Free Republic

Anti-coalition forces in western Iraq are "pretty much in disarray," Army Maj. Gen. Charles H. Swannack Jr., commander of the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division, told journalists today during a Baghdad press conference. Deployed to Iraq since September, Swannack's Task Force All-American patrols the Anbar province in western Iraq, which includes the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi. All of his 18,000-member force is slated to complete re-deployment back to Fort Bragg, N.C., sometime in May, and will be relieved by 24,000 Marines. "Systematically, we have captured or killed the individuals directing the insurgency (in western Iraq)," Swannack said. The Jan. 11...

Insurgents operating against the coalition and Iraqi security forces have become "desperate and isolated" in their attempts to stop progress, the commander of the latest task force to arrive in Iraq said today. During a briefing from Baghdad, Army Brig. Gen. Carter F. Ham, commander of Task Force Olympia, told reporters that insurgent activity continues in the north, where his unit took over military operations in early February. "We see this enemy taking the shape of former regime elements, extremists, as well as foreign fighters and international terrorists," he said. "Those cells, I believe, are becoming extremely desperate and isolated."...

Meetings with military and civilian officials and visits with U.S. troops and Iraqi security forces in Baghdad Feb. 23 marked Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's fourth visit to Iraq since the country's liberation. The day was to have culminated with the secretary having dinner with troops at the Baghdad International Airport dining facility. But when he was inundated with requests from soldiers and airmen to allow a friend to take their picture with him, Rumsfeld spent most of the visit doing just that. Hundreds of troops lined up along the long wall of the building, patiently waiting their turn, and...

A bronze statue of a soldier mourning a fallen comrade traveled from Tikrit, Iraq, to Fort Hood, Texas, this week to become the focal point of a memorial to the soldiers of Task Force Ironhorse who have died during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The statue arrived at Fort Hood's Robert Gray Army Airfield Feb. 16, along with the first 60 soldiers in the task force to redeploy from Iraq, said Capt. Charles Armstrong, secretary of the general staff for the rear detachment. Armstrong said the statue will be moved today to a 4th Infantry Division storage site as preparations for the...

The group charged with putting together a detailed plan to integrate the three military exchange services into one organization has launched a Web site. The Unified Exchange Task Force, formed in May, is using the new site to inform exchange beneficiaries on what is happening to their important benefit, explained retired Air Force Maj. Gen. C.J. Wax, task force director and former commander of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service. "This Web site provides a one-stop source of information and a place where beneficiaries can get their questions answered," he pointed out. According to a news release, the site...

Subject:Congressional Judicial Abuse Task Force Update STOP BAD JUSTICE UPDATE 1-14-04 From: "Joe Norman" First, I would like to thank the many that have called Congressmen/women who are on the JUDICIAL ABUSE TASK FORCE to express your concerns for the state of the judiciary. Your efforts are much appreciated. Second, I talked with the JUDICIAL ABUSE TASK FORCE representative of Congressman Lamar Smith yesterday and it was evident the office had heard from many of you. The TASK FORCE has changed its name to HOUSE JUDICIAL ACCOUNTABILITY WORKING GROUP and will hold meetings in the next few weeks to decide...

Coalition forces have "turned the corner" in western Iraq, said Army Maj. Gen. Charles H. Swannack Jr., 82nd Airborne Division commander, during a Baghdad press conference today. The general also said the coalition is "on a glide path to success" in the region. He said attacks against Task Force All-American forces have decreased almost 60 percent in the past month. The task force covers Anbar province in western Iraq. The 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment is part of the force. Swannack said the soldiers are making great progress against the former regime cells and the financial network that funded those cells....

AR RAMADI, Iraq – Soldiers from Task Force “All American” continued missions to increase stability and security for the people of Al Anbar yesterday. During the last 24 hours, the 82nd Airborne Division and subordinate units conducted 170 patrols, including four joint patrols with Iraqi national elements, and three offensive operations, which resulted in the capture of 12 enemy personnel. Last night in 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division’s area, soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment conducted a cordon and search of two target areas in Fallujah. The operation resulted in the capture of 10 enemy personnel and...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) said on Monday it would hear Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites)'s case for keeping his energy task force papers secret.   The high court said Cheney's Justice Department (news - web sites) lawyers could present detailed arguments on why he should not have to comply with a judge's order to hand over details of White House contacts with the energy industry.

NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND7115 South Boundary BoulevardMacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894   November 9, 2003Release Number: 03-11-05 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TASK FORCE OPERATIONS PROVE SUCCESSFUL AR RAMADI, Iraq – Soldiers from Task Force All-American continue to conduct missions directed at stopping violence toward the Iraqi people and Coalition forces and also promoting peace and development throughout their area of operations. The 82nd Airborne Division, also known as the All American Division, went on 168 patrols, eight of which were joint patrols carried out with members of the border guard and Iraqi...

ROME, April 26 (Xinhuanet) -- A small force of Italian troops, military police and environment and cultural experts will leave for Iraq on Sunday on a week-long mission, Italian Environment Minister Altero Matteoli said Saturday. Matteoli, in Paris for an environment summit, said the task force would leave Rome at 5:00 Sunday. The task force includes two Environment Ministry officials, two experts from the Cultural Heritage Ministry, a Foreign Ministry representative and diplomat Antonio Armellin, who is charge of overseeing Italian aid operations in Iraq. "Our aim is to carry out an initial assessment of the situation focusing on water,...

The world's leading museums are to join forces to send an emergency team to Iraq to help rebuild its shattered cultural heritage. The Louvre, the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, New York's Metropolitan and the Hermitage in St Petersburg are among those preparing to contribute to a task force led by the British Museum. The alliance is being co-ordinated by Neil MacGregor, the British Museum's director, who last week pledged to send his own curators to help assess the extent of the cultural "catastrophe" suffered by the Iraqi capital. Up to 170,000 priceless antiquities – many hailing from the earliest...

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-usshot262979152oct26,0,7319464.story Official: Sniper duo stopped at least 5 times at roadblocks By Knut Royce and Tom Brune WASHINGTON BUREAU. Earl Lane contributed to this story from Montgomery, Ala. Knut Royce is a special correspondent. October 26, 2002 Washington - The car used by the two suspects in the Washington-area sniper attacks was stopped "at least five times" at roadblocks thrown up immediately by police after many of the shootings, according to a senior federal law enforcement official. But because the officers were unaware that the car, a 1990 blue Chevrolet Caprice, was the vehicle used in the shootings and...

Did anybody else watch this press conference? Did you all hear the same thing I did, which was: Questioner: You're saying the tail-light, the cream-colored Astro van, the firearm, and the description are "not credible." What DO we have, that people might look for? Moose: Again, we will not be releasing any uncorroborated information. Translation: We got nothin'.

Japan quakes as bad loans taskforce moves in By George Trefgarne, Economics Editor (Filed: 04/10/2002) The Nikkei index in Japan plunged below 9,000 to its lowest level for 19 years yesterday, as bank shares dived. The index closed down 112.90 at 8,936.43, a level last seen on August 12, 1983. The trigger for the fall was the appointment of a taskforce set up by the new head of the Financial Services Agency to deal with the massive bad loans held by Japanese banks. Some Japanese fear a radical solution that will see widespread bankruptcies, although this would be resisted by...

On 20 July the US 101st Airborne (Air Assault) Division, which had been operating the brigade-sized Task Force Rakkasan out of Bagram and Kandahar in Afghanistan under the aegis of Operation ‘Enduring Freedom’, handed over command to the 82nd Airborne Division’s Task Force Panther, which will take over security and combat operations in the region. US and coalition forces continue to operate throughout Afghanistan to ensure Al-Qaeda and Taliban forces do not present a danger to US, coalition and friendly Afghan troops. The 101st Airborne (Air Assault) Division arrived in Afghanistan in January 2002 and worked alongside units such as...

<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A wildlife surveyor for the Mescalero Apache Tribe pleaded innocent Friday to setting a fire on an arson-plagued reservation parched by drought and torn by political infighting.</p> <p>Paul James Valdez, 27, of Tularosa, who worked for the tribe helping take the census of federally protected Mexican spotted owls, was arrested Wednesday on charges of setting the half-acre Lower Cooley Fire on June 2.</p>

<p>MESCALERO, N.M. (AP) — A Mexican spotted owl survey taker employed by the Mescalero Apache Tribes natural resources agency was arrested Wednesday for arson.</p> <p>Paul James Valdez, 27, was charged with intentionally starting a fire on the southern New Mexico reservation on or about June 2. He was also charged with furnishing false information to a federal agent.</p>

Key CIA Task Force Leader Moved May 17 — As the Bush administration defends its actions over information it had on possible terror attacks before Sept. 11, ABCNEWS has learned that the chief of the CIA's counterterrorism center has been moved out. The center, led by Cofer Black for the past three years, is the lead CIA team tasked with finding indicted terrorist Osama bin Laden. Sources tell ABCNEWS' Claire Shipman there will be more changes coming among the top figures in the CIA but President Bush still has faith in both George Tenet, the head of the CIA, and...

The Bush administration turned over thousands of documents Monday related to Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force, including some showing industry's attempt to influence the direction of the administration's energy plan. But most of the papers, released in response to court orders, were blanked out and provided little substantive information. This prompted critics to accuse the administration of continuing to hold back vital information surrounding development of President Bush's energy plan a year ago. Among the papers, however, were documents from the Environmental Protection Agency revealing an oil industry push to ease state regulation of so-called "boutique" gasoline blends...