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Blog World in Vegas & Important Linkage
I am always behind on this so here are some links I need to get linked.
Andi reminds us there is a military dscount for anyone who wants to go to Vegas for Blogworld 7and 8 November. B5 will have myself, Matty O' and the Wolf in attendance so far. I predict total chaos.
Herschel Smith continues to put out good work discussing just exactly whose quagmire Iraq is.
And 1LT Fishman checks in with the weekly surge wrap.
US, Iraqi Civilian Deaths Fall Sharply
Oct 1, 10:20 AM (ET) By STEVEN R. HURST 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.
1) Suspected '100 million dollar al-Qaeda financier' netted in Iraq http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5ieRkZEf-vAk3XVroeSWBAMj6iQ8A
7 hours ago BAGHDAD (AFP) — Iraqi and US forces have detained a man they believe received 100 million dollars this summer from Al-Qaeda sympathisers to hand out for "terrorist" operations in Iraq, the US military said Thursday."The 100 million was what our intelligence reports indicate he has received spanning several months this year," US military spokesman Sam Hymas told AFP. "That is all the unclassified information I can give you." A statement from the military said the man, who was detained in the central Baghdad neighbourhood of Al-Kindi, was suspected of handing over 50,000 dollars a month to Al-Qaeda using his leather merchant business as a front. "He is believed to have received one hundred million dollars this summer from terrorist supporters who cross the border illegally or fly into Iraq from Italy, Syria and Egypt," the military said.
He is suspected of travelling abroad himself to seek money for Al-Qaeda and of employing up to 50 extremists to help deliver bomb-making materials to insurgents attacking the US-led coalition. The US military also accused the unnamed man of involvement in two attacks on a revered Shiite mosque at the heart of Iraq's bitter sectarian conflict. He was linked to purchasing explosives and weapons for the February 2006 attack on the Al-Askari mosque in Samarra, widely seen as the trigger of Iraq's sectarian strife. Another attack on June 13 of this year destroyed the mosque's two minarets. The suspect, who according to US military intelligence has stores in Jordan, Syria and the Iraqi city of Fallujah, is also wanted for allegedly shooting dead three US soldiers and wounding another in April this year, the military said.
The decline in Iraqi civilian deaths was even more dramatic, falling from 1,975 in August to 922 last month, a decline of 53.3 percent. The breakdown in September was 844 civilians and 78 police and Iraqi soldiers, according to Iraq's ministries of Health, Interior and Defense. In August, AP figures showed 1,809 civilians and 155 police and Iraqi soldiers were killed in sectarian violence. The civilian death toll has not been so low since June 2006, when 847 Iraqis died. "There is no silver bullet or one thing that equates as a reason to the drop in Iraqi and Coalition casualties and deaths," said Col. Steven Boylan, spokesman for U.S. commander Gen. David Petraeus. But he credited increased U.S. troop strength, saying that has allowed American forces to step up operations against al-Qaida in Iraq. 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, proposed reshaping Iraq according to three sectarian or ethnic territories. It calls for a limited central government with the bulk of power going to the country's Shiite, Sunni or Kurdish regions, envisioning a power-sharing agreement similar to the one that ended the 1990s war in Bosnia. Senator Joseph Biden, a Democratic presidential candidate, 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."
3) Last letter from doomed Al Qaida chief: 'We are so desperate for your help' http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2007/ss_iraq_09_30.asp BAGHDAD — The U.S. military is eliminating Al Qaida's chain of command in Iraq. Officials said several leading aides to Al Qaida network chief Abu Ayoub Al Masri have been killed by the U.S.-led coalition. They said two out of the four foreign aides of Al Masri remain alive. On Sept. 25, the U.S. military killed an Al Qaida chief deemed responsible for transporting foreign operatives to Iraq. The Al Qaida commander, identified as Abu Osama Al Tunisi, was killed in a U.S. air strike as he met his colleagues in Musayib, about 60 kilometers south of Baghdad. Shortly before he died, Al Tunisi wrote a letter that warned of a threat to Al Qaida operations in Karkh. The lettter, found by the U.S. military, sought guidance from Al Qaida leaders amid coalition operations that hampered Al Tunisi's network. "We are so desperate for your help," the letter read. "This was a dangerous terrorist who is no longer a part of Al Qaida in Iraq," U.S. Brig. Gen. Joseph Anderson, chief of staff of the Multinational Corps Iraq, said. "His death deals a significant blow to their operation. Abu Osama Al Tunisi was one of the most senior leaders within Al Qaida in Iraq." Anderson said Al Tunisi and two other Al Qaida operatives were killed in the U.S. Air Force bombing mission. The brigadier told a Sept. 28 briefing that an F-16 multi-role fighter leveled the building where Al Tunisi had been meeting Al Qaida operatives. Al Tunisi was said to have been a leading adviser to Al Masri, officials said. They said Al Tunisi, a Tunisian national, might have been designated Al Masri's successor. "The inner circle of leadership with Abu Ayoub Al Masri consists of foreigners, and Al Tunisi was in this top tier of leadership," Anderson said. This was the second leading aide of Al Masri killed in less than a month. On Aug. 31, another member of Al Masri's inner circle, Abou Yaakoub Al Masri, was killed near Tarmiyah, north of Baghdad. Anderson said the two remaining foreign leaders of Al Masri's inner circle remain at large. "The top two Iraqis, Abu Shahed and Abdallah Latif Al Jaburi, have also been captured or killed," Anderson said. Al Tunisi was termed the emir, or commander, of foreign operatives in Iraq. Anderson said Al Tunisi was responsible for the arrival of Al Qaida recruits into Iraq and their placement in operational cells. Officials said more than 80 percent of suicide bombings have been by foreign operatives. They said most of the Al Qaida recruits arrive in Syria by air and continue overland into Iraq. Al Tunisi was said to have been operating in Yusufiyah, southwest of Baghdad, since November 2004. Officials said he became commander of the area in 2006 and was responsible for the abduction and killing of two U.S. soldiers in June of that year. The U.S.-led coalition operation began on Sept. 12 when an Al Tunisi aide was captured. Officials said the aide provided information that led to the capture of other key associates of Al Tunisi south and west of Baghdad. One of the aides was said to have identified Al Tunisi at the meeting in Musayib. The other two Al Qaida insurgents killed in the F-16 bombing were identified as Abu Abdullah, said to be the new commander of the southern part of Baghdad's Karkh region, and Sheik Hussein, an Al Qaida facilitator.
4) Tribal Members Join in Effort To Assist U.S., Iraqi Forces 30,000 Volunteers to Serve With Police and Military Units http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/29/AR2007092901528_pf.html
By Ann Scott Tyson Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, September 30, 2007; A23
More than 30,000 tribal members in Iraq have come forward to work with U.S. and Iraqi forces over the past six months, a phenomenon that is spreading beyond Anbar province to Baghdad and other regions of the country, according to U.S. commanders.The Iraqi government, at the urging of U.S. authorities, this month ordered Iraqi army and police units to integrate the volunteers into their operations. "That is huge. This gives them the approval that we are looking for," said Brig. Gen. John F. Campbell, deputy commander of the U.S. military in Baghdad.However, questions remain over whether alliances with fractious tribal sheiks will hold, whether they can improve security in mixed-sectarian areas such as Diyala province and Baghdad, and whether they will promote stability and national reconciliation or spur Iraq's fragmentation by proliferating armed groups.Al-Qaeda-affiliated Sunni insurgents in Iraq have launched a campaign to assassinate tribal leaders cooperating with U.S. forces, most recently using a suicide bomber on Monday to kill sheiks and officials at a reconciliation gathering of Shiite and Sunni tribal elders in Baqubah, the capital of Diyala province.Earlier U.S. military efforts to engage Iraqi tribes have been hampered by limited knowledge of the tribal leadership, territory and degree of influence, military experts said."This is certainly something we should ride for all it's worth but recognize that, eventually, centrifugal tendencies will reassert themselves," said Army Reserve Lt. Col. Michael Eisenstadt, who has researched Iraqi tribes. "In the long run, it will be very labor-intensive to keep them together," he said, adding that the tribes could turn against U.S. forces.Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, has hailed the move by tribes to join with U.S. forces to protect their neighborhoods. He acknowledged that the tribal "awakening" that began a year ago in Anbar -- a western province that is 95 percent Sunni -- was politically driven and cannot happen everywhere but said the shift in allegiances is spreading.In Baghdad, more than 8,000 primarily Sunni tribe members have volunteered so far in districts such as Mansour and Abu Ghraib and are undergoing the vetting process to become Iraqi police, Campbell said. About 1,500 hired as police in Abu Ghraib completed training in the past two weeks, said Maj. Gen Joseph F. Fil Jr., the commander for Baghdad.South of Baghdad in central Iraq, more than 14,000 have come forward in recent months to provide local security, including about 12,000 Sunni and 2,000 Shiite residents, said Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, the U.S. commander for the area. That marks an increase over the nearly 10,000 who had volunteered as of August, Lynch said.The U.S. military effort to enlist tribes is driven in part by a need for more manpower to help secure areas cleared by U.S. and Iraqi troops so that they do not revert to insurgent or militia control. In Baghdad, where U.S. and Iraqi forces are working to disrupt or expel insurgents from 46 percent of 474 neighborhoods, Fil said he hopes grass-roots security forces will be "a catalyst" for change.Maj. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon, the U.S. commander for northern Iraq, said the tribes offer leverage that cannot be ignored. "We don't have enough forces to secure every single little village," Mixon said in an interview. "If we can get a good majority of the sheiks to work with us . . . this shrinks the area where the enemy can operate."Yet Iraq's Shiite-led government has looked warily at the predominantly Sunni tribal forces, particularly as they emerge in mixed-sectarian areas near Baghdad. "The government has this fear that this will be an armed uprising," said Campbell, who said he spent weeks escorting the Iraqi commander for Baghdad, Lt. Gen. Aboud Qanbar, to areas where tribal forces are volunteering."Initially, he was skittish . . . but he was courageous and visionary enough to support it," Campbell said. The result was the Iraqi government order, issued the first week of September by the National Reconciliation Committee to the ministries of Defense and Interior and other entities directing commanders to work with volunteers.U.S. commanders hope that placing predominantly Sunni tribal forces on government payrolls as police or soldiers will also foster long-run reconciliation by providing Sunnis with jobs and tying them to the central government.A test will be the extent to which tribes and other volunteers can help pacify mixed-sect areas such as Diyala, where fighting escalated over the past year. Diyala, which lies between Baghdad and Iran, has about 25 major tribes, including six that are a mix of Sunni and Shiite.U.S. and Iraqi military operations have cut violence in Diyala in recent weeks, military data show. About 3,500 residents from tribes and other groups have volunteered for local security forces, and a recent agreement among 68 tribal leaders has helped quell fighting among Sunni and Shiite villages, according to Col. David W. Sutherland, a U.S. brigade commander in Diyala.
5) Iraqi Deaths Fall by 50 Percent http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gkx-3oYeFwuWKCusr2jrojs98w8wD8S0N1EG0
By STEVEN R. HURST – 15 hours ago BAGHDAD (AP) — The number of American troops and Iraqi civilians killed in the war fell in September to levels not seen in more than a year. The U.S. military said the lower count was at least partly a result of new strategies and 30,000 additional U.S. forces deployed this year. Although it is difficult to draw conclusions from a single month's tally, the figures could suggest U.S.-led forces are making headway against extremist factions and disrupting their ability to strike back.The U.S. military toll for September was 64, the lowest since July 2006, according to figures compiled by The Associated Press from death announcements by the American command and Pentagon.More dramatic, however, was the decline in Iraqi civilian, police and military deaths. The figure was 988 in September — 50 percent lower than the previous month and the lowest tally since June 2006, when 847 Iraqis died.The Iraqi death count is considered a minimum based on AP reporting. The actual number is likely higher, as many killings go unreported.Nevertheless, the heartening numbers emerged just three weeks after U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and commander Gen. David Petraeus argued before a divided Congress that more time was needed for Iraq to begin seeing results from President Bush's dispatch of an additional 30,000 forces to pacify Baghdad and surrounding regions.On Monday they issued an unusual joint statement to the Iraqi people that credited them for the decline in violence."We must maintain the momentum that together we have achieved. 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," they said.
Their message opened with greetings to the Iraqi people during the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims focus on their spiritual lives and fast from dawn to dusk."Please know that we remain absolutely committed to this effort. ... Much work lies ahead of us. Despite the challenges, we can, together, achieve success," the two men wrote in the statement signed and dated by each.Of particular note, the message referred to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr by his honorific, Sayyid Muqtada. Sayyid is a title designating a religious figure as a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad."We also sincerely hope that the cease-fire declared by the Sayyid Muqtada will continue to be observed and be further extended to all members of Jaysh al-Mahdi (Arabic for Mahdi Army)," Crocker and Petraeus wrote.
6) Al-Qaeda tries and fails to stand up to concerned citizens http://www.mnfiraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14439&Itemid=128 MEDIA ADVISORY Number: ADV20071005-01 October 5, 2007 BAGHDAD – An al-Qaeda in Iraq effort to reestablish a position in the southern Baghdad province town of Hawr Rajab was repulsed when concerned local citizens engaged the terrorists with small-arms fire and called in U.S. forces for assistance Oct. 2. While two concerned citizens were wounded in fighting and treated at a nearby hospital, four enemy fighters were killed, an additional two wounded, and multiple insurgent weapons destroyed. U.S. forces detained one of the enemy wounded and transported the other for medical treatment at Camp Cropper. Events began mid-afternoon, when concerned citizens contacted Multi-National Division – Center Soldiers after spotting suspected AQI vehicles in the vicinity of Hawr Rajab. A quick reaction force comprised of Paratroopers from 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, attached to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry. Division responded to the call for assistance. The U.S. Soldiers moved into town to find the concerned citizens already engaged in small-arms fire with AQI terrorists hiding in a boys’ school. After the brief engagement, the terrorists were observed fleeing the scene in a blue truck. An air weapons team was called in to pursue the vehicle and later destroyed the truck and killed four terrorists. The engagement also destroyed two AK-47s and a 23 mm anti-aircraft machine gun in the back of the van.Numerous calls to tips line by Iraqis in the wake of the incident confirmed the identity of the men as AQI.
7) Plan calls for more armor on new combat vehicles
http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2007-10-01-mraps_N.html By Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY
QUANTICO, Va. — The Marine general in charge of the program to send new armored vehicles to Iraq says the Pentagon has developed "a solution" to protect the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected trucks from the deadliest type of armor-piercing roadside bomb, called explosively formed projectiles, or EFPs. The Pentagon's method for combating EFPs involves adding armor to the sides of MRAPs, Brig. Gen. Michael Brogan said in an interview with USA TODAY. The armor is a modified version of what the military calls Frag Kit 6, Brogan said. "I have a solution for EFPs, and I'm going to put it on the trucks I've already bought," Brogan said.The MRAP's V-shaped hull and raised chassis help protect troops inside the vehicle from the force of makeshift bombs known as improvised explosive devices.Brogan dismissed concerns from some military contractors — raised in an online discussion — that the added armor would make the vehicles too wide to operate on U.S. highways."They're going into a combat zone," Brogan said. "So, yeah, they're going to be wider than would be permitted if you were going to drive up Interstate 95."This week, contractors will have an opportunity to submit other solutions to the EFP threat for testing. But their armor will have to rival the current solution to merit consideration. "I've got great trucks," Brogan said. "And I can put additional armor on those great trucks. … You've either got the solution or you don't."Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, decried the wait. "We first saw explosively formed penetrators three years ago, but we're just now coming up with a solution to this deadly technology? That is unacceptable. … We need to be a step ahead of those killing our troops, not a step behind," he said.The base price for the two categories of troop-carrying MRAPs is $500,000 to $600,000, Brogan said. The price for the armor kit is less than half the price of those vehicles, he said, declining to be more specific.The military tested the armor at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland by firing explosives at it. EFPs fire a slug of metal at high speeds that penetrate armor and spray pieces of shrapnel that can kill or injure the troops inside the vehicle.The military has acquired almost 900 MRAP vehicles this year, Brogan said. About 400 have arrived in Iraq. The Pentagon has orders for 6,500 of the vehicles and wants to acquire 15,000 in total in 2008.In February 2005, Marines sent an urgent plea for MRAPs capable of stopping EFPs. In January, the military's No. 2 commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, reiterated the need with another urgent request for EFP protection.Until recently, the vehicles had been shipped to units that deal with bomb disposal and ensuring roads are free of bombs.Marines are now using them for everyday combat missions, said Maj. Jeff Pool, a Marine spokesman based in Anbar province. "We have well over 400 MRAPs and are receiving dozens per week, every week," Pool said in an e-mail. It was the Marines' safety record with MRAPs in Anbar that caught Defense Secretary Robert Gates' attention and prompted him to make buying the vehicles a top Pentagon priority. USA TODAY has reported that the Pentagon knew of MRAPs' effectiveness but was slow to seek them.
8) Iraqi Violence Ebbed in September, Reports Say http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/02/world/middleeast/02iraq.html?ex=1348977600&en=41388b75cf9bfd72&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
By PAUL von ZIELBAUER BAGHDAD, October 2, 2007
— The number of violent civilian deaths in Iraq dropped precipitously in September compared with the previous month, an Iraqi government official and an independent monitoring group said Monday. The general downward trend in violence was also apparent in the decline, to 63, in the number of American service members killed last month, from 84 in August, the American military reported Monday. That was the lowest monthly total in more than a year.American military officials here quickly asserted that the decline in civilian and military deaths was a direct result of the rapid buildup of American forces in Iraq this year. In September, 1,654 civilians were killed in Iraq, a 29 percent decline from the 2,318 civilians killed in August, according to an Interior Ministry official here. The official spoke only on condition of anonymity; American and Iraqi government officials here are reluctant to provide figures for civilian deaths. The Iraqi official’s September civilian death count was much higher, and the percentage decline much smaller, than those seen in reports provided by other groups that regularly monitor civilian deaths in Iraq. For example, Iraq Body Count, a nongovernmental group based in Britain, said the number of civilian deaths in September was 1,280, compared with 2,575 in August, a reduction of nearly half. Also on Monday, Reuters, citing information gathered from the Iraqi Health, Interior and Defense Ministries, also reported a 50 percent decline, but gave different figures, saying 884 civilians were killed in September — the lowest monthly total this year — compared with 1,773 in August.Iraq Body Count had reported that violence against civilians in Iraq reached highs in the last six months of 2006, and that the first six months of 2007 was the most deadly first half for civilians of any year since the war began.The recent drop in violence against noncombatants in Iraq occurred during a time when Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia had promised to inflict more. Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia is a homegrown Sunni Arab extremist group that American intelligence has concluded is led by foreigners. More than two weeks ago, at the start of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, the group said it would escalate its attacks, particularly against Sunni Arab tribal leaders who were cooperating with American military and Iraqi security forces.An American military spokesman here said Sunday that attacks led by Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia in Anbar Province, Iraq’s largely Sunni western region, were down 38 percent compared with the same period last year.While the number of American troops killed in September was the lowest monthly total seen this year, the fatality total through the first nine months of the year, 801, is more than 200 higher than what had been recorded through that period in any year since the war began.“The casualty figures are still too high,” the spokesman, Rear Admiral Mark I. Fox, said during a news conference in the fortified Green Zone. But he added, “The trend is in the right direction.”
In a joint statement, the top American civilian and military leaders in Iraq praised Iraq’s security forces, religious leaders and ordinary citizens. “You and your fellow citizens have demonstrated resolve in the face of challenges posed by Iraq’s extremist enemies,” said the statement by Ryan C. Crocker, the American ambassador to Iraq, and Gen. David H. Petraeus, the commander of American forces. “Increasing numbers of citizens have rejected extremism,” the statement went on, also praising the followers of Moktada al-Sadr, the anti-American Shiite cleric who in August ordered his militia to cease fire against American troops. Meanwhile, as October arrived, a measure of violence in Iraq continued, against American forces and civilians. A car bomb exploded near a university in Mosul, in northern Iraq, killing a professor of agriculture and five other people, a police spokesman said. Also, 11 bodies were found in Baghdad, the Interior Ministry official said. In the southern city of Basra, an assassination attempt against the city’s chief of police failed, the police reported.
9) Iraqi sacred site to be rebuilt http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/7020221.stm Reconstruction work will begin next month on a revered shrine in the Iraqi city of Samarra blown up in the current conflict, UN cultural body Unesco says. The al-Askari shrine, one of Iraq's most sacred Shia sites, was partly destroyed in two attacks over two years by suspected Sunni militants. Thousands have died in sectarian violence triggered by the first attack. The rebuilding work will be carried out by a Turkish company, and is being funded mostly by the EU and Unesco. Officials said the work would begin after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ends in the middle of October. The project is expected to cost $16m (£7.9m), of which $8m will come from the EU, $5m from Unesco and $3m from the Iraqi government. Haqi al-Hakim, an aide to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, told the Associated Press news agency the initial phase of clearing the site could take 10 months. The February 2006 attack on the shrine, in which its golden dome was destroyed, sparked violence which has led to thousands of deaths over the past 18 months. A second attack, in June 2007, saw its ancient minarets destroyed. Both attacks were blamed on Sunni militants.
10) Team sees success in faces of Habbaniyah http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14352&Itemid=1
BAGHDAD — When a group of American military advisors deployed to Iraq and took over a small combat outpost on the outskirts of town recently, they knew the task ahead might get tough, but each day would be rewarding. The Marines and Sailors that make up Military Transition Team 13, working alongside the 1st Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division, are increasing the security of the area and the quality of life for local residents as well.They operate out of a dusty, war-faced outpost named the OK Corral. They usually work long hours, patrolling streets with Iraqi Soldiers or standing post overlooking the Euphrates River. They cook each meal themselves, because there is no chow hall to feed the 14 Marines, two corpsmen and company of Iraqi soldiers. They have learned to adapt, dealt with sweltering heat and braved the roadways of a foreign land.Many of the men of MTT 13 have been to Iraq before, making them ideal candidates for an advisory team. The Soldiers that make up 1st Battalion are veteran war fighters as well; hardened by battles past, experienced in combat operations. Perhaps that is why the people in this area trust the Iraqi Soldiers.Habbaniyah is a corridor in a crucial area, known as Jazerria, located between the once terrorist safe-haven cities of Fallujah and Ramadi. Nowadays, people go about their lives freely, searching for jobs, attending schools, plowing fields and shopping in crowded markets without fear of being shot in the crossfire of combat. “The IAs (Iraqi Army soldiers) have won the trust of the people,” said U.S. Marines Cpl. Jason Syvrud, an infantryman attached to MTT 13. “People see that they’re here, the area is safe, they are happy that their families aren’t at risk anymore. The IA is here to help the whole country get back on its feet. The people love seeing (that) change. The country as a whole is trying to rebuild.”Syvrud is only 22, but is currently serving his third tour in Iraq. He has been in cities where it was difficult to trust the citizens. But now he has seen a significant change in the war and in the people. He feels pride in his advisory role, knowing each day is bringing comfort to strangers he once felt uncomfortable around. “I’ve seen, in the three times I’ve been here, (that) this country has done a complete 180. It’s gone from everyone not knowing what to do and being scared to do anything, to them starting to come out and finding out what a democratic society would be like,” he said. “Now, they are really trying to get involved. They’re building their schools up. They’re building up the mosques, their homes. They’re trying to find jobs. It looks more and more like a typical American rural area. The majority of the people seem happy. They’re doing what they have to do to survive and building a life out of this.”Safety is what brings out the smiles and trust of the townspeople, Syvrud said. The locals are involved with the Iraqi Army now. They help locate possible terrorists. They have begun to rebuild their community by fixing up schools, roads and mosques. The province is still early in reconstruction efforts, but the transition seems to be working as planned.Getting the soldiers to understand the benefits of civil engagements, such as the civil medical engagements, is a priority for MTT 13 team chief, U.S. Marines Lt. Col. Thomas Hobbs. Transition teams have assisted other agencies which provide medical care to people who would normally have to travel to Ramadi to see a doctor. With more than 16 years of experience in the Marine Corps, Hobbs said focusing on civil affairs can not only counter the insurgent’s propaganda, but win the hearts and minds of law-abiding citizens.
“This battalion tends to be very focused on conventional operations. What I mean by that is in a counter-insurgency environment they are enamored with cache sweeps, security patrolling,” Hobbs said. “They should be focusing on civil affairs information operations and focusing on the population as a whole. The security level right now allows for that, so I’m trying to teach them to think in that manner.”Hobbs praised the Iraqi company commanders for understanding the impact civil affairs has on the war efforts. “They have been very willing to get out and meet the population and doing civil affairs projects on their own, even without money. We’ve been really successful in getting the companies to move and they’re actually initiating a lot of things I want to change or make better,” he said. Hobbs said the predominately Shiite Army has been received with open arms by the Anbari locals, who are mainly Sunni. One reason may lie in the idea of getting his team of advisors to stress the importance of making the population comfortable with Iraqi leaders. It is his philosophy that if the people are happy and satisfied with their life, then the terrorists will no longer have the ability to move freely within the community. He said the company and platoon leaders have begun to buy into the civil affairs mindset. As a result, the city has not seen any escalation in force in more than two months.The Iraqis Soldiers can fight, that has been proven during the past year and a half of combat operations. Hobbs said the battalion is known throughout the Iraqi Army for its ability to engage and defeat the enemy, and that is what the terrorists should realize. The mission now is to concentrate on keeping this rural area safe and prospering. The smiles on children are evidence enough that the plan is working.“I feel proud when I look around and see the kids and people smiling,” Syvrud said. “They’re happy when the Army and Marines come walking around, they aren’t afraid of us anymore. They’re happy with themselves, they’re happy with the environment around them and they’re striving to get better. They’re not just satisfied with things; they want it better, just like any American does.”
11) U.S. takes Anbar model to Iraqi Shiites http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1002/p01s07-wome.html
A variation on a successful effort appears to be curbing attacks south of Baghdad. By Gordon Lubold | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Forward Operating Base Iskan, Iraq The violence has dropped dramatically, say US commanders, in the towns surrounding this base in northern Babil Province, south of Baghdad. In May, four improvised explosive device (IED) attacks targeted the battalion; none in August, says Maj. Craig Whiteside, executive officer of the 1st Battalion of the 501st Infantry Regiment. Fewer undetonated IEDs have been found – five in May and two in August. Indirect fire and small-arms violence have also dropped from about a dozen incidents in May to less than three in August. The reason, they say, is that the same approach that won success in Anbar Province, where the Marines gained support of Sunni tribesmen against Al Qaeda, is taking hold in mixed-sectarian areas. But here, Americans have enlisted Shiites frustrated with extremists from such groups as the Mahdi Army, run by Moqtada al-Sadr. Across the Euphrates River Valley, known to the military as the southern belts of Baghdad, about 14,000 Shiite and Sunni "concerned citizens" are being paid to man checkpoints and patrol roads in an effort to prevent attacks from violent extremism of either sect. Largely untrained and armed with weapons they already own, the citizens wear armbands and monitor traffic along the roads, keeping watch to ensure no outsiders or other extremist elements come through to bury roadside bombs. If they fail to keep violence out, they could lose their monthly paycheck. Ultimately, the idea is that they will become members of the Iraq security forces. "They are making their community safe," says Army Capt. Charles Levine, one of the company commanders here. His battalion has recruited more than 1,300 participants since mid-September. A little less than half of them are Shiite. The program offers Iraqis 90-day contracts. If it continues to be successful, it could counter false perceptions that the US is arming Sunnis against the Shiite government, as it attempts to install security among all tribes, not just those in Sunni areas. There is a cautionary element to the effort: It is still unclear what exactly motivates the individuals, beyond the money they receive. But regardless, the American military credits the program for a dramatic drop in violence against US forces and a decrease in other violence, says Major Whiteside. The drop here follows a decline in violence throughout Iraq, which the US military says is a sign the troop surge is having an impact. Deaths of both US troops and Iraqi civilians in September fell to their lowest levels in more than a year. The Pentagon says 58 US forces died last month, 33 from hostile fire. That was the lowest number since July 2006. Iraqi civilian deaths fell to 922 in September, from 1,975 in August, according to the Associated Press. In these towns south of Baghdad, however, it's not clear how much the civilian programs have contributed to a lowering of the sectarian violence that is not targeting US forces. Unlike in Baghdad, the sectarian violence here is "very local," and it can be difficult to attribute any one incident to tribal, sectarian, or criminal acts. "It's pretty small scale and it's less than it used to be because [Al Qaeda in Iraq] is almost out of the picture and [the Mahdi Army] is still at it and keeps killing Sunnis here and there," says Whiteside. For now, American troops marvel at the turnaround here, once one of the most dangerous areas in which more than 20 Americans were killed in this battalion. "The more successful this is, the more the locals will embrace this thing and guard it more closely," says Army Lt. Col. Beau Balcavage, the stocky battalion commander. At $500,000 per month, the program is far cheaper, he points out, than replacing a Humvee damaged by a roadside bomb – not to mention loss of life or limb. At a recent recruitment drive, Americans traveled to a nearby school. When they arrived, more men showed up than were expected, and one, wide-eyed and hopeful, had to be turned away because he was too young. Many military analysts did not believe the Anbar model, where Sunni sheikhs sided with the Americans, could be easily copied elsewhere – or within other sects. During testimony in Washington in early September, Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top US general here, acknowledged that it's hard to copy that success. "While Anbar is unique and the model it provides cannot be replicated everywhere in Iraq, it does demonstrate the dramatic change in security that is possible with the support and participation of local citizens," he said. 24462
Anbar model with a twist
The program in Babil Province is as much the same as the one in Anbar as it is different.There, Sunnis largely motivated by self-preservation are signing up in droves, not only to protect themselves from extremists such as Al Qaeda in Iraq but also for the empowerment it provides to Sunni tribes who feel isolated from the Shiite-led government in Baghdad. Sunnis there are given a one-time $150 payment; a bag of food; and a T-shirt. Under a different command, the military here pays a daily rate to both Sunni and Shiite. But among the Shiites, there is more concern about security than central government indifference. Many simply want the work: At $10 a day, it is an appealing jobs program in this agrarian area where date palms and pomegranate trees outnumber buildings. But the program comes with inherent risk and also indicates that the US military can only do so much to sustain a secure environment before the government of Iraq must accept that responsibility for itself. While the hope is that these individuals will be folded into the Iraq security forces, it's not clear if the political infighting that has crippled the government of Iraq will allow that to happen right away. And if the 90-day contracts expire, without renewal or without government sponsorship, and the citizens lose their jobs, the paid-for loyalty could also lapse. Colonel Balcavage says that won't happen initially because he will renew the contracts if he has to. Ultimately, however, it will be up to the central government to step up, according to military officials in Baghdad. Long-term success?"We think the [concerned citizens] are the best solution all across Iraq," says Sheikh Yusif Fadel, a Sunni who, like many, is distrustful of the government of Iraq and doubts it will pay for the program, because Sunnis make up so much of it. American officials say they have early assurances that the Iraqi government will support the program. It's only a question of convincing it that it is a security program, not an attempt to create armed militias, officials in Baghdad say. Captain Levine says he believes the program will work, but more important, it has allowed the Shiite to see the impact of their efforts, albeit with US help. "Even if the contract is not renewed, even if the transition to the [Iraqi police] is not successful, they have stepped up, given ownership of their community and they can be proud of it," he says. "They can say 'I can be part of the solution.' "
12) Iraq's Golden Silence http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=276131413423304
By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Monday, October 01, 2007 4:20 PM PT Media And War: Ever since the Sept. 10 testimony of Gen. David Petraeus, we've heard less and less from the mainstream media about the war in Iraq. The old adage "no news is good news" has never been truer.That the media are no longer much interested in Iraq is a sure sign things are going well there. Instead, they're talking about the presidential campaign, or Burma, or global warming, or . . . whatever.Why? Simply put, the news from Iraq has been quite positive, as Petraeus related in his report to Congress. Consider:
• On Monday came news that U.S. military deaths in Iraq fell to 64 in September, the fourth straight drop since peaking at 121 in May and driving the toll to a 14-month low.
• Civilian deaths also have plunged, dropping by more than half from August to 884. Remember just six months ago all the talk of an Iraqi "civil war"? That seems to be fading.
• The just-ended holy month of Ramadan in Iraq was accompanied by a 40% drop in violence, even though al-Qaida had vowed to step up attacks.
• Speaking of al-Qaida, the terrorist group appears to be on the run, and possibly on the verge of collapse — despite making Iraq the center of its war for global hegemony and a new world order based on precepts of fundamentalist Islam.
• Military officials say U.S. troops have killed Abu Usama al-Tunisi, a Tunisian senior leader of al-Qaida in Iraq who was responsible for bringing foreign fighters into the country. Not surprisingly, the pace of foreign fighters entering Iraq has been more than halved from the average of 60 to 80 a month.
• Last month, 1,200 Iraqis waited patiently in line in Iraq's searing heat to sign up to fight al-Qaida. They will join an estimated 30,000 volunteers in the past six months — a clear sign the tide has turned in the battle for average Iraqis' hearts and minds.
• Finally, and lest you think it's all death and destruction, there's this: Five million Iraqi children returned to school last week, largely without incident, following their summer vacations. None of this, of course, is accidental. The surge of 28,500 new troops announced by President Bush last February, and put in place in mid-June by Gen. Petraeus, seems to have worked extraordinarily well. Al-Qaida, though still a potent foe capable of committing mass atrocities, has been backpedaling furiously. "They are very broken up, very unable to mass, and conducting very isolated operations" is how Brig. Gen. Joseph Anderson described al-Qaida's situation in comments this week. Things have gone so well, in fact, that leading Democratic contenders have stopped calling for a "timetable" for withdrawal and can't even promise they'll remove all the troops by 2013.In short, the U.S. is — yes, we'll use the word —winning the war against al-Qaida. And not just in Iraq. In fact, the only way we won't win is if we do something very stupid — such as letting the overwhelmingly negative media convince us we can't do what we clearly are doing.
13) Al-Qaida Confirms Tunisian's Death http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/10/01/international/i144403D52.DTL Monday, October 1, 2007 CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- An umbrella group for al-Qaida in Iraq has confirmed the death of a senior leader, a Tunisian linked to the kidnapping and killings of U.S. soldiers last year, according to a statement posted Monday. Abu Osama al-Tunisi was killed in a U.S. airstrike south of Baghdad, the U.S. Central Command reported last week. On Monday, the Islamic State of Iraq, an al-Qaida front group, called al-Tunisi a martyr. It praised him for performing jihad, or holy war, "with his tongue and teeth" and credited him with participating in the battles of Fallujah, storming the Abu Ghraib prison and creating a "triangle of death" south of Baghdad. The authenticity of the statement, posted on a militant Web site, could not be independently verified by The Associated Press.
14) More than 60 insurgents killed in Iraq
September 30, 2007 By Steven R. Hurst - BAGHDAD (AP) — U.S. and Iraqi forces killed more than 60 insurgent and militia fighters in intense battles over the weekend, with most of the casualties believed to have been al Qaeda fighters, officials said today.
The U.S. Embassy, meanwhile, joined a broad swath of Iraqi politicians — both Shiite and Sunni — in criticizing a nonbinding Senate resolution seen here as a recipe for splitting the country along sectarian and ethnic lines. U.S. aircraft killed more than 20 al Qaeda fighters who opened fire on an American air patrol northwest of Baghdad, the U.S. command said. The firefight between U.S. aircraft and the insurgent fighters occurred yesterday about 17 miles northwest of the capital, the military said. The aircraft observed about 25 al Qaeda insurgents carrying AK-47 assault rifles — one brandishing a rocket-propelled grenade — walking into a palm grove, the military said. "Shortly after spotting the men, the aircraft were fired upon by the insurgent fighters," it said. The military did not say what kind of aircraft were involved but the fact that the fighters opened fire suggests they were low-flying Apache helicopters. 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. "Coalition forces have dealt significant blows to al Qaeda Iraq in recent months, including the recent killing of the Tunisian head of the foreign fighter network in Iraq and the blows struck in the past 24 hours," military spokesman Col. Steven Boylan told Associated Press. Iraq's Defense Ministry said in an e-mail this afternoon 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 Qaeda. In a separate operation, U.S. forces killed two insurgents and detained 21 others during weekend operations "to disrupt al Qaeda in Iraq networks in the Tigris River Valley." Intelligence led to a raid early today that netted what the U.S. military called 15 rogue members of the Mahdi Army militia at an undisclosed Baghdad location. The mainstream of the militia, the armed wing of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's organization, has been ordered by the religious leader to stop attacks on U.S. and Iraqi forces. But many one-time members of the group have split off and are acting independently of al-Sadr's control. Some have gone to Iran for training and are receiving weapons and financing from the Islamic regime in Tehran. The Senate resolution, adopted last week, proposed reshaping Iraq according to three sectarian or ethnic territories. It calls for a limited central government with the bulk of power going to the country's Shiite, Sunni or Kurdish regions, envisioning a power-sharing agreement similar to the one that ended the 1990s war in Bosnia. Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden, a Democrat presidential candidate, was a prime sponsor. In a highly unusual 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," the unsigned statement said. "Iraq's leaders must and will take the lead in determining how to achieve these national aspirations. ... attempts to partition or divide Iraq by intimidation, force or other means into three separate states would produce extraordinary suffering and bloodshed," it said. The statement came just hours after representatives of Iraq's major political parties denounced the Senate proposal.
The Kurds in three northern Iraqi provinces are running a virtually independent country within Iraq while nominally maintaining relations with Baghdad. They support a formal division, but both Sunni and Shiite Muslims have denounced the proposal.
At a news conference earlier in the day, at least nine Iraqi political parties and party blocs — both Shiite and Sunni — said the Senate resolution would diminish Iraq's sovereignty and said they would try to pass a law to ban any division of the country. "This proposal was based on the incorrect reading and unrealistic estimations of Iraq's past, present and future," according to a statement read at a news conference by Izzat al-Shahbandar, a representative of the secular Iraqi National List. On Friday, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told AP that "dividing Iraq is a problem, and a decision like that would be a catastrophe." Iraq's constitution lays down a federal system, allowing Shiites in the south, Kurds in the north and Sunnis in the center and west of the country to set up regions with considerable autonomous powers. Nevertheless, ethnic and sectarian turmoil have snarled hopes of negotiating such measures, especially given deep divisions on sharing the country's vast oil resources. Oil reserves and existing fields would fall mainly into the hands of Kurds and Shiites if such a division were to occur. Also today, a judge delayed court proceedings for a second U.S. Army sniper accused in the deaths of two unarmed Iraqi civilians a day after a military panel sentenced a 22-year-old specialist to five months in prison for his role in the killings
13) Iraq Reconciliation Drive Offers Marriage Bonus Assyrian International News Agency BAGHDAD (Reuters) -- Iraq is offering a cash bonus to married Iraqi couples from different sectarian groups in a drive to heal rifts between communities and foster reconciliation.At a ceremony in Baghdad to launch the new initiative on Tuesday, 250 recently married couples from across Iraq accepted awards from Sunni Arab vice President Tareq al-Hashemi. Those in mixed marriages received $1,500.Hashemi did not specify whether all couples getting married in the future would qualify for the bonuses but said there would be a programme of ceremonies to celebrate mixed marriages.Tens of thousands of Iraqis have been killed in sectarian violence since the U.S. invasion of 2003 that toppled Saddam Hussein, a minority Sunni who suppressed the majority Shi'ites and Kurds in the north.Feuding between politicians from the sectarian groups has all but paralysed the government of Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and stymied progress on reconciliation reforms Washington wants."Today we have a new programme in which we want to break the sectarian strife," Hashemi said."We will allocate a special bonus to those who break this hateful sectarian yoke and get married on the basis that his wife is an Iraqi, not because she is a Sunni or a Shi'ite."Shi'ite Ali al-Kilabi, 29, married a Sunni woman two months ago and was happy with the $1,500 he received to pay off his marriage debts."There are people who are so fanatical. We are neutral, we do not pay attention to these matters. We do not differentiate between Shi'ites or Sunnis," he told Reuters."My wife and I do not argue because we are from a different sect. We condemn people who are sensitive about these matters."The sectarian violence in Iraq has forced hundreds of thousands of people to move out of neighbourhoods dominated by one sect or another, leading to huge displacement of Iraqis.According to an Iraqi Red Crescent report for August 2007, nearly two million Iraqis have left from their homes since the bombing of a Shi'ite shrine in Samarra in February 2006 sparked a wave of sectarian violence.Um Fuad's son, a Kurd, married a Sunni Arab a year ago. The couple was keen to get the money to pay hospital bills as his wife is about to have a baby. Um Fuad's other son married a Shi'ite and needs the cash to pay off wedding debts."We do not differentiate between sects," she said.But for some at the ceremony, the money was scant compensation for the loss and suffering they have endured since Saddam was toppled.Um Ubaida, a 25-year-old Sunni civil servant, looked pale and expressionless as she went to receive the wedded couples bonus to help with her debts. She married last year and had a baby two months ago, but has not seen her husband for seven months.
14) Petraeus Outs an Iranian http://www.nysun.com/article/64090 BY ELI LAKE - Staff Reporter of the Sun October 8, 2007
WASHINGTON — General David Petraeus's decision to out the Iranian ambassador to Iraq as a member of the Quds Force coincides with a new tribal outreach campaign aimed at prying Iraqi Shiites in the south from the grip of Iran's powerful security services. American and Iraqi forces and intelligence agencies in August began to send emissaries to southern Iraqi tribal sheiks in an effort to recruit a Shiite version of the Anbar Salvation Front, the Sunni tribal chieftains who aligned themselves against Al Qaeda. In this case, however, the plan is aimed largely at turning the local population in five key cities — Basra, Karbala, Kut, Najaf, and Nasiriyah — against Iran's Revolutionary Guard and the militias that the guard largely controls.
In the last two months in particular, General Petraeus, the top American commander in Iraq, has blamed a good deal of the violence in Iraq on Iranian meddling. He went much further yesterday, telling CNN that the Iranian ambassador in Baghdad, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, was a member of the country's Quds Force, the elite terrorist training arm of the Revolutionary Guard. With the new information now confirmed by General Petraeus, any future talks with the Iranians over their role in fueling the insurgency in Iraq are unlikely. The Quds Force not only is implicated in planning attacks on American soldiers, it also is "implicated in the assassination of some governors in the southern provinces," the general said. He added that there was no chance he would return the Iranians captured in operations since January, a key demand of Mr. Qomi. The New York Sun reported in April that those Iranians are being held in jails run both by Iraq's Sunni intelligence service and the American military. In yesterday's interview, the general said there was no debate that the men captured were members of the Quds Force. Of the negotiations with Iran, General Petraeus said America was in "show-me mode." A number of Iraqi leaders have traveled to Tehran and asked that the Iranians "stop the lethal assistance," he said. "There have been sub-ambassadorial meetings, as well. And there have been assurances in return, actually from Iran to Iraqi leaders, and we are waiting to see if those assurances bear fruit." While General Petraeus said Al Qaeda remains the most immediate threat to the Iraqi government, he added that the Iranians have provided advanced weapons to Iraq's insurgents that have not been previously disclosed. The list of munitions includes rocket-propelled grenades, shoulder-launched missiles, and 244-millimeter rockets. To date, the military has focused largely on Iran's role in providing terrorists in Iraq and the Taliban in Afghanistan with the roadside copper disc mines known as explosively formed penetrators.Less publicly, the multinational forces in Iraq are reaching out to Shiite tribes in the south, an area mostly vacated by British troops, to try the Salvation Front model there. In an interview with the Associated Press on September 16 near the city of Kut, in the Wasit province, Sheik Majid Tahir al-Magsous said last month's murder of the head of the Anbar front, Sheik Abdul Sattar al-Rishawi, would not thwart his efforts to emulate the model. Defense Secretary Gates has also said he has seen some signs in the south of a new awakening among Shiites.
The outreach effort began in August, a military officer said yesterday, and the CIA, the Army, and the Iraqi security agencies are coordinating meetings with local tribal leaders. "In a lot of cases, we are gauging interest," the officer, who requested anonymity, said. Any effort like this is not likely to show signs of success until early next year, he added.Another component of the southern tribal outreach is to draw elements of Moqtada al-Sadr's militia, the Mahdi Army, into the government, separating those elements of the militia believed to be controlled by members of the Revolutionary Guard. Mr. Sadr, who gained a measure of independence after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, fled to Iran in February, soon after General Petraeus arrived in Baghdad. A militia affiliated with the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council, known as the Badr Brigade, was trained by the Revolutionary Guard when Iran harbored the organization before the war. However, the leader of the SIIC, Ayatollah Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, announced in June that his organization no longer accepted the Shiite doctrine associated with Iran's Islamic revolution called the rule of jurisprudence, or the notion that Shiite clerics should also wield political power in Shiite states. After his declaration, Ayatollah Hakim flew to Iran for surgery, leading some American analysts to doubt the sincerity of the group's conversion.The tribal outreach campaign with the Shiites is meant in part to marginalize the Shiite theology of the leader of the 1979 Iranian revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the military officer said. "We are trying to make the case that he was an infidel," he said.
15) Iraqi court renders judgments http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14448&Itemid=21
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE RELEASE No. 20071005-21 Multi-National Division – North PAO Friday, 05 October 2007 TIKRIT, Iraq – A recently established Iraqi court tried three cases and further demonstrated a justice system that is capable and efficient for the citizens of Salah ad Din province, Oct. 2. The Salah ad Din Major Crimes Court, in operation for only several weeks, completed three cases this week, resulting in convictions for two murders and a kidnapping. Both criminals convicted of murder were sentenced to death while the kidnapping case resulted in a 15-year prison sentence. With each decision, the convicted persons can elect to appeal the decision. Their cases will be heard by an appeals court sitting in Baghdad. The Iraqi courts continue to demonstrate the Iraqi government’s commitment to a fair and impartial justice system and establishing rule of law. The self-sufficient court is operated by the Iraqi government.
16) An Iraq War Milestone http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/10/an_iraq_war_milestone. October 08, 2007
By Frank Friday American Thinker Magazine Reports of success stemming from the U.S. military's surge campaign to finally crush the terrorist violence in Iraq have been numerous, but one little remarked development may be more significant than the press supposes. In late September, convoys of tanker trucks were once again crossing the western desert to deliver crude oil to Jordan's refinery complex at Zarqa. Before the 2003 invasion, Iraq sent thousands of tanker trucks each day on this important export outlet, but security concerns in Anbar province have until now kept the trucks parked.Iraq's only reliable shipment point since 2003 for its oil has been south, through the port of Basra. A major export pipeline from Kirkuk to the Turkish port of Ceyhan has been continually attacked and only operated sporadically.Unfortunately, some of the attacks on this pipeline have also been attributed to local truckers not terrorists, hoping to shut down a competitor.Iraq has also been in discussions to build controversial export pipelines to Iran and Syria. The capacity will be needed if Iraq can start to realize its oil producing potential. Right now it's lucky to export 2 million barrels of crude oil a day, because the security situation has hobbled revitalization of infrastructure. With a fairly minimal investment, however, most energy experts believe Iraq could be exporting 6 million barrels a day and having a major impact on world energy prices -- if only there was some way to ship it all out.That's where the tanker trucks come in. Oil pipelines are expensive, take years to build and can be knocked off line with one small attack. Truck convoys though, can be assembled quickly in almost limitless sizes, and heavily guarded. A terrorist attack, even if successful, can only destroy a few trucks at a time and not hinder the rest. Also, most of the route itself on Iraq's Highway 10 is across empty desert, with few local villages for attackers to hide in ambush.If a large scale energy corridor can be developed across Iraq from the Kurdish oil fields west to Jordan and its refineries and ports, the economic benefits would be enormous. The Sunni tribes along this path would have every incentive to want to keep the peace and the resulting trucking and oil patch jobs. A friendly Arab country, Jordan, would also be a significant part of this prosperity. And while Israel has not unfortunately been granted diplomatic or trade recognition with Iraq, it does have excellent commercial relations with Jordan and would greatly benefit indirectly, as well.
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All the Iraq news for Today, 10-09-07. This is the stuff the MSM didn’t have time to explain. Remember, if there is any good news, it’s only because of the evil conspiracy.
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