ep#66-Celebrating 25 Years of EPCOT Meanderings
minimal satisfaction is the fact that the prime minister came here. Dr Nelson said it was "fair to say we will continue to look for increased opportunities for training" for Australian forces into next year. In fact, 2nd Brigade is now "out of the checkpoint business," according to its commander, Col. Carl M. The administration's initial policy of funding huge projects to be developed by multitentacled U.S. troops in Iraq and warned that any decision to mandate a withdrawal this year would undercut critical gains made in recent months. military said U.S. But Mr. But in any case, he talked a little bit about what the provincial
council had done, and he said, "Right now, we have been able to provide more
projects than we ever did during Saddam Hussein's time." As I said earlier,
Saddam Hussein took special care of this area, so the fact that the current
government can and has bragging rights to the fact that on that key measure of
their own effectiveness and the way they present it to their constituency,
numbers of projects, they're trumping a regime that took special care Sal ad
Din. A mosque was also damaged (no word on the extent of the damage, but I was told that it was still standing--contrary to initial reports). And plans are already in the works to turn the district over to the Iraqis. A quick question, a three parter.
Do you know anything about Maliki's visit to Tikrit, since you're in the area,
last week? My own effort in the PRT is to try to work with the provincial officials, whether they be engineers, whether they be elected officials, whether they be mayors, city councilmembers or whoever, to try to give them as much training as we can on what I just generically say is a process, whether it be a budget process, a budget execution process, a contract management process to try
to make our investment in the human capital, which I think will make a big
difference now.
9) After Tour of Duty in Iraq, Graham Backs 'Surge' http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/27/AR2007082701919_pf.html
Senator Cautions Against Withdrawal Of Troops This Year By Robin Wright
Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, August 28, 2007; After serving two weeks of reserve duty in Iraq, Sen. Warner (R-Va.) and Sen. The assault force killed 13 fighters and attack aircraft killed 20 others, the military said. But it's a hit at the Yarmouk market in the heart of Baghdad. Much of the city - though certainly not all - is coming back to life. The boulevard of Sunni-inhabited high-rise apartments erupted in shootouts pitting the "Haifa Street Gang" and its al Qaeda allies against heavily Shia Iraqi army units. Captain Patriquin may have offered more than mere words. But with the tribal awakening in Anbar that cleared large parts of the province from al-Qaeda the highway is expected to be safer, but how much safer? Gen. But for now Ramadi’s citizens are enjoying their improbable peace, and remembering the American they call “Martyr Husham” – the brave and generous martyr. Asked what years of conflict have taught him, the "big cat" swept a hand back over hair pressed flat by his helmet and wet with sweat before answering: "The incredible adaptability of the American soldier - he can turn a corner just like that." AND the artillerymen have to be versatile. Captain Patriquin “was an extraordinary man who played a very, very important role,” he told The Times. What al-Qaeda actually did was recruit local thugs, seize control of the city, and impose a Taleban-style rule of terror. Like Warner, he was also critical of the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. He helped to convert Ramadi from one of Iraq’s deadliest cities into arguably the safest outside the semi-autonomous Kurdish north. The requirement that you park your vehicle outside the city and walk in creates a tangle at the entry points. The area is known to be controlled by al-Qaida in Iraq. Guess what, the opposite is now true! According to the military, many villagers told the visiting brigade commander that al Qaeda's brutality would only stiffen their resolve and cause other nearby villages to stand up against them. The surge in both Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces has been accompanied by a significant increase in the number of checkpoints on the major roads in the region. “The objective of the mission was to open the spillway, which regulates water flow to the town of Khalis, restoring the essential service of water,” the statement said. When we arrived here the main broad boulevard that traverse the east-west route through the city, with the broad sidewalks had been narrowed down to two and sometimes one lane by concrete barriers, concertina, and debris. "It's a dangerous place," Graham said. But look at the second one carefully and try to picture the scene; dozens of passenger SUV's (GMC trucks mostly) and buses parking in he middle of nowhere in a zone that was until recently the heart of al-Qaeda's Islamic state! It would've been easy to write off Haifa Street. Shortly before I arrived last November masked al-Qaeda fighters had brazenly marched through the city centre, pronouncing it the capital of a new Islamic caliphate. But the Republican legislator, who has served in the Air Force Reserve for 25 years, said the growing rejection of Islamic extremism should not be confused with minority Sunnis embracing democracy or national political reconciliation. "In many ways, this government is dysfunctional, but it's not a failed state. "Our support for continuing support and involvement in Iraq is a minority position but we have a moral responsibility to these people to see this job through," Dr Nelson said.
5) Anatomy of a Tribal Revolt http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/2007/08/print/anatomy-of-a-tribal-revolt/ David Kilcullen August 29, 2007 Small Wars Journal
Some aspects of the war in Iraq are hard to fit into “classical” models of insurgency. Three other representatives -- Mark Steven Kirk (R-Ill.) and Chris Carney (D-Pa.), both lieutenant commanders in the Navy Reserve, and John Shimkus (R-Ill.), a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve -- have not served in Iraq, the sources said
10) Desperate Al Qaeda is hit as it tries to find hideouts in Kurdistan http://patdollard.com/2007/08/28/besieged-town-saved-as-assaults-kills-41-al-qaeda/#more-2883
A series of US-led air and ground assaults in Iraq has killed at least 41 suspected rebels, the American military said on Tuesday. Eight militants were killed and 11 detained in separate ground and air assaults in Iraq’s northern province of Kirkuk and central province of Salaheddin, it said, adding that both operations were aimed at Al-Qaeda. Disney saw fit not to greet this landmark with fanfare typical of this type of event in the parks so we in the Disney fan community have chosen to acknowledge the EPCOT legacy on our own. forces has produced more progress than Graham had anticipated, he said yesterday. "So it was a magic meeting of the moment -- with al-Qaeda overplaying its hand and [the United States] increasing its capacity." The rejection of al-Qaeda in Iraq is evident in the decision by about 12,000 Iraqis to join the local police force in Anbar province since January, compared with only 1,000 in all of 2006, Graham said. In his second deployment this year, Graham traveled in Baghdad outside the Green Zone and to northern and southern Iraq. Coming and going. The attackers of the Kanan incident did their cause no good at all. contractors failed miserably. and Iraqi forces backed by helicopters and jet fighters killed the 33 Al Qaeda who were holding back the water supply to the Shiite town of Khalis, the American command said in a statement Tuesday. He said John Howard and Mr Bush would discuss future military requirements for the conflict when they met at the APEC summit in Sydney next week. New glass. People are living there. Again. Our troops cleaned out the terrorists with what Brig. It was a recipe for massacre, as terrified residents - those who remained - cowered in their apartments. Children wave at US Humvees. The Iraqis get their batteries charged. But a patrol through the sector on Tuesday evening revealed changes many in the media just won't credit. First, they won the fight. On Monday, in a major operation in the town of Gobia in the province of Diyala northeast of Baghdad, US and Iraqi troops killed 33 Al Qaeda fighters. “I want it to be a small slice of heaven,” he declared. They're still trying," he said. The area is still a shambles here, but the road has opened up. Entering Falluja requires navigating the sea of people trying to get in. There at the first corner, I see it. He was excited about the future - almost to the point of weeping. Then it's up to them to make their neighborhood - and their country - work. "There is growing concern by the Iraqi Government, by us, and our own Government as we have learned more and more about the degree of this malign involvement of the Iranian Quds force with the militia extremists that have been supported by them, trained, equipped, armed, funded and even in some cases directed." Dr Nelson, who went to Afghanistan and Iraq this week and is now in Washington, said General Petraeus had presented a detailed presentation on security inside the country. The kidnap victims were related to Sheik Younnis, who was killed in the attacks. The IP's going about their business and wave at us. Back to the story; there are two travel plans for passenger SUV's and buses from Damascus to Baghdad; one includes leaving Damascus between 10 pm and midnight, reaching the Syrian border control before dawn, entering the Iraqi border control at 8 am and arriving in Baghdad around sunset. Someone has put new glass in a shop. It was, you know,
one of these things you feel good about. I had met Captain Patriquin while embedded with US troops in Ramadi last November. Elements of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Cavalry Division (one of the units involved in the Lightning Hammer clearing operations) arrived later that day to do battle-damage assessments and interview the locals. David Petraeus reports to Congress. The US military built a string of combat outposts (COPs) throughout a city that had previously been a no-go area, and through a combination of Iraqi local knowledge and American firepower they gradually regained control of Ramadi, district by district, until the last al-Qaeda fighters were expelled in three pitched battles in March. The beginning of this piece will also present some EPCOT history since Spaceship Earth is the icon of this 25 year old theme park jewel. Late one evening I strolled into the brightly lit Jamiah district of the city with Lieutenant-Colonel Roger Turner, the tobacco-chewing US marine in charge of central Ramadi, to buy kebabs from an outdoor restaurant – “It’s safer than London or New York,” Colonel Turner assured me. But as the details of the story emerged, they suggested quite the opposite.Many of the al Qaeda fleeing Operation Lightning Hammer have headed south along the seam formed by Coalition forces moving in strength between Baqubah and Baghdad--the way west was blocked by a screen of air assault squadrons, and the way north was blocked by the troops heading down from the north end of the valley.A little over a week ago, some of those fleeing were stopped near Kanan, a town several miles west of Baqubah, by what the military describes as "concerned local nationals"--basically, one of the neighborhood watch groups that are springing up all over Diyala province. American soldiers patrol the Hurriyah neighborhood, for example, but many locals credit the Mahdi Army with being the real peacekeepers in the area.Progress in Baghdad is real, but it is not, or not yet anyway, the kind of peace that can last.It's worse in Mushadah just north of Baghdad, where I also went with American soldiers who are training Iraqi police forces - which have been infiltrated by Al Qaeda. Some people ignore our small convoy, some look suspiciously, and some wave. That is how the fleeing al Qaeda were ambushed to begin with--which is what led to attacks at Kanan. They attacked when and where they did because they are on the run and getting no local support. Not only because it's the capital but also because our changing strategy suddenly opened new opportunities to reset the terms of our presence. In addition, two houses and an Iraqi Police checkpoint were destroyed by explosives. Army moved in. American soldiers are training them while their comrades kill American soldiers elsewhere in the country.Meanwhile, Shia militias are expanding and consolidating their rule in other parts of the capital. forces killed two terrorist suspects and detained 22 others in several raids around the country. He and a small group from the First Brigade Combat Team, part of the 1st Armoured Division, were assiduously courting the local sheikhs – tribal leaders – over endless cups of tea and cigarettes. But the surge strategy had turned the US forces into pursuers instead of defenders. The major change from his earlier visits was produced by a confluence of factors, particularly as the deployment of more U.S. In Ramadi last weekend I did things unthinkable almost anywhere else in this violent country. How? Several days later, around sunrise on the morning of August 23, the al Qaeda fighters returned, armed for revenge. Hashemi did offer a compromise solution, saying that if some demands were immediately met, others could be postponed for one or two weeks, or left to committees to find solutions later. I have photographs of Iraqis hugging American soldiers and of children greeting us with ecstatic joy, as though they had been rescued from Nazis. HOLT: Jarred Fishman from Air Force Pundit.
Jarred Fishman: Yes sir, thanks for your time. Violence has dropped to near zero. And five minutes away, there's a bustling Shia neighborhood. Commanders must've felt tempted to just level the former Saddamist stronghold. Pathfinder 6 and I are escorting journalist Bill Schaefer to the Camp to meet with Team Badger Soldiers so he can give you his version of their story. Louis connection that you can hear here.
Plus LT Fishman, hey did I notice that he is now 1LT having received that coveted first promotion, delivers the open source Surge Wrap. http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/029isceg.asp
by Mario Loyola 08/29/2007 12:00:00 AM Fallujah, Iraq
OPERATION LIGHTNING HAMMER in Diyala province--part of Operation Phantom Strike--has flushed scores and perhaps hundreds of insurgents out of the Diyala River Valley northeast of Baqubah. And they were minor attacks, compared to those of the past. Evoking a mountain lion that woke up hungry, he has the animal's alertness, observing everything around him on the move. And I didn't, unfortunately, get a chance to sit right down with
the governor or the deputy governor and ask them what their reactions were on
events since have just been so. But our soldiers are making progress where favored contractors only ripped off the taxpayer for billions. BUCKLER: Yeah, I sat through it -- (laughter). Indeed, they appear to be stepping up suicide bomb attacks elsewhere. Iraqi security officials blamed Mahdi militiamen for attacking mosque guards, some of whom are linked to the rival Badr Brigade militia. They persuaded thousands of their tribesmen to join the Iraqi police, which was practically defunct thanks to al-Qaeda death threats, and to work with the reviled US troops. 1 decision by his Iraqi Islamic Party and others, which make up the Iraqi Consensus Front, to quit the government. Initially, Haifa Street was a brawl-for-all. General Petraeus told The Australian during a face-to-face interview at his Baghdad headquarters there had been a 75 per cent reduction in religious and ethnic killings since last year, a doubling in the seizure of insurgents' weapons caches between January and August, a rise in the number of al-Qa'ida "kills and captures" and a fall in the number of coalition deaths from roadside bombings. No other serving members of Congress have deployed in Iraq, according to congressional sources. The sheikhs did rise up. General Petraeus said "improvised explosive devices" -- roadside bombs -- were the largest killer in Iraq and in "another indicator that is reassuring, this has come down for about eight of the last 11 weeks to the lowest in at least a year, Iraq-wide". An IP station built. I had tried hard to convince them not to do that and take a flight instead but now after hearing their story I'm convinced that my fear was not justified; the road is safe…This is good not only for Iraq's economy and traveling but also for the American troops who can use this road as an alternative supply route in case the British troops withdraw and leave the strategic southern highway between Kuwait and Baghdad unguarded. "We will wait until we see the President's response to the report and we will shape our forward planning around that response.
I listened incredulously as Latif Obaid Ayadah, Ramadi’s Mayor, told me of his desire to build an airport and tourist resort in Ramadi and talked – only half in jest – of twinning his city with Belfast and Oklahoma City.
The city council and US military broadcast daily progress reports, introduced by the national anthem and English football results, from giant loudspeakers above 19 police stations. The Red Dragons of 3-82 are a story, too. But because of his status as a congressman, he would have had to resign or retire, so the secretary of defense rescinded the orders, according to Buyer's staff. Gunfire has become a sound of celebration. Unfortunately for the insurgents, the local tribal sheiks had recently sworn allegiance to the central government, alliance to the Coalition, and enmity to al Qaeda. "We finished our meeting with a very clear picture of his thinking of the assessment of the security situation, not just in Baghdad but also in the south and the work being done by us and the British," he said. Nobody wanted to help them but you had to do what they told you.” On the night of June 30 a US patrol chanced upon two trucks laden with al-Qaeda fighters, weapons and explosives approaching Ramadi across the desert from the south, and two US soldiers were killed in what became known as the “Battle of Donkey Island”. forces, the military said in a statement. Today Ramadi is scarcely recognisable. I think it was a severe strategic blow to lose not only Ramadi, but all of Anbar province,” he said. Iraqi Shias are also worried that the new US-trained police forces of Ramadi and Anbar province could eventually metamorphose into well-trained Sunni militias; the Sunni insurgency may be fading, but the Shia-Sunni civil war rages on. It has something the other places don't.
New Glass.
13) Crossing Anbar http://haloscan.com/tb/omar/5524183621856509351 Iraq the Model, Omar Fadhil 29 August 2007
We've been getting some reports about the improvement in security in Anbar in the last few months but little was said about the highway that runs across the province. And
also, how does the United States get credit on the ground for these billions of
dollars of projects? "And that is a much better place to be than to be doing a deliberate attack into their defences, like we had to do in Ramadi," he said. Women walk around with uncovered faces. BUT Baghdad was the big one. Since then, the Americans have differentiated between the mainstream Sadrist organization and what they term "rogue" elements within the force that have staged numerous deadly attacks against U.S. Captain Patriquin, 32, a father of three young children, was killed by a roadside bomb days after I left Ramadi last winter. Since the surge in operations--and particularly since the start of Phantom Strike--they have lost the initiative. About 25 gunmen attacked the village of Sheik Thar to the east of Kanan, while about 18 attacked the village of Sheik Younnis to the west. More "de-milling" (de-militarization) has taken place and you can see the college a little better. Roberts put it, "Micro-everything is good." Our troopers have backed micro-projects, such as community generators, awarded micro-grants to jump-start street-level commerce, and favored a ground-up version of capitalism, rather than the administration's dysfunctional marriage of profits at home and socialism in Iraq. He acknowledged there was still too much violence and that al-Qa'ida and militias with the "malign involvement" of Iran were still serious threats. Instead, they decided to rescue what they could. When he was in a courtroom in Baghdad's Red Zone -- as some refer to the area outside the heavily fortified Green Zone -- witnessing the trial of two Iraqi policemen charged with building an arms cache to aid a local Shiite militia, a car bomb exploded and two mortar shells landed nearby. Al Qaeda is no longer master of events in Iraq. What makes this station extraordinary is that a city in the heart of the infamous Sunni Triangle, a city that once led the anti-American insurgency, has named it after a US soldier – Captain Travis Patriquin. "I carried a 9mm like everyone else, and there were several times I was glad I had one." Most congressional delegations travel in heavily protected security bubbles and stay no more than a day or two. He and several tribal leaders attended his memorial service. We pass what was once a hotel. But this trip is different. forces in Baghdad and elsewhere. Hashemi said nothing had changed regarding the Aug. The U.S. Fil doesn't walk, he prowls. That is not unusual in Iraq. He said "ethno-sectarian deaths" were the most important measure of progress. New glass. "I think it is fair to say that we will continue to look for increased opportunities for training." The Defence Minister said Australian forces were highly regarded as trainers and whenever he asked the Iraqis to nominate what they wanted they "always said training". Khalis, 50 miles north of Baghdad, has been the scene of repeated Sunni insurgent bombings and mortar attacks. “We have an Iraqi saying: ‘If you’re bitten by a snake you’re scared of the smallest insect’. There are green patches of manicured lawn there. At the end of last week, some al Qaeda fighters "counter-attacked"; not against the Coalition of course, but against innocent civilians. But if you get out and about, then you'd have a different perspective." Graham predicted that Maliki's personal political flaws would be overshadowed by events on the ground. His main interlocutor, Sheikh Abdul Sittar Bezea al-Rishawi, told The Times that he gave them guns and ammunition too. Instead, 1-14 Cav and their foster parent, the 2nd brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, switched gears. Until we put a stop to it. Artillerymen, they patrol the streets of a broad slice of Baghdad in a traditional Infantry role - and provide steel on target from their 155mm howitzers for six brigades strewn across a vast area of operations. As we dismounted from our Stryker to walk the streets and alleys, Sunni residents - once hostile to Americans - crowded around to thank our local commanders, all of whom were well known down in the 'hood. Partly, it's a political move - but it's also due to the sacrifices and fortitude of 1-8 Cav and other frontline units. Rep. They were encouraging them to rise up against the hundreds of al-Qaeda fighters – Saudi, Jordanian, Syrian, Sudanese, Yemeni – who had arrived in Ramadi two years earlier, promising to lead the battle against the infidel Americans. I think of the children I have given candy and soccer balls to in the area. Even the Euphrates River cannot keep it completely green year round. We take the western highway this time which takes us north and around the city of Falluja. It's supply and demand 101, this change in cost reflects a change in demand on the two ends of the route suggesting that a good percentage of Iraqis who flooded Syria in the beginning of the summer season were just trying to escape the summer heat and enjoy a simple vacation, like my family did. “Al-Qaeda is gone. And the mahalla, or neighborhood, across the river is still seeded with terrorists. Not long ago, the residents were all Sunnis. The residents who could leave had already left. Gen. I apologize in advance for the epic length of this post, but it's a complex issue, so I hope people will forgive my long-windedness. The de-Baathification breakthrough was announced jointly on Sunday by Mr. George W. The Defense Ministry said al-Maliki had ordered the dismissal of the top army commander in the area — Maj. I spent time out on the ground during May and June working with coalition units, tribal leaders and fighters engaged in the uprising, so I felt a few field observations might be of interest to the Small Wars community. Restaurants stay open late into the evening. Continue to supply strongly economic, political and military support, and I believe . American attack helicopters supporting the ground forces killed another 20 suspected insurgents, it said, adding that many weapons were found during the operation. Ramadi will be Exhibit A when General David Petraeus, the US commander in Iraq, appears before Congress in two weeks’ time to argue that the country as a whole should not be written off. "When we came down here in January," he told me, "the only people we saw in the streets were shooting at us." Then the U.S. "It is still much too high but we think in August in Baghdad it will be as little as one quarter of what it was." The number of weapons-cache captures had doubled from 1977 in January this year to 4141 in August. He was a true hero who paid the ultimate sacrifice,” said Colonel Charlton. Hashemi’s fellow vice president; and the country’s two most senior Kurdish leaders, President Jalal Talabani and Massoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdish regional government in Iraq. Fifty US soldiers had been killed in the previous five months alone. A micro-grant had cleared away years of garbage. The military also said it had arrested an alleged weapons smuggler known to distribute guns brought from Iran to Iraqi extremist groups, in a raid on Tuesday in Baghdad. I spent 24 hours huddled inside Eagles Nest, a tiny COP overlooking the derelict football stadium, listening to gunfire, explosions and the thump of mortars. Website at: www.meanderingmouse.com Email: podcast@meanderingmouse.com Voice Mail: 713-893-3866 Discuss at The Disney Podcast Network: www.disneypodcastnet.com
links for 2007-09-07
- How to be an agent of change in a large organization
- This was presented at the Office 2.0 Unconference on Sep. He doesn't growl, though. “The pre-dawn assault, involving several hundred Iraqi and coalition forces, defeated numerous small-arms attacks throughout the day resulting in a combined 13 insurgents killed,” a military statement said. The strategic gains against insurgents would lead to a changed and possibly longer-term role for Australian troops, shifting from security operations to a focus on training Iraqi soldiers and police. As we roll though Ramadi I see more stores and small shops open. Fil listens. Hashemi forecast that the legislation would allow less senior members of the Baath Party to return to government jobs.But he said the Iraqi Consensus Front would not rejoin the government until other key demands were met. It goes beyond the old media dictum that "if it bleeds, it leads." Plenty of journalists have staked their reps on our predicted failure in Iraq - and they hate the reversal of fortune the surge is achieving. Elsewhere, U.S. “Instead of using my radio to summon support fire I’m calling to get a water leak mended,” said Colonel Turner. But even across the river in Rustamiyah, where the troopers of the 1st of the 8th Cav - a butt-kickin' outfit - have been fighting Muqtada al Sadr's Mahdi Army in urban-guerrilla warfare, hopeful signs are emerging. But the objective was to hold all the gains that had been made so far. "We can't take credit for that. There are checkpoints and random patrols all over the place. “I want to fight al-Qaeda, but f*** it – this is victory,” said Corporal Patrick Marzillo from Chicago. Incidents such as this, horrifying as they are, need to be seen in their true light. Those who knew the area pre-surge are impressed with the recent progress, but Gen. The assault uncovered three weapons caches, led to the capture of three men and “water is currently flowing unimpeded to Khalis,” the military said.
11) Front-line lessons from the Iraq surge http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2007/08/29/2007-08-29_frontline_lessons_from_the_iraq_surge.html?print=1 By MICHAEL TOTTEN New York Post Wednesday, August 29th 2007
While American politicians bicker among themselves from eight time zones away about whether the surge led by Gen. Halfway into the city we reach Saddam's Mosque. He's the kind of commander under whom you want to serve. On my right the urban area becomes more apparent, the HESCOs and concrete barriers removed to open the area up. Next, they were determined to win the peace. "If you look at Baghdad, which is hugely important because it is the centre of everything in Iraq, you can see the density plot on ethno-sectarian deaths," he said."It's a bit macabre but some areas were literally on fire with hundreds of bodies every week and a total of 2100 in the month of December '06, Iraq-wide. I walked through the main souk without body armour, talking to ordinary Iraqis. As the main feature of the show, Doug aka Disneyparkhopper has prepared a spectacular "backstage meandering" through spaceship earth. Aside from security my father told me one more thing that shook the common idea about the numbers of Iraqi refugees fleeing to Syria. In a brief statement at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, he welcomed the agreement that included steps that are among the benchmarks outlined by Congress to measure political progress.The White House has been eager to demonstrate improvement, especially on the political front, in advance of the progress report the administration must submit to Congress by Sept. **The MM Show is Made for Headphones** EPCOT is a theme park like no other on earth and is celebrating it's 25th year this Fall. They tried to impose a lifestyle that is counter to what Iraqis wish for themselves," he said. The Mahdi Army launched two major uprisings against U.S. This is a wedding without a bride.”
8) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE BLOGGERS ROUNDTABLE: STEVEN BUCKLER, PRT TEAM LEADER, SALAHUDDIN PROVINCE FROM IRAQ TIME: 10:31 A.M. We descend off the bridge and that's when you notice the change. Nor have all of those who used to live on Haifa Street returned - they're being coaxed back bit by bit. Iraq's government isn't much help - none, as far as Haifa Street's revival is concerned. government built
that, built that, built that, built that, there is a seeming profound degree of
ignorance, whether it is real or feigned as to what we have done so far as our
own construction projects to try and improve and develop Iraq. Then the U.S. Several days later we return to Ar Ramadi. The two were killed in an area south of Baghdad in an operation targeting al-Qaida in Iraq leaders.
2) Desperados: Al Qaeda is having a bad reaction in Diyala province. Now, on the other hand, I was talking to one of the generals up
here in the northern sector who pointed out that oftentimes as we indicate the
coalition or the CERP funds or, in one way or another, the U.S. Special guests for this show will be doing the same: -Lou Mongello from WDW Radio shares what makes the park special for him -DPN'er and MMCTV producer, Joel (Coconut Wireless), shares many details about his stint as a cast member working at EPCOT back in it's golden years of the late 80's. But Colonel John Charlton, the US officer in overall charge of Ramadi, insists that al-Qaeda has suffered a major setback. Criminal courts will reopen next month. Thus the tribal revolt is not some remote riot on a reservation: it’s a major social movement that could significantly influence most Iraqis where they live.
6) Iraq to Allow Ex-Baathists to Regain JobsAssociated Press
From left, Vice Presidents Adel Abdul-Mehdi and Tariq al-Hashemi, President Jalal Talabani, Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki and the Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani on Sunday.
By STEPHEN FARRELL
Published: August 28, 2007
BAGHDAD, Aug. General Petraeus said the surge strategy, involving the deployment of an extra 20,000 troops in Iraq, would continue for a few months before the troop level in the country was phased down. So how memories
will serve our constructions here, I'd say, is still up in the air. Down Michigan, through Ar Ramadi, through Habbinyah, and through Al Falluja - in HUMVEES. A total of approximately 20 hours with 6 to 7 hours lost in waiting and passport control.The second plan includes leaving Damascus at noon and here convoys carrying the passengers continue to move all the way until a short distance northwest of Ramadi. and Iraqi special forces had captured a suspected commander of a rogue element of the Mahdi Army that targets Iraqi citizens for kidnappings and killings. Dave Stroupe and I paused on the embankment above the river. The clashes appeared to be part of a power struggle among Shiite groups in the sect's southern Iraqi heartland, which includes the bulk of the country's vast oil wealth. "No one should underestimate the importance to what is happening in Iraq of our contribution and the significance of it to the Americans and the Iraqis themselves. The US military was still having to fight its way into the city through a gauntlet of snipers, rocket-propelled grenades, suicide car bombs and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Most Iraqis wear their tribal selves beside other strands of identity (religious, ethnic, regional, socio-economic) that interact in complex ways, rendering meaningless the facile division into Sunni, Shi’a and Kurdish groups that distant observers sometimes perceive. That versatility is one of the qualities Fil admires most in America's soldiers. Pedestrians, cars and motorbike rickshaws throng the streets. We look at the backstory, history, and evolution of spaceship earth. BUCKLER: Whose visit?
Q Maliki, Prime Minister Maliki's visit last week to --
MR. Graham, a colonel in the Air Force Reserve and a longtime supporter of military deployment in Iraq, is the only member of the Senate to serve in Iraq. Obviously the drivers and families feel safe enough that they know they won't be robbed and slaughtered by cold-blooded terrorists. God knows plenty of problems remain. An Iraqi Army checkpoint was attacked, also near the village of Sheik Younnis. Please visit www.myfavoritemouse.com for all you Disney travel needs. The Mahdi Army's relative moderation, compared with Al Qaeda's brutality, prevents it from being rejected by the entire society. They have restored electricity, water, rubbish collections and a rudimentary bus service.How life returned to the streets in a showpiece city that drove out al-Qaeda
The police station in Tameen, a district of Ramadi, occupies a wreck of a building – its roof shattered by shells, its windows blown out, its walls pockmarked by shrapnel. There is only one thing to do: Wait.
12) New Glass www.badgersforward.com
Road trip from Camp Ramadi to Camp Falluja. Power was out, and the district was out of hope. Iraqis have begun to help themselves, while their government squabbles. Mayor Latif said that they regularly beheaded “collaborators” in public and left the heads beside the corpses. Progress has been made, but it will take awhile to truck this away and start rebuilding. He cited the willingness of Iraqis to participate in local security in the volatile Sunni province as one indication that the new security may be sustainable. Today the boulevard is wide open and people are walking the streets. US soldiers have become the nation-builders so derided by Donald Rumsfeld, the former US Defence Secretary. I spent a week in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar Province, which just four months ago was the most violent place in Iraq. Although much of central Baghdad has begun to thrive again, the crazy quilt of neighborhoods they patrol still has its troubles. The streets were empty of civilians. security patrol can make an ice-cream stop. Iraqi tribal leaders represent a competing power center, and the tribes themselves are a parallel hierarchy that overlaps with formal government structures and political allegiances. Now the first plan sounds predictable, safe and well planned given the distance and necessary stops. Lt. New glass is confidence. "With all due respect to Senator Warner, the model he is suggesting -- to put pressure [on the Iraqi government] by mandating troop withdrawal -- is exactly the opposite of what we should do," Graham said in an interview after returning from Iraq this past weekend. They had cut off the towns water a few days ago, filling the canals with dirt. OF course, other sectors in Baghdad remain contentious, and progress can be reversed in the wake of a single trigger event. Smiling at the hubbub on the cafe patio and the laughter from the kids splashing in the shallows, Maj. A few days ago, Mookie unilaterally announced a six-month timeout for his gunmen. “Do you think the de-Baathification law and the provincial elections are accomplishments? Like much else, it’s too early to know how this new development will play out. But the governor, the deputy
governor, a number of the sheiks, the military -- or the army and the police
were all able to speak with him directly and had a very good exchange with him.
He was very open, communicated with each and every one of them on their
particular issues, had his staff there to take notes, recognition, things to
follow up on. Millions of people from around the world have graced it's pavement and attractions over the last 25 years and the park has an interesting history to present. Bush said of his telephone conversations.Mr. John W. And that's not the only indication to the seasonal aspect of Iraqis' migration.
Six weeks ago when my family hired a driver to take them to Damascus the fare was $110 for each passenger since finding a car to take you out of Baghdad was difficult while the return trip from Damascus would cost only $25 per passenger because drivers were ready to accept any amount of money rather than to return to Baghdad empty handed. Bryan Roberts. During the mounted segment of the patrol, I asked Gen. They are erecting 1,000 solar-powered street lamps. The honour is well-deserved. Graham's comments come at a time when some of his colleagues on the Senate Armed Services Committee, including Sen. Maliki’s governing coalition. Graham (R-S.C.) yesterday called for continuation of the "surge" of U.S. There is no word on the fate of the hostages. was the military commander. Maliki; Mr. "The surge has produced better security. David Petraeus is working or not, I returned to Iraq to see for myself.This trip - from which I returned this month - was my fourth reporting stint in the country since the conflict began. Tell emm The DPN sent ya for great deals! So why don't you hear more about our military's successes? And he gives his subordinates maximum freedom of action. I was ordered not to leave my vehicle for any reason unless something catastrophic happened to it.Elsewhere in Iraq, though, progress is extraordinary and unambiguous. And that ties in with the national reconciliation efforts we've seen
in Baghdad.
MR. But the precious normalcy around us represented a true and wonderfully human victory. Mr. There are also front end loaders and other heavy equipment moving the concrete and the rebar. There, the soldiers live and work in the city 24 hours a day. we'll have a breakthrough in Baghdad," he said.
The chief measures sought by Sunni leaders are laws to ensure fair distribution of oil revenues and tougher steps to curb Shiite militias closely linked to parties within Mr. These included the killing or capture of al-Qa'ida fighters, causing the terrorist group to lose influence with local Sunnis. There is
nothing like a national level politician or representative or leader coming out
to the provinces like this to simply express commitment and be seen.
His meetings with the provincial authorities were very, very good. But others in his party cautioned that de-Baathification was a relatively minor issue compared with their other grievances.“There are more serious issues, such as the security portfolio, reconciliation, militias, constitutional amendments, a ministerial reshuffle and defining terrorism, resistance and who is the enemy out there on the streets,” said Omar Abdul Sattar, a lawmaker.“We live in a crisis,” he said.
General Petraeus's overview comes a fortnight before he is due to present a crucial report on military progress in Iraq to the US Congress and President George W. Thanks to everyone that has made donations to The Meandering Mouse and The Disney Podcast Network thru the website! A firefight ensued and the al Qaeda group was hit hard, reportedly losing some 15 fighters in the engagement. En route to Combat Outpost Remagen, we saw people of all ages in the streets, a half-dozen soccer games under way, patched and repainted facades - and even new solar street lamps (a big hit in a power-strapped city). Shoupe shook his head in wonder. AND the numbers in "AO Warhorse," their area of operations, reveal an impressive transition from a hellhole to a livable - if still understandably nervous - neighborhood: From 74 attacks on our troops in January, the violence dropped to 20 attempts in August. I wonder if I can come back here and teach a class on business organizations some day. and coalition forces in 2004. 15.“While yesterday’s agreement is an important step, I reminded them, and they understand, much more needs to be done,” Mr. Apparently the direction of movement is influenced by the season to a certain degree.When my family's turn to pass through the passports control on the Iraqi side came, the vehicles that were still behind them on the Syrian side outnumbered the ones coming from the Iraqi side. 5 - People who are not normally gadget freaks are liking the iPhone
- a PDF-only book about how to use Ruby on Rails 1.2.3 and Adobe Flex 2.0.1 to build rich Internet applications (RIAs)
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