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Army Considers Longer Combat Tour Again
By ANNE FLAHERTY - Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON(AP) The Army is considering whether it will have to extend the combat tours of troops in Iraq if President Bush opts to maintain the recent buildup of forces through spring 2008.

Acting Army Secretary Pete Geren testified Tuesday that the service is reviewing other options, including relying more heavily on Army reservists or Navy and Air Force personnel, so as not to put more pressure on a stretched active-duty force.

Most soldiers spend 15 months in combat with a guaranteed 12 months home, a rotation plan that already has infuriated Democrats because it exceeds the service's goal of giving troops equal time home as in combat. In coming weeks, the Senate will vote on a proposal by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., that would restrict deployments.

"It's too early to look into the next year, but for the Army we have to begin to plan," Geren told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "We have to look into our options."

Gen. David Petraeus, Iraq war commander, suggested Sunday that conditions on the ground might not be stable enough by September to justify a drop in force levels, and he predicted that stabilizing Iraq could take a decade. Earlier this year, Bush ordered the deployment of some 30,000 additional troops as part of a massive U.S.-led security push around Baghdad and the western Anbar province.

There are about 156,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

When asked by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., whether maintaining the force buildup would affect soldiers' 15-month combat schedules, Geren said he was unsure and cited "numerous options" available, including a "different utilization of the Guard and Reserve" and relying on the other services for help.

"We're committed to filling the requirements that the combatant commander asks," Geren said. "We have been able to do so up until now, and we will continue to do so."

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Iraq is American Revolution in reverse

   As our invasion of Iraq drags on, year after year and death after death, there has been a reasonable tendency to compare this fiasco to our Vietnam fiasco, strongly suggesting that people from Texas (Lyndon Johnson, George Bush) are incapable of recognizing a bloody quagmire while wading about in it, probably because it is not their blood.
   But allowing for role reversal, there is also a significant similarity to what went on in the late 1700s, when the British were the invading force and the rebelling American colonists were our heroes, fighting for their own form of government. As with Iraq, where a significant percentage of the population, but not all, wants a government other than that being imposed by the invader, a significant percentage of the colonists, but not all, wanted a government other than that imposed by the invader. As in Iraq, where extremists are willing to die for what they believe, American colonists were willing to die for what they believed. Probably the colonial Tories and the English regarded the American revolutionaries as much extremists as we consider the self-sacrificing Muslims to be extremists now. Throughout history, one man’s hero is another man’s nut case.
   As with the American Revolution, wherein the greatest military power of that time was defeated by the courage and determination of a weaker opponent, the greatest military power of this time has been defeated by the courage and determination of a weaker opponent in Vietnam and Iraq.
   We taught the lesson in the 1700s. Why don’t we understand it today?
   C.J. GUARE
   Scotia

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Exhausting the troops  

  First published: Saturday, June 23, 2007

By now it is well known that the Bush administration has ill served U.S. troops in Iraq in many ways. The invasion force was too few in number to secure the country once Saddam Hussein was overthrown, exposing American forces to the lawlessness that preceded the insurgency. Unarmored Humvees left soldiers vulnerable to roadside bombs. Equipment wore out quickly under desert conditions. Morale sagged as the White House continually asked more of the troops by extending their deployments. And government medical care for returning soldiers was exposed in the press as inadequate, sometimes scandalously so.
But no price seems too high for this administration. According to a Tuesday article in USA Today, U.S. commanders in Iraq have rejected the recommendation of Army psychologists that combat troops be given one month off the front lines for every three months in combat.

Why?

The Army psychologists, Col. Carl Castro and Maj. Dennis McGurk, note that the one-month reprieve is similar to what was accorded to GIs during World War II. Yet U.S. commanders in Iraq have proposed an alternative: two or three days of recovery inside fortified areas after eight days under fire.

Brig. Gen. Joseph Anderson bluntly asserts that "we would never get the job done of securing" Baghdad if "we went out for three months" and came back for one month of recovery. The ground forces commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, dismisses comparisons to World War II. In Iraq, he says, U.S. troops "are out there consistently every single day. So you have to be mentally and physically tough."

But no soldier is superhuman. As the psychologists warn, 30 percent of troops in Iraq already have signs of anxiety, depression or acute stress. To compound the stress through extended tours of duty, and no significant relief from combat, will only put more troops at risk of mental health problems. American troops have never spent as much time on the front lines, says Col. Castro, including Vietnam and World War II.

The harsh truth is that there are still too few troops in Iraq to allow a one-month recovery period, even with the surge of 28,000 soldiers to secure Baghdad. This war has always asked too much of too few on the front lines, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who has a record for speaking his mind, ought to come out and say so.

We're waiting.

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Throughout history, one man’s hero is another man’s nut case.

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McNULTY VOTES AGAINST IRAQ WAR FUNDING BILL

March 23, 2007 Contact:  Lisa Blumenstock, Press Secretary
  
McNULTY VOTES AGAINST IRAQ WAR FUNDING BILL

(Washington, DC): Congressman Michael R. McNulty today voted against the supplemental appropriations bill to continue funding the War in Iraq. He issued the following statement:

In the spring of 1970, during my first term as Town Supervisor of Green Island, I testified against the War in Vietnam at a Congressional Field Hearing in Schenectady, New York.

Several months after that testimony, my brother, HM3 William F. McNulty, a Navy Medic, was killed in Quang Nam Province.

I have thought -- many times since then -- that if President Nixon had listened to the voices of reason back then, my brother Bill might still be alive.

As a Member of Congress today, I believe that the Iraq War will eventually be recorded as one of the biggest blunders in the history of warfare.

In October of 2002, I made a huge mistake in voting to give this President the authority to take military action in Iraq. I will not compound that error by voting to authorize this war's continuation.

On the contrary, I will do all that is within my power to end this war, to bring our troops home, and to spare other families the pain that the McNulty family has endured every day since August 9th, 1970.

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27 suspected terrorists captured in raids      
Sunday, 01 July 2007  

Maj. Ehsan Moddafar Uraby, the planning officer of 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 11th Iraqi Army Division shakes hands with Radcliff, Ky., native U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jeff Broadwater, the commander of 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Stewart, Ga., after receiving a combat patch as a symbol of brotherhood at Combat Outpost War Eagle June 26. The Soldiers, operating in Baghdad with the 2nd BCT, 82nd Airborne Div., and their Iraqi counterparts planned a mission to clear Hayy Al Wazariyah industrial park in the Adhamiyah District of Baghdad. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Leith Edgar, 7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.BAGHDAD — Coalition forces captured 27 suspected terrorists, including an alleged terrorist with ties to Iranian elements, during missions conducted across Iraq Friday as Operation Phantom Thunder continues, U.S. military officials reported.
Coalition forces detained a suspected secret cell terrorist Friday in Baghdad’s Sadr City section. It is believed the suspected terrorist has close ties to Iranian terror networks and is responsible for numerous attacks on Iraqi civilians as well as on Iraqi and Coalition forces in Baghdad.

The detainee is also suspected of recruiting Iraqis to fill the ranks of Iranian terror groups operating in Iraq, officials said.

“Coalition troops continue to target the terrorists who bring explosively formed penetrators and other aid into Iraq,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a Multi-National Force-Iraq spokesperson. “We remain committed to dismantling terror networks that seek to kill innocent Iraqis and Coalition forces.”

Explosively formed penetrators are sophisticated roadside bombs designed to penetrate armored vehicles.

This and other ongoing military operations are part of an overall offensive against insurgents in Iraq called Operation Phantom Thunder, which began June 15, once all “surge” troops were in place.

Also Friday, Coalition troops killed three terrorists and detained 26 others during a series of operations targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq senior leaders and terrorist-bomb networks.

Coalition troops disrupted the al-Qaeda in Iraq senior leader network during a raid on several buildings east of Fallujah. Three terrorists were killed and 16 suspects were detained.

In Anbar province Friday, Coalition forces raided a suspected terrorist haven northeast of Karmah. The ground forces captured four individuals at the scene, including one man who allegedly has ties to a senior al-Qaeda leader who was killed during a May 1 Coalition operation.

Just south of Baghdad, Coalition forces Friday raided a building in search of a suspected agent for a leader in the Baghdad vehicle-bomb network. The ground forces detained two suspected terrorists and moved to a second building, where they found and captured the suspected agent.

Also Friday, Coalition troops captured a close associate of the suspected military commander for al-Qaeda forces in the Tarmiyah area during a raid west of the town. And in Mosul Friday, Coalition forces detained two suspected terrorists while targeting the alleged al-Qaeda emir in Kirkuk, believed to be responsible for issuing anti-coalition edicts.

(Compiled from Multi-National Force-Iraq and Multi-National Corps-Iraq news releases.)

In other developments throughout Iraq:

•           Multi-National Division-Baghdad attack helicopter crews killed one insurgent and wounded another in southern Baghdad June 29.

•           A combined Iraqi-Coalition Forces operation netted 41 individuals on the Iraqi army’s persons of interest list June 27.

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Coalition, Iraqi troops fight terrorists            
Saturday, 30 June 2007

U.S. Army Spc. Raymond Henriquez and other Soldiers with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, get ready for a combined cordon-and-search with the Iraqi police in the West Rashid district of Baghdad, Iraq, June 26, 2007. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Tierney Nowland.BAGHDAD — Americans still face a tough fight inside Baghdad, but the trend lines are improving, the commander of Multi-National Division-Baghdad said Friday. U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Joseph F. Fil Jr., speaking from Iraq, told Pentagon reporters that the overall trend lines in the city are positive. “The number of attacks, first of all, has come down,” he said. “The effect of those attacks has come down significantly.”One example is in car bombs. While the number of car bomb attacks has remained relatively constant since November 2006, the effects of those attacks have dropped.“That's due to safe neighborhoods that have been created, the safe markets that have been created,” he said. Division and Iraqi forces have worked hard to target car-bomb cells, and the cells used to command and control the bombers, he said.The number of murders in Baghdad also has dropped, he said. There have been five murders in two days and while any murder is unfortunate, “the numbers are way lower than they were when we started this,” Fil said.The division is also working to reconcile sectarian groups and bring more people under the Iraqi government umbrella.“We are in reconciliation with many of the tribes both inside and outside of Baghdad, and it is not a matter of arming militias,” he said. “In fact, these tribes are already well armed. What we are doing, though, is embarking in a dialogue with them, and some of them who have previously been fighting us have come to us as we have spoken with them, and they want to fight with us.”Fil said Iraqis “are tired of al Qaeda and the influence of al Qaeda in their tribes and in their neighborhoods, and they want them cleaned out.”The groups want the alliance, and Fil said it is a positive development. However, officials remain cautious. “We are working closely with the government of Iraq and the Iraqi security forces,” he said.Any who volunteer to work with the division must sign an oath of allegiance to the nation of Iraq. “They have to renounce violence,” he said. “If we do embark upon organizing them into groups, it has to be done under the auspices of either the Ministry of Defense or the Ministry of Interior.”The division is working with a group of 1,500 men in the Abu Ghraib area who want to serve in the security forces of Iraq. They are very carefully vetted with tribal leadership, and then they are brought before an Interior Ministry panel for the interview process.“So it's a deliberate program,” Fil said. “I think it's got huge promise. We're very excited about it. It is not just on tribes, it's also inside the city in some of the neighborhoods. We'd like to do the same thing with some of the Shiia groups as well, both on the east and west side of the rivers.”(Story by Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service.)In other developments throughout Iraq:•           Coalition Forces detained one suspected Secret Cell terrorist before dawn on Friday in Sadr City.  It is believed that the suspected terrorist has close ties to Iranian terror networks. •           Iraqi Security Forces and Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers entered two mosques in the Rashid District of the Iraqi capital June 27-28 and uncovered two weapons caches.

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Bush resists calls to set date for troop withdrawal
Former war supporter says it’s time for a change
BY DAVID ESPO The Associated Press

   WASHINGTON — President Bush threatened to veto legislation setting a date for a troop withdrawal from Iraq on Tuesday despite growing bipartisan calls in Congress for an end to U.S. participation in the war and sharp criticism of the Iraqi government.
   As the Senate opened a new debate on the conflict, one of the president’s staunchest supporters bluntly said the administration had pursued the wrong policy for years after toppling Saddam Hussein. “The strategy we had before was not the right strategy,” said Sen. Christopher Bond, R-Mo. “We should have had a counterinsurgency strategy.”
   Asked later who bore responsibility for the error, Bond said, “Ultimately, obviously, the president.”
   Democrats said Bush’s newest strategy was hardly a success, either.
   Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said that since Bush ordered thousands more soldiers to Iraq last winter, “we’ve lost more than 600 troops, costing the American taxpayers more than $60 billion. The escalation has done nothing to bring the Iraqi government together. It’s done absolutely nothing to lessen the violence in Iraq.”
   Two Democrats, Sens. Carl Levin of Michigan and Jack Reed of Rhode Island, back legislation to require a troop withdrawal to begin within 120 days and be completed by the end of April 2008.
   A vote is expected next week, and Reid said nearly all Democrats support the proposal. Republican Gordon Smith of Oregon is a supporter as well, and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, told reporters she may switch her position and vote for it, too.
   House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would call for a vote on a similar measure by week’s end.
   The Senate proposal appears to be short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a threatened Republican filibuster. Bush’s veto threat applied to any legislation that sets an arbitrary date for withdrawal “without regard to conditions on the ground or the recommendations of commanders.”
   “Setting a date for withdrawal is equivalent to setting a date for failure,” he said in a written statement that employed terms similar to those he used earlier in the year when he vetoed legislation that set a target date for a withdrawal.
   In a further sign of eroding GOP support, Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., called for troops to come home next year.
   “Simply put, our troops have been doing a great job but the Iraqi government has not,” she said. “Our commitment in Iraq is not indefinite, nor should the Iraqi government perceive it to be. It is my firm hope and belief that we can start bringing our troops home in 2008.”
   Also expected to come to a vote in the next two weeks is a plan to put into law recommendations from last winter’s report from the bipartisan Iraq Study Group.
   The group called for removing all combat brigades not needed for training, force protection and counterterrorism by March 31, 2008.
   In an ominous sign for the White House, six Republicans have signaled support for the proposal, along with six Democrats.
   Despite a steady procession of Republicans calling for a change in course, several GOP lawmakers warned against a precipitous withdrawal.
   “I believe that our military in cooperation with our Iraqi security forces are making progress in a number of areas,” said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who recently returned from his sixth trip to the region. The GOP presidential candidate said he noted a dramatic drop in attacks in Ramadi in the western Anbar province.
   Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who accompanied McCain to Iraq, also cited progress since Gen. David Petraeus took command several months ago and the additional troops began arriving.
   The Iraqis are “rejecting al-Qaida at every turn. I don’t want the Congress to be the cavalry for al-Qaida,” he said.
   Graham was also part of a group of senators who met privately during the day with Stephen Hadley, the president’s national security adviser, and Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, a top adviser on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The senator said afterward that the White House is looking at new ways to hasten progress in two primary areas: destroying al-Qaida in Iraq and forcing the U.S.-backed government in Baghdad to make political progress.

Quoted from bumblethru

Perhaps we would all know what Bush and the reps are REALLY doing about this war and their motives...IF ONLY the slanted media would print it!!! All we hear and read about is what the dems are against and not in favor of. Well where is the 'fair and balanced'...'let you decide'....media? Only one place I know of and that is Fox and A.M. radio!

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Iraq leader lambastes U.S. critics Clinton, other Democrats told to ‘come to their senses’
BY QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA The Associated Press

   BAGHDAD — Iraq’s embattled prime minister lashed out at American critics Sunday, saying Sen. Hillary Clinton and other Democrats who have called for his ouster should “come to their senses” and stop treating Iraq like “one of their villages.”
   Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki also lambasted the U.S. military for raids in Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad, adding new strains ahead of next month’s showdown in Washington over the future of the U.S. mission.
   The grim combination of ongoing violence and political deadlock have increased frustration in both Washington and Baghdad, with American lawmakers increasingly critical of al-Maliki’s performance and Iraqi leaders growing weary of what they consider unfair U.S. criticism.
   Clinton and Sen. Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, have called for al-Maliki to be replaced.
   “There are American officials who consider Iraq as if it were one of their villages, for example Hillary Clinton and Carl Levin. They should come to their senses,” al-Maliki said at a news conference.
   Al-Maliki denounced recent U.S. military actions in the Baghdad Shiite neighborhoods of Shula and Sadr City that according to the Iraqis resulted in civilian deaths.
   “Concerning American raids on Shula and Sadr City, there were big mistakes committed in these operations. The terrorist himself should be targeted, not his family,” al-Maliki said. “We will not allow the detaining of innocent people.”
   Two nights ago, the U.S. military clashed with Shiite gunmen in Shula after they attacked an American patrol. The United States said eight “terrorists” were killed, but some Iraqis reported civilians were among the dead and injured.
   U.S. forces also are routinely raiding Shiite militiamen in Sadr City, often calling in helicopter fire.
   Al-Maliki launched his verbal counteroffensive about two weeks before the American commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker are due in Washington to report to Congress on progress in Iraq since the introduction of 30,000 more American troops.
   The presence of those reinforcements has done little to bring about political reconciliation among Iraq’s Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds — the key to lasting stability.
   In the latest in a series of political crisis meetings, Iraq’s top leaders failed again Sunday to persuade the main Sunni bloc to join a new alliance of Shiites and Kurds to break the political impasse.
   This month’s decision by the Sunnis’ Iraqi Accordance Front to bolt the al-Maliki government plunged the country into a political crisis.
   During the meeting, attended by Crocker, the leaders endorsed holding provincial elections, releasing prisoners held without charge and changing the law preventing many former members of Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party from holding government jobs and elected offi ce.
   White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore hailed the agreement as an “important symbol” of the commitment “to work together for the benefit of all Iraqis.”
   But details were left to a committee to hash out and it was far from certain that those steps would soon be implemented. Iraq’s oil law, for example, has been in the hands of a constitutional committee for months and has not emerged in parliament for a vote.
   During his press conference, the Shiite prime minister said a negative report by Petraeus would not cause him to change course, although he said he expected that the U.S. general would “be supportive of the government and will disappoint the politicians who are relying on it” to be negative.
   Nevertheless, al-Maliki appeared stung by the recent series of critical statements about his government, including one from President Bush, who said he was frustrated that al-Maliki had failed to make progress on political benchmarks. Crocker has said the lack of movement had been “highly disappointing.”
   Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said Sunday that al-Maliki’s government “is still pretty much a disaster” despite some progress made.
   “It’s a democratically elected government, and I don’t think we can dictate to them,” McConnell said. Nonetheless, McConnell said, senators from both parties agree the Shiite prime minister has been “a huge disappointment.”

Quoted from Shadow

Regardless of where you stand on the issue of the U.S.
           involvement in Iraq , here is a sobering statistic:
           There has been a monthly average of 160,000 troops in the Iraq
           theatre of operations during the last 22 months, and a total of
           2,867 deaths. That gives a firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000
           soldiers.
           The firearm death rate in Washington D.C. is 80.6 per 100,000
           persons for the same period.
           That means that you are about 25% more likely to be shot and
           killed in the U.S. Capital than you are in Iraq

           Conclusion: The U.S. should pull out of Washington

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Katie and George’s Iraq publicity tour
Susan Estrich
Susan Estrich is a nationally syndicated columnist.

   I can only wonder what all the people who were criticizing Katie Couric last week for what they called a stunt to boost ratings are saying now that President Bush did his own Labor Day cameo in Iraq. Of course, his trip had nothing to do with ratings, right? Wrong. And as for the burden on the military, protecting a president is easier than protecting a celebrity anchor, right? Wrong. When a privately employed news anchor goes to Iraq to report, the primary responsibility for protecting her falls on her employers and the security types they employ. When the president, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State show up, it’s the military’s job to make sure nothing goes wrong, which has to mean deploying forces to protect them when those troops might otherwise be doing something that was actually useful for the war effort.
   The president’s reason to go to Iraq was entirely theatrical. He could have had the same conversations by phone. A few hours isn’t enough to actually see, do or accomplish anything except create images for television consumption. Which is precisely what the president did, with a little help from the much-criticized Ms. Couric.
   It worked because how could it not? Every newspaper in the country is sporting front-page pictures of the president and headlines of him hinting that troop withdrawals are possible in the future. That is, of course, what the majority of the country wants. But while the public wants troop reductions because we’ve come to recognize that this is a war we can’t win or, to put it another way, a war we’re losing the president suggested that it was the product of our success. He was there to declare victory, not acknowledge defeat. Talk about turning the world upside down.
   How do you turn defeat into victory? This is how: You go to a remote air base in a province where security has improved slightly and ignore the violence everywhere else. You don’t mention that it’s a lot easier to get the losers in a civil war (the Sunnis in Anbar, which is where the president went) to cooperate than it is to convince the winners, the Shiites, who control most of the country. You talk about killings being down instead of the number of Iraqis fleeing for their lives being up. You talk about prospects for peace between Sunnis and Shiites instead of the fact that in addition to Sunni-Shiite violence, we now have an increasing number of incidents of Shiites killing each other. And perhaps most important since everyone acknowledges that there is no military solution to the problem in Iraq without political progress, and not a single benchmark for political progress has been met, and the Iraqi legislature has spent almost as much time on vacation as George Bush, and not a single piece of legislation that they were supposed to enact and expected to enact has in fact been enacted you turn legislating into a game of horseshoes, where close is good enough.
   Of course, legislation is not horseshoes. You pass a bill or you don’t. It’s the law or it isn’t. The president didn’t win on immigration reform because he almost won he lost. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s comments notwithstanding, making progress on legislation is essentially a meaningless concept (particularly for people on vacation). They didn’t pass anything. It doesn’t really matter if you fail by a little or a lot if you’ve failed completely. Turning benchmarks into mini-benchmarks, when they weren’t very big to begin with, doesn’t make lemons into lemonade.
   Secret trips are always great drama for the press. The president sneaks out a side door. The reporters are sworn to secrecy. Everybody gets to be part of a great adventure. But when it’s over, what have you accomplished? If I had to guess, Bush’s star turn in Iraq may help Katie’s ratings more than his own. And it leaves Katie’s critics without a leg to stand on.  

Quoted from Shadow

She's smiling all the way to the bank.

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Bin Laden urges Americans to convert  
  
By LEE KEATH, Associated Press
Friday, September 7, 2007

CAIRO, Egypt -- Osama bin Laden appeared for the first time in three years in a video Friday released ahead of the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, telling Americans they should convert to Islam if they want the war in Iraq to end.
  
American officials said the U.S. government had obtained a copy even though the video had not been posted yet by al-Qaida -- and intelligence agencies were studying the video to determine whether it was authentic and looking for clues about bin Laden's health.

The 30-minute video was obtained by the SITE Institute, a Washington-based group that monitors terrorist messages, and provided to the Associated Press.

The footage gives a rare look at the al-Qaida leader, who has likely avoided appearing in videos as a security measure. His emergence comes at a time when terrorism experts believe his terror network is regrouping in the lawless Pakistan-Afghanistan border region -- and it underlines the U.S. failure to catch him.

In the video, a short excerpt of which was broadcast to the Arab world by Al-Jazeera television, bin Laden wears a white robe, a white circular cap and a beige cloak seated behind a table while reading an address to the American people from papers in front of him.

His trimmed beard is shorter than in his last video, in 2004, and is fully black -- apparently dyed, since in past videos it was mostly gray. He speaks softly, as he usually does, and has dark bags under his eyes, but his appearance dispelled rumors that he had died.

U.S. President George W. Bush made the rare move of speaking about an al-Qaida video. The tape is "a reminder about the dangerous world in which we live, he told reporters on the sidelines of a summit of Pacific Rim nations in Sydney, Australia.

"It's important that we show resolve and determination to protect ourselves, deny al-Qaida safe haven and support young democracies," Bush said.

In the video, Bin Laden makes no overt threats and does not directly call for attacks.

Instead, he addresses Americans, lecturing them on the failures of their leaders to stop the war in Iraq despite growing public opposition in the U.S.

He says there were two solutions to stopping the Iraq war. "One is from our side, and it is to escalate the fighting and killing against you. This is our duty, and our brothers are carrying it out," bin Laden said.

"The second solution is from your side. ... I invite you to embrace Islam," he said.

One result of that, bin Laden said, would be an end to the Iraq war. He said "warmongering owners of the major corporations" would rush to appease voters who showed they are looking for an alternative, "and this alternative is Islam."

He derided Bush, saying events in Iraq have gotten "out of control" and the American leader "is like the one who plows and sows the sea: He harvests nothing but failure."

Bin Laden frequently criticized capitalism, calling its leaders the real terrorists and threats to human freedom.

"This is why I tell you: as you liberated yourselves before from the slavery of monks, kings and feudalism, you should liberate yourselves from the deception, shackles and attrition of the capitalist system," he said.

Bin Laden's attacks in the video on capitalism, multinational corporations and globalization led several current and former government officials to believe an American -- 28-year-old Adam Gadahn -- may have written at least part of the speech.
Gadahn, who has been charged with treason and supporting terrorism for serving as an al-Qaida propagandist, has appeared in several past al-Qaida-produced videos, lecturing against capitalism and globalization and making insider references to American culture.

"It has Adam Gadahn written all over it," one former senior intelligence official said of bin Laden's tape, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

The video appeared to have been recently made. At one point, bin Laden mentions that "several days ago" Japan marked the 62nd anniversary of the Aug. 6, 1945, atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima. He also refers to the Democratic Party's congressional victory in last fall's election and to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who was elected in May.

He also shows a grasp of current events, dropping mentions of global warming and saying Americans are "reeling under the burdens" of a mortgage crisis.

And he praises author Noam Chomsky, an early critic of the Iraq war, as well as Michael Scheuer, former head of the CIA's bin Laden unit, who has said poor U.S. leadership was losing the war against terrorist groups.

Bin Laden "knows Bush has low approval ratings, knows the significance of a growing awareness of global warming," said Thomas Sanderson, deputy director of the Transnational Threats Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "He's trying to capitalize on what he sees as a shift back to the middle in American politics."

Al-Qaida annually uses the anniversary of the Sept. 11 suicide attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon as a propaganda opportunity, issuing videotapes to rally supporters and mock the United States.

But the appearance of bin Laden this year makes a bigger splash. The al-Qaida leader had not appeared in new video footage since October 2004, and he had not put out an audiotape in more than a year, his longest period without a message.

His deputy, Egyptian-born Ayman al-Zawahri, has issued numerous videos and audiotapes in the meantime as al-Qaida has increased the sophistication and speed of its media operations.

Seth Jones, a terrorism expert at the RAND think tank, said that while the anniversary gives the pretext for the tape, it also comes at a time when the main al-Qaida leadership has managed to regroup.

"There clearly has been a resurgence of core al-Qaida in the tribal areas of Pakistan" along the frontier with Afghanistan since 2005, Jones said.

He said sympathy in that region for the Taliban has made it more receptive to militant Sunni groups, including al-Qaida. "It's really created a sanctuary," Jones said.
Rita Katz, director of the SITE Institute, said she believes "strongly that al-Qaida has regrouped" but that its core bases are more scattered than previously, comprising several training camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan. She said it was likely bin Laden is hidden in a more secure location, away from any of those sites.
During the video, bin Laden's image moves for only a total of about 3 1/2 minutes in two segments, staying frozen the rest of the time while his remarks continue.

A former senior U.S. intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it might have resulted from a technical glitch while al-Qaida passed the video through a variety of computer sites to mask its cyber trail.

The United States intercepted the video before it was released on Islamic Web sites where al-Qaida usually posts its messages, a U.S. counterterrorism official said in Washington. U.S. officials had analyzed the video for hours before transcripts and videos were leaked, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

The official said analysts were studying bin Laden's physical characteristics -- for clues about his health after unconfirmed rumors earlier this year that he had died of kidney disease.

Soon after word emerged that the United States had the video, Islamic militant Web sites that usually carry statements from al-Qaida went down and were inaccessible.

Hours later, the sites were back up, but by late Friday, the video still had not been released on the militant Web sites.

The reason for the shutdown was not immediately known. Evan H. Kohlmann, a terrorism expert at globalterroralert.com, said he suspected it was the work of al-Qaida itself, trying to find how the video leaked to U.S. officials.

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Bin Laden urges Americans to convert  
  
By LEE KEATH, Associated Press
Friday, September 7, 2007

CAIRO, Egypt -- Osama bin Laden appeared for the first time in three years in a video Friday released ahead of the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, telling Americans they should convert to Islam if they want the war in Iraq to end.
  
American officials said the U.S. government had obtained a copy even though the video had not been posted yet by al-Qaida -- and intelligence agencies were studying the video to determine whether it was authentic and looking for clues about bin Laden's health.

The 30-minute video was obtained by the SITE Institute, a Washington-based group that monitors terrorist messages, and provided to the Associated Press.

The footage gives a rare look at the al-Qaida leader, who has likely avoided appearing in videos as a security measure. His emergence comes at a time when terrorism experts believe his terror network is regrouping in the lawless Pakistan-Afghanistan border region -- and it underlines the U.S. failure to catch him.

In the video, a short excerpt of which was broadcast to the Arab world by Al-Jazeera television, bin Laden wears a white robe, a white circular cap and a beige cloak seated behind a table while reading an address to the American people from papers in front of him.

His trimmed beard is shorter than in his last video, in 2004, and is fully black -- apparently dyed, since in past videos it was mostly gray. He speaks softly, as he usually does, and has dark bags under his eyes, but his appearance dispelled rumors that he had died.

U.S. President George W. Bush made the rare move of speaking about an al-Qaida video. The tape is "a reminder about the dangerous world in which we live, he told reporters on the sidelines of a summit of Pacific Rim nations in Sydney, Australia.

"It's important that we show resolve and determination to protect ourselves, deny al-Qaida safe haven and support young democracies," Bush said.

In the video, Bin Laden makes no overt threats and does not directly call for attacks.

Instead, he addresses Americans, lecturing them on the failures of their leaders to stop the war in Iraq despite growing public opposition in the U.S.

He says there were two solutions to stopping the Iraq war. "One is from our side, and it is to escalate the fighting and killing against you. This is our duty, and our brothers are carrying it out," bin Laden said.

"The second solution is from your side. ... I invite you to embrace Islam," he said.

One result of that, bin Laden said, would be an end to the Iraq war. He said "warmongering owners of the major corporations" would rush to appease voters who showed they are looking for an alternative, "and this alternative is Islam."

He derided Bush, saying events in Iraq have gotten "out of control" and the American leader "is like the one who plows and sows the sea: He harvests nothing but failure."

Bin Laden frequently criticized capitalism, calling its leaders the real terrorists and threats to human freedom.

"This is why I tell you: as you liberated yourselves before from the slavery of monks, kings and feudalism, you should liberate yourselves from the deception, shackles and attrition of the capitalist system," he said.

Bin Laden's attacks in the video on capitalism, multinational corporations and globalization led several current and former government officials to believe an American -- 28-year-old Adam Gadahn -- may have written at least part of the speech.
Gadahn, who has been charged with treason and supporting terrorism for serving as an al-Qaida propagandist, has appeared in several past al-Qaida-produced videos, lecturing against capitalism and globalization and making insider references to American culture.

"It has Adam Gadahn written all over it," one former senior intelligence official said of bin Laden's tape, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

The video appeared to have been recently made. At one point, bin Laden mentions that "several days ago" Japan marked the 62nd anniversary of the Aug. 6, 1945, atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima. He also refers to the Democratic Party's congressional victory in last fall's election and to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who was elected in May.

He also shows a grasp of current events, dropping mentions of global warming and saying Americans are "reeling under the burdens" of a mortgage crisis.

And he praises author Noam Chomsky, an early critic of the Iraq war, as well as Michael Scheuer, former head of the CIA's bin Laden unit, who has said poor U.S. leadership was losing the war against terrorist groups.

Bin Laden "knows Bush has low approval ratings, knows the significance of a growing awareness of global warming," said Thomas Sanderson, deputy director of the Transnational Threats Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "He's trying to capitalize on what he sees as a shift back to the middle in American politics."

Al-Qaida annually uses the anniversary of the Sept. 11 suicide attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon as a propaganda opportunity, issuing videotapes to rally supporters and mock the United States.

But the appearance of bin Laden this year makes a bigger splash. The al-Qaida leader had not appeared in new video footage since October 2004, and he had not put out an audiotape in more than a year, his longest period without a message.

His deputy, Egyptian-born Ayman al-Zawahri, has issued numerous videos and audiotapes in the meantime as al-Qaida has increased the sophistication and speed of its media operations.

Seth Jones, a terrorism expert at the RAND think tank, said that while the anniversary gives the pretext for the tape, it also comes at a time when the main al-Qaida leadership has managed to regroup.

"There clearly has been a resurgence of core al-Qaida in the tribal areas of Pakistan" along the frontier with Afghanistan since 2005, Jones said.

He said sympathy in that region for the Taliban has made it more receptive to militant Sunni groups, including al-Qaida. "It's really created a sanctuary," Jones said.
Rita Katz, director of the SITE Institute, said she believes "strongly that al-Qaida has regrouped" but that its core bases are more scattered than previously, comprising several training camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan. She said it was likely bin Laden is hidden in a more secure location, away from any of those sites.
During the video, bin Laden's image moves for only a total of about 3 1/2 minutes in two segments, staying frozen the rest of the time while his remarks continue.

A former senior U.S. intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it might have resulted from a technical glitch while al-Qaida passed the video through a variety of computer sites to mask its cyber trail.

The United States intercepted the video before it was released on Islamic Web sites where al-Qaida usually posts its messages, a U.S. counterterrorism official said in Washington. U.S. officials had analyzed the video for hours before transcripts and videos were leaked, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

The official said analysts were studying bin Laden's physical characteristics -- for clues about his health after unconfirmed rumors earlier this year that he had died of kidney disease.

Soon after word emerged that the United States had the video, Islamic militant Web sites that usually carry statements from al-Qaida went down and were inaccessible.

Hours later, the sites were back up, but by late Friday, the video still had not been released on the militant Web sites.

The reason for the shutdown was not immediately known. Evan H. Kohlmann, a terrorism expert at globalterroralert.com, said he suspected it was the work of al-Qaida itself, trying to find how the video leaked to U.S. officials.

Quoted from bumblethru

I honestly believe that the radical Muslims are very cunning...but clearly not very smart/educated or intellegent. So why the heck have we not beaten them at their own game already? After 9/11, it would have appeared that it shouldn't have taken even a year for a victory! We have the brains, money, might and intellegence to win and be done with it....why haven't we?

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U.S. role in Iraq war is all about illegal and immoral

   John Fugazzi’s Aug. 30 letter, “Weigh all the facts when assessing war,” refutes and even ridicules the notion that the Iraq war is illegal and immoral. So let’s weigh the facts — particularly facts of law and scientific study.
   Is this war illegal? Article VI of the Constitution says Senate-ratified treaties such as the U.N. Charter are “the supreme law of the land.” The U.N. Charter prohibits any war, unless it is out of self-defense or when it is sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council; defining it otherwise as a war of aggression. According to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson, at the Nuremburg trials: “To initiate a war of aggression, therefore, is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole.”
   Is this war immoral? Based on a scientifi c study in the medical journal The Lancet, hundreds of thousands, perhaps 1 million, Iraqis have been killed as a result of the invasion. Iraq was turned from a functioning society, with water, electricity and relative safety of its citizens, into a hellhole of violence and suffering. Over 3,700 U.S. soldiers have been killed, tens of thousands badly injured — and how many emotionally damaged? And what for? Nothing but the expanded power of a power-hungry cadre, and the expanded profits of themselves (yes, Cheney and Bush families are in the oil and military businesses) and their closest mega-rich friends. All at the expense of U.S. citizens, in high prices for gas and anything affected by the price of gas, and whose taxes will pay the $2 trillion that this debacle will cost.
Do you think this war is legal or moral? Are you ready to do something to stop this madness?
JOE SEEMAN
Ballston Spa  

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Bush to cut troops in Iraq
President to link pullback of forces to continued progress
BY MATTHEW LEE AND ANNE FLAHERTY
The Associated Press

   WASHINGTON — President Bush will tell the nation Thursday evening that he plans to reduce the American troop presence in Iraq by as many as 30,000 by next summer but will condition those and further cuts on continued progress, The Associated Press has learned.
   In a 15-minute address from the White House at 9 p.m., Bush will endorse the recommendations of his top general and top diplomat in Iraq, following their appearance at two days of hearings in Congress, administration officials said. The White House plans to issue a written status report on the troop buildup on Friday, they said.
   The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because
Bush’s speech is not yet final. Bush was rehearsing and polishing his remarks even as the U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker were presenting their arguments for a second day on Capitol Hill.
   In the speech, the president will say he understands Americans’ deep concerns about U.S. involvement in Iraq and their desire to bring the troops home, they said. Bush will say that, after hearing from Petraeus and Crocker, he has decided on a way forward that will reduce the U.S. military presence but not abandon Iraq to chaos, according to the officials.
   The address will stake out a conciliatory tone toward Congress. But while mirroring Petraeus’ strategy, Bush will place more conditions on reductions than his general did, insisting that conditions on the ground must warrant cuts and that now-unforeseen events could change the plan.
   Petraeus recommended that a 2,000-member Marine unit return home this month without replacement. That would be followed in mid-December with the departure of an Army brigade numbering 3,500 to 4,000 soldiers. Under the general’s plan, another four combat brigades would be withdrawn by July 2008.
   That could leave the United States with as few as 130,000-135,000 troops in Iraq, down from about 168,000 now, although Petraeus was not precise about whether all the about 8,000 support troops sent with those extra combat forces would be withdrawn by July.
   Petraeus said he foresaw even deeper troop cuts beyond July, but he recommended that Bush wait until at least March to decide when to go below 130,000 — and at what pace.
   At the White House, Bush met with House and Senate lawmakers of both parties and he publicly pledged to consider their views. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the president didn’t talk about the nationwide address.
   House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Bush appears poised merely to bring the country back to where it was before the election that put Democrats in control of Congress — with 130,000 troops in Iraq.
   “Please. It’s an insult to the intelligence of the American people that that is a new direction in Iraq,” she said. “We’re as disappointed as the public is that the president has a tin ear to their opinion on this war.”
   In his speech, Bush will adopt Petraeus’ call for more time to determine the pace and scale of future withdrawals and offer to report to Congress in March, one official said.
   As Petraeus and Crocker have, Bush will acknowledge difficulties, and the fact that few of the benchmarks set by Congress to measure progress of the buildup have been met, the official said. Yet, he will stress that a precipitous U.S. withdrawal would be a catastrophe for Iraq and U.S. interests.
   The president will discuss “bottom up” security improvements, notably in Anbar Province, which he visited on Labor Day and where Sunni leaders have allied themselves with U.S. forces to fight insurgents. And, he will note incremental progress on the political front despite unhelpful roles played by Iran and Syria, the official said.
   Crocker was particularly keen on detailing diplomatic developments, including Saudi Arabia’s move to open an embassy in Baghdad and a third conference of Iraqi neighbors to be hosted by Turkey in Istanbul at the end of October.
   In Congress, cracks in Republican support for the Iraq war remained, as epitomized by heated questioning Tuesday of Petraeus.

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Article VI of the Constitution says Senate-ratified treaties such as the U.N. Charter are “the supreme law of the land.” The U.N. Charter prohibits any war, unless it is out of self-defense or when it is sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council; defining it otherwise as a war of aggression

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Thank you to everyone who has sent boxes and cards recently, and for the e-mails I received on September 11th. If you get nothing else from this long e-mail, you should see that HOME is a place worth fighting for.
Take care everyone

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The radical Muslims declared war on the USA 25 years ago and haven't stopped since then

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Oct 1, 1:56 PM EDT

U.S., Iraqi civilian deaths fall sharply
By STEVEN R. HURST
Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD (AP) -- Deaths among American forces and Iraqi civilians fell dramatically last month to their lowest levels in more than a year, according to figures compiled by the U.S. military, the Iraqi government and The Associated Press.
The decline signaled a U.S. success in bringing down violence in Baghdad and surrounding regions since Washington completed its infusion of 30,000 more troops on June 15.
A total of 64 American forces died in September - the lowest monthly toll since July 2006.
The decline in Iraqi civilian deaths was even more dramatic, falling from 1,975 in August to at least 988 last month, a decline of 50 percent, according to an AP tally. The civilian death toll has not been so low since June 2006, when 847 Iraqis died.
The AP count includes civilians, government officials and police and security forces, and is considered a minimum based on AP reporting. The actual number is likely higher, as many killings go unreported.
In a joint statement, U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and U.S. Commander Gen. David Petraeus commended Iraqi's security forces and its citizens for the decrease in violence.
"We are confident that you and your fellow citizens will continue to display determination, that Iraqi Security Forces will remain vigilant and that additional Iraqis will join our combined effort," said the statement released Monday.
In violence Monday, a suicide car bomber detonated his explosives just outside the gates of Mosul University, killing an agriculture professor, said police spokesman Abdul Karim al-Jbouri said. Less than an hour later, police found a second bomb in an empty car nearby and safely detonated it.
Over the weekend, U.S. and Iraqi forces killed more than 60 insurgent and militia fighters in intense battles, with most of the casualties believed to have been al-Qaida militants, officials said.
U.S. aircraft killed more than 20 al-Qaida in Iraq fighters who opened fire on an American air patrol northwest of Baghdad, the U.S. command said Sunday.
The firefight between U.S. aircraft and the insurgent fighters occurred Saturday after the aircraft observed about 25 people carrying AK-47 assault rifles - one brandishing a rocket-propelled grenade - into a palm grove, the military said.
"Shortly after spotting the men, the aircraft were fired upon by the insurgent fighters," it said.
The command said more than 20 of the group were killed and four vehicles were destroyed. No Iraqi civilians or U.S. soldiers were hurt.
Iraq's Defense Ministry said in an e-mail Sunday that Iraqi soldiers had killed 44 "terrorists" over the past 24 hours. The operations were centered in Salahuddin and Diyala provinces and around the city of Kirkuk, where the ministry said its soldiers had killed 40 and arrested eight. It said 52 fighters were arrested altogether.
The ministry did not further identify those killed, but use of the word "terrorists" normally indicates al-Qaida.
The U.S. Embassy, meanwhile, joined a broad swath of Iraqi politicians - both Shiite and Sunni - in criticizing a nonbinding U.S. Senate resolution seen here as a recipe for splitting the country along sectarian and ethnic lines.
The Senate resolution, adopted last week, suggests Iraqi government and parliament adhere to their constitution - if they can agree. The basic law allows for a loose confederation of regions under a limited central government, leaving the bulk of power with the regions. Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., was a prime sponsor.
In a highly unusual, unsigned statement, the U.S. Embassy said resolution would seriously hamper Iraq's future stability: "Our goal in Iraq remains the same: a united, democratic, federal Iraq that can govern, defend, and sustain itself."
---
AP correspondents Qassim Abdul-Zahra, Katarina Kratovac and Kim Curtis contributed to this report, as did AP News Research Center in New York.
© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.

Quoted from bumblethru

It appears that we are in Iraq for the long term. As long as it takes.

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Democrats propose tax surcharge for war  
  
By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press
Tuesday, October 2, 2007

WASHINGTON -- Arguing it is unfair to continue to pass the cost of the war in Iraq to future generations, three senior House Democrats Tuesday offered a longshot plan to raise taxes to pay for the $150 billion bill for the war in 2008.
  
At the same time, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee announced they would delay action on the White House's war request for next year, saying he refuses "to continue the status quo."

The tax plan, unveiled by Reps. David Obey, D-Wis., John Murtha, D-Pa., and Jim McGovern, D-Mass., would require low- and middle-income taxpayers to add 2 percent to their tax bill. Wealthier people would add a 12 to 15 percent surcharge, Obey said.

Sponsors of the tax plan appeared more interested in making a point -- getting people to focus on the cost of the war -- than offering it as a serious proposal.

Top Democrats immediately shot down the idea, and it came under scathing assault from Republicans for linking funding for U.S. troops overseas with tax increases.

"Just as I have opposed the war from the outset ... I am opposed to a war surtax," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

"If the new majority has proven one thing this session, it's that no piece of legislation is immune from being converted into a vehicle to raise taxes," said Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri, the GOP whip.

The tax surcharge sponsors said the idea is similar to policies put in place to pay for the Vietnam War and World War II. For Vietnam, surcharges equal to between 5 percent and 7.5 percent were in place between 1968 and 1970.

The move to defer action on President Bush's $189 billion war funding request until next year, also announced by Obey, appears to reflect frustration over Democrats' inability to force Bush to roll back the U.S. mission in Iraq. Obey chairs the Appropriations panel, which is responsible for war funding, and his stance seems to ensure that a stand-alone Iraq bill won't pass this year.

Murtha, chief author of the Pentagon appropriations bill, said that that measure will instead contain enough money to fund the war until February or March. Democrats hope to send that bill to Bush before a stopgap funding measure expires on Nov. 16.

The war in Iraq is costing about $10 billion a month, with Afghanistan and other missions running about $2 billion a month.

Democrats hope their chances of winning a battle with Bush on the war will be better next year, as the election season heats up and public support for Bush's war stance continues to lag.

"The showdown is going to be in January or February," McGovern said.

Democrats have also been seeking in recent weeks to contrast the approximately $190 billion cost of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars with the far smaller increases that they want in domestic programs. Bush has threatened to veto numerous domestic spending bills over Democratic-sought budget increases totaling $23 billion.

The war will cost future generations billions of dollars in taxes that we're shoving off on them, and it is devouring money that could be used to expand their educational opportunities, expand their job training possibilities, attack our long-term energy problems and build stronger communities," Obey said.
The House on Tuesday passed legislation, by a 377-46 vote, that would require President Bush to report to Congress in 60 days, and every 90 days thereafter, on the status of its redeployment plans in Iraq.

The bill was cast by its co-sponsors, Democrats John Tanner of Tennessee and Neil Abercrombie of Hawaii, as the first bipartisan compromise on the war. Republicans agreed to swing behind it because they said it encourages Pentagon contingency planning already under way and does not mandate troop withdrawals.

Also Tuesday, a group of Democratic allies, including unions and liberal advocacy groups such as MoveOn.org and Americans United for Change, announced grassroots and advertising campaigns urging Republicans to override Bush's promised veto of a bill expanding a popular children's health insurance program known as SCHIP.

The $3 million to $5 million campaign will be expanded to upcoming battles over domestic spending, including a measure boosting spending on education, health research and job training programs.

Democrats have been reluctant to wage a battle involving many appropriations bills and have instead pressed for negotiations. But Bush is spoiling for a fight to impress core GOP voters he is a budget hawk.

The Democrats' liberal wing is cheerleading for such a battle, believing voters will support additional money for popular initiatives such as education, health research and homeland security. Congressional leaders seem to now believe one can't be avoided.

"SCHIP and the battle over spending priorities is the most important fight since the showdown over privatizing Social Security," said Gerald McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. "I don't think we need to remind Bush who won that battle."

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Iraqi Islamic Party says, "Al Qaeda is Defeated."
O1 November 2007
Iraqi Islamic Party: "Al Qaeda is Defeated"


"Al Qaeda in Iraq is defeated," according to Sheik Omar Jabouri, spokesman for the Iraqi Islamic Party and a member of the widespread and influential Jabouri Tribe. Speaking through an interpreter at a 31 October meeting at the Iraqi Islamic Party headquarters in downtown Baghdad, Sheik Omar said that al Qaeda had been "defeated mentally, and therefore is defeated physically," referring to how clear it has become that the terrorist group's tactics have backfired. Operatives who could once disappear back into the crowd after committing an increasingly atrocious attack no longer find safe haven among the Iraqis who live in the southern part of Baghdad.  They are being hunted down and killed.  Or, if they are lucky, captured by Americans.

Colonel Ricky Gibbs, the American brigade commander with responsibility for the Rashid District in south Baghdad today told me, "So goes South Baghdad goes Baghdad."  General Petraeus had told me similar things about the importance of South Baghdad. In fact, Rashid is quickly developing into what might be one of the final serious battlegrounds of the war.



During the meeting, another member of the Iraqi Islamic Party said that al Qaeda has changed its strategy now that fomenting civil war between Sunni and Shia has backfired. Al Qaeda has shifted targets, now trying to generate friction between tribes. This time, however, the tribes are onto the game early, and they are not playing.



Sheik Omar, who has gained the respect of American combat leaders for his intelligence and organizational skills, said the tough line against al Qaeda is also enforced at the tribal level. According to Sheik Omar, the Jabouri tribe, too, is actively committed to destroying al Qaeda. So much so, that Jabouri tribal leaders have decided they would "kill their own sons" if any aided al Qaeda. To underscore the point, he went on to say that about 70 Jabouri "sons" had been killed by the Jabouri tribe so far.

In addition to brigade commander Colonel Ricky Gibbs, four of his battalion commanders were also present: Lieutenant Colonels James Crider, Patrick Frank, Stephen Michael and Myron Reinehe.  Sheik Omar expressed deep gratitude for their assistance.

Omar's influence extends beyond tribal and party levels, to include important channels within the Iraqi government and the US military in Baghdad, as evidenced by the agenda of the hours-long meeting. But for the talk about al Qaeda, the focus was mostly on other topics, such as returning displaced persons to their homes, efficiently delivering basic services and jumpstarting the economy. In fact, more and more meetings in Iraq are turning to day-to-day business, and less time is required on military and security topics like targeting and addressing intelligence-type matters, which until recently monopolized most meetings across Iraq.

Michael Yon does not receive funding or financial support from Fox News, or from any network, movie, book or television deals at this time. He is entirely reader supported. He relies on his readers to help him replace his equipment and cover his expenses so that he may remain in Iraq and bring you the stories of our soldiers. If you value his work, please consider supporting his mission.


--
Rick Johnson
http://oldsarges.blogspot.com/

Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you, Jesus Christ and the American G.I.
One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.

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AS OTHERS SAY IT
Dems in denial on war

   Late last year, violence was rising in Iraq and President Bush was on the defensive. He’d made serious mistakes in the war, and he had taken too long to admit them and change course.
   Finally, Bush shook up his military leadership and ordered a new strategy: a surge of troops to Iraq in what looked to be a last-ditch effort to tamp down the violence.
   It’s working. By every measure, life is improving in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq. The signs of progress are undeniable.
   Now it seems like Democratic leaders in Congress are trapped in a time warp. They said a year ago the surge was doomed to fail.
   They were wrong, yet even in light of recent military success, they still demand the president set a timetable for troop withdrawal. They’re still trying to enshrine that in law.
   --Chicago Tribune  

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U.S. General Petraeus Claims Decrease In Violence in Iraq

By Lolita Baldor
The Associated Press

BAGHDAD — Citing a 60 percent decline in violence in Iraq over the last six months, General David Petraeus said Thursday that maintaining security is easier than establishing it and gives him more flexibility in deploying forces.

Armed with charts showing that as of Wednesday, weekly attacks and Iraqi civilian deaths have plunged to levels not seen here since early 2006, Petraeus said the reduction lets him make force adjustments to address remaining problem areas, which would include northern Iraq.

Speaking to reporters at the U.S. military’s Camp Victory, he said the improved security is due to a number of factors including a “a reduction in some of the signature attacks that are associated with weapons provided by Iran,” as well as a cease-fire called by radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr that he said had a particularly noticeable impact what had been one of the most violent areas of Baghdad.

And he said there has been a “reduction in some of the signature attacks” associated with insurgents using Iranian weapons, including deadly armor-piercing rounds.

But, he added, that it is “hard to tell if that’s because there has already been a cessation of provision of those items, or if there has been direction to stop.”

At the same time, he said the military has detained individuals as recently as October who were trained by Iranians, evidence that the instruction has continued.

Petreaus, who is scheduled to give Congress and the American people an update next March on progress in Iraq, and map out some plans for U.S. force levels down the road, refused to offer too much optimism.

“Nobody says anything about turning a corner, seeing lights at the end of tunnels, any of those other phrases,” said Petraeus. “You just keep your head down and keep moving.”

He said that around Thanksgiving commanders looked back at violence levels a year ago, and six months ago, and found a declining line in which violence had declined from a time when hundreds of Iraqis were killed and injured and US troops took heavy losses in a number of horrific attacks, to a time of still somewhat steady but less deadly attacks, to a day last month when there were just 45-50 attacks.

Petraeus met for about an hour Thursday with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who was in Iraq for his sixth visit in the past year.

The general has overseen the military’s build up in Iraq this year, as force levels jumped to 20 combat brigades, with more than 180,000 troops, during certain times when some of the units overlapped as they moved in and out of the country.

“There’s nobody in uniform who is doing victory dances in the end zone,” said Petraeus, saying it will require more tough work against a very dangerous adversary.

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Italian Carabinieri Training Iraqi National Police
Friday, 07 December 2007

CAMP DUBLIN — Italian Maj. Gen. Alessandro Pompegnani, deputy commander, NATO Training Mission – Iraq, and Italian Col. Fabrizio Parrulli, commander of the Italian Carabinieri Team, hosted a media day focusing on Carabinieri technique training for the Iraqi National Police Dec. 5.
The first eight-week training course for 450 Iraqi National Police began Oct. 27.

The participants range from junior to senior level police and the training covers a wide range of policing areas, from counter-insurgency to riot control. The training will assist eight battalions and will run for two years.

The Carabinieri training team is composed of specialized instructors, most from 2nd Mobile Brigade. This unit carries out overseas operations, overseas military assistance and training and provides the bulk of Carabinieri international missions.

“The aim of this training is to create specialized units inside the Iraqi National Police, enabling them to face security issues across the country. Within the 15 areas of training, the course includes crowd control operations, civil disturbances and criminal investigations activities,” said Parrulli.

An element of good policing is to have a trust relationship with the public. One of the goals of the training team is to transform the old way of policing into one that will function in a rebuilt nation.

“This training was built on the real needs of the Iraqi National Police, for carrying out current and future tasks that will be assigned to them by the Iraqi Prime Minister,” said Parrulli. “Not only is training specialized for current operations, but for future building of the new Iraqi National Police.”

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Leaders Aim to ‘Put Law Back in Iraq’      
Sunday, 09 December 2007  


CAMP STRIKER — Throngs of Iraqi key political leaders gathered at the home of Abid Hassan Saloom in Sadr Yusufiyah Dec. 6 to discuss the future of Iraq.
The theme of the meeting was “Put the Law Back in Iraq” and it was attended by a multitude of prominent community leaders, Iraqi Security Forces and Iraqi Army officials. Of note were Dr. Ahmed Chalabi, former leader of the Iraqi National Congress, Sheik Somar, Yusufiyah nahia council president, 4th Iraqi Army Brigade commander Brig. Gen. Ali Jassim Mohammed Hassen Al-Frejee, Sheik Halal Al Hemdawni, as well as representatives from the Mahmudiyah council and the chief of the Mahmudiyah Iraqi Police.

An estimated 1,000 leaders from various sectors listened to several speakers talk about what it will take to achieve a safe, secure Iraq and discuss other reconciliation issues and the rebuilding of Iraq.

“Today’s governance meeting provided a forum for local leadership to interact with the government of Iraq – an entity which has been noticeably absent within the area,” said Capt. Ryan Bulger, intelligence officer for 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). The unit provided security for the event, along with the Iraqi Army.

As the keynote speaker, Chalabi addressed topics that weigh heavily on the people of Iraq. He said it is very important to get every displaced Iraqi back to his home.

Too many families have had to grieve the loss of their sons and Chalabi said security is a priority.

“We need everyone here to feel like he is a part of government; this is our government,” he said, explaining that locals are key in securing Iraq’s future. “The government must support the people.”

Chalabi said he recognizes that obtaining the desired goals will be no easy feat, but said the people of Iraq deserve to have their requests answered.

Other issues addressed were the need for cell phone towers in the area, the importance of freedom of movement, the need to support the Iraqi Army and the attempt to complete the Yusifiyah Thermal Power Plant. Completion of the power plant would yield approximately 5,000 jobs.

Chalabi gave his word to take the concerns voiced at the meeting to “high-ranking officials in Baghdad”.

(Story by Sgt. 1st Class Kerensa Hardy, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division)

In Other Recent Developments Here:

BAGHDAD — Coalition forces captured three wanted individuals and seven additional suspects during operations Sunday to disrupt al-Qaida networks in central and northern Iraq.

CAMP VICTORY — The number of Iraqi-led reconciliation efforts swelled over the past two weeks across Multi-National Division – Center, as local Iraqi leaders seek to capitalize on an improved security situation by developing the institutions that will enable long-term stability.

Quoted Text

Al-Qaeda networks disrupted; Coalition forces detain 10 suspects      
Sunday, 09 December 2007  
MULTI-NATIONAL FORCE-IRAQ
PRESS DESK
BAGHDAD, Iraq
http://www.mnf-iraq.com
703.343.8790
    
Press Release A071209a
December 9, 2007

Al-Qaeda networks disrupted; Coalition forces detain 10 suspects

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces captured three wanted individuals and seven additional suspects during operations Sunday to disrupt al-Qaeda networks in central and northern Iraq.

During two coordinated operations in Baghdad, Coalition forces captured a wanted individual and three suspected terrorists. The wanted individual is an alleged al-Qaeda in Iraq leader associated with media operations and propaganda.  

Farther north in Mosul, Coalition forces captured another wanted individual believed to be an al-Qaeda in Iraq leader. He was allegedly involved in the terrorist network operating in the city and is thought to have ties to other terrorist leaders operating throughout northern Iraq. One of his associates reportedly provides weapons and improvised explosive device materials to the cell leaders for use in attacks in the area. In addition to the wanted individual, two other suspected terrorists were detained without incident.

During continued operations to disrupt terrorist networks in the Diyala River Valley, Coalition forces captured a wanted individual believed to be an al-Qaeda in Iraq cell leader for the network in Khan Bani Sad. Two of the wanted individuals’ close associates were recently detained by Coalition forces during operations Nov. 28 and Dec. 5 for their involvement in the network.

Two suspected terrorists were detained during an operation south of Salman Pak targeting an al-Qaeda in Iraq cell leader involved in facilitation of weapons and attacks on Coalition and Iraqi security forces.

“Iraqi and Coalition forces are targeting terrorists at every level,” said Col. Don Bacon, MNF-I spokesman. “The people of Iraq have chosen their future and al-Qaeda is not a part of it.”

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Reconciliation takes center stage across Multi-National Division - Center      
Thursday, 06 December 2007  
Multi-National Corps – Iraq
Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory
APO AE 09342

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RELEASE No. 20071206-02
December 6, 2007

Reconciliation takes center stage across Multi-National Division - Center
Multi-National Division – Center

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq – The number of Iraqi-led reconciliation efforts swelled over the past two weeks across Multi-National Division – Center as local Iraqi leaders seek to capitalize on an improved security situation by developing the institutions that will enable long-term stability.

With Coalition Forces and Iraqi Concerned Local Citizens working increasingly in tandem with the Iraqi Police and Army to solidify security relationships, a window has opened for local leadership to push forward business development and infrastructure repair and forge political relationships across sects and neighborhoods.

On Nov. 26, Khalif Haloos of the Sadr al Yusifiyah Nahia Governance Council hosted more than 500 sheiks from Sunni, Shi’a and Kurdish tribes. Also in attendance were Coalition Forces from the 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), who were the invited guests of the Iraqis who organized the meeting. Security for this meeting, the largest of several important reconciliation gatherings in MND-C in recent days, was provided by the Iraqi Security Forces.

“This meeting was an example of Sunnis and Shias working together,” said Col. Dominic Caraccilo, commander of 3rd BCT, 101st Abn. Div (AASLT). “The ISF took the lead in providing security for the meeting, and we had representation from all the key players in that area. That dynamic, coming from the local level, could be an example for the national government.”

The sheiks discussed reconciliation issues, from the return of displaced families, to a pact that would allow Iraqis of all sects to travel freely through the sheiks’ territory without fear of sectarian reprisal. They also discussed restraining Iranian influence, suppressing the remaining insurgents in their territory, and ways to integrate their activities with Iraq’s central government.

On Nov. 27 at Forward Operating Base Kalsu, leaders of the Iraqi Army and Police met with elected officials and Coalition commanders to discuss security cooperation and coordination in Babil province.

Col. Michael Garret, commander of the outgoing 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, used the occasion to say goodbye to the Iraqi leaders with whom he had worked for more than a year.  Working to build on those relationships now is Col. Thomas James, commander of 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division.

Although it’s early in James’ deployment, his brigade has seen many examples of local leaders taking steps to improve their community through Sunni and Shia cooperation, specifically from the Sunni sheik and the police chief in Musayyib.

Both will tell you that they are Iraqis first, not Sunni or Shia, and only want what’s good for their country and citizens, James said.

Another meeting was held Dec. 1 on the other side of MND-C at Forward Operating Base Hammer, east of Baghdad. Iraqi civic and tribal leaders in attendance offered frank assessments of their needs and asked U.S. and Iraqi officials for continued support with stabilization efforts.

Col. Wayne Grigsby, commander of the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, said after the meeting, “I’ve spent 35 months of my life in Iraq, and this is the best I’ve ever seen it.” He noted, however, that there remain opportunities to synchronize U.S. and Iraqi efforts.

Part of that direction involves parlaying improved security and cooperation among the different parties to build a stepped-up reconstruction program. Similar to the reconciliation conferences that took place, the reconstruction effort is manifesting itself across MND-C as community development projects.

On Nov. 28, the 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery, 3rd HBCT, 3rd Inf. Div. opened a new medical clinic in Narwhan after the project was approved by Iraq’s Ministry of Health. As a signal of its commitment to the initiative, the ministry hired three doctors to work at the facility, two of whom are female.

The following day, the 1-10th FA conducted a school bag and bottled-water drop in Sabah Nisan. School children there received 180 school bags and 3,500 cases of water, distributed by the Concerned Local Citizens.

On Nov. 26, the Al-Wehda Nahia council celebrated with Iraqi and Coalition Forces the completion of a well system in al Sadiq. The system includes water pumps, storage tanks, a generator and quarters for a caretaker. The project was a joint effort by local Iraqis and Coalition Forces.

Finally, on Nov. 28, Iraqis celebrated the graduation of a class of small businessmen from an entrepreneur training program in the Mada’in Qada. The program helps develop business skills and planning among local business owners and then provides them with micro-grants to revitalize their businesses. As part of the program, U.S. military and civilian officials assess the proposals of the Iraqi graduates and award grants of up to $10,000 to eligible candidates.

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Iraqi Citizens Provide Vital Information on Insurgents, Weapons      
Thursday, 13 December 2007  



Soldiers from Company B, 1st Battalion, 15th Infrantry Regiment, prepare to enter a building during an air assault in Al Bawi, a small village outside of Salman Pak, Dec. 11.  The building, which was later destroyed by rockets called in by Company B Soldiers, was an abandoned farmhouse being used by insurgents to stage attacks on Coalition forces.  Photo by Sgt. Timothy Kingston, 55th Combat Camera.

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER — Using information provided by members of a Concerned Local Citizens group, Soldiers from Company B, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, killed two insurgents, seized a weapons cache and destroyed an enemy stronghold during a nighttime air assault in Al Bawi, a small village outside of Salman Pak, Dec. 11.
The cache contained mortars, grenades, improvised weapon making materials and an unknown explosive compound.

“The Soldiers performed well,” said Sgt. 1st Class Patrick Blount, from Hampton, Va., the scout platoon sergeant, Headquarters Company, 1-15th Inf. Regt. “They executed the plan as we rehearsed it. The biggest part of this and every other mission is the rehearsal. I tell my guys, ‘This isn’t our first air assault, but treat it like it is. Every mission is different. Don’t get complacent’.”

Insurgents had been using the farmhouse of a displaced family to stage attacks on Coalition forces and rival insurgent factions. At the direction of the Company B commander, Capt. Rich Thompson, from West Palm Beach, Fla., Soldiers from Battery C, 2nd Battalion, 4th Field Artillery (FA), fired three 210mm rockets from an M270 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System to destroy the building with the cache inside. The 2-4th FA is out of Fort Sill, Okla.

“This air assault helped us support the Concerned Local Citizens and will help them occupy check points,” said Capt. Todd Barrett, from Huntington Beach, Calif., the scout platoon leader in Headquarters Company, 1-15th Inf. Regt. “These checkpoints will help control extremist activity.”

Battalion leaders expressed their satisfaction with the successful mission.

“Our operations are having a profound impact on our area of operations and the extremists who try to operate within the area, said Maj. Steven Delgado, from Los Angeles, the 1-15th Inf. Regt. executive officer. “We have greatly reduced the number of IEDs (improvised explosive devices) within Task Force 1-15’s area of operations, detained or killed many extremist leaders; market areas are thriving and people are no longer afraid to leave their homes.”

The 1-15 Inf. Regt. is part of the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga., and has been deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since March.

(Story by Spc. Ben Hutto, 3rd HBCT Public Affairs)