Posted on 03/22/2005 6:58:27 PM PST by TexKat
Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld (center) shakes hands with Defense Attaché Col. Bill Dalson, U.S. Air Force, after arriving at the Ministro Pistarini de Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on March 21, 2005. Rumsfeld is traveling to South and Central America to meet with key government officials and his defense counterparts to strengthen bilateral ties. DoD photo by Tech. Sgt. Cherie A. Thurlby, U.S. Air Force. (Released)
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A flight deck crewman signals the pilots of an SH-60 Seahawk helicopter as they prepare to lift off from the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) on March 10, 2005. The Truman Strike Group and Carrier Air Wing 3 are conducting close air support, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions over Iraq. DoD photo by Airman Ryan O'Connor, U.S. Navy. (Released)
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By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
BRASILIA, Brazil, March 22, 2005 – Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld arrived here at Brazil’s capital city today after participating in what he described as “excellent” discussions with Argentina’s minister of defense earlier in the day. After meeting with Defense Minister Jose Pampuro in Buenos Aires, Rumsfeld told reporters that the United States’ relationship with Argentina “continues to strengthen.”
Rumsfeld praised Argentina’s “vital” role in flood relief efforts in Haiti, where Argentine forces are part of a Brazilian-led, U.N. peacekeeping-humanitarian force that also includes Guatemalan troops.
Pampuro echoed Rumsfeld’s praise of the quality of their discussions, saying the talks were “fruitful.” U.S.-Argentine collaborations in defense matters, Pampuro noted, are “highly beneficial for both our countries.”
The two leaders also noted there’d be continued U.S.-Argentine cooperation in the science and technology fields, and signaled their mutual interest in continuing U.S.-Argentine military exercises.
After issuing statements to reporters, Rumsfeld and Pampuro traveled across town to tour the Metropolitan Cathedral. Afterward, the U.S. defense secretary made his farewells to the Argentine defense minister and headed to the airport for the flight to Brazil.
Speaking with reporters on the plane trip to Brasilia, Rumsfeld said the South American countries of Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay “have a very good, constructive relationship” among themselves, similar to how Central American nations cooperate on mutual defense issues.
“They’re all focused on the importance of democracy and work together to try to see that countries do not slip away from democratic institutions,” Rumsfeld pointed out. Such countries, he added, recognize and understand how democratic systems, economic development and security issues are interrelated.
The lack of security and a peaceful environment, Rumsfeld noted to the traveling press, proves counterproductive to economic activity.
Rumsfeld said he’d discuss mutual defense interests with senior Brazilian government leaders, including Defense Minister Jose Alencar Gomes Da Silva.
Slightly smaller than the United States in landmass, Brazil is the largest and most populous country in South America, with the region’s most robust economy.
The United States maintains a keen interest in activities across the Western Hemisphere, Rumsfeld told reporters during the flight from Washington to Argentina, noting America has “good military-to-military relationships” with Argentina, Brazil and Guatemala.
Rumsfeld arrived in Buenos Aires March 21, kicking off a four-day Latin American trip. The secretary is slated to conclude his trip with a visit to the Central American nation of Guatemala before returning to Washington.
VMFA-142 Gators put steel on target for 3/25
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Story Identification #: 20053218254 Story by Cpl. Rocco DeFilippis
AL ASAD, Iraq (March 21, 2005) -- Aircraft from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 142, a reserve unit, responded to a call for air support from 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, a reserve infantry battalion, who was conducting security patrols in the Al Anbar province on March 18.
Two of the squadron's F/A-18A+ Hornets responded to the call from a 3/25 forward air controller, who spoke with the pilots to coordinate the air strike, after the Marines were engaged by enemy fire.
Using an infrared laser, the Hornets were guided to the target by the forward air controller on the ground, only 30 minutes after receiving the first call for support, the pilots had delivered their ordnance.
"It was hard to see at night, but the systems on our aircraft, and competence of the controller on the ground allowed us to destroy the target swiftly," said one of the pilots who asked not to be named.
On that night, 3/25 encountered two men armed with automatic rifles who appeared to be digging a hole for an improvised explosive device. The Marines engaged the insurgents, who fled to an isolated building. After continued small-arms engagement, the VMFA-142 aircraft arrived and eliminated the enemy threat with two 500lbs, laser guided bombs.
Although neither unit knew it at the time, both the Marines on the ground and in the air are from reserve units, and their actions are a testament to the readiness and preparation of the Marine Corps reserves.
"We are equally able to function with active duty and reserve forces," said Lt. Col. Tracey A. Farris, VMFA-142 executive officer and native of Nashville, Tenn. "We are all cut from the same template, so there are no obstacles or barriers that prevent us from completing the mission."
While the Marines of 3/25, headquartered in Brook Park, Ohio, continue to patrol the towns and cities of Iraq, VMFA-142, based out of Marrietta, Ga., will continue to provide precision strikes to support them from the air.
"Our pilots and maintenance Marines are extremely well prepared," Farris said. "They constantly work to stay on top of the latest technology, tactics and procedures so we can provide the support the Marines on the ground want and expect."
A pillar of smoke and debris erupts from the ground as seen through the camera of one of VMFA-142's F/A-18A+ Hornets. The Hornets responded to a call from 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment who had engaged insurgents hunkered down in an isolated building on March 18. Photo by: Official Marine Corps Photo
3/2 Marines assume authority of Al Qaim region
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division Story Identification #: 200532151947 Story by Lance Cpl. Lucian Friel
CAMP AL QAIM, Iraq (March 9, 2005) -- Lt. Col. Christopher Woodridge, commanding officer of 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, officially transferred authority of Camp Al Qaim and their area of operations to Lt. Col. T.S. Mundy, commanding officer of 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment in a ceremony held here March 9.
The battalion is here to continue stability and security operations in and around Al Qaim for roughly seven months, which was the same amount of time 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, was in the area.
"Seven months is a normal rotation for an infantry battalion. The Marine Corps has found that seven months in one area is the right length of time for an infantry battalion in this type of environment," Mundy explained.
According to Mundy, this is an important area of the country because of the heavy flow of insurgents and terrorists across the Syrian boarder.
The battalion's primary mission will be to continue assisting the Iraqi Security Forces in preventing this influx into Iraq by helping them assume responsibility for their region.
This will be accomplished assisting the ISF in conducting vehicle searches, personnel check points, route security and cordon and knocks, which is the isolation and search of an objective.
"I look forward to seeing the Marines and sailors of the battalion perform their mission to the ability that I know they have," Mundy said. "We spent a long time training to get here. I feel the battalion is well-trained and the Marines are going to be successful."
Mundy and his battalion entered this area with a positive attitude and a strong desire to accomplish their mission.
"It's good to be able to see young men step up to what we expect them to do here.
"We're happy to be here," he explained. "That may sound strange, but the Marines have worked hard to get here and they'll do good work to help this country."
Lance Cpl. Kitioua Villegas, a 21-year-old San Francisco, Calif., native, guards the mess hall, March 5, at Camp Blue Diamond, Ramadi, Iraq. Villegas is part of the guard force here, protecting many of the facilities on the camp. Photo by: Sgt. Stephen D'Alessio
2nd Marine Division assumes control of Al Anbar province
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division Story Identification #: 20053215445 Story by Sgt. Stephen D'Alessio
CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, Ramadi, Iraq (March 17, 2005) -- The 2nd Marine Division's high operational tempo and level of training over the past few months have conditioned the unit for combat operations in its new area of responsibility -- the Al Anbar province.
The 2nd Marine "Tarawa" Division, commanded by Maj. Gen. Richard A. Huck, is now heading up operations from Camp Blue Diamond here within the Sunni Triangle, replacing the 1st Marine Division after their successful 12-month tour.
Although this is the first time in years the 2nd Marine Division headquarters has been fully forward deployed, the unit's leadership is confident that the transition from the 1st Marine Division to the 2nd Marine Division will be very smooth due to the experience gained on prior deployments into volatile environments.
The recent deployments of many of the Tarawa Division's units have provided a wealth of experience and expertise from which to support its current mission in Iraq. Evidence of this can be found in the professionalism and experience each unit has displayed in operations around the globe.
One example of such a deployment was 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment's return from Haiti in June 2004, where they conducted four months of stability and security operations. There the Marines forged their skills in the cramped streets of Port-au-Prince applying many of the same techniques being used here in house-to-house security operations.
Many of the units currently deployed with the Tarawa Division have previously conducted similar operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan and are veterans of this type of counter-insurgency operations.
"We are a task organized Marine unit with an amalgamation of strengths from units all over the world," said Col. Bob Chase, 2nd Marine Division operations officer. "You can't tell me another unit in the world that can do that on such a large scale. We fight hard; we fight right."
This experience has also prepared the Marines of Tarawa Division to continue working with the local Iraqi Security Forces on security and stabilization operations, which began after Marine Corps units assumed control of the region more than a year ago.
"One of our main focuses here is training with the ISF," said Chase. "We'll see some fights out here, but the good news is we won't do it alone."
With the recent Iraqi elections, the local military has stepped into a larger role according to Chase. The Tarawa Division is taking action to help strengthen the bond between the Marines and the Iraqi Security Forces. In turn, it is the division's goal to share more of the responsibility for security and stabilization in the region with the ISF.
Cpl. Troy Brown, a 19-year-old Myrtle Beach, S.C., native, guards the perimeter of the camp, March 5, at Camp Blue Diamond, Ramadi, Iraq. Brown is part of the guard force here, protecting many of the facilities on the camp. Photo by: Sgt. Stephen D'Alessio
Maj. Gen. Richard A. Huck, 2nd Marine Division commanding general, speaks to his officers and enlisted personnel during the Transfer of Authority ceremony with Maj. Gen. Richard F. Natonski, 1st Marine Division commanding general, March 17. Natonski relinquished authority of operations in the Al Anbar Province to Huck during the ceremony. Photo by: Sgt. Stephen D'Alessio
Tarawa Division enters Sunni Triangle
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division Story Identification #: 200532143412 Story by Sgt. Stephen D'Alessio
CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, Ar Ramadi, Iraq (March 17, 2005) -- Maj. Gen. Richard F. Natonski, commanding general for 1st Marine Division, will transfer responsibility of the Al Anbar province this month to Maj. Gen. Richard A. Huck, commanding general for 2nd Marine Division.
The shift of control is a continuation of the stability and security operations already being conducted by Marine Corps units since March 2004. Although the 2nd Marine 'Tarawa' Division, from Camp Lejeune, N.C., is officially taking over operational responsibility for the infamously treacherous region, units from the division have already been in place for some time.
"Understand that this (relief in place) began months ago; we're not new here," said Col. Bob Chase, 2nd Marine Division operations officer. "Many current 'ops' were planned in conjunction between the 1st Marine Division and ourselves over the course of a few months. One of the most recent operations, River Blitz, was a joint 1st and 2nd Marine Division operation. But certainly the final decisions rested with the commander on the ground."
The Tarawa Division will continue most of the techniques, tactics and procedures the 1st Marine Division established according to Chase. The 2nd Marine Division will continue to refine and adopt new methods of thwarting insurgent activity.
"A few things we bring to the fight are a fresh set of eyes and a shift of focus as we partner more with the (Iraqi Security Forces)," said Chase. "There's a pride that certainly comes with the changeover as the Marines of our division move into this area of operations, and continue to build on the successes of 1st Division."
With the recent Iraqi elections, the local military has stepped into a larger role according to Chase. The Tarawa Division is taking action to help strengthen the bond between the Marines and the Iraqi Security Forces. In turn, it is the division's goal to share more of the responsibility for security and stabilization in the region with the ISF.
"One of our main focuses here is training with the ISF," said Chase. "We'll see some fights out here, but the good news is we won't do it alone."
As the 2nd Marine Division fully integrates as a task-organized unit, the Marines are bringing their hard-earned experience to the fight in the Global War on Terrorism.
Chase concluded by saying, "We have some new ideas, and we're well rested. That will help us finish what the 1st Marine Division did well. We owe that to the Marines to not let their work go to the wayside."
Maj. Gen. Richard F. Natonski, 1st Marine Division commanding general, speaks to his officers and enlisted personnel in the Transfer of Authority ceremony with Maj. Gen. Richard A. Huck, 2nd Marine Division commanding general, March 17. Natonski relinquished authority of operations in the Al Anbar Province to Huck during the ceremony. Photo by: Sgt. Stephen D'Alessio
Maj, Gen. Richard F. Natonski, 1st Marine Division commanding general, marches off deck in the Transfer of Authority ceremony with Maj. Gen. Richard A. Huck, 2nd Marine Division commanding general, March 17. Natonski relinquished authority of operations in the Al Anbar Province to Huck during the ceremony.
About hundred and fifty Qatari traditional dhows sailing near the Doha Sheraton Hotel at Doha, Corniche in a sea parade before the opening ceremony of the Doha Cultural Festival (DCF) in Qatar on Tuesday, March 22 2005. An unknown group has claimed responsibility for a Qatar suicide bombing that killed a Briton, and vowed to hit churches and 'crusader' military bases in the region, an Internet statement posted on Tuesday said. The statement came as Qatari officials hunted for clues of any al Qaeda involvement in Saturday's attack, the first in the Gulf Arab state, which hosts the US Central Command that directed the 2003 invasion of Iraq.(AP Photo)
Group Vows Attacks on Churches After Qatar Bombing
By Odai Sirri DOHA (Reuters) - An unknown group has claimed responsibility for a Qatar suicide bombing that killed a Briton, and vowed to hit churches and "crusader" military bases in the region, an Internet statement posted on Tuesday said.
Qatar boosted security in the capital Doha as investigators hunted for clues of any al Qaeda involvement in Saturday's attack, the first in the Gulf Arab state which hosts the U.S. Central Command that directed the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
"We claim responsibility for the historic Qatar operation, carried out by a lion of the Army of the Levant," the statement posted on a Web site used by Islamists said.
Addressing what it called "the supporters of the devil," the group warned "America, Britain and Italy and all those who have defiled the lands of Islam to be ready for the grand surprise."
"The Qatar operation is the beginning," it added.
The authenticity of the statement could not be confirmed, but a Qatari government spokesman and a London-based Islamist activist have both cast doubt on it.
"So far I do not think it is serious," Islamist Yasser al-Sirri told Reuters, adding that the statement did not have the Islamist formulations often used by militant groups.
The Army of the Levant had earlier said it carried out the attack and that it would issue a full statement later.
Qatari officials have said that 16 other people, mostly Arabs and Asians, were wounded in the bombing carried out by an Egyptian suicide bomber who detonated a car laden with explosives at a theater popular with Westerners.
Sources in Doha have said the bomber, named as Omar Ahmad Abdullah Ali, was employed at the IT department in state-run Qatar Petroleum which runs Qatar's rich oil and gas sectors.
EXTRA POLICE PATROLS
The attack came two days after the suspected al Qaeda leader in Saudi Arabia urged militants in Qatar and other Gulf Arab states to wage holy war against "crusaders" in the region.
Witnesses in Doha said police have deployed extra patrols at roundabouts near the bombing site and around Western residential compounds and schools, some of which remained shut, probably until after the Easter holidays.
Blast-proof concrete barriers have been erected around the American School in Doha, they said.
Tuesday's statement said the Army of the Levant had no links to any group in the Palestinian territories or Lebanon -- part of the Middle East known as the Levant.
"There are crusader military bases throughout the land of Islam, inside which there are churches and idols," it said. "By God, we will get you soon and be certain that victory is near."
"We tell all our cells in the Levant and in Mohammed's Peninsula to hit the enemies by striking at their bases and churches as they destroyed our mosques ..., but avoid civilians," the statement added.
Hundreds of foreigners and Qataris took to the streets on Monday in a peaceful state-organized demonstration against the attack which sent jitters among the expatriate community in the small country, which prides itself on its security.
A Qatari man takes a picture of the damaged Doha Players theatre. A shadowy Islamist group which claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing near a British school in Qatar has vowed to carry out attacks against oil installations, churches and Western military bases in the Middle East, in two statements posted on the Internet.(AFP/File/Karim Jaafar)
TV grab taken from Qatar TV shows Omar Ahmad Abdullah Ali. A shadowy Islamist group which claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing near a British school in Qatar has vowed to carry out attacks against oil installations, churches and Western military bases in the Middle East, in two statements posted on the Internet.(AFP/Qatar TV/File)
CAMP AL QA'IM, Iraq (March 18, 2005)- Lance Cpl. Mike Deibert, a driver with the security platoon of 3rd Battalion, 2d Marine Regiment prepares his weapon before the convoy leaves. The Allentown, Pa., native was in the second to last vehicle of the convoy, which was also responsible for rear security. The convoy was to re-supply Marines with Company I in Husaybah. The 2002 North Hampton High School deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Photo by: Lance Cpl. Lucian Friel
New York Marine helps resupply Co. I in Husaybah
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division Story Identification #: 200532133130 Story by Lance Cpl. Lucian Friel
CAMP AL QAIM, Iraq (March 18, 2004) -- The eyes of a squad leader must see the bigger picture of an operation or mission to ensure they bring their Marines home safe.
For Sgt. Clive S. Chinatomby, a squad leader with the security platoon of 3rd Battalion, 2d Marine Regiment, this mission was going to be no different.
The Queens, N.Y., native was in the rear vehicle of a convoy that left March 18 to re-supply Marines with Company I in Husaybah.
"It was important because that's the only supply line for those Marines. We brought them food, Gatorade, vehicle parts, etc. Without the convoy they wouldn't get the supplies they need," explained the 1993 Forest Hills High School graduate.
Chinatomby's role in the convoy as the rear security vehicle squad leader was to make sure the rear of the convoy wasn't drifting, to pick up security for the rear and his vehicle was the over watch.
Chinatomby believes the most important thing in a convoy is security and ensuring all Marines and Navy personnel are safe.
"Everything went smooth as planned. The only thing that happened was a flat tire so it was successful. Whenever you have no casualties, a convoy is successful," he explained.
The 29-year-old previously deployed to Iraq in 2003 during this time frame and extended his current contract to deploy here a second time. He has high hopes for this deployment.
"My goal out here is to try to clear out all the insurgents so we can go home and the Iraqis can control their country," he continued. "I want to help in avoiding more terrorist attacks like the World Trade Center."
Chinatomby joined the Marine Corps in 1993 after graduating high school. He tried to join when he was only 16 years old because he knew he wanted to be a Marine.
"I loved the fast pace lifestyle, and when I saw the recruiting video at the recruiting office I wanted to join even more," he explained.
He realizes now in Iraq, he joined for the right reason.
"Everything happens for a reason and extending and coming out here again is something I've been training for a while to do," he explained.
Chinatomby's extension runs out Sept. 2006 and he isn't sure what he will do when he gets out of the Corps.
"I'm not too sure what I want to do when I'm out. I'll probably stay in some kind of law enforcement," he said.
Whatever he decides to do, Chinatomby knows that he will work hard to keep his children, Justin, Ethan, Devante, Ariana and Aida, safe.
"I want to clear out all these poisonous people so my kids growing up don't have to go through the fear of being attacked all the time," he explained.
Through all of his experiences this Marine from the "big apple" knows that what he faced and what he will in the future will all make him a stronger person in the end.
"It will be a good experience for me out here. My role is clear, to lead my Marines in providing security during any operation we may have and to ultimately bring them home safe to their families," he said.
CAMP AL QA'IM, Iraq (March 18, 2005)- Sgt. Clive S. Chinatomby (middle), 29, a squad leader with the security platoon of 3rd Battalion, 2d Marine Regiment talks to his Marines before a convoy here. The Queens, N.Y., native was in the rear vehicle of the convoy, which was responsible for rear security. The convoy was to re-supply Marines with Company I in Husaybah. Photo by: Lance Cpl. Lucian Friel
CAMP AL QA'IM, Iraq (March 18, 2005)- Pvt. Nick Luciano, a gunner with the security platoon of 3rd Battalion, 2d Marine Regiment prepares his weapon before the convoy leaves. The Candon, N.J., native was in the rear vehicle of the convoy, which was responsible for rear security. The convoy was to re-supply Marines with Company I in Husaybah. Photo by: Lance Cpl. Lucian Friel
The United States needs to focus on severing terror mastermind Osama bin laden's links with his Al-Qaeda network, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.(AFP/File)
Document: Bin Laden Evaded U.S. Forces
By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer
WASHINGTON - A terror suspect held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was a commander for Osama bin Laden during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s and helped the al-Qaida leader escape his mountain hide-out at Tora Bora in 2001, according to a U.S. government document.
The document, provided to The Associated Press in response to a Freedom of Information request, says the unidentified detainee "assisted in the escape of Osama bin Laden from Tora Bora." It is the first definitive statement from the Pentagon that bin Laden was at Tora Bora and evaded U.S. pursuers.
The detainee is not identified by name or nationality. He is described as being "associated with" al-Qaida and having called for a jihad, or holy war, against the United States.
In an indication that he might be a higher-level operative, the document says he "had bodyguards" and collaborated with regional al-Qaida leadership. "The detainee was one of Osama bin Laden's commanders during the Soviet jihad," it says, referring to the holy war against Soviet occupiers.
The events at Tora Bora were a point of contention during last year's presidential race, and Bush as well as Vice President Dick Cheney asserted that commanders did not know whether bin Laden was there when U.S. and allied Afghan forces attacked the area in December 2001.
Cheney said last Oct. 26 that Gen. Tommy Franks, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, had "stated repeatedly it was not at all certain that bin Laden was in Tora Bora. He might have been there or in Pakistan or even Kashmir," the Indian-controlled Himalayan region.
Franks, now retired, wrote in an opinion column in The New York Times last Oct. 19, "We don't know to this day whether Mr. bin Laden was at Tora Bora in December 2001." He added that intelligence assessments of his location varied, but bin Laden was "never within our grasp."
On several occasions in the days following publication of that column, Bush cited it on the campaign trail as evidence that bin Laden could have been in any of several countries in December 2001. "That's what Tommy Franks, who knew what he's talking about, said," Bush said on Oct. 27.
Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee, lambasted Bush during the campaign for having missed a chance to capture or kill bin Laden at Tora Bora, a mountainous area along the Pakistan border that became al-Qaida's last stand in Afghanistan. U.S. warplanes bombarded the area in December 2001, and Franks had Afghan soldiers lead the ground assault, backed by several thousand U.S. ground troops, including Special Forces, in a cave-to-cave search.
The newly revealed statement is contained in a document the Pentagon calls a "summary of evidence" against one of 558 prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. It was provided to the AP this week.
The evidence was summarized last December 14 for a Guantanamo Bay hearing to determine whether the prisoner was correctly held as an "enemy combatant."
The assertion about his efforts and bin Laden's escape is made as a statement of fact; it does not indicate how the information was obtained.
Navy Lt. Cmdr. Daryl Borgquist, a spokesman for the Combatant Status Review Board for which the document was prepared, said Tuesday he could not elaborate on the Tora Bora statement, or its sources, because the statement was derived from classified information.
Bin Laden, whose al-Qaida terrorist organization was behind the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, had operated from Afghanistan until the U.S. invasion in October 2001.
He remains at large. For many months, officials have said they believe bin Laden probably is hiding in the Afghan-Pakistan border region, although last week Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, declined to endorse that view, saying bin Laden's whereabouts were unknown.
In mid-December 2001, a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Rear Adm. John Stufflebeem, told reporters there had been "indicators" of bin Laden's presence at Tora Bora in early December.
"And now indicators are not there," Stufflebeem said. "So maybe he still is there, maybe he was killed, or maybe he's left."
Among documents stating the U.S. government's evidence against other detainees at Guantanamo Bay is a September 2004 assertion that an unidentified detainee, described as a member of al-Qaida, had traveled from the United States to Afghanistan in November 2001 — two months after the terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
The document does not elaborate on the detainee's U.S. connection, but says he arrived in Afghanistan via Bahrain and Iran. He was "present at Tora Bora," crossed the Afghan border into Pakistan in December 2001, and surrendered to Pakistani authorities, the document says.
The detainee also was arrested by Saudi authorities for questioning in the 1996 terrorist bombing of Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 members of the U.S. Air Force, the document says.
Army Sgt. 1st Class Marshall Ware and Capt. Todd Lindner, platoon sergeant and commander of the Richmond, Ky.-based 617th Military Police Company, respectively, credit training and sticking to the rules with their unit's success in killing 27 insurgents during a March 20 firefight. Photo by Donna Miles
Guard Unit Credits Training in Overcoming 27 Insurgents
By Donna Miles American Forces Press Service
BAGHDAD, Iraq, March 22, 2005 – A Kentucky National Guard unit is being credited with responding in “textbook” fashion during an ambush here March 20, killing 27 insurgents and capturing a sizable weapons cache and valuable intelligence.
The insurgent death toll is the highest in Iraq since the Fallujah operation in November 2004 and, according to Army Capt. Todd Lindner, commander of the Richmond, Ky.-based 617th Military Police Company, represents “without a doubt, one of the most significant impacts an MP company has had in this war.”
Lindner credits his unit’s dogged commitment to training and unwillingness to cut corners with preparing his soldiers for the firefight along an alternative supply route about seven miles southeast of Baghdad.
Three squads from the 617th MP Company were providing security for a convoy along the supply route when it came under attack by 40 to 50 insurgents armed with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons.
According to Lindner, the soldiers positioned themselves between the convoy and the attackers, “putting down a heavy volume of fire” and flanking the enemy, when they began receiving fire from the rear.
“They were armed to the teeth, and looked like they were ready to fight for a long time,” Linder said of the insurgents.
Ultimately, the unit killed 27 of the insurgents and captured several more. After the attack, they recovered a cache of RPGs, rockets, machine guns, assault weapons, hand grenades and ammunition.
Three unit soldiers were wounded, two seriously.
“These guys were amazing,” Linder said of his soldiers. “This proves what we’ve been saying all along: These guys rock.”
Lindner credits training with making the vital difference in his unit’s ability to respond under fire.
“We’ve been training for this mission for the last year before we got here,” he said. “Once we knew we were coming (to Iraq), we changed our training to focus specifically on this mission.”
That training, he said, “absolutely made a difference” in his unit’s response during the weekend attack, sharpening its ability to maneuver while firing.
Sgt. 1st Class Marshall Ware, platoon sergeant for the squads involved, agrees the training the unit received “absolutely” made a difference during the attack.
“From Day 1, there was an emphasis on training,” he said. “We trained and trained and trained.”
Equally critical, he said, was the unit’s strict adherence to standards — conducting precombat inspections, making sure weapons are clean, and requiring use of body armor, Kevlar helmets and eye and hearing protection.
These steps have protected his company against numerous attacks, Ware said. “You can’t completely take the risk out of what we’re doing, but you can mitigate it,” he said.
Ware, who served 10 years on active duty before becoming a full-time National Guardsman, said he came to the Guard with prejudices that its members played second string to the active force. But he said the Guard members he worked with quickly proved him wrong.
“The Guard is not the same Guard it was two years ago,” he said. “They’re as good as any active duty unit.”
A member of the Iraqi National Guard, along with soldiers of the 2-114 Field Artillery Battalion, search a suspected insurgent’s home during a joint mission that resulted in the capture of 8 suspected insurgent participants. US Navy Photo by Photographer's Mate 1st Class (AW) Brien Aho. (Released)
Iraqi Commandos Strike Insurgent Training Site
American Forces Press Service
TIKRIT, Iraq, March 22, 2005 – Members of Iraq’s 1st Police Commando Battalion today discovered and attacked an apparent insurgent training facility in southwestern Salah Ad Din province. The commandos are part of the interim Iraqi government’s interior ministry.
The officers received both indirect and direct fire from the facility as they approached near Lake Tharthar on the border with Iraq’s Anbar province, officials said. They attacked and forced the insurgents to break contact.
Elements of Task Force Liberty’s Aviation Brigade provided supporting fire, and soldiers from the 1st Brigade Combat Team responded to support the Iraqi commando attack.
An early assessment of the site indicates a facility for training insurgents, a Multinational Force Iraq statement said, adding that documentation at the facility indicates that some were foreign fighters.
Initial reports from the Ministry of Interior forces said seven Iraqi commandos were killed and six others were wounded. An undetermined number of insurgents and foreign fighters were killed at the site, officials said. No Task Force Liberty soldiers were reported wounded in the incident.
“Iraqis can take immense pride today in the conduct of their security forces,” said Maj. Gen. Joseph J. Taluto, commander of the 42nd Infantry Division and Task Force Liberty. “Today’s actions indicate how strong Iraqi security forces are becoming and how far they can reach.”
Task Force Liberty consists of the Army National Guard’s 42nd Infantry Division Headquarters and base units along with the 116th Brigade Combat Team and 278th Regimental Combat Team, and the 1st and 3rd Brigade Combat Teams from the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division.
(From a Multinational Force Iraq news release.)
Charlie Coon / S&S Spc. Anthony Turner, left, of 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, gets a plate of food from Spc. William Blasingame of Guymon, Okla., and 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery Regiment, at one of the dining facilities at Forward Operating Base Gabe in Baqouba, Iraq. In the background is Spc. Dustin Chaney of Cocoa Beach, Fla. Chow halls and their all-you-can eat offerings help some soldiers pack on the pounds.
Iraq notebook: All-you-can-eat buffets and Iraqi snake wranglers
By Vince Little and Charlie Coon, Stars and Stripes Mideast edition, Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Three times a day, Johnny Jameson puts out piles of meat, potatoes, eggs, cereal, pasta, vegetables, salads, donuts, fruit, cookies, cakes, ice cream, soda, juice and milk.
To those who take the words “all you can eat” seriously, he warns: “Don’t blame it on us if you get fat.”
Jameson, the food service supervisor at Forward Operating Base Warhorse in Baqouba, Iraq, knows of what he speaks. A soldier for 21 years, the retired sergeant first class now works for KBR, which contracts with the U.S. military for food and other services on many downrange bases.
His dining facility serves about 850 soldiers per meal, but puts out enough food to serve twice as many.
He sees some soldiers help themselves at breakfast to bacon, sausage and ham, plus eggs, pancakes and cereal, juice, milk and coffee, while also scooping up a few “health” bars and an ice cream cone on the way out.
Others, for dinner, pile onto their trays a cheeseburger, hot dog, slice of pizza and tacos. Maybe a salad, too, for their conscience.
“We’re here to take care of the soldier,” Jameson said. “We don’t have a limit on how much they can eat. If they want five pieces of bacon, we give them five. If they want 10, we give them 10.”
For soldiers who spend long hours outside the gate, lumbering around in gear under a hot sun and burning calories, God bless ’em, he says. For those who gorge three times a day, he says choose your variety and portions wisely, and offers this advice: “If you miss one meal a day, it’s good for you,” Jameson said. “If you go to the gym, and keep knocking it off, you’ll be OK.”
No more lowriders
Before leaving Fort Bragg, N.C., for a yearlong deployment to Camp Taji, Iraq, officials with the 3rd Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division discovered a problem with their 13 Humvees. All that extra armor tacked onto the vehicles — designed to protect soldiers from the dangers of Baghdad — was wearing down their 15-year-old suspension systems.
“All the weight is compressing the springs, making the Humvees ride real low,” said Army Staff Sgt. Benjamin Bink of Pataskala, Ohio, shop foreman for the 3rd ARB. “So we’re replacing the main suspension components. We ordered new ball joints, springs and shocks and brought them with us.
“It’s something we’re doing to prevent breakdowns in the future.”
Ground maintenance personnel will upgrade all 13 Humvees, he added, hoping to finish one a week.
Staff Sgt. Malcolm Knight of Charleston, S.C., a squad leader with the maintenance platoon, said 95 percent of the 3rd ARB’s entire fleet is operational.
“Our job is to keep them rolling out of the motor pool,” he said. “We make sure that if somebody goes out, they come back home. We don’t want anybody stuck in the middle of gunfire because they’re broke down.”
Taji, minus 2 cobras
When the 39th Brigade Combat Team arrived at Camp Taji, Iraq, last April, the Little Rock, Ark.-based National Guard unit found a pretty dismal sight.
There were no paved roads, few living pods, the office buildings were dilapidated, there were huge piles of metal debris and stray dogs roaming everywhere on a post set up to support 2,000 soldiers. Officials had to move quickly to refine the infrastructure and provide suitable accommodations for 8,000 more.
“I thought this place was the world’s largest salvage dump,” said Brig. Gen. Ronald S. Chastain, the 39th BCT commander. “The place was a wreck when we first got here.”
Dozens of garbage-filled warehouses also sat on the camp, located about 30 miles north of Baghdad. The trash had to be hauled off before soldiers could set up work stations, so the command hired Iraqi nationals to begin the process.
Inside one structure, however, they discovered more than just plain old rubbish.
“The Iraqis found two live cobras in there. That was definitely a shock,” said Army Col. Mike Ross, the unit’s deputy commander who also served as the Taji garrison head before a March 9 transfer of authority to the 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division.
“But they killed the snakes and got rid of them. We haven’t seen any more since.”
Lebanese investigaters investigate at the Alta Vista Shopping Center on the Kaslik stretch near Jounieh, the main Christian port city 15 kilometers (about 10 miles) north of Beirut, Lebanon, early Wednesday March 23, 2005. An explosion devastated a business center on a commercial street in Lebanon's Christian heartland, a stronghold of the anti-Syrian opposition, early Wednesday, killing two people and wounding two others, police said.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Bomb Kills Two in Christian Lebanese Town
By Nadim Ladki BEIRUT (Reuters) - Two people were killed and five wounded early on Wednesday when a bomb ripped through a shopping center in the anti-Syrian Christian heartland north of the Lebanese capital Beirut, police sources said.
The explosion, the second in a commercial Christian area in five days, fueled concerns that a deepening political crisis following the assassination of a former prime minister last month could plunge the country into chaos.
The roof of the center in the coastal town of Kaslik, 12 miles north of Beirut, collapsed and emergency services workers searched through the rubble for other victims.
Windows of nearby buildings were shattered and broken glass littered streets lined with boutiques, jewelry stores and nightclubs.
Investigators were quickly on the scene. Police sources said the blast was caused by an explosive charge placed inside the multi-storey center, which was closed at the time.
The sources said the two people killed were Asian workers at the building. The toll would have been much worse if the blast had taken place in daytime at the usually crowded street.
Christian opposition figures who rushed to scene said the bombings were aimed at undermining the country's stability and urged supporters to foil any attempts to sow sectarian rifts.
"It is clear that those who carried out this attack are targeting the security and stability of the country," opposition member of parliament Faris Bouez told reporters. "It is a political message to the (anti-Syrian) independence uprising."
The current crisis is the worst since the end of Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war.
In the previous incident, a car bomb exploded in a Christian suburb of Beirut early on Saturday, wounding 11 people.
"The aim is chaos ... The country is the target," another Christian opposition parliamentarian, Mansour Ghanem al-Boun, said in Kaslik.
TENSION
The explosion at around 1:30 a.m. (6:30 p.m. EST) came amid acute political tension since the Feb. 14 killing of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri in another bombing. The assassination triggered a wave of anti-Syrian protests.
International pressure forced Syria to announce a troop withdrawal from Lebanon. It has already cut the number of its forces in its neighbor and pulled back to eastern Lebanon. A timetable for a complete pullout will be agreed in early April.
The anti-Syrian opposition has refused to sit in a national unity government with pro-Syrian loyalists, almost foiling the task of Damascus-backed Prime Minister Omar Karami to form such a government.
The opposition wants a transitional government with the sole role of supervising general elections in May. Loyalists say the country's crisis was so serious that dialogue between both sides should start immediately and a unity government should lead Lebanon to the elections.
Hizbollah, the country's most powerful party, said on Tuesday the coming days would show whether Karami would be able to form a national unity government.
"This week I believe matters will become clear and definite, and on that basis the fate of the government will be decided -- will a national unity government be formed or something else?" the Syrian-backed Shi'ite Muslim group's leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, said after meeting Karami.
If Karami cannot form a new government, a different prime minister will be given the task and consultations will start again, Nasrallah said, adding that "there is still time."
Lebanese people looks at a damaged shop at the Alta Vista Shopping Center on the Kaslik stretch near Jounieh, the main Christian port city 15 kilometers (about 10 miles) north of Beirut, Lebanon, early Wednesday March 23, 2005. An explosion devastated a business center on a commercial street in Lebanon's Christian heartland, a stronghold of the anti-Syrian opposition, early Wednesday, killing two people and wounding two others, police said.(AP Photo/Marwan Assaf)
Lebanese army inspect at the Alta Vista Shopping Center on the Kaslik stretch near Jounieh, the main Christian port city 15 kilometers (about 10 miles) north of Beirut, Lebanon, early Wednesday March 23, 2005. An explosion devastated a business center on a commercial street in Lebanon's Christian heartland, a stronghold of the anti-Syrian opposition, early Wednesday, killing two people and wounding two others, police said.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Multi-National Force-Iraq
Press Release
March 22, 2005
Marine killed in Al Anbar Province CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq-- A Marine assigned to I Marine Expeditionary Force was killed in action March 21, while conducting security and stability...more
Coalition raid nets 3 suspected of Kirkuk rocket attack TIKRIT, Iraq – Task Force Liberty Soldiers detained three Iraqis suspected of a rocket attack on a Coalition Forces base during a raid in Kirkuk about 1 a.m., March 22...more
Latvia Minister of Defense visits Camp Echo CAMP ECHO, Iraq – Republic of Latvia Minister of Defense Einars Repse visited Multi-National Division Central-South here March 22...more
"If the only thing that is newsworthy is suffering and death, then we have already lost ourselves. Because watching Adele, get a pair of shoes yesterday was the most newsworthy thing in the world to me, if the world could see that… Enough for one day."
TURNING POINT <--CLICK
Army Sgt. Tania Steele from the Office of Military Cooperation Afghanistan, shows off one of the children’s books she will read, via videotape, to her daughters Shania, 7, and S’Bria, 5. Sgt. Steele’s video was the 200th completed for the OMCA “Read To Your Kids” program. Photo by Lt. Col. Frederick Rice, USA
Kabul Soldier Reaches Volunteer Program Milestone
By Lt. Col. Frederick Rice, USA Special to American Forces Press Service
KABUL, Afghanistan, March 22, 2005 – Even though servicemembers at Camp Eggers here are separated from their families by thousands of miles, they still can read to their kids.
Thanks to the efforts of one noncommissioned officer assigned to the Office of Military Cooperation Afghanistan, more than 200 parents deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom have done so over the past four months.
The “Read To Your Kids” program was established in late November by Army Reserve Master Sgt. D. Keith Johnson from the OMCA public affairs office as a way to bring deployed troops closer to their loved ones while they are away from home. On March 18, Johnson reached a new milestone as he completed his 200th taping.
The 200th reader was Sgt. Tania Steele, from OMCA’s staff judge advocate office. She read “The Fairy and the Missing Wand” and “The Way Mothers Are” to her daughters, Shania, 7, and S’Bria, 5.
“This is the first time I have been away from my kids, and I just want them to know Mommy is always with them,” said Steele.
Based on a similar project he organized during a previous deployment to Bosnia, Johnson’s program offers deployed servicemembers the opportunity to be videotaped while reading children’s books to their kids. When each half-hour taping session is completed, Johnson presents participants with their personal videotape and books, along with a padded envelope, to mail home to their families.
“I really like the idea that my daughters can see me reading to them … it is the closest thing to me being there,” said Steele. “It just makes me feel like I still have a part in their lives.”
While Johnson is very low-key about reaching the 200-tape milestone, Air Force Maj. Gen. John Brennan, chief of OMCA, thinks otherwise. “To dedicate so much time to the benefit of others is truly great and is an inspiration to all of us,” said Brennan.
Johnson spends at least 10 hours running the program each Friday, his only day off from a busy work week. He estimates that he has invested more than 125 hours of his time to the program since its inception. But, he said, it’s a labor of love.
“The feedback I get from the parents who have sent tapes back to their kids has been incredible. It makes the whole program worth the effort,” said Johnson.
Brennan thinks it’s worth the effort as well. “The program has truly made a positive impact on both troop and family member morale,” he said.
Even though 15 openings are available on the schedule every Friday, the program, also open to the members of Combined Forces Command Afghanistan at Camp Eggers, has become so popular that the slots are completely booked weeks in advance. It is so popular, in fact, that it expanded from Camp Eggers to Camp Phoenix, where Staff Sgt. Jerad Myers from the Task Force Phoenix public affairs office established a satellite program with Johnson’s assistance. Task Force Phoenix, a subordinate unit of OMCA, is responsible for training the Afghan National Army.
During his reading period, Army Reserve Lt. Col. Joel Sloss made a special tape. His was for the students of Ocee Elementary School in Alpharetta, Ga., where he teaches fourth grade. “I knew the children missed me,” he said, “so I was looking for a way to let them know I was all right. Read to Your Kids proved to be a wonderful method.
“They absolutely loved it and were reassured that I was okay here,” added Sloss, who received a wealth of e-mail and letters from students after his tape was played for the entire school. “The children really enjoyed seeing their teacher, and many have asked if I would do it again some time.” He plans to.
The program is supported entirely by contributions that have come via the anysoldier.com Web site and through other donors. According to Johnson, “literally hundreds of books and blank video cassettes have been donated to make this program a reality.” Acknowledging the help of his program’s contributors, Johnson added that “without the help of the volunteers back home, this program wouldn’t have made it past the first week.”
Army Maj. Mark Elfendahl, a CFCA staff officer and recent participant, is excited about sending his tape and books home, adding that his daughter will “really love reading along with her dad. … What a great way for servicemembers to stay in touch with their families!”
And that’s why Johnson started his program in the first place – to bring soldiers and their families together, even when duty means being apart.
(Army Lt. Col. Frederick Rice is assigned to the Office of Military Cooperation-Afghanistan public affairs office.)
Marine Staff Sgt. Jamie Looney, an embedded trainer assigned to Task Force Phoenix, reads a story to his children. The Office of Military Cooperation Afghanistan “Read to Your Kids” program offers deployed servicemembers the opportunity to be videotaped while reading children’s books to their kids. Photo by Master Sgt. D. Keith Johnson, USA
Iraqi Army soldiers will soon receive sustainment training on day-to-day operations
By U.S. Army Sgt. Blake Kent 22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
SAMARRA, Iraq, March 22, 2005 — U.S. soldiers from the 3rd Forward Support Battalion, Task Force Liberty, will soon be working with the 202nd Battalion, Iraqi Army to establish systems for sustaining the Iraqis day-to-day operations. The 14 soldiers of the 3rd Forward Support Battalion will help improve their operations, said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Demarcus Brown of Newbury S.C., Company A, 3rd Forward Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, Task Force Liberty.
“We are developing a staff with skilled soldiers, but we need help. We hope to eventually get training outside of Iraq to help us develop,” Iraqi Army Col. Ali Khlaf Abdullah Aljouborie
“We will be teaching them to function and operate like we operate,” Brown said. “We are putting the framework here for them to follow.”
The team is establishing a system comparable to the Army areas of responsibility: personnel, intelligence, operations, supply and logistics, and communications. Organizing how the battalion handles its supplies, armory and training are some of the top priorities.
Currently the battalion has most of the officers doing all the administrative work, Brown said, but they are trying to develop a training and implementation plan for staffing the administrative sections with enlisted soldiers.
The 202nd, based out of Samarra, Iraq, formed Aug. 24, 2004, and started with only 45 soldiers and no supplies. Now the battalion has four companies and a headquarters company, with more than 850 soldiers and officers.
The Iraqi battalion has already seen successes; including securing election sites in and around Samarra for the Jan. 30 elections, as well as running five checkpoints and checking accidents along Highway 1.
The Iraqi battalion includes five female soldiers working as nurses, at checkpoints and with the battalion’s computers, said Col. Ali Khlaf Abdullah Aljouborie, commander of the 202nd.
“We are developing a staff with skilled soldiers, but we need help,” Abdullah said of the difficulties the battalion faces in its development. “We hope to eventually get training outside of Iraq to help us develop.”
By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer
UNITED NATIONS - Kojo Annan, the son of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, received at least $300,000 from a Swiss company that was awarded a contract from the U.N. oil-for-food program in Iraq, almost double the amount previously disclosed, two newspapers reported in Wednesday's editions.
The London-based Financial Times and the Italian business newspaper Il Sole 24 said the payments "were arranged in ways that obscured where the money came from or whom it went to."
The two papers, which conducted a joint investigation, also reported that the secretary-general met top executives of the company, Cotecna Inspection S.A., twice before the oil-for-food contract was awarded in December 1998 and once afterwards.
Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, who is conducting an independent investigation of alleged corruption in the oil-for-food program, is scheduled to release an interim report on March 29 detailing his findings about whether or not Kofi Annan and Kojo Annan committed any wrongdoing.
The secretary-general, his son, and Cotecna, all deny any wrongdoing.
A spokesman for Cotecna said the company has been cooperating fully in assisting the Volcker inquiry "to clarify any and all outstanding questions concerning payment to Kojo Annan."
Robert Massey, Cotecna's chief executive, met with Volcker and his investigators in New York on Monday to discuss the discrepancies in the reported payments to Kojo Annan and the company's ongoing audit to determine the correct amount, the spokesman said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The spokesman confirmed the three contacts between Cotecna executives and the secretary-general and said they were reported to Volcker and other bodies investigating the $64 billion U.N. humanitarian program in Iraq.
The papers reported that Annan met in January 1997 with Massey and his father, Elie-Georges Massey, Cotecna's founder and chairman, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. The elder Massey also met Annan at U.N. headquarters in September 1998 and sought him out at a public event in Geneva in January 1999, the papers said.
A U.N. spokesman and Cotecna were quoted in the papers as saying the meetings with Annan had nothing to do with the contract to certify the import of goods under the oil-for-food program. The papers said the oil-for-food contract was ultimately worth about $60 million to the Swiss company.
U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard had no immediate comment on the reports in the two papers. Both papers said Kojo Annan declined to comment.
Also Tuesday, Eckhard said that the United Nations agreed to reimburse Benon Sevan, the suspended head of the U.N. oil-for-food program, for legal fees he incurred during the investigation.
He said Sevan's fees are to be reimbursed with Iraqi oil funds set aside to help administer the program. That means Iraq oil money would essentially pay for Sevan to defend himself against charges that he bilked the program.
Eckhard said the United Nations had agreed to pay reasonable legal expenses up to Feb. 3, when Volcker's probe accused Sevan of a conflict of interest.
The plan to reimburse Sevan, first reported in the New York Sun on Tuesday, is almost certain to raise new questions about the United Nations' handling of the oil-for-food program and draw new criticism from U.S. Congressional investigators also examining its operation.
Annan's son, Kojo, worked for Cotecna in West Africa from 1995 to December 1997 and then as a consultant until the end of 1998, according to the company.
In November, Eckhard said Kojo Annan's lawyer had informed the Volcker investigation that the younger Annan continued to receive $2,500 a month — $30,000 a year — from Cotecna for more than five years through February 2004.
The secretary-general said at the time he was "very disappointed and surprised" that his son continued to receive money after 1998. Cotecna said the payments were made under a "non-compete" contract to prevent Kojo Annan from working for a competing company.
According to the Financial Times and Il Sole 24, Kojo Annan's non-compete contract did not appear to adhere to Swiss law which says such agreements cannot exceed three years, except in certain circumstances, and must be limited geographically — which his wasn't. The papers also reported that records provided by Cotecna and Kojo Annan to U.S. and U.N. investigators showed that the method of paying him changed several times.
The oil-for-food program, which ran from 1996 to 2003, allowed the former Iraqi government to sell oil in exchange for humanitarian goods, as an exemption from UN. sanctions imposed after Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
In a bid to curry favor and end sanctions, Saddam allegedly gave former government officials, activists, journalists and U.N. officials vouchers for Iraqi oil that could then be resold at a profit.
UN pledged Iraq oil money to defend official
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - The United Nations faced new questions about the oil-for-food programme in Iraq after admitting it agreed to use Iraqi money to pay the legal fees of a UN official under investigation.
Benon Sevan, who ran the scandal-tainted programme, has already been accused of serious violations of UN conduct after an enquiry found he had got oil allocations from the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein for an acquaintance.
On Tuesday, the United Nations said it had pledged to reimburse Sevan for "reasonable" legal fees while he was under investigation by the enquiry, which is headed by former US Federal Reserve banking chief Paul Volcker.
The money was to come from an escrow account containing 2.2 percent of Iraqi oil revenues that had been used to run the defunct 64-billion dollar oil-for-food programme, the largest aid scheme in UN history.
Fred Eckhard, the spokesman for UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, said that arrangement was halted last month when an initial report from Volcker's commission, known as the IIC, charged Sevan with violating UN rules.
He said no money had yet been paid and that the United Nations was now questioning the legal bills Sevan had presented for payment.
"Although Mr Sevan has subsequently submitted legal fees, the amount he is seeking is currently being questioned by the United Nations on the grounds that not all costs releate to his cooperation with the IIC," Eckhard said.
Since Saddam's ouster by US forces two years ago, Iraq has repeatedly complained that the United Nations should turn over the remaining money in the so-called 2.2 account.
Instead, part of it has been used to pay for the costs of the Volcker investigation, estimated at around 30 million dollars.
Annan appointed Volcker to head the probe in a bid to head off charges of fraud and corruption in oil-for-food that he said had cast a shadow over the United Nations.
Volcker's next interim report, due to be released in a week, is expected to focus on questions about Annan and his son Kojo, who worked for a company that had contracts under the oil-for-food programme.
Oil-for-food, which ran from December 1996 to November 2003, was intended to ease the effects of international sanctions on ordinary Iraqis, allowing Iraq to sell oil and use the revenue to buy humanitarian supplies.
An Iraqi newspaper last year published a list of individuals it said had gotten allocations of oil from Saddam's regime.
Last month, the Volcker panel said Sevan had steered oil allocations to a firm linked to a relative of Annan's predecessor as secretary general, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, and that the regime was trying to buy influence through Sevan.
It stopped short of saying he had taken bribes or committed a crime, but raised questions about cash payments he claimed had come from a relative -- and said the investigation into his affairs would continue.
It said his behaviour "created a grave and continuing conflict of interest. His conduct was ethically improper and seriously undermined (UN) integrity."
Eckhard, who said Annan personally decided to authorise paying for Sevan's legal fees, said the United Nations reserved the right to get any money back from Sevan if the charges against him were upheld.
The oil-for-food debacle has embarrassed the United Nations and the latest revelations, first reported in the New York Sun, came just one day after Annan pledged UN reforms to improve accountability and transparency.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair arrives for an European Union summit at the EU Council building in Brussels, Tuesday March 22, 2005. European Union leaders on Tuesday approved the reform of the rules underpinning the stability of the euro currency, meeting German and French demands for more room to spend their way out of economic problems. (AP Photo/Thierry Charlier)
Blair Appeals to British Muslim Voters
LONDON - Prime Minister Tony Blair appealed for British Muslim voters not to withdraw their support for his party in the wake of the Iraq war, according to an interview published Tuesday.
With a national election expected in early May, Blair used told the Muslim News he hoped that anger over the invasion of Iraq would not stop Muslim voters from backing his governing Labour Party at the polls.
Blair said he had given up trying to win over people who were fundamentally opposed to the war. He said terrorists, not coalition forces, were responsible for deaths in Iraq.
Blair also insisted his government had no plans for a military invasion of Iran.
"Iran is not Iraq," he said in the interview, conducted March 1. "I don't know of anybody planning military action against Iran."
"France, Germany and the U.K. are working together, backed by America, to get the Iranians to understand their obligations under the Atomic Energy Authority rules."
The European countries have been in talks with Iran in an effort to persuade it to abandon its atomic energy program. Iran insists the program is for peaceful, civilian purposes, while the United States says it is concerned the program is secretly meant for producing nuclear weapons.
"Let's just pursue the diplomatic path for the moment," Blair said.
Labour currently holds a number of seats with large Muslim populations. Blair is widely favored to win the election and secure a third term in office.
Story by Donna Miles - American Forces Press Service
BAGHDAD, Iraq (March 20, 2005) - If there was one day during his deployment that Army Master Sgt. Ray Puckett knew that he was making a contribution here, it was when the lights shone in Baghdad on election day, Jan. 30.
Puckett, an Army reservist with a Roanoke, Va.-based 80th Training Division unit, is a member of the Emergency Reaction Pipeline Repair Organization, a five-member task force poised to respond immediately to sabotage against Iraq’s pipelines.
The oil and gas lines, which keep Baghdad’s lights burning, its heaters pumping and its vehicles moving, are considered a strategic target by terrorists committed to disrupting progress in Iraq.
An estimated 250 attacks have blown apart pipeline infrastructure, causing the electrical grid to sputter and eroding the Iraqis’ confidence in the reconstruction effort under way. Dealing with the aftermath of the attacks has also eaten into funds earmarked for reconstruction projects and deprived Iraq of desperately needed export revenues.
One major attack, during the last week of January, threatened to leave Baghdad in the dark during Iraq’s national elections Jan. 30.
But thanks to a quick response by the Emergency Reaction Pipeline Repair Organization and its partners here, the voting proceeded without disruption.
Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul Edington, an Arizona National Guardsman assigned to the team, explained how the response process works. “We don’t repair the pipeline,” he said. “Our job is to provide the liaison between the State Department’s Iraq Reconstruction Management Office, the military and the Iraqi contractors.”
Intelligence about pipeline attacks comes from a variety of sources, from troops in the vicinity to members of Iraq’s Ministry of Oil who track the oil flow and are alerted to unexpected fluctuations.
Once an alert is sounded, pipeline repair outfit members go out to the site to verify the attack, then work through the State Department and Iraqi contractors to get the break repaired as quickly as possible. The goal is to have the job fixed within six to eight days after the notification.
Puckett said Baghdad’s oil reserves are “very minimal,” and won’t carry the city for long before running dry. “Once a pipeline is blown, we’re racing the clock,” he said. “It gives a real sense of urgency to what we do here.”
The gratification of the job, Puckett said, is knowing that the Emergency Reaction Pipeline Repair Organization is having a direct impact on the Iraqi people’s lives.
“Without this task force, in a lot of cases there would be no lights,” he said. “They would cease to exist for several days.”
An Iraqi Army soldier from the 307th Battalion, 40th Iraqi National Guard Brigade low crawls through the brush during warfare training in Taji, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Kevin Bromley
U.S. Soldiers Train Iraqi Troops at Hawk Base
Iraqi troops develop skills in patrol duties, casualty evacuation and basic soldiering.
CAMP TAJI, Iraq, March 22, 2005 — “This training is good for my soldiers,” said Lt. Col. Sabah Kadhem, commander of the 307th Battalion of the Iraqi army. “If a soldier is not trained, he can’t defend his country.”
At Hawk Base, near Camp Taji, Iraq, U.S. soldiers of the 4th Battalion, 1st Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division are doing exactly that - training Iraqis to defend their own country.
The base is staffed with a cadre of soldiers from 4th Battalion, 1st Artillery Regiment's Alpha and Bravo companies, who teach the Iraqi soldiers the skills they will need to secure their area of northwest Baghdad.
“The Iraqis complete two weeks of training here,” said U.S. Army Capt. Daniel K. Getchel of Vale, Oregon, a 4th Battalion, 1st Artillery Regiment officer supervising the training at Hawk Base. “We train them to get proficient, and then turn the company back over to their unit.”
Getchel said the Iraqis start with individual skills.
“They work on skills like patrolling, reacting to contact, casualty evacuation, and basic soldiering skills,” he said.
Then, the Iraqi troops move on to squad-level tasks, and finally work on training at the company level.
“They’re working well together,” said Sgt. Cozae C. Banks, an Atchison, Kan. Native and member of the 4th Battalion, 1st Artillery Regiment training cadre.
“I’ve seen an increase in esprit de corps, morale and motivation. We’ve had Iraqi soldiers that have been wounded in combat come back for training,” U.S. Army Capt. Daniel K. Getchel
“We’re trying to teach them a certain standard of discipline,” Banks said.
The cadre tries to instill discipline in the troops, but doesn’t have to spend much time motivating them.
According to Getchel, they are already highly motivated when they arrive for training.
“I’ve seen an increase in esprit de corps, morale and motivation,” he said. “We’ve had Iraqi soldiers that have been wounded in combat come back for training.”
He has also seen an increase in the amount of equipment available to the troops, who now get issued uniforms, physical training clothes, running shoes and two pairs of boots.
The Iraqis break in those new boots on the training lanes at Hawk Base.
On one of the lanes, the American trainers supervised as an Iraqi army squad cleared a group of buildings of other Iraqi soldiers posing as insurgents.
The cadre acted as observer-controllers and let the Iraqis test their skills.
“We’re in more of an evaluative role,” Getchel said.
“This is a squad (situational training exercise),” said 1st Lt. John Sackman from Boise, Idaho, an Alpha Company trainer.
Like many cadre members, Sackman is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom I.
He worked as a civil affairs officer and thinks his experience with the Iraqi culture has helped him train Iraqi troops and officers.
“I’ve had lunch meetings with them (Iraqi officers) and introduced new teaching methods,” he said.
Sackman underscored one his main training goals.
“We’re trying to teach intiative down to the lowest levels,” he said.
One of the Iraqi Army non-commissioned officers showed this initiative on the squad lane.
“He was dissatisfied with the performance of his squad, so he is leading by example through this training,” Sackman said, as the sergeant showed his troops how to fire and maneuver.
After the exercise, Sackman gathered the cadre and troops together to discuss successes and focus areas as part of an American-style after-action report.
“This terrain was chosen because it is difficult. You are making definite progress,” he told the soldiers.
“Keep on moving with a sense of purpose,” Banks added. “You’re doing a good job.”
As the Iraqi Army troops formed up to march back to their barracks, Capt. Getchel summed up his thoughts about the partnership with the Iraqi Army.
“If we put out great effort, these can be great troops,” Getchel said.
“They’re some of the bravest people I’ve met,” he said alluding to the great risk Iraqi men take when choosing to serve in the army.
| “If they know what the mission is, and they’ve rehearsed it, they can execute,” he said.
Lt. Col Kadhem agrees.
“They are now ready for any mission,” he said. “My soldiers are very happy when they catch an insurgent because they are helping the future of Iraq.”
Tue Mar 22, 8:16 PM ET Business - AP
BRUSSELS, Belgium - European Union nations are slowly moving toward endorsing Paul Wolfowitz as the next World Bank president, Dutch Finance Minister Gerrit Zalm said Tuesday.
At an EU finance ministers meeting, held in the margin of a European summit, Zalm said there were no "very negative attitudes" toward the former U.S. deputy defense chief, who was an architect of the Iraq war.
"I think he is taken as a serious candidate by everyone," Zalm said.
Many of the 25 EU governments were holding off on endorsing Wolfowitz until after he has met with Louis Michel, the EU development affairs commissioner, and others at the EU head office, Zalm said. No date has been set for that meeting.
President Bush nominated Wolfwowitz last week to succeed James Wolfensohn, the current World Bank chief.
Germany, Britain and Italy already have publicly backed Wolfowitz. France's ambassador to the United States, Jean-David Levitte, stopped short of endorsing Wolfowitz in a speech at Yale University on Tuesday but said he respected him as "a man who is very clever and has a real vision and a lot of experience."
"I hope he will be the most convincing president of the World Bank, to convince President Bush to put more money into the World Bank," Levitte said.
The United States, as the bank's largest shareholder, traditionally puts forward a candidate to lead the bank, which is usually accepted by the institution's 24-member board.
US-led coalition forces have killed five insurgents in retaliatory artillery fire in southeast Afghanistan(AFP/File/Shah Marai)
Five militants killed by US forces in southeast Afghanistan
KHOST, Afghanistan (AFP) - US-led coalition forces killed five insurgents in retaliatory artillery fire after the rebels attacked two US military bases with rockets in southeast Afghanistan, the US military said.
"Around midnight last night insurgents fired five rockets at Salerno base," US military spokesman Lieutenant Cindy Moore told AFP on Wednesday.
"There were no coalition soldiers that were injured. Coalition troops returned fire with 150mm artillery rounds and we understand that five insurgents were killed," Moore said.
She said a US post near the Salerno base in the southeastern province of Khost was also targetted with eight rockets but there were no US coalition casualties.
The US military has around 20,000 soldiers in Afghanistan at present, most of them battling militants in the country's troubled south and southeast where remnants of the Taliban regime are waging an insurgency.
Attacks have picked up in recent days as the weather warms after Afghanistan's harshest winter for a decade.
Indian troops have shot dead four Islamic militants, two of them wanted guerrilla commanders, in separate incidents in revolt-hit Kashmir (AFP/File/Sajjad Hussain)
SRINAGAR, India (AFP) - Indian troops have shot dead four Islamic militants, two of them wanted guerrilla commanders, in separate incidents in revolt-hit Kashmir, police said.
Three members of the hardline group Lashkar-e-Taiba were gunned down by soldiers in the southern district of Poonch, a police spokesman said on Wednesday.
"One of the slain rebels was identified as Abu Assadullah, an area commander for the group," he added.
In another incident, troops shot dead a self-styled battalion commander of the region's dominant Hizbul Mujahedin group near the southern health resort of Pahalgam, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of the Indian Kashmir summer capital Srinagar.
Police identified him as Ashiq Hussain.
The Himalayan region is in the grip of a 15-year-old insurgency against Indian rule that has so far left 40,000 people dead by official count. Separatists put the death toll twice as high.
Islamic rebels want to secede Kashmir from India and join it with neighbouring Pakistan, which like India holds the picturesque Himalayan region in part. Some groups want to make Kashmir an independent state.
Indian troops almost clash daily with rebels across the state.
Wan Min Wan Mat, seen here in an undated police hand-out photo, said that he has repented and renounced violence. The Malaysian university lecturer was suspected of a role in the 2002 Bali bombing, but was released Monday after being held in detention since September 2002(AFP/File/HO)
Bali bombing suspect says he has repented, rejects violence
KUALA LUMPUR, (AFP) - A Malaysian university lecturer who was suspected of a role in the 2002 Bali bombings said that he has repented and renounced violence.
Wan Min Wan Mat, 45, was released Monday after being held in detention since September 2002, shortly before the October 12 attack on Bali nightspots which killed 202 people, mostly western tourists.
Named by Indonesian police as a mastermind of the bombing, he testified in a written statement read out by prosecutors at the trial of one of the bombing suspects in 2003 that he had sent cash to the group accused of the blast.
Wan Min denied specific knowledge of the Bali attack, but admitted in his statement that he had sent 30,500 dollars in three instalments to a senior member of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) extremist group to finance "operations in Indonesia as previously planned".
In an interview with the New Straits Times at the home of his wife's parents in Kota Baru in northern Malaysia after his release, he said: "It was wrong and I now realise that."
Violence used by JI brought only chaos, he said, urging members to denounce the group, which wants to create an Islamic state across several countries in Southeast Asia.
"Choose the right path and support the efforts of the present government (in Malaysia)," he said.
The former Universiti Teknologi Malaysia lecturer told the paper he wanted to rest for at least two months and would then look for a job.
He said he hoped society would accept him without prejudice. "I have repented. I know who I am now," he said.
Wan Min, who was held under the Internal Security Act (ISA) which allows for indefinite detention without trial, will be restricted to Kota Baru, capital of Malaysia's northern Kelantan state, and must report daily to police, officials said.
There has been no official explanation of why he was released and not prosecuted.
A government source told AFP: "There is evidence that he is no longer a threat to national security but police are monitoring his movements."
Terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna told AFP, however, that Wan Min was "well established as an important member and a leader of JI and it's very important that he be prosecuted for his activities".
Gunaratna, of Singapore's Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, said the problem was that governments in the region had not designated JI as a terrorist organisation and could not prosecute members for supporting terrorism.
Clive Williams, head of terrorism studies at Australian National University, said news of Wan Mat's release would be received with concern particularly because 88 Australians were among those killed in the Bali blast.
But he pointed out that governments around the world, including the United States, faced difficulties in gathering enough evidence against terrorism suspects to bring them to court and were under pressure to release detainees held without trial.
More than 80 alleged Muslim militants remain in detention in Malaysia, many of them suspected members of JI, which has been blamed for a string attacks and is believed by authorities to have links with Al-Qaeda. None have been brought to trial.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai (left) listens to his Pakistani counterpart Pervez Musharraf during a meeting in Islamabad(AFP/PID)
Pakistan, Afghanistan to boost cooperation in fight on terror, drugs
ISLAMABAD (AFP) - The leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed at talks to boost cooperation in the fight against terrorism and drugs, and in promoting trade and tourism, the foreign ministry said.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said he had "very fruitful discussions" with President Pervez Musharraf.
"We discussed issues that concern us, concern this region and how best... to use the capabilities of the two nations...," Karzai said on Tuesday.
Musharraf said they agreed to cement the ties between their countries through commercial, economic and trade activities.
"The two sides agreed to boost their bilateral cooperation in trade, fight against terrorism, tourism, drugs and other areas," foreign ministry spokesman Jalil Abbas Jilani said.
Officials have said that, during Karzai's two-day visit, the two countries would sign agreements on promoting road links, including establishing bus services between the Pakistani cities of Peshawar and Quetta and the Afghan towns of Jalalabad and Kandahar.
Karzai will be a guest of honour at a military parade in Islamabad on the last day of his visit Wednesday and will also meet Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.
The Afghan leader, who was installed after the fall of the hardline Islamic Taliban regime more than three years ago and won Afghanistan's first presidential elections last October, is on his fourth visit to Pakistan. The last was in August 2004.
Dubuque Sailors Donate 2,300 Books to San Diego Area School
Story Number: NNS050322-06 Release Date: 3/22/2005 4:38:00 PM By Journalist 2nd Class Paul Cage, Fleet Public Affairs Center, San Diego
By Journalist 2nd Class Paul Cage, Fleet Public Affairs Center, San Diego
SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Sailors from the Amphibious Transport Dock ship USS Dubuque (LPD 8) donated 2,300 books to students at La Mesa Dale Elementary School in La Mesa, Calif., March 17 as part of the ship’s partnership in education program.
The Wardroom, Chief Petty Officers Mess and the First Class Petty Officers Association donated money to help buy the books. However, a majority of the money was “nickel and dimed” by individual crew members, raising more than $700 to buy books to stock the school’s new book depot.
“This project stemmed from getting students to read,” said Jennifer Ratliff, 4th grade teacher and project coordinator for the school. “It’s wonderful to have a partner such as the Dubuque to help us stock our book depot. They really went above and beyond with their donation. With their help, and the help of the community, we were able to stock the depot with 4,000 books.”
The book depot is a store where students can buy books like “Clifford the Big Red Dog” and “How to Eat Fried Worms” for as little as 25 cents.
“This is great for students that can’t afford to buy a book,” said Ratliff. “A lot of the children don’t have the money to do that. However, with this book depot, students can walk in, pick out a book to buy and only spend a quarter.”
Dubuque and the school started their partnership 10 years ago. Since then, the partnership has blossomed into an integral part of the ship’s and the school’s life. Every Tuesday, Sailors volunteer at the school, helping teachers in the classrooms by grading papers or by being playground monitors during recess.
“It’s a win-win situation for everybody,” said Dubuque Commanding Officer Capt. Mark Sickert. “Community service projects such as these present a wonderful opportunity for both the local community and the United States Navy. The community is afforded the opportunity to appreciate the talent, skill and sense of service of their Sailors, and Sailors realize the tremendous support provided them by the local community.”
The school’s theme of the month is honor, which is also part of the Navy’s core values. Teams of Sailors spent time on St. Patrick’s Day in classrooms reading “Clever Tom and the Leprechaun," a story about honoring ones commitments.
“We in the Navy know that values are very important,” said Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Randy Oaks, from Navarre, Fla. “Values start here with what they learn at school and by reading. When the children get older, they will know the importance of these values and honor them like we do ours in the Navy.”
Sailors also participated in two assemblies where the ship’s Executive Officer Lt. Cmdr. Tim Buckland presented students with the Dubuque award. Each class awards one student a month the Dubuque Award, recognizing initiative rather than achievement.
“This award is a big deal for students. With each award, we give them a coupon for a book to promote reading,” said Dubuque Chaplain Lt. Charlie Owens. “The Navy is about finding ones own adventures. With reading, every time a student opens a book and reads, they get to go on their own adventure. A book truly is a gift that keeps on giving every time you open it.”
For related news, visit the Fleet Public Affairs Center, San Diego Navy NewsStand page at www.news.navy.mil/local/pacensandiego.
050302-N-7179R-001 San Diego, Calif. (Mar. 2, 2005) – The Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Jefferson City (SSN 759) returns from a training exercise through the mouth of the San Diego Bay. Jefferson City is assigned to Commander, Submarine Squadron Eleven and is commanded by Cmdr. Daryl Caudle. U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Erik Reynolds (RELEASED)
USS Jefferson City Sailors Open New San Diego Sea World Attraction
Story Number: NNS050322-04 Release Date: 3/22/2005 12:30:00 PM By Journalist 3rd Class Cynthia Smith, Fleet Public Affairs Center San Diego
By Journalist 3rd Class Cynthia Smith, Fleet Public Affairs Center San Diego
SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- More than 120 Sailors from the attack submarine USS Jefferson City (SSN 759) participated in the opening of Sea World San Diego's new sea lion and otter show, “Clyde and Seamore in Deep, Deep Trouble,” March 19.
The Jefferson City crew manned the rails of the recently renovated Sea Lion and Otter Stadium, which was transformed into a mermaid hunting submarine ‘La Sirena," while Jefferson City Commanding Officer, Cmdr. Daryl L. Caudle, and his wife christened the submarine.
“We live in a Navy town and now Sea World has its own submarine,” said David Koontz, Sea World’s communications director. “What better way to open the show than to have the crew of a real submarine come over and christen the ship. It was also a great way to salute and honor the men and women in uniform.”
Caudle and his wife said they were honored to represent the Navy and be part of Sea World’s new submarine-themed production.
“I’m proud to come out here with my crew and represent the finest submarine in the Pacific Fleet and open an event for a park that has such a close relationship with the Navy,” said Caudle.
Machinist's Mate 1st Class (SS) Melvin O. Walker, Jefferson City, was also proud to take part in the event.
“It’s an excellent opportunity to represent our boat and the Navy, and to be appreciated and recognized by the community,” Walker said. “As submariners, we don’t get a chance to participate in events like this that often, so it’s great to come out here and be part of the show.”
Sea World has a longstanding tradition of supporting military members and their families. In February, Sea World and other Busch Gardens theme parks began their “Here’s to the Heroes” campaign, offering free theme park admission to members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families as a way of giving something back to the men and women in the military.
Having Jefferson City crew members involved in the opening of their new attraction was another way Sea World wanted to honor the military, said Koontz.
“We wanted to do more than just provide complementary admission to service members and their families,” Koontz said. “We wanted to publicly honor and thank them for what they do for our country.”
For related news, visit the Fleet Public Affairs Center San Diego Navy NewsStand page at www.news.navy.mil/local/pacensandiego.
Baghdad, 22 March 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Police say an Iraqi police antiterror unit shot dead 17 suspected insurgents and arrested 13 others in a clash near the Grand Mosque of the northern town of Mosul today.
Also in Mosul, five Iraqi civilians were killed by bomb attacks earlier in the day. And in Kirkuk, a high-ranking police official died today from wounds suffered in an attack on 20 March.
Meanwhile, Iraq's most important Shi'ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, met in Al-Najaf with newly-installed parliamentarians of the Shi'ite Alliance political grouping.
Al-Sistani said politicians forming a new Iraqi constitution should not exclude any of the country's ethnic or religious groups.Ali al-Dabagh, a member of the Shi'ite United Iraqi Alliance, said today that there are territorial and other issues remaining to be settled by the Shi'ite and Kurdish blocs that together control the parliament with a two-thirds majority.
(Radio Free Iraq/news agencies
Former POW Jessica Lynch, right, is blessed by Navajo Indian, Eric Manuelito, during a memorial ceremony for Army Spc. Lori Piestewa, Tuesday, March 22, in Phoenix. Looking on at left, are Piestewa's mother, Percy, and Lori's daughter Carla.Two years after their company was ambushed, Lynch was in Arizona on Tuesday to honor her fallen comrade, Spc. Piestewa, the first American servicewoman killed in the war with Iraq. (AP Photo/Roy Dabner)
Former POW Lynch Honors Fallen Comrade
Almost two years to the day after their company was ambushed, former POW Jessica Lynch on Tuesday honored fallen comrade Army Spc. Lori Piestewa _ the first American servicewoman killed in the Iraq war.
The women were best friends who served together in the 507th Maintenance Company from Fort Bliss, Texas. They were also roommates at Fort Bliss and tentmates in Iraq.
"Many of you may know our story, but what you may not know is what a great friend Lori was, what a great mother she is to these kids, what a great daughter she is, and what a great devoted soldier she was," Lynch said at a news conference. "She taught me so much and knowing her made me a better person."
Piestewa, a member of the Hopi Tribe and single mother of two, is believed to be the first American Indian woman killed while fighting for the U.S. military.
The 23-year-old Piestewa died and Lynch was captured March 23, 2003, in an attack near the southern Iraq city of Nasiriyah. Soldiers rescued Lynch April 1, 2003; the videotaped rescue made her an international celebrity.
Lynch is recovering from injuries that included a broken back. She still walks with a cane. She has enrolled at the University of Virginia and hopes to become an elementary school teacher.
With proceeds from a $1 million book deal, Lynch created the Jessica Lynch Foundation to help Piestewa's two children. She later expanded the foundation's mission to educate children of military veterans and casualties.
"We love her like a daughter," said Terry Piestewa, Lori's father. "We know she was blaming herself for what happened. She was blaming herself that she didn't bring Lori home.
"She wants to be there for the kids. It's good for her, helps her heal."
On Wednesday, Lynch was to attend a sunrise ceremony held on Piestewa Peak, a north Phoenix mountain named after the fallen soldier. She is scheduled to visit Piestewa's hometown of Tuba City on Thursday, and visit her grave on the Hopi reservation in northern Arizona.
Former POW Jessica Lynch holds Carla Piestewa, 5, daughter of Lynch's fallen friend Lori Piestewa, during a ceremony Tuesday, March 22, 2005, in Phoenix. Two years after their company was ambushed,Lynch was in Arizona on Tuesday to honor her fallen comrade, Army Spc. Lori Piestewa, the first American servicewoman killed in the war with Iraq. (AP Photo/Roy Dabner)
U.S. Army soldiers deploy out of a Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicle in order to provide suppressive fire on the enemy while participating in a simulated convoy attack during exercises Reception, Staging, Onward movement, and Integration/Foal Eagle in the Republic of Korea, on March 20, 2005. The annual, multi-phase exercise is tailored to train, test, and demonstrate U.S. and Republic of Korea force projection and deployment capabilities. DoD photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class John J. Pistone, U.S. Navy. (Released)
A U.S. Army Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicle drives out of an Air Force C-17 Globemaster III at Daegu Air Base in Daegu, Republic of Korea, on March 20, 2005. The Stryker, Globemaster III and their respective crews are taking part in exercises Reception, Staging, Onward movement, and Integration/Foal Eagle. The annual, multi-phase exercise is tailored to train, test, and demonstrate U.S. and Republic of Korea force projection and deployment capabilities. DoD photo by Petty Officer 1st Class James Christopher, U.S. Navy. (Released)
Iraqi carpenter, kin fire at terrorists, killing three:
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 03.23.2005:
THE NEW YORK TIMES
BAGHDAD - Ordinary Iraqis rarely strike back at the insurgents who terrorize their country. But just before noon on Tuesday, a carpenter named Dhia saw a troop of masked gunmen with grenades coming toward his shop here and decided he had had enough.
As the gunmen emerged from their cars, Dhia and his young relatives shouldered their Kalashnikov rifles and opened fire, the police and witnesses said. In the fierce gunbattle that followed, three of the insurgents were killed, and the rest fled just after the police arrived. Two of Dhia's nephews and a bystander were wounded, the police said.
"We attacked them before they attacked us," said Dhia, 35, his face still contorted with rage and excitement as he stood barefoot outside his home a few hours after the battle, a 9 mm pistol in his hand. He would not give his last name.
"We killed three of those who call themselves the mujahedeen," he said. "I am waiting for the rest of them to come, and we will show them."
It was the first time that private citizens are known to have retaliated successfully against the insurgents. There have been anecdotal reports of residents shooting at attackers after a bombing or an assassination. But Tuesday's gunbattle erupted in full view of at least a dozen witnesses, including a Justice Ministry official who lives nearby.
The battle was the latest sign that Iraqis may be willing to start standing up against the attacks that leave dozens dead here nearly every week.
After a suicide bombing in Hilla last month that killed 136 people, including a number of women and children, hundreds of residents demonstrated in front of City Hall every day for almost a week, chanting slogans against terrorism. Last week a smaller but similar rally took place in Firdos Square in downtown Baghdad. Another demonstration in the capital is scheduled for today.
Like many of the attacks here, Tuesday's fight had sectarian overtones. Dhia and his family are Shiite Muslim Arabs, and they cook for religious festivals at the Shiite Husseiniya mosque across from his shop. The insurgents are largely Sunni Muslim Arabs, and they have aimed dozens of attacks at Shiite figures, celebrations and even funerals.
The conflict has grown sharper in the last year, with Shiites dominating Iraq's new police force and army, and holding a narrow majority in the newly elected National Assembly.
In the past, Shiite religious leaders have counseled against revenge after attacks. But there are indications that some are no longer willing to turn the other cheek.
Elsewhere in Iraq, insurgents continued their campaign of violence. In the northern city of Mosul, four civilians were killed Tuesday morning and 14 were wounded when a roadside bomb detonated near an American military convoy, health officials said. The bomb did not appear to harm the convoy, witnesses said.
http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/news/66928.php
Thank you Kat, both Lori and Jessica are on my special people list.
Isn't Lori's daughter a real doll........
Poor Jessica is still in pain, it shows in her eyes.
Wednesday, 23 March, 2005:
March 23 (Bloomberg) -- Iraqi and U.S. soldiers raided a training camp near Tikrit, killing an undetermined number of insurgents, the U.S. military said. As many as 80 militants may have died, the Associated Press reported.
Fighting began yesterday at 11 a.m. local time near Lake Tharthar and lasted for about one hour, Major Richard Goldenberg said in a telephone interview today from Tikrit, which lies northwest of Baghdad. Seven members of Iraq's First Police Commando died and six others were injured, he said. No U.S. troops were killed or wounded, he added.
``Early assessments indicate that the remote site was used as a training camp,'' Goldenberg said. ``Propaganda material, suicide vests, and the identification papers of foreign fighters were among the things that were found.''
U.S and Iraqi troops have been battling an insurgency led by al-Qaeda linked terrorists and supporters of Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime since April 2003. The combination of a successful Jan. 30 election and the airing of photos of wanted terrorists on television has accelerated tip-offs from the public and resulted in an increasing number of raids, the Iraqi government said.
``The success of the vote and its effect on the insurgency can't be underestimated,'' Sabah Khadim, adviser to the Interior Ministry, said in a telephone interview from Baghdad today. ``The Iraqi people feel they have to be on the side of the law and that is the same for members of the army who feel stronger now in terms of morale.'' At least 26 militants were killed on March 20 alone in clashes with U.S. and Iraqi soldiers.
Task Force Liberty helicopters provided supporting fire in yesterday's raid and U.S. soldiers assisted on the ground, Goldenberg said. He wasn't able to provide a casualty toll for the insurgents.
Eighty Killed
Iraqi Colonel Ahmed Essa told AP 80 fighters were killed, indicating that it may have been one of the largest operations conducted against terrorists in Iraq.
``This is a great success for the Iraqi ministry of Interior and is a sign of the continuing progress of Iraqis to provide their own security for their own people,'' Goldenberg said.
Last Updated: March 23, 2005 05:21 EST
Update:
Lebanese investigators, inspect the wrecked Alta Vista Shopping Center in the Kaslik stretch near Jounieh, the main Christian port city 15 kilometers (about 10 miles) north of Beirut, Lebanon, on Wednesday, March 23, 2005. An explosion devastated the business center on a commercial street in Lebanon's Christian heartland, a stronghold of the anti-Syrian opposition, early Wednesday, killing two people and wounding two others, police said. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Blast at Anti-Syrian Stronghold Kills 3
By HUSSEIN DAKROUB, Associated Press Writer
BEIRUT, Lebanon - A bomb killed three people in a Christian commercial center early Wednesday, the second attack in an anti-Syrian stronghold in five days, raising fears that agitators were trying to show a need for Syria's military presence in Lebanon.
A major opposition group, Qornet Shehwan, accused the pro-Damascus authorities of seeking to "terrorize" the people through the blasts. The local member of parliament called on his constituents to resist attempts to draw them into sectarian strife.
Meanwhile, the magistrate investigating the Feb. 14 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, which brought Syria's long domination of the country into the spotlight, has asked to step down, the Justice Ministry said Wednesday. The move comes ahead of a report by U.N. investigators reportedly accusing authorities of negligence and tampering with evidence in the aftermath of the blast that killed Hariri and 17 other people in central Beirut.
Wednesday's explosion at the Alta Vista center in Kaslik, Jounieh, about 10 miles north of Beirut, is said to have killed a Sri Lankan and an Indian. The bomb wounded four other people, who were treated at a hospital.
A third body was found in the rubble hours later. Police said it was believed to be that of another worker from the Indian subcontinent.
The 45-pound bomb is believed to have been placed in a leather bag at the building's back entrance, a Lebanese security official said on condition of anonymity. A police officer was cut by falling debris as he inspected the damage in the shopping center.
Lebanon has been in political turmoil since Hariri's assassination. Mass demonstrations have forced the resignation of the Lebanese government and intensified the international campaign for Syria to withdraw its troops.
Syria has pulled back its troops and intelligence agents into eastern Lebanon toward the border and has been promising to work out their complete removal with the pro-Syrian government in Beirut. It has so far not given a timetable, despite mounting international pressure led by the Bush administration, which has demanded that Syria withdraw its remaining 10,000 troops and all intelligence agents from Lebanon in compliance with a U.N. Security Council resolution passed last year.
Syrian troops entered Lebanon, ostensibly as peacekeepers, in the second year of the 1975-90 civil war. They remained after the war, making Syria the power broker of Lebanese politics. The Beirut government and Lebanese supporters of Syria have long argued that the country needs Syrian soldiers to maintain stability.
In Brussels, Belgium, a European Union summit told Syria Wednesday it must promptly withdraw its troops and intelligence officers. The 25 EU leaders said Syrian President Bashar Assad should "quickly implement commitments ... to remove all Syrian troops and security services from Lebanon."
On Tuesday, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan secured a promise from Assad at the Arab summit in Algeria that Syria would produce a timetable for a full withdrawal by early April.
He told the summit Wednesday that a U.N. inquiry into Hariri's killing might not be sufficient. Annan said he expects to release a report in the next few days on it, but "I believe a more comprehensive investigation may also be necessary."
A newspaper owned by Hariri's family has reported the U.N. team found that Lebanese authorities had tampered with evidence and were negligent in their handling of the blast.
On Wednesday, Investigating Magistrate Michel Abou Arraj asked the Supreme Judicial Council in a letter to be excused from the case, Justice Ministry officials said on condition of anonymity. Abu Arraj's said his criminal court schedule was too busy, officials said.
The judicial council can accept his request and appoint another magistrate, decline to act on it or reject it outright.
The move will certainly delay the investigation.
On Saturday, a car bomb exploded in the Beirut Christian suburb of New Jdeideh, wounding nine people and causing extensive damage to an adjacent commercial and residential building. That explosion prompted President Emile Lahoud to cancel plans to attend the Arab summit, citing the "exceptional circumstances" in Lebanon.
The intensity of the political battle over Syria's troops in Lebanon has raised fears of a return to the sectarian violence of the civil war. So far, however, the political factions do not conform to religious boundaries, with Christians and Muslims on both sides of the debate.
On Wednesday, Qornet Shehwan issued a statement accusing "the police regime and its agents" of terrorizing Lebanon.
"They have organized attacks against some citizens and their motorcades, then they moved on to a chain of explosions from Jdeideh to Kaslik," Qornet Shehwan said. The group urged people who suffered losses in the explosions to sue the interior and defense ministers for "their failure to guarantee security for the people."
The opposition lawmaker who represents Jounieh, Nematallah Abi Nasr, urged his constituents not to be swayed by such attacks, saying, "Each citizen should be his own guard."
On Tuesday, about 1,000 pro-Syrian students marched on the U.S. Embassy, shouting "Death to America!" The students tore up a photograph of President Bush and denounced what they said was Washington's interference in Lebanon.
By Jim Kouri, CPP - MichNews.com
Mar 23, 2005
US Official: These Are Street Fightin' Boys
In two staggered columns, one on each side of a busy Mosul street, a group of Iraqi Police Commandos file on foot away from the safety of Forward Operation Base Blickenstaff and into the uncertainty of mid-afternoon rush hour. They make foot patrols through the streets of Mosul a few times a week, wearing body armor vests, weapons always at the ready.
“These are the street fightin’ boys,” says US Army Staff Sgt. Chris Paschel, who works with the commandos of the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Brigade with US Army Sgt. 1st Class Carl Paris. “They are combat tested.”
On a recent patrol, a group of 25 commandos covered roughly three miles, navigating spots of heavy traffic along a commercial district. At one point, gunshots ringing out in the distance forced them to take cover until it was safe to continue. Along the route, several motorists and passersby waved hello or stopped to shake the hands of the commandos and their US advisers, Paris and Paschel. On a street with a local elementary school, a cluster of children ran to shake their hands and ask for candy.
The patrols serve several purposes, Paschel and Paris say. It lets the citizens of Mosul see their security forces at work, and it sends the commandos out in search of enemies. A couple of months ago, the group of commandos captured a high-value insurgent who was identified as having beheaded several people in a business they pass by on foot patrols.
When they go out with the commandos, Paschel and Paris do not to give too much direction. The authority for the foot missions is in the hands of the ranking Iraqi officer. The commandos also go out on coordinated missions. One recent night they set out after dark in search of a man suspected of aiding insurgents. They didn't find him, but they'll keep trying until they do, the advisers say.
“They love missions, they love to capture the bad guys,” says Iraqi Police Commando Maj. Heider. Heider says he is not only proud of his men, but emotionally connected as well.
“They aren't my company, they are my family,” says Heider.
Unit cohesion is one of their biggest strengths, Paris notes. So is courage. “They're not afraid to engage a target,” says Paris. “They will go into a fight. And they're very loyal to each other. They'll take casualties before they run away.”
Paschel and Paris have been working with the battalion since November. In that time, seven commandos have been killed in action and dozens wounded. Three suffered gunshot wounds to the chest in one day at a traffic control point, Paschel said.
But like all good things, there is always room for improvement. “They really need an NCO corps,” says Paschel, adding that work sometimes slows while a decision makes its way through the officer corps.
Still, the US Soldiers have seen plenty of improvement since they started working with the commandos. Navigating through traffic in Mosul can be treacherous. They travel in pickup trucks, marked in blue to signify police, with two or three commandos riding with their weapons in the open back. Lights and sirens blare continuously, alerting other motorists to get out of the way.
Earlier in the day of their most recent foot patrol, the same commandos made two trips to a forward operating base to pick up boxes of T-shirts, socks, underwear and other uniform items for the battalion. Other than navigating through several traffic tie-ups, the trips were uneventful. On the way back from a third outing, however, the convoy took fire from a building less than a mile away from their base.
As Paschel and the other drivers sped away, Paris and several commandos returned fire. No one was injured. Both advisers say they have confidence in the commandos and their ability to confront the enemy.
“They hate the terrorists just as much as we do, sometimes maybe more,” says Paris. “That's a foundation for trust for me.”
Iraqi Commandos Take Rebel Base, Kill 84 Militants
By Sabah al-Bazee
TIKRIT, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi commandos backed by U.S. troops killed 84 militants in a battle to seize a training camp north of Baghdad, one of the highest guerrilla death tolls in the country's nearly two-year-old insurgency.
Baghdad's Interior Ministry said the dead included Arab and foreign fighters. Seven police commandos were also killed in the clashes on Tuesday in a deserted region 160 km (100 miles) northwest of Baghdad, where sporadic fighting continued.
"Special forces in the Interior Ministry attacked a training center ... and had a fierce battle with the terrorists, killing 84 of them," Sabah Kadhim, a spokesman at the Interior Ministry told Reuters.
"Among the dead are Arab and foreign fighters, including Sudanese, Algerians and Moroccans, as well as other nationalities."
Officials said U.S. helicopters and troops were called in as back-up during the battle, which lasted several hours.
The fighting came as politicians in Baghdad pushed on with talks to decide the make-up of a government more than seven weeks after the election, amid growing frustration among Iraqis.
Many say they risked their lives to vote, defying insurgents waging a campaign of violence. On Wednesday, two policemen were killed, defusing a roadside bomb in Baghdad, while a family of four was killed in their car by a similar device, police said.
FIERCE BATTLE
The U.S. military confirmed a battle had taken place and that U.S. forces were involved, but a spokesman said he had no details on the number of insurgents killed or captured. No U.S. troops were wounded or killed in the fighting, he said.
"An early assessment of the site indicates a facility for training anti-Iraqi forces," said Major Richard Goldenberg of the U.S. 42nd Infantry Division, using the U.S. military's term for insurgents.
"Documentation at the facility indicates that some members of the AIF were foreign fighters."
Six police commandos were wounded, Goldenberg said.
Notices distributed by a group called the Islamic Army of Tikrit, a local insurgent operation, said 11 militants had been killed, while "many more" police commandos were killed.
In Mosul, a suicide car bomber blew himself up near a U.S. military patrol, but there were no reports of any injuries, apart from the bomber. On Tuesday, Iraqi forces detained 70 suspected insurgents in Mosul, the U.S. military said.
In Baghdad, Kurdish and Shi'ite leaders were discussing the distribution of cabinet seats, with some party officials saying a decision could be made as soon as Wednesday.
The National Assembly, the parliament elected in the Jan. 30 ballot, was due to meet for a second time later this week, probably by Saturday, and was expected to name a speaker, a president and two vice presidents.
Deliberations over the government's make-up have been drawn out by differences between Shi'ites and Kurds -- the two major winners in the election and who need each other's support to form a government -- over Islam and federalism.
Most differences appear to have been worked out, after more than six weeks of negotiations and in the face of grumbling among Iraqis fearful that the country's first elected post- Saddam Hussein government could be sunk by infighting.
(Additional reporting by Omar Anwar, Waleed Ibrahim and Mariam Karouny in Baghdad)
Iraqi men look at the destroyed vehicle following a road side bomb in Mosul. Eighty insurgents were killed in an operation involving Iraqi and US forces against a suspected training camp near Lake Tharthar, north of Baghdad.(AFP/File/Mujahed Mohammed)
Iraqi commandos seize insurgent base
"An early assessment of the site indicates a facility for training anti-Iraqi forces" - Major Richard Goldenberg of the US 42nd Infantry Division
11.52AM, Wed Mar 23 2005
Iraqi police commandos have killed more than 45 militants in a battle to seize an insurgent camp north of Baghdad.
The specialist commando unit attacked the camp, near a lake about 100 miles northwest of Baghdad. After encountering heavy rebel fire, the commandos called for US air and ground support.
Lieutenant-Colonel Sarmad Hassan Kamel, a commander of the special unit, said around 45 insurgents had been killed, most of them Syrians and Saudi Arabians. He said their nationalities were known from identity cards.
He had no information on how many militants had been wounded or captured.
"We attacked a terrorist gathering near Tharthar lake. The battle lasted for one hour and we called for American backup. Helicopters came and attacked the terrorists," he said.
"Forty five Arabs were killed, Saudis and Syrians, but there were other Iraqis."
The US military confirmed that a battle had taken place and that its forces were involved, but a spokesman said he had no details on the number of insurgents killed or captured.
"An early assessment of the site indicates a facility for training anti-Iraqi forces," said Major Richard Goldenberg of the US 42nd Infantry Division.
"Documentation at the facility indicates that some members of the AIF were foreign fighters," he said.
Seven Iraqi police commandos were killed in the fighting and six were wounded, Goldenberg said.
An official at Baghdad's Interior Ministry, which oversees the special commando unit, urged caution on the death toll, but confirmed that a large battle had taken place and said there was still some fighting in the area.
"There are frequent clashes in the district, but this is a big deal," the official said.
DoD Identifies Marine Casualty - No. 280-05 IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 22, 2005
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Lance Cpl. Kevin S. Smith, 20, of Springfield, Ohio, died March 21 as a result of hostile action in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Media with questions about this Marine can call the 2nd Marine Division Public Affairs Office at (910) 451-9033.
DoD Identifies Army Casualty - No. 281-05 IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 22, 2005
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Spc. Francisco G. Martinez, 20, of Fort Worth, Texas, died March 20 in Tamin, Iraq, as a result of enemy small arms fire. Martinez was assigned to 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, Camp Hovey, Korea.
For further information related to this release, contact Army Public Affairs at (703) 692-2000.
March 22, 2005 — Iraqi commandos backed by U.S. ground and air fire uncovered an apparent insurgent training camp today that hosted fighters from as far away as the Philippines, senior officials tell ABC News.
The discovery was made after the members of Iraq's 1st Police Commando Battalion — who are part of the fighting forces of Iraq's interim government — were attacked while on a noontime patrol north of Baghdad, near Samarra.
Iraq Extended Coverage
Explosion North of Beirut Kills One Baghdad Shopkeepers Kill Three Militants Insurgent Training Camp Found in N. Iraq As they approached a group of buildings, they were attacked by sustained heavy fire from RPG, small arms, and mortars.
Seven Iraqi commandos were killed and six were wounded. There were an estimated 70 to 100 attackers and they were in dug-in positions.
A U.S. military officer with the unit called in air support. Attack helicopters from Task Force Liberty's Aviation Brigade responded but sustained major structural damage and were forced to turn back. More helicopters came in and fired on insurgents.
Soldiers from the 1st Brigade Combat Team also responded in support. The U.S. military said an "undetermined number" of the attackers were killed," and no Task Force Liberty soldiers were reported killed or wounded.
The fight lasted about 90 minutes. Once the insurgents broke contact, they fled by either boats back toward nearby Lake Tharthar or into local areas by vehicle or on foot.
At the scene, the commandos found documents indicating that there were Syrians, Algerians, other Arabs and at least one Filipino among the insurgents. The "training camp" found nearby is being "exploited," officials said.
On Monday and today, 20 insurgents were detained in three separate operations in Mosul, the military said in separate statements.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=604615
This whole thread needs to be seen! Great post.
Bump!
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