U.S. says monthly Iraq death toll moving lower

37 troop deaths so far in October, lowest level in nearly 2 years

The Associated Press

Updated: 8:40 a.m. CT Oct 30, 2007

BAGHDAD - The monthly toll of U.S. service members who have died in Iraq is on track to being the lowest in nearly two years, with at least 37 troop deaths recorded as of Tuesday, but the military cautioned it’s too early to declare a long-term trend.

Iraqi civilians, meanwhile, faced more attacks on Tuesday.

At least four mortar rounds slammed into a village near Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit, killing a woman and wounding five other civilians, police said.

In Baghdad, gunmen in a speeding car tossed a hand grenade into a crowd of shoppers in eastern Baghdad, killing one person and wounding five, according to an officer in the capital. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to release the information.

At least 37 American service members have died so far in October, nearly a third from non-combat causes.

Three of those deaths were reported Tuesday, but 37 is still the lowest number since 32 troops died in March 2006 and the second-lowest since 20 troop deaths in February 2004, according to an Associated Press count based on military figures.

That would be the second consecutive drop in monthly figures, after 65 Americans died in September and 84 in August.

In all, at least 3,840 members of the U.S. military have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to the AP count.

Maj. Winfield Danielson, a military spokesman in Baghdad, pointed to a number of likely reasons for the decline, including a U.S. security push that has driven militants out of former safe havens and a change in strategy that has placed troops closer to the population. That, in turn, has caused a rise in the number of tips from residents about roadside bombs and other dangers.

He also singled out the cease-fire call by radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who in August ordered his fighters to cease attacks against U.S.-led forces and other Iraqis for up to six months. Danielson said Iraqi forces also were increasingly taking charge of security operations.

Too early to tell
He welcomed the lower numbers but stressed it was too early to say it was a downward trend.

“Have we turned a corner? It might be a little too early to say that,” he said. “It’s certainly encouraging.”

Ten of the American casualties, or nearly one-third, were listed as non-combat so far this month, compared with 19 of the 65 American troop deaths in September.

The U.S. military usually doesn’t provide details about the causes of non-combat deaths in its releases, and Danielson said they could comprise anything ranging from vehicle accidents to suicides.

He said he could not immediately discuss whether the numbers of such deaths were unusual, although he calculated that about 82 percent of the overall casualties since the war started through Oct. 19 were from hostile fire or bombings.

“Either way it’s a tragedy. We want to prevent both,” he said.

Suicide rates?
In August, the U.S. Army expressed concern that repeated deployments and tours of duty that have been stretched to 15 months were putting increasing pressure on military families and creating record suicide rates among soldiers.

There were 99 Army suicides last year — nearly half of them soldiers who hadn’t reached their 25th birthdays, about a third of them serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The 2006 total — the highest rate in 26 years of record-keeping and the largest raw figure in 15 years — came despite Army efforts to set up new programs and strengthen old ones for providing mental health care to a force stretched by the longer-than-expected conflict in Iraq and the global counterterrorism war entering its sixth year.

The current pace of civilian deaths also would put October at less than 900. The figure last month was 1,023 and for August, 1,956, according to figures compiled by the AP from hospital, police and military officials, as well as accounts from reporters and photographers. Insurgent deaths are not included. Other counts differ and some have given higher civilian death tolls.

Suspected Sunni and Shiite extremists appear to have stepped up attacks in recent weeks, however.

A suicide bomber rode his bicycle into a crowd of police recruits in Baqouba, killing at least 29 people in a province that has become a battleground among U.S. forces, al-Qaida militants and Shiite radicals.

Tribal leaders rescued
A group of Shiite and Sunni tribal leaders, meanwhile, were rescued on Monday, one day after they were kidnapped in the capital after meeting with the government to discuss how to coordinate efforts against al-Qaida in Iraq. A Sunni sheik who was among those abducted was killed.

Clashes also erupted for more than four hours Monday as American forces battled Shiite militia fighters near al-Sadr office in the predominantly Shiite northwestern Baghdad neighborhood of Hurriyah. Before the clashes, witnesses described militia fighters wielding weapons in the streets, which were blocked to outside access.

A U.S. brigadier general was wounded in a roadside bombing Monday in northern Baghdad, the military reported, but it could not be determined if that was connected to the fighting.

Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Dorko, commanding general of the Gulf Region Division, was the highest-ranking American officer to be hurt since the conflict began in March 2003. Dorko was in stable condition and was evacuated to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany; his injuries were not life-threatening.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21541364/

 

October 29, 2007, 5:00 a.m. Terrorists Prefer Hillary And they’d rather see Rudy dead than president. By Deroy Murdock Senator Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign is gaining fans, even on the West Bank. “I hope Hillary is elected in order to have the occasion to carry out all the promises she is giving regarding Iraq,” said Ala Senakreh, West Bank chief of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a Palestinian terror group. “I hope also she will maintain her husband’s policies regarding Palestine and even develop that policy. President Clinton wanted to give the Palestinians 98 percent of the West Bank territories. I hope Hillary will move a step forward and will give the Palestinians all their rights. She has the chance to save the American nation and the Americans’ life.” Senakreh and other top Islamo-fascists want Hillary in the Oval Office. These mass murders also have “gone negative.” They want GOP contender Rudy Giuliani dead. “We see Hillary and other candidates are competing on who will withdraw from Iraq and who is guilty of supporting the Iraqi invasion,” said Abu Jihad, an Al Aqsa leader in Nablus. “This is a moment of glory for the revolutionary movements in the Arab world in general and for the Iraqi resistance movement specifically.” Al Aqsa’s man in the northern West Bank, Nasser Abu Aziz, considered it “very good” that there are “voices like Hillary and others who are now attacking the Iraq invasion.” Islamic Jihad’s Abu Ayman felt “emboldened” by Clinton’s demands that America retreat from Iraq. He said: “It is clear that it is the resistance operations of the mujahideen that have brought about these calls for withdrawal.” “All Americans must vote Democrat,” insisted Jihad Jaara, an exiled Al Aqsa agent who commanded 2002’s siege of Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity. Since 1995, these terrorists’ organizations have killed an estimated 162 and wounded 368 others in Israel. Aaron Klein, an Orthodox Jew who is WorldNetDaily.com’s Jerusalem bureau chief, interviewed some three dozen leading Muslim fanatics, including those quoted here. His new book, Schmoozing with Terrorists, details these chilling encounters with violent Islamic extremists in Israel’s Palestinian territories. Klein boldly goes where few journalists have gone before. For one typical interview, he traverses an Israeli border checkpoint, takes a local Palestinian taxi to central Jenin, then waits for a white Ford Escort without license plates to whisk him to an apartment complex at the end of an alley. He then meets Islamic Jihad’s Abu Ahmed. After several minutes, Klein asks: “So, if after today’s meeting, you saw me in a café in Jerusalem that you were sent to attack, you’d still try to blow it up?” “I will not hesitate to blow you up,” Ahmed responds. “Meanwhile, and before I drive you to Hell in an operation, enjoy your tea and our hospitality.” Why do these hardened butchers have a soft spot for Hillary Clinton? Perhaps because the New York Democrat is soft on terrorism.  Clinton has vacillated on robustly interrogating terrorists in “ticking time bomb” scenarios. In a September 26 Democratic debate, she said: “It cannot be American policy, period.” This reversed Clinton’s October 2006 statement to the New York Daily News that, in case of “having to interrogate a detainee with knowledge of an imminent threat to millions of Americans,” a president could “depart from standard international practices.”  Clinton opposes the U.S. Terrorist Surveillance Program, calling it “a secret program that spies on Americans.”  Clinton voted against military tribunals for terror suspects, including al-Qaeda detainees.  Clinton has zigzagged on Iraq. In autumn 2002, she voted to authorize Operation Iraqi Freedom. In February 2005, she said, “I don’t think we should be setting a deadline” to leave Iraq. Last January 18, she told PBS: “I think the timetable still remains problematic.” But a month later, on February 17, she stated: “It’s time to say the redeployment should start in 90 days, or we will revoke authorization for this war.”  Clinton has waffled on Iran. Last February, she told the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee that “no option can be taken off the table” when confronting Tehran. This month, she declared she is “opposed to letting President Bush take any military action” against Iran without Congress’ permission.  The fact that Hillary’s foreign-affairs advisers include Bill Clinton’s national-security chief, Sandy Berger — despite his guilty plea for stealing al-Qaeda-related secrets from the National Archives, stuffing these documents down his socks, then shredding them at home with scissors — raises grave doubts about how seriously she takes national security. Meanwhile, Clinton’s campaign has yet to respond to my requests to list her counterterrorist accomplishments. These terrorists’ love for Hillary mirrors their hatred for her leading GOP rival, Rudolph W. Giuliani. “If I had the occasion to meet him I would hurt him,” said Ramadan Adassi, a West Bank Al Aqsa leader. “For the sake of the American people, Giuliani shouldn’t be elected. He is a disgusting guy, and I think Americans must think very hard about their future and their soldiers who will be killed when they come to elect their leaders.” “Giuliani doesn’t deserve to live or even to be mentioned,” said Al Aqsa’s Ala Senakreh. “He hates Palestinians and we hate him.” Al Aqsa’s Abu Hamed said Giuliani “can hate Arafat and the Palestinians, but he knows that nobody is hated in the world more than his leadership, his party, his president, and his Zionist friends.” Why the hard feelings? Perhaps because Giuliani has snipped terrorists’ bomb wires for 31 years.  Giuliani’s “On the Issues” website entry identifies “Winning the War on Terror” as his third Top-10 theme. Clinton’s third of 10, coincidentally, is “Ending the War in Iraq.” Her “Issues” page does not even mention “Terror.”  Mayor Giuliani’s NYPD officers in July 1997 arrested two Palestinians with Jordanian passports and five pipe-bombs. They were convicted of immigration fraud and plotting to blast Brooklyn’s Atlantic Avenue subway station.  Giuliani rode a No. 18 bus in Israel in March 1996, just weeks after terrorists attacked that route. He said, “I want to show that terrorism can’t succeed and that decent people stand up against terrorists.”  In 1995, Giuliani famously expelled Yasser Arafat from an invitation-only United Nations 50th anniversary celebration at Lincoln Center. As Giuliani said then: “Arafat has never been held to answer for the murders that he was implicated in.” Last October 16, Giuliani told the Republican Jewish Coalition why he booted the PLO dictator: “I knew from my own investigations of Arafat that he was a murderer and a terrorist.” Giuliani added: “This whole idea of holding him on a morally equivalent plane to the prime minister of Israel…was a terrible, terrible mistake.”  As New York City’s U.S. attorney, Giuliani attempted in 1988 to close the Palestine Liberation Organization’s U.N. observer mission under the 1987 Anti-Terrorism Act.  In 1986, Giuliani targeted an anti-Castro group responsible for two murders and 25 bombings. Giuliani secured guilty pleas from three Omega 7 members who conspired to kill Cuba’s U.N. ambassador in 1980 and blow up its Manhattan consulate in 1979.  While he was third-in-charge at President Ronald Reagan’s Justice Department, Giuliani encouraged Interpol to improve its global probes of money laundering, international fugitives, and explosives trafficking. He also worked with the FBI to protect the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics from terrorism and other threats.  Giuliani represented the Justice Department on President Gerald Ford’s Cabinet Committee to Combat Terrorism. It addressed the “increased danger of major terrorist attacks in the US requiring urgent preventive and preparatory action,” according to a declassified June 10, 1976 State Department memo. Among other things, Giuliani foresaw that the regulations that blocked CIA and FBI intelligence sharing “were hampering the U.S. government in keeping track of terrorists.” This very “wall” later kept the September 11 conspiracy’s dots fatally disconnected. “I don’t believe Americans should base their votes entirely on what the terrorists think,” Aaron Klein says from Jerusalem, “but it’s certainly telling that our enemies are rooting for the Democrats, particularly Hillary.” He adds: “The theme from all those interviewed in the book, about 35, and those I have talked with for my reporting the past few years, which adds many more, is the same: They favor the Democrats and believe the liberal ideology is their road to victory.” As the War on Terror continues, Americans should study our foes’ political preferences — and then pull the lever the other way. © 2007 Scripps Howard News Service — Deroy Murdock is a New York-based columnist with the Scripps Howard News Service and a media fellow with the Hoover Institution.

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National Review Online - http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MmYwYTFhZDU1MjllMjUwODg3MDYxMTgzNDk2OTNjODM=

Ramadi Unity Parade Marks Key Event in Iraqi Reconciliation

By David Mays
Special to American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 26, 2007 – A remarkable parade in Iraq’s Anbar province, openly attended by citizens from all walks of life, demonstrates that Iraqi reconciliation efforts are working, a coalition commander said today.

“Out in al Anbar, which you know has been a difficult area about six months ago: a total change,” Army Brig. Gen. Dave Phillips told online journalists and bloggers during a conference call from Baghdad. “When they say there is an awakening, I think that’s almost an understatement.”

Phillips, deputy commanding general for the Civilian Police Assistance Training Team, said he personally attended an event earlier this week that proved the awakening movement encouraged by Sunni sheiks is working.

“This past Tuesday, I went out to Ramadi,” the general explained. “The Iraqis came up with a concept of a Unity Day parade. Never in my wildest imagination did I ever think Ramadi would host a parade which would be led with a band playing and then also young Iraqi boy scouts marching with flags, young Iraqi girl scouts marching with flags, followed by the fire department, the national police, the regular police, ambulances. Never dreamed I would see something like that.”

Increased security in Iraqi communities allows such open celebrations to take place, Phillips explained. To that end, the general said, he and his team have helped hire more than 13,000 new Iraqi police officers just in the past two months.

“We have more people signing up than what we actually have ability to hire,” Phillips explained. “And when I say ‘we,’ I’m referring to the Iraqis.”

Tomorrow, 450 Iraqi police officers will begin 10 weeks of specialized training led by Italy’s fabled Carabinieri force, the general said.

“The national police of Iraq are structured very similar to the Carabinieri in Italy,” Phillips explained. “The Carabinieri have nationwide authority; so do the (Iraqi) national police. They can deploy anywhere in the country, and they’re a high-end police force that can transition very rapidly to almost light infantry. And so we saw the parallels there.”

In addition to the thousands of police applicants, thousands more Iraqis are volunteering to patrol their own neighborhoods as “concerned local citizens” the general said.

“Most of them bring their own weapons with them,” Phillips said. “They will work with the Iraqi police, and they will be responsible for guarding a block or a corner or some area. And they basically are auxiliaries. They help the police. They can’t make arrests, but they are there as eyes and ears on the street, and they provide information.”

So far, more than 50,000 concerned local citizens have offered their services in and around Fallujah, Muqdadiyah, and Diyala, the general said.

“Some are paid. A vast majority are not paid,” Phillips said. “They’re doing it because they want to see a difference in their community.”

It’s clear, the general said, that Iraqi citizens are making a difference in their community when they are able to openly celebrate as they did this week in Ramadi.

“When I sat there at the Ramadi parade, that evening I contacted my wife and told her that for one of the first times in a long time, I was very optimistic,” he said. “In the past, I was cautiously optimistic, but what I saw at Ramadi, to me, that was one of those days to where you realized you are witnessing something extremely special.”

(David Mays works in New Media at American Forces Information Service.)

Security Forces, Citizens Decrease Violence in Iraq

By Carmen L. Gleason

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28, 2007 – Coalition and Iraqi security forces continue to make progress against al Qaeda and other criminal elements, thanks in large part to the efforts of concerned citizens throughout the country, a senior military official in Baghdad said during a briefing today. (Video)In his first briefing since taking over as chief of Multinational Force Iraq’s communications division, Navy Rear Adm. Gregory J. Smith said the recent detention of several key leaders in al Qaeda propaganda cells has proven that coalition forces are making an impact against al Qaeda in Iraq.

Smith said four senior media cell members have been detained in the last month, including the media emir of Mosul, the former head of Mosul’s media cell who had established the al Qaeda communications hub in Baghdad, a foreign terrorist from Saudi Arabia who is proficient in video editing and special effects, and a computer graphics specialist.“Since the surge began, we’ve uncovered eight separate al Qaeda media offices and cells, have captured or killed 24 al Qaeda propaganda cell members and have discovered 23 terabytes of information,” Smith said.

The admiral said forces have learned a great deal from the detainees. “(They) have indicated that al Qaeda propaganda efforts have been degraded in recent months,” he said.He quoted one of the detainees as saying, “There is almost nothing left of (al Qaeda in Iraq).”Smith said officials believe coalition efforts have reduced al Qaeda’s ability to spread propaganda by as much as 80 percent.“Progress made against al Qaeda and other criminal elements has led to decreased attacks against coalition and Iraqi security forces and Iraqi citizens,” he said. “Attack levels are continuing a downward trend that began in June.”

Smith said the number of weekly attacks is at its lowest level since February 2006. He added that the number of improvised-explosive-device attacks is down more than 60 percent in the past four months since the beginning of Operation Phantom Thunder.

He said the number of casualties has decreased as the number of attacks continues to fall. “In September, less than one third as many citizens died from enemy initiated incidents as compared to last December,” he said. “October is on track to continue the impressive decline.”

Smith said much of the progress can be attributed to Iraqi citizens who are volunteering to actively participate in their own neighborhood’s security.

“What began as the ‘Anbar Awakening’ has now evolved into the formation of concerned local citizens groups present in almost every major neighborhood in Baghdad province.”

More than 67,000 Iraqis have signed up to assist coalition forces and the government of Iraq in securing neighborhoods. Smith said more than 17,000 who have volunteered to permanently augment security forces to operate with brigade and local officials.

Smith cited the efforts of one such group in Muqdadiya who located a suicide bomber and entered his home Oct. 26 in an effort to quell his efforts to hurt innocent citizens. Upon his discovery, the individual detonated his bomb, causing the building to collapse, injuring himself and one of the concerned local citizens.

“This prevented the loss of innocent civilian lives,” Smith said. “We commend such efforts.”

These efforts aren’t only on the part of organized groups, Smith said. Individuals are stepping up as well. Smith described how one Iraqi citizen led coalition forces to the largest weapons cache to be discovered in Iraq on Oct. 23. The cache contained 120 fully-assembled explosively formed penetrators, 600 pounds of explosives, 100 mortar rounds, 150 copper discs and 30 107 mm rockets.

Also known as explosively formed projectiles, EFPs are armor-piercing shaped charges that officials believe are making their way into Iraq from neighboring Iran for use against coalition forces.

Smith said that across Iraq, religious leaders and citizens alike are calling on fellow Iraqis to condemn violence and to unite in their efforts to rebuild the war-torn country.

“All want to see their country free of the violence brought upon them by extremists and criminals,” Smith said.

Tammimi, Jibouri tribes uphold reconciliation in Diyala

Monday, 29 October 2007

Tribal leaders from the northern Diyala River Valley swear on a reconciliation agreement following a meeting at Forward Operating Base Fallock, an Iraqi Army base, Oct. 8. Approximately 70 leaders from Muqdadiya and the surrounding areas gathered to discuss uniting in the fight against terrorism and the way ahead. Photo by U.S. Army Sgt. Serena Hayden 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs. BAGHDAD — The Tamimi and Jibouri tribes, the two largest tribes in Iraq’s Diyala province, met Oct. 24 to discuss the importance of reconciliation and signed a fellowship agreement stressing cooperation and friendship between the two tribes.The top three Shia sheiks of the Tamimi tribe and the top two Sunni sheiks of the Jibouri tribe attended the meeting, which was hosted by Diyala’s governor, Ra’ad Hameed al-Mula Jowad al-Tamimi.  Six additional prominent sheiks from throughout the province were in attendance as well to discuss how reconciliation has improved their tribal areas. Ra’ad, opening the meeting, thanked the tribes for attending and encouraged the leaders to discuss solutions rather than lay blame and focus on past grievances. “Today we have to figure out how to control the terrorists,” Ra’ad said. “How can we unite? How can we bring peace together?” “The reconciliation that will have the most impact – not only in Diyala, but around the world – is the unity between the Tamimi and Jibouri tribes,” said Col. David W. Sutherland, commander of Coalition forces in Diyala, as he explained the influence the two tribes have on countries outside of Iraq. “This is your opportunity to impact and affect the world.” While the two tribes do not have serious issues dividing them, Sheik Aeman Kerhy al-Jibouri, a key tribal leader for the Jibouri tribe, acknowledged the fact that both tribes do have faults. “There are corrupted people in both tribes,” Aeman said. “And even if they aren’t corrupted, they may be harboring terrorists.  We (the tribes) have to stop the support for the corrupt.” “We need to watch ourselves, look inside and control our men,” he said. “We reject terrorism,” said Sheik Mazen Rashed Hamed Mula Jawad al-Tamimi, a paramount sheik in the Tamimi tribe who has been the primary leader for the reconciliation movement in Diyala. “It is a disease for the world.” The fellowship agreement, signed by all leaders present, stated that they will cooperate in identifying tribal members who are corrupt or harboring terrorists, stop mortar attacks and in-fighting between Sunni and Shia villages and work honestly together on solutions toward a better future. “We declare that all killings, clashes and kidnappings will stop,” said Sheik Balassem Hamed Yehia al-Hasan al-Tamimi, Tamimi’s paramount sheik. “We want to live in peace and enable our families into the future.” The leaders will also continue to meet to further the reconciliation movement across Diyala. “We have many killed, but no matter what we do, we cannot bring them back,” said Sheik Khaled Rashed al-Hamdani, one of the observers. “All we can do is worry about and take care of the living. We do this as a weapon to stand against al-Qaeda.” “We cannot clap with one hand,” Aeman continued.  “These two great tribes will act as one – one person, one tribe.” “And when Jibouri and Tamimi clap, the world will hear. All terrorists and all militias will be like insects caught between our hands,” he said. “They will be crushed – crushed between the two hands of Jibouri and Tamimi.” (Story courtesy of United States Central Command) In other recent developments around Iraq:

Iraq Journal: The Best Police Force in Iraq

Monday, October 08, 2007

By  Michael J. Totten

Iraqi policeman on guard on roof of Al Majed station just outside the city on the banks of the Euphrates River.

Iraqi policeman on guard on roof of Al Majed station just outside the city on the banks of the Euphrates River.

RAMADI, Iraq  —  Michael J. Totten is an independent journalist reporting on the war in Iraq. Here is a portion of his latest journal entry provided exclusively for FOXNews.com.

Click here to visit Michael J. Totten’s Web site.

In late July when I visited a police station in the town of Mushadah just north of Baghdad, I worried that Iraq was doomed to become the next Gaza. As many as half the police officers, according to most of the American Military Police who worked as their trainers, were Al Qaeda sympathizers or agents. The rest were corrupt, lazy cowards, according to every American I talked to but one.

No one tried to spin Mushadah into a success story. By itself this doesn’t mean the country is doomed. How important is Mushadah anyway? I hadn’t even heard of it until the day before I went there myself. But Military Police Capt. Maryanne Naro dismayingly told me the quality of the police and their station was “average.” That means one of two things. Either Mushadah is more or less typical, or roughly half the Iraqi Police force is worse.

I had a much better experience when I embedded, so to speak, with the Iraqi police in Kirkuk. I trusted the Iraqi police in that city enough that I was willing to travel with them without any protection from the American military, even though Kirkuk is still a part of the Red Zone.

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In Kirkuk the police are Kurds. The Kurds of Iraq are the most pro-American people I have ever met in the world. They are more pro-American than Americans. There is no Kurdish insurgency, and the only Kurdish terrorist group — Ansar Al Islam, which recently changed its name to Al Qaeda in Kurdistan — is based now outside a town called Mariwan in northeastern Iran.

The Iraqi Police in Kirkuk may be corrupt, but they aren’t terrorists or insurgents. The Kurds have problems of their own, even so, and not every Arab region of Iraq is the same shade of dysfunctional.

Every complaint I heard about the Iraqi army and Iraqi police in and around Baghdad was balanced with genuine praise for the units in and just outside Ramadi, the capital of Anbar Province, which until recently was the most violent war-torn place in all of Iraq. If these Iraqis were typical — and make no mistake, they are not — the American military might have little reason to stay.

Capt. Dennison and his men took me to the Al Majed station just outside the city on the banks of the Euphrates River.

“They recently changed the name,” he said as we parked the Humvees outside. “The station used to have a tribal name, but they’re trying to move away from that now.”

The Al Majed station is so much cleaner than the one in Mushadah, I could hardly believe what I was looking at.

Order and tidiness aren’t everything, but police officers who live and work in a sloppy dump of a station don’t inspire much confidence. If they can’t clean up their own space, how can they be expected to clean up a neighborhood infested with terrorists, insurgents and criminals? They can’t, at least not in Mushadah, especially because as many as half the police themselves are terrorists, insurgents and criminals.

The Al Majed station wasn’t as clean and orderly as a hotel, but it was at least as clean and orderly as a hostel. I would have been perfectly comfortable staying there for a week. The station in Mushadah was a nasty place I couldn’t wait to get out of. Even some of the American outposts in Ramadi were disgusting.

Iraqi Lt. Col. Jumaa Abdul Rahman, the man in charge of Al Majed, invited me, Dennison, Sgt. 1st Class Kitts and 1st Sgt. Rodriguez into his office for tea. He sat behind his desk, and the four of us sat on couches that circled the room. A young boy brought us dark brown tea with sugar in small plastic cups.

As usual in the Middle East, the greeting ritual was considerate and elaborate. Hello. Welcome. How are you? Fine, I hope. Did you sleep well last night?

“Our success in this region is because of you,” Dennison said to Rahman. His statement was completely sincere. He was not being perfunctory or merely polite.

Army Vet to Challenge House Defense Appropriations Chairman John Murtha

Sunday, October 28, 2007 AP

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. —  A career Army member left the service two years short of retirement to move here and try his hand at politics by challenging longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. John Murtha.

First-time candidate William T. Russell, 45, a Republican, acknowledged that taking on a popular, 18-term congressman in the 2008 election will be “an uphill battle.”

“But it’s one that must be fought,” Russell told the Tribune-Democrat in Johnstown.

Russell plans to formally announce his candidacy within weeks. Murtha has declined comment on the challenge.

Murtha, 75, has served in the House since 1974 and is known for bringing money and jobs — especially in the defense industries — to his district in rural Pennsylvania. A decorated Vietnam veteran and Marine Reserves colonel who previously had been hawkish on war issues, Murtha has criticized the Iraq war and pushed for the troops to be brought home. He became chairman of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee last year.

Washington County Commissioner Diana Irey ran against Murtha last year, trying to capitalize on the backlash against Murtha’s views among conservatives. She was soundly beaten in the general election.

Russell, who moved from the Washington, D.C., area to Murtha’s district specifically to take on the congressman, has a long Army and Army Reserve career that includes tours of duty in the Balkans and both Iraq wars. He and his wife, Kasia, were in the Pentagon when a hijacked airliner slammed into the building on Sept. 11, 2001. Both escaped unhurt.

Murtha’s call for troop withdrawal from Iraq “is just flat-out wrong,” Russell said. Like Irey, Russell also criticized Murtha’s public allegations that unnamed U.S. soldiers committed “cold-blooded murder and war crimes” against innocent Iraqi civilians in Haditha in 2005.

A small-business owner, Russell said he wants a local economy dependent on the free market. But he acknowledges some jobs may be lost if government contracts disappear.

It is not known whether Russell will have GOP challengers in the primary. Irey said she is focused on seeking re-election as commissioner.

Honoring Heroes at the Holidays Tour

November 26 - December 14
Join Move America Forward for the “Honoring Heroes at the Holidays Tour” this November 26th - December 14th as we cross this nation holding pro-troop events to honor and salute the men and women of the U.S. military who will be thousands of miles away from their homes and families during this holiday season. (You can see the tentative itinerary for this national tour - HERE.

As part of the national pro-troop tour we will be collecting 100,000 Christmas and Hanukah cards to be delivered directly to our military men and women who will be stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan during the holiday season.

You can make your own cards, or purchase holiday greeting cards, and put messages of support for our troops inside the card. Get your kids involved, and invite local schools to participate as well!

On the outside envelope be sure to write either: “Christmas Card for Our Troops” or “Hanukah Card for Our Troops” or “Holiday Card for Our Troops” (for those who are not religious) so we can be sure the cards are properly distributed to our military men and women serving overseas.

Mail the cards to our headquarters:

Move America Forward
ATTN: Holiday Card Program
770 L Street - #1400
Sacramento, CA 95814

Don’t forget, we’re also packaging and sending care packages for our troops to receive in time for Thanksgiving! You can sponsor care packages for our troops - HERE

________________________

Watch the Promotional Video for the Tour Here
________________________

View the Tentative Route/Itinerary - HERE

The darkness has become pitch black” - Osama bin Laden on Iraq situation

By Bill RoggioOctober 24, 2007 6:19 PM

Banner announcing Osama bin Laden’s audiotape. Click image to view animated version.

Recent report from US commanders in Iraq have stated al Qaeda in Iraq has been set back by a combination of the latest offensive and the willingness of local Iraqis to turn on the terror group. Based Osama bin Laden’s latest audiotape, al Qaeda central command agrees that the fight against the US and the Iraqi government is not going well.

A clearer picture of Osama bin Laden’s view on the state of jihad in Iraq emerges after the release of the full transcript of Osama bin Laden’s latest audiotape, Not only does bin Laden admit errors in the Iraqi leader’s ability to unite the tribes and Sunni insurgent groups, he views the situation in Iraq as dire for al Qaeda. Bin Laden accuses his foot soldier of “negligence” for failing to properly employ IEDs, laments the unwillingness of Iraqis who do not wish to attack their brothers in the police and army, and closes his statement by saying “the darkness [in Iraq] has become pitch black.”

Al Qaeda, IEDs, and “negligence”

Bin Laden addresses a tactical failure of al Qaeda in Iraq’s IED cells. He clearly is unhappy with their performance, and indicated the failure to employ IEDs efficiently against U.S. forces is due to “negligence.” He is also concerned about the infiltration of Iraqi and American spies.

I tell my brothers: beware of your enemies, especially the hypocrites who infiltrate your ranks to stir up strife among the Mujahid groups, and refer such people to the judiciary. And you must check and verify, and avert the Hudood through doubts. You must protect your secrets and excel in your actions, for among the things which sadden the Muslims and the delight the unbelievers is the hindering of some combat operations against the enemy because of negligence in any of the stages of preparation for the operation, whether it be reconnaissance of the target, training, integrity, and suitability of weapons and ammunition, quality of the explosive device or other such arrangements. And when you lay a mine, do it right, and don’t leave so much as one wounded American soldier or spy.

US and Iraqi Security Forces have specifically focused on targeting IED and suicide bomb cells over the course of the summer. In some cases, IED cells have been captured wholesale by conventional and special forces and in other cases IED emplacers have been killed in groups of five to 15 while attempting to plant their weapons by Coalition aircraft. In Anbar province, al Qaeda in Iraq has failed to kill a single US serviceman by IED since September 10. It seems bin Laden is acutely aware of this.

Osama bin Laden is often portrayed as a spiritual leader and figurehead detached from day-to-day operations, but this recent speech merely reinforces what we already know about him. An engineer by training, bin Laden is very interested in the planning and execution of attacks and operations. The 9/11 Commission Report stated bin Laden was personally involved in reviewing the operational attack plans for the embassy bombings, the Cole, and 9/11. He immerses himself in the technical details and the tactics used by his operators, and keeps apprised of the situation on the battlefields.

A split with the insurgency over attacking the Iraqi Security Forces

While bin Laden repeatedly admonishes his leaders for failing to build the relationships with Sunni tribal groups and allied insurgent groups, he continues to push attacks on Iraqi police and soldiers. This attitude has pitted some of the more nationalist Sunni groups away from al Qaeda, as they loath to attack their own countrymen, instead viewing the US and Coalition forces as the enemy.

Bin Laden tells the Iraqi people to “beware of … those in the land of the Two Sanctuaries in particular, who forbid the Mujahideen from fighting the army and police of the traitors – like al-Alawi, al-Jafari and al-Maliki - although they know that they are tools of the American occupation helping it to kill the people of Islam which is obvious apostasy on the part of the soldiers.”

The violent attacks against the Iraqi Security Forces, particularly in Anbar province during the winter and spring of 2007, were accompanied by strikes against the families and tribes which supported the establishment police and army units. Mishan al-Jabouri, a leader in the Islamic Army in Iraq and the proprietor of Al Zawraa, an insurgent TV channel, attacked al Qaeda in Iraq for intentionally targeting members of the Iraqi Army and police forces. Al-Jabouri and other Sunni insurgents believed those joining the security forces were acting in the best interest of Iraqis.

Contempt for the Saudi king

In the next paragraph, bin Laden shows his contempt for Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, who he describes as “the idol-king of Riyadh” and “the biggest promoter of the American-Zionist project in the region.”

And worst of all is that these men of knowledge consider the idol-king of Riyadh to be guardian of the Muslims’ affair, and call on the Muslims to rally around him, although they know that he is the biggest promoter of the American-Zionist project in the region, and is one of those who called on it to invade Iraq. These, “they are the enemies, so beware of them. Allah curse them, how they lie!” (63:4)

Earlier in the speech, bin Laden chastises Abdullah for backing the deployment of African peacekeepers to Darfur in Sudan. He refer to Abdullah as “the governor of Riyadh” who “again sought to convince the Sudanese president, this time to implement the demands of the United Atheist Nations to allow the entrance of Crusader forces to Darfur.” Bin Laden described the Darfur peacekeeping mission as “a brazen occupation” and stated “only an infidel apostate seeks it or agrees to it.”

Darkness. Where are the mujahideen?

While bin Laden clearly sees the situation in Iraq as dire — he said “the darkness has become pitch black” — he holds out hope that the vanguard fighters of al Qaeda can hold the line until reinforcements arrive.

In closing, I tell our people in Iraq, the patient ones garrisoned on the first line of the religion and sanctities of the Muslims: the malice has increased and the darkness has become pitch black, and with the likes of you, nations reinforce themselves and climb summits.

He calls on Muslims of the Middle East to rejoin the fight, challenging their honor and willingness to fight when they are needed.

So where are those who prefer the religion to the lives of themselves and their children? Where are the people of Tawheed and those who topple the banner of unbelief and polytheism? Where are those who find torture to be pleasant and don’t fear the blows? Where are those who find difficulty to be easy and bitterness to be sweet, because they are certain that the fire of Hell is much hotter? Where are those who go out to fight the Romans, as on the day of Tabuk? Where are those who pledge to fight to the death, as on the day of Yarmuk? Where are the soldiers of the Levant and the reinforcements of Yemen? Where are the knights of the Quiver (Egypt) and the lions of the Hijaz (western Saudi Arabia) and al-Yamamah (central Saudi Arabia)? Come and aid your brothers in Mesopotamia and relieve them by coordinating with them by way of dependable guides.

An outside view

Al Qaeda, via As Sahab Media, its propaganda arm, resists the interpretation of bin Laden’s speech. As Sahab attacked Al Jazeera for “counterfeiting” the facts of his speech. As Sahab posted the video online at the Ekhlaas forum, along with the following note in English: “Note: We are publishing the whole speech of Shiekh Osama Bin Laden After the tremendous amount of Counterfeiting of the facts and altering the purposes and objectives of the Speech by AL-Jazeerah Satellite channel which ignored all the pillars of honor professional media.”

Abdel Bari Atwan, the editor of al-Quds al-Arabi who interviewed bin Laden in 1996, disagrees. Atwan stated in a published editorial that this is the first time al Qaeda admitted errors and was seeking to rectify the situation in Iraq. He noted al Qaeda’s zeal in enforcing its radical ideology on Sunni Iraqis turned the majority of Sunnis against the terror group.

“Launching diatribes against others and imposing a particular theological school of thought on everyone, has allowed al-Qaeda’s enemies to gain an advantage,” Atwan said. “In particular, it’s helped the Americans to win the trust of certain tribal leaders. In this way, for the Iraqis the enemy has become al-Qaeda and not the occupying forces.”

In Ramadi, “the city that al Qaeda leaders once declared the seat of a new Islamic caliphate and capital of the Iraqi insurgency,” the Anbar Awakening held a march honoring Sheik Sattar Abu Risha, the leader of the movement who was slain by al Qaeda 40 days ago. The parade lasted four two hours and Iraqi government officials were in attendance. There were no attacks on the procession.

“Al-Qaeda never wanted to see the sons of Anbar to unite and form security forces. Now I think we have broken their back by building the police and security force,” said Sheik Ahmed Abu Risha, the brother of Sattar who succeeded him as the leader of the Anbar Awakening. “Let them come forward and show their faces…. Let them come out, we will fight them.”
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Iraqi Army runs ’solo’ medical operation

Oct 24, 2007
BY Spc. Angel D. Martinez, 113th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

Iraqi mothers stand in line with their children waiting for medical aid and medicines at a temporary clinic set up at a school in Baghdad’s Bakariya Village Oct. 22. Photo by Spc. Angel D. Martinez, 113th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

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CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq - There was a long line of black headcovers, children running around unworried, a medical crew ready to take care of their own and military men providing security as Iraqi Army troops turned a school in Baghdad’s Bakariya Village into a temporary medical clinic Oct. 22.

Soldiers from the Iraqi Army, 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, conducted the medical operation without any assistance from their U.S. counterparts, making this the first medical operation conducted on their own since they started working with American troops.

“Today was an IA-ran medical operation. They provided the doctors, and all we were doing was overseeing it,” said Sgt. 1st Class James Rundberg, a Baltimore, N.Y., native and a scout platoon sergeant for the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment. “We were helping them out making sure they had security in the site, ensuring that they were searching the people as they were coming in, and making sure that everything was run in an orderly fashion.”

Rundberg explained that medical operations are conducted to help people who do not have the economic resources or medical assistance nearby, like hospitals or clinics.

“This right here is a land-mark event,” said the New Orleans native Capt. Randy Lavender, a medical platoon leader. “Normally, we would be organizing these ourselves, and we ask the Iraqis for help. But in this case, they came to us. They planned it for themselves, and they wanted this for the people of Bakariya.”

Operations like these help build strong relations between the Coalition Forces and the residents.

“When we first got here it was real quiet. People didn’t really trust us or even the IA in the area,” said Rundberg. “Now, the kids are interacting with us more, even the adults come out and let us know if they have seen or heard anything bad in the area.”

The Bakariya Village has enjoyed progress since the Iraqi Army and U.S. troops have been working together in the area.

“Since we’ve been in that area, they have a market area that has opened up, a soccer field and trash collection areas,” said Rundberg.