http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/usforces/ en-us Sun, 6 Jan 2008 17:35:16 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1949216/posts ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pakistan reiterated that it will not let American forces hunt al-Qaeda and Taliban militants on its soil, after a news report said Sunday that the Bush administration was considering expanding U.S. military and intelligence operations into Pakistan's tribal regions. The Foreign Ministry dismissed as “speculative” a story in The New York Times saying President Bush's top security officials discussed a proposal Friday to deploy U.S. troops to pursue militants along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. “We are very clear. Nobody is going to be allowed to do anything here,” said Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad, the top spokesman for Pakistan's... ap on San Diego Union - Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1949216/posts#comment Sun, 6 Jan 2008 17:35:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1840541/posts U.S. forces rescued 41 Iraqi civilians Sunday from an al-Qaida hide-out northeast of Baghdad, including some who showed signs of torture and broken bones, a senior U.S. official said. Fox News Alert to my E-Mail http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1840541/posts#comment Sun, 27 May 2007 14:34:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1771456/posts NORTH Korea today described US soldiers serving in South Korea as "infected with an abnormal sexual desire" and said sexual abuse was part of their daily routine. The ruling party's newspaper Rodong Sinmun was commenting on the alleged rape by a US soldier of a 67-year-old woman. The 23-year-old private soldier is in a South Korean prison awaiting trial. The 29,500-strong US military in South Korea has issued an apology for the incident this month. "The US forces in South Korea are infected with an abnormal sexual desire and sexual abuses are part of their daily routine," a Rodong Sinmun... Herald Sun http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1771456/posts#comment Mon, 22 Jan 2007 09:15:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1765853/posts BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraqi officials said Thursday that multinational forces detained five Iranians in an overnight raid on Tehran's diplomatic mission in the northern city of Irbil. Fox News Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1765853/posts#comment Thu, 11 Jan 2007 14:30:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1680315/posts US-led soldiers and warplanes killed 12 Taliban militants who ambushed coalition forces in mountainous eastern Afghanistan, a US military spokesman said today. Two US soldiers and an Afghan soldier were wounded in Tuesday's battle in the remote province of Nuristan which borders Pakistan, Colonel Tom Collins told a press conference in Kabul. "There was a significant coalition engagement yesterday in Nuristan, in which enemy extremists attacked our forces with rockets and rifle fire," Colonel Collins said. "Through the actions of our forces on the ground and the use of air support we killed 12 enemy extremists," Colonel Collins said. He... Herald Sun http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1680315/posts#comment Wed, 9 Aug 2006 08:37:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1655486/posts THE top US commander in Iraq foresees a major reduction in US forces there by the end of 2007, with the first cuts in September, the US media has reported overnight. General George Casey, the US commander in Iraq, gave a classified briefing at the Pentagon this week to outline a plan to reduce the number of US combat brigades from 14 to five or six by December 2007, the New York Times reported, citing unnamed US officials. The first reductions would involve two combat brigades that would rotate out of Iraq in September without being replaced, the report said.... Herald Sun http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1655486/posts#comment Mon, 26 Jun 2006 00:02:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1605069/posts WASHINGTON - Congressional Democrats promise to "eliminate" Osama bin Laden and ensure a "responsible redeployment of U.S. forces" from Iraq in 2006 in an election-year national security policy statement. In the position paper to be announced Wednesday, Democrats say they will double the number of special forces and add more spies, which they suggest will increase the chances of finding al-Qaida's elusive leader. They do not set a deadline for when all of the 132,000 American troops now in Iraq should be withdrawn. "We're uniting behind a national security agenda that is tough and smart and will provide the real... AP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1605069/posts#comment Wed, 29 Mar 2006 02:07:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1573583/posts We have an Inkling.... ...that all this Cartoon brouhaha, Iran's bravado on their nuclear capabalities and the governments' indecisions to handle once and for all the problem of Islamic terrorism for what it is, is nothing other than the same old wish that many have in creating a ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT under the United Nations and force the US and Britain to "submit themselves to the same regime of supervision and inspection as everyone else." A penman at The Guardian writes" So whatever we do about Iran, what we need is a new international system for the supervision and inspection... Citizens in Defense of Defense http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1573583/posts#comment Tue, 7 Feb 2006 16:56:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1573560/posts ..that all this Cartoon brouhaha, Iran's bravado on their nuclear capabalities and the governments' indecisions to handle once and for all the problem of Islamic terrorism for what it is, is nothing other than the same old wish that many have in creating a ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT under the United Nations and force the US and Britain to "submit themselves to the same regime of supervision and inspection as everyone else." A penman at The Guardian writes" So whatever we do about Iran, what we need is a new international system for the supervision and inspection of nuclear capacities in... Citizens in Defense of Defense http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1573560/posts#comment Tue, 7 Feb 2006 16:24:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1537752/posts Appearing on CBS' Face the Nation on Sunday, former presidential candidate and Vietnam anti-war activist John Kerry accused our soldiers of "terrorizing" Iraqi women and children. In making such an absurd allegation, he did an injustice to our service members, just as his distorted congressional testimony did over 30 years ago. It would be enlightening to see how al-Qaeda-in-Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi reacted to Kerry's comments. [ . . . ] Kerry shows tremendous ignorance in the use of tactics and common sense in warfare. He seems to think that rooting terrorists from Iraqi cities should be done as... Orlando Sentinel http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1537752/posts#comment Sat, 10 Dec 2005 14:29:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1527032/posts A TOP US general said there was no reason to believe that al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was killed in a recent raid on the Iraqi city of Mosul. Lieutenant General John Vines said, however, that US and Iraqi forces were "relentlessly" pursuing every lead indicating the presence of the Jordanian militant who is blamed for many bloody attacks in Iraq. Media reports have said Zarqawi might have been among a group of insurgents killed in a battle in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Sunday. Lt-Gen Vines told a US Defence Department press briefing from Baghdad... Herald Sun http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1527032/posts#comment Wed, 23 Nov 2005 00:20:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1511294/posts TOKYO — Basing a U.S. nuclear-powered warship in Japanese waters for the first time will boost stability in East Asia, Japan's government said Friday, hailing an agreement even as it drew protests from the community that will host the aircraft carrier. The U.S. Navy on Thursday announced the deal, under which Japan — which the United States attacked with two nuclear bombs in World War II — dropped its longtime opposition to hosting a nuclear-powered warship in its territory. "Japan believes that the continued presence of the U.S. Navy will contribute to safety and stability in Japan, the Far East... Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1511294/posts#comment Sat, 29 Oct 2005 00:25:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1455104/posts WASHINGTON, Aug. 1, 2005 – Iraqi and coalition soldiers conducted targeted searches for terrorist operatives in Fallujah, Iraq, July 30, military officials reported. Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Intervention Force, and soldiers with the U.S. Army's 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, searched more than 445 homes during the operation. A cache of bomb-making materials was found, including an artillery fuse, 20 blasting caps and five triggering devices. Officials noted that all of the items were found hidden in an air conditioning duct staged on a pile of trash. An Iraqi explosive ordnance disposal team removed the... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1455104/posts#comment Tue, 2 Aug 2005 01:55:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1445444/posts WASHINGTON, July 18, 2005 – Iraqi and U.S. forces established a joint/combined operations center to develop intelligence and track operations during a series of missions July 15, military officials in Baghdad, Iraq, said. This was the first time Iraqi and U.S. forces established such an operations center, Task Force Baghdad officials said. The staffs of each unit worked side by side in the JOC, resulting in the capture of 39 suspected terrorists in several operations. "Coordination between our respective units has never been better," said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. John Basilica Jr., commander of the 256th Brigade Combat Team. "The... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1445444/posts#comment Mon, 18 Jul 2005 19:14:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1420786/posts According to Ephraim Halevy, former chief of Israel's Mossad intelligence service and current national security adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, plans have been made for a substantial U.S. military presence in the Middle East lasting decades. “The U.S. campaign in Iraq was perceived [in the Middle East and Washington] as a signal of long-term American commitment to do whatever is required and to ‘stay in the neighborhood’ for as long as needed,” commented Halevy in a lengthy op-ed column carried by the April 24 issue of Ha’aretz. High-ranking U.S. policymakers have “raised the idea of establishing an American... THE NEW AMERICAN.COM http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1420786/posts#comment Sat, 11 Jun 2005 05:16:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1403382/posts The U.S. military in Iraq has wrapped up a major offensive in a remote northern desert region near the Syrian border, killing at least 125 insurgents and injuring hundreds more. US Black Hawk helicopters fly over black smoke billowing from the site of explosion in Baghdad, May 14th, 2005. Iraqi insurgents pressed their campaign to undermine the new government, killing at least nine people in bombings, as fierce fighting between US troops and rebels near the Syrian border. It was one of the largest American campaigns since militants were driven from Fallujah six months ago. In a statement issued Saturday,... Xinhua News Agency. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1403382/posts#comment Sun, 15 May 2005 03:08:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1402140/posts <p>Al Qaeda is desperately trying to produce an "Iraqi Tet" -- a Middle Eastern repetition of the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong 1968 offensive in South Vietnam. On April 2 and again on April 4, the terror gang led by Al Qaeda's Iraq commander, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, launched "military-style attacks" on the Abu Ghraib prison complex in Baghdad. In the April 4 assault, U.S. forces took 44 casualties (most of them minor wounds). The terrorist gang, however, took 50 casualties, out of a force estimated at 60 gunmen. On April 11, the gang attacked a Marine compound at Husaybah near the Syrian border. As I write, terrorist casualties are unconfirmed, but the assault flopped. While bomb attacks on unarmed Iraqi civilians continue (particularly against Shiites), public opinion now matters in Iraq, and the thugs' public slaughters have killed too many Iraqi innocents. January's election dramatically lifted public morale and changed the media focus -- suddenly, democracy looks possible, and an Arab Muslim democracy is Al Qaeda's worst nightmare. Hence the "Tet gamble." Bombs haven't cowed the Iraqi people -- but perhaps the American people will lose heart and buckle if Al Qaeda concocts a military surprise. U.S. forces, however, are "hard targets" -- unlike civilians standing in line to vote, U.S. troops shoot back. Since 9-11, Al Qaeda has never won a military engagement at the platoon level (30 men) or higher. Coalition forward operating bases are heavily fortified. But the Tet fantasy is so compelling. Though Tet was by most measures a disaster for the communists, as a media and hence political event, Tet snuffed "the light at the end of the tunnel." The Johnson administration had told the American public Vietnam had reached a turning point -- "the light" -- but Tet demonstrated that North Vietnamese Army (NVA) regulars and Viet Cong (VC) guerrillas were still capable of potent action. NVA General Vo Nguyen Giap planned for maximum psychological and political impact. Communist forces simultaneously hit cities and military bases throughout the south. Though they took huge casualties, Giap's real target was President Johnson. Communist attackers managed to break into the U.S. embassy compound in Saigon. The assault was repelled, but the moral damage -- and dramatic photos -- energized Sen Eugene McCarthy's "peace candidacy." Political support for LBJ and the Vietnam War withered. Iraq, however, is no Vietnam. The Vietnam War was strategic defense, a bitter Cold War "battle of containment." The War on Terror is a strategic political and military offensive directed at the dictators and theocrats who rule by death squad and export terror -- and it's a war we are winning. With Iraq's democratic political process gearing up, Zarqawi has decided the risk of facing U.S. troops is worth the reward in headlines. Hitting the Husaybah Marine compound is supposed to generate media echoes of Lebanon 1983 and the U.S. Marine barracks terror bombing that led to American withdrawal. U.S. Navy Capt. Hal Pittman, CENTCOM's senior spokesman, told me Tuesday that the terrorists seek media coverage of these attacks "to empower their cause, break the momentum of representational government (in Iraq) and dissuade the coalition to continue its support." Zarqawi's gang "used a fire truck at Husaybah as a car bomb. That's theatrics if you've ever seen theatrics," Pittman said. "They're trying to create a spectacular event, overrun a patrol or border outpost somewhere, an event with huge media value that would promote their cause and make them seem more powerful than they are." At Abu Ghraib and Husaybah, Zarqawi failed militarily. He didn't get his scare headlines, either. Short of detonating a nuclear weapon in Baghdad, a ground attack on the Green Zone that succeeds in cracking the U.S. embassy and taking hostages is the only "Tet" card Zarqawi has. The Green Zone, however, is Iraq's hardest target.</p> Strategy Page http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1402140/posts#comment Fri, 13 May 2005 01:22:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1313378/posts KUWAIT (Reuters) - Kuwaiti security forces have detained up to eight Kuwaiti soldiers suspected of plotting to attack U.S. forces in the Gulf Arab state, a security source said Monday. The soldiers, some of whom are high-ranking officers, and several non-Kuwaiti citizens were detained a week ago and are being questioned over an alleged plan to attack U.S. soldiers in Kuwait, the launchpad for the 2003 war on Iraq. Kuwait's official news agency KUNA quoted a military official as saying that Kuwaiti "Army Intelligence's security apparatus is interrogating some members of the military after what surfaced on a plot against... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1313378/posts#comment Tue, 4 Jan 2005 03:38:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1294592/posts The top US commander in Iraq has expressed concern about the ability of Iraqi forces to cope with security in the run-up to elections next month. The head of Central Command, General John Abizaid, said Iraqi troops did not have the training or experience to do the job without extra American help. At least 14 people died in bomb attacks in Baghdad and Mosul on Saturday. However, Gen Abizaid said border security had improved, with less infiltration by foreign insurgents. Need for stability Speaking at a regional conference on Gulf security in Bahrain, he called on Iraq's neighbours - in... BBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1294592/posts#comment Sun, 5 Dec 2004 01:23:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1279635/posts ALLUJA, Iraq, Nov. 13 - Army tanks and fighting vehicles blasted their way into the last main rebel stronghold in Falluja at sundown on Saturday after American warplanes and artillery prepared the way with a savage barrage on the district. Earlier in the afternoon, 10 separate plumes of smoke rose from southern Falluja, as if etched against the desert sky, and probably exclaiming catastrophe for the insurgents. "It's a broad attack against the entire southern front," said Col. Michael D. Formica, the Army commander in charge of the cordon effort around the city. "We're just pushing them against an anvil."... NY Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1279635/posts#comment Sun, 14 Nov 2004 14:44:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1233462/posts http://jb-williams.com/soldier-debate1.htm US soldier in Iraq responds to 1st Debate! By CAPTAIN RON HAYES LETTER TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE BY A SOLDIER IN IRAQ In response to the 1st Presidential debate! The 1st debate in the campaign for presidency of the United States raised some crucial issues that are still a cause for confusion to the American people. I decided it’s time for a viewpoint from someone who is in the middle of this war and has no room for debating this issue. I have been in Iraq almost 9 months and I have seen the good and the bad of... JB WILLIAMS.COM http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1233462/posts#comment Sat, 2 Oct 2004 19:44:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1209043/posts BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. forces battled insurgents loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in the Baghdad slum of Sadr City on Tuesday, the U.S. military said. At least 33 people were killed and 193 injured in the fighting, Iraqi authorities said. U.S. Army Capt. Brian O'Malley said several American soldiers have been injured, but that he did provide the exact figure. The fighting erupted when militants attacked U.S. forces carrying out routine patrols, O'Malley said. "We just kept coming under fire," he said. Residents said loud explosions and gunfire could be heard across Sadr City on Monday night and... AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1209043/posts#comment Tue, 7 Sep 2004 08:45:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1191442/posts U.S. Forces Kill Scores in Iraq But Najaf Truce Holds 14 minutes ago Add World - Reuters to My Yahoo! By Matthew Green BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces killed scores of insurgents in two Iraqi towns Saturday, but a truce appeared to be holding in the holy city of Najaf despite a radical cleric's threat to fight to the death. The fresh violence erupted on the eve of a national conference aimed at advancing Iraq (news - web sites)'s progress toward democracy, already overshadowed by a 10-day Shi'ite Muslim uprising led by radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The U.S. military said... Yahoo! News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1191442/posts#comment Sat, 14 Aug 2004 12:18:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1178086/posts U.S. Forces Kill 13 Insurgents Near Baghdad Associated Press BAGHDAD, Iraq - American and Iraqi forces clashed with insurgents north of Baghdad early Sunday, killing 13 Iraqi militants, the U.S. military said. There was no immediate word on U.S. casualties from the fighting in Buhriz, about three miles south of the city of Baqouba. U.S. and Iraqi National Guard forces entered Buhriz about 3:30 a.m. to search an area of palm groves and destroyed a suspected staging ground used by insurgents for attacks on coalition and Iraqi troops, said Maj. Neal O'Brien, spokesman for the 1st Infantry Division. During the... Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1178086/posts#comment Sun, 25 Jul 2004 09:54:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1147357/posts Rumsfeld hopes US forces will hunt terrorists in Southeast Asia soon 1 hour, 59 minutes ago Add World - AFP to My Yahoo! SINGAPORE (AFP) - US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he hoped US forces would be hunting terrorists in Southeast Asia "pretty soon," warning that Islamic extremists are targeting moderate Muslim states the world over. Rumsfeld made the remarks as he visited marines and sailors aboard the helicopter carrier USS Essex against a backdrop of oil tankers and freighters that ply the Strait of Malacca, gateway for a third of the world's trade. "When are we going to... AFP via Yahoo! News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1147357/posts#comment Fri, 4 Jun 2004 10:46:51 GMT