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WASHINGTON, Dec. 21, 2005 – Those who question why it seems to be taking so long to build Iraq's security forces don't fully understand the magnitude of the challenge, a general who recently returned from training them explained during a recent interview with the Pentagon Channel and the American Forces Press Service. Creating highly trained Iraqi security forces involves far more than simply channeling recruits through a basic training course, said Army Brig. Gen. Richard J. Sherlock, who recently took the reins as the Army Reserve's deputy chief. The task requires building leadership capabilities at all levels and molding members...

HADITHA DAM, Iraq (Dec. 21, 2005) -- Iraq’s infrastructure is a constant target for terrorist attacks throughout the country. This is no different at the Haditha Dam, which is the power source for many cities in Iraq. Keeping the massive dam and more than 1,000 Marines operating here safe for the past five months is 150 Azerbaijani Army soldiers. Located on the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan is the host country of the guardian soldiers who left their country in July to spend six months supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They worked alongside the Marines with 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment and 3rd...

CAMP HABBANIYAH, Iraq (Dec. 21, 2005) -- Marines deployed on a combat tour to Iraq find many different ways to relax and spend their free time. They play video games, watch movies, read books and even take online college courses. One Marine, though, uses his free time to make a direct impact oh the mission to turn Iraq over to a stable government capable of protecting its citizens. Cpl. Russell R. Hall, a wire man assigned to a six-man communications detachment with the 2nd Marine Division Training Center here, spends his free time ‘instructing the instructors’ as members of the...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20, 2005 – American servicemembers are doing a superb job in Iraq, and the only place the war can be lost is in the United States, where people don't have a clear understanding of what's happening on the ground and can lose patience, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld said Dec. 19. "The work that they're doing overseas is so professional and so able, and we're so fortunate to have them there that I would have to say that the only place this could be lost is if we lost our will here in the United States," Rumsfeld...

The Department of Defense announced today an adjustment to the deployment of the 4th Brigade, 10th Mountain Division toAfghanistan. The entire brigade will not deploy as previously announced in December 2004; instead one battalion-sized task force consisting of an infantry battalion and attached fire-support, communications and logistics elements will deploy to assist transition of the coalition operations to the NATO International Security Assistance Force in southern Afghanistan in mid 2006. The non-deploying elements of the brigade will remain prepared to deploy within 15 days. There are nearly 19,000 U.S. troops leading counter-terrorism operations in Afghanistan. The decision announced today will...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20, 2005 – The staff of the 8th Iraqi Army Division was certified today in counterterrorism operations and tactics, which means the Iraqis can plan and conduct operations against enemy forces with limited support of coalition forces, military officials reported today. Division units now are striving to achieve full combat readiness, officials said, adding that final coordination with local and central administration will be completed soon to finalize the process of battlespace transfer. Long-term training, including exercises and combat operations, officials noted, preceded the certification process. Before the division staff was certified, six battalions and two brigades of...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20, 2005 – President Bush's national security adviser today dismissed critics who demand an immediate or early withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. "The advocates of these policies share a core belief that the war in Iraq is unwinnable and that America and the world will be better off by abandoning Iraq," Stephen J. Hadley said during remarks given at the Center for Strategic and International Studies here. "The president respectfully disagrees," Hadley said. "He believes that setting a timetable for withdrawal would send the wrong message to our men and women in uniform and in civilian service...

Forget What You Heard By Published 12/20/2005 12:09:33 AM SAMARRA, Iraq -- If only those so eager to disparage Iraqi Security Forces as a sham could see these brave, war grizzled men head out on patrol, packed nine or ten in the back of a Toyota pick-up truck that has been spray-painted camouflage, traveling the same roads American soldiers get killed on riding in up-armored Humvees. They go without complaint, armed with old Kalashnikovs and what look like massive Cold War-era Soviet machine guns jury-rigged to their vehicles. We're talking tough, tough guys. The lives some of them have...

CAMP TAJI, Iraq (Army News Service, Dec. 19, 2005) -- A newly inducted member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is playing a lead role alongside American troops in securing the future of Iraq. Although small in numbers, the infantry soldiers from Estonia’s “Stone” Platoon bring added force to the tank crews of the Fort Riley, Kan., based 2nd Battalion, 70th Armor Regiment. The 34-member platoon from Estonia is a highly trained volunteer force that performs an infantry mission with the skill and firepower comparable to U.S. Army Rangers, said Staff Sgt. Nicholas E. Wolf, one of two liaisons to...

Bulgarian contingent duty in Multinational Division Central South came to an end Dec. 17. Multi-National Force - Iraq CAMP ECHO, Iraq, Dec. 19, 2005 — Bulgarian contingent duty in Multinational Division Central South (MNDCS) came to an end Dec. 17. During the farewell ceremony, MNDCS Commanding General Maj. Gen. Piotr Czerwinski thanked Bulgarian soldiers for their outstanding duty in MNDCS. "I would like to thank you personally and all Bulgarian soldiers who served so far in Iraq," said Czerwinski. "Your commitment has always been contributing to the success of the Multinational Division." During the ceremony, Bulgarian soldiers were awarded by...

KUT, Iraq, Dec. 19, 2005 – Multinational Division Central South bid farewell to troops from Ukraine, one of the unit's mainstay nationalities, during a ceremony today at Camp Delta here. Polish Army Maj. Gen. Piotr Czerwinski said the Ukrainian contingent has done excellent work in the area and helped provide stability to the region and training to Iraqi troops, who now pick up the mission. Ukraine will not end its affiliation with the coalition, Multinational Force Iraq officials said, but large troop deployments will end. Ukrainian Maj. Gen. Anatoliy Pushniakov, a staff officer with the division, said more than 5,000...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19, 2005 – With Vice President Richard B. Cheney and his wife, Lynne, in front-row seats, Afghan President Hamid Karzai opened the first session of his country's new parliament today in Kabul, Afghanistan. "This gathering represents the assumption of full sovereignty by the great people of Afghanistan," said Karzai during his address before the assembly. "Establishment of the parliament completed the main pillar of the government of Afghanistan in light of the constitution." During his hour-long speech to the first elected legislature since 1969, Karzai said "Afghanistan and the United States share common views on combating terrorism." "Terrorism...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18, 2005 – Vice President Dick Cheney made a surprise visit to Iraq today to hail the country's successful Dec. 15 parliamentary election in which more than 70 percent of Iraqis -- 11 million-plus voters -- participated. Meanwhile, the vice president's wife, an historian, took to the airwaves today to provide historical context for the elections. "It's an honor for me to be here to mark the tremendous success of the Iraqi people," the vice president told reporters in Baghdad. "The participation levels [in the election] all across the country were remarkable." In fact, the biggest change in...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18, 2005 – As Iraq progresses militarily and democratically, citizens there are stepping forward to inform indigenous and coalition forces of terrorist operations and covert weapons caches, Multinational Force Iraq officials reported today. Iraqi citizens sometimes even are apprehending suspected terrorists themselves, officials noted. For example, on Dec. 17, a group of Iraqi citizens near Kirkuk, in northern Iraq, captured two suspected terrorists who were observed digging up a weapons cache. The citizens reportedly subdued the suspects and called the Kirkuk Joint Coordination Center, which then relayed the information to a nearby patrol. The combined Iraqi and U.S....

FALLUJAH, Iraq (Dec. 16, 2005) -- More than 30 Marines with Combat Logistics Battalion 8, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward), served in direct support of Operation Liberty Express at the Combined Military Operations Camp here Dec. 13-15. Their role was essential for the transportation of election supplies from the printer to the camp, where Iraqi Police and members of the Independent Election Committee of Iraq picked up and escorted the supplies, including ballots, and dispersed them to various polling sites in the city of Fallujah. After the polls closed, the Marines then helped secure and ship the ballots to Baghdad...

Afghan Students Receive Donated Supplies Afghan Army soldiers distribute donated school supplies to nearly 250 students of the Professional and Learning Foundation School for the Disabled and Girls. By U.S. Army Sgt. Phillip Chang117th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 14, 2005 — A pack of pink drawing paper, a set of multi-colored pencils and a backpack was all it took to put a smile on one student's face in Afghanistan. "While the Taliban was in power, girls were not allowed to go to school. The school was founded to help the disabled and girls get their education....

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 2005 – Task Force Baghdad soldiers detained 43 suspected terrorists during recent operations conducted to ensure a safe environment for Iraq's upcoming national elections, military officials in Baghdad reported today. On Dec. 10, soldiers discovered a house containing an makeshift bomb and detained four suspected terrorists in separate incidents. During a routine patrol of an area south of Baghdad, the Soldiers of B Company, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, inspected an abandoned house and discovered the bomb, which consisted of a 5-foot pipe filled with explosives. An explosives team detonated...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 2005 – Leaving Iraq before the mission there is finished will make America less, not more, secure and will send a dangerous message that will ring around the world, President Bush said today here at the Woodrow Wilson International Center. Speaking the day before Iraq's national elections, Bush disputed critics who claim the United States would be safer and Iraq less violent if the United States withdrew its forces there. "This view presumes that if we were not in Iraq, the terrorists would be leaving us alone," Bush said. In reality, the president said, terrorists have been...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 2005 – The Dec. 15 parliamentary elections in Iraq represent "a watershed moment in the story of freedom" that's important not only to Iraq's security and democratic future, but also to America's, President Bush said today at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars here. "Iraqis will go to the polls to choose a government that will be the only constitutional democracy in the Arab world," the president said. "Yet, we need to remember that these elections are also a vital part of a broader strategy for protecting the American people against the threat of terrorism." Bush...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 2005 – Iraqi Army troops and coalition forces captured 11 insurgents and seized six caches Dec. 13 in operations southeast of Baqubah, Iraq, military officials reported today. The caches included eight anti-tank mines, six 155 mm artillery rounds, 48 assorted rockets, 48 mixed mortars rounds, 16 anti-personnel rocket-propelled grenades, 26 RPG boosters and a mortar tube assembly. Explosive ordnance disposal personnel were called in to destroy the munitions. The suspects are being detained pending further investigation. Also on Dec. 13, Iraqi army soldiers and coalition forces uncovered a cache hidden in a cave north of Husaybah. Troops...