New NCOs stay sharp at corporals course

[thedrifter]

New NCOs stay sharp at corporals course
Submitted by: I Marine Expeditionary Force
Story Identification #: 20048811922
Story by Lance Cpl. Guibord



Camp Fallujah, Iraq (Aug. 5, 2004) -- Off in the distance, the sounds of impacting mortar rounds rang out. Marines emptied the large, improvised parade deck and huddled in the stout cement bunkers, some with ceremonial swords still in hand.

After a while, the Marines filed out one by one, and continued tutoring each other in leading a platoon in drill.

Holding a corporals course at Camp Fallujah, Iraq, not far from its namesake - the turbulent city of Fallujah - has challenges all its own.

"At Camp Pendleton, the Marines would take a 15 minute break to smoke a cigarette, said Sgt. Maj. Thomas J. Gremblin, the 9th Communication Battalion sergeant major and speaker at the first corporals course graduation. "Here, they take a 15 minute break in a bunker avoiding indirect fire."

9th Communication Battalion, I Marine Expeditionary Force started holding its corporals course in July. After seeing the results, other units on the camp asked to enroll their own newly promoted noncommissioned officers.

"It is a positive asset for the unit," said Staff Sgt. Adam J. White, corporals course instructor and 9th Comm. satellite staff noncommissioned officer-in-charge. "(After the course) the Marine is motivated - ready to get it on."

According to White, he has seen a huge difference in his Marines that have gone through the course.

"I saw them under a new light," said the Spokane, Wash., native. "They've stepped up and taken charge."

Cpl. Edmund S. Unger, who previously attended a corporals course during his first tour in the Marine Corps, was surprised at how much he learned his second time through.

"I'm happier to have taken it here," said Unger, a radio technician with 9th Comm. and native of East Haven, Conn. "You don't have to run from incoming rounds back in Del Mar. I wasn't expecting to get anything out of it, but I learned a lot. I'm actually looking forward to (the) sergeants course."

The corporals course prepares the future of the Marine Corps for their positions as leaders of Marines, according to Sgt. Maj. Carlton W. Kent, the I Marine Expeditionary Force sergeant major, who spoke during the first corporals course graduation.

"Where do we get these types of Marines?" Kent asked. "Your leadership makes these Marines. You make these Marines."



Cpl. Gilbert R. Ruiz, a legal clerk with 9th Communication Battalion, I Marine Expeditionary Force, practices marching on a makeshift parade deck during a corporals course at Camp Fallujah, Iraq, August 5, 2004. Marines from several units aboard Camp Fallujah are participating in the course. (Official USMC photo by Lance Cpl. J.C. Guibord) Photo by: Lance Cpl. J.C. Guibord

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn20...9?opendocument


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marines help beef up the line for Iraqi Border Police
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 20048945037
Story by Sgt. Jose L. Garcia



CAMP AL ASAD, Iraq (Aug. 6, 2004) -- Border security between Iraq and Syria is strengthening due in part to an initiative spearheaded by Marines from Regimental Combat Team 7.

Thirty-two new border posts are being built for the Iraqi Border Police in along the Iraqi-Syrian border. The $12 million project will aid in stemming the region's smuggling trade that fuels terrorism in Iraq.

The posts are replacing ones that existed before the war last year. Border guards fled their posts after the regime fell and the buildings were ransacked and destroyed.

"There was a security problem with the borders," explained Navy Lt. James N. Vandenberg, a 43-year-old from Little Rock, Ark., who is a Navy Seabee and an urban planner for the Civil Engineer Corps. "There were insurgents coming in through the borders, so the solution or help was to design and construct border forts."

The project began in the early spring and is expected to be complete by September. The funds used to pay for the project come from money seized during the war last year. It was actually U.S. currency found and seized by U.S. forces.

"We are using that money to benefit the Iraqis unlike Saddam Hussein," said Maj. Sidney G. Zeller, 39, from Farrar, Iowa and RCT-7's Iraqi Border Police director. "We are trying to train, organize, and equip the border police."

The posts are contracted from local Iraqi construction crews and the final design incorporates a raised standard of living along with the practical function as serving as a security post.

"We used different civilian contractors which in return gave jobs to the Iraqi people," Zeller said. "The Al Anbar region is the poorest, so we wanted to put them to work. We hired five different contractors and spread the employment throughout the region."

The forts span Iraq's western border, covering Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia in the south.

"By putting these forts up, the IBP will be much more effective and they will have full-time patrols," said Capt. Sean W. Pascoli, a 36-year-old from Wheeling, W.V. serving as commander for Weapons Company, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. "The importance is to be in control of who comes in and out of the border. Border Police are at the tip of the spear."

According to Pascoli, the border police have been shot at more than Marines since patrolling the borders.

"These guys have it just as bad as we do," Pascoli said. "They live in wooden shacks in 137-degree weather."

The hard structured buildings will include small open squad bays, kitchen, showers, lounges and a guard post on each corner. The forts will house 40-50 border policemen.

"You can see the difference in the troops," said 1st Lt. Khalid Hamoud Hamed, 28, from Al Qaim and a platoon commander for 3rd Iraqi Border Police Battalion. "Their morale is higher and they will do a better job. We are happy with the help we've received from the Marines. Hopefully we will catch more smuggling and stop the border crossing."

Hamed said he would fill up all the empty space he has now by hiring more border police.

"Pretty much the wheel is just going to keep turning and we are grateful for all the help," said Hamed.

The total estimated cost of the program is roughly $12,865,360.

The border police also received a total of 98 Ford and Mitsubishi trucks with radios in them for long-range communication.

"With us coming over here we are able to give them a better chance, a bigger doorway to have a better democratic government and make their lives a better place," Pascoli said.



Iraqi construction builders help build 32 new border posts for the Iraqi Border Police in western Al Anbar Province. The intent is to improve border security, living conditions for the IBP and help ease the unemployment crisis in the western area of the country.
(USMC photo by Sgt. Jose L. Garcia) Photo by: Sgt. Jose L. Garcia

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn20...8?opendocument


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Iraq Cleric Vows Fight to Death Vs. U.S.

By ABDUL HUSSEIN AL-OBEIDI, Associated Press Writer

NAJAF, Iraq - A radical cleric whose loyalists battled U.S. troops for the fifth straight day vowed Monday to fight to the death, and a suicide attacker detonated a car bomb northeast of the capital, killing six people and wounding the deputy governor who was the intended target, officials said.


Explosions and gunfire were heard throughout Najaf and U.S. helicopters hovered overhead as U.S. forces tried to drive Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militiamen from a vast cemetery they have repeatedly used as a base. A U.S. tank rolled within 400 yards of Najaf's holiest site, the Imam Ali Shrine, also held by militiamen.


A Najaf hospital spokesman said three were killed, including two policemen, and 19 wounded. The U.S. military says hundreds of militants have been killed in the violence in recent days; the militiamen put the number far lower.


Al-Sadr vowed to keep up the battle.


"I will continue fighting," al-Sadr told reporters. "I will remain in Najaf city until the last drop of my blood has been spilled."


Iraq (news - web sites)'s defense minister, Hazem Shaalan, accused neighboring Iran of helping arm the Shiite militiamen.


"There are Iranian-made weapons that have been found in the hands of criminals in Najaf who received these weapons from across the Iranian border," Shaalan said in an interview with the Arab-language television network al-Arabiya.


Iran has previously denied interfering in Iraq, though it has acknowledged that fighters might be crossing its long border into Iraq illegally.


Government officials have said many of those involved in the Najaf violence were criminals and implied they were not true followers of the popular Shiite firebrand. But al-Sadr said the militants were his followers and described them as volunteers fighting for an honorable cause.


"These are honest attacks against the occupation," he said, referring to the U.S. troop presence in the country. "They ... are coming to resist the occupation, to liberate our country."


"Resistance will continue and increase day by day," he said. "Our demand is for the American occupation to get out of Iraq. We want an independent, democratic, free country."


Al-Sadr's words were a challenge to interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, who visited the war-shattered city Sunday under heavy security and called on the Shiite militants to stop fighting.


"We think that those armed should leave the holy sites and the (Imam Ali Shrine compound) as well as leave their weapons and abide by the law," he said.


Much of the fighting has centered on the vast cemetery near the Imam Ali Shrine. U.S. forces using helicopter gunships launched a renewed offensive Sunday to drive militants out of the cemetery after claiming two days earlier to have secured the area in some of the fiercest fighting.


On Monday, a U.S. tank approached within about 400 yards of the shrine compound, the closest the military has come to it in the fighting.


"We cannot conduct negotiations under shelling," al-Sadr said. "The Americans are shelling the most holy place here in Najaf and they want me to negotiate? This is ridiculous."


Mahdi Army militiamen in Baghdad kidnapped a senior Iraqi policeman, Brig. Raed Mohammed Khudair, who is responsible for all police patrols in eastern Baghdad, said Col. Adnan Abdel Rahman, an Interior Ministry spokesman.





In a video broadcast on Al-Jazeera television, militants demanded the government release all Mahdi Army prisoners in exchange for Khudair, whom they snatched Sunday.

Iraq's Interior Ministry clamped a curfew Monday on Sadr City, a Shiite neighborhood in eastern Baghdad where U.S. troops and al-Sadr militiamen have also been fighting. The curfew, imposed for "security reasons," will run from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m., the ministry announced.

In the southern city of Basra, masked al-Sadr followers patrolled some main streets Monday and set up checkpoints. No Iraqi police or British troops could be seen, witnesses said.

The Mahdi Army threatened Monday to take over local government buildings in Basra if U.S. troops did not leave Najaf, and also said they would target oil pipelines and ports in southern Iraq.

Also Monday, the military reported that a U.S. Marine was killed in action Sunday in the western province of Anbar. Anbar is a Sunni Muslim-dominated area of anti-U.S. resistance that includes Fallujah, Ramadi and Qaim on the Syrian border.

The death brought to at least 927 the number of American servicemembers who have died in Iraq.

The Shiite violence began Thursday in Najaf after the collapse of a series of truces that ended a two-month uprising in early June. A deadline for militants to withdraw from Najaf, the center of the worst violence, expired Saturday.

The car bombing in Balad Ruz, 40 miles northeast of Baghdad, targeted the home of Diyala province's deputy governor, Aqil Hamid al-Adili, who was in stable condition and was being treated at a U.S.-led coalition medical facility, military spokesman Maj. Neal O'Brien said.

Six Iraqi policemen were killed and at least 17 people wounded, including police and passers-by, Police Brig. Daoud Mahmoud said.

A white station wagon laden with explosives blew up outside al-Adili's home, shattering windows and blowing the doors off their hinges. Al-Adili's 9-year-old son was lightly injured, Mahmoud said.

Guerrillas waging a yearlong insurgency in Iraq have repeatedly used car bombs to attack top officials of the interim government, Iraqi security forces and American troops.

Meanwhile, Iran confirmed Monday that Faridoun Jihani, the Iranian consul to the Iraqi city of Karbala, had been kidnapped, and said he was in good health.

"Iran will do its best to secure the release of the kidnapped Iranian diplomat," the official Islamic Republic News Agency quoted Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi as saying.

Jihani's kidnappers, in a video released Saturday, accused Iran of meddling in Iraq's affairs. Scores of other foreigners have been kidnapped as leverage to force foreign troops and businesses from the country.

In an video posted on the Internet, militants beheaded a hostage identified only as a Bulgarian. Two Bulgarian truck drivers were kidnapped June 29, and the beheaded body of one of the drivers was found in mid July and a tape was released showing his death.

A second decapitated body was found late last month, prompting fears that the other Bulgarian had been killed, but there was no video of his slaying released at the time.


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...d=540&ncid=716


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Christian Science Monitor
August 9, 2004

The Real Combat In Iraq

Last Friday, as John Kerry was making a promise to withdraw most US forces from Iraq within a year, the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit was engaged in hand-to-hand combat against hundreds of black-clothed Shiite militiamen in the holy city of Najaf.

The fighting was the fiercest in months, and a vivid reminder that either a President Kerry or a new Bush administration will face as many uncertainties as certainties in helping Iraq create a secure, elected government.

Tellingly, this latest violence, which was triggered by the army of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, was aimed more at disrupting the interim regime of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi than at ousting US forces. In fact, the Marines did not enter the battle for Najaf until both Iraqi police and guardsmen had put up a fight and then put out a call for US assistance.

This shows the political context for security in post-Hussein Iraq has shifted. The most significant change was the June 28 handover of limited sovereignty to Dr. Allawi's government and a new chain of command with the US military largely reporting to Iraqis.

Both Allawi and the US took a risk in confronting Mr. Sadr's militia on Najaf's holy ground. The fighting could either rile Iraq's majority Shiite or be widely seen as Allawi bringing the kind of security that Iraqis want.

Allawi probably knows better than the Americans did during their 13-month rule how to develop a consensus, which is essential to quell violence. The ultimate solution will be elections, which would help channel Iraq's ethnic and religious divisions into political rather than armed struggle. With elections slated for January, Allawi has scrambled to show he's in charge and acting with whatever legitimacy he can muster as a UN and US appointee.

After last week's fighting, he offered a 30-day amnesty period for Iraqis who turn themselves in for "minor crimes," or who failed to reveal violent plots or shelter insurgents. He also closed the offices of Arab satellite network Al-Jazeera for a month for allegedly inciting violence by slanting its coverage.

The international context for Iraq's security has also shifted. On Saturday, NATO sent in its first batch of officers to help train Iraqi forces. Hundreds more could be in Iraq this fall. This adds to the government's legitimacy and widens the coalition for the US. And this week, the UN plans to reestablish itself in Iraq with a team that will help prepare for a national political assembly and elections.

Such steps bring hope that Iraq can reduce its physical insecurity with increasing political security in the months ahead. Insurgents may get more desperate as they lose this larger battle. But for now, the drive for democracy seems rooted in Iraq.
~~~~~~~
Chicago Tribune
August 6, 2004

Why Americans Must Fight For Freedom

By Donald Rumsfeld

Several months ago, I was in South Korea. At the time, a debate was under way in the Korean parliament about whether the country should send troops to Iraq.

A young Korean reporter asked me why Koreans should send their young men and women halfway around the globe to be killed or wounded in Iraq.

It was a fair question, one an American could have asked during the Korean War. That day, I had visited a war memorial in Korea that bore the names of every American soldier killed in the war. On it was the name of a close friend of mine from New Trier High School, a wrestling teammate named Dick O'Keefe, who was killed on the last day of the Korean War.

I asked the reporter: "Why should Americans have sent their young people to Korea?"

We were on an upper floor of a building in Seoul, and I asked the reporter to look out of the window. I said, "There's the answer."

The city was filled with lights and cars and energy and people, a robust economy that's just an economic miracle, and freedom. And I told the reporter that I kept a satellite photo, taken at night, of the Korean peninsula on a table in my office. North of the Demilitarized Zone, there is nothing but darkness, with one little pinprick of light in Pyongyang, the capital.

In the south, the country is bathed in light, beacons of prosperity and freedom that 33,000 Americans and thousands of others gave their lives to protect.

Korea's freedom was won at a terrible cost. But it was worth it. Just as it was worth it to liberate Germany, Japan and Italy.

In the past three years, a global coalition ended the brutal regimes of the Taliban in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

Because of our broad coalition's efforts, 50 million people have been liberated, and their governments are now allies in the global war on terror.

In Iraq, courageous leaders have stepped forward to lead their country and crack down on insurgents. Their economy is growing, their currency is strong and they've opened a stock market. More than 2,600 schools have been rehabilitated.

They have gone from zero to more than 200,000 Iraqi security force members. We have a good team helping the Iraqis develop their security forces, training them, equipping them and helping them set up a chain of command so they can assume responsibility for their country.

In Afghanistan, there are some 13,000 soldiers in the Afghan national army, and more than 21,000 Afghan national police. Construction of a major road is well under way linking major Afghan cities to help unify the country and bolster the economy. Afghans have approved a new constitution that protects the rights of all Afghans. Presidential elections are scheduled to be held Oct.. 9. Despite the violence aimed at discouraging citizens, and particularly women, from registering to vote, more than 8 million people have already done so, including nearly 4 million women. Under the Taliban, women had virtually no rights at all.

In a democratic country such as the United States, we have vigorous debates over important public policy issues--none more heated than a decision to go to war. But this should not distract us from the mission at hand or the importance of achieving victory.

On Sept. 11, 2001, nearly 3,000 U.S. citizens were killed by extremists determined to frighten and intimidate our people and civilized societies. The danger is that if the extremists gain the opportunity, the number of casualties would be far higher. Terrorists are continuing to plot attacks against the American people and against other civilized societies.

This is a different kind of enemy and a different kind of world. And we must think and act differently in this new century. The extremists think nothing of cutting off innocent people's heads to try to intimidate civilized people. They have murdered citizens from many countries--South Korea, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom and others--hoping to strike fear in the hearts of free people.

The phenomenon of ideological extremism--of which terrorism is the weapon of choice--stands in the way of global political progress and economic prosperity, threatens the stability of the international order and clouds the future of civil society. Because it cannot be appeased, it must be confronted on many fronts by all civil societies.

Terrorists cannot defeat our coalition on the battlefield; they can only win if we give up or decide the effort is not worth the cost.

But if we stay the course, I have no doubt of our ultimate victory.

Donald Rumsfeld is Secretary of Defense.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

A Marine Commander's Eye-View of Iraq

=========================

Greetings from Camp Abu Ghurayb. This is my third letter to you as we progress into the second month of our deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 2.

The big news that has already reached many back home was the electrical fire in our Morale Welfare and Recreation (MWR) tent, which burned to the ground some days ago. Our camp is powered by a variety of generators and wiring not vetted in accordance with OSHA or Underwriter's Laboratories that the folks back home are used to. Despite our best fire prevention efforts, fires do occur out here and all hands are on alert for that possibility. In this case, quick action by nearby Marines to get fire extinguishers and alert the Guard Force, limited the fire to one tent. Thankfully, no one was hurt and the only real loss was the contents of our MWR tent, which included TVs, DVD players and DVDs, X-Boxes, games, books, etc. Thanks to the great efforts of our Thundering Third Key Volunteers, we have already been promised replacements by a number of generous donors back home. The largest group of donors are some great Americans from the San Diego Chapter of the national organization, Operation Homefront. The folks at Operation Homefront immediately volunteered to provide us with a variety of items that will be well received by our Marines and Sailors who rotate in from the field to relax and rest for a day, once each week. Of course, there is far more to this story than generosity on behalf of patriotic citizens. The compassion and support of our families and friends back home is of the greatest comfort to all of us here. We are in the process of reconstructing our MWR tent, and it will be even better than it was.

As you might imagine, every day in the life of an infantry battalion is quite full out here in Iraq. Mounted and dismounted security patrols run
24 hours a day over a large area characterized by small cities and towns, major highways, agricultural fields, canals and rivers, palm groves, military camps and stretches of desert. Logistics resupply convoys, civil affairs projects, generator maintenance, post standing, maintenance and repair of weapons, vehicles, and equipment, training Iraqi security forces, orders briefs, searching for buried arms and ordnance caches, sweeping roads clear of IEDs, local city council meetings, chow time, planning future operations, writing patrol reports, upgrading armor on vehicles, detaining and killing terrorists, and the list goes on. It takes a tremendous team effort to harness and focus the energies of over a thousand Marines, Sailors, and Soldiers that make up the 3d Bn., 1st Marines. I am pleased to report that an already well organized and efficient battalion has only improved over our first six weeks in Iraq. This is due in no small measure to the men attached to the Thundering Third from our Combat Engineer Platoon "Pioneer 3", our Truck Platoon "Wild Card", our Artillery Liaison Team, "Cannon Cockers" and other attachments that, for security reasons I am not permitted to describe here. These attachments to our magnificent Battalion represent continuity from our Brother Marines of 1st Bn., 5th Marines, who are now home with their families, enjoying their well deserved post deployment leave after a job very well done.

I am proud to report that the Thundering Third recently executed the first I MEF air-surface raid of Operation Iraqi Freedom 2, air landing a cordon on a group of farm houses suspected of harboring terrorist activities. The Marines and Sailors of Tim Jent's Kilo Company descended from the sky at dawn to completely surprise a group of suspected terrorists. They were followed by the hard hitting men of Brett Clark's India Company and our HMMWV mounted heavy machine gunners from Rob Belknap's Weapons/George Company. A cordon and search operation was efficiently conducted with all members of the households searched, secured, segregated, and tagged, while follow-up exploitation teams conducted detailed searches of the property. During the search we identified and detained a known terrorist on our watch list, and discovered a large buried cache of IED materials. The operation was executed precisely on its planned timeline and netted a big find of materials that will not be used against multi-national forces or innocent Iraqis. I was very pleased with the planning and execution of the raid. I was also proud of our men's great professionalism, and compassion for Iraqi families on the scene, and discipline when handling suspected terrorists. Job extremely well done to H&S, Kilo, India, and Weapons Companies, with special mention to Captain Patrick "PUC" Gallogly, our Battalion Air Officer, Call Sign "Brahma Air". We intend to build on the success we enjoyed in our first air-ground assault, and will continue to leverage the Marine Corps' "Air-Ground Team" with its many unique and lethal capabilities.

The men of Lima Company continue to patrol the most cooperative area in our Battalion's battle space. Their work with the Iraqi National Guard, the Nasser Wa Salaam Police and our brothers in the US Army has been superb and has advanced relations with the host nation. The Commanding Officer of prison continually praises Capt Alex Echeverria, 1stSgt Wayne Hertz and the Marines and Sailors of Lima Company on their professionalism and dedication to duty. Lima's own "mafia connection", Gunnery Sergeant David Wilson, through hard work, intuition, and savvy found a great Army supply depot at the Baghdad International Airport. His charismatic personality and USMC professionalism persuaded the soldiers there to provide some additional support to their brother "soldiers of the sea". What was originally a small morale booster for Lima Company has become a great Battalion asset. Gunny Wilson's diligent efforts have resulted in huge amounts of Gatorade, muffins, cereal, and food supplements for the Thundering Third. Another bright note from Lima Company is Thundering Third's first meritorious promotion in Iraq, PFC Ryan Easton, a rifleman in Lima Company who has consistently performed at a level of maturity and proficiency expected from Marines well senior to him in grade and experience. Congratulations to PFC Ryan Easton, and Lima Company. I am sure that his family back home will be enormously proud to hear the good news about their Marine.

Among the many human interest stories that have already transpired in our first six weeks in Iraq is the story of Ali, an Iraqi National Guard Soldier, from Nasser Wa Salaam, who was severely injured in a truck crash while on patrol shortly after our Battalion arrived in Iraq. Ali was medevaced by the Marines and flown to the hospital in Baghdad, where he was treated by Army Surgeons. Since his discharge, LT Matt Shepherd, our Battalion Surgeon, has been monitoring his progress and coordinating further treatment for Ali. Ali represents the many patriotic Iraqis who are sacrificing all to realize a better future. Be on the look out for a future published story about Matt and Ali.

On the subject of news stories, there are also a number of press releases about the Thundering Third on the Marine Corps official website. There you can find articles on Company K, and Weapons/George Company. Of note is a great piece on our Combined Anti-Armor Platoon, led by Lt Ryan Sparks and GySgt Christian Wade. Our "CAAT" Platoon has the call sign "Carnivore" and has been involved in a number of highly successful actions to date. The "Highway Patrol" of the Battalion, CAAT's intrepid Marines and Sailors drive all over the highways and byways in our area of operations and have proven themselves to be the most lethal unit in the Thundering Third so far. I encourage you to look them up on the USMC official website.

Marines always find innovative ways to accomplish the mission. I recently discovered that LCpl Jonathon Ashley, of our Motor Transport Platoon, has put an Iraqi scrapper's donkey cart into operation in our Battalion Camp Abu Ghurayb. This motivated young NCO placed a water tank and sprayer on an impounded donkey cart, and tows it behind a four wheel drive all terrain vehicle, the "Gator", as he goes around spraying generators to keep them cool during the heat of the day. The donkey cart was impounded when its owners ignored repeated warnings to stay away from our base, which is out in the desert on an old military camp, away from any homes. I wish you all could see the big grin on LCpl Ashley's face as he rides around our camp towing his Iraqi donkey cart with its American water tank.


Although there are many friendly people here in the Al Anbar Province, there are also plenty of bad people who are doing their best to impede progress in Iraq. We are also very active in our zone, and are rooting out enemy that are operating in our area. This has translated into a lot of local enemy activity in recent days. Indeed, our Marines and Sailors have been in contact with the enemy recently to include one attempt by the enemy to attack one of our company firm bases. Kilo Company recently repelled an attack on their firm base, punishing their attackers with a little help from SSgt Mortimer and his nearby CAAT Section. The situation unfolded as Lt John Jacob's 2d Platoon, from Kilo Company, counterattacked and pushed the enemy attackers away from Kilo's base into an area approached unexpectedly by SSgt Mortimer's CAAT Section, which engaged the enemy, killing one and wounding six others, who were all captured. These contacts have not come without friendly cost, however. We have had a number of men wounded, with most fortunately returning to duty. Unfortunately, we have had a few men hurt enough to be medevaced back to the USA. As I stated in my last letter home to you, if any of our Battalion Families or Friends would like to visit wounded men in the Camp Pendleton area, please contact Gunnery Sergeant (Select) Ray Ortiz, at the
3/1 Rear Command Post at (760) 763-0552/0557. He can also be reached by email at: OrtizR@1mardiv.usmc.mil.

It is also my sad duty to report to you that we have lost another one of our brothers killed in action here in Iraq. Sergeant Juan Calderon, Jr. was killed by an IED attack some days ago. Sergeant Calderone joined the Thundering Third earlier this year and was considered one of the best squad leaders in our Battalion. A standout Sergeant among a group of outstanding Sergeants in Lima Company, he is greatly missed by his brothers here and by his family back home. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his Lady, Ana Maria, and the rest of the Calderon Family. We continue the mission we began here together, as Sergeant Calderon would have wanted.

I will conclude this letter with all of our best wishes to you at home, especially to the great Ladies who are doing great things in our Thundering Third Key Volunteer Network. As time permits, I will write again soon and I hope that this update has provided you with an insight into the Battalion's accomplishments and progress. In addition to your support for your Marines and Sailors over here, I also respectfully ask that you keep the families of our lost and wounded Marines and Sailors in your thoughts and prayers. The 3d Bn, 1st Marines honors the sacrifice of Sergeant Juan Calderon, Jr., who is gone but never forgotten. John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends."

God Bless and Semper Fidelis, LtCol Willy Buhl CO, 3d Bn, 1st Marines



Ellie

[thedrifter]

Militant Cleric Avoids Arrest
Iraqi forces raid Sadr's Najaf home but come up empty-handed. Fighting in the holy city between his followers and U.S. troops subsides.


By Henry Chu and Edmund Sanders, Times Staff Writers


NAJAF, Iraq — Iraqi security forces mounted an unsuccessful raid Saturday to seize rebel cleric Muqtada Sadr, the Shiite Muslim leader blamed by the United States for a surge in violence in this holy city that has claimed scores, perhaps hundreds, of lives.

In their first such move against Sadr, members of the Iraqi National Guard and police tried to arrest him at his home in Najaf near the Imam Ali shrine, the base from which he had urged followers to rise up and eject U.S. forces. But the militant leader was not at home.

Fighting eased Saturday after two days of battles between his supporters and U.S. troops.

Even as Iraqi forces made their move against Sadr, interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said at a news conference in Baghdad that the government had received "positive messages" from the cleric and concluded that, in effect, he was not to blame for the violence.

"These are bandits and gangs trying to hide behind Muqtada Sadr," Allawi said of the insurgents. "We don't think those are his people. There is no statement from him committing himself to them…. That's why I say it's not him."

Allawi also unveiled a long-awaited amnesty program — albeit much more limited in scope than expected — for those linked to Iraq's bloody 15-month-old insurgency.

And in a move that some called an attack on press freedom, Allawi announced a monthlong shutdown of Al Jazeera news channel's operations in Iraq, alleging that it fomented hatred and glorified insurgents.

In Najaf, which has seen the fiercest fighting in Iraq since May, only sporadic conflict was reported Saturday.

U.S. helicopters and warplanes droned overhead, and occasional mortar rounds whistled and exploded in the abandoned streets.

U.S. and Iraqi officials said they had made progress in retaking control of a cemetery close to the Imam Ali shrine that was being used as a base and weapons storehouse for members of Sadr's Al Mahdi militia.

The sprawling graveyard, pocked with caves and mausoleums, was the scene of running battles between militants and U.S. Marines, sometimes leading to hand-to-hand fighting so close that "you can smell a man," said Lt. Col. John Mayer, commander of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

"This is the most intense combat I've seen," said Capt. Coby Moran, operations officer for the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment.

U.S. officials Friday put the number of militants killed at 300 but acknowledged that such battlefield estimates were "always iffy." Sadr's aides said the figure was closer to three dozen.

Saturday's action culminated in the surprise move by Iraqi police and the Iraqi national guard to swarm Sadr's home in an attempt to arrest him.

"We surrounded the house, but he was not at home," said Gen. Ghalib Hadi Jazaery, Najaf's chief of police.

Jazaery said his officers were serving an arrest warrant issued last year against Sadr in the killing of a rival cleric. U.S. troops tried to serve the warrant in April, igniting an uprising among his followers that lasted two months and left hundreds of Iraqis dead before ending in an uneasy cease-fire.

"We want to clean up this city from this devil," Jazaery said.

There was confusion over who ordered Saturday's arrest attempt. U.S. officials said they were not involved in the raid. One Iraqi national guard commander, Lt. Col. Aqeel Khalil, accused Jazaery of grabbing 130 of his men for the raid without authorization. He said a guardsman was killed and nine were injured in the raid, and 17 were missing.

"They've become shaken and scared," Khalil said. "They're in low spirits."

The move against Sadr came two hours before the expiration of a 6 p.m. deadline set by Najaf Gov. Adnan Zurfi for all militants hailing from outside Najaf to quit the city.

Prime Minister Allawi, at his Baghdad news conference, said that of the 1,000 militants U.S. and Iraqi forces say they have captured, many have dissociated themselves from Sadr during questioning. He reiterated allegations by Iraqi officials that most of the fighters had come to Najaf from other cities or countries, particularly Iran, or were criminals out to wreak havoc.

The seeming contradiction between the attempt to seize Sadr and Allawi's conciliatory statements may be part of a delicate political balancing act.

The transitional government is keen to stamp out the lawlessness and violence that have angered Iraqis since the U.S.-led invasion last year, but officials also desperately want to avoid setting off a rebellion among Iraq's long-suppressed majority Shiites. The prime minister is a Shiite.

"I think he tried to play it smart," said Hassan Bazaz, a Baghdad political analyst. "Let the Americans do and say what they want" — blaming Sadr and cracking down in Najaf — "while he played it cool."

Pressure from U.S. and Iraqi forces could therefore help squeeze Sadr into accepting the government's olive branch. "Put him in the corner and give him just one alternative," Bazaz said. "It could work."

Associated Press reported that other Shiite leaders and a U.N. envoy met with Sadr's deputies Saturday to mediate an end to the conflict.

To persuade others to give up violence, Allawi announced the limited amnesty program, good for the next 30 days, for Iraqis guilty of "minor crimes," such as owning weapons or explosives, failing to pass along knowledge of militant plots or sheltering those involved in insurgent attacks.

Officials ruled out pardons for anyone directly involved in fatal assaults such as the suicide bombings that Sunni Muslim-backed insurgents have used to deadly effect.

The plan fell far short of expectations, casting doubt on whether it could win over active sympathizers of the insurgency, which supporters regard as patriotic resistance to the U.S. military presence in Iraq.

"This has been established to allow our citizens to rejoin civil society … instead of wasting their lives on a lost cause," Allawi said.

The tough-talking prime minister reserved some of his harshest words at Saturday's news conference for the satellite channel Al Jazeera, possibly the most popular source of news for the Arab world.

Allawi accused Al Jazeera of inciting hatred and violence by airing grisly footage of hostage executions, siding with the insurgents and putting out a "bad image" of Iraq.

"I am not worried whether Al Jazeera likes it or not," he said of the decision to shut down its Iraq operations for a month.

Journalists called it an ominous sign of the interim government's views on press freedom.

"We're pretty shocked at the decision," said Al Jazeera spokesman Jihad Ballout at the channel's headquarters in Doha, Qatar.

The media have "been promised, for months now, freedom of the press and freedom of expression…. This particular move has changed the scene completely in Iraq."

Iraqi police descended on Al Jazeera's Baghdad bureau Saturday night, demanding keys from employees, locking rooms and ordering everyone out.

"This is not a shop. You can't just tell us to stop selling goods and close the shop," Haider Mullah, the bureau's legal counsel, insisted to police.

"This is a media network. We have to know what our legal rights are."

Last month, Allawi sanctioned the reopening of Sadr's newspaper, which had been closed by American officials in March because they said it was inciting attacks on U.S.-led forces and their Iraqi allies.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chu reported from Baghdad and Sanders from Najaf. Special correspondent Said Rifai in Baghdad also contributed to this report.


http://www.latimes.com/news/printedi...,2462995.story


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Watchdogs head to Iraq
Submitted by: MCAGCC
Story Identification #: 20048613567
Story by Sgt. Jennie Haskamp



MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (Aug. 6, 2004) -- His dad won’t be there for his first day of kindergarten. He won’t be there for his birthday either. In fact, this year, his dad will miss every birthday in their family of four along with Halloween, Christmas, New Year’s and Valentine’s Day.

His name is Cameron Whitehead, and he is almost six years old. His dad, Staff Sgt. James Whitehead, a Troy, Ala., native, is Marine Unmanned Aerial Squadron 1’s quality assurance chief. He left for Iraq Aug. 1 along with the rest of his unit.

Cameron and his 12-year-old brother, Codey, aren’t alone. The VMU-1 "Watchdogs," like every Combat Center unit deployed abroad in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 2, left dozens of families behind. Dozens of women will act as mom and dad for the next seven months, and, though the numbers are smaller, husbands left behind will slip into the role of both parents as well.

Spouses who don’t have children at home to focus on will be forced to adapt to being alone for the duration of the deployment. Family members and loved ones alike will endure the deployment.

Believing in their Marines and Sailors and supporting them from afar helps make the separation easier.

"I support everything he does," said Amber Pratt, an Amarillo, Texas, native whose husband Staff Sgt. Eric Pratt is part of VMU-1’s communications team. "It’s what he wants to be doing, so it’s what I want him to do."

The unit, whose mission is to operate Pioneer unmanned aerial vehicles and provide support to the troops on the ground in the form of aerial reconnaissance, will have experts supporting them on the ground in Iraq.

"We’re capable of seeing the enemy miles ahead of the Marines and Sailors and alerting them to possible ambushes or attacks," said support technician Larry Louden, a contractor with Pioneer UAV Inc., based in Patuxent River, Md., who volunteered to re-deploy with the unit. "We’re a small company, and there aren’t many employees. I did eight years in the Corps—-I guess volunteering to deploy with them again is some of that esprit de corps we all talk about."

Louden, along with fellow technician Frenchy Couture, who works with the unit full time and lives in Twentynine Palms, is responsible for providing back-up technical support to the Marines assigned to maintain the UAVs.

"We’re here to support them in case they run into something they can’t fix," explained Louden. "We won’t be changing locations as often as we did last year, breaking them down and rebuilding them—so they should hold up better this time."

Louden said the unit will work as a police force from above; looking for weapons caches and improvised explosion devices and any other suspicious activity.

"We’re like the 24-hour eye in the sky," he said. "We’re there to make things safer for the guys on the ground."

The Marines, Sailors and civilians of VMU-1 know it will be a long deployment void of the comforts of home, but they’re ready to do their jobs, and their leader reminded them they were up to the challenge.

"Your family, your country and your Corps are all proud of you," said Lt. Col. John Neumann, commanding officer, VMU-1, standing in front of his troops and their families. "We’re up to the challenge, we’re ready to complete this mission."

The group knows they’re part of something bigger than themselves, and as they boarded the buses for first leg of their trip to Iraq, the realization hit home.

"Leaving my family again is hard—-I never want to leave them," said Whitehead, his eyes settling on his young sons, his arm around his wife, Wendy. "I don’t want to leave, but I want to do my job-—and that is what I’ll do. I’ll leave, do my job and come home to my wife and kids."



Codey Whitehead, 12, and his 5-year-old brother, Cameron, wave to their dad as his bus pulls away Aug. 1. Staff Sgt. James Whitehead, quality assurance chief, deployed to Iraq with the rest of Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 1 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 2. Like many Combat Center units currently deployed, it is the unit's second trip to Iraq in two years. The Watchdogs are expected to remain in Iraq for the next seven months. Photo by: Sgt Jennie Haskamp

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn20...D?opendocument


Ellie

[thedrifter]

August 5, 2004
Release Number: 04-08-19


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


IRAQI SECURITY FORCES, MARINES RESPOND TO CONTINUED ATTACKS IN NAJAF

FORWARD OPERATING BASE DUKE, Iraq — As the direct result of large-scale, repeated attacks on the main police station in An Najaf, the Multi-National Force responded to the Najaf Governor’s request and rapidly provided reinforcement to Iraqi Police and National Guard units.

Initial reports indicate that, working together, the Iraqi Security Forces and Multi-National Forces have killed approximately seven anti-Iraqi forces. These anti-Iraqi forces appear to be members of the Muqtada militia, supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr. This attack is an overt violation of the cease-fire agreement reached in June between Multi-National Forces and Muqtada al-Sadr, as brokered by the Governor of Najaf, other local civic leaders, and the Bayt al-Shia (the informal counsel of senior Shia clerics).

"All of these terrorists and killers are working for the same organization regardless of which banners they carry or which hats they wear," said the Minister of Interior Mr. Falah al-Nakib. "They attacked Iraqi Police and we must respond. We have the thugs isolated. Our police forces, supported by the Multi-National Force, are doing their job."

Initial reports also indicate that a Multi-National Force helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing. The crew and the helicopter were recovered.

Mr. Falah al-Nakib indicated that seven terrorists have been killed and 22 have been wounded and taken into custody.

Anti-Iraqi terrorists have an extreme disregard for Iraq’s laws and the lives of innocent Iraqi citizens. Multi-National Forces continue to work closely with the Iraqi Police, National Guard, and Security Forces to prevent and repel these attacks.

"Our brothers, the Iraqi Police and supporting forces have gained glorious victories in their efforts to make Iraq a strong, sovereign nation," said Mr.al-Nakib.

http://www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/n...e=20040819.txt


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marine combat engineers keep vigilant of IEDs
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 20048552343
Story by Sgt. Jose E. Guillen



CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Aug. 3, 2004) -- Most people try to avoid explosives in Iraq. Gunnery Sgt. Sean P. Hanna hopes to trip over them.

He and his Marines from 3rd Platoon, Company B, 1st Combat Engineer Battalion spend their days criss-crossing Iraq, armed with metal detectors in one hand and a beacon device in the other.

"Nine out of 10 times we'll find stuff," said Hanna, the platoon sergeant for 3rd Platoon. "They may not be big, big, huge caches, but we're consistent at finding weapons that can hurt us."

Hanna gives credit to the know-how of his Marines for being successful at discovering buried caches and improvised explosive devices.

"I'm not sure what we're doing to find weapons caches all the time, but I think it's just the experience of being here for almost six months," he explained. "We have a system of doing things, so the Marines see different things different days, like zero traffic on a road that usually has traffic flow."

The Marines work in teams, scouring roadsides and crop fields. There are telltale signs that tip them off, but not always.

"If something looks out of the ordinary like soft dirt in a middle of a crop field, we'll start digging," said Cpl. Carlos Montalvo.

Sometimes, cache discoveries are found through subtle hints. Property owners sometimes will walk out and greet Marines as to redirect them to search another location, but only give themselves away.

"Sometimes when we get close to something, the property owner will start acting weird or nervous," Hanna said. "That's just an indicator for us to keep looking."

"We'll sweep anything, but I enjoy it even though it's somewhat dangerous," said Lance Cpl. Jose M. Rios.

Rios made his biggest find during a sweep while attached to 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, finding 12 IEDs all designed to detonate simultaneously. It's called a "daisy-chain." It's also that sort of success that makes Rios want to continue explosives work after he leaves the Marine Corps.

The work is tiring and monotonous. Days are spent in full gear, sweating and probing. Not every sweep turns up caches. Still reports of Marines falling victim to IEDs only amplifies the need to rid the streets of potential threats.

"The hardest part is seeing young Marines die or get hurt," Hanna said. "We're just tired of that."

"Every time we find something buried, it's a success," said Lance Cpl. Jared S. Treadway, a combat engineer with 3rd Platoon. "It feels good to find weapons."



Cpl. Carlos Montalvo, a combat engineer with Headquarters Squad, 3rd platoon, Company B, 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, digs for more rocket-propelled grenades after detecting the cache with a metal detector in Al Kharma.
(USMC photo by Sgt. Jose E. Guillen) Photo by: Sgt. Jose E. Guillen

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn20...C?opendocument


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marines Pushing Deeper Into City Held by Shiites

NAJAF, Iraq, Aug. 7 - Marine commanders battling Moktada al-Sadr's rebel militiamen in this Shiite holy city said Saturday that the fighting had cleared the rebels from the ancient cemetery in the heart of the old city, but that more fighting lay ahead in the streets and alleyways nearby as an American-led offensive moved to the end of its third day.

American commanders, who said they were acting under orders from the new Iraqi government, gave little sign that they intended to heed appeals for a cease-fire from clerics and others claiming to represent Mr. Sadr. But their forces pulled back from the cemetery's edges overnight to take up more secure positions, and the city streets were mostly quiet.

The marines described engaging in hand-to-hand fighting in the vast cemetery, which lies adjacent to the ancient Imam Ali mosque, a golden-domed shrine that is one of the holiest in Shiite Islam. The 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which returned to Iraq recently after taking part in the American-led invasion last year, had endured the fiercest battle of all its engagements in Iraq, the commanders said.

"The engagements in the cemetery were done on foot, encountering numerous fighters at a range when you can smell a man, and it's hand-to-hand combat," said Col. John Mayer, who leads the battalion that took part in the fighting. He spoke at a forward Marine base on the outskirts of Najaf, about three miles from the fighting, as fresh Marine units prepared at dusk for nighttime deployment into the city.

American accounts of the fighting on Saturday said that there had been only sporadic exchanges of rifle, rocket and mortar fire after the intense battles of the previous 48 hours, in which the marines and an allied force of Iraqi police officers and national guardsmen claimed to have killed more than 300 fighters wearing the black outfits of the Mahdi Army, the militia force loyal to Mr. Sadr. Spokesmen for the militia have countered the claims, saying only 40 of their fighters had been killed.

The United States command said American losses in the fighting up to noon on Saturday amounted to two marines and one soldier killed, and about 20 American servicemen seriously wounded.

Reports from Najaf told of a city now largely deserted, especially in the area of the old city where the fighting has been concentrated. Shops and other businesses remained closed. The few people who ventured out on foot could be seen clearing rubble, seemingly oblivious to the rattle of nearby machine-gun fire. All power, water and telephone lines were cut.

An Army battalion is expect to join the marines in Najaf, though Marine officers said the United States is hoping that Iraqi national guard and police will take the lead, especially at the fringe of the cemetery near the shrine; in that area the Americans are vulnerable to attack and feel constrained to wage an offensive.

In Baghdad, representatives of Mr. Sadr met Saturday with a United Nations official, Jamal Benomar, who offered himself as an intermediary, along with a group of Iraqis from a range of political and religious groups. Mr. Benomar said Mr. Sadr's envoys appeared to be reaching for a cease-fire. "In a nutshell, they are keen to meet with the government and come to a settlement," Mr. Benomar said.

But there was little sign a cease-fire would be accepted by the Iraqi government and American commanders. Instead, the indications at nightfall were that the American and Iraqi units intended to press the battle, in the hope of breaking the back of Mr. Sadr's force in Najaf.

The Iraqi police commander in the city, Gen. Galib Hadi al-Jazaery, told reporters at the Marine base that Iraqi police officers and guardsmen had surrounded and attacked a house that Mr. Sadr has used as a headquarters in recent months. But the force did not find the cleric. "We want to rid the city of this devil," General Jazaery said.

Lt. Col. Aqil Khalil of the Iraqi national guard said the attack on the house was botched, and that the guard and police did not work effectively together. The Iraqis are struggling to prove themselves in battle.

Much in the immediate future of Iraq depends on the Najaf fighting, and on lower-intensity skirmishes in the last 72 hours in other urban areas across central and southern Iraq, including the sprawling slum of Sadr City, on Baghdad's outskirts, and the southern city of Nasiriya. The central question is whether the decision to confront the militiamen, and to do so in a place of the highest religious sensitivities, Najaf, will win the support of Iraq's Shiite majority, or provoke a potentially crippling backlash against the interim government of Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.

On Saturday, after remaining silent during the first 48 hours of fighting, Dr. Allawi gave a news conference in Baghdad in which he appeared intent on reinforcing his appeal to Iraqis as the strongman many have said they wanted during the 15 months of lawlessness and insurgency that has followed the American invasion last year.

He turned aside appeals for a cease-fire, saying prisoners taken during the fighting included "more than 1,000 criminals," at least 400 of whom had been released from prisons under an amnesty declared by Saddam Hussein six months before he was toppled from power.

"What has occurred in Najaf is pitiful," the prime minister said. Referring to the militiamen, he continued: "These attacks have aimed at destabilizing the government. These people are trying to deprive our people of their freedom and progress. Our country has gone through too many wars, and too much hardship, and I'm confident our people will choose the path toward peace and prosperity."

Dr. Allawi described the fighting as an attempt to undermine the new government's efforts to improve security, strengthen the economy and prepare for parliamentary elections scheduled for the end of January. A fully elected government is planned by January 2006. At one point, he invited Mr. Sadr to abandon reliance on his militia and to run in the January elections, an idea that Mr. Sadr had already rejected.

Dr. Allawi, a Shiite who trained as a physician and joined Mr. Hussein's ruling Baath Party as a student but defected to the exiled opposition 20 years ago, showed some of the political deftness he will need if he is to emerge from the tangled machinations of Shiite politics as a contender for power in the elections.

He suggested at the news conference that the militiamen fighting in Najaf, whom the Americans have said have mostly worn the black outfits of Mr. Sadr's militia, might not be Sadr loyalists at all, but "people using his name." He said he had been receiving "positive messages from Moktada al-Sadr." But he gave no details, and did not clarify whether he was referring to private communications from the rebel cleric or to discussions in Baghdad earlier on Saturday between representatives of Mr. Sadr and Mr. Benomar.

Dr. Allawi's suggestion that Mr. Sadr might not be responsible for the men battling in Najaf appeared intended to provide an alternative to an all-out showdown with potentially grim implications for both men.

If the Najaf fighting has shown Dr. Allawi at his most combative, he used his news conference to brandish a carrot along with the stick. He announced that he had signed a decree offering a 30-day amnesty period for people involved with the insurgency that has paralyzed wide areas of the country. The terms of the amnesty cover only relatively minor actions - among them, possessing illegal arms and explosives, failing to disclose information about terrorist groups, and otherwise helping with attacks. But under American pressure, the amnesty offer would not include anybody who has engaged in killing United States troops.

Throughout the clashes, American military spokesmen have stressed the point that fighting with the Sadr militia has been undertaken under the political authority of the new government. They have said that the Najaf battle was triggered at early light on Thursday when the city's Iraqi governor appealed for the marines to send a quick reaction force from a tent camp 30 miles east of the city to support Iraqi policemen and national guardsmen defending a police station in Najaf's old city from waves of attack by the militiamen.

The United Nations offered to try to resolve the fighting "even at this late hour, to work out a cease-fire and peaceful solution.'' NATO sent a handful of officers, its first batch, to train government forces in Iraq.

continued......

[thedrifter]

At dusk on Saturday, Brig. Gen. Erwin F. Lessel III of the Air Force, the deputy operations director for the American command in Baghdad, said Najaf had been mainly quiet for much of the day, but that there had been exchanges of rifle and rocket fire around the cemetery. General Lessel said there was no immediate expectation of a cease-fire. "We're going to continue operations," he said. "We are not negotiating at this point." But he added that the political decisions were for Dr. Allawi, not for American commanders. "The Iraqi government has the lead," he said. "We are there in a supporting role, and we will support the government in its decisions. It was their resolve, their commitment to take this course of action, and there's no indication that they're going to stop."

United States military spokesmen have stressed that it was the Sadr fighters who turned the mosque and its vicinity into a battleground. They have said that Mr. Sadr's fighters have fired rifles, mortars and rockets from within the mosque or its roofs, as well as the cemetery, and that the marines have fired back only when fired upon.

The 11th Marine Expeditionary Force, the American unit leading the fighting, issued a statement on Saturday saying that the militiamen had stored "large weapons caches" in the cemetery and had launched numerous attacks from the site, violating a cease-fire agreement reached with American forces in May.

The statement added: "While the international laws of armed conflict normally identify sites like this as protected places, such status is forfeited if the site is used for military purposes. The actions of the Moktada militia make the cemetery a legitimate military objective, which was only assaulted due to necessity and self-defense. During the fighting, the marines made every effort to minimize collateral damage and preserve the cemetery."


Alex Berenson reported from Najaf for this article, and John F. Burns from Baghdad. Sabrina Tavernise contributed reporting from Baghdad.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/08/in...l?pagewanted=3


Ellie