Free Republic

Spc. Danell Williams, of Leamington, N.C., welds a steel plate to the inside bed of an Iraqi Security Force pickup truck at Forward Operating Base Hammer, Aug. 18. Photo by Pvt. Jared N. Gehmann, 3rd Brigade Combat Team. BAGHDAD — As security improves here, U.S. forces are patrolling the streets much less.  But behind the scenes, U.S. Paratroopers are helping their Iraqi partners in other ways. While tactical improvements are evident, some Iraqi Security Force (ISF) units still lack sufficient protection needed during mounted movements throughout the capital city. In an effort to support the combat strength of the ISF,...

MOSCOW (Mineweb.com) -- It is almost forty years since those fine falsettos, the Bee Gees, put their pop classic, “Massachusetts”, on the top of the charts. They had no idea that their lyrics might become the alleged plot of a scheme by a trio of Ukrainian metal men to steal hundreds of millions of dollars in proceeds from the processing of manganese ore, and the sale of ferromanganese, ferrosilicon, and silicomanganese to steelmakers around the world. “And the lights all went out in Massachusetts,” sang Robin and Barry Gibb. “They brought me back to see my way with you.” On...