News and Personal dispatches from the front lines.
In their own words:
IraqPundit: Juan Cole the Secret Neocon - Is Juan Cole in need of a holiday? I ask because today he let it slip that he is, after all, a secret Neocon. True, he hasn't shown me his Neocon decoder ring or offered me the secret handshake. On the other hand, he did say this about relations between the U.S. and Ahmad Chalabi: "This time the issue is said to be his deteriorating relations with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and his closeness to Brig. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, head of the Jerusalem (Quds) Brigades of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Actually my suspicion is that Chalabi is supporting the Mahdi Army of Muqtada al-Sadr and that is the real reason for the tension with him." (READ MORE)
Kaboom: A Soldier's War Journal: The Night of Gun-Toting, Barrel-Blazing Ghost Pandas - Gunfire in Iraq is not a rare thing – especially at night. Most of the time, the scattered, random shots heard somewhere off in the distant shadows fade away with time, not warranting any American attention other than a brief radio report sent from the roof of the combat outpost. That’s most of the time. Occasionally though, the scattered, random shots do not fade – instead progressing into something military vernacular junkies describe as “direct” and “sustained;” i.e. a firefight. This kind of gunplay tends to require our own special brand of attentive intervention. The night of the ghost pandas was one of these times. In vintage Gravedigger fashion, my platoon was set in a late-night OP, bantering back and forth on our internal net as a means of staying awake. (READ MORE)
LT Nixon: Iraq News (16 May) - The Good: A Iraqi Parliament member has claimed that national reconciliation has taken place amongst quarreling blocs, which is a way to convince investors in Egypt to bring in more money. Arab investors have been sluggish to invest in Iraq due to security issues and perceived corruption within the Iraqi government. However, Iraq doesn't have any trouble bringing in money from religious tourists to its holy cities of Karbala and Najaf. Militia thugs have relocated their operations to the northwestern Baghdad neighborhood of Shula (a Mahdi Army stronghold), but according to Long War Journal, US and Iraqi Forces are taking them down. Mosul operations continue to dismantle terrorist networks in what the media is describing as house to house. The Bad: CNN breaks the news that recent clashes by Iraqi Security Forces are endemic of a Shi'ite power struggle. (READ MORE)
Fearless 1st Marines’ blog: MARCENT CG assesses progress, discusses operations in al Anbar - CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (May 14, 2008) – The commanding general for Marine Forces Central Command and I Marine Expeditionary Force met with Regimental Combat Team 1’s staff during a battle space tour in the Multi-National Forces-West area of operations, May 14. Lt. Gen. Samuel T. Helland discussed operations with the RCT-1 command and assessed progress in the Anbar region during his short visit. The Marines, sailors and soldiers of RCT-1 are currently operating throughout the Anbar province to include the greater Fallujah and Ramadi areas; maintaining security and stability, eliminating insurgent threats, and working alongside the Iraqi Police and Army towards transition every day. (READ MORE)
Fearless 1st Marines’ blog: Iraqi Police lead from the front with 3/6 - FALLUJAH, Iraq (May 7, 2008) – Improvised explosive device sweeps and food bag deliveries are just two examples of the daily tasks Company K, 3rd Battalion 6th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team-1 and Iraqi Police (IP) are performing together in the Khadairy district and surrounding areas in Fallujah. As Coalition forces transition their security role to IPs, they conduct countless patrols at all hours through their area of operation while IPs lead from the front. When IPs patrol the streets and generate local interaction, they can be viewed as the proverbial “tip of the spear” in the eyes of Coalition forces and more importantly the citizens of Fallujah. (READ MORE)
IN-iraq: Transformation of Yathreeb - Yathreeb, Iraqi- The town children call him “Mister John”. He kneels to talk to them and they ask him when he’s bringing soccer balls. The local armed citizens know his face. Lt. Col. John Dunleavy and his Personal Security Detail regularly patrol these streets. They smile and wave. It wasn’t like this several months ago. “It’s all happening right now,” Dunleavy, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division said. “Lots of folks are moving here, (Yathreeb area) because it’s a good area now.” It’s hard not to believe a commander who patrols the same streets with his soldiers. (READ MORE)
CPT Matthew Ryan: The Taliban can't run a town, how could they rule the world? - Life here has fallen into a regular grind. We have a schedule that we follow with meetings, deadlines and daily/ weekly and monthly products that have to be produced. Forms are filled out, convoys are executed and missions are planned and done like clock work. I truly believe that any job is just that, a job. The difference is that here a job can suddenly change into an adventure or a trauma. Thank God we have not had any real trauma close to us yet. With the poppy harvest coming to a close, we expect to see our little "friends" less interested in harvesting and more motivated to take over the world. (READ MORE)
Bill Roggio: Attacks decrease in Sadr City; fighting shifts to western Baghdad - With the cease-fire agreement between the Sadrist movement and the Iraqi government now in full effect after the four-day grace period that began on May 11, the fighting in Sadr City has decreased, but has not halted. The Mahdi Army continues to attack US and Iraqi troops as they work to complete the barrier along Qods Street in Sadr City, but the attack tempo has slowed, according to Multinational Forces Iraq. The US military believes the fighting has shifted to western Baghdad to deflect attention from Sadr City.From March 25 until last weekend, US and Iraqi security forces were engaged in major battles in Sadr City. Mahdi Army fighters were killed at a rate of nearly 20 per day, during which it was not uncommon for 20 to 30 Mahdi Army fighters to be killed in a single engagement. (READ MORE)
Toby Nunn: IF - The time to move out of our tents has arrived. Its funny how we lived a transient lifestyle for the past year and a half moving from one state to another, one country to another, one camp to another and one tent to another. We live out of duffle bags and rucksacks or what ever we could jam into our trucks that didn’t take away from water, medical supplies, ammo and food. I walked around the tents we have been in since the new guys got here and realized how we got by with so little. Of course that was not the same thought that was going through my head when I carried my 69,6 lbs box to the post office hoping no sand would get in and put me over the 70lbs limit but for the most part we got by with very little. I had some extra gear with the camera’s and my laptop, elmo and some human work out clothes but for the most part we had nothing. (READ MORE)
Back but still writing:
Yellowhammering Afghanistan: Home at last - After a day of bus rides and airplane flights we were finally reunited with our families for a very brief ceremony in Montgomery Tuesday night. Family and friends cheered as our bus pulled in at the armory in Montgomery. After hugs, kisses and congratulations were passed around, all of us were just ready to get home. As we neared home, signs, banners and balloons lined our street and were scattered on the roadways in McCalla. (Thank you, Grafix South for the great job on all the signs and the Collins and Wade families for the surprise balloon work.) After opening some "welcome home" gifts, I shifted back into "Daddy" mode and read a bedtime story to Michaela and Flannery. Once they were tucked in, I shifted into "husband" mode and, uh, did other things. Yesterday, I took the girls to school, said hello to the teachers and spent the day with Alison car shopping and buying me some new clothes (I left a few pounds in Afghanistan). Being together with her and the girls are the highlight of the homecoming, by far. (READ MORE)
News from the Front:
Iraq:
MND-B Soldiers detain suspected IED emplacer, weapons trafficker - FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq – Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers detained a suspected criminal at approximately 2:30 a.m. May 15 in the Rashid district of southern Baghdad. Soldiers from Company A, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, conducted a point-specific operation to detain a suspected Special Groups criminal wanted in connection with extra-judicial killings, improvised explosive device attacks and weapons trafficking. (READ MORE)
Criminals fire mortar round, local market burns down - FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq – Special Groups criminals fired an 82 mm mortar at a Coalition force base that missed its target and landed near a market in the Karadah security district of Baghdad at 11:32 p.m. May 13. Approximately 30 minutes after the initial attack, the market near the impact of the criminal’s attack burned down. It is not known at this time if the incidents are related; however, Coalition force officials from 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light), are investigating an Iraqi National Police report attributing the cause of the fire to faulty electrical wiring on a generator. (READ MORE)
Iranian nationals wounded in car near Baghdad - BAGHDAD, Iraq – The Iraqi Army discovered four wounded Iranian nationals in a vehicle driven by an Iraqi national near Baghdad yesterday. All four wounded were taken to a local hospital for treatment according to Iraqi army reports. There have been numerous press reports indicating U.S. forces were involved in this unfortunate incident. "We want to make it clear that the U.S. was in no way involved in this attack,” said COL Jerry O'Hara, U.S. military spokesman. (READ MORE)
Sons of Iraq graduate Iraqi Police training in Hawija - TIKRIT, Iraq – More than three hundred former Sons of Iraq members are now Iraqi Policemen after successfully completing eight weeks of training at the Kirkuk Police Academy during a graduation ceremony May 15, in this northeastern province. The ceremony was attended by Kirkuk City and provincial government officials and Iraqi Security Forces, alongside Coalition force leadership. “The province has shown tremendous progress in the last year. Events like this prove we are taking the necessary steps to show the world this province will stand together to defeat terrorists and establish rule of law,” Col. David Paschal, 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain Division told the graduating class.(READ MORE)
Joint patrol yields multiple caches in Maderiyah - BAGHDAD – A joint route reconnaissance mission in Maderiyah led to the discovery of six separate weapons caches May 13, to include 300 anti-personnel grenades. The first cache contained one 120 mm mortar round, one 100 mm anti-aircraft round, 12 rocket-propelled grenade warheads, eight 73 mm rockets and a mortar tripod. All weapons were serviceable and the rockets were still in their plastic containers. (READ MORE)
One terrorist killed, 19 detained in Coalition operations - BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces killed one terrorist and detained 19 suspected terrorists during operations targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq criminals in central and northern Iraq Friday. Coalition forces targeted members of AQI suicide bombing cells near Khan Bani Sa’ad, about 20 miles north of Baghdad. While targeting an individual who supplies explosives to the cell, an enemy suspect refused to obey Coalition forces instructions to surrender. Perceiving hostile intent, he was killed when he attempted to flee through a security perimeter. Another man in the area was taken into custody. (READ MORE)
MND-B Soldiers kill 1 criminal, detain 5, seize weapons (Baghdad) - BAGHDAD – Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers detained five criminals, killed one and seized weapons in separate events in Baghdad May 14-15. Soldiers from the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, MND-B, were struck by an explosively-formed projectile improvised-explosive device that damaged one vehicle during a patrol in eastern Baghdad at approximately 11 a.m. May 15. After the EFP strike, criminals continued the attack on the patrol with small-arms fire. The Soldiers returned fire and killed one criminal and wounded another. No Soldiers were injured in the attack. (READ MORE)
Iraqi Army captures Special Groups cell leader in Husayniyah - BALAD, Iraq – The Iraqi Army captured a mid-level Special Groups cell leader in Husayniyah, responsible for coordinating improvised explosive device, rocket and smallarms fire attacks against Iraqi Security and Coalition forces, approximately 30 km north of Baghdad, May 15. Iraqi Army soldiers conducted the operation to capture the Special Groups cell leader whose cell conducted attacks against the ISF and CF as recent as April 22. (READ MORE)
Iraqi Special Operations Forces capture terrorist in Mosul - BALAD, Iraq – Iraqi Special Operations Forces captured a terrorist in western Mosul, Iraq, May 15. The ISOF conducted the operation to capture a member of the Islamic State of Iraq, a front organization for al-Qaeda in Iraq, responsible for improvised explosive device emplacement and providing information to the ISI about the Iraqi Army and Iraqi Police. Six other suspects were detained in the operation. This operation is expected to disrupt the ISI cell’s terrorist activities and diminish future attacks on IA and Coalition forces in western Mosul. (READ MORE)
Bridge Linking Busayefi to Hawr Rajab Opens - FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU — Brightly painted flowers, hearts and polka-dots color the new bridge with cheery symbols. Most importantly, the bridge’s construction between the communities of Busayefi and Hawr Rajab paints a symbol of unity. Once under the control of insurgents, the communities became isolated; they were also separated from each other by the Mercedes Canal. Thanks to the efforts of Coalition forces, Iraqi Army and citizens tired of violence, the insurgents were driven away. However, the canal still isolated them from one another. (READ MORE)
General Cites Iranian Links to ‘Special Groups’ Terrorists in Iraq - WASHINGTON — So-called “special groups” terrorists operating in Iraq apparently are receiving training, arms and funding from Iranian sources, a senior U.S. military official posted in Iraq said May 14. “Over the course of the last several months, we have publicly discussed numerous times, and shown numerous times, the evidence on four separate occasions on what we have found and continue to find: Iranian-made weapons in the hands of criminals in Iraq,” Army Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner told reporters during a Baghdad news conference. (READ MORE)
Marne Dauntless to Improve Quality of Life, Eliminate Extremists - BAGHDAD — Multi-National Division – Center launched a major operation May 15 to improve the quality of life for Iraqi citizens of the Mada’in Qada, in southeast Baghdad Province. Marne Dauntless will build capacity for stability and security in a new part of MND-C’s battle space. This operation builds on the success of Operation Marne Piledriver, which kicked off in April across the Mahmudiyah Qada, south of Baghdad. 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division is assuming authority from the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, and will be responsible for Marne Dauntless. (READ MORE)
IA, GoI, Local Government Take Lead in Providing Aid to Sadr City Residents - CAMP LIBERTY — Residents in Sadr City continue to receive humanitarian aid from their local government, the government of Iraq, Iraqi army soldiers and Multi-National Division – Baghdad with the help of the recently opened Civil Military Operations Center and Iraqi Assistance Center at Joint Security Station Thawra 1. At the CMOC, local government officials, GoI officials and the Iraqi army receive guidance from MND-B Soldiers to plan and carry out operations to better the infrastructure and essential services as well as supply food, water and other necessities to the people of Sadr City. (READ MORE)
U.S. Troops Work Together with Georgian Soldiers - FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER — Soldiers stationed at Combat Outpost Cleary have been working closely with soldiers from Georgia as part of Task Force Petro. Task Force Petro is a combined effort involving the Georgian forces along with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, and the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, to bring peace to Iraq and improve living conditions both on and off of COP Cleary. (READ MORE)
U.S. General Cites Steady Progress in Baghdad, Basra, Mosul - BAGHDAD — Iraqi and U.S. forces are making progress while performing counterinsurgency and reconstruction missions across Iraq, a senior U.S. military officer posted in Iraq said May 14. Iraqi and coalition forces continue to make gains in establishing security and enforcing the rule of law in Baghdad, Mosul and Basra over the past week, Army Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner, a Multi-National Force - Iraq spokesman, told reporters at a Baghdad news conference. (READ MORE)
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