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Displaced Iraqi citizens are returning with their families and goods to local communities and muhallahs in the Rashid District of southern Baghdad. During 2008, More than 7,700 families have resettled in their homes and neighborhoods after leaving due to the sectarian violence and intimidation of previous years. Soldiers of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad, are working with Iraqi security forces to ensure that the Iraqi families return home to security and a sense of normalcy. Photo by Staff Sgt. Brent Williams. FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON — An Iraqi family stands in the doorjamb...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – A record number of people, some 1.4 million, rushed to become naturalized US citizens in the 2007 fiscal year before a hike in fees was introduced. US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said Wednesday that in 2006 some 730,000 people became naturalized citizens. The Immigration Policy center said the doubling of the figures was due to several reasons, but mostly because from August 2007 the cost of the application process rose some 80 percent to around 675 dollars. In July 2007, just a month before the new charges came into effect, there were some 450,000 applications compared...

BAGHDAD, Sept. 2, 2008 – American citizenship became a reality for 192 U.S. servicemembers from 54 different countries during a ceremony yesterday at Al Faw Palace on Camp Victory here. Army Command Sgt. Major Joseph R. Allen, command sergeant major for Multinational Corps Iraq, presents a servicemember and new U.S. citizen with an American flag Sept. 1, 2008, during a citizenship ceremony at Al Faw Palace on Camp Victory in Baghdad. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Christopher M. Gaylord, 13th Public Affairs Detachment   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Army Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, Multinational Corps...

To the Alzheimer’s Disease jokes at My.BarackObama.com, over which the Obama campaign staff exercises editorial control, we add the following. The moderators whose job is to remove “objectionable” and “disrespectful” content from My.BarackObama.com had no problem with this statement, and (given the jokes about Alzheimer’s Disease and “senior moments”), it probably does reflect the campaign’s views of senior citizens. Note also that this is from the Headquarters Blog, and the blog owner has the power to remove commentary of this nature. He or she apparently considered it neither “offensive” nor “disrespectful.” In my honest opinion, Barack should focus on the...

100-plus give a lesson in free speechBy John Henderson jhenderson@dailyprogress.com Published: July 5, 2008While thousands flocked to hear President Bush speak at Monticello on Friday morning, Dana Palmer stood by the side of Route 20 dressed like Lady Liberty to teach her kids a lesson in free speech. Palmer, her husband and their two children were among more than 100 people to protest Bush’s visit to Monticello with homemade signs, costumes, expressive T-shirts and their voices. Palmer wore bright green robes, a foam crown and had her face painted white to represent “the death of liberty,” while her husband, dressed...

CAMP RAMADI — Over the last two years, Ramadi has seen a dramatic in the number of policemen as the city progressively moves toward the final steps in becoming fully independent. In 2006, there were very few police in Ramadi when violence engulfed the city, the citizens lived in fear, and al-Qaida had a firm grip on the region. In the first two weeks of 2007, the city experienced an unexpected surge of applicants seeking to join the force. During that two-week span, more than 1,000 applicants sought law enforcement jobs in Ramadi, according to Army Maj. Thomas Shoffner, operations...

Sgt. Joseph Quirarte, a non-commissioned officer from Pacifica, Calif., takes a moment to hold an Iraqi child while on patrol in a neighborhood near the forward operating base, May 31. Quirarte serves with Military Police Platoon, Brigade Special Troop Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Multi-National Division-Baghdad. Photo by Spc. Grant Okubo. FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY — Patriot Brigade Soldiers of 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, exuded a genuine, vested interest for the community as they patrolled neighborhoods surrounding Forward Operating Base Loyalty, May 31. Soldiers assigned to Military Police Platoon, Headquarters...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, May 27, 2008 – The poem inscribed on the Statue of Liberty beckons “Give me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses longing to be free,” but on this Memorial Day, quite the opposite was true, as 44 members of the U.S. military marched forward to become America’s newest citizens. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff congratulates a soldier May 26, 2008, on his new U.S. citizenship at a ceremony on Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. Forty-four soldiers and Marines became citizens at a naturalization ceremony. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Scott Davis  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution...

Cheap Tomatoes And Cheap Labor CHEAP TOMATOES? This should make everyone think, be you Democrat, Republican or Independent. From a California school teacher - - - 'As you listen to the news about the student protests over illegal immigration, there are some things that you should be aware of: I am in charge of the English-as-a-second-language department at a large southern California high school which is designated a Title 1 school, meaning that its students average lower social economic and income levels. Most of the schools you are hearing about, South Gate High, Bell Gardens , Huntington Park , etc.,...

Sixty-three soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, serving the U.S. government but not yet recognized by it, lined up on the steps of the Triangle's new immigration office Friday, ready to swear an oath to their adopted country. A breeze ruffled a high-flying flag and morning sunlight glinted off brass buttons as Jonathan Scharfen, acting director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, led the candidates in their oath. With traffic rumbling down Interstate 40 and the smell of pizza wafting from a restaurant next door, the somber-faced service members forsook foreign princes and potentates and promised to defend the U.S....

Two hundred fifty-nine foreign-born U.S. troops currently serving throughout Iraq became American citizens at al-Faw Palace on Camp Victory April 12, in the largest naturalization ceremony to date in Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jasmine Chopra, MND-C PAO. CAMP VICTORY — Two hundred fifty-nine foreign-born U.S. troops currently serving throughout Iraq became American citizens at al-Faw Palace here April 12, in the largest naturalization ceremony to date in Iraq. Among the newest citizens were several Soldiers who entered the United States as refugees from war-torn nations, including Spc. Simon Nbenye, an Arabic interpreter with Company D, 1st Battalion, 30th...

Two applicants at the police recruiting drive in Tameem sprint 300 meters during a physical fitness test March 23 as Soldiers from the 59th Military Police Company, from Fort Carson, Colo., currently attached to the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, look on. One hundred and seventy-five applicants attended the event. Photo by Spc. Ben Hutto. COMBAT OUTPOST CASHE — One hundred and seventy-five Iraqi men waited for their opportunity to join the police force during a recruiting drive at the 3rd Battalion, 1st National Police Brigade headquarters in Tameem, a town southeast of Baghdad, March 22. Prospective policemen went through...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER — Soldiers from Troop C, 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, seized an explosively-formed penetrator (EFP) cache in Jurf Nadaf, a town southeast of Baghdad, due to a tip from a ‘Sons of Iraq’ member, Feb. 8. The ‘Sons of Iraq’ are a splinter group of the highly successful Concerned Local Citizens (CLC) program taking root throughout Iraq. The CLC are help to quell the insurgency by pointing out weapons cache locations as well as those intent on harming Coalition and Iraqi forces, and innocent Iraqi civilians. This find consisted of 13 EFPs, one shape charge, 37...

KHADRA, Iraq, Feb. 6, 2008 – Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers from Company C, 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, wiped the sleep out of their eyes at 4:30 a.m. Jan. 27. They donned their nearly dry uniforms and looked out of their sand-bagged windows, hoping to find that it stopped raining sometime during the night. Citizens man a checkpoint in Khadra, Iraq, Jan. 27, 2008. Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers with Company C, 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, operationally attached to 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, conduct combined traffic-control-point operations with local citizens and Iraqi National Police while concrete...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30, 2008 – Operation Phantom Phoenix is succeeding in cracking down on Iraq's enemies, largely because of the Iraqi security forces’ professionalism and the cooperation of the Iraqi people, a senior U.S. military officer said in Baghdad today. Army Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner, spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq, told reporters the joint offensive launched earlier this month continues to make headway in corralling remaining al-Qaeda-aligned terrorists and other insurgents in the country. “One of the reasons progress has been made and continues to be made in Iraq is the increasing courage of the Iraqi people as they reject...

BALAD, Iraq – Iraqi Security Forces, advised by U.S. Special Forces, uncovered two weapons caches during separate patrols Jan. 24. An Iraqi Special Weapons and Tactics team from Al Kut was conducting a patrol with U.S. Special Forces near Badrah. At a stop in one village, a group of Iraqi civilians informed Iraqi and U.S. Forces of a possible munitions cache. Iraqi and U.S. Forces discovered and secured a cache consisting of 321 anti-personnel mines, two 155mm artillery rounds and one 120mm mortar round. In the village of Shawq Sha Alan, a team of 8th Iraqi Army Division Soldiers and...

A man who robbed a downtown grocery store at knife point this afternoon was chased down and held by a posse of citizens until police arrived, according to Anchorage police.One of the Good Samaritans, Richard "Ziggy" Zeigler, 53, received a minor stab wound that did not require medical attention after he helped chase the suspect down, police said.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 23, 2008 – Even as al Qaeda in Iraq ramps up its torture of civilians and begins to employ women and children in suicide-bombing missions, Iraqi citizens are coming forward by the thousands to volunteer to help protect their communities, officials in the region said today. This trend has made it more difficult for extremists to reorganize and has restricted their movement, Multinational Force Iraq spokesman Army Maj. Gen. Kevin J. Bergner said today in a briefing in Iraq. “They are changing the atmosphere. It’s that courage of the Iraqi people that is changing the dynamic in such...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 8, 2008 – The commander of coalition ground forces in Iraq today cited a series of positive trends that includes more civilian cooperation and declines in attacks and in military and civilian casualties. During a conference call with military analysts from his headquarters in Baghdad, Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, commander of Multinational Corps Iraq, said that June through December 2007 saw 28 straight weeks of declines in attacks. The decline brought the levels of violence in Iraq down to levels not seen since 2004, Odierno said. The decline covered all areas of the country and included...

BAGHDAD — Concerned Local Citizens (CLC) in Tuwaitha, a village southeast of Baghdad, discovered on Jan. 1 one of the largest weapon caches found since the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team deployed to the Mada’in Qada nine months ago. The cache consisted of two five-gallon jugs of homemade explosives, seven 85 mm rockets, one 73 mm rocket, ten 82 mm mortar rounds, two 57 mm mortar rounds, two 60 mm mortar rounds, two rocket-propelled grenade launchers and two 40 mm explosive projectiles. “Every time a Concerned Local Citizen brings in ordnance it saves Soldiers’ lives,” said Maj. Desmond Bailey, from...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER — Members of a Concerned Local Citizens (CLC) group seized a large cache of munitions east of the city of Al Nijidat, southeast of Forward Operating Base Hammer, Dec. 26. The cache consisted of 23 rocket motors, two 82 mm mortars, four 81 mm illumination shells, one rocket-propelled grenade, one 115 mm high-explosive tank round, one 106 mm high-explosive anti-tank round, and several other explosive items, including an artillery fuse. The CLC group delivered the cache to FOB Hammer where Capt. Chas Cannon, from Moultrie, Ga., and commander of Battery A, 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery...

PATROL CAMP GATOR SWAMP, Iraq — Former fighters against the U.S. presence have done an about face. Many of them are now supporting America by helping to curtail the presence of al-Qaida in Iraq and other insurgents. The combination of a troop surge and sending U.S. soldiers to live among Iraqis, a program developed by Gen. David Petraeus, the top American commander in Iraq, has helped. When Charlie Company commander Capt. Ryan Barnett arrived at this small complex surrounded by Iraqi farms, he saw a need to coordinate the Concerned Local Citizens, a group of Iraqis who were reaching out...

BAGHDAD — When one thinks of a police force, he may think of a two-man team, patrolling through a neighborhood in their white-Chevy Monte Carlo, with blue and red lights, and the word “police” written on the side. They move throughout talking with local citizens at the diner, coffee shop, or on the streets corners. No matter what community, country or religious sect, policemen are there to “protect and serve.” Take away the type of vehicle, re-write it in Arabic, from right to left, and an average policemen in Iraq is no different. One of the biggest areas of focus...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19, 2007 – While al Qaeda in Iraq continues to be the main threat there, military officials are reporting that recent targeted operations by coalition and Iraqi forces, along with attitude shifts by local citizens against the group, are taking a toll on insurgent efforts. In fact, there are indications that some al Qaeda fighters are leaving Iraq because they are dissatisfied with top leadership efforts, Army Maj. Gen. Kevin J. Bergner, deputy chief of staff for strategic effects for Multinational Force Iraq, said in a briefing today. Others are giving up valuable intelligence once captured, discussing...

1st Lt. Mikel Resnick, from Oakridge, Tenn., the executive officer of Troop A, 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, jokes around with local children in Khargulia Dec.12. Troop A helped the Concerned Local Citizens in Khargulia deliver 1,000 kg of rice, 4,350 kg of lentils, 200 kg of flour, 250 kg of sugar and 1,000 kg of beans to help feed families in al Bata, al Hamidat and Khargulia in the coming winter months. (Army courtesy photo) FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER — When 12 displaced families returned to al Bata, the Soldiers of Troop A, 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, were...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq, Dec. 18, 2007 – Concerned local citizens near Bawi, Iraq, handed over a large weapons cache to soldiers from Company A, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, Dec. 16. Concerned local citizens from Bawi, Iraq, pose for a photo following the seizure of a large weapons cache southeast of Baghdad, Dec. 16, 2007. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The seizure of the cache came just one day after Company A soldiers and concerned local citizens cleared the main route into Bawi from the north in a combined operation. "This cache find...

BAGHDAD — It was a very joyful day for the members of the Concerned Local Citizens (CLC) group of Jamia, as troops with Company B, 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment (AR), attached to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), delivered their first month’s salary, Dec. 4. CLC groups are like Neighborhood Watch groups in the United States. “It’s very significant for (the volunteers) because most of them have been without jobs for so long, so it’s going to definitely improve the neighborhood in that these men who were previously unemployed may (have been) vulnerable to being...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10, 2007 – Lacking technology that can see bombs inside cars or explosive vests under clothing, coalition forces are getting help from local concerned citizen groups to get “ahead of the blast” in what officials say is the most effective way to stem those types of violence. Officials are using the surge of tips from local groups to attack networks of insurgent activities. The payoff has been a 60-percent drop in attacks in the country in the past six months, Navy Rear Adm. Gregory J. Smith, director of communications and deputy spokesman for Multinational Corps Iraq, said in...

A Concerned Local Citizen pulls back part of an armchair revealing unknown bulk explosive inside the cushion, Dec. 4, in an insurgent safehouse in Arab Jabour. The building was destroyed by a joint direct attack ammunition bomb once it was found to be booby-trapped. Photo by Sgt. Kevin Stabinsky, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs. FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU — An insurgent safehouse in Arab Jabour was rendered useless, Dec. 4, by two joint direct attack ammunition bombs. Although dropped by an Air Force F-16 Falcon jet, the operation was a combined effort conducted on the ground...

Those familiar with my writings know that I expend a considerable amount of time and energy analyzing the Iraq War and our nation’s fight against Islamic extremism. As a soldier who has served in Iraq twice, and who has witnessed the wounding and deaths of friends and fellow soldiers, the war is a subject of deeply personal importance to me and to my family. But this time, instead of discussing the merits of the war or the consequences that our failure would have on U.S. national security, I’d like to talk about the men and women who volunteer to serve...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 26, 2007 – Though the surge has worked, that doesn’t mean that extremists – especially Shiia special squads – have been overcome, the commander of the first surge brigade into Iraq said today. Army Col. B. Don Farris, commander of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne Division, said that when the soldiers first arrived in Baghdad in January, sectarian violence was at an unprecedented level. “Whole-scale murder and displacement of families from both sects was alarming,” Farris said during a briefing with Pentagon reporters from Baghdad. “Al Qaeda remained organized, determined and extremely lethal, and...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 26, 2007 – The first reduction in American forces in Iraq is under way as the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Cavalry Division heads back to Fort Hood, Texas. The brigade will not be replaced. Roughly 162,000 U.S. troops are in Iraq in 20 brigade teams or their Marine equivalents. If all goes well, this will drop to 15 brigade combat teams over the next eight months, Navy Rear Adm. Gregory J. Smith, a spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq in Baghdad, said Nov. 24. Iraqi security forces are attaining the expertise and operational capabilities needed to...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 21, 2007 – Determined to rise up against al Qaeda terrorists, concerned local citizens, working together with coalition forces, have started neighborhood watch programs in this area of northern Iraq. The citizens are calling the movement "Sahwa," an Arabic term that means "awakening." The neighborhood watch programs were established Nov. 14, two weeks after local citizens approached soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, with the idea. More than 1,000 citizens showed up, ready to be recruited to take up arms in defense against the terrorists in the region. The...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU — U.S. troops uncovered and destroyed a weapons cache containing seven pressure plates Nov. 16 and 17 in the area of Mahdiryia. The plates are used to detonate a form of improvised explosive device (IED) that is specifically targeted against Coalition and Iraqi troops on foot patrol. The cache find was the first indication of these “dismounted” IEDs being used in the area of Mahdiryia. They are already heavily used by al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) the communities of Hawr Rajab and Arab Jabour to the north. Soldiers from Battery B, 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery (FA)...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19, 2007 – A robust partnership between coalition troops and Iraqi security forces and support from the Iraqi people is showing success in bringing down violence in Iraq’s Multinational Division North sector, the troop commander there said today. (Video) Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, who also commands the Germany-based 1st Armored Division, told Pentagon reporters via videoconference that attacks in his area of operations are higher than anywhere else in Iraq. However, Hertling noted “a marked reduction” in violence, particularly in improvised explosive device attacks. Enemy forces planted 1,830 IEDs in June, he said. By October,...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14, 2007 – About 15 al Qaeda operatives ended up dead in Adwaniyah, Iraq, on Nov. 12, as Iraqi citizens stood strong in their town’s defense, a senior military officer said today. It was 9:30 that morning when the first mortar fire hit checkpoints being manned by a concerned local citizen, or CLC, groups, U.S. Army Col. Terry Ferrell told online journalists and “bloggers” in a conference call. Ferrell commands the 3rd Infantry Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team serving in Multinational Division Center, responsible for oversight in the Adwaniyah and Hawr Rajab areas. Between 30 and 40 al...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13, 2007 – Captures of al Qaeda operatives and seizures of weapons caches in Iraq are up, and casualties are down, a senior military official in Baghdad told online journalists and “bloggers” today. Air Force Col. Donald Bacon, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman, attributed a large part of this success to the surge of operations, the increase in activity among Iraqi security forces, and most recently, the formation of concerned local citizens groups, known as CLCs. Since surge operations began in June, Bacon said, al Qaeda attacks are down 55 percent, civilian deaths are down 60 percent, coalition...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq – Concerned Local Citizens found numerous improvised explosive devices and mortars along a route frequently traveled by Coalition Forces in Adwaniya Nov. 10. The CLCs came to Soldiers from Troop B, 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry, Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, reporting the IEDs emplaced along the route. Capt. Donald Brahman, commander, Troop B, 1-40th Cav. Regt., said some of the CLCs claimed to have expertise with IEDs and volunteered to remove them. “This portion of the road has been a major minefield,” Brahman said, adding that the CLCs are helping open up the road. The...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7, 2007 – Decreased violence in Iraq is the result of ongoing U.S. surge operations and Iraqi citizens’ increasing willingness to confront al Qaeda insurgents, a senior U.S. military officer said here today. Army Lt. Gen. Carter F. Ham, the Joint Staff’s director for operations, provides an operational update during a news conference at the Pentagon, Nov. 7, 2007. Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Molly A. Burgess, USN  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “No matter how you categorize it, you cannot deny that multinational force operations against al Qaeda in Iraq have had significant effect,”...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6, 2007 – Crime has been slashed by 50 percent in an area just outside Baghdad, thanks to Iraqi citizens partnering with coalition soldiers who live among them, an American commander said today. “After seven months in the area of operation, the people know us, and they know who we are, and they know we’re here to help,” Army Col. Wayne W. Grigsby Jr. told online journalists and “bloggers” during a conference call from Iraq. “We do not drive or commute to work anymore. We live in the towns with the people that we are here to help.”...

MUQDADIYA — During Operation Steel Sledge, Soldiers of Charlie Troop, 6-9 Armored Reconnaissance Squadron, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, recruited about 200 local citizens from one village to help provide greater security for the Muqdadiya region. About 30 Soldiers of Charlie 6-9 ARS set out in the early morning darkness each day of the operation, which took place at the beginning of October, to recruit and register locals for a Concerned Local Citizens (CLC) group from the village of North Oskrey. The recruits will work to enhance security in the neighboring village of Baloor, which is itself a...

BAGHDAD — Coalition forces saw a possible glimpse of the future in Hawr Rajab recently, when they observed Concerned Local Citizens (CLC) at a checkpoint come under attack from insurgents, defend themselves, and then receive reinforcements from Iraqi Army troops, Oct. 31. Paratroopers of Troop A, 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska, currently attached to 2nd BCT, 3rd Inf. Div., Fort Stewart, Ga., observed the event from a rooftop. Everything kicked off with a bang. Paratroopers were en route to the concerned citizens’ southern-most checkpoint just outside of Hawr Rajab,...

BAGHDAD — More than 200 Concerned Local Citizens (CLC) impressed ground troops by standing their ground in a firefight and finding several improvised explosive devices. The Al Ja'ara CLC patrolled approximately eight kilometers during a 40-hour mission that included the Iraqi National Police and Soldiers from Company B, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, Oct. 27. During the mission, the CLC received small arms fire from insurgent forces, pointed out several improvised explosive devices and scouted out sites along the route to place future checkpoints. "The mission was successful on multiple levels," said Capt. Steve Hemmann, from Des Peres, Mo., the...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1, 2007 – One sign of the improved security environment in Iraq is the growing number of Iraqis stepping forward to take back their communities from extremists, a top coalition commander said today. Speaking to Pentagon reporters via teleconference from Baghdad, Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno said concerned local citizens across Iraq are providing valuable information to the coalition and Iraqi security forces. The movement began in the Sunni Arab province of Anbar, but it is spreading to Shiite provinces and mixed areas of Baghdad, the general said. “Bound together by a desire for peace and prosperity,...

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

FOB KALSU – Members of the Concerned Local Citizens program in Hawr Rajab found several improvised explosive devices and explosive materials and took them to Coalition Forces for safe disposal Oct. 23. In three separate locations, concerned citizens led Soldiers to caches that contained one 122mm artillery shell, four two-liter bottles of homemade explosives, a bundle of four 57mm rounds and four blasting caps. The citizens claimed that one cache was found in a home belonging to an individual on the Coalition’s wanted list. All materials were destroyed in a controlled detonation pit at ECP 20, a joint security site...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12, 2007 – Violence in Iraq’s Diyala River Valley has been slashed in half thanks to citizen volunteers, a coalition commander said today. “Currently in Diyala, we have 4,000 local citizens who have decided to reject al Qaeda and other extremist organizations as well as militia, and they’re now helping in the protection of their own neighborhoods,” Army Col. David Sutherland told online journalists and “bloggers” during a conference call from Forward Operating Base Warhorse near Baqouba, Iraq. Sutherland commands the 3rd “Greywolf” Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, deployed from Fort Hood, Texas, and assigned to Multinational...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq – Concerned citizens brought three insurgents to Coalition Forces conducting operations in Arab Jabour Oct 9.The concerned citizens identified the detainees as members of al-Qaeda involved in terrorist activities.Soldiers of Company D, 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, were conducting a picket line - stationary security vehicles used to provide over-watch on roads used by Coalition Forces – when the concerned citizens approached them.The three detainees were taken by the Soldiers for questioning.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 10, 2007 – Iraqi citizens are reaching across sectarian lines and volunteering in unprecedented numbers to drive out terrorists and reconcile their country, a coalition military commander said today. “These are Iraqi volunteers who are stepping forward at the local level in different villages and different cities,” Army Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner said. “They are most importantly taking a stand to fight the extremists and take a direct role in improving security in their communities.” Bergner, the Multinational Force Iraq deputy chief of staff for strategic effects, spoke with online journalists and “bloggers” shortly after conducting an operational...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5, 2007 – Tired of al Qaeda-committed brutal acts, armed groups of Euphrates River Valley residents are working with Iraqi army and coalition forces to pacify an area once known as the “triangle of death,” a senior U.S. military officer said today. “We’ve really seen a dramatic reversal in the security situation,” said Army Col. Michael Kershaw, commander of 10th Mountain Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team. The emergence of these citizens groups about four or five months ago was a turning point in efforts to establish stability within his area of operations, Kershaw told Pentagon reporters via satellite...