Together Forward, officials said, with the goal of catching criminals inciting sectarian violence, denying them safe havens and providing for a safe and...

BAGHDAD — Coalition Forces thwarted a potentially deadly attack on the International Zone this week, and officials responded to news reports citing unnamed senior military members as being critical of the Iraqi government. Coalition forces detained an individual suspected of planning a multi-vehicle suicide operation inside Baghdad’s International Zone. They arrested the suspect at the residence of Dr. Adnan al Dulaymi in Baghdad Sept. 29. Dulaymi is the leader of the Iraqi Accordance Front, the main Sunni parliamentary bloc. Credible intelligence indicates the individual, a member of Dulaymi’s personal security detachment, and seven members of the detained individual’s cell were...

Iron Gunners Lend Firepower U.S., Iraqi soldiers work together to weed out more than 2,000 terrorists. By Sgt. 1st Class Jerry Malec Fires Brigade PAO, 4th Infantry Division CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq, Sept. 28, 2006 -- Soldiers of Fires Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad, deployed to Forward Operating Base Scania in support of Operation Constant Solidarity, Sept. 1. The operation was a combined effort between the 8th Iraqi Army Division and MND-B soldiers to weed out more than 2,000 terrorists in and around the city of Diwaniyah. The brigade received its marching orders to deploy Guided Multiple...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28, 2006 – Stryker Brigade soldiers killed a terrorist and wounded another after spotting them attempting to place an anti-tank mine near Muqdadiya, in Iraq’s Diyala province, yesterday, U.S. military officials said. The patrol from Comanche Troop, 2nd Squadron, 9th Cavalry, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, investigated the scene and found the mine set to detonate on a passing vehicle. An explosive ordnance disposal team destroyed the mine on site. Iraqi and coalition forces continue to work throughout Diyala province to stop insurgent activity and increase security in the multi-ethnic region, officials said. In addition,...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 22, 2006 -- The United States and Pakistan are partners in the hunt for Osama bin Laden and in fighting extremists and terrorists in the region around Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, the U.S. and Pakistani presidents said in a White House news conference today. “We're on the hunt together,” President Bush said following a meeting with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. “It's in the president's interest that al Qaeda be brought to justice. And it's in our interests. And we collaborate, and we strategize, and we talk a lot about how best to do this.” Musharraf disputed media...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE BERMEL, Afghanistan (Army News Service, Sept. 14, 2006) – Spec. Jose Pantoja shows off the danger of his mission along the border region of eastern Afghanistan: a scar on his cheek from an enemy bullet. During one of the longest firefights his company has encountered – nearly four hours long – three others sustained gunshot wounds, and nearly everyone took minor wounds from rocket propelled grenade shrapnel. “One of our guys actually got shot in his helmet,” Pantoja said. “It knocked him down, but he got up and kept fighting.” Engaging in firefights is almost daily life...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 14, 2006 – Iraqi army soldiers freed a man who was being held and tortured by members of an illegal armed group in Diwaniyah, Iraq, during a raid today, U.S. military officials said. The captive had been beaten, tortured and bound. He said he had been held for the past three days. He also stated that the four people abusing him fled just prior to the arrival of Iraqi assault forces. The man was immediately treated by medical personnel and then evacuated, officials said. The four suspects are thought to be members of a group engaged in sectarian...

Writing the history of our time in song MIDI - AMERICA Scum, they are nothing but scum...every day they preach to the dumb Hate...they are filled with Bush hate...we knew they...would soon meet their fate They are losers, one and all...BK for Air America We are laughing as they fall...BK for Air America Blame...who are they gonna blame? Their hosts are really lame...I hear a flush...I hear a flush Our side...knows how to do a show Market share's sure to grow...Elder and Rush...Elder and Rush They are losers, one and all...BK for Air America We are laughing as they fall...BK...

Senate Democratic leadership threatens Disney with legal and legislative sanctionsby John in DC - 9/07/2006 06:02:00 PM This letter was sent today by the entire Democratic leadership of the US Senate. This letter is such a major shot across the bow of Disney, it's not even funny. It is FILLED with veiled threats, both legal and legislative, against Disney. US Senators don't make threats like this, especially the entire Democratic leadership en masse, unless they mean it. Disney is in serious trouble. Read it, then read my analysis of it below:September 7, 2006 Mr. Robert A. Iger President and...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 27, 2006 – Coalition soldiers killed a known Taliban commander and 15 other militants in Afghanistan Aug. 25, Combined Forces Command Afghanistan officials said in a news release. Coalition forces engaged Taliban leaders with joint in the central Khod Valley of Uruzgan province, officials said. The Taliban commander and his associates were involved in attacks against the Afghan people, as well as Afghan, International Security Assistance Force and coalition forces, officials said. Coalition forces used deliberate measures to limit the chances of property damage. No damage was reported to a mosque adjacent to the militant’s safe house after...

Whenever I hear New York Senator Hillary Clinton talk tough about terrorism, I'm always surprised that a bolt of lightning doesn't strike her atop her $3,000.00 haircut. If I wasn't so angered by her calculating rhetoric I'd probably roll on the floor laughing each time she spoke with her trademark shrill, piercing voice. She's tough on terrorism as long as it brings her closer to her ultimate goal of sitting in the Oval Office. And with the Clintons, talk is cheap therefore they are all talk. But as far as actions, Bill and Hillary's political history reveals they are easily...

A letter to the Editor; Question of the day for Luke Air Force Base: Whom do we thank for the morning air show? Last Wednesday, at precisely 9:11 a.m., a tight formation of four F-16 jets made a low pass over Arrowhead Mall, continuing west over Bell Road at approximately 500 feet. Imagine our good fortune! Do the Tom Cruise-wannabes feel we need this wake-up call, or were they trying to impress the cashiers at Mervyns' early-bird special? Any response would be appreciated. Tom MacRae, Peoria3

In the wake of the decision by the New York Times to reveal covert tactics used by our nation to track terrorist financing as a means of defeating them, Bill Keller offered the following as part of his explanation: Since September 11, 2001, our government has launched broad and secret anti-terror monitoring programs without seeking authorizing legislation and without fully briefing the Congress. Most Americans seem to support extraordinary measures in defense against this extraordinary threat, but some officials who have been involved in these programs have spoken to the Times about their discomfort over the legality of the government's...

An insurgent coalition led by Al-Qaeda said Sunday it had killed four Russian diplomats held hostage in Iraq and released a gruesome Internet video purportedly showing two of the men being executed. "We present the implementation of Allah's rule against the Russian diplomats to comfort the believers," said the statement posted by the Mujahedeen Shura (consultative) Council in Iraq. "It is also in revenge for our brothers and sisters and what they suffer of torture, killing and displacement by the infidel Russian government," it added. The videotape linked to the statement showed the four hostages speaking in separate messages dated...

Afghan, Coalition Forces Kill 24 Enemy Fighters American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, May 24, 2006 – Coalition forces killed 24 enemy fighters in Afghanistan yesterday, U.S. military officials said. Afghan National Army and coalition forces battled terrorists for six hours in the Tarin Kowt district of Uruzgan province yesterday evening, military officials said. One Afghan National Police officer and four Afghan soldiers were killed battling the enemy fighters. Additional Afghan soldiers and police were wounded and were taken to a nearby medical treatment facility. No report was available on their condition. The engagement started when a joint combat patrol of...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, May 21, 2006 – Afghan and coalition forces killed 20 enemy fighters during a May 19 battle in southern Afghanistan, military officials here reported today. Combined Forces Command Afghanistan officials reported yesterday that a U.S. servicemember was killed and six others were wounded in the attack. A command statement today said seven U.S. servicemembers were wounded in the firefight in addition to the fatality. About 50 fighters attempted to ambush a joint coalition force patrolling in the Cahar Cineh district in Uruzgan province, officials said. Afghan and coalition forces repelled the attack with small-arms fire, killing...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, May 19, 2006 – A series of continuous offensive operations May 17 and yesterday across eastern and southern Afghanistan left 61 Taliban extremists dead and 20 others captured, military officials here reported today. Afghan National Police and coalition forces killed a reported 60 enemy fighters and captured 20 during a battle in the village of Musa Qalah in Helmand province May 17, Copmbined Forces Command Afghanistan officials said. The joint force pursued the fighters after receiving reports of a large enemy force moving from Musa Qalah. Sixteen police were killed and 20 were wounded in the...

May 13, 2006 - The role of Vice President Dick Cheney in the criminal case stemming from the outing of White House critic Joseph Wilson's CIA wife is likely to get fresh attention as a result of newly disclosed notes showing that Cheney personally asked whether Wilson had been sent by his wife on a "junket" to Africa. .... This evidence, Fitzgerald added, "directly contradicts" the assertion by defense lawyers that Libby "had no motive to lie" to the FBI and to the grand jury because he "thought that neither he nor anyone else had done anything wrong." Instead, Fitzgerald...