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thedrifter
01-08-05, 07:11 AM
General Warns Of 'Spectacular' Plots
Associated Press
January 8, 2005

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A U.S. general warned Friday that insurgents may be planning "spectacular" attacks to scare voters in the three weeks before Iraq's landmark elections, and Shiite and Sunni religious leaders voiced sharply divergent views on whether the vote should be held at all.
Air Force Brig. Gen. Erv Lessel, who is deputy chief of staff for strategic communications in Iraq, said the United States has no intelligence indicating specific plots, but he said American leaders expected a rise in attacks.

He said the insurgents' biggest weapon was their ability to instill fear.

"I think a worst case is where they have a series of horrific attacks that cause mass casualties in some spectacular fashion in the days leading up to the elections," Lessel said.

"If you look over the last six months, they have steadily escalated the barbaric nature of the attacks they have been committing. A year ago, you didn't see these kinds of horrific things," he said.





In Washington, President Bush expressed optimism about the Jan. 30 elections, saying they will be "an incredibly hopeful experience," despite rising violence and doubts that the vote will bring stability and democracy.

"I know it's hard but it's hard for a reason," Bush said, adding that the insurgents are trying to impede the elections because they fear freedom. He acknowledged security problems in four of Iraq's 18 provinces.

The comments came amid an escalating insurgency ahead of the parliamentary vote believed to be led by minority Sunnis whose dominated the country during Saddam Hussein's regime. In the election - the first democratic vote in Iraq since the country was formed in 1932 - the Sunnis are certain to lose their dominance to the Shiites, who comprise 60 percent of Iraq's 26 million population.

Reflecting Shiites' demands to hold the vote as scheduled, and Sunnis' calls for a boycott or postponement, two senior religious leaders expressed sharply differing views during Friday prayers.

"We want all the Iraqis to participate, we also insist on holding the elections as scheduled and to put these elections behind us as a way to end the conflict in Iraq," Saadr Aldeen al-Qubbanji, a leader of a prominent Shiite party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, said in the southern city of Najaf.

"We all want elections, but we are seeking fair and free elections," Sheik Mahmoud Al-Somaidie of the Sunnis' Association of Muslim Scholars said in Baghdad. "Those of us who are calling for postponement are seeking that for the benefit of the country. Elections have to be an Iraqi demand not the demand of the foreign countries."

The United States insists on holding the vote as planned, and strongly opposes a postponement.

This week has seen a string of assassinations, suicide car bombings and other assaults that killed more than 90 people, mostly Iraqi security troops, who are seen by the militants as collaborators with the American occupiers. The insurgency is apparently intended to scare voters.

On Friday, a police captain was killed in a drive-by shooting in Abu Ghraib west of Baghdad, police said. In the northern city of Mosul, gunmen shot to death a policeman walking near his house. And in the central city of Samarra, a roadside bomb exploded near a U.S. military base, killing an Iraqi, police Capt. Hashim Yassin said.

The assaults came a day after a roadside bomb killed seven U.S. soldiers in Baghdad, the deadliest attack on American forces since a suicide strike in Mosul 2 1/2 weeks ago that killed 22 people, including 14 U.S. soldiers. Two Marines also were killed in western Iraq on Thursday.

Also Friday, a Marine was killed in a non-hostile vehicle accident in the western province of Anbar, the U.S. military said. The incident is under investigation, and the name of the Marine was being withheld until his family can be notified.

In the village of Naimiyah, hundreds of refugees from the nearby city of Fallujah demonstrated after Friday's prayers, demanding that U.S. and Iraqi forces leave the city, open all the roads for residents to go back, and pay compensation for property damaged during the U.S. military assault against the insurgent stronghold in November.

Lessel said he expects the insurgents would escalate attacks before the election, and that the incidents would probably decline after the vote.

"What the terrorists fear most is a simple piece of paper called a ballot," he said. "They fear the election. I think successful elections will have a significant impact on the insurgents."

Ellie

thedrifter
01-08-05, 07:12 AM
Jury Seated For Abu Ghraib Trial <br />
Associated Press <br />
January 8, 2005 <br />
<br />
FORT HOOD, Texas - A jury of 10 soldiers was selected Friday to decide whether the accused ringleader of the Abu Ghraib...

thedrifter
01-08-05, 07:12 AM
Sergeant Convicted Of Assault <br />
Associated Press <br />
January 8, 2005 <br />
<br />
FORT HOOD, Texas - An Army sergeant was acquitted Friday of involuntary manslaughter in the alleged drowning of an Iraqi...

thedrifter
01-08-05, 07:13 AM
Marine sniper credited with longest confirmed kill in Iraq



by Cpl. Paul W. Leicht
3rd Marine Aircraft Wing


AR RAMADI, Iraq -- Seen through a twenty-power spot scope, terrorists scrambled to deliver another mortar round into the tube. Across the Euphrates River from a concealed rooftop, the Marine sniper breathed gently and then squeezed a few pounds of pressure to the delicate trigger of the M40A3 sniper rifle in his grasp.

The rifle's crack froze the booming Fallujah battle like a photograph. As he moved the bolt back to load another round of 7.62mm ammunition, the sniper's spotter confirmed the terrorist went down from the shot mere seconds before the next crack of the rifle dropped another.

It wasn't the sniper's first kill in Iraq, but it was one for the history books.

On Nov. 11, 2004, while coalition forces fought to wrest control of Fallujah from a terrorist insurgency, Marine scout snipers with Company B, 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, applied their basic infantry skills and took them to a higher level.

"From the information we have, our chief scout sniper has the longest confirmed kill in Iraq so far," said Capt. Shayne McGinty, weapons platoon commander for "Bravo" Co. "In Fallujah there were some bad guys firing mortars at us and he took them out from more than 1,000 yards."

During the battle for the war-torn city, 1/23 Marine scout snipers demonstrated with patience, fearless initiative and wits that well-trained Marines could be some of the deadliest weapons in the world.

"You really don't have a threat here until it presents itself," said Sgt. Herbert B. Hancock, chief scout sniper, 1/23, and a 35-year-old police officer from Bryan, Texas, whose specialized training and skill helped save the lives of his fellow Marines during the battle. "In Fallujah we really didn't have that problem because it seemed like everybody was shooting at us. If they fired at us we just dropped them."

Stepping off on day one of the offensive from the northern edge of the Fallujah peninsula, the Marine reservists of 1/23, with their scout snipers, moved to secure a little island, but intense enemy fire near the bridgeheads limited their advance. Insurgents littered the city, filtering in behind their positions with indirect mortar and sniper fire.

"The insurgents started figuring out what was going on and started hitting us from behind, hitting our supply lines," said Hancock in his syrupy Texas drawl. "Originally we set up near a bridge and the next day we got a call on our radio that our company command post was receiving sniper fire. We worked our way back down the peninsula trying to find the sniper, but on the way down we encountered machinegun fire and what sounded like grenade launchers or mortars from across the river."

With a fire team of grunts pinned down nearby, Hancock and his spotter, Cpl. Geoffrey L. Flowers, a May 2004 graduate of Scout Sniper School, helped them out by locating the source of the enemy fire.

"After locating the gun position we called in indirect fire to immediate suppress that position and reduced it enough so we could also punch forward and get into a house," explained Hancock. "We got in the house and started to observe the area from which the insurgents were firing at us. They hit us good for about twenty minutes and were really hammering us. Our indirect fire (landed on) them and must have been effective because they didn't shoot anymore after that."

Continuing south down the peninsula to link up with the Bravo Co. command post, Hancock and Flowers next set up on a big building, taking a couple shots across the river at some suspected enemy spotters in vehicles.

"The insurgents in the vehicles were spotting for the mortar rounds coming from across the river so we were trying to locate their positions to reduce them as well as engage the vehicles," said Hancock. "There were certain vehicles in areas where the mortars would hit. They would show up and then stop and then the mortars would start hitting us and then the vehicles would leave so we figured out that they were spotters. We took out seven of those guys in one day."

Later, back at the company command post, enemy mortar rounds once again began to impact.

"There were several incoming rockets and mortars to our compound that day and there was no way the enemy could have seen it directly, so they probably had some spotters out there," said 22-year-old Flowers who is a college student from Pearland, Texas.

" Our (company commander) told us to go find where the mortars were coming from and take them out so we went back out," remembered Hancock. "We moved south some more and linked up with the rear elements of our first platoon. Then we got up on a building and scanned across the river. We looked out of the spot scope and saw about three to five insurgents manning a 120mm mortar tube. We got the coordinates for their position and set up a fire mission. We decided that when the rounds came in that I would engage them with the sniper rifle. We got the splash and there were two standing up looking right at us. One had a black (outfit) on. I shot and he dropped. Right in front of him another got up on his knees looking to try and find out where we were so I dropped him too. After that our mortars just hammered the position, so we moved around in on them."

The subsequent fire for effect landed right on the insurgent mortar position.

"We adjusted right about fifty yards where there were two other insurgents in a small house on the other side of the position," said Flowers. "There was some brush between them and the next nearest building about 400 yards south of where they were at and we were about 1,000 yards from them so I guess they thought we could not spot them. Some grunts were nearby with binoculars but they could not see them, plus they are not trained in detailed observation the way we are. We know what to look for such as target indicators and things that are not easy to see."

Hancock and Flowers then scanned several areas that they expected fire from, but the enemy mortars had silenced.

"After we had called in indirect fire and after all the adjustments from our mortars, I got the final 8-digit grid coordinates for the enemy mortar position, looked at our own position using GPS and figured out the distance to the targets we dropped to be 1,050 yards," said Flowers with a grin. "This time we were killing terrorism from more than 1,000 yards."


Ellie

thedrifter
01-08-05, 07:14 AM
Near Fallujah, Marine metal workers weld life-saving vehicle armor <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
by Staff Sgt. Jim Goodwin <br />
1st FSSG <br />
<br />
<br />
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq -- Standing on top of a Humvee, blowtorch in hand in the middle...

thedrifter
01-08-05, 07:15 AM
January 10, 2005

Rushing down the aisle
Deployments force service members to prioritize

By Karen Jowers
Times staff writer


While Army Pfc. Mike Aros-Truhe was in training at Fort Polk, La., he made up his mind he wanted to marry his sweetheart before he deployed to Iraq.
At first, the couple planned to wait until he returned. But that changed during his training at Fort Polk.

“He came back and said he wanted to get married, because he wanted to spend as much time together as possible before going to Iraq,” said Kelly Aros-Truhe, 24.

They discussed the pros and cons.

Pro: They’d be spending time together, starting a life together.

Con: He’d be gone for a year.

Pro: A wedding when he returned from Iraq could be extra stress for him, after a stressful deployment.

But most of all, Kelly said, “He’d have another reason to come home. It would put an extra bit of fight in him.”

They got married Oct. 9 in Connecticut, scrambling to pull the wedding together in one month.

They have a lot of company: According to Defense Department statistics, more than 15 percent of active-duty troops deploying in 2003 and 2004 got married within a year of their deployment.

Marriage license bureaus near military bases have been busy.

“When deployments occur, we absolutely see a significant increase,” said Gregory J. Smith, county assessor, recorder, county clerk and commissioner of marriages for San Diego County, Calif.

Because of the recent increase in marriages, Smith sent letters to local chaplains and public affairs offices, offering to have someone from his office meet with chaplains to explain the marriage license process to help interested couples make sure they meet the requirements. To save time, they can download and fill out the application before coming to the office, at www.sdarcc.com.

San Diego County also tries to accommodate people whose relatives can’t make it to the wedding. For an extra $25, you can get married at the Arbor of Love, in front of a live Webcam, so your friends and family can watch.

Many couples, like the Aros-Truhes, are moving up their wedding date.

“They tell us they’re doing a civil ceremony because the deployment messed up their plans, and they will have a bigger wedding later,” said Diane Fisher, assistant register of deeds for vital records for Cumberland County, N.C., which includes Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base.

Employees in the vital records office in Fayetteville, N.C., don’t need news reports to tell them when deployments are coming up.

“Sometimes we start seeing an increase and ask if there’s going to be a deployment,” Fisher said. For example, Friday, Dec. 3, was a busy day with 33 applications, and a number of troops deployed the following Sunday.

An estimated 50 percent to 60 percent of those who apply for marriage licenses in Cumberland County are military — mostly soldiers, with some airmen, said Lee Warren, county register of deeds. After applying for their license, a couple can walk to a nearby magistrate who can perform the marriage ceremony right then.

In San Diego County, Smith said the weddings are “a wonderful sight to see. We have long, wide corridors, and the marriage room is at the end of the hall. The most striking vision I have is of a Marine walking down the hall to the marriage room, his fiancée on his arm. All these people there doing business, paying taxes, etc., stop and step aside. It’s like a huge reception line.

“People stop in the halls and congratulate them, not only for their marriage, but thank them for their service in defending our country,” Smith said. “Almost everyone claps when they see the bride. Little kids clap.”

Marine Staff Sgts. Micheal and Angela Mink, who had been friends for several years, realized their relationship had grown into more while he was deployed from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif. On July 16, 2003, when he returned, “he pulled me aside and said, ‘I love you. I can’t live without you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you,’” Angela said.

They set a date for May.

But the day she put down the deposit for their wedding ceremony at a California beach cottage, she found out she was deploying to Iraq on Feb. 26.

At dinner that night, Angela said, “He told me he did not want me to deploy without his name. He wanted us to be a real family.”

Instead of the cottage on the beach, they wound up at a civil ceremony at the San Diego County offices. The couple sent out a last-minute e-mail to their friends and were amazed to see Marines from many locations at the ceremony. Angela’s boss, a lieutenant, and another lieutenant’s wife applied her makeup. The Marines bought her jewelry.

“Everything happened for a reason,” Angela said. “It was so perfect. Even if I could go back and have a wedding on the beach, I wouldn’t trade it.”

Wartime weddings are not a new phenomenon.

“Since we’ve been a nation, any crisis, any separation for an extended period of time, alters plans,” said Army Col. Joel Cocklin, the installation command chaplain at Fort Benning, Ga., where there’s been a recent increase in marriages among soldiers with the 3rd Brigade, which began deploying in December.

Based on his 23 years as an Army chaplain, Cocklin said, “These marriages have every bit of the chance of succeeding. The bottom line is: A strong marriage will survive deployments.

“These are not people jumping into marriage for the wrong reasons,” he said. “The commitment level is there. They know they are going into harm’s way. People are not putting themselves at emotional risk for reasons that are not commitment-centered. They’re saying, ‘I want to be your wife/husband so much, to the degree that if you don’t come back, I will have been your wife/husband.’”

Kelly Aros-Truhe said she knows she made the right decision. Their marriage has had a calming effect on her new husband, in the midst of deployment preparations.

“When he comes home from work, it’s a stress reliever to see me. This is a whole other world” outside his military job, she said. “He lights up when he sees me.”

Ellie

thedrifter
01-08-05, 08:30 AM
2 Twentynine Palms Marines killed
Each died in separate battles in Al Anbar, base reports

By Toshi Maeda
The Desert Sun
January 8th, 2005


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Deadly enemy fire in Iraq killed two Marines deployed from Twentynine Palms Wednesday, bringing the total Iraq war death toll among the service members deployed from this high desert base to 53.

The two Marines -- Sgt. Zachariah Davis, 25, and Lance Cpl. Julio CisnerosAlvarez, 22 -- were killed in separate enemy attacks in Al Anbar Province west of Baghdad, military officials said.

Al Anbar is Iraq’s largest province that contains the city of Fallujah and is home to a large portion of Sunni Muslims.

"Those were two separate occasions in two separate cities," said Gunnery Sgt. Frank Patterson, spokes-man for the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms.

"It was just a coincidence" that the two Marines from the Twentynine Palms base were killed on the same day in the same province, Patterson said, declining to give further details on the circumstances of their deaths.

The two Marines were the first casualties this year among more than 1,000 Marines currently being deployed with 14 units from the Twentynine Palms base in Iraq.

Most of them are on a nine-month mission that started in September .

The Twentynine Palms combat center, the nation’s largest Marine Corps base where about 20,000 Marines are stationed, lost 11 Marines and one sailor in Iraq in 2003 and 39 Marines in 2004.

Davis, who was married with two sons, was born in Placerville and joined the Marines Corps in 1998.

This was his second deployment to Iraq, following the first one in 2003.

Davis was a light armored vehicle crewman with the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, which is conducting support and stabilization operations in Iraq, Patterson said.

Davis is survived by his wife, Angela, of Twentynine Palms, and sons, Landen and Gabriel. He is also survived by his father, Terry Davis of Twentynine Palms, and mother Kathy Owens of Spiro, Okla.

Lance Cpl. CisnerosAlvarez was a machine gunner with the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment attached to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, which also conducts support and stabilization operations in Iraq, Patterson said.

CisnerosAlvarez was born in Reynosa, Mexico, and raised in Pharr, Texas.

He joined the Marine Corps in 2003 and was deployed to Iraq in September.

CisnerosAlvarez is survived by his mother, Senobia, of Pharr, Texas, and his father, Julio.

Ellie

thedrifter
01-08-05, 09:29 AM
Militants Kidnap 3 Senior Iraqi Officials

By DUSAN STOJANOVIC, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Militants abducted three senior Iraqi officials, beheaded a man who worked for the U.S. military and killed at least four others, officials said Saturday, a day after a U.S. general warned that insurgents may be planning "horrific" attacks ahead of Jan. 30 elections.


Meanwhile, Shiite and Sunni religious leaders voiced sharply divergent views on whether the vote should be held at all.


Air Force Brig. Gen. Erv Lessel, a senior deputy for Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the top U.S. commander in Iraq (news - web sites), said American leaders expected a rise in attacks before the election, but they had no intelligence indicating specific plots.


"I think a worst case is where they have a series of horrific attacks that cause mass casualties in some spectacular fashion in the days leading up to the elections," Lessel said Friday.


"If you look over the last six months, they have steadily escalated the barbaric nature of the attacks they have been committing. A year ago, you didn't see these kinds of horrific things."


In Washington, President Bush (news - web sites) said the elections will be "an incredibly hopeful experience" despite rising violence and doubts that the vote will bring stability and democracy. He acknowledged security problems in four of Iraq's 18 provinces.


"I know it's hard but it's hard for a reason," Bush said.


The comments came amid an escalating insurgency believed to be led by minority Sunnis, who dominated the country during Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s regime. In the election — the first democratic vote in Iraq since the country was formed in 1932 — the Sunnis are certain to lose their dominance to the Shiites, who comprise 60 percent of Iraq's 26 million people.


Reflecting Shiites' demands to hold the vote as scheduled and Sunnis' calls for a boycott or postponement, two senior religious leaders expressed sharply differing views during Friday prayers.


"We want all the Iraqis to participate, we also insist on holding the elections as scheduled and to put these elections behind us as a way to end the conflict in Iraq," Saadr Aldeen al-Qubbanji, a leader of a prominent Shiite party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, said in the southern city of Najaf.


But Sheik Mahmoud Al-Somaidie of the Sunnis' Association of Muslim Scholars favored postponing the vote.


"We all want elections, but we are seeking fair and free elections," he said in Baghdad. "Those of us who are calling for postponement are seeking that for the benefit of the country. Elections have to be an Iraqi demand, not the demand of the foreign countries."


The United States insists on holding the vote as scheduled and strongly opposes a postponement.


This week has seen a string of assassinations, suicide car bombings and other assaults that killed nearly 100 people, mostly Iraqi security forces, who are seen by the militants as collaborators with the American occupiers.


Authorities in Saddam's hometown of Tikrit said Saturday that gunmen abducted a deputy governor of a central Iraqi province and two other senior officials as they traveled to meet with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most prominent Shiite leader, in the holy city of Najaf to discuss national elections.


The delegation was stopped and the members kidnapped about 40 miles south of Baghdad on Friday. The area is in the so-called "triangle of death," a string of Sunni-controlled towns that have been the scene of frequent attacks.


The U.S. military said the delegation was traveling in two cars — one of which managed to escape the militants' ambush.





"Those insurgents and terrorists who intimidate and resort to kidnapping public officials are the true enemies of the Iraqi people," said U.S. military spokesman Maj. Neal O'Brien.

In Baqouba, insurgents broke into the house of a translator working with the U.S. Army and then beheaded him, police said Saturday. An Iraqi policeman was killed by masked gunmen as he left his house in Baghdad's southern Dora neighborhood.

A booby-trapped car blew up Saturday at a gas station in Mahaweel, about 35 miles south of Baghdad. One man was killed and several others were injured, police said.

In Baghdad's western neighborhood of Khadraa, gunmen shot dead Abboud Khalaf al-Lahibi, deputy secretary-general of the National Front for Iraqi tribes — a group representing several Iraqi tribes, said his aide, Ibrahim al-Farhan. A bodyguard was killed and three other people were wounded in the attack, he said.

Also Saturday, gunmen kidnapped Mohammed Khodr, a representative of the Human Rights Organization in Iraq, in the town of Riyadh, some 28 miles southwest of Kirkuk, police said.

The U.S. military said Saturday that 48 suspected insurgents were detained in separate search operations in different parts of Iraq on Friday.

A U.S. soldier also was killed Friday in a non-hostile vehicle accident in the western province of Anbar, the U.S. military said. The incident is under investigation, and the Marine's name was being withheld pending notification of the family.


Ellie

thedrifter
01-08-05, 09:43 AM
Pentagon To Address Hot Spots
Associated Press
January 8, 2005

WASHINGTON - The military will have plenty to do in the four years of a second Bush administration. While the war in Iraq figures to dominate all else, as it has the past two years, other potential hot spots could demand attention.
And overshadowing all will be the questions of whether the military has enough troops - and money - to do everything the administration has planned.

"Conventional wisdom says that most of our assets are going to be involved in Iraq," said Peter Brookes, an assistant defense secretary for Asia at the start of President Bush's first term.

"But you're just not sure what sort of things are going to develop ... flare up," the Heritage Foundation analyst said, wondering about the possibility of issues arising with China, Taiwan and North Korea.

Consider the tsunami in Asia. The Pentagon is devoting more than 13,000 troops, an aircraft carrier and dozens of aircraft to humanitarian relief.

As for new combat operations, the seeds of possible military conflict have been germinating for some time in Iran, Syria, Pakistan and elsewhere, analysts said.




Right now, some 150,000 American troops are trying to stabilize an increasingly violent Iraq, with no time table for when they can leave.

"At the Pentagon, policy-makers are utterly absorbed with Iraq," said analyst Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute.

The military also must anticipate and plan for increased China-Taiwan tensions; troubled diplomatic efforts to halt suspected Iranian and North Korean nuclear programs; and the struggles by Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, to hold his nation together while he allies himself with U.S. counterterror efforts in the face of violent disapproval from domestic Islamic fundamentalists.

Massive tasks that can't be finished but on which defense officials need to make headway in the next four years include the transformation of the military and its weapons systems toward a more modern force, the moving and closing of some overseas bases, and another round of closings of domestic military bases.

"What happens is that they have all these things on their plate ... things being nudged along like a peanut with your nose, and then there's a fire you have to put out," Brookes said.

Defense officials are trying to figure out how to offset the unexpectedly high cost of the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. Among cost-saving ideas being discussed are retiring one of the Navy's 12 aircraft carriers and reducing the Air Force's purchase of F-22 stealth fighters, officials say.

But it could cost an additional $3 billion a year to expand the 512,000-strong Army by 30,000 soldiers, something a senior Army official this week said they may have to do. The Army has the authority to add the soldiers but arranged for it to be only a temporary boost because it did not want a long-term commitment to the cost of a larger force.

The fact that the military is severely stretched restrains those who might be tempted to use force in new places, Thompson said.

"Inner counsels at the White House - people like Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld - would very much like to do something about troublemakers like Iran and Syria, but in order to act on that impulse they would need a much larger" force, he said.

"We are not going to be looking for any wars of choice, that's for sure," The Brookings Institution's Michael O'Hanlon said. "But if some of these things happen," he said of any flare-up surrounding Korea, Pakistan, Iran or Taiwan, "we won't have a choice."

Without new provocations, analysts see little chance the administration would use force against North Korea. In Iran, by contrast, some think it somewhat more possible that there could be U.S. or Israeli action.

On the issue of realigning U.S. forces around the world, Bush says he plans to move back to the states up to 70,000 uniformed personnel and 100,000 dependents, part of a worldwide plan to break down large Cold War-era bases and move smaller numbers of troops to places where they can more quickly respond to flare-ups.

That effort can either be complicated or hastened by the continued deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, analysts said.

"Any time you have a plan, you have to overlay with reality," said Brookes, noting that the two campaigns could require much of the military to stay in the Middle East region. "Right now you may need the bases in Germany that you had hoped to close ... this may have to be put off."

"Alas, the current administration's rebasing plan, like the rest of its defense program, has partly become captive to the hope that the missions in Afghanistan and Iraq are temporary," American Enterprise Institute analyst Thomas Donnelly wrote in a recent paper.

O'Hanlon disagreed, saying a plan to decrease troops in South Korea over the longrun, for instance, might be made easier by Iraq's needs. Troops sent from Korea this year to help temporarily in Iraq may never be built back up in Korea, he said.

Ellie

thedrifter
01-08-05, 11:08 AM
Spy Case Chaplain Honorably Discharged <br />
Associated Press <br />
January 8, 2005 <br />
<br />
SEATTLE - A Muslim chaplain imprisoned for 76 days as part of an espionage investigation by the government has received...

thedrifter
01-08-05, 12:53 PM
NYC firefighter, former Marine thanks Bethesda, Walter Reed residents



by Cpl. Lameen Witter
NYC Public Affairs


NEW YORK -- Doctors at the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Md., recently gave President George W. Bush a thorough medical examination and pronounced him fit for duty. Since its conception in 1938, Bethesda has been more than the president's hospital; facilities like Bethesda and the Walter Reed Army Medical Center are main treatment facilities for injured service members and their families.

When John Vigiano, Fire Department City of New York (FDNY) fireman, former Marine, and charter member of the FDNY-USMC Association, learned he could visit wounded service members at Bethesda and Walter Reed in support of their recovery, he leapt at the chance.

"I really felt honored to be allowed to spend some time with those kids and their families," said Vigiano.

The helicopter crew chief of six years left the Corps in 1966, but never lost sight of the honor, courage, and commitment the Corps instilled in him. A father of two, he raised his sons, Joe and John Vigiano, to emulate those Corps values. Joe went on to become a police officer and John followed in his father's footsteps to the FDNY. Both served valiantly throughout their careers until they were killed on September 11, 2001 during the World Trade Center rescue.

"On September 13th, I actually went down to see the rubble, and when I did I knew there were no survivors. I went down to the site everyday until we found Joe's body, but we never found John's body," said Vigiano, his voice heavy as he remembered the difficult time. "I was busting with pride with those two. They were outstanding men, and I never had any regrets regarding them."

The former leatherneck joined with others who had lost loved ones during September 11, 2001, and visited the medical centers to thank the injured servicemembers for their contributions to the Global War on Terrorism since the twin towers of the World Trade Center were attacked.

"I wanted to say thanks up close and in person to these kids who gave so much. I wanted them to know I appreciate their sacrifice," said Vigiano.

Vigiano and the small group visited nearly 20 wounded Marines in each hospital, some of whom experienced combat as recently as November. Along with pins and stickers, he brought the patients New York Police and Fire Department hats and shirts donated by local units in the city. He also took $1,000 in donated funds and purchased calling cards for the servicemembers, which started with a $200 donation from John's old FDNY unit, Ladder 132, Engine 280.

The smoke eater recalled during his visit to Bethesda one young sergeant who was with his wife and mother. The sergeant was showing the shrapnel that put him in the hospital when it ripped through his body. Vigiano shared the story of his sons, who gave their lives in the line of duty, and he thanked the young sergeant for his commitment.

"The guy on the other side of the curtain in the room overheard the story I told the young sergeant and began to cry for me. (Those) boys were thanking me for my sacrifice. I told him, 'don't be upset, we're in this together'," said Vigiano with a sigh in his voice. "For anyone who wants to feel good about being an American...take the time and go visit these kids."

For more information on how you can visit servicemembers at Walter Reed Army Center call (202) 782-3501. Call (301) 295-4000 and select option seven to learn how you can visit servicemembers at Naval Medical Center, Bethesda. According to the hospital staff, January, February, or March are good times to visit, but the visiting groups are limited to a maximum of six people.


Ellie

thedrifter
01-08-05, 01:19 PM
Marines try to plug border <br />
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <br />
By Aamer Madhani and Colin McMahon <br />
Chicago Tribune staff reporters. Aamer Madhani...

thedrifter
01-08-05, 01:32 PM
Reservists prepare to answering the call
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By Madeline Baró Diaz
The Sun Sentinel Miami Bureau
January 8, 2005

MIAMI LAKES · Cpl. Eric Reid boils his mission in Iraq down to five words: "I'm going to hunt terrorists."

But the Marine reservist, who is days away from his second deployment to the region, acknowledges that figuring out who the bad guys are will be more difficult this time around. Instead of uniformed enemy soldiers, he and his fellow Marines will be up against insurgents dressed like civilians whose methods of attacking U.S. forces include using explosive devices and suicide bombings.

"You can't tell who you're fighting," said Reid, 26, of Lauderhill. "You have to treat everybody as if they're a civic citizen of the sovereign [nation], but those are the same people who probably want to take your life in a heartbeat."

On Monday, Reid will be one of about 30 reservists from the Scout Platoon, members of the 8th Tank Battalion, 4th Marine Division, who will leave for Camp Lejeune in North Carolina for intense training before they ship off to Iraq. While at Camp Lejeune, they'll be joined by about 50 Marines from the battalion's anti-tank and headquarters platoons, who will join anti-terrorism forces in the African nation of Djibouti.

The reservists, who are expected to return in the fall, will spend this weekend at early birthday celebrations for their children, movie dates with their girlfriends, and enjoying such indulgences as McDonald's hamburgers that they will not taste again for some time.

As the soldiers savor their last moments at home, their loved ones worry about the new dangers the Marines will face.

"I try not to think about it," said Tauna Higgins, Reid's girlfriend. "I'm just not with it, with them going over there. Until I can completely understand what they're doing over there, it doesn't make sense. I don't approve of it."

Reid and other Marines leaving Monday say they have a job to do. Reid feels especially responsible since, as one of the men from his battalion who is returning to Iraq, he will be in a leadership role.

"I have to make sure everybody I take there I bring them back in one piece, including myself," he said. "I have people under my command: fathers, sons, husbands. I have to make sure they come back."

Newlywed Maria Montano has faith that her husband, Cpl. Alfredo Montano, 27, will return. The last time Alfredo Montano went to Iraq, in 2003, they were dating. In December, they had a civil wedding ceremony, hastened by Montano's eminent deployment.

While he is gone, Maria Montano will dedicate herself to planning a church wedding.

"At least I won't bore him with all the details," she joked.

Montano, 28, comforts herself with the fact that she knows the men in her husband's platoon and that they will all look out for each other.

"I know they're ready; I know the unit is very strong," she said. "The reason they chose them is because they know what they're doing."

While her husband is away, Montano, who lives in Homestead, will continue volunteering at the battalion headquarters in Miami Lakes, where she helps Marine families with everything from finding a babysitter to counseling referrals.

"Helping other families cope with it also helps me cope with it," she said. "The families are pretty strong and they're all here to support the boys."

Higgins, who said she supports her boyfriend but disagrees with the United States' mission in Iraq, said that the Iraqi people should be allowed to handle their own affairs. Reid has not convinced her that the U.S. presence is necessary, she said.

"He tried to tell me what they're doing, but I just don't see it," Higgins said.

Reid, however, said he will have to put his emotions and difference of opinion with Higgins aside when he boards the bus to North Carolina.

"We're bringing liberty, prosperity ... freedom and a better way of life to a people who have never known democracy or freedom," he said. "At the end of the day, what's most important to me is that we are doing good."

For those who are being deployed to Djibouti, their family members are breathing a sigh of relief. Although they believe their loved ones will be safer, some are still concerned that the African mission might be preparation for an eventual deployment to Iraq.

That worries Angela Seisdedos, wife of Cpl. Antonio Seisdedos, who is already anxious about the extended separation from her husband. She said everything she's heard about the current situation in Iraq concerns her.

"There's concerns about the [uncertainty] of who's on our side and who's not," she said.

Antonio Seisdedos, 27, who lives in Tamarac, said he would be proud to serve in Iraq if needed. U.S. forces are giving Iraqis a foundation to build on by rebuilding towns and helping stabilize the country so Iraqis can hold elections, he said.

"We hear a lot about the negative things that are happening, but there are also positive things," Seisdedos said.

Ellie

thedrifter
01-08-05, 01:37 PM
The Army's Gender War
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By Elaine Donnelly
National Review Online
Jan. 8, 2005

I recently heard from a female soldier who feels betrayed by the Army. Calm but justifiably angry, the soldier said she is being assigned to a forward-support company that will "collocate" with the Army's new, modular infantry/armor land combat battalions. This is a serious change in policy, unfair to men and women soldiers alike.

Under current regulations, women cannot be forced to serve in smaller direct ground-combat units such as infantry or armor battalions, or in companies that collocate with them. If the Defense Department wants to change these rules, law requires that the secretary must notify Congress no less than 30 legislative days in advance, when both houses are in session. Despite the "collocation rule" and the congressional notification law, the Army is unilaterally assigning women to previously all-male forward-support companies in its new "unit of action" land combat teams, which are key to the Army's "transformation" to a lighter, faster force.

In letters signed by underlings, the Army claims compliance because the units in question will belong to gender-mixed brigade-support units operating elsewhere. This is only an administrative sleight of hand, which a May 10 Army briefing admitted could be seen as "subterfuge." Pentagon planners rearranged blocks on organizational charts, but in practice the forward-support companies in question will still be collocated with and organic to the Army's new combined infantry/armor maneuver battalions 100 percent of the time.

What's worse, Army officials have tried to mislead Congress about their intent. During a November 3, 2004, briefing for congressional staffers, Pentagon officials denied any violation or change in rules exempting female soldiers from assignments in land-combat-collocated units. A different briefing conducted inside the Pentagon on November 29 stated that the preferred "way ahead" is to "rewrite/eliminate the Army collocation policy."

When the Washington Times reported the duplicity on December 13, Army Staff Director Lt. Gen. James Campbell immediately issued a widely distributed memo warning about "Information Security" and the loss of "positive control of pre-decisional briefing materials, decision memorandums, and otherwise generally sensitive information." President Bush and the Congress should ask, Why is this matter so sensitive?

Some military decisions must remain confidential, but this is not one of them. The 3rd Infantry Division, based at Fort Stewart, Ga., has been quietly training women for the new land-combat forward-support companies, while arrogantly claiming that the notification law does not apply. "Lessons learned" from the division's impending redeployment to Iraq will be declared a "success," but if (when) anything goes wrong, officials will blame the collocation rule that they intend to eliminate. Either scenario will betray the trust of soldiers and undermine the Army's own best interests.

Some officials have made the unsupported claim that female soldiers will have to make up for shortages in male combat soldiers for the Army's new land-combat teams. To the extent the problem exists, gender-based recruiting quotas are to blame.

Instead of dropping the gender quotas, the same officials are pursuing an illicit course of action that will erode the effectiveness of all land-combat troops, and eventually apply to special-operations forces and the Marine Corps. The Army has also defied logic in retaining co-ed basic training, acknowledged in 2002 to be "not efficient" in transforming civilians into disciplined soldiers. Revised "warrior training" programs sound impressive, but gender-normed standards emasculate the concept by assuring "success" for average female trainees. Soldiers know that there is no gender-norming on the battlefield.

The nation is proud of our women in uniform, but that is no excuse for forcing unprepared female soldiers, many of whom are mothers, to face the physical demands of violent close combat and a higher risk of capture than exists today. In the Army's own surveys over a decade, 85 to 90 percent of enlisted women said they strongly oppose such policies. Their opinions matter no more than those of male soldiers, who will have to bear new "female force protection" burdens that could complicate dangerous missions.

Combat commanders will have to cope with significant personnel losses, distractions, and social turmoil that will be more intense in the heat of war. Predictable problems include far higher rates of medical leave and evacuations, primarily due to pregnancy, which Army officials refuse to reveal or discuss. Making the mix even more volatile will be sexual attractions, personal misconduct, and accusations of same.

Forget feminist legends about Amazon warriors and push-button wars. The modern land-combat soldier carries weapons and high-tech equipment weighing 50 to 100 pounds, with body armor alone weighing 25 pounds. Such burdens would be disproportionately heavy for average female soldiers, who are certainly brave but shorter and lighter, with smaller hearts and bones, 25 to30 percent less aerobic capacity for endurance, and 40 to 50 percent less upper-body strength.

Politically correct group-thinkers and Clinton-promoted generals in the Pentagon apparently have forgotten certain realities affirmed by overwhelming evidence: In direct ground combat, women do not have an "equal opportunity" to survive, or to help fellow soldiers survive. No one's injured son should have to die on the streets of a future Fallujah because the only soldier near enough to carry him to safety was a five-foot-two 110-pound woman.

The concerned soldier who contacted me recognized that the Army is about to conduct an unannounced, extremely dangerous live-fire social experiment under wartime conditions. With deployments imminent, what can be done?

President George W. Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld must intervene to enforce the notification law and encourage the recruitment of young men. In long-overdue congressional hearings, members should require Pentagon officials to document alleged shortages of males, and explain why female soldiers should have to pay the price for the Army's bureaucratic errors. Congressmen worried about the sexual abuse of military women should be consistent in expressing concern about the elevated risk of combat violence at the hands of the enemy.

Today's changing battlefield makes it even more important to retain personnel policies that recognize combat realities that have not changed. The collocation rule should be strengthened, not weakened, and applied consistently in all units that collocate with direct ground-combat forces. At times we have no choice but to send young men into land combat, but we do have a choice when it comes to sending our women there.

- Elaine Donnelly is president of the Center for Military Readiness, an independent public policy organization that specializes in military personnel issues.

Ellie

thedrifter
01-08-05, 01:44 PM
Colonel says Marines foresaw Iraq-style war
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Arizona Central
Jan. 8, 2005 12:00 AM

Col. James J. Cooney is the commander of the Marine Corps Air Station Yuma. In a recent interview with The Arizona Republic, he commented on some issues.

QUESTION: Did the Marine Corps foresee the type of urban combat going on in Iraq?

ANSWER: In the Marine Corps, we've been talking about this kind of scenario for over a decade. We call it a three-block war. Iraq was never really labeled as a country where it would happen, but as far as the scenario, it's absolutely on the mark. We've been reading, writing, discussing it at our command and staff colleges for years.

Q: During Desert Talon (war games), officers were badgering the young Marines, telling them they better think and be able to make decisions rapidly and even take over leadership in certain instances. How does that jibe with following orders?

A: It's all about thinking. You put them . . . in an environment that makes them go through a number of decisions. Some of the decisions will be right, and we'll reinforce those. Some . . . will be wrong, and you'll also reinforce that. We would much rather they fail here than fail as they go forward. Following orders is part of that self-discipline, but the real issue is what are you doing and why are you doing it? This is all about combat decision-making skills.

Q: Have the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq changed what you do here?

A: Well, there's a sense of urgency, certainly. The guys that we called the rear-echelon guys, there's no more rear echelon. Some of the guys who are in the biggest danger, frankly, are disbursement clerks. Who do you think is carrying all this cash around to pay claims to damaged neighborhoods? A lot of things get fixed with U.S. dollars. There are young Marines from here, carrying heavy backpacks filled with a lot of dollar bills, who are taking care of business literally while the shooting's going on.

Ellie

thedrifter
01-08-05, 02:44 PM
HA Planning continues as 15th MEU (SOC) nears affected regions

by Lance Cpl. Scott L. Eberle
15th MEU


ABOARD USS BONHOMME RICHARD -- In the wake of the recent tsunami that swept across the Indian Ocean and claimed more than 100,000 lives, the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) has begun gearing up for one of the largest Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Operations in history.

While heading full speed to the affected area, Marines and Sailors have been working hard to prepare thousands of Meals Ready to Eat, pallets full of purified water and other supplies to hit the ground to immediately help relieve the suffering of thousands of victims left devastated by the catastrophe.

Scores of people were left homeless, in need of food and clean water when giant waves ripped across several coastal nations in the Indian Ocean. The 15th MEU (SOC) was on their way to the Western Pacific when the natural disaster took place. They were scheduled to spend five days of training in Guam before being called to provide assistance in the region. The USS Bonhomme Richard and USS Duluth spent just a few short hours in Guam loading supplies needed for the HAO.

On New Year's Day a working party of Marines went through more than 750 cases of MREs and removed meals that contained food not appropriate for some of the cultures affected by the tsunami.

"The entire 15th MEU will not all be going to same location. On January 4th, the USS Duluth will break off from the rest of the pack to provide assistance in Indonesia", according to Staff Sgt. Shannon E. Middleton, the fire support chief and assistant operations chief for the MEU.

The Marines and Sailors aboard Bonhomme Richard are scheduled to land in Sri Lanka, while the Duluth will be providing critical aviation support to Indonesia, according to Staff Sgt. Julio C. Dominguez, the engineer chief for the MEU Service Support Group.

Because the Marines and Sailors aboard Duluth will be performing different missions, Marines with the Battalion Landing Team have cross-decked from the BHR to the Duluth, in addition to MEU Service Support Group-15 coming from Duluth to the BHR.

"The MSSG has been preparing for a humanitarian mission of this type for about 12 months now and is more prepared for [an actual] mission," said Dominguez. "By bringing more MSSG Marines to the Bonhomme Richard, we are trying to raise our capability to meet the requirements of the HAO [in Sri Lanka]."

Originally, 15th MEU was headed to the Arabian Gulf for scheduled training, but since this event occurred, many of the Marines said they are more than happy to lend a hand. "Anything we can do to help is good," said Lance Cpl. Pedro Garcia Jr., a 22-year-old radio operator with the BLT. "As long as the disaster gets cleaned up and the people get food and water, that's what is important."

The ACE will be playing a key role in supporting the HAO, according to Michael C. Callaghan, a CH-46 pilot for the 15th MEU. "Our first objective is to get our humanitarian aid supplies from our ships into camps established in the country. Once all of our supplies are in the camps, our focus will shift to distributing the supplies throughout the country."

Two CH-46s will move from the Bonhomme Richard to the Duluth to help support them with their side of the mission according to Callaghan.

It's not just Marines that are cross decking from the Duluth to the Bonhomme Richard. "The Duluth is handing over a bulldozer, sea tractor, and a tram, and we already have an M-9 Ace to take into country with us," according to Gunnery Sgt. Jason E. Cornelison, the Combat Cargo assistant for well deck operations. "We are basically taking all the supplies of a construction crew to help tear down the rubble and rebuild the area."

"Along with the tractors, the MEU will be packing chainsaws, shovels, lumber, over 750 cases of MREs, and 900 cases of purified water to distribute to the victims," said Cornelison. " Combat Cargo is ready and standing by to help in any way necessary to support the humanitarian mission."


Ellie

thedrifter
01-08-05, 04:16 PM
Iraqi Police Trained in Special Ops
Officers Prepare for Elections
January 8, 2005


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by Jim Kouri

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The Civilian Police Assistance Training Team, as part of their on-going effort to organize, train and equip Iraqi police services, recently began a Hostage Crisis Negotiation course at an undisclosed location. Iraqi police officers from all over Iraq and from different Iraqi police agencies are attending the course.

“This course is a tool,” said instructor Wayne Lehman. “We’re giving them tools, resources, and ideas. We give them some concepts to be able to work things out for themselves.”

The course has 31 students from the Iraqi Police Service, Department of Border Enforcement, the Iraqi Highway Patrol, the Major Crimes Unit and other agencies. The two-week course was implemented recently and it gives officers skills in coping with the rash of kidnappings occurring in Iraq. Many of Iraq’s kidnappings target Iraqis.

As part of the formal training, ten Iraqi police officers in Magdad traveled to a residential neighborhood as part of their regular street patrol when they ran into a hostage scenario. A suspicious man was reported in the neighborhood and as police investigated the report, a gun fight broke out.

It was then that police noticed that there was a boy being held hostage. After a 45 minute standoff, the five year-old boy was removed safely and four suspects were taken into custody. The boy, the investigation revealed, was a hostage who had been kidnapped for ransom by the suspects.

The course covers principles of negotiation, negotiation criterion, considerations, techniques and guidelines, as well as other topics. But the course, Lehman says, is not all inclusive and it is not designed to prepare police officers for high-profile political kidnappings.

“It’s a philosophy we’re going to give them here,” Lehman said. “We’re here to try to teach them how to deal with the day-to-day stuff that the local cops have to deal with. It’s got to start somewhere. They’re on the street everyday.”

Lehman, who taught the FBI’s hostage negotiation lesson plan in the United States, assembled the course plan from scratch. Ordinarily, most hostage courses also include a segment where a psychologist teaches a block of instruction. CPATT’s course doesn’t include a psychological segment, but Lehman says the organization is working on it.

“It’s got to start somewhere,” Lehman said. And this course will help officers with a kidnapping problem that Lehman called, “Immense.”

Capt. Hatim Uthman, a police officer in Baghdad since 1995, and a graduate of three training courses since the fall of Saddam Hussein, said the course broadened his thought process on the job.

“This course gets me to think about things differently,” Uthman said. “It offers new information for me. We’re here to try to learn how we can help in kidnapping scenarios.

“We’re all experienced here, but this is new to us,” Uthman said.

Other Police Training Activities

Iraqi Police Service officers in Bayji, near Kirkuk in Northern Iraq, commenced “train the trainer” courses with international police advisors and multinational forces on November 1.

The classes run Bayji officers through personnel and vehicle searches, countering force-protection threats, traffic control point operations, police leader and trainer skills, patrol distribution, duty roster management, and joint coordination center operations instruction.
Train the trainer courses are typically designed to provide Iraqi Security Forces personnel the ability to train future classes.

The Iraqi Police Service graduated 67 officers from three advanced instruction courses at the Adnan Training Facility, here, today, as part of the Iraqi government’s ongoing effort to train up its security forces. Officers spent two weeks negotiating the specialty skill courses intended to augment the standard eight-week police training all officers undergo prior to service. The courses, consisting of a basic criminal investigation, a first-line supervision, and a kidnapping course ran 20, 23, and 24 students, respectively through the training.

Specialized Police

The Iraqi Police graduated 1,938 specialized police officers; 1,190 Public Order Police and 748 Mechanized Police officers Dec. 30. The officers completed intensive five week training programs conducted at the Civil Intervention Force Academy.

The Iraqi Minister of Interior has turned to the Public Order Police to act as a bridging force in cities where the police force has not yet been established or will be reconstituted due to insurgency activity. They provide a critical security presence, maintaining law and order, to ensure the safety and security of the local populace.

The 8th Mechanized Police Brigade is a paramilitary police force designed to battle insurgents and assist local law enforcement officials dealing with serious insurgent threats or major criminal activity. The unit is equipped with “BTRs,” wheeled armored vehicles with fire power capable of full-combat operations.

“These units require more training and more advanced equipment. However, once deployed to areas of unrest, they will be effective because of their training, motivation and morale, and dedication to their country,” says Col. Lawrence Pippins, program manager, counterterrorism special operations, for the Civilian Police Assistance Training Team.

Officers attending the courses came from areas throughout Iraq and will be deployed to their respective assignments following graduation. More than 1,000 officers who previously completed the course have been outfitted, equipped and deployed in support of security operations.

Sources: US Department of Defense, National Association of Chiefs of Police Extension Services Unit

Ellie

thedrifter
01-08-05, 08:04 PM
Soldier Gets Six Months in Iraqi Drowning <br />
<br />
By ANGELA K. BROWN, Associated Press Writer <br />
<br />
FORT HOOD, Texas - An Army platoon sergeant who ordered his soldiers to throw Iraqis into the Tigris...

thedrifter
01-09-05, 12:57 AM
U.S., Owner Dispute House Bombing Deaths

By NICK WADHAMS, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The United States military said it dropped a 500-pound bomb on the wrong house outside the northern city of Mosul on Saturday, killing five people. The man who owned the house said the bomb killed 14 people, and an Associated Press photographer said seven of them were children.


The strike in the town of Aitha, 30 miles south of Mosul, came hours before a senior U.S. Embassy official in Iraq (news - web sites) met with leaders of the Sunni Arab community to apply political pressure against their threat to boycott Jan. 30 elections. The Arab satellite broadcaster al-Jazeera said the Sunnis asked the Americans to announce a timetable for a U.S. troop withdrawal.


Violence also continued, with at least eight Iraqis killed.


American officials repeatedly have insisted the vote go ahead, but it is an extremely delicate time, with Iraq's government perceived by many as closely tied to the U.S.-led coalition.


Late Saturday, a U.S. military statement said an F-16 jet dropped a 500-pound GPS-guided bomb on a house that was meant to be searched during an operation to capture "an anti-Iraqi force cell leader."


"The house was not the intended target for the airstrike. The intended target was another location nearby," the military said in a statement.


The homeowner, Ali Yousef, told Associated Press Television News that the airstrike happened at about 2:30 a.m., and American troops immediately surrounded the area, blocking access for four hours. The brick house was reduced to a pile of rubble, according to an Associated Press photographer at the scene.


An Associated Press photographer said from the scene that 14 members of the same family — seven children, four women and three men — were killed, and six people were wounded, including another child in the house and five people from neighboring houses. By evening, all 14 victims had been buried in a nearby cemetery, Yousef said.


The U.S. military statement said coalition forces went to the area to provide assistance and said five people were killed. It said there was no other damage.


"Multi-National Force Iraq deeply regrets the loss of possibly innocent lives," the statement said, adding that an investigation was underway.


American troops recently sent more troops to Mosul, which has seen heavy clashes in recent weeks between insurgents and American forces. U.S. officials acknowledge the area is still too unsafe for the elections to take place there safely.


Britain also is expected to announce next week that it will send an extra 650 soldiers to Iraq to bolster security for the elections, a London newspaper reported.


The Sunday Telegraph said the deployment of a battalion of Royal Highland Fusiliers would boost British troop levels in Iraq to some 9,000. A Defense Ministry spokesman confirmed that the 650-strong battalion was on standby.


The election is the first democratic vote in Iraq since the country was formed in 1932, and the Sunnis are certain to lose their dominance to the Shiites, who comprise 60 percent of Iraq's 26 million people. Sunni leaders have urged the vote be postponed, largely because areas of Iraq where they dominate are far too restive for preparations to begin.


In particular, the Association of Muslim Scholars, a powerful Sunni Muslim group, has demanded the vote be put off and threatened a boycott. On Saturday, a senior embassy official met in Baghdad with members of the group, U.S. Embassy spokesman Bob Callahan said. He described the surprise meeting as an "exchange of views."


"A senior officer in the embassy met with them to discuss how participation would benefit the Sunni community," Callahan said.


He would not identify the American official who participated, but he said it was not Ambassador John Negroponte.





Earlier, al-Jazeera reported that the Americans met with Harith al-Dhari, the association's general secretary, and several others. It reported that al-Dhari asked the United States to announce a timetable for withdrawing its forces from Iraq.

Callahan would not say if that was discussed, but it is unlikely the United States would consider such a request.

The U.S. military also announced Saturday the arrest of a key al-Qaida-linked suspect in Mosul on Dec. 22. The military identified him as Abdul Aziz Sa-dun Ahmed Hamduni, known as Abu Ahmed and said he was a key leader of the Mosul-based group Abu Talha, which has been connected to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaida's leader in Iraq.

The suspect "admitted to receiving money and weapons from Abu Talha as well as coordinating and conducting terrorist attacks in Mosul," the military said in a statement.

Authorities in Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s hometown of Tikrit said Saturday that gunmen abducted a deputy governor of a central Iraqi province and two other senior Sunni officials after they met with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most prominent Shiite leader, in the holy city of Najaf to discuss the elections. A fourth person also was abducted.

The officials were kidnapped about 40 miles south of Baghdad on Friday. The area is in the so-called "triangle of death," a string of Sunni-controlled towns that has been the scene of frequent attacks.

The U.S. military said the delegation was traveling in two cars, one of which escaped the ambush.

"Those insurgents and terrorists who intimidate and resort to kidnapping public officials are the true enemies of the Iraqi people," U.S. military spokesman Maj. Neal O'Brien said.

A Shiite Muslim cleric close to al-Sistani said the kidnappings of Tikrit's deputy governor and three other officials meant to "prevent any contacts" between Sunni Muslims and Shiite Muslims. The insurgents are believed to be primarily Sunni.

"They don't want to see a delegation from Tikrit visiting a Shiite religious leader," Jalaludine al-Saghir said.

At least eight more people were killed in ambushes and attacks, capping a brutal week of assassinations, suicide car bombings and other assaults. The attacks killed about 100 people, mostly Iraqi security troops, who are seen by the militants as collaborators with the American occupiers.

Iraq's insurgents repeatedly have targeted police and security forces, which tend to be poorly armed and less trained than their American counterparts, resulting in higher casualty counts.

In other violence, insurgents in Baqouba beheaded a translator working with the U.S. Army, police said Saturday. An Iraqi policeman was killed by masked gunmen as he left his house in Baghdad's southern Dora neighborhood.

A booby-trapped car exploded Saturday at a gas station in Mahaweel, 35 miles south of Baghdad, killing two people and wounding 19, including two critically, said Dr. Mohemmed Dhia, head of Hilla Surgical hospital.

In Baghdad's western Khadraa neighborhood, gunmen shot dead Abboud Khalaf al-Lahibi, deputy secretary-general of the National Front for Iraqi tribes — a group representing several Iraqi tribes, said his aide, Ibrahim al-Farhan. A bodyguard was killed and three others also were wounded, he said.

Separately, Iraq's Interior Ministry said it was searching for missing French journalist Florence Aubenas and her translator, Hussein Hanoun al-Saadi, amid a possible witness account that they were abducted in downtown Baghdad. The two were last seen Wednesday morning leaving Aubenas' hotel in the Iraqi capital.

One of al-Saadi's relatives said the two were abducted near an entrance to the Green Zone, the fortified area that is home to the U.S. Embassy and the interim Iraqi government, but the claim could not be confirmed.


Ellie

thedrifter
01-09-05, 07:18 AM
Marines leave Knoxville for N.C., then Iraq

January 7, 2005

By BO WILLIAMS
6 News Anchor/Reporter

KNOXVILLE (WATE) -- Marines with the 4th Combat Engineer Battalion based in Knoxville left Friday for Camp LeJeune. From there, they'll go to Iraq.

Friday morning, family and friends gathered to say goodbye as the 40 Marines boarded the bus at the Marine Reserve Center on Alcoa Highway.

The unit will spend the next month training in North Carolina before being deployed to Iraq where they're expected to be stationed from six months to a year.

"This is actually the first time I'm going out of the country," 22-year-old Jake Sacarborough said. "It's a little scary. You never know what to expect."

"I'm not really worried about myself," Cedric Roach said. "We've been through training. We're very confident in what we're doing. I just want to make sure my family is okay."

But Friday's send off wasn't only for immediate family members. The soldiers extended family, the second platoon, was also on hand, lining a path to the bus.

"They'll actually be leaving on Monday," said Company Commander Tim Eichhorn as he watched the Marines send off their own. "This same evolution will be repeated again as they leave. They wanted to wish their fellow Marines safe seas and God Speed."

While in Iraq, the engineer battalion will work in demolitions. One of their duties is clearing mine fields so infantry units can pass safely.

Ellie

thedrifter
01-09-05, 07:40 AM
In Fallujah, Marines try a new tactic
Image-building is latest mission
By Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times | January 9, 2005

FALLUJAH, Iraq -- As he navigated his Humvee through rubble-strewn streets, Lance Corporal Sunshine Yubeta articulated a question that is key to the Marines' mission here.

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"I wonder," said the 23-year-old from Madras, Ore., nodding toward several sullen men on a corner, "if they hate us or like us."

It is a dilemma at the heart of the US policy in this Sunni Triangle city, which was once the center of Iraqi's insurgency. Having routed the guerrillas late last year in combat that left much of Fallujah in ruins, the US military needs the cooperation of residents who once fled the fighting.

To keep the insurgents from reestablishing a headquarters here, the United States knows it will need information from residents about the movement of fighters back into the neighborhoods. In addition, US officials hope for at least a modicum of participation from Fallujah in Jan. 30 elections that might bolster the credibility of the Iraqi government.

At five heavily guarded entry points to the city, military interrogators selectively ask residents returning to Fallujah if they have heard of the upcoming election and, if so, which candidate they might support.

The goal, officials insist, is not to influence how the Iraqis might vote. It is to get an understanding of how well residents of this culturally and politically isolated city understand the changes in their country since Saddam Hussein's regime was toppled in April 2003.

Inside the city, the Americans have established several relief centers to provide food and water to residents and toys to children. By some estimates, the United States has earmarked $150 million for the city. The Iraqi government plans a compensation program.

In addition to the humanitarian assistance centers, Marine patrols drive slowly through the streets, talking to residents, handing out water, fruit juice, cigarettes, crackers, cookies, and breakfast cereal, and asking for information about insurgents. Some of the food had been sent to the Marines by their families.

Posters have been plastered on walls offering rewards for insurgent leaders, although there have been few reported takers.

Outside the assistance center tents, Iraqis stand for hours to receive water and packets of food stamped with a US flag and the words "A Food Gift From the People of the United States of America." Hands are marked to prevent a return for seconds.

One center is just blocks from the spot where a mob killed four US contractors last March. Now Iraqis gather not only for aid but for a chance to work in the assistance program, which pays about $8 a day.

Many of those in line on Thursday were hungry, cold, and seemingly dazed by events that made their city, untouched by the US-led invasion in 2003, into a battlefield against the insurgency.

"I didn't do anything wrong, but the Americans destroyed my house," said Sami Fafaj, 49, holding two bottles of water and two food packets.

"I want America to rebuild my house and give me money for what they have done," agreed Allah Abdullah, 37, collecting food for his seven children. "Sometimes I wish they had never come to Iraq."

While public expressions of anger directed at the Americans seem rare, a widespread feeling appears to exist of having been wronged by US forces.

While older residents might seem fatalistic, the younger ones show signs of impatience.

"We are not free to move in our own city," said Maged Haraj, 20. "We want to be free."

The young Marines say they are confident that residents will come to accept that the destruction was necessary to rid Fallujah of the insurgents who had controlled the city.

As the patrol vehicles prowled the streets, children ran after the Humvees begging for anything available. Adults asked for rice, water, or cigarettes.

Some told horror stories of months under insurgent control.

"I have a nephew that they beheaded," said a truck driver, Adnan Mohammed, flanked by two children. "You are our destiny."

But other Iraqi men remained on the curb, offering no smiles and returning no waves. One gestured in disdain. Some refused to ask for handouts but sent children to do their bidding, particularly for cigarettes.

The residents who have returned are living a meager existence. In this western sector of the city, no stores have reopened, although a black market is said to exist. A dusk-to-dawn curfew has been imposed.

Ellie

thedrifter
01-09-05, 10:40 AM
Airborne Marines descend in night operation
Submitted by: II Marine Expeditionary Force
Story Identification #: 200516164945
Story by Cpl. Ruben D. Maestre



MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP DAVIS, N.C. (Jan. 6, 2005) -- In the twilight dusk, over 30 Marines, most of them assigned to 2d Air Delivery Platoon, 2d Transportation Support Battalion, 2d Force Service Support Group, dropped out of the sky over a desolate drop zone during a crisp and cool evening in eastern North Carolina. The jump, scheduled to take place during daytime, had to be pushed forward into the evening hours. The airborne Marines and the C-130J carrying them, had to jockey for a time in airspace also being used by aircraft from a nearby civilian airfield and New River Marine Corps air station.

“Because of aircraft flying near the drop zone, our C-130 [transport aircraft] had to take a different flight path,” said Cpl. Joseph L. Pruett, a native Holton, Kan., and the ground safety officer after receiving word through his field radio. “With the sun going down, I would say that is going to be considered as a night jump.”

With the sun setting, the Marines with 2d Air Delivery conducted a nighttime airborne jump over drop zone Pheasant here recently. A smattering of other units and a pair of Royal Dutch Marines participated in the jump, as the men honed on their airborne skills in the subdued evening sky.

“I was a little scared that we where not going to be able to jump,” said Dutch Marine Master Sgt. Peter J. Laurier, a native of Rotterdam, Netherlands, currently assigned to the 6th Marine Regiment as a martial arts trainer, of the jump delay. “The exit from the aircraft went well though, when we did get the chance to parachute.”

For many who participated in the jump, their personal and professional goal was in attaining the famed golden jump wings desired by many in a military branch that has traditionally had more of an emphasis on amphibious landings than airborne operations. The golden wings, designated as the Navy and Marine Corps Jump Insignia, are earned by Marines and Sailors who have conducted five specific airborne jumps. The five jumps consist of two daytime combat jumps with combat packs, two nighttime combat jumps and one airborne jump from an “alternate” aircraft, such as a helicopter or other types of vertical aircraft.

During this particular airborne exercise, eight Marines out of a total of 11 for this week earned their golden jump insignia.

Marine pilots from Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, also received additional flight hours flying their C-130Js in this particular type of mission.

“We are giving the pilots their mission essentials and in return we are getting air time on their aircraft to qualify our jumpers,” said Pruett.

The nighttime jump capped off a week of airborne operations by the parachute riggers and the other airborne troops. In addition to personnel parachuting into DZ Peasant, 2d Air Delivery parachuted supply loads earlier in the week within pinpoint accuracy of their designated spot.

“We were pretty successful with dropping supplies within 200 meters,” said 1st Lt. Phillip B. Davis, a native of Bridgeport, W. Va., and the platoon commander for 2d Air Delivery. “That and tonight’s jump was a culmination of a successful week for air delivery operations.”

Ellie

thedrifter
01-09-05, 10:56 AM
Iraq Sunnis May Abandon Vote Boycott Call

By RAWYA RAGEH, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq (news - web sites)'s most influential Sunni group will abandon its call for a boycott of Jan. 30 elections if the United States gives a timetable for withdrawing multinational forces, a spokesman for the group said Sunday.


Members of the powerful Association of Muslim Scholars relayed their request to a senior U.S. embassy official at a meeting Saturday, the Sunni official said on condition of anonymity.


The meeting was confirmed Saturday by U.S. Embassy spokesman Bob Callahan, who said an unnamed senior embassy official in Iraq met with leading association members in an effort to persuade them to participate in the landmark election for a constitutional assembly.


Callahan described the meeting as an "exchange of views" but would not elaborate. He said U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte was not present.


It is extremely unlikely the United States would consider giving a timetable for a withdrawal.


In the election — the first democratic vote in Iraq since the country was formed in 1932 — the Sunnis are certain to lose their dominance to the Shiites, who comprise 60 percent of Iraq's 26 million people.


Sunni leaders have urged that the vote be postponed, largely because areas of Iraq where they dominate are far too restive for preparations to begin.


The United States insists on holding the vote as planned and strongly opposes a postponement. But some American officials have acknowledged that a low turnout could jeopardize the vote's credibility.


The Sunni official said the U.S. Embassy initiated the meeting, and the association was represented by its chief, Sheik Harith al-Dhari, and public relations chief Abdul-Salam al-Kobeisi.


"Dr. Harith al-Dhari insisted that a timeframe for the withdrawal of the occupation forces be set and guaranteed by the United Nations (news - web sites)," the official said.


"If this happened, the association will call on other parties who declared the boycott to participate in the elections," the Sunni official said, adding that an end to the boycott did not necessarily mean the association itself would participate.


The Sunni officials said the meeting with the American diplomat was fruitful "because the Americans now know who has a sway on the Iraqi streets. They now know where to go to and who to talk to."



Ellie

thedrifter
01-09-05, 11:45 AM
For Marine Unit, Fallouja Is 'One Big Ordnance Dump'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Tony Perry
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
January 9, 2005

FALLOUJA, Iraq - The origin of the greenish mortar rounds found Saturday along a row of demolished houses was unclear. Their killing power was not.

"They're Chinese, probably," said Marine Master Sgt. Michael Dailey, leader of the Delta Team responsible for explosive ordnance disposal. "The green ones are most likely Chinese; the Russian ones tend to be more gray."

The battle for Fallouja may be over, but the military is continuing its effort to find and dispose of thousands of ordnance rounds, some left from the U.S. assault on this Sunni Triangle city and others from insurgent stockpiles.

The hunt has taken on new urgency with the Pentagon's acknowledgment Friday that insurgents are packing increasingly large amounts of killing power into the improvised explosive devices that are taking a near daily toll on U.S. convoys.

Part of Fallouja's significance, officials said, is that it was a "safe zone" for insurgents to store ordnance and assemble roadside bombs.

"This whole city was one big ordnance dump," said Marine Capt. Joe Winslow, part of a project to write the official history of the Marines in Iraq.

Within minutes of arriving at the site where patrolling Marines had found the mortar rounds, Dailey's team had taken the ordnance, along with a fragmentation grenade, into a nearby field, away from troops and a row of homes.

Two packs of malleable plastic explosives called C-4 were kneaded and strapped on top of the bundle. "If you work it enough, it feels like pizza dough," said Sgt. Edward Weis, as he applied the C-4 and a two-minute timer.

The heavy metal cylinders were positioned so that the blast to destroy them would be absorbed by the soft earth.

"Fire in the hole!" Dailey yelled, issuing the traditional warning that an explosion was imminent.

With the Marines at a safe distance, the explosion sent a cloud of dirt into the air.

Mortar rounds are a common component of what the military calls improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, often set along a road and detonated by remote control as a convoy passes by. These mortars have a "killing radius" of about 27 yards.

The effort to clear ordnance from the Fallouja rubble began weeks ago, as combat troops were pushing southward to kill or capture insurgents. "We were right behind the front-line troops, clearing things as soon as we were out of frag radius," Dailey said, referring to the distance covered by deadly metal shards.

American troops in Fallouja have found missiles, rocket-propelled grenades, antitank rounds, mortar rounds of several sizes, grenades and ordnance from virtually every industrialized country. Some caches consisted of thousands of munitions. Homes, schools, businesses and even an ice cream truck were found packed with the explosives.

Although it is unclear where all the weaponry has come from, some of Iraq's largest munition dumps were looted when they went unguarded or underguarded by U.S.-led troops who invaded the country in March 2003. At the sprawling Al Qaqaa ammunition site south of Baghdad, hundreds of tons of high-grade explosives apparently were hauled off in trucks, according to U.S. troops, who said they were unable to halt the theft because they were outnumbered.

Most caches found recently in Fallouja could be exploded in place, but some were so large that they had to be packed carefully into 7-ton trucks and taken to an isolated area for destruction.

Officials are concerned that residents returning to their homes could be killed or wounded by leftover munitions. Residents are encouraged to contact Marines when they see something suspicious.

Dailey, who has spent 15 of his 23 years as a Marine in the explosive ordnance disposal unit, served in the 1991 Persian Gulf War and in missions in Somalia and Kosovo. Somalia, he said, was packed with explosives. "It was an EOD technicians' playground."

But nothing compares with Iraq, particularly Fallouja, in terms of the amount, diversity and lethal capacity of ordnance in the hands of insurgents. "This one takes the cake," Dailey said.

There are indications that when the Iraqi economy was in near-collapse, ordnance became a kind of currency, with civilians being paid with grenades or rockets, which could then be bartered for food and other goods.

Combat troops said it was not uncommon to find homes with entire rooms used as warehouses for ordnance, much like an American home might have a spare room with athletic equipment or housecleaning tools.

To a degree unanticipated when the U.S. toppled Saddam Hussein, insurgents have proved resourceful in cobbling together roadside bombs to kill and maim U.S. troops. Larger munitions, such as antitank shells, have been known to destroy even the sturdiest of U.S. vehicles.

The Pentagon acknowledgment suggests that insurgents have added explosive power in response to the U.S. move to add armor to Humvees and other vehicles, making the roundup of loose ordnance even more important.

"It feels great," Sgt. Jason Tinnel said after the mortar rounds were destroyed. "I've seen the aftermath of IEDs, the mangled bodies in Humvees.

"It's good to know that these particular items will never be used to attack our troops."

Ellie

thedrifter
01-09-05, 11:50 AM
Marine tells tales of service in Iraq
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Col. FRANK X. RYAN
The Lebanon Daily News
Jan. 9, 2005

As I sit in our workspaces in Baghdad, I can tell you that you would be proud of the wonderful work our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are doing! What great young people we have (as a 53-year-old, please realize that I find everyone young). Spirits are extremely high. Attitudes are great. Support from home is just tremendous.

The reason for the great attitude is because we all know, to a person, that we are doing the right thing. Warfare is hard, hours are long. Injuries and deaths unfortunately and quite sadly occur, but these sacrifices are what we are all willing to do to keep our world safe from the claws of tyranny and terrorism.

As I look at the body armor we all wear, the precautions we take and the leadership we all have for each other, I wish I could find a way to show it to you. On Christmas Day, I visited a young, injured soldier in our hospital. He was telling me that he was disappointed in himself because he was hurt. I was stunned by his comment, so I asked him what he meant.

He said, "Sir, my squad is my responsibility, and I'm not able to protect them when I'm here."

I looked at him with tremendous admiration, shook his hand and just said the only words that came to mind, "Semper fi" (always faithful). That Christmas evening in Iraq, this young soldier told me in no uncertain terms that his squad was his squad, and no one can take it from him. If you have friends in Iraq, trust me, they are in great hands.

Another example is a Pennsylvania Army National Guard staff sergeant from Oil City. The spirit of our guardsmen, here for almost a year, is beyond belief. Sure, they want to go home, but they are staying ever vigilant and on duty so that you can sleep safe. Thank them when they get home. They are quite a success story. I am so proud of them.

More recently, I ran into Maj. Mark Martin, whose wife is from my wife's hometown of Wapwallopen, Pa. Go figure have to go to Iraq to meet a neighbor! He's doing a great job here, and you would all be proud of him.

The insurgent activity takes a while to get used to. We know we are being watched. We have to deal with that and make sure that our daily actions and activities don't create a pattern that gets us killed. Just the other day, I suspected someone of acting suspiciously, and we had him questioned to make sure that he was not trying to harm our forces. Strange to deal in this arena, but we are all at a heightened sense of security to look for this type of behavior. I look forward to seeing us achieve the success in Iraq that will help the Iraqis be free.

About two years ago, I wrote an op-ed piece in the Lebanon Daily News in which I said that the war in Iraq is really a war of patience. Whoever loses patience first will lose this war. The loss will be in the hearts and minds and not on the battlefield. I can tell you that we won't lose it here, but I have to ask you to have the resolve to not lose patience.

This war on terrorism and tyranny by our enemy is intended to make you lose your will. Please don't let that happen. As I mentioned two years ago, I will say again now you are as much a part of this war as I am, and I know that you, too, will remember the phrase "Semper fi." Stand firm with us in Iraq, and let's convince our enemy that we cannot be divided. If we do that, victory on the battlefield and in the minds of our enemies is ours!

I work closely with many of the Iraqis' ministries, and you would be proud of these folks. I don't intend to mention their names in order to protect them, but let me tell you, these folks are true heroes. In order to build a free and democratic Iraq, they are willing to risk assassination. What heroes! They love what we are doing for them, and they are wonderful people.

The weather is different than I thought it would be as well. Someone mentioned "dry" rain to me when I got here, and I had no idea what they were talking about. After the first rain, I understood. There is so little humidity both before and after the very short rainfalls that you really don't get wet when it does rain. Unique. Not sure that I would travel to Iraq just to find that out, so consider it a bonus for being willing to read such a long letter.

P.S. If you are willing to send packages for our soldiers, airmen, sailors and Marines, please send them to: TSgt Jon P. Carden; Any Soldier, Sailor, Airmen or Marine; MNF-I, SPA; U.S. Mission Iraq; APO, AE 09316.

Frank Ryan, a Cornwall resident and 30-year Marine Corps veteran, is now serving with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve in Iraq.

Ellie

thedrifter
01-09-05, 11:53 AM
In Fallujah, Marines try a new tactic
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Image-building is latest mission
By Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times
January 9, 2005

FALLUJAH, Iraq -- As he navigated his Humvee through rubble-strewn streets, Lance Corporal Sunshine Yubeta articulated a question that is key to the Marines' mission here.

"I wonder," said the 23-year-old from Madras, Ore., nodding toward several sullen men on a corner, "if they hate us or like us."

It is a dilemma at the heart of the US policy in this Sunni Triangle city, which was once the center of Iraqi's insurgency. Having routed the guerrillas late last year in combat that left much of Fallujah in ruins, the US military needs the cooperation of residents who once fled the fighting.

To keep the insurgents from reestablishing a headquarters here, the United States knows it will need information from residents about the movement of fighters back into the neighborhoods. In addition, US officials hope for at least a modicum of participation from Fallujah in Jan. 30 elections that might bolster the credibility of the Iraqi government.

At five heavily guarded entry points to the city, military interrogators selectively ask residents returning to Fallujah if they have heard of the upcoming election and, if so, which candidate they might support.

The goal, officials insist, is not to influence how the Iraqis might vote. It is to get an understanding of how well residents of this culturally and politically isolated city understand the changes in their country since Saddam Hussein's regime was toppled in April 2003.

Inside the city, the Americans have established several relief centers to provide food and water to residents and toys to children. By some estimates, the United States has earmarked $150 million for the city. The Iraqi government plans a compensation program.

In addition to the humanitarian assistance centers, Marine patrols drive slowly through the streets, talking to residents, handing out water, fruit juice, cigarettes, crackers, cookies, and breakfast cereal, and asking for information about insurgents. Some of the food had been sent to the Marines by their families.

Posters have been plastered on walls offering rewards for insurgent leaders, although there have been few reported takers.

Outside the assistance center tents, Iraqis stand for hours to receive water and packets of food stamped with a US flag and the words "A Food Gift From the People of the United States of America." Hands are marked to prevent a return for seconds.

One center is just blocks from the spot where a mob killed four US contractors last March. Now Iraqis gather not only for aid but for a chance to work in the assistance program, which pays about $8 a day.

Many of those in line on Thursday were hungry, cold, and seemingly dazed by events that made their city, untouched by the US-led invasion in 2003, into a battlefield against the insurgency.

"I didn't do anything wrong, but the Americans destroyed my house," said Sami Fafaj, 49, holding two bottles of water and two food packets.

"I want America to rebuild my house and give me money for what they have done," agreed Allah Abdullah, 37, collecting food for his seven children. "Sometimes I wish they had never come to Iraq."

While public expressions of anger directed at the Americans seem rare, a widespread feeling appears to exist of having been wronged by US forces.

While older residents might seem fatalistic, the younger ones show signs of impatience.

"We are not free to move in our own city," said Maged Haraj, 20. "We want to be free."

The young Marines say they are confident that residents will come to accept that the destruction was necessary to rid Fallujah of the insurgents who had controlled the city.

As the patrol vehicles prowled the streets, children ran after the Humvees begging for anything available. Adults asked for rice, water, or cigarettes.

Some told horror stories of months under insurgent control.

"I have a nephew that they beheaded," said a truck driver, Adnan Mohammed, flanked by two children. "You are our destiny."

But other Iraqi men remained on the curb, offering no smiles and returning no waves. One gestured in disdain. Some refused to ask for handouts but sent children to do their bidding, particularly for cigarettes.

The residents who have returned are living a meager existence. In this western sector of the city, no stores have reopened, although a black market is said to exist. A dusk-to-dawn curfew has been imposed.

Ellie

thedrifter
01-09-05, 11:56 AM
Paycheck-to-paycheck living feeds payday lending industry <br />
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <br />
By: EDMOND JACOBY - Staff Writer <br />
<br />
OCEANSIDE ---- He...

thedrifter
01-09-05, 02:49 PM
Marines Spend Time With Family Before Heading To Iraq

Dozens of South Mississippi Marines said good-bye to their loved ones early Sunday Morning

The Marines are based at the Gulfport Seabee base and are part of the Fourth Marine Division.

The group of about 80 Marines are travelling to Camp LeJune, North Carolina, before heading off to Iraq.

But they didn't leave without spending some final moments with friends and family.

There was a lot of light-hearted conversation and picture-taking at Family Day, a special event held at the Gulfport Seabee Base Saturday afternoon.

Afterall, these are the moments members of the fourth Marine Division want to carry with them during their time in Iraq.

"Family is very important, just like with him. I'm going to miss so much being with him. He'll be almost two years old by the time I get back," said U.S. Marine Danny Wade.

This will mark the second time Danny Wade, and many members of this unit, have been deployed to Iraq.

Danny's wife believes life back at home will be a little easier, this second time around.

"I really know what to expect. I've been there, done that. I know how to better prepare myself. There are family, friends, and support here at the Marine Center. There's just a lot of support for us," said Danny's wife, Kim.

The Marines will leave the base at one o'clock Sunday morning, bound for two months of training at Camp LeJuene.

"Once we get to Camp LeJuene, we'll be doing our work up phase. During the work-up phase. During the work up phase, we'll be getting these Marines back up to speed. We'll be building upon the skills set they already have, as far as running the vehicles as far as the mechanized perspective," said U.S. Marine Capt. Justin Wilhelmsen.

These marines will put that training to the test as they head out to Iraq in March to help out with Operation Enduring Freedom.

But events like this also help strengthen the bonds between the people left behind, who also have an important mission to carry out, holding down the home front.

By: Toni Miles


Ellie

thedrifter
01-09-05, 05:19 PM
Marines provide relief after tsunami devastation
15th MEU, ESG-5 diverted to area

By Gidget Fuentes
Times staff writer


OCEANSIDE, Calif. — Instead of ringing in the New Year over the weekend in Guam, more than 2,300 Marines and sailors were diverted to joint relief efforts in countries in Southeast Asia devastated by the Dec. 26 tsunamis that killed more than 100,000.
Leathernecks of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, along with 2,500 Navy personnel on the seven ships of Expeditionary Strike Group 5, were joining a growing U.S. Pacific Command humanitarian assistance force.

The 15th MEU and ESG-5 will fall under Joint Task Force 536, led by Lt. Gen. Robert Blackman, who commands the Okinawa-based III Marine Expeditionary Force, Navy officials said. The task force is based in Utapao, Thailand.

“U.S. forces are moving rapidly to provide the needs and services requested by the governments of the region,” Blackman said in a Dec. 29 statement from III MEF. “Our primary concern is to prevent further loss of life and to conduct sustained disaster relief operations.”

The Camp Pendleton-based 15th MEU, which left San Diego on Dec. 6 on a scheduled deployment to the Western Pacific and Persian Gulf, will join relief efforts in Sri Lanka, officials said Dec. 29.

Three Humanitarian Assistance Assessment Teams headed to Indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka in advance of the main relief force. The Navy also is providing six P-3C Orion patrol aircraft, which will help in communications, search and rescue, surveillance and assessment in the massive affected area, which ranges from Somalia to Thailand and Jakarta, Indonesia.

The relief mission prompted the 15th MEU, which had trained for a likely combat tour in Iraq, to shift gears quickly. Humanitarian assistance operations are familiar ground for Marines, however, because MEU predeployment work-up cycles include training for such missions.

“We’re trying to figure out as much information as possible before we land,” Capt. Jay Delarosa, a 15th MEU spokesman, said by satellite phone from the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard Dec. 29, a day after it left Guam.

Marines and other U.S. forces expected to deploy for the relief mission include medical personnel, engineers, security forces and transport crews.

Along with its 2,300 Marines, the 15th MEU has 24 helicopters, including the CH-46E Sea Knight and CH-53E Super Stallion transport helicopters. Navy landing craft, boats and SH-60 helicopters assigned to ESG-5 also could be used in the efforts.

The new mission was not unexpected, since many troops on the ships had been watching news reports about the tsunami damage. “We knew it was a matter of time before we got the word,” Delarosa said.

By late afternoon Dec. 28, the Marines and sailors on the Bonhomme Richard prepared to sail from Apra Harbor, after a hectic day of loading supplies, refueling and making last-minute runs across the street to the exchange and McDonald’s, Delarosa said.

Gidget Fuentes is the San Diego bureau chief for Marine Corps Times. She can be reached at (760) 677-6145 or gfuentes@marinecorpstimes.com.

Ellie

thedrifter
01-09-05, 05:54 PM
Key Talha Leaders Captured
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 8, 2005 -- Multinational Forces detained a key leader of the al Qaeda-linked Abu Musab al-Zarqawi terrorist network in Mosul in late December, officials in Baghdad announced today.

Following a thorough investigation, the individual detained was positively identified as Abdul Aziz Sadun Ahmed Hamduni, aka Abu Ahmed.

Abu Ahmed, who was captured Dec. 22, served as a deputy to the emir of Mosul, Abu Talha, and assumed command of terrorist operations in Mosul in Abu Talha's absence, officials said. Abu Ahmed admitted to receiving money and weapons from Abu Talha as well as coordinating and conducting terrorist attacks in Mosul.

"The capture of Abu Ahmed and the subsequent capture of Abu Marwan on 23 December show significant progress in the inevitable destruction of the Abu Talha-led Al Qaeda Zarqawi terrorist network in Mosul," said Air Force Brig. Gen. Erwin F. "Erv" Lessel III, deputy operations director for Multinational Force Iraq.

Security forces in Iraq have previously announced the capture of Abu Marwan, also a senior-level terrorist in the Talha organization. Security forces also recently captured another senior Talha member whose name cannot be released due to operational security.

"Currently, security forces in Iraq have three of Abu Talha's four most senior leaders in custody," Lessel said.

The capture of these key members has led to additional captures throughout the Mosul-based AQ-AMZ network. Officials said more than 20 percent of Talha's key members have been captured in the past few weeks.

Abu Ahmed's capture removed one of Abu Talha's most valuable officers from the Mosul-based network. Abu Ahmed remains in detention and is providing information regarding the Talha network.

"These terrorists and Saddamists are doing all they can to stop upcoming elections," Lessel said. "They fear democracy and the day when the Iraqi people vote for a representative government. The vote by the Iraqi people will reject everything the terrorists stand for -- killing innocents, depriving people of food, electricity."

The use of car bombs and other explosive devices by Abu Ahmed and his affiliates shows disregard for the well-being and security of innocent Iraqi civilians. Officials said the Central Criminal Court of Iraq is committed to providing a fair trial to those allegedly engaging in terrorist activities.

(Based on a Multinational Force Iraq news release.)

Ellie

thedrifter
01-09-05, 07:14 PM
Alleged Abu Ghraib Ringleader May Testify <br />
<br />
By T.A. BADGER, Associated Press Writer <br />
<br />
FORT HOOD, Texas - In his quarter-century working in military courts, the attorney for Spc. Charles Graner...