3rd MAW celebrates July Fourth with food, fun

[thedrifter]

3rd MAW celebrates July Fourth with food, fun
Submitted by: 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
Story Identification #: 20047625552
Story by - Compiled by 3rd MAW PAO



AL ASAD, Iraq(July 6, 2004) -- Servicemembers and civilians alike celebrated America's independence here with games, food, a comedy show and a live concert by United Service Organization band The RedHot Blues, July 4.

The festivities began with a field meet that drew the attendance of more than 1,000 servicemembers from various units aboard the air base.

The servicemembers participated in events such as tug of war, horseshoes, and volleyball, with the warriors of Combat Service Support Company 123, Combat Service Support Battalion 7, 1st Force Service Support Group, winning the overall competition.

Lance Cpl. Joseph Vicencio, an ammunitions technician with Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, mentioned that despite being homesick, he enjoyed the change of pace the celebration brought, along with the opportunity to spend time with his fellow leathernecks.

"It was nice to have everyone out here together doing something different," said Vincencio, a 21-year-old Pomona, Calif., native. "Although I am glad to be out here celebrating with other Marines, I can't help but think about what I would be doing if I were at home."

Petty Officer 2nd Class Laurie B. Milligan, yeoman, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 14, expressed her sense of patriotism and esprit de corps on the festive occasion.

"If we can't be home for the (Fourth of July), we may as well be out here celebrating as a family," said the 35-year-old Orlando, Fla., native. "It doesn't matter where we are in the world, we can all celebrate together."

After participating in volleyball with his team, "The Short Timers" and witnessing the enjoyment of the other servicemembers who took part in various sport activities, Staff Sgt. Michael C. Mateos, career retention specialist, Marine Air Control Group 38, 3rd MAW, had nothing but complementary words to describe the holiday experience.

"This was an outstanding event because it gave the Marines a chance to get away from the monotony of everyday duties," said the 27-year-old Los Angeles native. "It seemed to me like everyone was enjoying themselves because of the smiles on their faces."

As the sun vanished below the horizon, the evening portion of the Independence Day celebration kicked into high gear at the base theater here, with the outrageous comedy of popular late-night and Music Television comedian Peter Gray setting the stage for talented USO band The RedHot Blues.

The two acts performed masterfully, each enlisting servicemembers from the audience to participate in the proceedings that elicited both laughs and cheers of approval.

According to Gray, a 26-year-old native of Detroit, the joy that was shared during both performances was merely a small token of his appreciation for the military men and women who defend America.

"I have a tremendous amount of respect for (servicemembers) because you guys defend the freedom of not only myself, but also the ones I love. It blows my mind how hard you guys work and being a part of this Fourth of July celebration was the least I could (contribute) on my part."

Before handing out compact discs and T-shirts to an eager crowd of military admirers and following the final song of the night, a riveting rendition of Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Child," Dave Shafran, lead singer of The RedHot Blues, issued the audience a heartfelt statement of thanks that captured the essence of the entire day.

"We just want to let all of you know that it has been an honor and a privilege to perform for you tonight," said the Claremont, Calif., native. "Thank you for protecting our way of life and allowing us to have the freedoms we enjoy. Stay safe and come home soon."

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/20047651917/$file/040704-M-7095Z-001-July4thL.jpg

Marines from Marine Wing Support Squadron 273, Marine Wing Support Group 37, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, scramble from the push-up position for the tug of war rope, at the field meet held at Al Asad, Iraq, July 4. The competition included other events such as volleyball and horseshoes, to see which unit would claim the title of ‘Field Meet Champions’ during the air base's Independence Day celebration.

Photo by: Sgt. J.L. Zimmer III

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/BB8CFA8E4C33417E85256EC9002612F5?opendocument


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marine who appeared on cover of Time reflects on war

The Associated Press

WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- A few weeks after surging toward Baghdad with thousands of other coalition forces, Federico Diaz Martinez was walking out of a hospital and a photographer took his picture.
His face, dirty and slightly bloody, ended up on the front page of The New York Times and the cover of Time magazine - a souvenir of his three weeks at war, shared with the American public.

His company based at Camp Lejeune, N.C., returned to the United States in April 2003. Now his four years in the Marines are behind him and Diaz is back home in this southeast Washington city - but the memories of Iraq are still fresh in his mind.

Sitting in the shade at a picnic table behind his house recently, Diaz said he feels removing Saddam Hussein from power was necessary, even if it will take a long time to rebuild Iraq.

His words are filled with tension as he recalls his days on the battlefield.

"War is a lonely place," he told the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin. "Most of the time it's a quiet place. ... Everything is just calm. But then the shooting breaks out. ... It's just all out, you just try to shoot him before he shoots you, and then he just dies, like that."

Diaz was a member of the Eighth Marines, Second Battalion, Fox Company, based at Camp Lejeune. His tour in Iraq came at the end of his stint in the Marines.

"Most of the time you're fighting boredom, you're fighting hunger, sleep deprivation," he said. "Fighting your own battle within you. Thinking about your family, your friends. ... And then you have that battle going on right there, in front of you."

He remembers marching across Iraq, the air thick with dust kicked up by trucks, machinery and wind. His company sometimes laid camp in cities of tents on the desert floor. At other times, they could only dig a hole in the ground and cover themselves with tarps.

"Whenever we stopped we had to dig foxholes and lay down in there in case we got attacked by chemical weapons," he said. One picture in Diaz's photo album shows rows of foxholes between parallel lines of trucks as far as the camera can see.

Several reporters followed Fox Company and recorded its progress, and a photographer from Agence France-Presse shared his photos with Diaz and other troops. Diaz recalls the experiences as he flips through the album.

He said he saw big differences between Iraqi civilians and the men fighting in Saddam's armies. But the distinction was not always clear.

As they marched toward Baghdad on March 23, 2003, he said, "We could see a lot of soldiers walking toward us in lines, but we just ignored them."

Many of the Iraqi troops gave up before the fighting even began, he recalled, marching away from the action with their hands over their heads.

"One night we captured some guys trying to infiltrate our defense, but they had given up, and they were starving, they needed water," Diaz said. "They were so scared, they were shaking. They thought we were going to kill them."

Diaz, who's now pursuing a criminal justice degree at Walla Walla Community College and Washington State University, said he thinks he had a positive impact on the future of Iraq.

"What I ended up doing is something good," he said. "I feel like I helped the Iraqi people."


http://newsobserver.com/news/nc/ncwire_news/story/1393587p-7517244c.html


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Geraldo views OIF from 3rd MAW perspective <br />
Submitted by: 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing <br />
Story Identification #: 200475816 <br />
Story by Staff Sgt. Houston F. White Jr. <br />
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AL ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq(July 4,...

[thedrifter]

Iraqi firefighters fitted with new suits
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 200475384
Story by Sgt. Jose E. Guillen



CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq(July 3, 2004) -- Iraqi firefighters are sporting new uniforms, thanks to a little help from Marines.

Civil affairs Marines from Regimental Combat Team 1 refit the Nasser Wa Al Salaam Fire Department with much needed equipment recently. The team delivered 20 sets of equipment - including fire resistant helmets, jackets, trousers and boots.

The gear, slightly used, but in good condition was donated by a fire department in the United States.

The donation of the gear capped off a renovation to the city's fire department building.

"We have approved a contract to rebuild the entire station, which will give them a place to sleep and also refurbish their office spaces," said Maj. Lawrence J. Kaifesh, the civil affairs team leader for 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment.

Kaifesh explained the fire station was ignored for years. The facility had fallen into disrepair. Marines first took notice and stepped in to assist soon after fighting simmered down early May in Fallujah.

"We were on a routine inspection of key facilities, and we noticed that the station was makeshift - built out of a school classroom," explained Kaifesh, a 36-year-old from Chicago. "They were ill equipped with only semi-flame retardant jackets, so the firefighters were always in danger every time they fought fires. They never had the right firefighting equipment."

Kaifesh said that because of the commitment to restoring city infrastructures in Nasser Wa Al Salaam, Al Kharma and other rural towns, the fire station has grown a new pride for their fire department.

"The fire department project is one our best because as soon as we gave them money, they immediately started working on it," Kaifesh said. "You can't even recognize the old building because they have done a terrific job - the firefighters could not be happier."

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/20047531125/$file/firefighting1lr.jpg

Maj. Lawrence J. Kaifesh, a civil affairs team leader for 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment joins the Nassir Wa Al Salaam Fire Department for a group photo after donating gear. Kaifesh's team approved a contract to renovate the station by building a garage for the department's fire truck, sleeping quarters and to refurbish their office spaces. They also delivered 20 sets of gear for the firefighter to use.
(USMC photo by Sgt. Jose E. Guillen) Photo by: Sgt. Jose E. Guillen

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/D0D2785624DC723385256EC80027311A?opendocument


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Tail gunners added to Iraq-bound birds
Submitted by: MCB Camp Pendleton
Story Identification #: 200473161143
Story by Pfc. Paul Robbins Jr



MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif.(July 1, 2004) -- MCAS YUMA, Ariz. — The Marine Corps is adding machine guns to the tails of its primary troop-transport helicopters — a move meant to deter enemy fighters in Iraq bent on shooting down the helos.

The machine gun — a 240D, essentially a modified 240G commonly used by the infantry — is being installed on CH-46E helicopters. The new package, which includes an extra crew member, was unveiled here last weekend during Operation Desert Talon II.

"The Iraqi terrorists like to wait until the bird has passed overhead and fire at the tail. They are getting closer and closer to being successful. The majority of hits have come from the 6 o'clock (directly underneath)," said Staff Sgt. Jeffrey A. Kittle, a crew chief instructor for Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1 based at this desert air station.

The extra crewman will man the 7.62-caliber machine gun.

"We've trained the first tail gunners and tail gunner instructors on the (CH-46E) to counteract the lack of rear defense," said Gunnery Sgt. Dennis L. Pennington, crew chief instructor for MAWTS-1.

The 240D machine gun is the air wing version of the 240G infantry machine gun. The only difference — the two-handle spade grip assembly found on the 240D.

But for this application, a second modification has been made. The 3rd Marine Air craft Wing is replacing the spade grip with the standard buttstock of the 240G, using a "ground egress kit," Pennington said. This keeps the unmounted gun portable so the tail gunner can use it on the ground in case the aircraft is shot down or forced to land, he said.

"It's not attached to the aircraft at all. The gunner simply straps himself to the aircraft with a gunner's belt, lays on the rear ramp and fires on targets using the bipod," Kittle explained.

The new tail gunners have taken well to the weapon and firing position, Kittle said.

"It's not a perfect solution, but it will be very effective," Pennington said.

"We hope it will dissuade (the enemy)," Kittle added.

The tail gunner is not mandatory. Commanders can implement the four-man crew at their discretion, Kittle said.

"If a commander knows his Marines are going into a danger area, he can choose to place a tail gunner on the flight," Kittle said.

Tail gunners on Sea Knights are not unprecedented. The Marine Corps implemented a similar tactic during the Vietnam War, attaching M60 machine guns.

The threat has returned — and so has the response.

Three instructors and one tail gunner have been trained so far in using the M240 D, said Maj. John M. Graham, operations officer for Marine Aircraft Group 39.

No Camp Pendleton-based Phrog squadron's currently are deployed to Iraq. Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 268 is scheduled to deploy later this year.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/4FABBC393215E0C585256EC6006EEF9F?opendocument


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Iraqi Group Threatens to Kill Al-Zarqawi

By TAREK EL-TABLAWY, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A group of armed, masked Iraqi men threatened Tuesday to kill Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi if he did not immediately leave the country, accusing him of murdering innocent Iraqis and defiling the Muslim religion.


The threats revealed the deep anger many Iraqis, including insurgent groups, feel toward foreign fighters, whom many consider as illegitimate a presence here as the 160,000 U.S. and other coalition troops.


In a videotape sent to the al-Arabiya television station, a group calling itself the "Salvation Movement," questioned how al-Zarqawi could use Islam to justify the killing of innocent civilians, the targeting of government officials and the kidnapping and beheading of foreigners.


"He must leave Iraq (news - web sites) immediately, he and his followers and everyone who gives shelter to him and his criminal actions," said a man on the video.


The video marked the first time that an Iraqi group made such a public threat against al-Zarqawi.


It was issued a day after U.S.-led coalition forces, who have been targeting al-Zarqawi, launched an air strike in the restive city of Fallujah on a suspected safe house used by his followers. The attack killed 15 people, witnesses said.


In the video, three men, their faces covered with Arab headscarves, were flanked by rocket propelled grenades and an Iraqi flag. The man speaking had a clear Iraqi accent.


"We swear to Allah that we have started preparing ... to capture him and his allies or kill them and present them as gift to our people." the man said. "This is the last warning. If you don't stop, we will do to you what the coalition forces have failed to do."


Al-Zarqawi, said to be connected to al-Qaida, is believed to be behind a series of coordinated attacks on police and security forces that killed 100 people only days before U.S. forces handed over power to an Iraqi interim government.


His followers have also claimed responsibility for the beheading of American businessman Nicholas Berg and South Korean translator Kim Sun-il.


The attacks have led to fears that religious fanatics and Saddam loyalists may be joining forces to fight both the multinational force and the new Iraqi government, increasing violence that has wracked the country since the fall of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) 14 months ago.


The military announced Tuesday that three U.S. Marines assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force were killed while on duty in Western Iraq. Two died in action Monday in Anbar province, while a third died of his wounds later Monday.


In the town of Latifiya, 25 miles south of Baghdad, two police officers were seriously injured Tuesday when gunmen opened fire on their patrol car before fleeing, said police Lt. Hazim Abdul-Kadhim.


In the town of Yayieji, about 20 miles southwest of the northern city of Kirkuk, a roadside bomb exploded, just missing an Iraqi police car, but severely injuring a bystander, according to Col. Sarhat Qadir from the Kirkuk police force.


Four explosions were heard outside Fallujah on Tuesday, but the nature of the blasts was not known.


In Baghdad, the U.S. military said Tuesday that troops had fired on a car that failed to heed warnings to stop at a checkpoint, killing one child and wounding a second.


NATO (news - web sites) officials met Tuesday with Iraqi Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan as part of a fact-finding mission to carve out a possible future role for the alliance in the country.





"The purpose of this visit is to find out what needs to be done and present that in a report, and the political decision has to be taken in Brussels," said U.S. Adm. Greg Johnson, head of the delegation that included British and Italian military officials.

The interim government of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has been trying to find a way to stem violence.

On Monday, U.S forces dropped two tons of bombs on a purported militant safe house in Fallujah, killing 15 members of one family, according to witnesses, and turning the building into a 30-foot-deep pit of sand and rubble.

The Fallujah attack was the fifth airstrike in the past two weeks in the area where the U.S. military says al-Zarqawi's network has safe houses.

Rescue workers in Fallujah picked up body parts after the U.S. airstrike, witnesses said. Video from Associated Press Television News showed the explosion had thrown bricks blocks away. Blood was splashed on a nearby wall.

Men gathered at the pit where the house had been and pulled out clothes, including a young child's shirt, from the rubble.

"Is this acceptable to the Iraqi government?" asked an angry man at the scene, who declined to identify himself. "Where are human rights?"

Yasser Abed, 17, said 15 members of his family, including 12 children, were killed in the air strike. Abed, his father and a brother were out of the house at the time of the attack, he said. Hospital officials said at least 10 people were killed. Previous U.S. air strikes in Fallujah have killed dozens.

The military said it had dropped four 500-pound bombs and two 1,000-pound bombs. The attack used guided weapons and underscored the resolve of coalition and Iraqi forces "to jointly destroy terrorist networks within Iraq," the military said.

Allawi issued an unprecedented statement saying his government provided intelligence for the location of the al-Zarqawi safe house so the strike could "terminate those terrorists, whose booby-trapped cars and explosive belts have harvested the souls of innocent Iraqis without discrimination, destroying Iraqi schools, hospitals and police stations."

Allawi appealed to all Iraqis to report the activities of insurgents.

"The sovereign Iraqi people and our international partners are adamant that we will put an end to terrorism and chase those corrupt terrorists and will uproot them one by one," he said in the statement.


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040706/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq&cid=540&ncid=716


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Doubts and Duty Tug at Marines


By John Balzar
LA Times Staff Writer
July 6, 2004

AL ASAD, Iraq -Grumbling is a storied part of Marine Corps life, the oil that keeps the Green Machine from seizing up. There is no morale crisis among Marines here, but threads of doubt are beginning to weave into conversations.

At this Marine Corps combat base in western Iraq, today's post-invasion, post-occupation guerrilla conflict has left front-line troops on edge, tired, uncertain, frustrated, all at once - even as they congratulate themselves on the gains they believe they're making.

"Where you're starting to see the strain is among the mid-career staff NCOs, the 10- to 12-year Marines," said Sgt. Maj. David Plaster of Twentynine Palms, Calif. "The question they're starting to ask is whether they want to continue."

They are tired. Not just tired of the scalding heat, the dust storms that abrade their eyes like sandpaper, the ambushes, the roadside bombings and the murky, quicksilver loyalties of the Iraqis they encounter.

They are weary of back-to-back deployments that have separated many of them from their families for 18 of the last 24 months - deployments that threaten to continue at an "up-tempo" pace for as far into the future as they can see.

They are uncertain. They wonder whether their families can bear it, whether they should have to bear it, whether too much is being asked of too few Americans in this global conflict.

Finally, they are frustrated because the herculean task handed them here is to try to unify a troubled nation. Yet they look over their shoulders toward home and see their own country divided between hope and doubt.

"I tell Marines that for the foreseeable future, they should expect to spend six of every 12 months deployed somewhere," said Plaster, a 24-year veteran who has decided that he has had enough and plans to retire next summer.

He acknowledged that the Marine Corps "cannot afford to lose these people." By virtue of training and experience, these staff noncommissioned officers are the ligaments that hold the Corps together.

The Marines appear to be close to their staff retention goals for this year. But that represents an unwelcome change from 2002 and last year, when reenlistments were booming and ran at nearly 100% of the Marine Corps goals. This year, for instance, the Corps could find itself 17% or so short of the reenlistments it needs for infantry platoon sergeants.

"I'm hearing Marines tell me, 'The first 15 years were for me. The next five are for my wife,' " said Staff Sgt. Carlos O. Zuniga, a native of Choloma, Honduras, and retention specialist for the 7th Regimental Combat Team.

Indeed, Marines throughout the ranks say that wives and family considerations carry more weight now than at any time in recent history. Longtime veterans like Plaster note that spouses have become outspoken as they have become lonelier. They attend base "town hall" meetings back home and announce that deployment schedules are "going to have a serious impact on whether we - We! - stay in the Marine Corps."

Circumstances are not, however, as simple as a tug of war between duty and family. The turbid, inconclusive battle against radical Islamic fundamentalists also wears on those who find themselves, month after month, on the front lines only to realize that there are no front lines and may never be.

Some Marines, like Capt. Doug Downey, who commands an infantry company in the 7th Marine Regiment, accept these new terms of battle. "To defend our country, we have to fight the enemy. I'd rather do it here than back home in Reading, Pa."

But other Marines find it dispiriting to rebuild a school in a town where, later in the night, they are likely to be attacked.

"These Marines and sailors are being called on to make a huge sacrifice," said Navy chaplain Lt. Michael E. Foskett of Twentynine Palms. "They look at the nebulous nature of this war and ask themselves, 'Are we ever going to win? Is this the Marine Corps of the future?' Here in this low-intensity guerrilla fight, married people in particular are beginning to reevaluate."

Almost daily, Lt. Col. Phil Skuta, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, encourages his troops to recalibrate and update their thinking about the terms of victory in this war - to accept small gains in Iraqi stability, to resist despair over setbacks and to recognize that "the people here won't be handing us babies to kiss when we depart."

Skuta urges his subordinates to take satisfaction in the unfamiliar roles in which Marines find themselves, part street cop, part military instructor, part reconstruction supervisor, part goodwill emissary as well as part warrior.

It is a sign of bravery, Skuta continues, for a Marine to enter a town smiling and waving after he was ambushed there the night before, and to do the same thing the next day.

But in turn, this altered 21st century version of Marine Corps gung-ho has created a different rub. The small, incremental gains that Marines believe, or hope, they are making in Iraq are not being acknowledged at home.

This is a nearly universal point of view among these infantry Marines at Al Asad. It is voiced not just in interviews, but also in casual conversations among themselves, often short-handed this way: "The media doesn't get it."

The cliche comes easy, but the thoughts behind it are more complicated. In truth, Marines here have an exceedingly narrow window on the news: a morning BBC report on the chow hall television and random, usually stale, periodicals.

But they have a much firmer connection to the emotions of their families and to what they believe are the imperatives of this era of impatience and doubt into which they were born.

What they seem to be questioning is whether America shares the will to stick it out in Iraq; Marines, after all, being believers that will is essential to victory in any form.

The U.S. armed forces in Iraq enjoy abundant evidence of public support at home, whether it's in published polls that put them at the top of the most admired people in the United States, or the God-bless-you letters that are Scotch-taped by the scores on the walls of headquarters buildings.

Still, they understand that Americans are perpetually hungry for results. If the fight seems nebulous and incremental to those who are engaged in it up close, how can it be otherwise for those back in the States? And, more to the point, will that be good enough? For how long?

"This generation fighting this war was raised on 'The X-Files.' If anyone grew up to be cynical, it's them," said John Sears, another Navy chaplain at Al Asad base. "What's our goal here? Winning hearts and minds. Well, they know if the hearts and minds at home don't stay in it, how can we win here?"


Ellie

[thedrifter]

New Government's Tip Aids U.S. in Fallouja Airstrike

The attack, based on intelligence from the interim leaders, kills eight. Unconfirmed reports say captive Marine is still alive.


By Ashraf Khalil, Special to The Times


BAGHDAD — Acting on intelligence provided by the new Iraqi government, the U.S. military launched an airstrike Monday on a house in Fallouja, killing at least eight people.

The attack came amid unconfirmed reports that a U.S. Marine held hostage for two weeks was alive and in "a safe place."

Monday's aerial assault about 7:15 p.m. leveled a home in the southeastern Fallouja neighborhood of Shuhada. U.S. warplanes reportedly dropped six bombs on the house. Al Jazeera satellite news channel showed residents clearing rubble and angrily waving pieces of charred metal.

Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's office issued a statement Monday evening saying that local security forces provided "clear and compelling intelligence" to U.S. commanders, leading to the attack.

"There will be no more safe havens for terrorists," the statement said. "The people of Iraq will not tolerate terrorist groups or those who collaborate with any other foreign fighters."

It was the first time that the new government publicly acknowledged providing intelligence to U.S. forces that led to a specific strike.

The attack — the fifth such U.S. strike in Fallouja in a little more than two weeks — is likely to further enrage residents of the rebellious city west of Baghdad. Residents and officials in Fallouja have repeatedly said that the strikes have only hit civilians.

Allawi's role in the bombing will almost certainly draw the ire of Falloujans.

After four American security contractors were killed and mutilated there, Fallouja-based insurgents waged intermittent battles with U.S. troops, culminating in a several-week siege of the city by Marines. The siege was lifted in April with the creation of the Fallouja Brigade — a force led by former officers in Saddam Hussein's army and stocked with many of the same local residents who had battled the Marines.

Some U.S. commanders complain that the brigade has allowed insurgent fighters to turn Fallouja into a safe zone from which to plan and launch attacks. The military has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness to launch strikes independent of the Fallouja Brigade.

"The attacks are American attempts to destabilize Fallouja and undermine the role of the Fallouja Brigade and the police," said Yassin Mekhlif, a relative of one of Monday's victims. "They are shooting without informing the police. They did the same before the transfer of sovereignty and after. Nothing has changed."

Al Jazeera also reported Monday that a statement received from a group calling itself Islamic Response claimed that Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun was alive and safe. The statement gave no indications as to Hassoun's whereabouts, or whether he had been released.

The statement was the latest in a series of conflicting accounts on the status of the 24-year-old Lebanese-born Marine, who disappeared from his base near Fallouja on June 19. On Saturday, a radical Islamic group calling itself the Ansar al Sunna Army claimed on websites that Hassoun had been beheaded, and promised video proof of the execution. That statement was denied Sunday. Monday's statement indicated that Hassoun might still be alive, but remained in captivity.

Elsewhere in Iraq, five Iraqi civilians were wounded in a roadside bombing early Monday morning in the northern city of Mosul. A second roadside bomb attack targeting a U.S. convoy near the southern city of Samawa killed one Iraqi civilian.

A rocket attack on a police station in Basra struck a nearby house, killing one and wounding three.

*


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Times wires services and a special correspondent in Fallouja contributed to this report.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iraq6jul06,1,4674103.story


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Many want to know

By SANDY SHANKS
The Daily Tribune
Hibbing, Minn.
July 6, 2004

I am here to report failure. On June 21, Americans heard a report about four Marines killed in Ramadi, and the circumstances surrounding their demise were, to say the very least, odd. In the initial report General Mark Kimmet, deputy director of operations in Iraq, said more would follow. We waited, nothing.

Nearly two weeks later I started to dig, thinking something was missed. The time was wasted. The Pentagon has remained mum on the subject, and this is so wrong. Due to the unusual elements in this incident, many would like to know what happened to those Marines.

Here is what is known, but the following only begs questions without answering them. Four Marines assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force were found dead on a rooftop in Ramadi. Much of their equipment, including weapons and flak jackets, were missing so this engagement appears to be up close and personal. They were found after Dubai-base al Jazeera aired photos of the dead Marines — that caught my attention. They were each killed with one bullet — and now my radar was on full power. Some of the reports indicated that they were killed in an ambush. With one bullet each? This was no ambush.

Some reports said that Headquarters, Marine Corps, does not divulge the details of Marine deaths. That’s news to me. When I served my Corps, a squad wasn’t complete without a photographer and a reporter.

Seriously, the circumstances surrounding the loss of these Marines cry for more details, but not just because we are curious. What little we do know — each killed with one bullet, the missing gear — suggests that this fire team, faced with hopeless odds and vainly hoping to fight another day, were captured by the enemy (it happens, even to my beloved Corps), then shot. It is suggested that Marines fighting in Iraq would like to know that, so would soldiers of the Army. It is further suggested that Marines and soldiers, home now but destined for Iraq, should also know. In short, America should know that if its troops surrender to the insurgents they are likely to be killed. All of this makes some sense when one realizes that it is unlikely that insurgents have the facilities for POW’s.

There is, of course, one other possibility because the Pentagon has been less than forthcoming on the matter. Something disgraceful happened out there. Something happened that would result in bad PR for the home folks, and the Pentagon demurred from informing the public for that reason. All of this I doubt, but the Pentagon’s silence suggests malice when, perhaps, there isn’t any, just proud Marines dying for what they believe. In any case, our troops want the truth, America wants the truth, and, Secretary Rumsfeld, paraphrasing a line in an excellent movie, Americans can handle the truth. Our difficulties lie in handling lies and half-truths. Just once, Washington, tell the truth.

Incidentally, Rumsfeld is still SecDef, right? Haven’t heard from him much lately, not since the torture scandal and the revelation that his chosen Iraqi, Ahmed Chalabi, was a conman and, perhaps, a spy for Iran.

On a side note, we wish the interim government under Prime Minister Iyad Allawi all the best. It is hoped that he will achieve success under dire conditions so that we can get our troops the hell out of Iraq.

--- Sandy Shanks, a native of Hibbing, is the author of “The Bode Testament,” a WWII saga concerning our Navy’s worst disaster, and “Impeachment,” a contemporary fiction novel. He can be reached at fs.shanks@verizon.net.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Three US Marines die in restive central Iraq: military

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Two US marines were killed in action and one died later from wounds received during an operation in a restive Iraqi province, the US military said.


"Two marines assigned to First Marine Expeditionary Force were killed in action and one marine died of wounds received in action Monday in the (centre-west) Al-Anbar province while conducting security and stability operations," the military said in a statement.


The marines have now lost 10 men in just over one week on various operations around Al-Anbar province, home to the restive city of Fallujah from where US officials suspect alleged Al-Qaeda operative Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi and his supporters are operating.


US-led military forces have carried out several air raids on what they say are dens of the Jordanian Islamist in Fallujah, including their second major strike Monday since the transfer of sovereignty to an Iraqi government two days earlier.


At least 12 people died in Monday's raid when US warplanes dropped six large bombs, hospital and military sources said.


The attack is the fifth such raid over the past two weeks in Fallujah, 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Baghdad, where previous air strikes targeted other suspected safe houses used by the Al-Qaeda-linked Zarqawi.


Prime Minister Iyad Allawi issued a statement describing Iraq (news - web sites)'s involvement in the attack.


"After consultations between Iraqi government officials and multinational forces-Iraq, Iraqi security forces provided clear and compelling intelligence to conduct a precision strike this evening on a known Zarqawi safe house in southeastern Fallujah," Allawi said in the statement released late Monday.


It was the deadliest single incident since the US-led coalition handed power to a caretaker government on June 28 and the second such airstrike in the newly sovereign Iraq.


"We are working together with the multinational forces," said top government spokesman Gurgis Sada on Tuesday.


Iraqi security forces also offered information to the US-led military in the run-up to the previous airstrike on the night of June 30, he told AFP.


But "this is the first time that prime minister Allawi has made (such) an announcement," Sada said, explaining that it was to raise awareness about the coordinated work being carried out to tackle hotbeds like Fallujah.


"It was a success," the spokesman declared, when asked about the outcome of the latest attack.


Hospital sources said at least 12 people were killed and five wounded in the strike on a house in the Shuhada neighbourhood of the restive Sunni Muslim city.


The identity of the vitims was unclear.


In a bid to crush an insurgency that rose up during the US-led occupation, Iraq's caretaker government is preparing a set of emergency measures that include curfews and special detention powers to be announced this week.


It will also separately unveil an amnesty for insurgents not considered hardcore supporters of the resistance -- a move analysts described as intended to fracture the rebellion.





The announcement of the sweeping security measures was originally set for Monday, but the government delayed it amid last-minute tweaking.

The prime minister's office and the interior, justice and human rights ministries were all actively involved in drafting the rules, said Sabah Kadhim, spokesman for the interior ministry.

"This is the spirit of a new and democratic Iraq, unlike the old days when people just woke up to hear about a new decree," he said.

Meanwhile, the US military was still unable to confirm the whereabouts of a Lebanese-born marine after a militant group claimed he had been released.

The Islamic Retaliation Movement, which had previously threatened to behead Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun, said on Monday the marine was "taken to a safe place," without specifying where, after agreeing "not to go back to the US army."

US Marine spokesman Lieutenant Colonel TV Johnson reiterated on Tuesday that the military had no news of Hassoun's release and were still listing him as captured since he disappeared on June 21 from his base near Fallujah.

An Iraqi child died and another was wounded when US soldiers shot at the car their father was driving after it failed to stop at a checkpoint in Baghdad Monday night despite repeated warnings, the US military said Tuesday.

Checkpoints are considered combat areas and soldiers have the right under the rules of engagement to shoot if a vehicle approaching them fails to stop.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040706/wl_mideast_afp/iraq_us_toll&cid=1514&ncid=1480


Ellie

[thedrifter]

U.S. Response to Insurgency Called a Failure <br />
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Some top Bush officials and military experts say the Pentagon has no coherent strategy. Little change is expected with Iraq's new sovereignty. <br />
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By...

[thedrifter]

Defenders of American counterinsurgency efforts argue that the violence in Iraq over the last year is part of a calculated plan by members of Hussein's former regime, not the result of missteps by the U.S.-led occupation authority.

"It is the military and intelligence and secret police that never surrendered. And they are continuing the fight," said the senior administration official.

After a string of bombings last summer — most significantly, the destruction of the United Nations compound in August — U.S. commanders adopted a get-tough approach in central Iraq. Troops used barbed wire to encircle entire villages, including Al Auja, where Hussein was born. In November, the U.S. launched bombing raids on suspected insurgent hide-outs in Baghdad.

Ground troops scored successes during the period, developing better intelligence about the Baathist insurgents. The 4th Infantry Division drew up complex family trees of suspected party loyalists, ultimately leading to Hussein's capture in December.

With the new year, the Marines began developing a "velvet glove" strategy for their imminent deployment to the Sunni Triangle — in contrast to the more confrontational approach of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, which had responsibility for that area until March. Relying on the Marine Corps "Small Wars Manual," the 1st Marine Division planned to carry out more foot patrols in cities such as Fallouja and send Marine platoons into villages to live for extended periods. They also planned to shun the use of aerial bombardment or artillery.

But that strategy went by the boards with the killing and mutilation of four American contractors, which precipitated a Marine assault on Fallouja in April. That offensive was cut short after U.S. officials in Baghdad and Washington decided the bloody campaign was having a negative impact on the larger American effort in Iraq. The Marines pulled back, marking another swerve in the counterinsurgency effort.

"We were winning, but we didn't get a win. It's a hard pill to swallow," complained one Marine operations officer who recently returned from Iraq, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Now, nobody knows what's going on inside the city."

In many cases, U.S. troops have been able to adapt on the ground over the past year. The Army's 101st Airborne, which fought to Baghdad, then assumed responsibility for Kurdish territories after the war, is praised by Pentagon officials for bringing Kurdish leaders into the U.S. fold and keeping the level of violence in northern Iraq to a minimum.

More recently, the Army's 1st Armored Division is credited with successfully putting down revolts by Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada Sadr's militia in Najaf and other southern towns with a comparatively limited use of force.

"It was a strategic defeat for Sadr," said the senior administration official. The commander of the 1st Armored, Maj. Gen. Martin Dempsey, "put that mob action down quickly and decisively," the official said.

Some top U.S. commanders express optimism that as the U.S. military continues to adjust to the difficult warfare conditions in Iraq, the counterinsurgency efforts will produce more positive results.

"I think we're in good shape going forward," said Maj. Gen. Charles H. Swannack Jr., commander of the 82nd Airborne Division. "It will all come out well if we stay the course."

At the same time, many experts point out that counterinsurgency work is as much a political mission as it is a military one, requiring a comprehensive strategy involving civilian officials planning reconstruction projects and elections and military officers gathering intelligence and carrying out raids against suspected insurgents.

In Iraq, some top military officials say, the relationship between the U.S. military and the Coalition Provisional Authority was often tense, making such close coordination difficult.

"CPA representatives would not get out in the field to get on-the-spot input for assessment," Swannack said.

Maj. Gen. James N. Mattis, who commands the 1st Marine Division in Al Anbar province in western Iraq, has argued for months with U.S. civilians in Baghdad over the pace of reconstruction and the status of U.S. forces after the hand-over of power, Marine sources say. "He did not pull any punches in his communications" to Baghdad, said one Marine operations officer, speaking on condition of anonymity.

U.S. military officials hope dissolution of the CPA and creation of an embassy in Baghdad will help mend fences and engender the cooperation that, experts say, is critical for the counterinsurgency effort.

Although the Army recently has been incorporating counterinsurgency work into its training of young soldiers, experts say that for decades after Vietnam, the Army focused almost entirely on fighting large tank battles in the desert, not armed militias in Third World cities.

After the Sept. 11 attacks, however, when the doctrine of overwhelming force against an enemy became less relevant, the Army found it needed to change course, and quickly. Back it went into the counterinsurgency business.

Said analyst Krepinevich: "It's like telling General Motors to stop building cars, and then 25 years later telling them you want them to build a car."

*


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Times staff writers John Hendren and Doyle McManus contributed to this report.

http://www.latimes.com/la-fg-counterinsurgency6jul06,1,6738868.story


Ellie

[thedrifter]

U.S. Marine's Self-Recorded Single Builds Momentum
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AL ASAD, Iraq, July 6 /PRNewswire/ -- When 22-year-old Marine Cpl. John C. Preston returns home to California shortly after a 6-month stint in Iraq, he, like so many other servicemen and women, will bear grim memories of mortar blasts and anonymous backstreet snipers. But he will also carry with him the memory of 60 Iraqi schoolgirls chanting "good, good America" as his unit opened a new school in a battered desert town. He'll be carrying his dusty guitar. And he'll be carrying a song that is sweeping across the nation without any help from big record labels or flashy ad campaigns.

Inspired by that group of schoolgirls, Preston and his friend Lance Cpl. Nick Hoffmann of Middletown, N.Y. wrote a song called, appropriately, "Good Good America." In just a few days, the pair had created a video of Preston performing the song acoustically, interspersed with dozens of images of the war in Iraq and the Marines of Preston's unit. A friend back home helped set up a Web site ( http://www.JohnPreston.us ) where anyone could see and hear the song via streaming video -- and in the two weeks since, the site has logged thousands of visitors. "Good Good America," it seems, appeals to American citizens and journalists alike, regardless of their feelings about the war itself.

But while the song reflects the gratitude Preston says the majority of the Iraqi people express to him and to thousands of other American soldiers, it also portrays the frustration U.S. troops feel at the random attacks by a handful of radical groups and the way in which those attacks are reported by the media back home.

"I was struck so hard by those girls' reaction to the new school, I couldn't get their words out of my head. I had to sit down and write a song," said Preston, a longtime songwriter. "I felt that we were finally doing something for the Iraqi people that they appreciated, and I wanted to convey to the American public what is really going on in Iraq. Most people only think of Marines when we die or do something wrong. But for many of us, the real mission here is to build schools, playgrounds and homes or to provide the Iraqi people with medical and military training."

Though Preston has not yet signed with a record label, he is interested in finding one and recording an album soon after he returns home. And with over 120 original songs under his belt -- 30 of which are ready to be recorded -- and requests to purchase copies of "Good Good America" pouring in from his Web site every day, Preston is optimistic about his chances of landing a contract. In the meantime, though, he's just trying to keep up with the onslaught of e-mails from his new fans and stay focused on the job at hand: rebuilding Iraq, one school at a time.

CONTACT:
John Preston Sr.
859-567-4966
rockstar0120@hotmail.com
http://www.johnpreston.us



Ellie