http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/iraqipeople/ en-us Sun, 7 Sep 2008 21:21:09 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2076871/posts WASHINGTON, Sept. 7, 2008 – Iraqi citizens of Babil province yesterday led U.S. soldiers to the seizure of a huge amount of components suitable for the construction of deadly explosively formed penetrator-type bombs, military officials reported. Acting on a tip from local Iraqi citizens, the U.S. soldiers discovered more than 2,500 bomb-making components at three separate locations in an area southeast of Samrah Village in Babil province. Officials believe this discovery will significantly disrupt explosively formed projectiles attacks within central Iraq. U.S. soldiers found the cache after a group of local Iraqi citizens informed them of a suspected cache location... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2076871/posts#comment Sun, 7 Sep 2008 21:21:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2056049/posts For years, when she approached Iraqi Army checkpoints and produced an identification card for soldiers to study for clues about her sect, Nadia Hashim used a simple formula to signal the mostly Shiite Muslim force that she, too, is a Shiite. "I am one of you," she'd say. The soldiers would harass Sunnis, but they'd simply wave Hashim through. Now her pat line gets her an official reproach. When a relative used it recently, a soldier admonished the driver and the passengers. "'We are Iraqis, and you shouldn't say such a thing,' " recalled Hashim. The 35-year-old mother of three... McClatchy http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2056049/posts#comment Mon, 4 Aug 2008 04:15:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048954/posts 'The war in Iraq is over. We won. Which means the Iraqi people won." When I wrote this on my Web site a few days ago, I set off a mini-firestorm. Perhaps because I have spent more time embedded with combat troops in Iraq than any journalist I know - and have interviewed countless Iraqis and members of the coalition military. But I stand by my words, just as I stood by my assertion of February 2005 that Iraq was in a state of civil war, and later understood that Al Qaeda was its proximate cause. Those statements went against... NY Daily News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048954/posts#comment Mon, 21 Jul 2008 20:06:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2042401/posts Winning Hearts and Minds July 7th, 2008 Way back at the beginning of this war, and continuing through tomorrow, we have debated how to win the hearts and minds of the people of the Middle East. I have always viewed this discussion as important, but perhaps ultimately unknowable, because as Machiavelli loves to remind us, these things are all about winning and losing. The war, not the debate. During the Cold War there was an endless discussion about our enemy, just as there is today. Back then, the main question was: are we fighting a global movement (international communism), and... Pajamasmedia/Faster Please http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2042401/posts#comment Tue, 8 Jul 2008 14:57:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2026794/posts 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... Multi-National Force - Iraq http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2026794/posts#comment Fri, 6 Jun 2008 00:27:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2024738/posts Iraqis Fear Rapid US Withdrawal Would Cause 'Chaos and Anarchy,' Says Iraqi Parliamentarian (CNSNews.com) - Most Iraqis support the U.S. troop presence in Iraq and think a rapid withdrawal would lead to "chaos and anarchy," said Adnan Pachachi, a member of the National Assembly of Iraq and a former president of Iraq's Governing Council (IGC), on Friday. He also said that the best policy now lies somewhere between the strategies outlined by Sen. John McCain (r-Ariz.) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). "There is very widespread support for an American presence in the short and intermediate term," said Pachachi, who spoke... CNSNews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2024738/posts#comment Mon, 2 Jun 2008 12:48:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2023267/posts /29/2008 - ALI BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- A single doctor, a retired Air Force colonel, arrived here without much fanfare May 18 and left four days later. He left in his wake improved sight for many Iraqis and priceless training for Nasiriyah General Hospital physicians in Nasiriyah, Iraq. He traveled with a few bags and a 50-pound box containing a microscope. A specialized, portable, eye-surgery microscope he used to treat people who may not have otherwise afforded it. He also carried 200 prescription glasses and 300 sunglasses to hand out freely to those in need. He performed his wonders at... Air Force Link http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2023267/posts#comment Fri, 30 May 2008 00:01:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2017508/posts BAGHDAD – Local residents in the Sadr City district of Baghdad gathered for a peaceful prayer demonstration May 16. An estimated 5,000 to 10,000 people, some carrying Iraqi flags, joined together for a peaceful prayer meeting coordinated by the tribal leaders of Sadr City. One large group of people marched to the office of the Martyr Sadr Mosque for prayer service. The timing of the gathering corresponded with mosque services and the crowd dispersed at the end of prayer service. A second large group met peacefully near al-Habibiyah by al-Hamza Square and was organized by tribal leaders of Sadr City.... Multi-National Force - Iraq http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2017508/posts#comment Sun, 18 May 2008 00:40:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2011140/posts FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU — Approximately 120 men of the Chalabi tribe returned to their homes recently in the Sayafiyah region, about 25 kilometers southeast of Baghdad, more than a year after being driven out by al-Qaeda in Iraq extremists. Escorted by Sons of Iraq leader Jumah al-Kazarji and Soldiers of 1st Platoon, Company C, 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), a large convoy of cars and trucks ushered the Chalabi men back to their abandoned village. Their reclamation of homes signaled the hopeful beginning of a new era of peace and... Multi-National Force - Iraq http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2011140/posts#comment Sun, 4 May 2008 20:08:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2009455/posts KARMA, Iraq — A convoy of humvees, 7-ton trucks, and mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles pull up to a sheik’s home. As they arrive, local citizens, already lined up, wait outside the gate to receive aid through the teamwork of the local government, Iraqi Security Forces and Coalition forces. On April 12 and 13, Marines of 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, alongside Iraqi doctors, conducted a cooperative medical engagement to provide medical care to Iraqi civilians in the Gnather and Lahib villages. On the first day, Iraqis eagerly waited as Marines from Company F admitted them one at... Marine Corps News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2009455/posts#comment Thu, 1 May 2008 00:47:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2000569/posts "Awakening" movements across Iraq are helping to rid Sunni neighbourhoods of extremist influence, writes Colin FreemanKhalil Mohammed Abbas, a haggard, chainsmoking ex-Iraqi army officer, has good reason to puff on every cigarette as if it were his last. After helping his neighbours in Baghdad rise up against the al-Qa'eda thugs who have terrorised them, he lives in constant expectation that the threats text-messaged to his mobile phone may one day come real. "They are from al-Qa'eda, and they tell me I am a mercenary," he says, reading out the latest missive to bleep into his inbox. "They ask how I... Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2000569/posts#comment Sat, 12 Apr 2008 16:35:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1997725/posts The Baghdadis caught between these extremes know that the only thing standing in the way of another sectarian conflagration is the U.S. military. This may explain why every Iraqi who offers me a view on American politics seems to be praying for a McCain victory. Time http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1997725/posts#comment Mon, 7 Apr 2008 00:47:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1987158/posts More than 50% of Iraqis think their lives are good, more than at any time in the last three years, a survey says. The poll for the BBC, ABC, ARD and NHK of more than 2,000 people also suggests that a majority believe that security in their area has improved since 2007. BBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1987158/posts#comment Mon, 17 Mar 2008 20:02:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1980459/posts BAGHDAD, March 4, 2008 – With the security situation here improving every day, Iraqi and coalition forces increasingly are helping displaced families move back into their old neighborhoods. A sheik addresses displaced Iraqi families returning to their homes, appealing for adherence to the local reconciliation agreement, during a ceremony welcoming families back to Baghdad’s Aamel neighborhood, Feb. 9, 2008. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Soldiers from the 1st Infantry Division’s Company A, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, in cooperation with Iraqi security forces, the local reconciliation committee, and local and civic... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1980459/posts#comment Wed, 5 Mar 2008 00:44:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1944350/posts WASHINGTON, Dec. 26, 2007 – The Iraqi people increasingly are siding with the coalition against extremists in their country, a unit commander there said. Army Col. Daniel Ball, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division’s Combat Aviation Brigade, is on his third rotation to Iraq and said he is seeing increased trust among the Iraqis. “They’re starting to realize that we’re here to make their life better, and because of that they’re starting to take our side,” he said in a teleconference with online journalists and “bloggers” Dec. 20. Ball believes the shift is due, at least in part, to the... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1944350/posts#comment Wed, 26 Dec 2007 15:46:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1943502/posts Iraqi citizens march together while playing music during a Peace March in the Karkh District of Baghdad, Dec. 19. Approximately 1,000 Iraqi citizens, both of Shia and Sunni religions, gathered to march with one another to bring the two sects together as one. Photo by Sgt. James Hunter, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs. BAGHDAD — Approximately 1,000 Iraqi citizens, of both Shia and Sunni religions, joined together on the sectarian fault line in Rawaniyah, the Karkh District of Baghdad, to march with one another in what they called a “Peace March”, Dec. 19. It was... Multi-National Force - Iraq http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1943502/posts#comment Sun, 23 Dec 2007 16:01:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1937003/posts 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... Multi-National Force - Iraq http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1937003/posts#comment Sun, 9 Dec 2007 17:09:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1933412/posts BAGHDAD - The number of Iraqis killed last month fell to 718, an Associated Press tally showed, the lowest monthly death toll since just before the 2006 bombing of a Shiite shrine provoked a vicious cycle of retaliatory sectarian violence. The figures come as the military says violence has fallen to levels not seen in nearly two years, while acknowledging that Iraqis are still dying in unacceptable numbers. An expert on the effect of conflicts on civilians agreed,... Yahoo! News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1933412/posts#comment Sun, 2 Dec 2007 01:08:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1925297/posts 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... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1925297/posts#comment Tue, 13 Nov 2007 23:17:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1922494/posts 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,”... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1922494/posts#comment Wed, 7 Nov 2007 23:46:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1920220/posts HUSSEINIYAH, Iraq – A citizen of Husseiniyah led Coalition Forces to a building where explosively formed penetrators and improvised explosive devices were being constructed Oct. 31.Soldiers of Battery A, 2nd Battalion, 12th Field Artillery, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, from Fort Lewis, Wash., discovered a large cache of explosives at the home, including about 10 fully assembled EFPs of various sizes including one 12-inch EFP – the largest found in Iraq – approximately 90 copper plates of various sizes, more than 200 pounds of C-4 explosive, other explosive materials including TNT and numerous other materials used in... Multi-National Corps – Iraq http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1920220/posts#comment Fri, 2 Nov 2007 20:58:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1920331/posts 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,... Multi-National Force - Iraq http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1920331/posts#comment Sat, 3 Nov 2007 02:10:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1920323/posts WASHINGTON, Nov. 2, 2007 – Iraqi citizens are increasingly coming together to voluntarily battle al Qaeda in Iraq, thereby saving American lives and reshaping military operations in the country, a coalition commander said today. “The willingness of the Sunni population to turn on (al Qaeda) has been a watershed in this war; there’s no other word for it,” Army Col. Martin Stanton told online journalists and “bloggers” during a conference call from Baghdad. Stanton is chief of reconciliation and engagement for Multinational Corps Iraq. “The ‘concerned local citizens’ are responsible for a significant drop in U.S. casualties,” he said. For... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1920323/posts#comment Sat, 3 Nov 2007 01:46:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1917497/posts October 28, 2007 -- This week, the U.S. announced that military deaths in Iraq had fallen dramatically, to the lowest levels since March 2006, a sign that the surge of troops is working. Officers say increased cooperation from Iraqi civilians - who are tired of the terrorism and violence - has helped stem attacks. This comes as no surprise to Michael Yon, a writer who has blogged from Iraq since 2004. Yon, who is supported by donations to his Web site (michaelyon-online.com), writes about his own observations on the ground this year, embedded with U.S. troops. Statistics in reports about... New York Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1917497/posts#comment Sun, 28 Oct 2007 12:19:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1916032/posts A day after a taped message, purported to be from al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, chided insurgents in Iraq for their failure to unite, American troops struck another blow against terrorist in that country. That strike was based on information provided by Iraqis. U.S. and Iraqi forces also were clearing the way in the Anbar provincial capital of Ramadi to protect a celebration to commemorate Sheik Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, the founder of the first anti-al-Qaida group of Sunni tribal leaders who was assassinated by a bomb Sept. 13. Abdul-Sattar's brother, who has taken over the movement, said it was important... Kerrville Daily Times Editorial Board http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1916032/posts#comment Thu, 25 Oct 2007 04:30:51 GMT