Iraqs Inconvenient Truth :: Iraq War News Updates

The following story is an absolute must-read. If you can’t read it right now, come back to it later. It’s that important.

I have highlighted some points for emphasis, but one really stands out.

CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, makes this astounding statement:

“…the mapping of Muslim communities…seems premised on the faulty notion that Muslims are more likely to commit violent acts than people of other faiths.”

When I appealed to you yesterday to join us in this effort by becoming a monthly contributor, it’s because I know this is what we’re up against. (If you missed yesterday’s email and want to support our efforts, please click here.) We must ACT! Now to protect America before it’s too late.

Once you have read this story, please forward it to everyone you know.

Thank you.

Brigitte Gabriel

ACLU, Muslim Groups Resist
Anti-terror Measures Again

by Robert Spencer
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=23371&s=rcmc

The Los Angeles Police Department announced plans Thursday to map Muslim communities, hoping to identify people who might be liable to succumb to – as Deputy Chief Michael P. Downing put it – “violent, ideologically based extremism.” Downing said that the LAPD would work with a Muslim partner, and added: “We want to know where the Pakistanis, Iranians and Chechens are so we can reach out to those communities.”

The ACLU of Southern California, an association of Muslim lawyers called Muslim Advocates, the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California and the Council on American Islamic Relations wrote to Downing that “singling out individuals for investigation, surveillance, and data-gathering based on their religion constitutes religious profiling that is just as unlawful, ill-advised and deeply offensive as racial profiling.” And also, “the mapping of Muslim communities…seems premised on the faulty notion that Muslims are more likely to commit violent acts than people of other faiths.” [emphasis added]

Of course they aren’t: that’s why we see Presbyterians blowing themselves up in crowded restaurants, Buddhists flying planes into buildings, and Amish waving placards crowing that they will soon dominate the world. The mapping of Muslim communities is sensible in light of the violent acts committed around the world – over 9,000 separate attacks since 9/11 – in the name of Islam. But political correctness has kept law enforcement officials (and the media) from asking the hard questions they should ask of Muslim leaders in the United States. Absurdities abound. One police official lamented: “We’ll come back from a Kumbayah meeting with a local mosque and realize that these guys who just agreed to help us are in our terror files!” Cleveland Muslim leader Fawaz Damra signed the Fiqh Council of North America’s condemnation of terrorism — and was later deported for failing to disclose his ties to terrorist groups. [emphasis added]. Damra was never expelled from his communities in Brooklyn, New York, or Cleveland despite having said at a 1989 Islamic conference that “the first principle is that terrorism, and terrorism alone, is the path to liberation.”

Peaceful American Muslims have not moved to expose, expel, or separate themselves from those who hold such sentiments. [emphasis added]. There is no wall of separation in the American Muslim community between Muslims who accept American pluralism and want to live ordinary lives and those who hold to the ideology of jihad and the subjugation of infidels held by Osama bin Laden. And authorities have not investigated the presence of such sentiments at all, despite the fact that they could be a reliable indicator of who might commit violent acts in the future and who might not.

Are there really jihadist sympathizers in American mosques? Yes. Sahim Alwan, a onetime leader of the Yemeni community in Lackawanna, New York and president of the mosque there, has the distinction of being the first American to attend an Al Qaeda training camp. Maher Hawash’s transition from secular Intel exec to jihadist was accompanied by an increase in his Islamic fervor and frequent mosque attendance.

This doesn’t mean that every Muslim in the United States is secretly plotting a jihad attack. But would it really be wise to risk everything on the assumption that none are?

The outrage of the ACLU and the Muslim groups over “the faulty notion that Muslims are more likely to commit violent acts than people of other faiths” founders on the fact that many Muslim groups have actually declared their desire to commit violent acts in the United States. We would be foolish – suicidally so – not to take all necessary steps to protect ourselves accordingly. If American Muslim groups were genuinely concerned about the unfair targeting of Muslims, they could direct their efforts to making concerted efforts to work with law enforcement officials to identify and apprehend jihadists in the United States, and to turn Muslims in America away from the jihad ideology and Islamic supremacism. [emphasis added].

The fact that they do not do this, and instead work against genuine efforts to protect this country from a catastrophic attack, is revelatory. Despite their complaints, this mapping should continue, and expand.

———————–

ACT for America
P.O. Box 6884
Virginia Beach, VA 23456
www.actforamerica.org

ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam.

INDIRECT FIRE ATTACKS DECREASE IN IRAQ Posted: 14 Nov 2007 09:06 AM CST INDIRECT FIRE ATTACKS DECREASE IN IRAQ

SOLDIER FOUND NOT GUILTY OF MURDER Posted: 14 Nov 2007 09:01 AM CST SOLDIER FOUND NOT GUILTY OF MURDER

NINE IRANIAN DETAINEES RELEASED Posted: 14 Nov 2007 07:19 AM CST NINE IRANIAN DETAINEES RELEASED

SHEIK WORKING FOR RECONCILIATION IN DIYALA KILLED IN EXPLOSION Posted: 14 Nov 2007 07:17 AM CST SHEIK WORKING FOR RECONCILIATION IN DIYALA KILLED IN EXPLOSION

Qaeda defeated in main Baghdad neighborhood

13 November 2007 (Azzaman)

Forces loyal to government have purged the restive and violent Baghdad’s Adhamiya quarter of Qaeda fighters, according to Ahmad al-Samarrai.

Samarrai said Qaeda ‘terrorists’ were defeated and forced out of the neighborhood following two days of ferocious fighting.

Samarrai is head of the government-sponsored Sunni endowments in Baghdad.

Many Sunnis have turned against the so-called ‘Qaeda in Mesopotamia’ and have formed alliances backed by U.S. troops to flush Qaeda members from their areas. These newly formed tribal militias are locally known as ‘Sahawa’ or Awakening.

“After two days of fighting the Awakening Forces of Adhamiya have spread their full control over Adhamiya’s streets and districts,” said Samarrai.

Samarrai called on shop owners and businesses in Adhamiya to return to work, urging the inhabitants to “go about their life in a normal way.”

“I confirm that the whole of Adhamiya has been purged of these criminal gangs,” he added.
___

A significant increase in salaries of employees within the new law from ten degrees

Financial begin its application of the smart card project and the Planning strives to make the next year’s budget more inclusive

12 November 2007 (Iraq Directory)

The government reached advanced stages in the issuance of a new law for employees’ salaries, which would lift the standard of living of this category, avoiding the errors that have accompanied the previous law, as it will depend on the certificate and years of service for employees.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki had announced in a press conference held last month the government’s efforts to increase employees’ salaries through the issuance of a new law that allows it. An official source at the Ministry of Finance said that the new grading of employees’ salaries will consist of ten degrees, stressing that the increase in salaries would include all employees without exception. The source added that the ministry reached the final stages of the issuance of the new law, noting that it is being studied by the allocation of funds within the budget of next year for the application of the law after transmitted to the competent authorities for approval and vote, pointing out at the same time that a committee formed by the Cabinet and chaired by the Minister of Planning, will work to overcome the errors that occurred in previous grading of salaries. Applying the new law is an important stage, especially that the government is working to address the economic advancement and the provision of services after the great stability witnessed in Baghdad and most provinces in the last period.

The source added that the Ministry of Finance seeks to introduce the smart card project within the distribution of salaries of retirees, which witnessed an increase, to enable them to get their salaries from the nearest bank, stressing that the application of this plan reached advanced stages at Al-Rafidain and Al-Rasheed Bank.

On the other hand, the Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation stressed the necessity of making the strategy of next year more inclusive to promote the country. A well-informed source in the ministry said that this strategy must be allocated to economy in order to promote and develop public activities, as well as the support of the private sector and reduce the flight of Iraqi capitals and minds abroad, which had caused considerable depletion of this important source. The source added in a press statement that the Ministry of Planning had made a study in support of this strategy, as it included many solutions that would promote economic activities and achieve an equal budget to all the important sectors in Iraq, stressing that the discussions conducted by the ministries and government institutions must be give an important support of the Iraqi economy, rather than focusing only on other areas. The budget of 2008 endorsed by the government amounts to (46) billion dollars and includes various sectors. The memo also addressed the sectors of electricity, oil derivatives and their impact on the Iraqi economy as well as the stalled productive factories due to suspension of the agricultural and industrial sectors.

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Germany Gifts Iraq 300 Different Military Vehicles

Baghdad, 13 November 2007 (Al-Sabaah)

Germany Defense ministry gifted 300 military vehicles to the Iraqi military including in the common cooperation plans between the two countries.

German ambassador in Iraq Dr. Hans Schomacher said in a press statement that, an instrument of ratification hold between the two sides to supply Iraq within 300 different military vehicles as the trucks and the ambulance cars as a gift from the Germany Government.

He added that, another agreement would held between the Germany side and the Iraqi high educations and science research ministry to enable most number of the Iraqi student to study in Germany.

On the other hand, he expressed his government’s intent to form a common economical committee with the Iraqi side aim to activate the agreements which belongs to the ex-regime period to work with.

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Bulgaria to write off 90% of Iraqi debt

Baghdad, 13 November 2007 (Voices of Iraq)

Iraqi Finance Ministry said on Monday that it signed a bilateral agreement with the Bulgarian government to cancel 90 % of Iraqi debts to Bulgaria.

“The ministry signed a bilateral agreement with Bulgaria to write off 90 % of Iraq’s debts and Iraq will pay, according to the agreement, 25.10 cents for each dollar owned to Bulgaria,” the finance ministry said in a statement received by the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).

“Iraq owes the eastern European country a total of USD 3.51 billion,” the statement added.

The statement highlighted that Bulgaria would cancel the rest of the debt.

“Most of the countries have agreed to cancel 80 % of the Iraqi debt and rescheduled the rest of the debt over 23 years, except the U.S., Malta, Slovakia, and Cyprus, which canceled all Iraqi debts,” it added.

Bulgaria was part of the U.S.-led coalition that invaded the country in March 2003.

____

185 schools constructed

13 November 2007 (Azzaman)

The ministry of education has built 185 schools and repaired 332 others as part of its reconstruction plan for 2007.

A statement said the ministry could not spend all the sums allocated for the building of new schools and renovation of old ones in the country.

Of the 279 billion dinars (a dollar is worth 1,300 dinars), more than 69 billion still need to be disbursed.

The statement did not say why the ministry failed to spend the money at a time the country is in urgent need of new school buildings.

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Building of 5 Complexes In 2008

Baghdad, 13 November 2007 (Al-Sabaah)

Housing and re-building ministry certified in it’s plan for the coming year 2008, building of 5 residential complexes, while holding of Baghdad rebuilding conference tomorrow in the occasion of the capital day festival.

A source at the ministry said that, the minister of housing Engineer Bayanb Dazaiee mentioned that they would building a new 5 residential complexes in each of Daiala, Anbar, Saladin, Diqar and Babel for the coming year plan.

On the other hand, a statement issued at deputy premier office Dr. Barham Salihm, mentioned that Wednesday would witnessing held of Baghdad rebuilding conference with the occasion of the capital day festival, and would attending by Dr. Barham Salih and large number of the ministries, deputy ministries, deputies, diplomatists, military leaders, international and national organizations, religious men, literatures and Baghdad governor.

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$17B for investment in provinces next year

Nasiryia, 13 November 2007 (Al-Sabaah)

Govt. decided increasing investment projects’ allocations at next year in all provinces at 60% according population density of each province to provide many jobs for many unemployed.

This increase that its amount reaches to $17B compared with $11B in recent year with what revealed by Vice President Dr. Adel Abdulmahdi in a conference of reconstruction in Nasiryia province about a plan to reconstruct all destroyed infrastructure in provinces that would begin in 2008.

Finance Minister Baqer Jabr said that the investment its sole way to reconstruct Iraq through international companies in oil, electricity and water sectors.

____

Police force arrives in Diwaniya to carry out security plan

Diwaniya, 13 November 2007 (Voices of Iraq)

A police force estimated to be a brigade arrived in the province of al-Diwaniya on Tuesday morning to carry out a security plan codenamed Oil Spill, a security source said.

“Oil Spill is a wide-scale security operation that targets tracking down outlaws, restoring areas outside the state’s control and setting up permanent security centers,” the source, who preferred not to have his name mentioned, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).

“Forces from the Iraqi army and local police will participation in the operation with backing from the Multi-National Force (MNF),” the source added.

A spokesman for the Iraqi interior ministry had said on Monday that national police forces would be sent to Diwaniya province, 180 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, to enforce law and order.

Sheikh Hussein al-Bederi, the Diwaniya provincial council chief, had said in earlier statements that 50 percent of areas in the province were outside the state’s control.

_____

Baghdad security plan to end soon

Baghdad, 13 November 2007 (Gulf News)

Iraq’s government hopes it will soon be able to declare an end to a US-Iraqi security operation in Baghdad following a sharp drop in insurgent attacks in the capital, a military spokesman said yesterday.

Brigadier-General Qasim Mousawi, Iraqi spokesman for the nine-month-old Baghdad security offensive, said the decline in violence would also allow the government to reopen 10 roads this month that had been closed for security reasons.

“We are in the final stage of Operation Imposing Law … Soon the prime minister will declare the final victory against terrorist groups and Al Qaida,” Mousawi said.

“This will mark the end of Operation Imposing Law.” Mousawi did not suggest that would mean an end to joint military offensives in Baghdad.

Private guards kill cabbie

Mousawi told Iraqi state television that reopening 10 out of some 80 closed roads would help reduce traffic jams in Baghdad and “citizens will feel life returning to normal”.

Iraqi and US forces launched Operation Imposing Law in February in a final attempt to halt Iraq’s slide into civil war.

Even as violence ebbs in Baghdad, an Iraqi taxi driver was shot dead by a private security guard hired to protect US convoys driving through Baghdad, Iraqi police said.

The incident took place Saturday afternoon, when a taxi driver got close to the convoy in western Baghdad’s Atafiyah neighborhood, according to a police officer at the nearest station.

The US Embassy in Baghdad corroborated that account, but said it could not confirm whether anyone was killed or wounded.

Embassy spokesman Philip T. Reeker said the company involved was DynCorp International, one of three firms contracted to protect American officials in Iraq.

Good News From: Iraq Updates

Reuters & AP

Monday, 12 November 2007 By Sgt. 1st Class Kerensa Hardy
3rd BCT, 101st Abn. Div.

Sheik Abed Al Qader Al Karam speaks to Lt. Col. Mohammed Fatkan Al Farhan, commander of 3rd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, Nov. 10 at a gathering where Sunni and Shia tribal leaders discussed concerns in an open forum on neutral ground on Camp Striker. The round-table was hosted by the War Rakkasans of 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Kerensa Hardy, 3rd BCT, 101st Abn. Div., AASLT.

CAMP STRIKER — More than a dozen sheiks and other influential leaders from southern Baghdad congregated on neutral territory Nov. 10 here on Camp Striker.

Among the leaders present was the mayor of Mahmudiyah, Mouyad Fadil, and Lt. Col. Mohammed Fatkan al Farhan, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division.

The roundtable was hosted by War Rakkasans of the 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).  The Rakkasans’ goal was to provide a place on neither Sunni nor Shia territory to discuss moving forward for the security and future of Iraq.

The aim was to bring sheiks from different religious sects to sit down together and create a plan to move forward, said Capt. Seth Palmer, 1-33rd Cav. Regt. Additionally, there is hope that the meeting will open the door for future dialogue, Palmer said.

The forum was opened and facilitated by Col. Dominic Caraccilo, 3rd BCT, 101st Abn. Div. (AASLT) commander, and Lt. Col. Brian Coppersmith, 1-33rd Cav. Regt. commander.

“We’ve recognized the importance of the sheiks. The importance of the tribes is absolutely decisive to the success we will achieve here in Iraq,” Caraccilo said. “For so long you have heard empty promises and we have heard empty promises, and together we’ve promised each other to do better and it’s time now to fulfill those promises.”

Sheik Kadem Shibli lauded the American hosts for recognizing the sheiks’ position in the Iraqi culture. “The sheik is very important in this region,” he said through an interpreter. “Tribes are the infrastructure of our Iraqi community. We are ready for any form of cooperation and support for building a better Iraq and to eliminate all the danger,” Shibli said.

Sheik Kadem Nwar Alamen insisted that there is no friction between Sunni and Shia – that they are all brothers.

“We’re all Muslims here and we’re all under Iraq’s flag and we have one Qur’an. We should not discriminate,” he said. “I don’t believe there’s any difference between Sunni and Shia.”

Common concerns voiced were the security of Iraq, detainees, the need for schools, medical care, fertilizer and economic development.  Everyone in attendance agreed that security is central to any plan of action.

“We’ve lost many Soldiers. You’ve lost many family members,” Caraccilo said. “We’re at the point now where I think we can work together to make this place much more secure, that way it can prosper economically and as a government.

“It is with sincerity we conduct our missions day to day,” Caraccilo added.  “And we do it alongside great Iraqi Army officers and Soldiers and alongside very good government leaders.”

Pointing to progress, Coppersmith cited several examples, one being (28) senior officers from western Baghdad who are scheduled for reinstatement to various Iraqi Army formations in the coming days. Another example was the recent release of (500) detainees, an event the sheiks said they see as a sign of advancement.

“We will begin a program of micro grants and micro loans and partnership projects that should restart economic development in the area,” Coppersmith said. “I know we have a long way to go … but we are making progress.”

Monday, 12 November 2007 By Sgt. Jasmine Chopra
302nd Mobile Public Affairs Division

Spc. Yasser Affifi, (left) a linguist with 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, takes the Oath of Allegiance for naturalized citizens, Nov. 11, at Logistic Support Area Anaconda. Affifi is one of 178 veterans who earned U.S. citizenship on Veteran’s Day in the largest naturalization ceremony in Iraq to date. A July 2002 executive order made members of the Armed Forces immediately eligible to apply for citizenship. Photo by Sgt. Jasmine Chopra, 316th Expeditionary Sustainment Command.

LOGISTICS SUPPORT AREA ANACONDA — In the largest naturalization ceremony in Iraq to date, 178 foreign-born service members got a once-in-a-lifetime experience when they received their U.S. citizenship as Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, led them in the Oath of Allegiance, Nov. 11.

The ceremony was held on Veterans Day at the Sustainer Theater, under the auspices of the 316th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary).

“Not too many years ago this theater was the site of entertainment and events under a different kind of regime led by a brutal dictator. That we can transform this space into a hallowed place in which the oath of freedom and citizenship is administered, is a true illustration of the transformative power of the kind of work that you (candidates) do in carrying the torch of freedom,” said Chertoff. “I can’t think of people who are more deserving of citizenship then those who are fighting to defend the country even before they are citizens. They understand that freedoms don’t come free and they are willing to make sacrifices even before they reap the benefits of citizenship.”

Emilio T. González, director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, himself an Army veteran, presented each recent citizen with a certificate of naturalization.

Brig. Gen. Gregory E. Couch, 316th ESC Commanding General, congratulated each new American veteran-citizen.

“It is fitting that these wonderful warriors be granted citizenship on Veteran’s Day,” said Couch.

Naturalized service members also received a U.S. flag from the 316th ESC senior enlisted leader, Command Sgt. Maj. Stacey E. Davis.

According to USCIS, nearly 40,000 troops are not American citizens. Many foreign-born men and women have pledged commitment to the U.S. Constitution by serving in the military and are availing themselves of a July 2002 executive order making members of the Armed Forces immediately eligible to apply for citizenship. Approximately 4,000 service members have earned U.S. citizenship while serving abroad since 2004.

Brass Bling

An Iraqi National Policeman waits to begin a joint cordon and search with U.S. Army Soldiers at a brick factory in Narhwan, Iraq, Nov. 6, 2007. The Soldiers are from Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Timothy Kingston.

In Sight

U.S. Army Spc. Paul Sodergreh from Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, scans for anti-coalition forces in Baqubah, Iraq, Oct. 28, 2007. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Robertson.

Green Screen

A U.S. Army Soldier from Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, talks with an Iraqi man in Mosul, Iraq, Nov. 3, 2007. The mission’s intent is to gain information about the neighborhood in order to maintain a safe living environment for citizens in the community. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Amanda Davis.

Long Days

Iraqi Army Soldiers rest for a moment after securing the roads in Tal Adi Dabah, Iraq, Nov. 7, 2007. The three-day operation consisted of cordon and knock, village assessments and humanitarian relief to the Iraqi nationals. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Samuel Bendet.

Falcon’s Talons

Senior Airman Edwin Widgeon, 332nd Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Balad Air Base, Iraq, prepares to conduct a pre-engine intake inspection on an F-16 Fighting Flacon prior to an engine run Nov. 9. Widgeon is deployed from the New Mexico Air National Guard’s 150th Fighter Wing. Photo by Master Sgt. John Nimmo, Sr., 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing.

Inside the Wire

Soldiers with the Vilseck, Germany-based 1st Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, attached to the 82nd Airborne Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team, prepare to transport a wounded comrade onto a medical evacuation helicopter as it arrives at a coalition outpost in Baghdad, Oct. 31. Photo by Sgt. Michael Pryor, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division Public Affairs.

A Cold One

U.S. Marine Sgt. Mark D. Lyons, a native of Naperville, Ill., with Team 4, 2nd Platoon, Security Company, Combat Logistics Battalion 4 (CLB-4), 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward), gives an Iraqi child a soda in the Al Anbar province of Iraq, Oct. 26, 2007. Photo by Cpl. Abby Burtner, Joint Combat Camera Center

Army Calling

A Soldier from 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, tactically enters a house in the village Abbassi during Operation Iron Hammer, Kirkuk province, Iraq, Nov 5. Iron Hammer’s purpose is to continue disruption of al-Qaida and set conditions for continued reconciliation efforts in the northern Iraqi provinces. Photo courtesy of 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division Public Affairs.

Brick Security

An Iraqi National Policeman provides security during a joint cordon and search with U.S. Army Soldiers at a brick factory in Narhwan, Iraq, Nov. 6, 2007. The Soldiers are from Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Timothy Kingston.

Bearing Gifts

U.S. Army Staff Sgt, Rick Burton, attached to 1st Battalion, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, hands out backpacks, Beanie Babies and soccer balls to Iraqi children in Tal Adi Dabah, Iraq, Nov. 7, 2007. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Samuel Bendet.

10-ton Hammer

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Jeremy Davis, a vehicle maintainer with the 332nd Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron, replaces the front main seal on a 10-ton forklift at Balad Air Base, Iraq, Nov. 7, 2007. The flight maintains more than one thousand transportation vehicles at the base. Davis is deployed from Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff

El Salvador Assists

Soldiers from El Salvador distribute canned food to residents of Numaniyah during a humanitarian aid mission, Nov. 8. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Ben Brody.

Polish Presence

Polish army soldiers make their way through the street accompanied by Iraqi children in Diwaniyah, Iraq, Nov. 4, 2007. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Gabriel Reza.

Clearing Technique

U.S. Army Spc. Karl Snow and Staff Sgt. Leon Junk, both from Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, fire .60-mm mortars to clear a palm grove field before searching for weapon caches in Baqubah, Iraq, Oct. 28, 2007. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Robertson.

In the Hole

A U.S. Soldier feels inside a tunnel for hidden weapons during a joint cordon and search with Iraqi National Police at a brick factory in Narhwan, Iraq, Nov. 6, 2007. The Soldiers are from Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Timothy Kingston.

Melon Man

An official from the Civil-Military Cooperation shops for fruit at a local vendor in Diwaniyah, Iraq, Nov. 4, 2007. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Gabriel Reza.

Little Buddy

A young Iraqi boy shakes hands with U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Brian Griggs from 2nd Platoon, Alpha Troop, 3-1 Calvary Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, while stopped at a snap joint tactical control checkpoint outside of Patrol Base Assassin, Iraq, Oct. 26, 2007. Photo by Sgt. Timothy Kingston, Joint Combat Camera Center.

Shadowed

A U.S. Army Soldier from Charlie Troop, 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry, 3rd Infantry Division conducts a patrol in Baghdad’s Adhamiya district, Oct. 26, 2007. Photo by Cpl. Jeffrey Sandstrum, Joint Combat Camera Center.

Take a Break

U.S. Army Cpt. Javier Lopez, Nemesis Troop Commander, from 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, Vilseck, Germany, checks the condition of his Soldiers during a presence patrol in the East Rashid District of Baghdad, Iraq, Oct. 21. Photo by Tech Sgt. Andrew Rodier, Joint Combat Camera Center.

Writing’s on the Wall

A U.S. Army 1st lt. from Charlie Troop, 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry, 3rd Infantry Division conducts a patrol in Baghdad’s Adhamiya district, Oct. 26, 2007. Photo by Cpl. Jeffrey Sandstrum, Joint Combat Camera Center.

High-Tech Search

A U.S. Marine with Regimental Combat Team 6 stands in a bunker to scan Iraqis with a thermal camera before they are physically searched by Marines and Sailors in the Fallujah Development Center in Fallujah, Iraq, Oct. 29, 2007. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Robert B. Brown.

River Boat

U.S. Navy Sailors with Riverine Squadron Two, Detachment One, II Marine Expeditionary Force give Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead a tour of Camp Haditha, Iraq, Oct. 28, 2007. Roughead and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Joe Campa visited Sailors throughout the Al Anbar province of Iraq to thank them for their dedication of service. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Caleb Gomez.

Kargulia Cache

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jimmy Cameron, from 2nd Platoon, Alpha Troop, 3rd Battalion, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, looks over a small weapons cache in Kargulia, Iraq, Oct. 27, 2007. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Timothy Kingston.

Peek-a-boo

The commander of a Civil-Military Cooperation and an Iraqi girl watch activity down a street in Diwaniyah, Iraq, Nov. 5, 2007. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Gabriel Reza.

All Smiles

Air Force 1st Lt. Ashley Pyles holds a 4-month-old baby as part of a humanitarian operation which included the distribution of clothing and toys sent by Americans to local Iraqi families in Baghdad. Photo by Army Staff Sgt. John Lucero.

A Star is Born

U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of Multi-National Corps - Iraq, speaks to Soldiers from Alpha Battery, 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery during a Silver Star ceremony on Forward Operating Base Mahmudiyah, Iraq, Oct. 28, 2007. During the ceremony, Odierno presented Capt. Blake Keil, the commander of Alpha Battery, with a Silver Star for planning and leading multiple operations combating al Qaeda around Mahmudiyah. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Curt Cashour.

Over the Shoulder

U.S. Army Spc. Brandon Krout watches as Iraqi National Policemen stop a vehicle at a joint tactical control checkpoint outside of Patrol Base Assassin, Iraq. Krout is from 2nd Platoon, Alpha Troop, 3rd Battalion, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Timothy Kingston.

Rise of the Predator

U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Justin Cole cleans the front sensor of an MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle on Ali Air Base, Iraq. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jonathan Snyder.

Archer

U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Andrew Archer, Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, looks inside a building at the Citadel in Kirkuk, Iraq. Photo by Staff Sgt. Dallas Edwards, Joint Combat Camera Center.

Eye in the Sky

U.S. Marine Sgt. Phil Creasor, a crew chief with Marine Light/Attack Helicopter Squadron-773, observes a flare fired from his UH-1N Huey during an aero scout mission in northern Iraq. HML/A-773 is deployed with Multi-National Force - West in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in the Al Anbar province. Photo by Sgt. Michael Kropiewnicki, Joint Combat Camera Center.

Happy and Healthy

An Iraqi Soldier stands guard as a man holds his child while waiting to enter a school where U.S. Marines and U.S. Navy Sailors were conducting a cooperative medical engagement in Kabani, Iraq. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Robert S. Morgan.

Mighty Hercules

U.S. Air Force Airmen from the 777th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron prepare a C-130 Hercules for flight from Balad Air Base. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Joshua Garcia.

Flying the Flag

Iraqi army soldiers march in formation during a parade on Camp Blue Diamond, Iraq, Nov. 1, 2007. The parade is celebrating Multi-National Forces - West’s transition of control to the Iraqi Ground Forces Command in Ramadi. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Julian Billmair.

Smiling Faces

Iraqi children smile as U.S. Army Soldiers arrive to deliver school supplies at a school in the village of Al Hakeem in Baqubah, Iraq, Nov. 1, 2007. The Soldiers are from the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jason

The Candy Man

U.S. Army Sgt. Charlie Jones, right, hands mints to Iraqi children during a joint dismounted presence patrol at a market in Narhwan, Iraq, Nov. 1, 2007. Jones is from Bravo Troop, 3rd Battalion, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Timothy Kingston.

Friendly First Aid

A U.S. Navy corpsman attached to 1-8 Civil Affairs Group (1-8 CAG), 3rd Infantry Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, dresses a wound on a boy’s foot in Ramadi, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Kieran Cuddihy.

Intersection Conversation

U.S. Marines with Combat Logistics Battalion 4, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward) block off an intersection in the Al Anbar province of Iraq Oct. 26, 2007. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Abby Burtner.

Commanding Presence

U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of Multi-National Corps - Iraq, center, is flanked by Lt. Col. Kenneth Adgie, commander of the 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team (BCT), 3rd Infantry Division (ID), left, and Col. Terry Ferrell, commander of the 2nd BCT, 3rd ID, at Patrol Base Hawkes in Arab Jabour, Iraq, Oct. 21, 2007. Odierno is visiting the base to meet with unit leaders as well as officials from Arab Jabour’s concerned citizens group. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Curt Cashour.

A Sheikh in the Crowd

A sheikh looks on during a transfer of authority ceremony on Camp Striker, Iraq, Nov. 2, 2007. The ceremony marked the end of a 15-month deployment for U.S. Army Soldiers of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, to be replaced by 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Curt Cashour.

Sighting In

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Joshua Seeberger, with Combat Logistics Battalion 4, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward), looks through an advanced combat optical gun sight in the Al Anbar province of Iraq Oct. 26, 2007. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Abby Burtner.

Identity

Iraqi Army Soldiers from the 2nd Iraqi Army Brigade, 2nd Iraqi Army Division check identification cards in the Al Harmat neighborhood in Mosul, Iraq, Oct. 31, 2007. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Amanda Davis.

Standing Tall

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Mark D. Lyons, with Combat Logistics Battalion 4, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward), scans the area during a security halt in the Al Anbar province of Iraq Oct. 26, 2007. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Abby Burtner.

Roll It Up

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Steven Lawter pulls up a hose after putting out a simulated fire during a major accident response exercise on Ali Air Base, Iraq, Nov. 1, 2007. The exercise tests how Airmen will react and the response time of emergency teams in treating victims. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jonathan Snyder.

Showing his Appreciation

Sheik Abid, the leading tribal sheik of Al Awad, Iraq handed out gifts in appreciation to Col. Mike Bridges, deputy team leader of Baghdad 5 Embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team, during the school opening in Al Awad Oct. 29. Photo by Spc. Shejal Pulivarti.

If the Helmet Fits

U.S. Army Spc. Kirby Wasson, from 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, interacts with an Iraqi child after searching the house Oct. 29, 2007, in Baghdad, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Luke Thornberry.

When You Need a Hand

U.S. Army Soldiers from Alpha Battery, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment say a prayer Oct. 29, 2007, at Forward Operating Base Liberty, Iraq, before a mission. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Charles W. Gill.

Backpack

A U.S. Army Soldier from Alpha Battery, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment unloads school supplies Oct. 29, 2007, at the Al Mateem Elementary School in the Hateem neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Charles W. Gill.

Weapons Combat

Several U.S. Air Force Airmen from different squadrons practice weapons combat training during security forces training on Ali Air Base, Iraq, Nov. 1, 2007. The three-day course helps Airmen learn basic skills of challenging suspects and vehicles, weapons fighting and searching a suspect. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jonathan Snyder.

THANK YOU TROOPS!

Video: Hollywood Refuses To Make Pro-Troop Films

 

This is why I founded ACT for America.

This is why we need each and every one of you to do what you can to help us build the citizen action network that will demonstrate, both to the Islamic world and to our own government, that we are steadfast in our conviction to rise in defense of our security, our liberty and our values.

Brigitte Gabriel

www.actforamerica.org

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GLOBAL JIHAD
D.C. imam declares Muslim takeover-plan
Washington-based cleric working toward ‘Islamic State of North America’ by 2050

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Posted: November 10, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Art Moore
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

Logo of D.C. imam’s movement

A Washington, D.C., imam states explicitly on the website for his organization that he is part of a movement working toward replacement of the U.S. government with “the Islamic State of North America” by 2050.

With branches in Oakland, Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento and Philadelphia, the group As-Sabiqun – or the Vanguard – is under the leadership of Abdul Alim Musa in the nation’s capital.

Musa’s declaration of his intention to help lead a takeover of America was highlighted by noted Islam observer Robert Spencer on his website Jihad Watch.

Spencer told WND that figures such as Musa should not be ignored, “Not because they have the power to succeed, but because they may commit acts of violence to achieve their purpose.”

Musa’s website declares: “Those who engage in this great effort require a high level of commitment and determination. We are sending out a call to the believers: Join with us in this great struggle to change the world!”

Musa launched the group in the early 1990s at the Al-Islam mosque in Philadelphia. His group says it is influenced by the writings and life work of Muslim thinkers and leaders such as Muslim Brotherhood founder Hasan al-Banna, Sayyid Qutb and Iranian revolutionary Ayatollah Khomenei.

The writings of Al-Banna and Qutb figured prominently in al-Qaida’s formation.

Musa’s organization says its leadership “has delivered numerous speeches in the United States and abroad, contributing their analyses and efforts to solve contemporary problems in the Muslim world and in urban America.”

Abdul Alim Musa

“The paramount goal of the movement is the establishment of Islam as a complete way of life in America,” the group declares. “This ultimate goal is predicated on the belief – shared by many Muslims worldwide – that Islam is fully capable of producing a working and just social, political, economic order.”

The groups says it does not “advocate participation in the American political process as an ideal method for advancing Islamic issues in the U.S.; instead, it believes in a strong and active outreach to the people of the U.S.”

Spencer told WND he does not know of any direct influence Musa has on prominent Muslim leaders or on U.S. policymakers, but he says it’s “unclear how much ‘mainstream’ Muslim leaders harbor similar hopes – because no one dares question them about it.”

As WND reported, the founder of the leading Islamic lobby group CAIR, the Council on Islamic-American Relations, reportedly told a group of Muslims in California they are in America not to assimilate but to help assert Islam’s rule over the country. CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper also has said, in a newspaper interview, he hopes to see an Islamic government over the U.S. some day, brought about not by violence but through “education.”

In London last summer, as WND reported, Muslims gathered in front of the London Central Mosque to applaud fiery preachers prophesying the overthrow of the British government – a future vision that encompasses an Islamic takeover of the White House and the rule of the Quran over America.

Musa says he wants to avoid what he calls an “absolutist” outlook on “the advancement of Muslims.”

His group’s philosophy is to stress unity between the various streams of Islam “in the attainment of common goals.”

Although As-Sabiqun is a Sunni movement, it has publicly voiced support for Shia movements and organizations such as the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran and the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah, which waged war on Israel in the summer of 2006.

Musa, the group says, repeatedly has “stressed that the tendency by some Muslims to focus on the differences between Sunni and Shia Islam at this juncture in history is counterproductive to the goals of the Islamic movement as a whole.”

The group says it encourages social-political advancement concurrent with a program of spiritual and moral development according to the Quran and Sunnah, compilations of stories from the life of Islam’s prophet Muhammad.

The group says it has a six-point plan of action which is implemented at each location where a branch of the movement is established.

• Establishing a mosque “as a place to worship Allah in congregation and as a center of spiritual and moral training.”
• “Calling the general society” to embrace Islam.
• Establishing a full-time school “that raises children with a strong Islamic identity so they can, as future Islamic leaders, effectively meet and deal with the challenges of growing up in the West.”
• Establishing businesses to “make the movement financially stable and independent.”
• Establishing “geographical integrity by encouraging Muslims of the community to live in close proximity” to the mosque.
• Establishing “social welfare institutions to respond to the need for spiritual and material assistance within the community as well as the general society.”

In addition to daily classes, each mosque in the movement “also provides youth mentorship, marriage counseling, a prison outreach program, and employment assistance for ex-convicts.”

As-Sabiqun says its branch in Los Angeles “was instrumental in creating a free health clinic in cooperation with other Islamic groups. The headquarters branch in D.C. has developed scout programs for young members of the community.”

The group says the inspiration for its name comes from Quran, 9:100:

“The vanguard (as-Sabiqun) of Islam – the first of those who forsook their homes, and of those who gave them aid, and also those who follow them in all good deeds – well-pleased is Allah with them, as are they with Him: For them hath He prepared Gardens under which rivers flow, to dwell therein forever: that is the supreme Felicity.”

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ACT for America
P.O. Box 6884
Virginia Beach, VA 23456
www.actforamerica.org

ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam.

Foot Patrol
U.S. Army Cpl. Aaron Wait, from San Antonio and a rifleman with Company A, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, escorts a young girl across the street during a dismounted foot patrol in Salman Pak, Iraq, June 20, 2007. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Ben Hutto

A young Iraqi girl embraces Capt. Janet Rose assigned to the 431st Civil Affairs Battalion, at the Baqouba Women and Children’s Hospital, June 9, 2007. Iraqi soldiers and troops assigned to the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, brought the hospital much needed equipment during the morning visit, including 25 incubators and 15 heart monitors. U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Anthony White

A young Iraqi boy sits with Capt. Anh Ha, assigned to Company D, 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment commander, at the Baqouba Women and Children’s Hospital, Iraq, June 9, 2007. Iraqi soldiers and troops from the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, brought the hospital much needed equipment during the morning visit, including 25 incubators and 15 heart monitors. U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Anthony White

THANK YOU TROOPS!

Honoring all who have served

November 11th 2007 Thank you to all who have made the ultimate sacrifice fror this great nation. Your service will forever be honored and never forgotten. From WW2 vets to Vietnam Vets to Korean Vets to Gulf War Vets to Iraq/Afghanistan Vets, your sacrifice has shaped the cause of freedom for our country.  Thank you

This nice post from: Infidels Are Cool By Infidelesto

Baghdad, 11 November 2007 (Voices of Iraq)

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani arrived in Cairo on Saturday for a several days’ visit to Egypt to meet with President Hosni Mubarak, the Iraqi leader’s media advisor said.

“Talabani arrived in Cairo to attend ceremonies to inaugurate the 11th Arab sports tournament, to start on Sunday at the Cairo International Stadium,” Hiewa Othman told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).

Talabani is also scheduled to meet with senior Egyptian officials to discuss means of boosting bilateral relations as well as issues of mutual concern, said Othman.

Egypt’s Middle East News Agency (MENA) said that President Mubarak had received the Iraqi leader at the Cairo International Airport.

Baaquba, 09 November 2007 (Voices of Iraq)

Seven people, including four al-Qaeda members, were killed and three more were injured on Friday in an attack by al-Qaeda-linked group on a village in Khalis district, an official security source said.

“Al-Qaeda linked group waged an armed attack targeting al-Bu Aziz village in Khalis district, during which three civilians and four gunmen were killed and three more were injured,” the source, who asked not to be named, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).

“The attack started from al-Eihemar and Albu Taema villages in Khalis and witnessed the use of light and medium weapons,” he also said, adding no more details.

Diala has been the scene of a security operation codenamed Arrowhead Ripper for four months now. It is being conducted by Iraqi and U.S. forces with the aim of tracking down armed groups spreading through a number of areas in the province.

Khalis is located 15 km, north of Baaquba, the capital of Diala, which lies 57 km northeast of Baghdad. Iraq Updates

Mosul, 09 November 2007 (Voices of Iraq)

The perpetrator of the last Tuesday attack in Mosul, where six policemen were killed, was captured along with four al-Qaeda elements on Friday morning in a security operation launched by Iraqi army forces west of Mosul, an Iraqi army commander said.

“Five al-Qaeda gunmen were detained during a crackdown operation launched by the 3rd brigade forces of the Iraqi army in al-Eiwinat village in Rabiya district, west of Mosul,” General Khorshed Saleem told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).

“Among the detainees was the leader of al-Qaeda in the region, Muqdad Bashir Hanash, one of the perpetrators of the last Tuesday attack in the city of Mosul,” Saleem noted.

“The forces found also amounts of weapons and ammunition and lists of the group’s names,” he added.
Last Tuesday Unidentified gunmen killed six policemen in an ambush west of the city of Mosul, before burning their bodies.

Mosul, the capital city of Ninewa, lies 405 km north of Baghdad. Iraq Updates

Ninewa, 09 November 2007 (Voices of Iraq)

Joint Iraqi-U.S. forces killed 14 gunmen and captured 44 others within Operation Iron Hammer carried out in different areas of the province of Ninewa since Monday, the U.S. army said on Thursday.

“Iraqi Security Forces, backed by Coalition Soldiers, killed 14 enemy fighters and detained 44 in a series of intelligence-driven strikes and early morning raids that took place within the last 48 hours as part of Operation Iron Hammer,” the U.S. army said in a statement received by the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).

“On Nov. 5, Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Iraqi Army Division discovered a cache of 130 blocks of TNT, as well as several rocket-propelled grenades, while conducting a raid in the al Aruba neighborhood of west Mosul.” “Across the river in east Mosul, Coalition Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment detained eight suspected enemy fighters after finding improvised explosive device-making components.”

“On Nov. 6, Soldiers from the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Iraqi Army Division, in partnership with Coalition Soldiers from the 5th Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, discovered 200 pounds of homemade explosives and detained nine suspected enemy fighters south of Mosul near Qayarrah.”

“Coalition helicopters from the 4th Squadron, 6th Air Cavalry Regiment assisted in killing four enemy fighters and destroying three enemy vehicles in east Mosul after the individuals were observed transferring weapons and demonstrating hostile intent.

Multiple secondary explosions were seen from the vehicles, confirming their cargo of illegal weapons and ammunition.”

“ISF troops detained 22 individuals in operations throughout the province and Coalition Soldiers from 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment added nine detained enemy fighters from the area west of Mosul near Tal’Afar.” Iraq Updates

09 November 2007 (Voices of Iraq)

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said in a ceremony to release 500 Iraqi detainees from the U.S. Camp Liberty to leave sectarian violence and rebuild their country.

“You are Iraqi citizens and your family is waiting for you to help rebuild the country… the schools, the houses, and the factories.”

The release was part of an effort to foster goodwill and reconciliation for the country. “Leave the sectarian violence and rejoin your family and reconstruction. Your country is waiting for you,” Maliki said.

U.S. forces released 500 Iraqis who were detained at the U.S. Camp Liberty near the Baghdad International Airport on Thursday, an Iraqi official said.

“The step is an initiative on the part of the U.S. and Iraqi sides to enhance national reconciliation,” Janah Hammoud, the coordinator at the joint media center of the Multi-National Force (MNF) in Baghdad, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).

“A U.S.-Iraqi committee is probing the status of Iraqi detainees to decide whether or not they were involved in acts of violence and release them,” Hammoud said, not revealing the total number of detainees in the U.S. camps.

A statement by Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashimi had read on Monday “some 283 detainees were released last week within Hashimi’s campaign to set free prisoners,” noting “the total number of prisoners released since mid-October 2007 reached 686, from the detention centers of Bucca and Kruper.”

Maliki oversaw on Thursday morning the ceremony marking the release of just under 500 detainees. He addressed the waiting men and emphasized the release effort was a positive step forward for the nation.

Increased numbers of detainees have been released since just before the holy month of Ramadan began in mid-September. Approximately 50 detainees have been released per day with approximately 6,300 detainees released to date, according to U.S. army Capt. Lynn Chapp with Task Force 134, the organization responsible for detainee operations in Baghdad.

“The review and release process is rigorous, and detainees are released when they are no longer considered a threat to Iraqi or Coalition forces, or the security of Iraq,” said Chapp.

Reporters were provided information about the Combined Review and Release Board (CRRB), which is an administrative review held for every detainee within six months of their arrival and periodically throughout detention.

The board is comprised of Iraqi government officials and senior MNF officers who are responsible for the review of each detainee’s case within the specific timeline, consistent with the principles of Article 78 of Geneva Convention IV, read a statement by the U.S. army.

“If the board determines that a detainee poses an imperative threat to security and stability here, the detainee is notified of the reasons in writing, and the case set for another review within six months. All detainees are afforded the opportunity to communicate with the CRRB.”

Following the ceremony, Maliki briefly discussed this process with reporters and confirmed that a general amnesty will not be provided to all detainees. “We are not going to give amnesty to anyone who has been criminally involved in crimes,” he said.

“In addition to the CRRB, a separate board reviews each detainee case after 18 months of detention.

The Joint Detention Review Committee (JDRC), comprised of Iraqi government officials and senior MNF officers, is unique in that the presumption is in favor of release. Should further detention be recommended, the detainee as well as the detainee’s family are provided notice of the decision.” Iraq Updates

Baghdad, 08 November 2007 (Voices of Iraq)

The Iraqi Ministry of Interior said on Thursday it will cut back on security guards assigned to protect senior Iraqi government officials starting next year, in response to a request from the Iraqi cabinet.

“The ministry will largely reduce the number of personal security guards assigned to protect government and local officials,” Major General Abdul Kareem Khalaf al-Kanani, the head of the ministry’s National Command Center, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).

“The procedure will also include a reduction in arms and walkie-talkies used by security personnel,” al-Kannani added, explaining that the decision was made in the light of the improved security situation in Baghdad and other Iraqi provinces.

The decision was made in response to instructions given by the Iraqi cabinet, he indicated. Iraq Updates

Baghdad, 07 November 2007 (Middle East Online)

rime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has gone on a rare walkabout in central Baghdad in the latest sign of the improving security situation in the war-ravaged Iraqi capital.

During his stroll around the landmark Abu Nuwas street, Maliki inspected newly-renovated gardens and chatted to residents and young soccer players, the premier’s office said on Tuesday.

Maliki was accompanied by Interior Minister Jawad Bolani and other senior officials on Monday’s tour of the riverside Abu Nuwas, named after a renowned poet and once Baghdad’s most prominent street.

The premier, dressed in a suit, was surrounded by bodyguards and the area around Abu Nuwas was sealed off during the tour, a security official said.

More than four years of violence has virtually closed the once-bustling street, with its lines of cinema halls, restaurants and shops now standing empty and deserted.

But Baghdad municipal authorities are now reviving Abu Nuwas and have already given the gardens a makeover.

Baghdadis are slowly returning to the gardens and officials say they expect shops to start reopening soon.

During his one-hour visit, Maliki met residents who expressed their grievances, while one mother asked for government aid to assist her son who lost his legs in an explosion.

Locals showered the premier with sweets while he took time out to pose for pictures with children.

“Security has been re-established and we have beaten the terrorists in many areas of Baghdad,” he told those who turned out to greet him. “Life is returning to normal. Terrorism is living its last days.”

Maliki also met teenagers playing football on an open field who complained to him about lack of proper facilities.

Popular Iraqi footballer Laith Hussain was among those who shook hands with the prime minister, a photograph released by Maliki’s office showed.

“Ethnic violence is decreasing… The civil war that Al-Qaeda wanted to spark has been prevented,” Maliki said. “Iraq has overcome the period of danger and is stronger and more experienced today.”

Iraqi officials and US military commanders have for several months been claiming the security situation in Baghdad and other violent regions is improving on the back of sustained military assaults against insurgents.

Residents of the capital, too, report that violence levels have dropped noticeably and that some neighbourhoods are returning to a semblance of normality.

The debate is still open, however, over whether this reflects a lull in the war or the tentative start of a long road to peace.

The second in command of US forces in Iraq, Lieutenant-General Ray Odierno, recently told reporters that the momentum was “positive” but “not yet irreversible.”

Iraqi newspapers on Tuesday reported that a project for the reconstruction of Mutanabbi Street in downtown Baghdad, the cultural heart of the Iraqi capital with rows of libraries and booksellers, has also begun.

The street was devastated by bombings earlier this year that destroyed many bookstores and forced cafes and libraries to close. Iraq Updates

SUSPECTED EXTREMIST CAUGHT DURING IRAQI POLICE RECRUITMENT DRIVE IN DOURA

Posted: 08 Nov 2007 11:57 AM CST

SUSPECTED EXTREMIST CAUGHT DURING IRAQI POLICE RECRUITMENT DRIVE IN DOURA

COALITION FORCES CAPTURE SPECIAL GROUPS LEADER, FIVE OTHERS DETAINED

Posted: 08 Nov 2007 11:18 AM CST

COALITION FORCES CAPTURE SPECIAL GROUPS LEADER, FIVE OTHERS DETAINED

Wednesday, 07 November 2007