http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/iraq/ en-us Sat, 26 Jul 2008 05:31:04 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051582/posts The success of the surge offensive resulted in an intelligence windfall. Documents and prisoner interrogations (as well as identifying the dead) provided a lot more information on hostile Sunni and Shia groups, as well as interesting observations about the factions currently controlling the government. All this clarified and confirmed the very factious nature of Iraqi society. Seems anybody with a quick mouth and a lot of guns can form their own little army. This factionalism is accompanied by a self-righteousness that seems to justify a wide range of bad behavior. This includes corruption, but also murder, torture, rape, theft and... Strategy Page http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051582/posts#comment Sat, 26 Jul 2008 05:31:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051581/posts As the U.S. armed forces have done so many times before, they entered the uncertainty of a new war in 2001, and are now trying to figure out what they gained from it. Most of what went on during this war was unreported or misreported. This is nothing new. The important details, and lessons, of all past American wars were poorly reported, and what the military is trying to avoid is taking away the wrong lessons. Throughout the current conflict, the military made no secret of what they were doing, and just kept focused on winning. They knew they would... Strategy Page http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051581/posts#comment Sat, 26 Jul 2008 05:28:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051564/posts If you read, watch and hear the media describe the campaign of 2008, it appears to be the most one-sided contest since Reagan trounced Mondale in 1984. McCain always comes across as borderline senile, lethargic, and pitiful while Obama is awash in media heroics and theatrical flourishes. But the race is still basically tied according to the polls. While Obama has gotten a four point bounce, according to the latest Rasmussen poll, from his European trip and the adulatory response of the left-leaning German crowds, the two candidates have been within one or two points of each other for the... Dick Morris Website http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051564/posts#comment Sat, 26 Jul 2008 03:40:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051563/posts Parody of "One Night in Bangkok" by Murray Head. See Rush Limbaugh home page. Rush Limbaugh http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051563/posts#comment Sat, 26 Jul 2008 03:39:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051541/posts Would it be a great disaster if Iran had nuclear weapons? As a habitual contrarian, I pose the question because almost everyone seems to believe that it would, and that it must be prevented at all costs. But is that true? John Bolton, the former United States ambassador to the United Nations, said in April that "if the choice is [Iran] continuing [toward a nuclear bomb] or the use of force, I think you're at a Hitler marching into the Rhineland point." Bush, too, has compared Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Hitler. But these so-called statesmen never consider what might... The Daily Star http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051541/posts#comment Sat, 26 Jul 2008 02:29:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051540/posts Video at link mudvillegazette.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051540/posts#comment Sat, 26 Jul 2008 02:28:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051538/posts WASHINGTON - The total cost of the Iraq war is approaching the Vietnam War's expense, a congressional report estimates, while spending for military operations after 9/11 has exceeded it. The new report by the Congressional Research Service estimates the U.S. has spent $648 billion on Iraq war operations, putting it in range with the $686 billion, in 2008 dollars, spent on the Vietnam War, the second most expensive war behind World War II. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the U.S. has doled out almost $860 billion for military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere around the world. <snip>... Assosiated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051538/posts#comment Sat, 26 Jul 2008 02:25:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051526/posts America is at the Mall by Bridget Geegan Blanton Several months ago I came across a photo while online that appeared to have been taken inside a military installation quite possibly in a theater of war. The photo was simple yet poignant. In the background was the indistinct image of a Marine dressed in camouflage entering the room from the outside and in the foreground the photographer zeroed in on the side of a refrigerator. Three sentences written on the side of the refrigerator constituted the single most riveting feature of the photo. The statement was brief, to the point... National Writers Syndicate http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051526/posts#comment Sat, 26 Jul 2008 01:39:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051511/posts First the Iraqi government gave Senator Barack Obama a boost by seeming to embrace his proposal for a 16-month timetable for withdrawing American troops from Iraq. But could Senator John McCain, who built his candidacy in large part on his opposition to a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq, possibly be following suit? “I think it’s a pretty good timetable,” Mr. McCain said Friday in an interview on CNN’s “The Situation Room,’’ before adding that it should be based “on the conditions on the ground.’’ For months Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, has railed against setting timetables for withdrawing from... NYTines - Cacus Blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051511/posts#comment Sat, 26 Jul 2008 01:10:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051498/posts 7/25/2008 - JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq (AFPN) -- Air Force and Army firefighters worked in the searing sun July 22 to contain a fire that engulfed six closely situated structures here. A call to the Joint Base Balad Fire Department at 12:30 p.m. set into motion an emergency-management response of firefighters and civilian volunteers. No one was seriously injured in the blaze, which caused approximately $1 million in damage, said Master Sgt. David Clifford, the 332nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron assistant fire chief. However, three firefighters were treated at the Air Force Theater Hospital for heat stress-related symptoms and later... Air Force Link http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051498/posts#comment Sat, 26 Jul 2008 00:38:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051490/posts There was a spring in Barack Obama's step and a sense of heady excitement in the air as he took to the stage beside Berlin's Victory column for his latest Big Speech. Members of his expansive entourage could have been forgiven for dreaming about the West Wing offices they will occupy in January. By any yardstick, the first half of the Illinois senator's foreign tour was everything his campaign staff had wished for and a little bit more. Wherever he went, world leaders wanted to bask in his reflected glory as the presumed next president. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of... Real Clear Politics http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051490/posts#comment Sat, 26 Jul 2008 00:23:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051491/posts WASHINGTON — Al-Qaida terrorists have been largely marginalized in Iraq’s Babil province, thanks to the joint efforts of Iraqi and U.S. security forces, as well as local “Sons of Iraq” citizen security groups, a senior U.S. military officer posted in Iraq said July 24. “The organization related to al-Qaida is severely disrupted, … as well as the [extremist] militia” in Babil province,” Army Col. Tom James, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team, said during a satellite-carried news conference with Pentagon reporters. “Overall, we are extremely optimistic about the security situation in Babil province, because of the... Multi-National Force - Iraq http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051491/posts#comment Sat, 26 Jul 2008 00:24:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051483/posts Four Iraqi children enjoy some fresh drinking water thatÂ’s now available in their community in northern Basrah Province. USACE photo by A. Al Bahrani. BASRAH — Al-Zierji, a town located in northern Basrah Province, has fresh drinking water for the first time ever. “This is one of seven USACE water projects in the province,” said James Hodges, chief construction representative with the Gulf Region Division’s Basrah Area Office. “The $1.2 million reverse-osmosis plant is providing potable water for more than 20,000 Iraqis. It was completed June 20 and is now fully operational, producing 200 cubic meters per hour.”Salah Ali, chief... Multi-National Force - Iraq http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051483/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 23:50:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051455/posts This time last year, it was a given that the war in Iraq would defeat the Republicans in the 2008 presidential election, and that John McCain had no chance of winning his party's nomination -- partly because he felt the war could be won. It should also be mentioned that a year ago Hillary Clinton was the odds-on favourite to win the Democratic nomination. Barack Obama was a longshot who opposed the war from the start, whose cores support was the radical left. How things have changed in a year! Who'd have guessed that as a campaign issue, the war... Toronto Sun http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051455/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 23:06:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051474/posts WASHINGTON, July 25, 2008 – An Iraqi organization tasked with consolidating and coordinating that country’s counterterrorism effort is now capable of conducting unilateral missions, a U.S. military official said yesterday. “[The Iraqi National Counterterrorism Force’s] primary mission is to synchronize and focus all elements of Iraqi national power to defeat terrorism here in Iraq,” U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Simeon Trombitas, director of the Iraqi National Counterterrorism Force Transition Team, told online journalist and bloggers. The Iraqi unit was formed in 2003 and has since been trained by U.S. Special Forces soldiers, Trombitas said. While U.S. forces still train with the... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051474/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 23:32:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051469/posts WASHINGTON, July 25, 2008 – U.S. soldiers in Baghdad today detained a suspect linked to roadside-bomb attacks against coalition forces during an operation in the city’s Risalah sector, military officials said. The detainee was taken to a coalition base for questioning. In yesterday’s operations: -- U.S. soldiers in Baghdad found an explosive device on the side of a road in Baghdad’s Jazair community. An explosive ordnance team disposed of the bomb. -- U.S. soldiers patrolling Baghdad’s East Rashid sector seized two AK-47 rifles, four magazines and 246 7.62 mm rounds. -- U.S. soldiers found an improvised explosive device-making workshop in... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051469/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 23:25:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051461/posts CAMP TAJI, Iraq, July 25, 2008 – As the sun begins to set beyond the Baghdad horizon, the sound of laughter and conversation emanates from the corrugated steel sleeping trailers of Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division’s Company C, 3rd Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment, Combat Aviation Brigade. Army Sgt. David Brocato, crew chief, Company C, 3rd Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment, Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Multinational Division Baghdad, mans the gunner's seat of a Black Hawk helicopter before the start of a mission on Camp Taji, Iraq, July 20, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Sgt.... Face of Defence http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051461/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 23:17:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051459/posts CAMP TAJI, Iraq, July 25, 2008 – Multinational Division Baghdad engineers with the 25th Infantry Division’s 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team journeyed to the Grand Canal Bridge in Taji Qada, northwest of Baghdad, on July 22 to monitor repair progress. Construction workers from a local construction company weld steel that is going to be used to fix the hole in the northbound lane of the Grand Canal Bridge in Taji, northwest of Baghdad, July 22, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Lyndsey R. Dransfield, Multinational Division Baghdad  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The bridge, which spans a portion... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051459/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 23:13:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051431/posts Savannah area Starbucks employees and customers have donated over a ton of coffee to the troops over the past two years, and the troops really appreciate it. The Savannah Morning News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051431/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 22:12:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051417/posts Pope Benedict told Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Friday that minority Christians in Iraq needed more protection but the Iraqi leader assured him that Christians were not being persecuted. Maliki, who met the pope for 20 minutes at the pontiff's summer residence south of Rome, invited the pontiff to visit Iraq, saying a trip there would help the process of peace and reconciliation. "We renewed our invitation for His Holiness to visit Iraq. He welcomed the invitation. And we hope that he will be making the visit as soon as he can," he told reporters in the palace after... The Star http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051417/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 21:51:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051405/posts Here is video of Sen. John McCain telling a group of Hispanic Veterans in Denver that, "Fortunately, Sen. Obama failed; not our military." McCain was speaking of Obama's attempts to block the Surge Strategy in Iraq, a failure in judgment McCain says he cannot conceive of in a Commander-in-Chief. . . . (see video) Blogs for John McCain http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051405/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 21:31:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2051376/posts Pope Benedict receives PM Nouri Al-Maliki Vatican City, Jul 25, 2008 / 10:31 am (CNA).- Today at Castelgandolfo, the Holy Father met with Prime Minister of Iraq Nouri Kamel Al-Maliki.  During the course of their meeting, Pope Benedict stressed the need to end violence in the country, and received an invitation to visit Iraq. According to a press release from the Vatican, their discussion, “provided an opportunity to examine a number of fundamental aspects of the situation in Iraq,” and its surrounding region.The heads of stated focused on the struggles of the “many Iraqi refugees, both inside and outside... CNA http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2051376/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 20:48:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051285/posts The American Embassy in Baghdad announced Thursday that it had expanded tenfold its program to help Iraqi employees of the American government here, who faced threats for their work, to obtain visas and ultimately citizenship in the United States. The decision is the latest step in the administration’s attempt to answer sharp criticism over its failure to help even those Iraqis who have made the American presence in Iraq possible by serving as translators and supervisors on embassy projects, for the American military and for the Agency for International Development. But critics in the refugee relief community noted that the... The New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051285/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 18:24:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2051265/posts What else would you expect from a "community organizer?" Watch the video here. YouTube http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2051265/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:48:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051272/posts When CBS's Katie Couric interviewed John McCain on Tuesday, her producers edited one exchange to include part of McCain's answer to a previous question on Iraq -- and, in the process, deleted comments that have touched off a controversy. The "CBS Evening News" interview began with Couric quoting Barack Obama as saying that "there might have been improved security even without the surge. What's your response to that?" But what viewers saw next was not what the Arizona senator said next, an out-of-order sequence that news organizations generally do not allow. It was McCain's earlier comment that "Senator Obama has... The Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051272/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:58:21 GMT