Posted on 06/09/2006 4:02:19 PM PDT by Gucho
6/8/2006 - 4:19:00 PM
By Journalist 2nd Class Joshua Glassburn, U.S. 2nd Fleet Public Affairs
NORFOLK (NNS) -- Norfolk-based guided-missile destroyers USS Cole (DDG 67) and USS Bulkeley (DDG 84) deployed June 8 as part of the Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG).
The two surface ships join the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7), the amphibious transport ship USS Nashville (LPD 13), the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58) and the dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41), which departed June 6. Along with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, the Iwo Jima ESG has deployed to conduct maritime security operations in support of the global war on terrorism.
For Cole, this deployment marks the first time the ship has deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations since Oct. 12, 2000, when the ship was attacked by a small boat packed with explosives, killing 17 Sailors in the port of Aden, Yemen.
”The majority of the crew has been on for less than two years,” said Cmdr. Bradley Roberson, commanding officer of Cole. “They’re a great crew, they‘re excited to be on board and now is the time to go on deployment. The ship completed its basic training cycle and we’re ready.”
None of the current Sailors were on board during the bombing six years ago, but they don’t easily forget the history of the ship or the significance of this deployment.
“We draw strength from this being a very stout and resolute hull. The crew reflects that and the fighting spirit of the Navy,” Roberson said. “I think the ship symbolizes America, its determination, its fortitude and the resolve that we’ll be around no matter what. And I think that’s the way the crew feels.
“We usually hold all of our training and briefings down on the mess decks,” Roberson said. “When you go down there and see Marine Sgt. Darrell Cole’s Medal of Honor that he won at the Battle of Iwo Jima and the flag that flew over the ship in Aden harbor, I don’t think you have to say anything. The Sailors understand why we do what we do and why it’s important that we are always prepared.”
Cole and the remainder of the Iwo Jima ESG will be deployed for approximately six months.
Norfolk, Va. (June 8, 2006) - Sailors assigned to the guided-missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG 67) man the rails as line handlers cast off the ship's lines. Cole will deploy as part of the Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG). The ESG consists of the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7), the amphibious transport ship USS Nashville (LPD 13), the guided missile destroyers USS Cole (DDG 67) and USS Bulkeley (DDG 84) - all home ported in Norfolk, Va.; the guided missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58) - homeported at Naval Station Mayport, Fla.; the attack submarine USS Albuquerque (SSN 706) - home ported at Naval Station Groton, Conn.; and the dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41) - home ported in Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Va. The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) is comprised of its command element, 1st Battalion, 8th Marines; Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 365, and the MEU Service Support Group 24, all homeported at Camp Lejeune, N.C. The Iwo Jima ESG has deployed for six months to conduct maritime security operations in support of the Global War on Terrorism. (U.S. Navy Photo By Journalist Seaman Charles A. Ordoqui)
Norfolk, Va. (June 8, 2006) - Family members await the departure of guided-missile destroyer USS Bulkeley (DDG 84), which is part of the Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) at Naval Station Norfolk, Va. The ESG consists of the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7), the amphibious transport ship USS Nashville (LPD 13), the guided missile destroyers USS Cole (DDG 67) and USS Bulkeley (DDG 84) - all home ported in Norfolk, Va.; the guided missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58) - homeported at Naval Station Mayport, Fla.; the attack submarine USS Albuquerque (SSN 706) - home ported at Naval Station Groton, Conn.; and the dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41) - home ported in Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Va. The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) is comprised of its command element, 1st Battalion, 8th Marines; Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 365, and the MEU Service Support Group 24, all homeported at Camp Lejeune, N.C. The Iwo Jima ESG has deployed for six months to conduct maritime security operations in support of the Global War on Terrorism. (U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate Airman Apprentice Patrick Gearhiser)
Norfolk, Va. (June 8, 2006) - The guided-missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG 67) is tugged away from the pier at Naval Station Norfolk June 8. Cole will deploy as part of the Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG). The ESG consists of the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7), the amphibious transport ship USS Nashville (LPD 13), the guided missile destroyers USS Cole (DDG 67) and USS Bulkeley (DDG 84) - all home ported in Norfolk, Va.; the guided missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58) - homeported at Naval Station Mayport, Fla.; the attack submarine USS Albuquerque (SSN 706) - home ported at Naval Station Groton, Conn.; and the dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41) - home ported in Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Va. The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) is comprised of its command element, 1st Battalion, 8th Marines; Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 365, and the MEU Service Support Group 24, all homeported at Camp Lejeune, N.C. The Iwo Jima ESG has deployed for six months to conduct maritime security operations in support of the Global War on Terrorism. (U.S. Navy Photo By Journalist Seaman Charles A. Ordoqui)
The USS Cole (left) and USS Bulkeley (right) depart Naval Station Norfolk, Va., June 8, 2006 as part of the Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group for a six-month deployment to conduct maritime security operations in support of the global war on terrorism. This deployment marks the first time the Cole has deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations since Oct. 12, 2000, when the ship was attacked by a small boat packed with explosives, killing 17 sailors in the port of Aden, Yemen. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Joshua Glassburn)
By Steven Donald Smith - American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, June 9, 2006 – Terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi initially survived the June 7 air strike but died from his wounds while laying on a stretcher shortly thereafter, a senior U.S. military officer in Baghdad said today.
Iraqi police were the first people on the scene following the air strike. After finding Zarqawi alive, the police placed him on stretcher, Army Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell told Pentagon reporters via a satellite connection today.
U.S. forces arrived shortly after and began identification procedures by examining distinguishing marks on his body and by using visual facial-recognition techniques.
Zarqawi mumbled a few indistinguishable words before he expired, Caldwell added.
"According to the person on the ground, Zarqawi attempted to sort of turn away off the stretcher," Caldwell said. "They re-secured him back onto the stretcher, but he died almost immediately thereafter from the wounds he had received from the air strike."
Zarqawi, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, was one of six individuals confirmed dead from the bombing. Two other men, including Zarqawi's so-called spiritual guide, Sheik Abd-al-Rahman, and three women were also among the dead. Reports that a child was also killed have not been confirmed, Caldwell said.
It is not yet clear how Zarqawi might have survived F-16 fighter jets dropping two 500-pound bombs on his safe house.
Caldwell noted that Zarqawi's death "is not going to stop the violence here in Iraq."
"It is an important step forward," he said, "but we still have some tough times ahead of us."
The general confirmed that Zarqawi's face was cleaned up for the now widely distributed photos of his dead body.
"His face was very, very bloodied and we made a conscious decision that if we were going to take photographs of him and make them available publicly that we were going to clean him up," Caldwell said. "Despite the fact that this person actually had no regard for human life, we were not going to treat him in the same manner."
The final determination for where the body will be sent is still being deliberated, the general said.
Seventeen ground raids occurred in conjunction with the air strike that killed Zarqawi. During the raids a large weapons cache was discovered under the floorboards of a house, Caldwell said. The cache included small arms, ammunition, passports, license plates, night-vision goggles, Iraqi Army uniforms, bombs and a suicide belt. In addition, 25 terrorist suspects were detained during the raids, he said.
The general pointed out that the air strike was the result of a painstaking process that occurred over several weeks. The bombing was not a case where an individual came to coalition forces and gave up Zarqawi's exact whereabouts, he said.
"(The air strike) was a result of tremendous work by coalition forces, intelligence agencies, partners in our global war on terrorism, that all came together feeding different parts and pieces that allowed us to build that puzzle," Caldwell said.
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American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, June 9, 2006 – Afghan National Police thwarted an insurgent attack in Afghanistan Paktika province, while coalition forces collected and destroyed weapons across the country this week, military officials reported today.
Police successfully defended an attack on the Sarobi District Center in Paktika's Sabari district yesterday. ANP forces counterattacked and defeated the 15 insurgents while maintaining control of the center.
The mayor of Sarobi and three Afghan police members sustained minor shrapnel wounds during the battle. They were treated and released from a nearby coalition medical facility.
Following the attack, a combined force of U.S. and Afghan National Army soldiers responded to the district center area to provide more support. The insurgents retreated from the area prior to the team's arrival.
"The coalition continues to work closely with Afghan national security forces to ensure the people of Afghanistan are protected by their legitimate government," said Army Lt. Col. Paul Fitzpatrick, Combined Joint Task Force 76 spokesman. "Together with the Afghan people, we will stop these insurgents as they try to spread unrest and violence."
On June 6, Afghan and coalition forces collected and disarmed homemade bombs and other weapons across Afghanistan.
In the Shamsakheyl village, Mihtarlam district, Laghman province, Afghan children found a suspicious cable by the side of a road. An Afghan adult dug up the two roadside bombs that the cable was attached to and turned them in to coalition forces for destruction.
Afghan border police in the Khost district of Khost province discovered as many as 20 mortar rounds. They secured the weapons until a coalition explosives team arrived to dispose of them.
In the same region, an Afghan civilian turned in 15 anti-tank mine-arming devices to coalition authorities. A coalition explosives team also disposed of these devices.
"Landmines, IEDs and other munitions are incredibly dangerous and indiscriminate killers," Fitzpatrick said. "They can and do kill innocent people. The placement of these weapons in civilian areas only increases the chance they will maim or kill Afghan citizens who are simply going about their day-to-day lives."
(Compiled from Combined Forces Command Afghanistan news releases.)
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Two soldiers proved their mettle following a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device blast that killed three and left six soldiers critically wounded.
U.S. Army Sgt. Daniel Mootoosammy, squad leader, and Spc. Izzy Flores Jr., combat medic, put duty before self May 29, 2006, when their leaders and sergeants were struck by a vehicle-borne improvised-explosive device. Flores saved two American soldiers and a U.S. reporter, while Mootoosammy assessed casualties and provided security. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Brent M. Williams)
By U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Brent Williams - 4th Brigade Combat Team - 4th Infantry Division
BAGHDAD, June 9, 2006 — As small-arms fire could be heard nearby the burning vehicle, U.S. Army Spc. Izzy Flores, combat medic, 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, said he thought to himself, “Please don’t shoot me now; I’ve got to finish this.”
The explosion of the vehicle-borne improvised-explosive device sent a wave of searing heat, a heart-rattling concussion and a hail of shrapnel whipping through the air, leaving two soldiers from the 4th Brigade Combat Team faced with the harsh realities of battle May 29.
Quickly assessing the situation, U.S. Army Sgt. Daniel Mootoosamy, squad leader, scout platoon, 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, dismounted from his gunner’s turret to find 11 casualties, many seriously wounded, on the ground and in their vehicles.
Within moments, the noncommissioned officer from Las Vegas, Nev., realized that he was the senior ranking soldier and the commander was on the ground.
According to Mootoosammy, his first thoughts were for the security of the survivors, and once he realized that his soldiers were hurt, his instincts took control.
“As NCOs, as soldiers, we apply the training,” Mootoosamy said of the situation. “As a person, not necessarily as an NCO, I knew people were hurt. I had seen them thrown on the ground, and I knew I needed to develop the situation.”
Upon order from Mootoosamy, U.S. Army Spc. Michael Potter, cavalry scout, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, badly burned and in great pain, manned the M2 .50-caliber machine gun, providing cover for the wounded from the turret of the M1114 up-armored humvee.
On the street, the noncommissioned officer went through a checklist of priorities in his mind and began checking the blocks.
Mootoosamy looked to the combat medic, Flores, a 20-year-old from Monterey Park, Calif., also uninjured in the blast.
“When it first happened, the disbelief, I didn’t want to accept it,” Flores said. “Then I saw Spc. Kenneth Snipes bleeding from his face, and I knew it was happening.”
The medic began the triage for the casualties almost immediately, assessing the most visibly injured from the explosion, pausing only to apply tourniquets and bandages for the severely wounded.
“It was tough to see leaders down,” Flores said, “and being on the site first, I assumed duties as senior medic.”
Once bandaged by his “doc”, Snipes, a driver for the platoon, began to work on the vehicle radios disrupted by the blast.
Meanwhile, U.S. Army Sgt. Ezequiel Hernandez, Jr., despite moderate injuries, worked with Mootoosamy to pull the wounded from a burning vehicle and to safety.
Mootoosamy quickly made the decision, based upon the applied risk assessment combined with enemy threat levels, to wait for support. The sergeant then secured a humvee to provide cover for his medic.
Flores was working on a critically-injured soldier when he heard small-arms fire. Lowering his head, the medic continued the work at hand, “applying tourniquets and plugging holes,” while other soldiers tightened security. Only later was he made aware that the rounds he heard were from the burning humvee, which was “cooking off” rounds.
U.S. Army Spc. Izzy Flores Jr., combat medic, displays his medical aid bag. Flores found himself the senior medic on the ground May 29, 2006, when the unit’s leaders and sergeants were struck by a vehicle-borne improvised-explosive device. Flores saved two American Soldiers and a U.S. reporter. (U.S. Army photo by 1st Lt. Kyle Simon)
Since the first day of his military training nearly two years ago, Flores has prepared for the worst possible scenario – mass casualties.
As the supplies in his aid bag were running out, the medic continued to work, looking desperately for assistance.
“Just in my mind there were so many people down. I didn’t have the time,” he explained. “In a perfect world, I would have had the time to sit down and perform a full scope of work on them; I didn’t have that time.”
The support teams arrived, and the additional personnel began to assist in securing the site and treating the wounded.
Flores wouldn’t leave the scene of the attack until all the patients were evacuated; the soldier stayed behind on site pulling security until his team had left.
It is hard for Flores to accept the magnitude of his actions as he remains thankful that some of his leaders, soldiers and friends will live to fight another day.
“To be honest, everyone comes up to me telling me that I did a good job,” he explained. “In my mind, I was just doing my job. I don’t want to accept the depth of what happened, because that is my job.”
The actions of the soldiers from the scout platoon, when challenged with mental and physical adversity, saved many lives that day and prevented a dreadful situation from worsening.
Flores’ actions saved two American soldiers’ lives and one U.S. reporter’s life, said U.S. Army 1st Lt. Mark Schmidt, executive officer and acting commander, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment. Six soldiers were critically wounded when the vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated; one will return to duty.
“In the situation they were in, those guys performed to the best of their ability,” said Schmidt, a West Point graduate from Chadron, Neb. “They were all trained correctly. Sgt. Mootoosamy saw that he was the highest ranking guy on the ground and he knew what he needed to get done. Spc. Flores, he knew his job. He jumped up and treated his casualties.”
The events that day turned out to be the biggest test faced by Mootoosamy, who said he looks forward to a successful career in the U.S. Army.
“In my eyes, I passed it,” he said. “I did what I had to do to the best of my ability. It is one of those things that you have to pass; you don’t dwell on it.”
Mootoosammy credits his NCOs and leaders who instilled the Warrior Ethos and raised him according to The Soldier’s Creed, making him the leader he is today.
For soldiers who might and will someday face the same situation, Mootoosamy, who has lost good friends in combat, wants his soldiers to keep hope.
“Keep your head up. Keep focused on what we are doing. Stay strong and persevere,” he said.
“Basically, if we give up now, we get tired and relax and basically are just doing our time; then we have lost,” Mootoosammy said. “Hold that fight; fight that reason to its fullest and hand it off, or basically they died for nothing.”
U.S. Army Capt. James A. Funkhouser, commander, 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, and CBS cameraman Paul Douglas and soundman James Brolan, were killed in the vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attack.
June 9, 2006
Italian premier Romano Prodi, right, gestures next to NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer during their meeting at Rome's Chigi palace, Friday, June 9, 2006. De Hoop Scheffer discussed Italy's role in Afghanistan and other peacekeeping missions. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)
June 9, 2006
An Afghan boy chewing gum vendor waits for customers in front of the new houses at 'Sher Pur', one of the wealthiest neighborhood in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, June 9, 2006. (AP Photo /Rodrigo Abd)
Associated Press
Last updated: Friday, June 09th, 2006 - 01:02:25 PM
PENTAGON -- The intelligence operation that took out Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has triggered dozens of raids and arrests by US troops in Iraq.
Major General Bill Caldwell says one unidentified militant targeted by troops has been killed in the latest raids and at least 25 others have been captured.
Caldwell says more than a dozen simultaneous searches were carried out around the al-Qaida-in-Iraq safehouse after the militant leader died. He says the intelligence gathered there led to other searches, including one where photos show small arms, ammunition and other items hidden beneath the floor of a building near Baghdad.
Caldwell also tells the BBC that troops "picked up things like memory sticks" and "hard drives" that will help dismantle al-Zarqawi's group and target the source of his weapons and financing.
By JACK DORSEY AND KATE WILTROUT - The Virginian-Pilot
June 9, 2006
NORFOLK - The death of Iraq's most-wanted terrorist was greeted Thursday with approval by those who have been hurt by him, as well as by those who have sought him out over the years.
The news sailed with the crew of the destroyer Cole as it left Thursday morning - the ship's 10th birthday - on its first return to the Middle East since terrorists attacked it 5 1/2 years ago.
Word of the U.S. military attack that killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi also reached a double amputee injured in the Iraq war as he waited for an appointment at a Norfolk prosthetics clinic.
"Hooah," said former soldier Jonathan Bartlett .
"About time," he added. "That is the effective way to deal with the enemy - find where they are and bomb them.
" It's good when U.S. military intelligence works the way it's supposed to."
Bartlett was a 19 -year-old Army private in Iraq when an improvised explosive device detonated beneath the Humvee he was driving, outside the city of Fallujah in September 2004 .
Aboard the Cole, the ship's captain, Cmdr. Bradley Roberson , said he welcomed the news, but that his crew of 320 men and women still had its work cut out for them.
The crew learned that al-Zarqawi had been killed in a U.S. airstrike about the time the destroyer was steaming out of the Norfolk Naval Station, heading toward Persian Gulf waters, Roberson said.
"I think today's news shows that the struggle against terrorism is going to still continue on and be long," Roberson told CBS News in a telephone interview from the ship.
"However, this is a path in the right direction. It shows that the troops over in Iraq are doing a great job, aided by the Iraqi people, and things are going well."
The Cole is making its second deployment and first cruise back to the Persian Gulf since it was attacked by al-Qaida on Oct. 12, 2000 . Seventeen sailors were killed when terrorists bombed the guided missile destroyer as it was refueling in Yemen's port of Aden nearly six years ago.
The Cole is one of six ships and a submarine with 6,000 sailors and Marines that left the East Coast this week to conduct security operations . The ships will deploy to the 5th Fleet's area of responsibility, which includes the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman and parts of the Indian Ocean.
No sailors from the 2000 crew are still aboard the Cole.
But one who was, retired Chief Petty Officer Norm Larson, a gunner's mate at the time and an officer with the Fleet Reserve Association, Branch 60 in Ocean View, said the news about al-Zarqawi's death will make the current crew "stand a little taller."
At least he's one threat they won't have to worry about anymore," Larson said.
[bin-Laden phones Abu Ayyub al-Masri from Pakistan].
Bin: "Abu! got some good news and bad news for you. What do you want to hear first?"
Abu: "Let's hear the good news."
Bin: "Zarqawi's been killed in an American air raid."
Abu: "You call that good news! What news could be worse than that?"
Bin: "You've been promoted."
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Thank you to all our troops that planned, did all the awesome work and took out this horrible, evil Zarqwai.
Friday, June 9, 2006 - 6:48 PM CDT
By PATRICK QUINN
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Abu Musab al-Zarqawi could barely speak, but he struggled and tried to get away from American soldiers as he lay dying on a stretcher in the ruins of his hideout.
The U.S. forces recognized his face, and knew they had the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq.
Initially, the U.S. military had said al-Zarqawi was killed outright. But Friday new details emerged of his final moments.
For three years, al-Zarqawi orchestrated horrific acts of violence guided by his extremist vision of jihad, or holy war _ first against the U.S. soldiers he considered occupiers of Arab lands, then against the Shiites he considered infidels.
On Wednesday, the U.S. military tracked him to a house northwest of Baghdad, and blew it up with two 500-pound bombs.
Al-Zarqawi somehow managed to survive the impact of the bombs, weapons so powerful they tore a huge crater in the date palm forest where the house was nestled just outside the town of Baqouba.
Iraqi police reached the scene first, and found the 39-year-old al-Zarqawi alive.
"He mumbled something, but it was indistinguishable and it was very short," Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, spokesman for U.S.-led forces in Iraq, said Friday of the Jordanian-born terrorist's last words.
Iraqi police pulled him from the flattened home and placed him on a makeshift stretcher. U.S. troops arrived, saw that al-Zarqawi was conscious, and tried to provide medical treatment, the spokesman said.
"He obviously had some kind of visual recognition of who they were because he attempted to roll off the stretcher, as I am told, and get away, realizing it was the U.S. military," Caldwell told Pentagon reporters via videoconference from Baghdad.
Al-Zarqawi "attempted to, sort of, turn away off the stretcher," he said. "Everybody re-secured him back onto the stretcher, but he died almost immediately thereafter from the wounds he'd received from this airstrike."
So much blood covered al-Zarqawi's body that U.S. forces cleaned him up before taking photographs. "Despite the fact that this person actually had no regard for human life, we were not going to treat him in the same manner," Caldwell said.
The airstrike killed two other men and three women who were in the house, but only al-Zarqawi and his spiritual adviser have been positively identified, he said.
Caldwell also said experts told him it is not unheard of for people to survive a blast of that magnitude.
"There are cases when people, in fact, can survive even an attack like that on a building structure. Obviously, the other five in the building did not, but he did for some reason," Caldwell said.
He said he did not know if al-Zarqawi was inside or outside the house when the bombs struck.
"Well, what we had found, as with anything, first reports are not always fully accurate as we continue the debriefings. But we were not aware yesterday that, in fact, Zarqawi was alive when U.S. forces arrived on the site," Caldwell said.
His recounting of the aftermath of the airstrike could not be independently verified. The Iraqi government confirmed only that Iraqi forces were first on the scene, followed by the Americans.
An aide to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said he saw Caldwell's news briefing but could neither confirm nor deny that al-Zarqawi briefly survived the blast.
"Well, I think it's clear: The Americans said he was seriously wounded and he died," the aide said.
Associated Press (AP)
Friday, June 9, 2006 - 4:48 PM PDT
By DEB RIECHMANN
CAMP DAVID, Md. - President Bush said Friday the elimination of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi "helps a lot" with security problems in Iraq but won't bring an end to the war. He also said it was unclear when Iraqi security forces could take control and let U.S. troops go home.
Bush declined to embrace the goal set by the new prime minister for Iraqi forces to take responsibility for security throughout the country within 18 months.
"We'll get a realistic appraisal about the capacity for standing up Iraqi troops as this new government begins to function as a government," the president said.
Bush spoke at a news conference with Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains. The two leaders, both fitness advocates, also went bike riding.
With the war dragging down his approval rating and clouding Republican election hopes for November, Bush will confer at Camp David on Monday with national security advisers and members of his Cabinet. On Tuesday, the president and his team will hold a video conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and a dozen or so of al-Maliki's Cabinet ministers.
"I've told the American people I'd like to get our troops out as soon as possible," Bush said. "But the definition of `as soon as possible' is depending upon victory in Iraq. And victory in Iraq is a country that can sustain itself, govern itself and defend itself."
The White House discouraged speculation the Camp David meetings would produce a troop-cutback formula. "This is not a meeting about drawdowns," said White House counselor Dan Bartlett. "It's a meeting about how can we best help the Iraqis help secure their country."
Bartlett said the formation of a unity government presented a moment of opportunity in Iraq, "and that's exactly why the meeting is taking place now, to make sure we are doing everything we can to ensure the success."
The White House has been cautious not to appear to be celebrating al-Zarqawi's death, yet Bush, on several occasions, expressed exuberance.
"I'm thrilled that Zarqawi was brought to justice," he said, squinting in the bright sunshine.
"Zarqawi's death helps a lot," Bush said. "It's a big deal, but it's certainly not the end of conflict."
Al-Zarqawi was killed in a bombing attack Wednesday.
Fogh Rasmussen, who went to Baghdad several weeks ago and talked with the new Iraqi prime minister, expressed his nation's continued support for the war despite lukewarm backing back home.
"I would say that our efforts have not been in vain," he said.
Fogh Rasmussen was critical of the alleged Marine massacre of Iraqi civilians in Haditha and the abuses of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib _ an event Bush said had "soiled our soul."
"When unacceptable events happen in Abu Ghraib, and when allegations are made about horrific events in Haditha, it is not only a tragedy for the victims, it is damaging to our own efforts and an offense to our very own values," Fogh Rasmussen said.
Bush mentioned another sticking point in U.S.-Denmark relations: Guantanamo Bay.
Fogh Rasmussen and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are among those who have called on the United States to close the prison in Cuba where the U.S. holds hundreds of men on suspicion of links to al-Qaida and the Taliban.
"I assured him that we would like to end the Guantanamo _ we'd like it to be empty," Bush said. But he added: "There are some that, if put out on the streets, would create grave harm to American citizens and other citizens of the world."
Bush said his administration was waiting for the Supreme Court to rule whether he overstepped his authority in ordering the detainees to be tried by U.S. military tribunals.
Denmark has a 520-troop contingent under British command in Basra in southern Iraq. Late last week, Denmark's parliament voted to keep its troops in Iraq for another year, until July 2007, even though polls show that public support for Denmark's commitment is just 40 percent _ down from 72 percent two years ago.
Moreover, Denmark is expected to raise the number of its troops in NATO's peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan from 80 to 360 by midsummer, according to Mads Hansen, a spokesman for the Danish Embassy in Washington who was at Camp David for the talks.
Associated Press (AP)
Fri 9 Jun 2006
By Michael Georgy
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's successor may be a local figure with close ties to Osama bin Laden, who focuses attacks more on U.S. and Iraqi troops and less on brutal beheadings and random suicide bombings, al Qaeda experts said.
The Jordanian militant led a high profile campaign of videotaped executions and bombings that often targeted civilians and killed thousands.
But Abdel Bari Atwan, an al Qaeda expert who has interviewed Osama bin Laden, said he expects a less extreme Iraqi figure named Abdel Rahman al-Iraqi to take over from Zarqawi, who was killed in a U.S. air strike on Wednesday.
"Zarqawi was a loose cannon who gave al Qaeda in Iraq a bad name with gruesome beheadings. Bin Laden had put al-Iraqi in place because he thought it would be wiser to have an Iraqi to help forge ties with others groups," said Atwan from London.
"Al-Iraqi is more sophisticated than Zarqawi and he spent time with bin Laden in Afghanistan. He will be lower profile but the suicide bombings are expected to continue because he is an extremist. But I think he will focus on U.S. and Iraqi forces."
Al Qaeda in Iraq issued a statement on Thursday signed by Iraqi in which he promised bin Laden that the group would keep up the campaign of violence. The statement described al-Iraqi as the group's deputy leader.
IRAQI OR EGYPTIAN SUCCESSOR?
Major-General William Caldwell, the chief U.S. military spokesman, said Egyptian militant Abu Ayyub al-Masri, who trained in Afghanistan and established the first al Qaeda cell in Baghdad, may succeed Zarqawi.
A close Zarqawi associate, he was on a previous list of 29 militants most wanted by the U.S. military. A pro-government newspaper had published photographs of Masri on a poster. He is a thin figure with a goatee in a traditional Arab headdress in one photograph and glasses and a green jacket in the other.
"A sick group lives among us which sold its honour and kidnapped our children and trades in human life for money," said a statement on the poster.
A man who goes by the name Abdullah Rashid al-Baghdadi is another possible candidate for Zarqawi's job, experts say.
Baghdadi heads the Mujahideen Shura Council, an umbrella body composed of al Qaeda in Iraq and other militant groups.
Although Saudi-born Osama bin Laden is described as al Qaeda's global leader, he is also seen mainly as an inspiration for a highly decentralised organisation.
Atwan said Zarqawi capitalised on that loose structure and that may have prompted bin Laden to step in and set up his close associate al-Iraqi to take over.
"Usually the senior al Qaeda leaders have a meeting in Afghanistan and choose representatives for Iraq or other countries," said Atwan. "Zarqawi hijacked al-Qaeda in Iraq and strayed and went over the edge."
Many of Zarqawi's followers were Iraqis but some analysts say choosing a native to replace someone U.S. Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld described as the man with most blood on his hands in the world could backfire.
"If they choose a foreigner to head al Qaeda it would be easier for him to kill many people brutally because he will not be one of their own and cause resentment," said Hazim al-Nuaimy, a professor at Baghdad's Mustansiriya University.
"On the other hand, choosing an Iraqi would mean having a leader who knows the terrain and how to build ties with tribes that could be a threat to al Qaeda if they turn against it."
(Editing by Scott McDonald)
Reuters
Thank you DC.
It's not a "gunsite" camera. It's a frame capture from the video produced from an IR targeting FLIR. Probably the Litening Pod , but perhaps the LANTIRN targeting pod. In either case the FLIR is not used to aim the guns, it's used to track and also illuminate targets for precision guided munitions. In this case probably laser guided, and those are still the most accurate. Even though I worked on another part of the LANTIRN system, I sort of hope that it was a Litening pod, because those are a product of Rafael, an Israeli company. The video, and the symbology, doesn't look like the LANTIRN targeting pod video available at the Lockheed site
Litening Pod on US Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve F-16s. That would mean that he was killed by a system built by Jews, and wielded by "Weekend Warriors", that is part time pilots who often are airline pilots when they aren't whacking Jihadies. Doesn't get much more insulting than that.
LANTIRN pods on F-16. Targeting pod is on the starboard side of the inlet, the Navigation pod on the port side. They are reversed on the F-15E/I/S)
I'll bet they were not overly gentle when "securing" his a$$ back on the stretcher. At least I hope not.
It wasn't very "safe", but it sure is "former".
By Sgt. Roe F. Seigle - Regimental Combat Team 7
HAQLANIYAH, Iraq (June 9, 2006) -- Marines operating in this insurgent-heavy Euphrates Valley city have developed a knack for locating improvised explosive devices – seemingly the number one weapon of choice of insurgents in Al Anbar Province.
According to Cpl. Robert Gaye, a squad leader assigned to the Hawaii-based 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, the Marines are also getting a little help from the local populace in finding IEDs before they are able to do harm to innocent civilians or Coalition Forces.
Everyday Marines and Iraqi soldiers conduct counter insurgency/security patrols in the volatile streets of Haqlaniyah, a city of 30,000 nestled along the Euphrates River Northwest of Baghdad ever watchful for signs that an IED has been placed by an insurgent.
During these patrols, in temperatures surpassing 110 degrees, Gaye says the Marines and Iraqi soldiers are sending out a strong message – insurgency and hostile acts towards Coalition Forces will not be tolerated.
Gaye said he thinks the local populace is beginning to get the message.
Recently, Marines from the Hawaii-based Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment discovered the location of an improvised explosive device placed by insurgents on a highly-traveled roadway May 30, 2006.
While the Marines were enroute to the location, military helicopters spotted two more insurgents placing another IED on the same roadway only kilometers away. The Marines cordoned off the area around both of the IEDs to prevent vehicles and pedestrians from entering the area.
One of the roadside bombs was detonated in place by a U.S. Navy explosive ordinance disposal team, without damaging any nearby houses or military equipment. The second IED was disabled without detonation.
“I think the citizens here are beginning to realize that we are not the enemy and want to cooperate with us,” said Gaye, 23, a squad leader assigned to Kilo Company after returning from a patrol through the streets of Haqlaniyah.
Still, IEDs have accounted for about 50 percent of all U.S. fatalities in Iraq, according to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count – an organization which tallies U.S. and Coalition casualties based off Department of Defense press releases.
However, the Marines from Kilo Company are not being deterred by the threat IEDs pose, said Gaye, a native of Trafford, Pa.
“Looking for signs of an IED…has become second nature to a lot of the Marines,” said Gaye, who is a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and has had six personal experiences with IEDs. He saw one explode on a roadway in March, the month Kilo Company arrived in Haqlaniyah and assumed control of the battle space. He said no Marines were injured because of the amount of protective armor put on the military vehicles.
“When an IED explodes, you do not have time to get scared,” said Gaye. “Your first thought is you hope none of the Marines got hurt.”
The Marines are developing a keen eye for suspicious individuals. While the Marines were waiting for the explosive ordinance disposal unit to arrive and detonate the IEDs, Gaye and a few of his Marines noticed two men wandering around the area Marines had already cordoned off. Gaye’s instinct told him the men were up to no good, he said.
Gaye and his Marines ordered the men to stop and conducted a pat-search on both the men. Gaye’s suspicions of the men were confirmed when they found large sums of both American and Iraqi Currency, and multiple ID cards on them, among other objects, which cannot be identified in this article due to concerns of operational security. Both were detained and taken to a detention facility for further questioning.
According to 1st Sgt. Vincent Santiago, Kilo Company’s senior advisor and a native of Merizo, Guam, the Marines have discovered more than 20 undetonated IEDs – bombs which could have harmed or killed U.S. and Iraqi troops, as well as Iraqi civilians.
“They use IEDs because they do not have the courage to stand and fight the Marines face-face-face,” said Santiago, 36. “A squad of Marines in Kilo Company could take out all the insurgents in the city in a face-to-face fight.”
However, Santiago said the threat of a small-arms attack is still present. Last month, Marines from Kilo Company engaged in fire fights with several insurgents who embedded themselves in an abandoned hotel. The Marines held their ground and surrounded the hotel until a U.S. military air strike partially leveled the building. Further air strikes destroyed the building altogether and eliminated the insurgents inside.
Marine leaders like Gaye, who lead Marines in patrols through the unpredictable and winding streets of Haqlaniyah, believe their Marines are handling the stress of possible IED attacks and small-arms fire quite well.
“What the insurgents do not realize is the more they fight us, the more motivated the Marines are to fight them back,” said Gaye. “The stress turns into determination on the battlefield.”
The Marines have been able to spot individuals in populated areas – such as marketplaces – who appear suspicious. Usually, it is just the looks on the individual’s face that appears suspicious.
More times than not, Gaye said, their suspicions are confirmed when they search the individuals and find contraband on them, such as fake ID cards and anti-Coalition Forces propaganda. These simple observations, Gaye believes, can save lives and get insurgents off the streets of Haqlaniyah.
Sgt. Mennen Suleiman, a squad leader assigned to Kilo Company, couldn’t agree more.
“We are (detaining insurgents) almost everyday, who might be involved with or assisting in attacks against us,” said Suleiman, a native of Kearney, Neb. Suleiman speaks fluent Arabic and lived in Kirkut, Iraq, until he was 12. He uses his language skills to encourage residents to report attacks before they happen and report individuals who are responsible for the planning and execution of attacks against Marines.
“Marines have been able to see many IEDs up close and personal after we removed and disabled them,” said Gaye. “They know what to look for now and Marines are on the alert. This is what is going to save lives out here.”
Marines operating in the insurgent-heavy Euphrates Valley have developed a knack for locating improvised explosive devices – seemingly the number one weapon of choice of insurgents in Al Anbar Province. Shortly after the Marines found the IED, military helicopters spotted two more insurgents placing another IED on the same roadway only kilometers away. Both men were detained. Everyday Marines and Iraqi soldiers patrol the volatile streets of Haqlaniyah, a city of 30,000 nestled along the Euphrates River Northwest of Baghdad. Here, a suspected insurgent is escorted by a U.S. Marine from the Hawaii-based Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, from a U.S. military seven-ton truck to a nearby detention facility under suspicion of planting an IED on a roadway traveled by Coalition Forces and Iraqis. The Marines say they are sending out a strong message to insurgents – hostile acts towards Coalition Forces will not be tolerated. (Photo by: Sgt. Roe F. Seigle)
A deafening ‘boom’ and rising cloud of black smoke are the remnants of the explosion caused by a roadside bomb, which U.S. Marines found May 30, 2006, during a patrol in Haqlaniyah, Iraq, a city of 30,000 nestled along the Euphrates River Northwest of Baghdad. Marines operating in the insurgent-heavy Euphrates Valley have developed a knack for locating improvised explosive devices – seemingly the number one weapon of choice of insurgents in Al Anbar Province. Shortly after the Marines found the IED, military helicopters spotted two more insurgents placing another IED on the same roadway only kilometers away. Both men were detained. Everyday Marines and Iraqi soldiers patrol the volatile streets of Haqlaniyah. An Explosive Ordinance Disposal team detonated the roadside bomb to prevent it from doing harm to anyone traveling the road. The Marines say they are sending out a strong message to insurgents – hostile acts towards Coalition Forces will not be tolerated. (Photo by: Sgt. Roe F. Seigle)
A U.S. Marine from the Hawaii-based Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, shows a piece of shrapnel left behind from an improvised explosive device, which the Marines found May 30, 2006, in Haqlaniyah, Iraq. An Explosive Ordinance Disposal team detonated the roadside bomb to prevent it from doing harm to anyone traveling the road. Marines operating in the insurgent-heavy Euphrates Valley have developed a knack for locating improvised explosive devices – seemingly the number one weapon of choice of insurgents in Al Anbar Province. Shortly after the Marines found the IED, military helicopters spotted two more insurgents placing another IED on the same roadway only kilometers away. Both men were detained. Everyday Marines and Iraqi soldiers patrol the volatile streets of Haqlaniyah, a city of 30,000 nestled along the Euphrates River Northwest of Baghdad. IEDs have accounted for about 50 percent of all U.S. fatalities in Iraq, according to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count – an organization which tallies U.S. and Coalition casualties based off Department of Defense press releases. (Photo by: Sgt. Roe F. Seigle)
By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA - American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, June 9, 2006 – As another sign of progress toward establishing a lasting tribute to the 184 people killed at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, the start of on-site construction for the Pentagon Memorial will be marked with a June 15 ceremony here.
This design photo shows how the Pentagon Memorial will be built on a two-acre site at the Pentagon, just outside the spot where terrorists crashed the hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 into the building. The design includes 184 illuminated benches representing each of the victims killed, with lighted reflecting pools beneath each bench. (Photo courtesy of Kaseman Beckman Amsterdam Studio)
"I knew going into this that this would be more of a marathon rather than a sprint," said Jim Laychak, president of the Pentagon Memorial Fund. "The fact that we're here, at the groundbreaking, two and a half years from when we'll dedicate the memorial, shows that we're making progress and shows that this is real and this is going to happen."
Laychak said the June 15 ceremony will be important to the family members, because it's a sign of progress, but it will also be important to the community as a whole.
"It's not only about the families," he said. "It's about the people that were here in this building that was attacked. It's about anybody in Washington, D.C., or the community at large that witnessed what happened here, because this was our nation's military headquarters."
Laychak, whose brother David was killed at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, has been involved with the Pentagon Memorial planning since 2002, when the design competition for the memorial began. Laychak and other family members of victims were part of a "family steering committee" that provided input and guidance to the design selection process. After the design was selected, the family members formed the Pentagon Memorial Fund to raise money for the memorial.
"(Sept. 11) was just such a momentous event in our history that I kind of knew that they were going to do something," Laychak said. "It was just a matter of the process and how you go about doing it to make sure you have an appropriate memorial, and I think we followed a wonderful process."
The design competition for the memorial was anonymous and judged in a democratic fashion, Laychak said. The family members had input into the decision, along with a jury of architects and people from the Pentagon community, he said.
The winning design was chosen because it invited contemplation and created a comfortable, peaceful atmosphere, Laychak said.
"It makes you think without telling you what to think," he said. "It's an individual memorial; it's a collective memorial, because it's about all those people - really a cross section of America that died that day - and in a very subtle way, it tells the story about what happened here."
The memorial will be built on a two-acre site at the Pentagon, just outside the spot where terrorists crashed the hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 into the building. The design includes 184 illuminated benches representing each of the victims killed, with lighted reflecting pools beneath each bench.
There will also be an "age wall" surrounding a perimeter bench around the memorial, which grows in height from two inches above the seating surface to 71 inches above the seating surface, to represent the victims' age range. The illuminated benches, which will each bear the name of a victim, will also be arranged by age and will follow the path of the plane into the building, said Keith Kaseman, one concept designer for the memorial.
"The question for us was, 'How do you make a place so special that it just provokes contemplation?'" Kaseman said. "When we first set out, we knew this place would be like no other."
Kaseman and Julie Beckman, who both moved here from New York City, created the design for the memorial, and are now working full time to make it a reality.
"Our role is to do whatever we can to ensure the quality level is the highest it can be," Kaseman said. "Our goal is to know there's a place that can help people heal."
The idea for the memorial came from Kaseman and Beckman's personal experiences on Sept. 11 in New York, Beckman said. The day was a surreal experience with lasting effects, she said.
"In the months after, living and working in New York, we really felt the sadness of the country," she said.
Beckman and Kaseman decided to enter the competition partly for themselves, and partly as a service to the country, Beckman said.
"We felt that this was a way to contribute to the conversation about how these people will be honored," she said. "It helped us to begin to solidify some feelings and emotions."
The victims' families have been involved with the design team all along, and have provided constructive input that helped the design come together, Beckman said. The construction start-up ceremony will be a proud moment for the families, she said, because it represents all their efforts coming together.
Beckman and Kaseman have been busy working with others on research and development of materials for the memorial, Beckman said. They are designing the memorial to last 100 years without maintenance, she said, so they are learning a lot about building materials.
To ensure the memorial is preserved for many years to come, the Pentagon Memorial Fund is aiming to raise $10 million beyond the $22 million building cost to establish a maintenance fund, Laychak said. So far, the fund has raised $10.8 million from an internal Pentagon employee fundraiser and public and private donations, he said.
In conjunction with continued progress on the memorial construction, Pentagon planners are working on this year's "America Supports You" Freedom Walks, another way the Defense Department is honoring the lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001. These will be held on Sept. 11 in Washington and other cities throughout the country. Last year's inaugural two-mile Freedom Walk began at a Pentagon parking lot and ended on the National Mall, adjacent to the World War II Memorial.
"The Freedom Walks are intended to remind Americans about those who lost their lives in the attacks on 9/11 and to show our appreciation for the men and women who serve our country on the front lines to protect our freedoms," said America Supports You spokeswoman Roxie Merritt.
Jim Laychak, president of the Pentagon Memorial Fund, discusses the upcoming Pentagon Memorial June 15 construction startup ceremony in front of the spot where the hijacked plane hit the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. (Photo by Sgt. Sara Wood, USA)
Julie Beckman and Keith Kaseman, the concept designers for the Pentagon Memorial, talk with a construction employee at the memorial site June 6. (Photo by Sgt. Sara Wood, USA)
Observations: Passing the Baton From Coalition to Iraqi Forces
By Jim Garamone - American Forces Press Service
CAMP AL QAIM, Iraq, June 9, 2006 – The security situation in Iraq is like a relay race. Coalition forces have the baton for the first leg. They pass it to the Iraqi army, who in turn pass the baton to the Iraqi police.
In Anbar province, the race is a bit slower than in other portions of Iraq. But progress is being made.
Training the Iraqi security forces is the most important mission for coalition personnel, who realize that capable security forces will quicken their return home. Iraqi soldiers and police understand this and are very receptive to coalition efforts.
And the enemy understands the importance of capable Iraqi forces. Government forces able to provide security will go a long way to establishing prosperity in the country. One of the enemy's targets has been Iraqi army recruiting stations and Iraqi police stations. The enemy has killed many Iraqi soldiers and police. Yet, Iraqi men continue to volunteer to serve.
The insurgency is tough here in the "Wild West" of Iraq. Anti-Iraqi forces are mostly locals, and people protect them. Residents view the government in Baghdad as not representative of their views. And some in Anbar province see the insurgents as attacking an occupying power, with tribal leaders often giving tacit support and under-the-table aid to the insurgents. There is some hope that the new government will overcome this perception.
Terrorist groups like al Qaeda in Iraq see the province as a haven as they seek to exploit and enlarge the Sunni/Shiia divide in the country.
And all groups in the region are maneuvering to be the power in a vacuum.
The strategy the coalition and the Iraqi government has in place also deals with the security situation in the province. Coalition troops launch operations to maintain security and to buy time to train the Iraqi army. All along the Western Euphrates River Valley, U.S. soldiers and Marines patrol and engage the enemy, and carve out some breathing room to train their replacements: the Iraqi army.
The IA - as it is known out here - is taking shape and taking form. Coalition units partner with the IA and military transition teams - military advisers - work and live with their Iraqi counterparts at company, battalion, brigade and division levels.
Most Iraqi army soldiers come from outside the province. The unit in Hit, Iraq, comes from the south - around Najaf. A local officer commands the brigade here, but most of the soldiers come from the Baghdad area. While there is some recruiting in the province, the response has been tepid, officials said.
The Iraqi soldiers in Anbar work in squad and section strength and are training to operate as platoons and companies.
Benefits are already accruing. Iraqi soldiers do not have to learn the culture of the country because they are a part of it. They speak the same language as the population and they can recognize when something or someone is out of place, officials said. As they become better trained, they will take the lead, allowing coalition troops - in this area, primarily Americans - to step back and serve in an overwatch capacity.
The IA units are making good progress and officials here expect them to be in the lead in the next few months. Coalition forces will continue to advise the IA and will provide air support, medical evacuations, certain logistical help and advice.
When the Iraqi army takes the baton from coalition forces, they will buy time to train the Iraqi police, the keystone in security in the region and the country.
Police come from the communities. The cop on the beat knows the people as individuals and understands their wants and fears. Police stations are in their neighborhoods and should be places that serve as focal points of security.
And that is part of the problem out here. Local men are loathe to volunteer to serve in the Iraqi army, let alone the Iraqi police. Insurgents target soldiers and their families. Soldiers - even those who serve far away from their homes - protect their identities. By their very nature, police must be known to those they serve. Villagers must know "Officer Achmed" and feel free to speak with him.
But this leaves the officer and his family open to murder.
Still, men are volunteering for the police. Equipment is coming into the region and in some cities and towns the police are striking out on their own to provide security.
Coalition and Iraqi officials have decreed 2006 to be "the year of the police." This does not mean that all police security challenges will be met this year, officials said, but they will have a good start.
Coalition officials in Baghdad said the strategy is moving forward. In many places in the country, Iraqi units already have their own battle space, with just a few American advisers. In others, Iraqi battalions are in the lead. And even here in Anbar, Iraqi soldiers want to defend their country and people. The coalition is passing the baton to the Iraqi army, officials said.
The next stage -- setting up the Iraqi police -- will be more complex, but will seal the victory against terrorism and the insurgency. It is all a matter of time and will.
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jun2006/20060609_5377.html
The Associated Press
June 9, 2006
A series of U.S. military raids based on intelligence gathered from the destroyed hideout of terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi have yielded at least two dozen captives and a hidden cache of weaponry, Iraqi army uniforms and other materials, a senior U.S. military spokesman said Friday.
Maj. Gen. Bill Caldwell, speaking to reporters at the Pentagon by video-teleconference from his office in Baghdad, said that after 17 such raids in the immediate aftermath of Wednesday's airstrike on Zarqawi's safehouse, more were launched on Thursday.
Caldwell displayed digital photographs of recovered items that he said included a suicide belt, a flak vest, passports and identification cards, vehicle license plates, ammunition belts, rifles and other guns and a night-vision device. He said they were found under the floorboards of a building; he did not identify the location.
Caldwell also said the man he thinks is a possible successor to Zarqawi as leader of the shadowy terrorist group known as al-Qaidi in Iraq has been operating in Iraq longer than Zarqawi and that the two first met in Afghanistan. He was referring to Abu Ayyub al-Masri, whom he described as an Egyptian-born terrorist leader.
He said al-Masri has had "communications" with Osama bin Laden's chief lieutenant, Ayman al-Zawahiri. He did not elaborate and would not say whether al-Masri also has been in touch with bin Laden, who is believed to be hiding in Pakistan.
The spokesman also disclosed that Zarqawi was still alive when U.S. troops arrived on the scene after Wednesday's airstrike by an F-16 fighter. The terrorist "mumbled a little something" and made an apparent effort to get away after being placed on a stretcher by Iraqi police, Caldwell said. On Thursday U.S. officials had said Zarqawi was dead when he was found. Caldwell said new information indicated that he survived a short time.
Caldwell also suggested the possibility that Zarqawi was not inside the safehouse when it was attacked. He said he spoke with several knowledgeable Air Force officers on Friday to learn how it was possible for Zarqawi to have survived, even for a short time, the devastating power of two 500-pound bombs.
"They assured me that there are cases when people, in fact, can survive even an attack like that on a building structure," Caldwell said. "Obviously, the other five in the building did not, but he did for some reason. And we do not know - and I've looked through the report - as to whether or not it was because he might have been right outside (the targeted building) or whatever. We just don't have that granularity."
On Thursday, Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., was asked about U.S. military photos that showed a dead Zarqawi with relatively little apparent physical damage to his face. She said the two bombs, which flattened the safehouse, "didn't hit directly where he was so he was probably killed by debris or the blast effect."
Wilson, an Air Force veteran, is a member of the House Intelligence Committee.
In describing the military raids conducted based on intelligence from the Zarqawi safehouse, Caldwell said one targeted individual, whom he did not identify, was killed in the latest raids and at least 25 were captured.
Pentagon officials have refused to say whether U.S. special operations forces participated in the Zarqawi operation Wednesday, but a comment Friday by President Bush suggested that some of the military's most secretive units may have been involved on the ground.
Speaking to reporters, Bush mentioned that among the senior officers he called to offer congratulations for killing Zarqawi was Army Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of Joint Special Operations Command, whose forces include the Army's clandestine counterterrorism unit, Delta Force.
Asked whether Zarqawi was shot after U.S. ground troops arrived at the scene of the airstrike, Caldwell said he could not give a definitive answer based on what he had read in the latest official U.S. military report on the event. "I'll go back and specifically ask that," he said. "But no, there was nothing in the report that said he had received any wounds from some kind of weapons system like that."
Caldwell said the U.S. military was still compiling some details of the event, including the exact amount of time Zarqawi was alive after the attack. He said an initial analysis of Zarqawi's body had been done but he was not certain whether it constituted a full autopsy.
"I know that there was, quote, an autopsy done, but I'll go back and make sure it was performed by the certified kind of person that we're supposed to have so we can call it an autopsy and make sure I'm exactly correct before I tell you that," he said.
In an interview earlier Friday with Fox News Channel, Caldwell was more descriptive of Zarqawi's actions before he died.
"He was conscious initially, according to the U.S. forces that physically saw him," Caldwell told Fox. "He obviously had some kind of visual recognition of who they were because he attempted to roll off the stretcher, as I am told, and get away, realizing it was U.S. military."
Caldwell indicated that U.S. troops "went into the process to provide medical care to him" before Zarqawi expired. He did not elaborate on the medical assistance. He said U.S. officials are in discussions with Iraqi government officials about the disposition of Zarqawi's body.
The spokesman also provided a revised accounting of the dead. He said the six people killed in the airstrike included three women. On Thursday U.S. officials had said one woman and one child were among the dead. Caldwell said Friday the latest information available to him gave no indication that a child was killed.
The U.S. military earlier had displayed images of the battered face of al-Zarqawi and reported that he had been identified by fingerprints, tattoos and scars. Biological samples from his body also were delivered to an FBI crime laboratory in Virginia for DNA testing. The results were expected in three days.
Photos by Christopher B. Stoltz - Stars and Stripes Mideast edition
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Sgt. Victor Rascon, 36, from San Diego, Calif., deployed with the Company B, 29th Signal Battalion motor pool, rebuilds a generator Wednesday afternoon. "I'll probably finish it tomorrow" to complete it within the 38-hour turnaround, he said.
Sgt. 1st Class Mark Greenwell, 48, of Century, Fla., with the 842nd Signal Battalion, sits on a swing during a break this week at Forward Operating Base Sykes in northern Iraq. The swing and camp were all built from scratch, and took a little over six months to complete.
Staff Sgt. Francis Jaeger, 42, from Ft. Worth, Texas, and Spc. Ben Colton, 26, from Laie, Hi., tend their garden on the side of their FOB Sykes work center in their off time. After changing fans and deep cleaning vehicles, it's a side hobby both of the soldiers — attached to the 842nd Signal Battalion — enjoy.
Spc. Ben Colton tends to the garden during some off time at FOB Sykes in northern Iraq.
Meanwhile, Congressman John Murtha (D-PA) is soliciting support from fellow Democrats to become the successor to al-Zarqawi (D-HELL)
Friday, June 9, 2006
Afghanistan: Nation Protects Storied Bactrian Treasure
By Robert Berger - Jerusalem
10 June 2006
The Islamic militant group Hamas, which heads the Palestinian Authority, has fired rockets at Israel from the Gaza Strip, calling off a truce.
Palestinian Authority PM Ismail Haniyeh from Hamas, left, heads a meeting with representatives of different Palestinian factions, June 10, 2006.
Hamas said it fired rockets at Israel in response to the killing of seven Palestinian civilians Friday in an Israeli artillery strike. The rocket fire effectively ends a 16-month old truce and threatens to spark a new wave of bloodshed.
The Israeli army says it was targeting rocket launch sites when one shell apparently went astray and hit a family picnicking on a Gaza beach. Israeli spokesman Mark Regev expressed regret over the incident, but said Israel cannot tolerate weeks of rocket attacks.
"This has to stop," he said.
The Hamas military wing says more attacks are coming, including suicide bombings in Israeli cities.
Three Detainees Commit Suicide at Guantanamo Bay
June 10, 2006
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A senior U.S. official said three detainees at Guantanamo Bay have committed suicide.
The Bush administration official said it was apparently a joint pact to protest the U.S. military prison in Cuba.
The United States is holding about 460 men there on suspicion of links to al-Qaida and the Taliban.
It's not clear when the inmates died, or whether the suicides were connected to a violent clash last month between detainees and military guards at Guantanamo.
The official said President Bush has been notified of the incident. He's spending the weekend at Camp David.
http://www.news10.net/storyfull3.aspx?storyid=18078
Associated Press
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