News and Personal dispatches from the front lines.
In their own words:
IraqPundit: Sustainable Stability In a Few Years - As an alternative to such nutty proclamations from dream warriors as, "the US is mainly fighting Sunni Iraqis, some of them neo-Baathists," a report from Ann Gildroy and Michael O'Hanlon today offers a more realistic picture of Iraq. The writers say, "We believe that, after a 75 percent reduction in the rate of violence in Iraq over the past year, and significant accomplishments by Iraqi leaders on at least half a dozen key political matters, there is a reasonable prospect of achieving a sustainable stability there within the next few years." (READ MORE)
Yellowhammering Afghanistan: Tick TOC - Today marks my 11th month in Afghanistan (I'll be smoking my celebratory cigar later). A good chunk of my time here has been spent trying to get a tactical operations center, or TOC, established at the Ghazni Provincial Police Headquarters. It would seem like a simple thing to do. TOCs are standard in U.S. military operations. You have to have a central point of command and control - a place where information passes to those out in the field and where leaders battle track what their units are doing. The intelligence officers pass along information about the enemy, the logistics guys calculate when and where more food or fuel or ammo will be needed and the personnel officers keep tabs on the strength of the force. In a police headquarters, a TOC would have many of the same functions but would also serve as the central place for reporting and dispatching police units. (READ MORE)
Omar: Iraq's Moment of Truth in Baghdad and Basra - The battle between criminal gangs and the state continues, yet the war is far from being over. Public statements keep coming from both sides and they don’t seem to promise a diplomatic resolution for the crisis. The latest exchange included a pledge for a “final battle” by Sadr’s spokesman Bahaa Aaraji and an assertion by Maliki that the government will not stop pursuing gangs militarily and politically. Telling Sadr that his movement cannot take part in elections unless he disbands his militias and surrenders weapons is a turning point in Iraqi politics, especially because a broad political front including leading Sunni, Shia, and Kurdish powers emerged to back this new trend in dealing with this issue. (READ MORE)
LT Nixon: Iraq News (16 Apr) - The Good: Our long-standing allies, the Brits, have praised the Iraqi Security Forces for releasing Richard Butler, the British journalist for CBS. 18 Al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorists have been detained in northern Iraq by recent US military operations. The Bad: A string of car-bombs have killed dozens of civilians in Iraq. Yesterday, there were car bombs in Baghdad, Baqubah, Mosul, and Ramadi, which is the largest city in the usually quiet Anbar province. This comes at a time when the fraudulent spokesman for Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Al-Baghdadi, has called on Sunnis to strike "crusaders". (READ MORE)
ToySoldier: Am I Supposed To Be This Bored? - Yea, so it's been a little over a week since my last post, partly due to a crazy patrol schedule and partly due to a lack of anything to write about. I'm amazed at how bored I actually am, nothing is going on at all; I'm almost willing to bet that I could go running through my platoon AO without gear or my weapon and I'd be completely untouched. I'm not the only one feeling the boredom, on one of our patrols we paid 4 donkey cart drivers to race, the stipulation, one soldier on the back of each donkey cart. My donkey lost, it tried to kick it's driver. (READ MORE)
Back Stateside but still writing:
Marissa: A perfectly normal day - After spending the morning driving around, running errands, I found myself in my kitchen, baking cupcakes for our friends down the street. I pawed through my cabinets to find the utensils and ingredients that I needed, and took my KitchenAid mixer (a Christmas gift from Mike) on her maiden voyage. As the mixer quietly hummed in front of me, I looked out my kitchen window to see my husband blissfully weed-whacking along the perimeter of our house. For the first time in a long while, I felt happy and at peace, comfortable in the knowledge that I'm right where I'm supposed to be. This quiet, suburban life is what I want, and although the duffel bags still aren't unpacked and the new television set is still an enigma, I'm right on track. (READ MORE)
News from the Front:
Iraq:
One terrorist killed, five suspects detained in Mosul - BAGHDAD – Coalition forces targeted a senior al-Qaeda in Iraq leader during a series of operations in Mosul Wednesday, killing one terrorist and detaining five suspects. As it approached one target location, the ground force immediately received small arms fire from enemy positions. Coalition forces returned fire, suppressing the attack. As the ground force called for occupants of one building to surrender, a man came out and refused to put down his pistol despite repeated warnings from Coalition forces and an interpreter. (READ MORE)
One suspected terrorist detained in joint operation; local SOI groups reject AQI - BAGHDAD – Coalition forces patrolled a group of islands along the Tigris River during operations Apr. 12-14 and discovered that Sons of Iraq groups had already cleared an area once occupied by al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorists. Local Iraqis in the area reported that the last time AQI had a major presence in that region near Samarra was about two months ago. They told Coalition forces that SOI groups had forced much of AQI’s operations out of the area and remain vigilant in defending their neighborhoods against terrorist operations. (READ MORE)
13 al-Qaeda suspects detained - BAGHDAD – Coalition forces detained 13 suspected terrorists during operations Tuesday and Wednesday targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq networks in the Tigris River Valley and northwest Iraq. Coalition forces captured two suspected terrorists Tuesday during an operation west of Samarra, including an alleged close associate of a regional AQI leader. Intelligence gathered Tuesday also led the ground force to another target Wednesday morning, where they detained two more suspected associates of the AQI leader. (READ MORE)
Coalition UAV engages RPG team, kills four criminals - BASRA, Iraq – A Coalition forces Predator unmanned aerial vehicle observed five criminals attack an Iraqi Army patrol with rocket propelled grenades on the eastern side of the Hayyaniyah district at approximately 1:00 a.m. on April 16. The UAV engaged the criminals and fired a Hellfire missile killing four and wounding one. The criminals’ vehicle was suspected of containing more weapons and ammunition and engaged and destroyed by a second Hellfire missile. (READ MORE)
Iraqi Security Forces detain 2 wanted criminal leaders, 10 others in Basrah - BAGHDAD – Iraqi Security Forces detained two criminal leaders wanted by the Government of Iraq in separate operations April 14 in Basrah. An Iraqi Emergency Response Unit captured the suspected leader and three other members of an improvised explosive device cell operating in the Basrah area. Intelligence reports indicate the cell has been involved in multiple attacks against Iraqi and Coalition forces and the distribution of IEDs and illegal weapons. (READ MORE)
MND-B Soldiers seize rockets, weapons cache (Baghdad) - BAGHDAD – Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers seized multiple rockets and weapons in different operations in the Rashid District in southern Baghdad April 14. Soldiers from 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, seized more than a dozen 107mm rockets with launchers April 14 that appear to be of Iranian manufacture. These Soldiers also seized weapons during a security patrol in western Rashid. (READ MORE)
Afghanistan:
Suspected weapons facilitators detained in Helmand province - BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan – Twelve suspected militants were detained during a Coalition forces operation to disrupt Taliban operations in Helmand province April 12. Coalition forces searched in Garm Seer District targeting a known Taliban commander and weapons-smuggler. During the course of their search, Coalition forces detained 12 individuals with suspected links to the targeted Taliban commander and Taliban weapons-smuggling operations. (READ MORE)
Afghan villagers save school, clinic from insurgents - PIRCUTI, Afghanistan – A village elder and his sons saved a school and clinic after insurgents attempted to burn the infrastructure in the village of Pircuti, Paktika province, April 1. The school, which was constructed by the Swedish government in 1996, educates more than 1,100 children from the village and surrounding areas. (READ MORE)
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