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thedrifter
05-13-04, 12:02 PM
Issue Date: May 17, 2004 <br />
<br />
Eight heroes, four stories <br />
Marines awarded some of military’s highest honors for Iraq bravery <br />
<br />
By Laura Bailey <br />
Times staff writer <br />
<br />
Several hours into a fierce...

thedrifter
05-13-04, 12:03 PM
‘Ferocious attack’ <br />
<br />
About two weeks before Bohr’s firefight, Capt. Brian R. Chontosh, Cpl. Armand E. McCormick and Cpl. Robert P. Kerman, were vehicle mates with Combined Anti-Armor Platoon,...

thedrifter
05-13-04, 12:04 PM
Rumsfeld Makes Surprise Visit to Iraq

By ROBERT BURNS

ABU GHRAIB, Iraq - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, making a surprise visit to the Iraqi prison at the center of the abuse scandal, said Thursday that lawyers are advising the Pentagon not to publicly release any more photographs of Iraqi prisoners being treated badly by U.S. soldiers.

He also dismissed as "garbage" any suggestion the Pentagon tried to cover up the prison abuse.

After meetings in Baghdad, the defense secretary traveled to the Abu Ghraib prison where American military police sexually humiliated and abused Iraqi prisoners last fall, according to photos of the abuse that have stunned the world.

"As far as I'm concerned, I'd be happy to release them all to the public and to get it behind us," Rumsfeld told reporters traveling with him from Washington. "But at the present time I don't know anyone in the legal shop in any element of the government that is recommending that."

The government lawyers argue that releasing such materials would violate a Geneva Convention stricture against presenting images of prisoners that could be construed as degrading, Rumsfeld said while en route to the Iraqi capital on a trip that was not announced in advance due to security concerns.

Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, who runs the prison system in Iraq, defended his role in advising U.S. authorities last fall on how to set up a detention and interrogation system that would produce useful intelligence on people involved in the insurgency.

"I'm absolutely convinced we laid down the foundations for how you detain people humanely," he said. Miller had commanded the U.S. prison compound at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where hundreds of suspected terrorists are still detained from the Afghanistan war.

Miller said he plans to reduce the prisoner population at Abu Ghraib from the 3,800 who are there now to as few as 1,500 by June 15. In January, there were about 7,000 prisoners there.

Speaking later to U.S. troops, Rumsfeld said his trip was aimed in large part to ensure such abuses "will not happen again."

He said the incidents "sullied the reputation of our country. I was stunned. It was a body blow. And with six or seven investigations under way and a country that has values and a military justice system that has values, we know that those involved, whoever they are, will be brought to justice."

" .. It's important for each of you to know that that is not the values of America and it's not your values and I know that, and you know that and your families know that," he said.

Rumsfeld was accompanied by Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and several lawyers on a trip designed to reassure U.S. troops that the prisoner abuse scandal has not weakened public support for their mission and to get firsthand reports from the most senior commanders.

The Pentagon officials arranged meetings with the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, and other senior commanders.

Rumsfeld's trip followed President Bush's visit Monday to the Pentagon, where he got an update from commanders in Iraq and declared his unwavering support for Rumsfeld, who has taken a lot of criticism from members of Congress for his handling of the scandal. Some Democrats have called for his resignation, but Rumsfeld gave no indication Wednesday that he was considering quitting.

The 71-year-old defense chief did appear weary, however. He has weathered three lengthy rounds of questioning from congressional committees over the past several days. After taking questions aboard his plane for nearly an hour he called a sudden halt, saying his voice was giving out.

He fiercely defended the Pentagon's response to the revelations of U.S. guards at the Abu Ghraib prison having subjected Iraqi prisoners to sexually humiliating treatment and photographing it.

"The garbage that you keep reading _ about cover-up and the Pentagon doing something to keep some information from people _ is unfair, inaccurate and wrong," he said. "And if I find any evidence that it's true, I'll stop it."

Rumsfeld also predicted that the abuse scandal would get worse in the days ahead.

"More bad things will come out, unquestionably," he said without being specific. "And time will settle over this and we'll be able to make an assessment of what the effect has been" on the effort to stabilize Iraq. "It clearly has not been helpful. It has been unhelpful."

He went on to complain bitterly about the Arab media's coverage of U.S. operations in Iraq.

"We have been lied about, day after day, week after week, month after month for the last 12 months in the Arab press." He specifically mentioned the al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya satellite TV networks.

Among his first responses to the international outcry over the abuse photos, Rumsfeld sent Vice Adm. Albert T. Church, the Navy's top investigative officer, to the U.S.-run prison camp for terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, last week. Church, who accompanied Rumsfeld on his trip to Iraq, told reporters en route from Washington that he found no major problems at that prison in Cuba.

"The directions of the secretary of defense with respect to the humane treatment of detainees and the interrogation techniques were being carried out, as best we could determine," Church said. "We found minor infractions involving contact with detainees, and we documented eight of those."

Of the eight, four were violations by military police soldiers who guard the detainees at Guantanamo Bay, three were violations by interrogators and one was a barber who gave a detainee an "unauthorized haircut" _ a Mohawk-style cut that Church said amounted to humiliating the prisoner.

One of the violators, who punched a detainee in handcuffs, was punished by having his rank reduced, Church said.

Church said he felt confident in saying there currently are no major lapses in the humane treatment of Guantanamo prisoners, but he added that he could not be 100 percent sure because he took sworn testimony from only 43 people there, in addition to reviewing medical records of 100 detainees.

"We found no evidence of current abuse _ again I underline `current,'" he said.

Church was at Guantanamo Bay for two days last week. An assistant took a one-day look at the situation at the brig at Charleston Naval Station, S.C. Church did not mention what was found there.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/05/13/ap/Headlines/d82hom680.txt

Ellie

thedrifter
05-13-04, 12:05 PM
More Iraqis accept their US-trained forces

By Scott Peterson | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

BAGHDAD – Accused of being collaborators with American occupation forces, Iraqi policemen, guards, and soldiers have endured ridicule, threats, and targeted violence that have left hundreds dead over the past year.
But there are signs that hard-nosed attitudes toward the country's embattled, US-trained security forces are beginning to soften.

There is no way to tell the breadth of this apparent change in popular thinking. But some dozen security personnel in Baghdad and the flash point of Fallujah report that the views of their fellow Iraqis - tired of the continual burn of insecurity, car bombs, and kidnappings - are shifting.

"It is beginning to change," says Emad Abbas Qassem, a lieutenant in the Facility Protection Service (FPS), at his post outside a central Baghdad education ministry office. "It's not only the people, but my wife, my family and brothers tell me: 'Go to work and do your duty.' They used to be so afraid."

Indeed, the number of targeted attacks and casualties against security forceshas dropped in recent weeks, relative to previous months. At least 350 Iraqi police were killed in the first year of occupation; that rate dropped dramatically to roughly a dozen killed during April. Lieutenant Qassem estimates a 50 percent drop in the past month alone. "Because we were trained by the Americans, [Iraqis] dealt with us like we were Americans," he says.

US officers issued orders for the Iraqis to be on heightened alert since the Abu Ghraib prison photographs surfaced, but so far there appears to have been little retribution aimed at Iraqi forces.

"Now the people are beginning to understand that [Iraqi forces] are serving the country; before they thought they were all agents serving the Americans," says Shakir Jafar Jassim, a member of the local district council who has been recommended by a local US Army unit to serve as an FPS captain.

One event that has helped change the dynamic was the insurgent fighting that rocked Fallujah throughout April, followed by the introduction of joint Iraqi and US force patrols there - part of the US military's attempt to broker a solution.

"The reaction of people changed when [Iraqi forces] went to Fallujah, and were asked by Fallujans to protect them there," says Mr. Jassim. "Most attacks and car bombs came from Fallujah. But when [Iraqi forces] went to Fallujah, they realized they were there for them, not just for Americans."

A US Marine convoy made a test run through Fallujah Monday, the first of its kind since the weeks-long siege was dismantled 10 days ago. Not a shot was fired; US top brass Maj. Gen. James Mattis, commander of the First Marine Division, met with the mayor.

Members of that Fallujah force say that attitudes are softening even in their backwater city 30 miles west of Baghdad, where residents supported Saddam Hussein, and where numerous Baath Party officials and former intelligence agents have sought sanctuary since the fall of the regime.

Many security-force members in Fallujah refused to fight insurgents alongside US Marines in early April, a surprise that - after months of training - amounted to the "single most disappointing" breakdown in cooperation, in the words of one senior marine officer.

The Fallujah units of the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps (ICDC), the seed of the new post-Hussein Army, admit that most bowed out of the April fighting after evacuating their families from the city and receiving threats from insurgents.

"Before we suffered with [these threats], now it's good," says Khamiz Mahdi Saleh, an ICDC private in an oversized uniform during an interview at the Fallujah train station, where his unit kept guard alongside a Marine platoon.

"Before, the people of Fallujah did not know our job. All they knew is that we worked with the Americans, so we were bad," says Private Saleh. "Now they know the job - they see us taking over from the Americans, and they look well on us."

Though lightly armed, at best, the ICDC forces here say they are treated with greater respect now, and are even allowed to pray in the mosques. Before, they say, their uniforms alone led to expulsion.

"The people don't have any [negative] business with us," says Majid Kamel Mohamed, a private from Fallujah who joined the unit four months ago. "We do our job, and people wanted this, because they wanted a stop to the fighting. They want peace."

Maj. Ahmed Hamadi Khalaf says threats have been intense, and that "many people" have been pinpointed in cities throughout southern Iraq.

"I told my family that I am going to the new Army, to help save the country," says Major Khalaf, wearing eagles on his epaulets at the Fallujah rail station. "I've had [threats] before, but I don't care. These guys want to cause trouble in Fallujah, so it is not a safe place."

Some proof of the changing attitude is evident in the calm that has blanketed Fallujah, since the pull back of US Marine units. The ICDC has taken to the streets and manned checkpoints, with often little more than a few coils of barbed wire and an Iraqi flag.

Just as laid back, the FPS guards in central Baghdad continue to search Iraqis entering the education building. They were attacked there twice last year, when US forces kept a permanent presence.

US Army units now visit every couple of days - as they did Tuesday morning. They parked three Humvees in the lot and launched foot patrols.

"Things started changing in the last month," says Qassem. "Now people are encouraging me, because they want protection for sewage lines and water plants.

"The change is happening," echoes Jassim Kadhim, another guard. "My mother used to stay awake at night, worried about me. Now my mother is more comfortable, because the Americans left this neighborhood. It's safer."

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0512/p01s02-woiq.html


Ellie

thedrifter
05-13-04, 12:06 PM
Marines take new tact on patrols
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 200451391126
Story by Lance Cpl. Macario P. Mora Jr.



AL ANBAR, Iraq(May 11, 2004) -- Marines train for combat patrols, reconnaissance patrols and mechanized patrols. But Marines from 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines tried something different in Iraq.

They conducted a "gift patrol."

Marines from the battalion's Weapons Company participated in a joint patrol with a group of local Iraqi policemen May 11, handing out gifts purchased from local merchants to help instill faith in the Coalition Forces.

The gift-patrol covered nearly a half dozen struggling communities throughout the region and was supplied with products purchased from local storeowners in need of a little help.

"We tried a different approach," said 1st Lt. Will Haag, Weapons Company's executive officer, from Seattle.

The company's everyday routine consists of two to three night and day patrols in search of improvised explosive devices and rooting out terrorists. The gift patrol allowed for a new approach to accomplishing the same task.

"This was a change in pace," said Cpl. Yancy Green, from Baton Rouge, La. "A lot of these people have grown to not like us. Once we started giving them gifts though, they changed a bit. I think that's why we're out here. The process is slow, but we are changing their hearts and minds."

The goal, according to Haag, was to help sway some opinions of the locals, who may or may not have been turned against Coalition Forces.

The patrol was the first of its kind in the battalion, according to Haag.

"This was the first time this group has done this and I'm sure the battalion as a whole," Green said. "We interact with people a lot here, but not often in a positive way such as this.

"We went in and bought goods from store owners who were anything but nice," Haag explained. "If they gave us a thumbs down or something we'd stop and buy from them. We want to give back to the community."

The Marines handed out 15 large black garbage bags full of items ranging from plastic storage containers to hygiene supplies. The items were passed out the same way they were purchased. If Marines felt unwelcome, they stopped to talk to the Iraqis, handing out the gifts.

"It's all right helping out," said Lance Cpl. Nicholas Brown, a machine gunner for the company from Dallas. "This is what we're here to do. The more we help them and they begin to take care of themselves, the faster we're out of here."

"This was an attempt to convince the people that we are here for their support," Haag added. "We want them to know Iraqi solutions can solve Iraqi problems."

The money used to purchase the items was funded by the battalion, which uses funds to improve life for local Iraqis.

"I don't know how often this will happen," Haag said. "Our number one priority is security, but we will likely be out here more often distributing goods and interacting with the locals in a more positive manner."

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200451391353/$file/giving1lr.jpg

1st Lt. Will Haag, Weapons Company's executive officer with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment walks the city streets of Al Anbar handing out gifts purchased from local merchants in hopes of restoring faith in Coalition Forces. The Marines handed out large black garbage bags full of items ranging from plastic storage containers to hygiene supplies.
(USMC photo by Sgt. Jose L. Garcia) Photo by: Sgt. Jose L. Garcia

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/4A181A3E2729AC8F85256E9300487570?opendocument


Ellie

thedrifter
05-13-04, 12:08 PM
Marines return to Fallujah, no shots fired
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 2004513101611
Story by Sgt. Jose E. Guillen



CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq(May 12, 2004) -- Marines returned to the center of Fallujah May 10 only to find a peaceful reception. It was a stark contrast to the gunfire and rocket attacks they experienced a month ago.

Marines and Iraqi Civil Defense Corps soldiers, along with Iraqi police, patrolled through the city. It was a mission that was carried off without a single shot fired, despite fears that it would erupt in more gunfire.

"Everyone had the impression we would have a fight because the city hasn't been cleared," said Master Sgt. Arthur Trader Jr., operations chief for Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment. "We're surprised we had no engagement with enemy because the Iraqi Army has only been in the city for a short time."

The battalion initially planned and rehearsed the mission that called for a much larger convoy of tactical vehicles, but decided against it, opting instead for a less provocative stance.

"An entire company was ready to go in, but the (commanding officer) and the general reduced the size to get the Iraqi Army and police involved," Trader said.

Despite traveling light with just ten vehicles, the rest of the battalion of infantrymen waited outside the city in preparations to move in, if needed.

"Mortars were set - ready to go, and we were beefed up with other weapons," Trader explained.

Although the patrol may have kicked off with anticipation, the success of the uneventful mission proved the cooperation between Coalition Forces and Iraqi soldiers.

"Our intent was to demonstrate the operability between Coalition Forces and the Fallujah Brigade," said Maj. Andrew J. Petrucci, the executive officer of 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment.

Petrucci added the Marines wanted "to show the citizens of Fallujah that their Brigade can secure an environment for both citizens and Coalition Forces."

1st Marine Division's Commanding General, Maj. Gen. James N. Mattis also met with the commander of the Fallujah Brigade, Iraqi Gen. Mohammed Latif, a former Iraqi Army general during Saddam Hussein's reign.

The meeting was a first step to cultivate ties for peace and redevelopment of areas throughout the city damaged from battle, Mattis said.

"We made good history because it didn't turn into a fight - we didn't come here for a fight," Mattis said. "We need to keep building one day of peace, rebuild a house here, repair damages there and shake hands with the Iraqis."

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/2004513101911/$file/return1lr.jpg

Marines of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment stand in their light armored vehicles as they wait for the order to begin their trek through Fallujah, May 10. Marines and members of the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps and Iraqi police teamed up for a joint patrol through the city. The joint missions brought about a meeting of Marines and Fallujah officials to begin building a partnership for peace, and redevelopment in areas throughout the city that received damage caused from battle.
(USMC photo by Sgt. Jose E. Guillen) Photo by: Sgt. Jose E. Guillen

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/F81F51D77D64F41585256E93004E631A?opendocument


Ellie

BaldEagle
05-13-04, 12:25 PM
The proud traditions moves on...

thedrifter
05-13-04, 02:22 PM
May 13, 2004 10:45 AM

Roadside bomb injures Marines near Falluja

NEAR FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) - A roadside bomb has wounded at least four U.S. Marines, one seriously, near the Iraqi city of Falluja the
worst casualties suffered by U.S. forces surrounding the town in several days, a Reuters witness says.

Lieutenant Colonel Gregg Olson, commander of 2nd battalion 1st Marine regiment, declined to comment on whether the attack on Thursday
broke a ceasefire between U.S. forces and guerrillas.

"Terrorist activity continues in Falluja," he told Reuters.

Fighting in Falluja has died down since the Marines handed security in the city to a new Iraqi force, including some of the guerrillas and
headed by a general from the disbanded Iraqi army of Saddam Hussein early this month.

The explosion was about seven km (four miles) north of Falluja, which is surrounded by about 2,000 Marines. U.S. forces besieged the city
following the murder and mutilation of four American contractors there in late March.


http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=4931833


Ellie

thedrifter
05-13-04, 05:18 PM
Marines reach out to refugee camp
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 200451392554
Story by Cpl. Paula M. Fitzgerald



AL TASH REFUGEE CAMP, Iraq(May 11, 2004) -- The Kurdish refugees living here have little potable water, virtually no sanitation system, no electricity and limited access to medical equipment.

Marines set out to change all that.

Members of the 1st Marine Division civil affairs team visited here May 11 in hopes of helping to repair the camp's substandard infrastructure. During the trip, Marines, sailors and soldiers delivered assorted medical supplies and two 30,000-gallon water storage units.

This was one of the first of many trips to the camp, according to Navy Capt. John M. Williams, a public health officer for 1st Marine Division's civil affairs teams.

"This camp is one of the division's high priorities in Iraq," Williams said. "They have almost nothing and need immediate help."

The camp, stretching across one kilometer of barren Iraqi desert, is home to nearly 6,000 Kurds who left their Iranian border-town home at the beginning of the Iran-Iraq War in 1980.

"At first, Saddam Hussein took us in and treated us as refugees," said Askar Shakari, camp council member and local teacher. "Then he treated us like prisoners, and were forced to live here."

The war lasted until 1988 when both sides agreed to a ceasefire developed by the United Nations. Nearly 1 million people were killed during the brutal conflict and the effects of the war linger today.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees set up the camp, which originally sheltered more than 50,000 refugees. Since then, the number of people living here has dwindled.

"Some have been moved to other countries," Shakari said. "No one wants to be here anymore. We want to return home. Twenty-four years is long enough."

But getting everyone home is easier said than done. Up until last year, the United Nations was working to get the refugees out of Iraq.

After a truck bomb destroyed the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad in August, the UNHCR personnel working at Al Tash were subsequently pulled out, leaving the people here to their own devices.

Shakari said his people are tired of living in such squalid conditions.

"We have no sanitation, not enough water and no electricity," he said. "We have a medical clinic but can't get any supplies or medications regularly."

That's where the 1st Marine Division came in.

"We went to the camp to assess their needs and see what we can do for them," said Williams, of Marshfield, Wis. "We realize the people want to return to their home, but there is no master plan for that right now. While that gets figured out, we want to help them as much as possible so they at least have good living conditions."

The division's Marines delivered a truckload of basic medical supplies such as bandages, gloves, sterile dressings, vitamins, antibiotics and pain medicines.

"The medical supplies were given to us by the nongovernmental organization Freedom and Peace Trust which is based out of Boston," Williams said.

The boxes filled the clinic's empty shelves, which are rarely fully stocked.

According to Dr. Rana Faransso, the clinic is equipped to handle the most basic of illnesses and injuries.

"There are five doctors who work here," she said. "We can only treat small things like gastrointestinal disease, common colds and chest infections. We can also deliver babies. If someone needs more, they have to travel to the hospital in Ramadi."

Ramadi is almost an hour away by car.

The lack of water in the camp greatly affects the health of the refugees.

"Each tribe here gets one hour of water every 15 days," Shakari said. "It's just not enough."

Williams agreed and said the division is prepared to assist in the matter.

"We also delivered the water bladders so the people can store fresh drinking water for longer periods of time," he added.

Lt. Col. Michael A. Martin, fuel and power representative, oversaw the water bladders' delivery.

"This is just a temporary fix until we can figure out something more permanent," said Martin, of Atlanta.

Shakari and his people are grateful for the division's assistance and hope for more help in the future.

"When Saddam Hussein was removed from power, the people here thought their prayers had been answered," Shakari explained. "But we've seen little change since then. We hope that the Coalition keeps coming here because the children need it. They are the ones who need clean water to eat and bathe with. They are the ones who need medicine."

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200451392843/$file/refugee1lr.jpg

Marines from the 1st Marine Division civil affairs team deliver boxes of medical supplies to the Kurdish refugees here May 11. Freedom and Peace Trust of Boston, a nongovernment organization, donated the bandages, gloves and medications to the people here.
(USMC photo by Cpl. Paula M. Fitzgerald) Photo by: Cpl. Paula M. Fitzgerald

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/FFD7BA874FF3294F85256E930049C848?opendocument


Ellie