Fire Hydrant of Freedom

DoD Identifies Army Casualty 101st Abn Div NCO KIA Iraq

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Staff Sgt. Robert J. Wilson, 28, of Boynton Beach, Florida., died Jan. 26 of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated while he was conducting a dismounted patrol in Baghdad, Iraq. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
 
 
DoD Identifies Army Casualties

The Department of Defense announced today the death of five soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died from wounds suffered when their unit encountered an improvised explosive device during convoy operations Jan. 28 in Mosul, Iraq. They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, CO.

Killed were:

SGT James E. Craig, 26, of Hollywood, CA
SSG Gary W. Jeffries, 37, of Roscoe, TX
SPC Evan A. Marshall, 21, of Athens, GA
PFC Brandon A. Meyer, 20, of Orange, CA
PVT Joshua A. R. Young, 21, of Riddle, OR


 
 GO ARMY !


U.S. troops attack al-Qaeda, 13 terrorists killed, 14 IEDs found and destroyed

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER — Soldiers from Company A, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, conducted a two-day combined operation with the Iraqi 3rd Brigade, 1st National Police Division and Concerned Local Citizens in Zelig, Iraq Jan. 20 and 21.

13 insurgent fighters were killed, two enemy trucks destroyed and 14 improvised explosive devices were found during the combined operation, which is part of the country-wide Operation Phantom Phoenix. U.S. forces captured 18 terrorists.



 
U.S. troops attack al-Qaeda; 4 terrorists killed, 18 captured

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces killed 4 terrorists and captured 18 during operations to disrupt al-Qaeda networks operating in central Iraq.

In continued efforts to degrade al-Qaeda operating in the Diyala province, Coalition forces targeted individuals associated with a terrorist training facility north of Baqubah. During the operation, the ground force called for the occupants of the target buildings to come out, but they did not comply. Coalition forces entered one of the buildings and encountered armed terrorists. The ground force engaged, killing 2 terrorists. 

In another building, the ground force encountered armed terrorists using women and children as human shields. While taking extra precautions to ensure the safety of innocent civilians, Coalition forces engaged the men, killing an additional 2 terrorists. 18 terrorists were captured.

 
 
U.S. targets al-Qaeda in Iraq; 5 killed, 16 captured

BAGHDAD, Iraq – U.S. forces killed 5 terrorists and captured 16 during operations targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq. U.S. forces conducted an operation east of Samarra targeting an al-Qaeda in Iraq member involved in terrorist operations. The individual is associated with numerous al-Qaeda in Iraq senior leaders (see MNF-I press release A080121a, “U.S. significantly disrupts al-Qaeda networks: 2 killed; 18 captured,” dated Jan. 21, 2008).During the operation, U.S. forces saw several armed men maneuvering in the target area and fired multiple warning shots in an attempt to get the men to stop their movement. They men did not comply, and U.S. forces engaged, killing 5 terrorists. Nearby in Samarra, U.S. forces captured a wanted individual involved in foreign terrorist networks in the region. The terrorist is associated with the al-Qaeda in Iraq senior leader for the network in Samarra (see MNF-I press release A080118b, “Al-Qaeda operations in northern Iraq disrupted; 13 killed, 3 captured,” dated Jan 18, 2008). During operations this morning, U.S. forces captured 13 terrorists during 2 operations in Mosul targeting al-Qaeda senior leadership, and an additional 2 terrorists in Baghdad while targeting a terrorist involved in IED attacks.



U.S. disrupts al-Qaeda in Iraq operating in Diyala, 15 terrorists killed

BAGHDAD, Iraq – U.S. forces killed 15 terrorists during operations targeting al-Qaeda networks north of Baqubah.During an operation Tuesday, U.S. forces conducted an operation targeting an alleged leader for the al-Qaeda in Iraq network operating in the Diyala province.  The individual is an IED sprcialist involved in coordinating IED and suicide-vest attacks in the region. The individual has ties to several al-Qaeda in Iraq senior leaders.As U.S. forces arrived in the area, they observed several individuals reach for their weapons. U.S. forces fired warning shots in an attempt to get the men to cease their actions, but they did not comply.  Perceiving hostile intent from the armed men, U.S. forces engaged, killing 2 terrorists, to include the wanted individual. Upon clearing the area, the ground force discovered IEDs and grenades, which were safely destroyed, along with a vehicle in the target area. U.S. forces returned to the region this morning, targeting another leader of the Diyala network associated with the terrorist killed during operations the previous day. As U.S. forces arrived in the target area they observed a group of enemy personnel moving into fighting positions. The ground force called supporting aircraft to engage the hostile force, killing 10 terrorists. U.S. forces continued to clear the area and called for the occupants of the target building to come out, but they did not comply. Several terrorists were then observed maneuvering toward U.S. forces. U.S. forces engaged the enemy, killing three terrorists. As U.S. forces secured the building, they discovered a cache of weapons to include machine guns, military style assault vests, rocket propelled grenades and various ammunition. Nearby, the ground force discovered additional weapons caches to include rocket propelled grenades, artillery and mortar rounds, improvised IEDs, and suicide-vest materials. All of the weapons were safely destroyed on site.



U.S. forces target al-Qaeda in Iraq, 19 terrorists captured

BAGHDAD, Iraq – U.S. forces captured 19 terrorists Monday during operations targeting al-Qaeda networks in Iraq. During an operation north of Taji Monday, U.S. forces captured a terrorist who is a key member of al-Qaeda operating in Baghdad. He is a direct subordinate of the network’s senior leader. The terrorist was involved in attacks against U.S. forces, beheadings, sniper and IED attacks. During the operation, another 7 terrorists were captured.    During operations in Mosul, U.S. forces captured 11 terrorists while targeting al-Qaeda associates involved in IED attacks.



Iraqi Security Forces, U.S. Special Operations Forces capture 5 terrorists

BALAD, Iraq – Iraqi Security Forces, advised by U.S. Special Operations Forces, captured 5 terrorists and destroyed a terrorist safe house in operations in Iraq Jan.   
 Near the city of Taji, Iraqi and U.S. Special Forces captured 2 members of a terrorist cell specializing in suicide bombing attacks during a Jan. 19 raid. The terrorists are responsible for coordinating and providing supplies for several attacks against Iraqi and U.S. Forces.
 In a separate operation Jan. 18 in the town of Rutbah, an Iraqi Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team, advised by U.S. Special Operations Forces, captured 3 members of an al Qaeda in Iraq terrorist cell.  According to intelligence reports, the 3 terrorists are responsible for coordinating attacks against Iraqi and U.S. Forces as well as the kidnapping and murder of Iraqi citizens. They are also involved in providing weapons and funding for terrorist attacks.
 In another Jan. 18 operation, Iraqi and U.S. Forces destroyed a terrorist safe house and a small storage facility.  They were destroyed after it was discovered that the structures had been rigged with explosives. No Iraqi or U.S. Forces were injured in these operations. 



U.S. forces significantly disrupts al-Qaeda networks: 2 killed; 18 captured

BAGHDAD, Iraq – U.S. forces killed 2 terrorists and captured 18 others during operations targeting al-Qaeda networks in Iraq. Intelligence reports led U.S. forces west of Muqdadiyah to an al-Qaeda in Iraq meeting location and weapons cache. As the ground force called for the occupants of the building to come out, 2 armed terrorists maneuvered toward them.  U.S. forces engaged, killing the 2 terrorists.  As the ground force cleared the area, they discovered a weapons cache which they safely destroyed, along with a building used for terrorist activity.  The ground force also captured 3 terrorists during the course of operations. North of Tarmiyah, U.S. forces captured two wanted terrorists who are brothers and associated with the al-Qaeda in Iraq network operating north of Baghdad.  The network is involved in attacks against U.S. forces, beheadings, sniper and IED attacks. The ground force captured 4 terrorists in addition to the targeted terrorists. During an operation in Tikrit, U.S. forces captured a weapons facilitator for the terrorist network operating in the city.  The man is a close associate of the al-Qaeda leader of the network. In addition to the wanted individual, the ground force detained one other terrorist. In Sharqat, U.S. forces captured an alleged al-Qaeda in Iraq associate planning a large-scale operation against U.S., Iraqi and Awakening forces in the Bayji area. The wanted individual relocated to Sharqat from Bayji in an attempt to avoid capture by Iraqi and U.S. forces.  6 additional terrorists were captured during the operation. 




Al-Qaeda operations in northern Iraq disrupted; 13 killed, 3 captured

BAGHDAD, Iraq – U.S. forces killed 13 terrorists and captured 3 during operations targeting al-Qaeda.Southwest of Hawijah this morning, U.S. forces targeted a senior leader involved in the al-Qaeda in Iraq network operating in Kirkuk. The terrorist is responsible for terrorist operations in the region and involved in IED attacks. Reports also indicate he was a close associate of Abu Harith, the senior leader of the Kirkuk terrorist network, before he was killed during a U.S. forces operation Nov. 2. As U.S. forces arrived in the target area, they were engaged by small-arms fire and rocket propelled grenades. The ground force returned fire in and called for supporting aircraft. As the firefight continued, U.S. forces observed armed terrorists emerging from the target building. Supporting aircraft engaged them and enemy personnel firing from inside the target buildings. The ground force then observed secondary explosions erupt from the buildings, indicating that explosive materials were likely stored inside. Due to the hostile environment, the ground force pulled back and called for supporting aircraft to engage the buildings to destroy any remaining explosives. The ground force found a total of 9 terrorists were killed during the engagement.   West of Muqdadiyah today, U.S. forces targeted al-Qaeda operating in the Diyala River Valley region. Reports indicate the individuals were associated with an al-Qaeda meeting that was targeted by U.S. forces Thursday after they identified a terrorist transporting an anti-aircraft weapon in his vehicle (see MNF-I press release A080118a, “Coalition forces conduct air strike on al-Qaeda meeting, 4 terrorists killed,” dated Jan 18, 2008). U.S. forces confirmed the presence of the terrorists in the target area and called a supporting aircraft to engage, killing 4 terrorists and destroying two buildings used for terrorist activities.



U.S. forces conduct operation, killed 15 gunmen

NEAR BAQUBA - The U.S. military killed 15 gunmen during operations north of Baquba, 45 miles north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said. * BAGHDAD - U.S. forces killed 5 gunmen and captured 16 others during operations in central Iraq, the U.S. military said. * MADAEN - Iraqi security forces killed 15 gunmen and wounded 20 others during the last 3 days in Madaen, 25 miles south of Baghdad, a spokesman said.



Iraqi Army raids enemy stronghold, 12 militants killed, 2 captured

Baghdad -  Iraqi troops backed by U.S. helicopters raided an al-Qaida stronghold near Madain, 12 miles southeast of Baghdad. 12 al-Qaeda terrorists were killed in the attack. 2 wounded terrorists were captured.

Those killed included 2 female fighters and 4 men trying to plant roadside bombs.




Iraqi Army and US forces clear village,  41 al-Qaida terrorists killed in fighting

Baqouba - The U.S. military said American and Iraqi troops had cleared a bomb-infested route between Baqouba and Khan Saad, a village on the outskirts of Baghdad. The statement said troops killed 41 al-Qaida terrorists.

 
 
 
3 terrorists killed, 2 captured during operations targeting al-Qaeda

BAGHDAD, Iraq – U.S. forces killed 3 terrorists and captured 2 terrorists during operations to disrupt al-Qaeda operating along the Tigris River Valley. Intelligence reports led U.S. forces to conduct an operation Friday near Samarra, targeting several individuals associated with a known al-Qaeda meeting location.

During the operation, U.S. forces observed 3 armed terrorists in the target area. U.S. forces fired warning shots in an attempt to get the armed men to stop but they did not comply. U.S. forces engaged, killing the terrorists. U.S. forces found multiple machine guns, a pistol and two barrels of ammunition.

In Tikrit, U.S. forces captured the senior leader for the al-Qaeda in Iraq network in the city. Reports indicate the terrorist is involved in bringing in weapons and foreign terrorists. The wanted individual is associated with numerous al-Qaeda in Iraq senior leaders. One other terrorist was also captured.



Operation Iron Boston targets al-Qaeda hideout, 24 captured

BAGHDAD – Iraqi Army Soldiers captured 24 individuals Jan. 27 during the joint air assault operation, ‘Iron Boston’ with U.S. Forces.

Iraqi Army and U.S. Soldiers from the 187th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), conducted a daytime air assaulted into the area. 5 of the captured men were detained after Iraqi Soldiers discovered them hiding in a hole. Soldiers described the hole as being well constructed, deep and big enough to fit 10 men.

 

U.S. forces target al-Qaeda, 18 terrorists captured

BAGHDAD – U.S. forces captured 18 terrorists today during operations to disrupt al-Qaeda networks operating in central and northern Iraq.



U.S. forces target al-Qaeda, 15 insurgents killed

ZELIG - U.S. soldiers and Iraqi security forces killed 15 insurgent fighters during operations in Zelig, 12 miles south of Baghdad, the U.S. military said.


(more than 138 terrorists killed in 3 weeks in January;  over 125 captured)


                       ...and Terrorists SUCK...  : 
 
* BAGHDAD - Gunmen killed the dean of Baghdad University's dental school while he was driving home from work on Wednesday, Iraqi police said.
 
* MOSUL - Gunmen killed Aziz Sulaiman, a professor at Mosul University on Tuesday in Mosul, police said.
 
BAGHDAD - Brig. Gen. Salah Mohammed al-Jubouri, the police chief for surrounding Ninevah province, was killed as he left the blast site. A suicide bomber who was disguised as a policeman blew himself up as the entourage was just yards away from their vehicles. The police chief was killed, along with two other officers, and five people were wounded, including three Iraqi police, an Iraqi soldier and a U.S. soldier.


Terrorists used 2 mentally retarded women as suicide bombers. The bombs exploded in 2 separate crowded market places.

Then women apparently were unaware that the packs they were carrying contained explosives. When the women approached the markets, the bombs were activated by terrorists by remote control.

15 innocent people were killed as a result of the explosions.

AND THAT IS WHY WE ARE AT WAR!

BETTER TO KILL THOSE RABID ANIMALS NOW, THAN TO LET THEM SNEAK INTO OUR COUNTRY TO KILL OUR INNOCENT FAMILIES HERE...

An Appeal for Courage
by Lt. Jason Nichols
Posted: 04/30/2007
Recently a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle called me here in Baghdad and asked why the active duty military wasn’t opposing the war in Iraq in numbers similar to those that opposed the war in Vietnam. Not surprisingly, he didn’t print my answer.

He was asking my opinion as a co-founder of AppealForCourage.org, an ongoing effort to allow currently serving military personnel to send a message to Congress asking them to support victory in Iraq. I do not speak as a representative of the Defense Department or the Navy but simply as an individual and on behalf of the signers of the Appeal with respect to the wording of the Appeal. Nevertheless my answer was a military answer. It was a ‘root cause’; a term the military commonly uses to describe the source of an event, a foundation that must be identified before further action is taken. My answer was that the military overwhelmingly wants to win the war, and believes we can. Hence we don’t oppose it.

The primary reason we support the war is because we believe it is just and right, and we were given a mission to win it. The mission was clearly stated: overthrow Saddam and install an independent, stable, democratic government in Iraq. The military necessity was obvious after 9/11, the President said it was required and the Congress voted overwhelmingly in favor of it. We were given a mission and the means to carry it out. The military is highly mission-oriented. It is ingrained in us during our training that excuses and rationalizing failure are not ‘the military way’. We must face reality and accomplish the mission within that framework.
Iraqi democracy is a mission we know we can accomplish, given time. The honest reality is that we are winning the war in Iraq. Both militarily and politically we are progressing at the pace expected, though not as well as the most idealistic hopes of a cakewalk nor as badly as the most dire predictions of quagmire. al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) is terrified of a democratic country in their midst, and is still brutally attacking Iraqi civilians. But we are implementing a steady buildup of Iraqi military and police and seeing the rewards of having worked with the Iraqis in a cooperative way, often at increased risked to our soldiers. Simultaneously the extremists are learning the consequences of having bombed the Iraqi civilians for the past 4 years. Sunni Sheiks are joining together to fight them, proving AQI’s strategy is a short term one that is unsustainable during years of political progress.

It is a mentality of mission accomplishment that has spurred the Appeal for Courage effort. Just as victory in Iraq seems likely, defeat back home has begun to loom as a real possibility. Vietnam-era Defense Secretary Melvin Laird’s words in Foreign Affairs are a call to action for the modern military:
“The truth about Vietnam that revisionist historians conveniently forget is that the United States had not lost when we withdrew in 1973. In fact, we grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory two years later when Congress cut off the funding for South Vietnam that had allowed it to continue to fight on its own”.

Members of the military have a duty to ensure this mistake is not repeated. We have a responsibility to complete the mission. If that requires us to educate others on the reasons for staying in Iraq, so be it. Yes it’s outside our normal duties and professionally risky. Should we be unwilling to take professional risks while we ask junior soldiers to risk their lives?

The American public is not tired of the war; they are tired of believing that they are losing. They are tired of the daily drumbeat of pessimism and defeat promoted daily by our media and by some in our Congress. They don’t understand that building a democracy is a slow process that takes years, that victory in Iraq will be more like the fall of communism than like VE day in 1945. Like it or not, it is incumbent upon us in the military to correct this misrepresentation of our efforts. We have a duty to convince the American public why we must stay and finish the mission. Should we have to? Did we sign up to do that? The answers are no and yes, respectively. No we shouldn’t have to ask to be allowed to win a war, but yes we signed up to complete a mission. No whining allowed.

The response to the Appeal For Courage seems to suggest that much of the military agrees. It is a large and growing number of service members with over 2,600 signatories, encompassing a broad cross section of the military; both officer and enlisted, deployed and at home. They have signed a message to Congress respectfully asking them to support our mission. There is much more that we can do. We must educate ourselves on why we’re winning and what victory -- i.e. a stable, democratic Iraq -- will look like. We must then tell our families and friends that victory is possible and what is required. From there we should do whatever is in our power to legally accomplish, within military regulations.

It is not enough that we are making progress here in Iraq. We must make progress at home as well to ensure we are given the funds, support and time needed to finish the job. There is no doubt that we can create a stable democracy in Iraq -- if we have courage enough to do so.

 
Lt. Jason Nichols is an officer in the US Navy stationed in Iraq. SSG Dave Thul is co-founder of AppealforCourage.org

U.S. Man Accused of Plot to Bomb Resorts

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- A federal grand jury indicted an Ohio man on charges of joining al-Qaida and conspiring to bomb European tourist resorts and U.S. government facilities and military bases overseas, officials announced Thursday.

Christopher Paul, 43, a U.S. citizen and resident of Columbus, spent time in Pakistan and Afghanistan in the early 1990s and told al-Qaida members there that he was dedicated to committing violent jihad, according to a federal indictment.

He received military-type training at an al-Qaida camp in Afghanistan, and later transferred money to an alleged co-conspirator, the indictment said.

The investigation into Paul and his activities spanned four years, three continents and at least eight countries, FBI agent Tim Murphy said Thursday, shortly before Paul appeared before a federal judge.

"The indictment of Christopher Paul paints a disturbing picture of an American who traveled overseas to train as a violent jihadist, joined the ranks of al-Qaida and provided military instruction and support to radial cohorts both here and abroad," Assistant U.S. Attorney General Kenneth Wainstein said in a statement.

Paul, who was arrested Wednesday outside his apartment, is charged with providing material support to terrorists, conspiracy to provide support to terrorists and conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction. The weapon of mass destruction charge carries the most serious penalty, up to life in prison.

In court Thursday, Magistrate Judge Terence Kemp asked Paul if he understood the charges. Paul replied: "Yes, sir."

Prosecutors asked that he be held without bond. A friend of Paul's, Hisham Jenhawi, 32, said he found the charges hard to believe.

"I don't think it's even close to his personality to act upon something like that," he said at the courthouse. "He's a very kind person. You would meet him on the street and he would want to hug you with the heart that he has."

The indictment says Paul traveled to Germany about April 1999 to train co-conspirators to use explosives to attack European and U.S. targets, including government buildings and vacation spots frequented by American tourists.

It does not name specific resorts or buildings that might have been targeted, but gives U.S. embassies, military bases and consular premises in Europe as examples.

Paul later sent a wire transfer of $1,760 from a financial institution in the U.S. to an alleged co-conspirator in Germany, prosecutors allege.

A fax machine in his home contained names, phone numbers and contact information for key al-Qaida leadership and associates, according to the indictment, issued Wednesday.

Paul also is accused of storing material at his father's house in Columbus, including a book on improvised land mines, money from countries in the Middle East and a letter to his parents explaining that he would be "on the front lines," according to the indictment.

His sister, Sandra Laws, answered the door at the home and said she and her father live there. She said the family declined further comment.

No charges are expected against family members, authorities said.

Paul was born Paul Kenyatta Laws. He legally changed his name to Abdulmalek Kenyatta in 1989, then to Christopher Paul in 1994, according to the indictment.

After finishing his al-Qaida training in the early 1990s, he returned to Columbus to teach martial arts at a mosque, the indictment said.

Paul is married to a woman named in the indictment as F. Bashir, investigators said. Paul and Jenhawi, who have known each other about a year, attend the same mosque and their daughters play together, Jenhawi said. Paul's daughter is about 9 years old and is homeschooled, he said.

Two other Columbus men have been charged in federal investigators' terrorism investigation. Iyman Faris was sentenced in 2003 to 20 years in prison for a plot to topple the Brooklyn Bridge. Nuradin Abdi, accused of plotting to blow up a Columbus-area shopping mall, is awaiting trial on charges including conspiring to aid terrorists.

The capture of British Navy servicemen by Iranian forces is not simply an incident over sea sovereignty in the Persian Gulf. It is a calculated move on behalf of Teheran’s Jihadi chess players to provoke a “projected” counter move by London and its American allies. It is all happening in a regional context, carefully engineered by the Mullahs strategic planners. Here is how:
The Iranian regime’s master plan is to wait out the remainder of Tony Blair’s mandate (few more months) and the remaining “real time” of President Bush (till about the end of 2007). For the thinking process in Tehran, based on their Western consultants, believe that Washington and London have reached the end of the rope and will only have till 2008 to do something major to destabilize Ahmedinijad regime. As explained by a notorious propagandist on al Jazeera today the move is precisely to respond to the Anglo-American attempt to “stir trouble” inside Iran. Anis Naccash, a Lebanese intellectual supporter of the Ayatollahs regime, appearing from Tehran few hours ago on the Qatari-based satellite and “explained” that the “US and the UK must understand that Iran is as much at war with these two powers in as much as they support the rise of movements and security instability inside Iran.” He added that Khamenei is clear on the regime’s decision to strike: “we will be at war with you on all levels: secret, diplomatic, military and other.” Pro-Iranian propagandists in the region, via media and online rushed to warn that this movement is part of Iran’s counter-strike against any attempt to destabilize the regime. Two major tracks emerge from these statements, the Iranian military maneuvers and the capture of British Navy personnel.
1) Iran’s domestic front is putting pressure on the Ahmedinijad regime.
From internal reporting, dissidents and anti-Ahmedinijad forces from various social sectors are practically in slow motion eruption against the authorities. Students, women, workers and political activists have been demonstrating and sometimes clashing with the regime’s security apparatus. Western media didn’t report proportionally on these events over the past few weeks. In addition, ethnic minority areas have been witnessing several incidents, including violence against the “Revolutionary Guards,” including in the Arab and Baluch areas. And last but not least, the defection of a major intelligence-military figure early this month to the West was, according to internal sources, a “massive loss” to the regime and a possible first one in a series.
2) The regime “need” an external clash to crush the domestic challenge.
As in many comparable cases worldwide, when an authoritarian regime is faced with severe internal opposition it attempts to deflect the crisis onto the outside world. Hence, Teheran’s all out campaign against the US and its allies in Iraq, Lebanon and the region is in fact a repositioning of Iran’s shield against the expected rising opposition inside the country. Hence the Khomeinist Mullahs plan seem to be projected as follow:
a. Engage in the diplomatic realm, to project a realist approach worldwide, but refrain from offering real results
b. Continue, along with the Syrian regime, in supporting the “Jihadi” Terror operations (including sectarian ones) inside Iraq
c. Widen the propaganda campaign against the US and its allies via a number of PR companies within the West, to portray Iran as “a victim” of an “upcoming war provoked by the US.”
d. Engage in skirmishes in the Gulf (and possibly in other spots) with US and British elements claiming these action as “defensive,” while planned thoroughly ahead of time.
3) The regime plan is to drag its opponents into a trap
Teheran’s master planners intend to drag the “Coalition” into steps in engagement, at the timing of and in the field of control of Iran’s apparatus. Multiple options and scenarios are projected.
a. British military counter measure takes place, supported by the US. Iran’s regime believe that only “limited” action by the allies is possible, according to their analysis of the domestic constraints inside the two powerful democracies.
b. Tehran moves to a second wave of activities, at its own pace, hoping to draw a higher level of classical counter strikes by US and UK forces. The dosing by Iran’s leadership is expected to stretch the game in time, until the departure of Blair and of the Bush Administration by its political opponents inside the country’s institutions and public debate.
In a short conclusion the “War room” in Tehran has engaged itself in an alley of tactical moves it feels it can control. But the Iranian regime, with all its “political chess” expertise, may find itself in a precarious and risky situation. For while it feel that it can control the tactical battlefield in the region and fuel the propaganda pressure inside the West with its Petro-dollars, it may not be able to contain the internal forces in Iran, because of which it has decided to go on offense.
The Ahmedinijad regime wishes to crumble the international consensus to avoid the financial sanctions: that is true. But as important, if not more, it wants to be able to crush the revolt before it pounds the doors to the Mullahs palaces.
Dr Walid Phares is a Senior Fellow with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies in Washington. Author of the newly released The War of Ideas: Jihadism Against Democracy www.thewarofideas.net

Really.. I only wish we could get the Hollywood Liberals to jump on the band wagon so easily! I'm thinking something more self serving...Like box office revenues or Oscars perhaps.

None the less I can't wait to this film and if it fosters a bit of anti-Islamoterrorist sentiment.....Aww did we hurt the poor little terrorist's feeling?

Anatomy of Iraq
How did we get to this baffling scenario?

By Victor Davis Hanson
It’s make it or break it in Iraq in 2007. Or so we are told, as America nears four years of costly efforts in Iraq. But how did we get to this situation, to this fury over a war once supported by 70 percent of the public and a majority of Congress, but now orphaned by both?

How did a serious country, one that endured Antietam, sent a million doughboys to Europe in a mere year, survived Pearl Harbor, Monte Cassino, Anzio, the Bulge, Tarawa, Iwo and Okinawa, the Yalu, Choisun, Hue and Tet, come to the conclusion — between the news alerts about Britney Spears’ shaved head and fights over Anna Nicole Smith’s remains — that Iraq, in the words of historically minded Democratic senators, was the “worst” and the “greatest” “blunder,” “disaster,” and “catastrophe” in our “entire” history?

Even with all the tragic suffering, our losses, by the standard of past American wars, have not been unprecedented, especially given the magnitude of the undertaking — namely, traveling 7,000 miles to remove a dictator and foster democracy in the heart of the ancient caliphate. This was not a 1953 overthrow of an Iranian parliamentarian. Nor was it a calculated 1991 decision to let the Shiite and Kurdish revolts be crushed by Saddam. And it was most certainly not a cynical ploy to pit Baathist Iraq against theocratic Iran. Instead, it was an effort to allow an electorate to replace a madman.

There were always potential landmines that could go off, here and abroad, if the news from the battlefield proved to be dispiriting.

First, George Bush ran for president as a realist, who turned Wilsonian only after 9/11, in the belief that removing Saddam and leaving democracy in his wake could break up the nexus between Middle Eastern terrorism and autocracy.

But his conservative base was always skeptical of anything even approaching internationalist activism. And his Democratic opponents were not about to concede his idealism. So when times got tough, the president’s chief reservoir of diehard supporters proved to be principled Lieberman Democrats and McCain Republicans — neither group a natural majority nor, after 2000, with any natural affinity for the president.

Second, after the relatively easy victories in Grenada, Panama, the Gulf War, Serbia, and Afghanistan, the American public became accustomed to removing thugs in weeks and mostly by air and light ground-support. All during the 1990s, the more we made use of the military the more we cut it, until things came to a head in Iraq in a postwar effort that has been both long and confined largely to the ground.

Since the most recent conflicts had been a far cry from the mess of Vietnam, Democrats saw that the upside of regaining lost stature on national security outweighed the dangers of being charged with war-mongering from hard-core leftists. And so they outdid themselves and the president in loudly voting for Iraq — but apparently only as long as casualties were to be minimal and public and media support steadfast and overwhelming.

There were numerous reasons to remove Saddam — 23, according to the Congress that authorized the war — but the administration privileged just one, the sensible fear of weapons of mass destruction. That was legitimate and understandable, and would prove effective so long as either a postwar weapons-trove turned up or the war and its aftermath finished without a hitch.

Unfortunately neither proved to be the case. So with that prime rationale discredited, the partisan Congress suddenly reinvented itself in protesting that it had really voted for war on only one cause, not 23. And when the news and evidence both went bad, that lone reason was now pronounced null and void and hardly a basis for war.

Third, Afghanistan also loomed large. Right after 9/11, Afghanistan, rather than secular and once-defeated Iraq, was seen as the tougher nut to crack, that warlords’ mountainous graveyard of British and Russian imperial troops. But when the Taliban fell in eight weeks, and a consensual government was in place within a year, then by that optimistic arithmetic, the three weeks it took to remove Saddam might mean less than six months before new elections could be held there. Suddenly the old prewar warnings of thousands of Americans dead were forgotten, as the public apparently assumed the peace in Iraq would ensue in half the time it took in Afghanistan. This analogy has proven inapt.

Fourth, this war was debated through one election and fought through two. Given the prewar furor over Iraq, the miraculous three-week victory over Saddam lent itself to a natural tendency afterwards to be conservative, hoarding hard-won — but easily lost — political capital.

So, with each new challenge — the looting, the first pullback from Fallujah, the reprieve given Sadr — the administration hesitated. Understandably it was afraid to lose broad public support for the conflict, or to restart a war already won, since that would only incite an inherently hostile media that had been temporarily muzzled, but not defanged, by an astounding victory.

Apparently, after the announcement of “Mission Accomplished,” and leading up to the 2004 elections, no one wanted CNN broadcasting live footage from a new siege of Hue in Fallujah. In the process, public support for the war was insidiously and slowly lost, by an Abu Ghraib or a grotesque televised beheading unanswered by a tough American retaliation against the militias. The terrorists learned from our own domestic calculus that each month of televised IEDs was worth one or two U.S. senators suddenly dropping their support for the war.

Fifth, the Sunni border-nations wanted Saddam defanged, but never removed entirely. Muslim lamentations for Saddam’s slaughter of his own were always trumped by his usefulness in keeping down the Shiite fanatics, both in Iran and at home. But the enemy of my enemy in the Middle East is not always my friend, so the Shiites did not instinctively thank the Americans who removed Saddam, or who gave them the franchise.

The result was Orwellian: We allowed the downtrodden Shiite majority one person / one vote, and in exchange Sadr and his epigones were freed to kill us; we championed Sunni minority-rights and got in exchange Sunni tolerance for Baathist and al Qaeda killers.

Through it all, competent and professional American diplomats and soldiers who sought peace for both were libeled by both. Islamists, taking their talking points from the American and European Left, complained about conspiracies and expropriations on the part of those who had in fact ensured that Iraqi petroleum would, for the first time, be subject to public transparency and autonomy.

Sixth, Europeans who profited from Saddam probably wanted Saddam gone, but wanted the U.S. to do it. In the same manner they profit from Iran, yet want Iran quieted and the U.S. to do it. In the same manner they want terrorists rounded up, jailed, and renditioned, but the U.S. to do it.

All the while a Chirac abroad was whipping up the Arab Street, or a Schroeder was awarding financial credits to Germans doing business with the Iranian theocracy, or a Spain or an Italy or a Germany was indicting the very American military and intelligence officers who protected them.

The European philosophy on the Iraq war was to play the anti-American card to envious European crowds all the way up to that delicate point of irrevocably offending the United States. Then, but only then, pull back abruptly with whimpers about NATO, the Atlantic relationship, and Western solidarity, just before a riled America gets wise and itself pulls away from these ingrates for good.

Somehow a war to remove a mass-murdering psychopath — a psychopath with his hands on a trillion-dollars worth of petroleum reserves, with a long record of attacking four of his neighbors and of harboring and subsidizing terrorists — who, once removed, would be replaced with the first truly consensual government in the history of the Arab Middle East, ended up being perceived, for all the reasons cited above, as something it was not.

But if we have an orphaned war that is dubbed lost, it nevertheless can still be won. None of our mistakes has been fatal; none is of a magnitude unprecedented in past wars; all have been cataloged; and few are now being repeated. We now understand the politics of our Iraqi odyssey, with all its triangulations, and the ruthlessness of our enemies.

Not arguments, rhetoric, pleading, or money right now can save the democracy in Iraq. The U.S. military alone, in the very little remaining time of this spring and summer, can give Iraqis the necessary window of security and confidence to govern and protect themselves, and thereby to allow the donors, peacekeepers, compromises, and conferences to follow.

If General Petraeus can bring a quiet to Baghdad, then all the contradictions, mistakes, cheap rhetoric, and politicking of the bleak past will mean nothing in a brighter future.

 
National Review Online - http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MjdkOTA2NmUxYzkwY2U4NzcyYTYwN2VhZDdmMTkxOWQ=

Iraqi Police Detains 6 during Raid against AQI in Karma

Baghdad – Fallujah Iraqi Police captured 6 insurgents during operations in Karma targeting al Qaeda in Iraq facilitators.

Iraqi Police were targeting several insurgents responsible for providing funds, weapons and transportation to al Qaeda in Iraq terrorists and insurgents conducting attacks

 

Iraqi Police captures 4 during operations against IED cell near Samarra

BAGHDAD – Samarra Iraqi Police and U.S. troops captured an insurgent bomber during operations near Samarra.

The man was captured during operations targeting an insurgent improvised explosive device cell conducting attacks against U.S. troops and Iraqi Security Forces. The cell is responsible for emplacing IEDs targeting U.S. troops and Iraqi Security Forces. 3 other insurgents were also captured by Iraqi Police.

 

Iraqi Army Capture 5 During Operations Against IED Builder

BAGHDAD – Special Iraqi Army forces captured 5 insurgents during operations in Baghdad, targeting an improvised explosive device builder.

During operations, as U.S. troops over-watch element observed a man armed with an assault rifle moving from roof top to roof top appearing to track Iraqi Forces and U.S. troops on the ground. The man positioned himself in a vantage point where he had a clear sight of the ground forces. The suspect was then observed raising his weapon and aiming it in the direction of Iraqi Forces and U.S. troops members, posing an immediate threat to them. The U.S. troops shot the man neutralizing the threat.

U.S. troops and Iraqi Army medics rendered immediate aid to the gunman to help stabilize him for movement to a hospital. The man died before he was able to be transported.


 

Hostages freed by paratroopers, weapons cache secured

KALSU, Iraq – Paratroopers located an insurgent safe house uncovering a weapons cache and freeing two hostages south of Baghdad Feb. 26. Paratroopers from 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade (Airborne), located the safe house, where they found the two hostages and a weapons cache near Mahmudiyah.

The cache contained three AK-47s, 14 30-round magazines, one 100-round magazine drum & two fragmentary grenades.


 

EIGHT TERRORISTS KILLED, SIX DETAINED IN RAIDS

BAGHDAD –U.S. troops killed 8 terrorists and captured 6 during operations Wednesday morning targeting foreign fighter facilitators and the al-Qaeda in Iraq network. Intelligence reports indicated terrorists associated with small arms and rocket attacks against U.S. troops were operating northeast of Taji.
As U.S. troops approached the targeted area, they noticed several armed men maneuvering toward them in a nearby palm grove.  U.S. troops called in close air support to eliminate the threat.  Rotary-wing and fixed-wing aircraft used precision fires killing eight armed terrorists.  Two terrorists were detained.
U.S. troops also captured 2 terrorists in Amiriyah and 2 more in Baghdad with alleged ties to the al-Qaeda in Iraq network.


 

Iraqi Army troops catch 5 insurgents with paratroopers in support

An Iraqi battalion conducted a raid with U.S. troops supporting to curb sectarian violence south of Baghdad, capturing 5 insurgents.

Soldiers from the 6th Iraqi Army Division with support from paratroopers of 4th Brigade (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, raided buildings in Hawr Rajab, capturing the 5 insurgents. 

The raid was part of Operation Lion’s Roar which was an effort to curb sectarian violence south of Baghdad. This was the second successful raid in Hawr Rejab in the last two weeks.


 

Iraqi swat team captures 11 Mahdawiyah insurgent group members

BAGHDAD – Al Hillah Iraqi Special Weapons and Tactics personnel captured 11 members of the Mahdawiyah insurgent group during operations in Al Hillah.  The men were involved in attacks against Iraqi Security Forces and civilians in the area.
       They were part of the insurgent group that fought against U.S. and Iraqi Security Forces in Najaf. They were also threatening the lives of persons within the leadership of Iraqi Security Forces in Babil Province.

 

Iraqi Army capturs 16 insurgents during operations

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Special Iraqi Army Forces captured 16 militiamen during operations in Sadr City targeting the leadership of several rogue Jaysh Al-Mahdi cells operating against Iraqi civilians.

Iraqi forces targeted several individuals who allegedly control multiple rogue JAM cells and illegally direct and perpetrate sectarian murder, torture and kidnapping.   The wanted individuals are reported to operate out of Sadr City and are linked to attacks on Coalition Forces

 

AL-QAEDA EMIR, ELEVEN OTHERS DETAINED IN RAIDS THROUGHOUT IRAQ 

BAGHDAD, Iraq – U.S. troops captured 12 suspected terrorists including an Al-Qaeda in Iraq emir during raids Tuesday morning targeting foreign fighter facilitators and the al-Qaeda in Iraq network.

During an operation in Baghdad, U.S. troops captured a suspected al-Qaeda in Iraq emir and three of his associates.  Based on intelligence reports, these suspects are allegedly involved in the production of improvised explosive devices.

Also in Baghdad, U.S. troops captured 2 terrorists who have alleged ties to al-Qaeda in Iraq and anti-Coalition Forces activities.  Two suspected terrorists were detained during a raid in Mosul.  Intelligence reports indicate the suspected terrorists have ties with an al-Qaeda terrorist who has coordinated attacks against Iraqi security and U.S. military personnel.Another suspected terrorist was detained in Fallujah during a raid targeting foreign fighter facilitators. U.S. troops captured 2 terrorists in Tikrit who are believed to have links with terrorists involved in explosives shipments from other countries and facilitating the production of vehicle-borne IEDs.

In Ramadi, U.S. troops netted a terrorist who is allegedly involved in courier activities for al-Qaeda terrorists in Iraq.

 

Three-day Operation Leads to 15 Terrorists Killed, IED Factory Destroyed

During a recent three-day operation in Salman Pak targeting al-Qaida in Iraq terrorists, U.S. troops killed 15 terrorists involved in an improvised explosives device cell, destroyed an IED factory and thwarted two explosives emplacements.

On Feb. 14, U.S. troops began receiving enemy contact on the ground from a fortified building in the area.  Determining the targets too hostile for ground troops, U.S. troops called for close air support.  Fixed wing aircraft used precision fires to destroy the building killing 5 terrorists and wounding 4 terrorists.

Also during this raid, U.S. troops disrupted two separate groups of terrorists who were in the process of emplacing IEDs alongside a road.  Due to the high level of danger, fixed wing aircraft were used to destroy the IEDs.  10 terrorists were killed as a result.

U.S. troops continued their raid the following day and found a male Iraqi citizen shackled in one of the rooms of a targeted building.  Ground forces captured four males who were hiding near the building.  During a search, U.S. troops found the hostage’s cell phone on one of the detainees.

According to the hostage, he was tied up with a hood over his head for three days.  He said he prayed and fasted during his captivity because he believed his captors were going to execute him.  He was transported to a nearby military medical facility for an examination.

On the third and final day of the operation, U.S. troops performed a controlled detonation destroying an IED factory.  During a search of the targeted building, ground forces found a large amount of IED-making material including 1,000 pounds of various types of explosives, including nitric acid.

An explosives ordnance disposal team determined the material was too unstable to move.  Ground forces cordoned off the area and ensured local citizens were moved to a safe distance during the controlled detonation.  The IED-making materials and building were destroyed to prevent future use by terrorists.

A total of 13 terrorists were detained during the three-day operation.


 

Iraqi national police hold off attack at checkpoint, 2 terrorists killed 

Camp Striker, Iraq — Iraqi national police killed at least two terrorists during a coordinated attack on a national police checkpoint along an Iraqi highway two miles south of the Baghdad International Airport.  8 national policemen were killed in the defense of the checkpoint.
       
Witnesses described the attack as two vehicles driving towards the checkpoint at a high rate of speed.  8 - 10 gunmen exited the lead vehicle, firing assault rifles and throwing hand grenades at the policemen. A firefight ensued.  The second vehicle was forced into a ditch.  It was cordoned off as a possible vehicle-borne improvised explosive device.
       
Elements of  the 1st Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) responded to the sound of the attack, attempting to intervene.  Upon receiving gunfire from the attackers, the Soldiers called in aviation support.
       
After securing the area, 1-89 rendered medical aid to the two wounded national policemen and evacuated them to a nearby combat support hospital.  The MiTT members identified two dead attackers.


 

Four terrorists convicted in Turki Village case

BALAD RUZ, Iraq – Last week, a three-judge panel with the Central Criminal Court of Iraq, convicted four terrorists detained during November’s operations in Turki Village, Iraq, of possession of illegal weapons. The panel sentenced them to 30 years imprisonment.

“This is a just verdict. It is significant because it is an Iraqi panel dispensing justice to Iraqi defendants,” said Maj. Paul T. Brooks, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division’s effects coordinator.

The defendants were detained Nov. 15, 2006, after a small-arms engagement with a group of Coalition Forces. This engagement resulted in one U.S. Soldier’s death. During the engagement, Coalition Forces killed the triggerman responsible for the death.

When Coalition Forces detained the individuals, they discovered several small-arms munitions and hand grenades.

“My Soldiers now have clarity concerning the Iraqi justice system. Equally important, these criminals are no longer able to spread their hatred amongst the Iraqi people,” said Col. David W. Sutherland, 3-1 Cav. commander and the senior U.S. Army officer in Diyala province. During November’s operation, Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces unearthed more than five weapons caches,
killed more than 60 anti-Iraqi forces and detained more than 10 suspected terrorists.

 

CCCI convicts 10 insurgents
One sentenced to 30 years, three sentenced to 15 years imprisonment

BAGHDAD, Iraq – The Central Criminal Court of Iraq convicted 10 security detainees from Feb. 18 - 22, for various crimes including possession of illegal weapons, possessing fake identification, use of explosives, passport violations and illegal border crossing.

The trial court found an Iraqi man guilty of illegal possession of special category weapons in violation of Order 3/2003 Section 6, Paragraph 2B.  On Jan. 19, 2005, MNF conducted a raid on several houses in Taji searching for the defendant and several other individuals.  The defendant’s brother led MNF to the defendant’s house.  Inside they found a locked door that the defendant said was empty and the temperature change had swelled the door shut.  MNF broke down the door and inside they found: one RPK machine gun, one AK-47, a pistol, one G3 assault rifle, Iraqi and CIA intelligence manuals and documents as well as many fake identification documents and photographs.  The defendant admitted to MNF that he was once an Iraqi intelligence officer.  MNF then searched outside the house using metal detectors and found more buried weapons and ammunition.  Some of the ammunition was found in American ammunition boxes with serial numbers that matched the serial numbers of ammunition boxes taken from Humvees which had recently been destroyed by IEDs’ in which two American Soldiers died.  On Feb. 18 the trial panel found the defendant guilty and sentenced him to 30 years imprisonment.

The trial court found an Iraqi man guilty of illegal possession of special category weapons in violation of Order 3/2003 Section 6, Paragraph 2B.  On Dec. 25, 2006, MNF conducted a targeted raid to capture the defendant.  The defendant is a weapons dealer and has sold weapons to various groups on many occasions.  At the point of capture, MNF found an AK-47, a sniper rifle, a PKC machine gun, an RPG, two pistols, a rifle and assorted ammunition.  At the time of capture the defendant also had fake identification with him.  On Feb. 19 the trial panel found the defendant guilty and sentenced him to 15 years imprisonment.

The trial court found two Iraqi men guilty of illegal possession of special category weapons in violation of Order 3/2003 Section 6, Paragraph 2B.  On Nov. 11, 2006, MNF were conducting census operations near Fallujah.   MNF entered one defendant’s home and noticed both defendants acting nervous.  Because of their behavior, MNF began a search of their home.  MNF first discovered one loaded AK-47 magazine under a mattress on the second floor of the home.  MNF continued their search and discovered  the following weapons:  two AK-47’s, seven AK-47 loaded magazines, four fan switches, two 9mm pistols, one blasting cap, one RPG trigger assembly, anti-MNF propaganda and numerous types of ammunition.  At the hearing MNF presented two eye witnesses, photographs and a sketch.  On Feb. 20 the trial panel found the defendants guilty and sentenced them each to 15 years imprisonment.

Those convicted of immigration violations, taking advantage of someone else’s legal documents, use of explosives and illegal possession of special category weapons were sentenced from one to 30 years imprisonment.  Those convicted totaled nine Iraqis and one Palestinian.

Since its reorganization, under an amendment to CPA order 13, in April 2004, the Central Criminal Court has held 1,902 trials for Coalition-apprehended insurgents.  The proceedings have resulted in the conviction of 1,640 individuals with sentences ranging up to death.

O.K. so it's not related to jack shit here however I feel compelled to brag that one of my employees Max Scott tattooed Brittney Spears this weekend and we have been all over the major network media coo, our 15 Min's of fame...yea!!!!!!


A couple of radio interviews, also google youtube for Brittney spears bald or tattoo

http://bbinkowski.homestead.com/files/knx/BRITNEY_1-bbi.mp3

http://bbinkowski.homestead.com/files/knx/BRITNEY_2-bbi.mp3

Woof, The Stray One

Iran Sends Iraq Bomb Parts, U.S. Officer Says
By STEVEN R. HURST    AP
 
BAGHDAD - U.S. military officials on Sunday accused the highest levels of the Iranian leadership of arming Shiite militants in Iraq with sophisticated armor-piercing roadside bombs that have killed more than 170 American forces.
The military command in Baghdad denied, however, that any newly smuggled Iranian weapons were behind the five U.S. military helicopter crashes since Jan. 20 - four that were shot out of the sky by insurgent gunfire.

A fifth crash has tentatively been blamed on mechanical failure. In the same period, two private security company helicopters also have crashed but the cause was unclear.

The deadly and highly sophisticated weapons the U.S. military said it traced to Iran  are known as "explosively formed penetrators," or EFPs.

The presentation was the result of weeks of preparation and revisions as U.S. officials put together a package of material to support the Bush administration's claims of Iranian intercession on behalf of militant Iraqis fighting American forces.

Senior U.S. military officials in Baghdad said the display was prompted by the military's concern for "force protection," which, they said, was guaranteed under the United Nations resolution that authorizes American soldiers to be in Iraq.

Three senior military officials who explained the display said the "machining process" used in the construction of the deadly bombs had been traced to Iran.

The experts, who spoke to a large gathering of reporters on condition that they not be further identified, said the supply trail began with Iran's Revolutionary Guards Quds Force, which also is accused of arming the Hezbollah  guerrilla army in Lebanon. The officials said the EFP weapon was first tested there.

The officials said the Revolutionary Guard and its Quds force report directly to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The briefing on Iran was revised heavily after officials decided it was not ready for release as planned last month.

Senior U.S. officials in Washington _ cautious after the drubbing the administration took for the faulty intelligence leading to the 2003 Iraq invasion - had held back because they were unhappy with the original presentation.

The display appeared to be part of the White House drive that has empowered U.S. forces in Iraq to use all means to curb Iranian influence in the country, including killing Iranian agents.

It included a power-point slide program and a handful of mortar shells and rocket-propelled grenades which the military officials said were made in Iran.

The centerpiece of the display, however, was a gray metal pipe about 10 inches long and 6 inches in diameter, the exterior casing of what the military said was an EFP, the roadside bomb that shoots out fist-sized wads of nearly molten copper that can penetrate the armor on an Abrams tank.

The EFPs, as well as Iranian-made mortar shells and rocket-propelled grenades, have been supplied to what the military officials termed "rogue elements" of the Mahdi Army militia of anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. He is a key backer of Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

The U.S. officials glossed over armaments having reached the other major Shiite militia organization, the Badr Brigade. It is the military wing of Iraq's most powerful Shiite political organization, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, whose leaders also have close ties to the U.S.
Many key government figures and members of the Shiite political establishment have deep ties to Iran, having spent decades there in exile during Saddam Hussein 's rule. The Badr Brigade was formed and trained by Iran's Revolutionary Guard.

The U.S. officials said there was no evidence of Iranian-made EFPs having fallen into the hands of Sunni insurgents who operate mainly in Anbar province in the west of Iraq, Baghdad and regions surrounding the capital.

"We know more than we can show," said one of the senior officials, when pressed for tangible evidence that the EFPs were made in Iran.

An intelligence analyst in the group said Iran was working through "multiple surrogates" - mainly in the Mahdi Army - to smuggle the EFPs into Iraq. He said most of the components are entering the country at crossing points near Amarah, the Iranian border city of Meran and the Basra area of southern Iraq.

The analyst said Iraq's Shiite-led government had been briefed on Iran's involvement and Iraqi officials had asked the Iranians to stop. Al-Maliki has said he told both the U.S. and Iran that he does not want his country turned into a proxy battlefield.

Last week, U.S. officials said they were investigating allegations that Shiite lawmaker Jamal Jaafar Mohammed was a main conduit for Iranian weapons entering the country. Mohammed has believed to have fled to Iran.

U.S. officials have alleged for years that weapons were entering the country from Iran but had until Sunday stopped short of alleging involvement by top Iranian leaders.

During the briefing, a senior defense official said that one of the six Iranians detained in January in the northern city of Irbil was the operational commander of the Quds Force.

He was identified as Mohsin Chizari, who was apprehended after slipping back into Iraq after a 10-month absence, the officer said.

The Iranians were caught trying to flush documents down the toilet, he said. They had also tried to change their appearance by shaving their heads. Bags of their hair were found during the raid, he said.

The dates of manufacture on weapons found so far indicate they were made after fall of Saddam Hussein - mostly in 2006, the officials said.

In a separate briefing, Maj. Gen. Jim Simmons, deputy commander of Multinational Corps-Iraq, said that since December 2004, U.S. helicopter pilots have been shot at on average about 100 times a month and been hit on an average of 17 times in the same period.

He disclosed a previously unknown shootdown, a Blackhawk helicopter hit by small arms fire near the western city of Hit. The craft crash-landed but there were no casualties. Simmons was on board.

The major general said Iraqi militants are known to have SA-7, SA-14 and SA-16 shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles but none of the most recent five military crashes were caused by those weapons. He said some previous crashes had been a result of such missiles but would not elaborate.

As road travel has become unacceptably dangerous in Iraq, U.S. forces increasingly have turned to helicopters for transportation of troops and supplies. Simmons said U.S. helicopters were in the air for 240,000 hours in 2005 and he estimated the total figure this year would reach 400,000 hours.

North of Baghdad, a suicide truck bomber crashed into a police station, killing at least 30 policemen. A total of 73 people were killed or found dead across Iraq. The U.S. military said Sunday a soldier was shot and killed the day before in volatile Diyala province northeast of the capital.

>
>
> Subject: Govt. admits to lying about border agents
>
>      *** BREAKING NEWS:
>      ***         Department of Homeland Security admits to lying
>      ***         about key aspects of Ramos and Compean case!
>
>

>
> While Ron De Jong and I were presenting 304,000 citizen petitions to
> Rep. Rohrabacher on Capitol Hill, we were shocked when the Congressman
> informed us that the Department of Homeland Security
> (DHS) had admitted to members of Congress...
>
>       ...that they had lied to Congress about the case
>       against imprisoned agents Ramos and Compean.
>
> Under questioning by Rep. Culberson, a DHS investigator admitted that
> his department did NOT have evidence to back up a number of outrageous
> claims including: Mexican/American agents Ramos and Compean "wanted to
> shoot a Mexican"; confessed to shooting an unarmed suspect; were
> belligerent to investigators; lied and submitted false reports; and
> stated during the investigation that the illegal alien did not pose a
> threat.
>
> In addition, the DHS admitted that it began its prosecution BEFORE
> completing their investigation!
>
> Dave, this is explosive news and we must now
> act swiftly to intensify grassroots pressure--pressure that is making
> the difference in this case!
>
> I am asking all members of our team to schedule EMERGENCY FAXES to the
> President, the Justice Department, U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, as
> well as your two Senators, your Representative and other key leaders.
>
>       Go here to schedule your faxes demanding an immediate
>       pardon and a full investigation of DHS, Johnny Sutton
>       and this entire sordid affair:
>
> http://www.grassfire.org/3142/offer.asp?rid=12298062
>
> If you'd prefer not to use our Faxfire service and
> would rather send the faxes on your own, please feel free
> to use our letters. The fax list and letters can easily be downloaded
> simply by visiting the Faxfire page:
>
> http://www.grassfire.org/3142/offer.asp?rid=12298062
>
>
> + + Your petitions featured on CNN and on the House Floor!
>
> As this news was breaking, Ron De Jong and I were presenting more than
> 304,000 petitions to Congressman Dana Rohrabacher
> (R-CA) in front of CNN cameras. Hours later, your petitions were
> featured on CNN's Lou Dobbs as well as during a stirring speech on the
> floor of the House by Rep. Rohrabacher when he lofted your petitions
> and angrily demanded the President pay attention to the American
> people!
>
>       Go to FireSociety.com to see the Lou Dobbs report, your
>       petitions on the House floor and to access more
>       resources on the government's lying:
>
> http://www.firesociety.com/article/10263/
>
>
> + + Your feedback needed!
>
> Finally, Dave, I want to add your feedback to this
> shocking update on our new FireSociety forum. But you must sign up.
> There is no charge, and it literally takes just moments. You only have
> to do this once, to open an interactive opportunity for you to "sound
> off" and contribute to the grassroots debate!
>
> Go here:
>
> http://www.firesociety.com/registration
>
> Thanks so much for the stand you are taking, and please schedule your
> faxes to the President, U.S. Attorney Sutton and others by clicking
> here:
>
> http://www.grassfire.org/3142/offer.asp?rid=12298062
>
>
> Steve Elliott, President
> Grassfire.org Alliance
>
> PS: The border agent issue truly affects every American.
> That is why after scheduling your FaxFire faxes I urge you
> to forward this message to your friends urging them to
> take action as well!
>
> + + Schedule your faxes:
>
> http://www.grassfire.org/3142/offer.asp?rid=12298062
>
> + + Feedback or comments on this update?
>
> Please go to FireSociety.com and post your comments so that the
> Grassfire staff along with thousands of citizens can benefit from your
> thoughts and opinions:
>
> http://www.firesociety.com/comments/10264/?page=1
>
> (You must sign up first to comment. Go here:)
>
> http://www.firesociety.com/registration
>
> + + Technical questions only:
>
> For technical questions regarding this email, go here:
> (Not for comments/feedback on this update)
>
> http://www.grassfire.org/techemail.asp?ind=15
>
>
> +   +  +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +  +  +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +
> (Note: Please do not "reply" directly to this e-mail message. This
> e-mail address is not designed to receive your personal messages. To
> contact Grassfire.org with comments, questions or to change your
> status, see link at the end.)
> +   +  +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +  +  +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +
>
> + + + + +
> Grassfire.org Alliance is a non-profit 501(c)4 issues advocacy
> organization dedicated to equipping our 1.5 million-strong network of
> grassroots conservatives with the tools that give you a real impact on
> the key issues of our day. Gifts to Grassfire.org are not tax
> deductible.
>
> + + Comments? Questions?
>
> http://www.grassfire.org/email.asp?ind=10

 
6 weapons caches destroyed, 8 terrorists, 7 captured
 
BAGHDAD, Iraq – U.S. troops killed 8 terrorists and captured 7 terrorists during a series of raids which began Saturday and ended Monday to capture al-Qaida in Iraq leaders in the Tarmiyah area.

During the second day of the raids, U.S. troops began taking enemy fire as terrorists were attempting to remove weapons and explosives from a weapons cache on an island in the Tigris River.  U.S. troops engaged, killing four terrorists.

That evening, more armed terrorists attempted to gain access to the weapons cache and began firing at a U.S. troops security detail.  U.S. troops returned fire and killed an additional four terrorists.

The weapons caches, six in all, consisted of 12 AK-47s, 20 rocket-propelled grenade launchers, 20 rocket-propelled grenades, five 82 mm mortar systems, sniper rifles, armor piercing rounds, several 80 mm rocket launchers and 7 improvised explosive devices.
 
Clearing operations continue, 85 terrorists killed, 25 captured in 7 days in Balad Ruz

BALAD RUZ, Iraq – After seven days of combined operations south of Balad Ruz, Iraqi Army Soldiers, in partnership with the 1st Cavalry Division, continue to discover large weapons caches and destroy anti-Iraqi forces throughout the area.   

The 5th Iraqi Army, with support from 3-1 Cav., has unearthed approximately 20 caches, killed more than 85 terrorists and captured 25 anti-Iraqi forces.

In fighting yesterday, CF and IA engaged eight different small enemy elements with small-arms fire, mortars, artillery, Bradley fighting vehicles and close air support, resulting in the deaths of more than two dozen insurgents.

The operation began with a combined air and ground assault. They continue to target terrorists that are believed to have tortured and executed more than 40 members of rival tribes in the area in November. 

Since discovering more than 1,150 57-mm rockets Saturday, the Soldiers have uncovered several more caches containing improvised explosive device-making material, more than 1,000 rocket-propelled grenades, 13 anti-tank mines, more than 1,000 small-arms munitions, 1,050 heavy machine gun rounds, dozens of anti-tank missiles and other terrorist planning documents.   

Operation seizes two bomb insurgents

MAHMUDIYAH, Iraq —  Two terrorists were captured and improvised explosive device-making materials were found during a joint combat operation in southwest Mahmudiyah, Iraq Jan.7.

The operation was conducted by Soldiers of the 6th Iraqi Army Division and the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry).  The operation was intended to disrupt anti-Iraqi forces activity within the area.

One of the terrorists may be linked to previous IED attacks in the area and was found with 34 doorbells, a common item used to fabricate roadside bombs.

Iraqi Army Kills 5 Insurgents and Captures Insurgent Leader, 16 Others

BAGHDAD –  5 insurgents were killed during a 5th Iraqi Army operation Jan. 7 in Tahrir village near Baqubah to detain the leader of an insurgent cell responsible for the kidnapping and murder of Iraqi civilians.
   
During the operation, insurgents exited a nearby mosque and began firing upon Iraqi Force members and U.S. advisors with heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. Iraqi and U.S. troops returned fire killing 5 insurgents.
   
A U.S. squad observed other armed insurgents maneuvering into position to attack the ground force, and upon clearance engaged the insurgents. The targeted leader surrendered to Iraqi Army Forces.

In another operation, U.S.-backed Iraqi police captured 6 insurgents during raids in Doura in southern Baghdad. Another 10 men captured had commited sectarian murders and planted roadside bombs in Jazaar in southeast Baghdad.


6 CAPTURED IN GREATER IRBIL AREA

BAGHDAD, Iraq – U.S. troops conducted routine security operations in northern Iraq and took six individuals into custody. They were closely tied to activities targeting Iraqi and U.S. troops.  This operation was part of an ongoing effort by U.S. troops targeting individuals involved in activities aimed at the killing of Iraqi citizens and Coalition forces. The suspects surrendered without incident.

Joint operation captures 10, seizes caches in Baghdad

BAGHDAD – A joint operation combining Iraqi national policemen and Coalition force members seized three weapons caches and captured 10 men who were committing sectarian murders and emplacing road-side bombs in the Jaza’r neighborhood Jan. 10.
   
Soldiers from the 12th Infantry regiment, together with members of 6th Iraqi National Police Brigade seized three large weapons caches containing one rifle fitted with a silencer, one machine gun, one sniper rifle, assorted small arms ammunition and bomb-making materials.

Troops capture 21 insurgents in early morning raids in Baghdad

BAGHDAD – U.S. troops captured 21 insurgents in two simultaneous raids in the early morning today. Acting on tips, Soldiers from the 1st Infantry Division, conducted two unrelated but simultaneous raids on homes in the Iraqi capital. In one raid, 9 insurgents were caught when sizable quantities of materials for making roadside bombs were found in the residence. 

In a second raid, Soldiers surrounded and entered a home in southwestern Baghdad after receiving information about a possible insurgent cell operating out of the home.  After entering the home, they found four pistols, three AK-47s, 12 magazines of ammunition, seven armored vests, $2000 in cash and Iraqi Dinar worth $3000.  12 more insurgents were taken into custody following this raid. 


6 Terrorists captured

BAGHDAD – National police captured 6 terrorists in a joint operation conducted in the Iraqi capital.
   
Policemen from the 6th National Police Division and Soldiers from the 2nd Infantry Division, conducted a combined  mission successfully clearing 80 houses in the al Doura district of Baghdad.
   
The purpose of this mission, dubbed Operation “Spartan II,” was to clear the area of weapons caches and disrupt insurgent and militia activities to provide a secure environment for Iraqi citizens.
   
This section of the capital, as well as surrounding neighborhoods, has been subjected recently to an increase in sectarian violence including intimidation, murders and indirect fire. As a result, six individuals were captured by the Iraqi national police force.

7 terrorists captured in joint operation

YUSUFIYAH, Iraq — The Iraqi Army captured 7 terrorists near Yusufiyah, in an air assault operation.

The purpose of the operation, conducted by Soldiers from the 6th Iraqi Army Division and the U.S. 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), was to deny enemy sanctuary within the area. The multi-company air assault resulted in the capture of 7 terrorists, two wanted by the Iraqi Army and two caught with improvised explosive-making materials in their possession. All of the individuals have been linked to IED and mortar attacks.

Iraqi Soldier Killed by 13 Year-old Bomber

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq – An Iraqi Soldier was killed by an improvised explosive device carried by a 13 year-old Iraqi boy in Anbar Province. Also, insurgents using a mosque as a fighting position, fired at an adjacent outpost of the Iraqi Army 1st Division, 350 meters from the site of the bombing in the town of Khalidiyah, 15 miles northwest of Fallujah. 
   
It is not known if the boy knew he was carrying an IED.  His identity is unknown at this time. 
   
This is the second incident where a 13 year-old was used to deliver IEDs to attack security forces in Anbar Province.  On November 25, 2006, Safa Husayn’s body was found in the burned wreckage of a vehicle that drove erratically before detonating near a Marine patrol just northwest of the area of yesterday’s bombing.  Killed in the attack were five Iraqi civilians and a Marine. 
   
“To dupe children to be mules, unwitting bombers, is not how honorable men behave,” said Marine Lt. Col. Bryan Salas.  “The tribes in Ramadi would never stand for this type of practice.”

30 insurgents killed in fighting

BAGHDAD, Iraq  - In the opening battle of a major drive to tame the violent capital, the Iraqi army killed 30 militants Saturday in a firefight in a Sunni insurgent stronghold just north of the heavily fortified Green Zone. 8 militants, including 5 Sudanese fighters, were captured in the battle near a Sunni insurgent stronghold on the west bank of the Tigris where police reported finding the bodies of 27 torture victims earlier in the day.

67 Insurgents, supporters killed,  26 captured  in several operations

Iraqi forces killed 23 insurgents on Sunday in an operation in a Sunni Arab neighborhood. The ministry had already reported killing 30 insurgents on the first day of the operation in the Haifa Street area.

In another operation, an official in a tribal council in the western province of Anbar said an insurgent leader from a group called Ansar al Sunna had been captured and two of his aides, both from Yemen, were killed on Sunday near Ramadi.

In yet another operation, conducted completely by the Iraqi army, Iraqi troops killed 26 insurgents and wounded 43 others during the past 24 hours in different parts of Iraq.

In Yusufiya, U.S. and Iraqi troops rounded up 82 insurgents and insurgents supporters in raids Baghdad the U.S. military said. 21 of the captured insurgents were wounded during fighting. 16 insurgents were killed in that operation.

total insurgents/terrorists killed:      195       

total insurgents/terrorists captured:  128

                total taken out of action:    323   in a 5-day period

(captured includes 64 wounded)                  CONTINUE ...

Iraqi Police Net 301 Recruits in Fallujah, Habbaniyah

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq – The Fallujah Police District enlisted 102 Iraqi males and the Habbaniyah Police District enlisted 199 in recruiting drives held Jan. 10 in Fallujah and Habbaniyah, respectively.
   
“It was a success,” said Lt. Col. Race Roberson, the Regimental Combat Team 5 police implementation officer. “They’ll bring stability to their stations and communities. The more police we have and the more we can retain shows the citizens of their communities the police are concerned about the stability of those areas.” The Iraqi recruits will be shipped to the Jordanian International Police Training College to be schooled in the fundamentals of law enforcement during a six-week course.
   
When the recruits return to their home districts, they will undergo supplemental training sessions. “We are trying to establish a consistent, enhanced patrol package to build upon the basics they learn at the training academy,” Roberson said.

Marine police transition team advisors, Army advisors and international police liaison officers all contributed to the drive. “We haven’t shipped 300 since August ’06,” Roberson said.
   
The 301 recruits will be joined in Jordan by 550 recruits from other parts of the province.  There are currently over 1,900 Iraqi Police candidates in training in Jordan who are scheduled to return to the province for duty in January and February.


Very good story:

Hundreds of Ramadi Residents Join the Police Force

AR RAMADI – Gunshots echoed in the distance as hundreds of hopeful Iraqi police recruits waited in line to join the fight against the insurgents still present within the city of Ramadi.

After three days of screening, roughly 400 Iraqi citizens out of the more than 600 applicants got their wish to become Iraqi police officers.  On Jan. 8, the police recruits were transported to Jordan for the beginning of a five-week training course.

One year ago a murderous intimidation campaign prevented local Iraqis from enlisting in Ramadi.  Recruiting numbers for police were insignificant. 
More than 1,000 enlisted in the police force last month.  Over 800 are expected to enlist in Anbar Province this month. 

“The local tribes stood up to the intimidation campaign and are taking back their city from the terrorists,” said the Coalition spokesman in Ramadi Marine Maj. Riccoh Player. 

“Hundreds of Iraqi Police are holding areas cleared by Iraqi and American forces in recent operation in the worst neighborhoods of Ramadi,” said Player.   “Building and manning a police station in Ramadi is what progress looks like in a counterinsurgency.”

“It’s a good thing for them,” said Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey Estes, the operations noncommissioned officer-in-charge for 2nd Battalion, 152 Infantry from Greenfield, Ind. “It’s going to better their country and that’s what we are over here for — to train them so they can start patrolling their own area and take back what was taken from them.”

Estes said that before an Iraqi police recruit can pack his bags for training camp, he must go through a screening process to determine if he is mentally and physically ready for the challenges ahead.

The Ministry of the Interior sets the standards, such as being a male between the ages of 18 and 53, while service members are here to enforce those standards, Estes said.

Throughout the day, American vehicles periodically dropped off the optimistic candidates out front of the tiny building on Camp Blue Diamond where Soldiers and Marines were busy inside doing the screenings.

The potential police officers were checked for pre-existing medical conditions prior to making their way to the physical fitness test. The recruits had to complete 10 push-ups, 20 sit-ups, and finish a 100-meter dash.

At the security station, Iraqis were asked about their education level, prior work experience, and their native tribe. The recruits were also questioned about previous arrests and had to a sign a waiver denouncing the Ba’ath Party, the political party of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Prior experiences are not necessarily a disqualifying factor, said Capt. Michael Murphy, the Iraqi Security Forces operations officer with the 1st Armored Division.

Murphy, from Bedford, Pa., said the service members do background checks on each applicant, and depending on the level of the crime, an Iraqi can still be considered for the police force.

“A guy who wants to get a job to feed his family and protect his neighborhood but maybe had some indiscretions in the past … we are giving them the opportunity now to rectify that and to come back onto the side of their people,” he said.

If an Iraqi was a former member of the Ba’ath party and can provide the paperwork proving his disassociation with the group, he may still be considered for the force, Murphy said. Yet, the troops are not taking any chances.

“If we have any recent reporting that they are corrupt or that they are insurgents, then we disqualify them,” Murphy said. “But, by and large, insurgent activity from 2003 is not a disqualifying factor.”

Something that will prevent an applicant from moving on is a failure on the literacy test, and Murphy said that it the biggest challenge so far.
To minimize this obstacle, a new three-week literacy training program is being headed at local Iraqi community centers to boost the literacy rate for those who have failed the exam.

“Although it is not going to get them to a Shakespeare literature level of literacy, they are going to be able to pass the basic literacy test for entrance into the police academy,” he said.

Iraqis turned away because of the written exam are encouraged to acquire remedial training and then return the following month.

Once recruits make it successfully through all the stations, they are shipped to Jordan to receive the fundamentals in police work. After five weeks, they return to their station and begin working side-by-side with the Police Transition Teams and the Iraqi Police Liaison Officers.

After successful completion of the academy in Jordan and 90 consecutive days of work, the IP is given a pistol in addition to his rifle. Murphy said receiving your pistol is a huge status symbol, which is important in the Iraqi culture.

Along with the pistol, the IP is granted a sizeable bonus almost the amount of a full month’s salary. “It is a pretty generous bonus given the quality of life here and cost of living,” Murphy said.  None of the events that occurred over the course of the three days would have been possible without the help of the Iraqi Police and Iraqi Army, Murphy said.

“They are our greatest opportunity for advertising,” he said.
Murphy said that after the word gets out about the drive, many of the Iraqi’s have a hard time getting to the site for processing. On this particular day, troops brought in more than 40 recruits from an area that has never had any applicants before, because it was always too dangerous.
Marines traveled down the Euphrates River and safely escorted them to the screening center. Murphy said it was a fantastic sight.

“In a month and a half, they are going to man a new police station in an area where there hasn’t been a police station before,” he said. “That is the kind of stuff that we can do and the capabilities we bring to supplement the capabilities of the Iraqi Army and the Iraqi Police to make this kind of thing very successful.”

These recruiting drives are usually held on a monthly basis to help up the manning level at area IP stations.

What Thomas Jefferson learned
from the Muslim book of jihad

By Ted Sampley
U.S. Veteran Dispatch
January 2007

Democrat Keith Ellison is now officially the first Muslim United States congressman. True to his pledge, he placed his hand on the Quran, the Muslim book of jihad and pledged his allegiance to the United States during his ceremonial swearing-in.

Capitol Hill staff said Ellison's swearing-in photo opportunity drew more media than they had ever seen in the history of the U.S. House. Ellison represents the 5th Congressional District of Minnesota.

The Quran Ellison used was no ordinary book. It once belonged to Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States and one of America 's founding fathers. Ellison borrowed it from the Rare Book Section of the Library of Congress. It was one of the 6,500 Jefferson books archived in the library.

Ellison, who was born in Detroit and converted to Islam while in college, said he chose to use Jefferson's Quran because it showed that "a visionary like Jefferson " believed that wisdom could be gleaned from many sources.

There is no doubt Ellison was right about Jefferson believing wisdom could be "gleaned" from the Muslim Quran. At the time Jefferson owned the book, he needed to know everything possible about Muslims because he was about to advocate war against the Islamic "Barbary" states of Morocco , Algeria , Tunisia and Tripoli .

Ellison's use of Jefferson's Quran as a prop illuminates a subject once well-known in the history of the United States, but, which today, is mostly forgotten - the Muslim pirate slavers who over many centuries enslaved millions of Africans and tens of thousands of Christian Europeans and Americans in the Islamic "Barbary" states.

Over the course of 10 centuries, Muslim pirates cruised the African and Mediterranean coastline, pillaging villages and seizing slaves.

The taking of slaves in pre-dawn raids on unsuspecting coastal villages had a high casualty rate. It was typical of Muslim raiders to kill off as many of the "non-Muslim" older men and women as possible so the preferred "booty" of only young women and children could be collected.

Young non-Muslim women were targeted because of their value as concubines in Islamic markets. Islamic law provides for the sexual interests of Muslim men by allowing them to take as many as four wives at one time and to have as many concubines as their fortunes allow.

Boys, as young as 9 or 10 years old, were often mutilated to create eunuchs who would bring higher prices in the slave markets of the Middle East . Muslim slave traders created "eunuch stations" along major African slave routes so the necessary surgery could be performed. It was estimated that only a small number of the boys subjected to the mutilation survived after the surgery.

When American colonists rebelled against British rule in 1776, American merchant ships lost Royal Navy protection. With no American Navy for protection, American ships were attacked and their Christian crews enslaved by Muslim pirates operating under the control of the "Dey of Algiers "--an Islamist warlord ruling Algeria .

Because American commerce in the Mediterranean was being destroyed by the pirates, the Continental Congress agreed in 1784 to negotiate treaties with the four Barbary States . Congress appointed a special commission consisting of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin, to oversee the negotiations.

Lacking the ability to protect its merchant ships in the Mediterranean, the new America government tried to appease the Muslim slavers by agreeing to pay tribute and ransoms in order to retrieve seized American ships and buy the freedom of enslaved sailors.

Adams argued in favor of paying tribute as the cheapest way to get American commerce in the Mediterranean moving again. Jefferson was opposed. He believed there would be no end to the demands for tribute and wanted matters settled "through the medium of war." He proposed a league of trading nations to force an end to Muslim piracy.

In 1786, Jefferson, then the American ambassador to France, and Adams, then the American ambassador to Britain, met in London with Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja, the "Dey of Algiers" ambassador to Britain.

The Americans wanted to negotiate a peace treaty based on Congress' vote to appease.

During the meeting Jefferson and Adams asked the Dey's ambassador why Muslims held so much hostility towards America , a nation with which they had no previous contacts.

In a later meeting with the American Congress, the two future presidents reported that Ambassador Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja had answered that Islam "was founded on the Laws of their Prophet, that it was written in their Quran, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as Prisoners, and that every Musselman (Muslim) who should be slain in Battle was sure to go to Paradise."

For the following 15 years, the American government paid the Muslims millions of dollars for the safe passage of American ships or the return of American hostages. The payments in ransom and tribute amounted to 20 percent of United States government annual revenues in 1800.

Not long after Jefferson's inauguration as president in 1801, he dispatched a group of frigates to defend American interests in the Mediterranean , and informed Congress.

Declaring that America was going to spend "millions for defense but not one cent for tribute," Jefferson pressed the issue by deploying American Marines and many of America 's best warships to the Muslim Barbary Coast .

The USS Constitution, USS Constellation, USS Philadelphia, USS Chesapeake, USS Argus, USS Syren and USS Intrepid all saw action.

In 1805, American Marines marched across the dessert from Egypt into Tripolitania, forcing the surrender of Tripoli and the freeing of all American slaves.

During the Jefferson administration, the Muslim Barbary States , crumbling as a result of intense American naval bombardment and on shore raids by Marines, finally officially agreed to abandon slavery and piracy.

Jefferson's victory over the Muslims lives on today in the Marine Hymn, with the line, "From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli , we will fight our country's battles on the land as on the sea."

It wasn't until 1815 that the problem was fully settled by the total defeat of all the Muslim slave trading pirates.

Jefferson had been right. The "medium of war" was the only way to put and end to the Muslim problem. Mr. Ellison was right about Jefferson . He was a "visionary" wise enough to read and learn about the enemy from their own Muslim book of jihad.

My $0.02
I fear the beginning of the end here, as Miyamoto Musashi taught in the book of five rings, "Rat's head-Ox's neck". I see the small infiltration,Quran instead of Bible (Rat's head) soon to be followed by a larger wave of Muslim special interest (Ox neck).
The Muslims know they cannot engage us in a conventional war, hence the use of guerilla tactics, and now the second wave, what could be better than a Man on the inside. 
I make no claim to know the congressmans agenda, but my gut tells me Judeao-Christian American values may not be at the core of his game plan.

 
SENIOR AL-QAIDA LEADER CAPTURED IN MOSUL

BAGHDAD, Iraq – U.S. troops captured a senior al-Qaida leader and 5 terrorists during a raid in Mosul Dec. 14.

The terrorist leader was captured when U.S. troops raided a known terrorist meeting place.  The terrorist leader was attempting to flee from the location when U.S. troops chased him across a street and detained him.

As the Military Emir of Mosul in 2005, he was personally responsible for hundreds of civilian deaths, to include women and children.  He housed foreign fighters to be used in suicide bombing attacks against U.S, Iraqi troops and the Iraqi people. The capture of this terrorist responsible for anti-Iraqi activity will seriously disrupt al-Qaida in Iraq operations.
 
Iraqi troops capture terrorist mortar team 
 
KALSU, Iraq – Iraqi Army troops and Soldiers from the 4th Brigade (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, captured 3 men attempting to set up a mortar tube near Al Qasim, Iraq, Dec. 20.

While conducting a routine patrol, the joint force spotted the 3 men sneaking into a wooded area. The patrol set up an observation post and called in their quick reaction force who moved in and captured the 3 terrorists. The patrol found a complete mortar system and 5 high-explosive rounds.

 
National Police capture 12 men at power plant facility

BAGHDAD – Elements of the 2nd Iraqi National Police Division captured 12 men involved in sectarian murders at a power plant facility in the Jazeera neighborhood Dec. 19.

The raid was the result of tips from local residents. The Iraqi national police were attacked by small arms fire, rocket-propelled grenades and improvised explosive devices during the operation. The men were surrounded and eventually surrendered after a gunfight. Two vehicles were damaged. No police officers were injured in the attack.

The 12 men are being held for further questioning regarding their roles in sectarian murders in the al-Doura area of the Iraqi capital.
 
2 insurgents killed by U.S. forces, 1 captured
In Fallujah today U.S. troops killed 2 insurgents who attacked the northwest Iraqi Police gate of the Government Center. 

The U.S. troops observed 4 insurgents exit a parked vehicle and fire a rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire at the Iraqi Police gate.  As they attempted to fire the second RPG round, U.S. troops engaged the insurgents with small arms fire.  Two insurgents were killed and one was injured.  One insurgent escaped.


Paratroopers capture 18, secure cache at enemy safe house

FOB KALSU, Iraq – Paratroopers from Company A,
1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, captured 18 insurgents and a weapons cache while searching a house Dec 17. The cache consisted of three rifles, one scope, one sword, one pistol, assorted military uniforms, one American protective chemical suit, and a large amount of currency.

 

3-61st Cavalry troops foil bomb makers in, uncover and destroy IED

FOB LOYALTY, Iraq – Soldiers with the 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment killed one insurgent and captured 2 others after they caught them attempting to place an improvised explosive device in eastern Baghdad Dec. 16. Also recovered were 2 loaded AK-47 rifles and 8 magazines. In a separate incident, 3-61st Soldiers found and detonated an IED during a morning patrol.
 
 
Iraqi Army, Paratroopers Disrupt Terrorists in Turki

TURKI, Iraq – Iraqi Army soldiers and Paratroopers captured 5 terrorists
and seized a weapons cache Thursday during an air assault operation targeting terrorist
cells in Turki Village.

Nearly 200 soldiers from the 5th Iraqi Army Division and Paratroopers from 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division conducted the air assault.

During the mission, a U.S. air weapons team identified 2 armed terrorists and engaged them, killing both.

Continuing on patrol, the Soldiers discovered a cache containing a rocketpropelled
grenade, over 200 rounds of small-arms ammunition, material for making improvised explosive devices, and other small arms munitions.

 
Iraqi Army coordinates for air support to kill terrorists near Balad

TIKRIT, Iraq – Iraqi Army soldiers from the 5th Iraqi Army Division, with
support from 1st Cavalry Division, called in an air strike on a house harboring eight terrorists after receiving small-arms fire from the house Thursday while they were on patrol east of Balad.

After receiving clearance, an F-15E dropped a guided bomb on the house,
partially demolishing it. However, Iraqi Army continued to receive small-arms fire. Terrorists were observed going into the house. An air weapons team was called to assist ground forces. Terrorists engaged the IA and U.S. Soldiers from a second house. Ground forces engaged the second house killing the terrorists. The Iraqi soldiers secured the site after the house had been destroyed, discovering the bodies of the 8 terrorists with AK-47 semi-automatic machine guns.
 
 
Operations net 5 terrorists, weapons
FOB LOYALTY, Iraq – U.S. Soldiers captured 5 terrorists in two separate incidents and found weapons and other items during routine traffic checks in eastern Bagdad Dec. 16.

During one of the traffic stops, the unit found three 9mm pistols, three cell phones and a black ski mask.  They arrested 3 men during this incident. The second incident netted a video camera, recorder and two more terrorists.  U.S. troops use precision-guided munitions to stop enemy.

 

Numerous terrorists killed, 2 wounded and captured during attack

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq – U.S. troops were attacked by insurgents with small arms fire from a building Saturday in Ramadi. U.S. troops returned fire with small arms and machinegun fire.  4 insurgents were seen running down the road and were engaged with machinegun fire.  One insurgent was killed and two more were wounded and captured.

When the enemy’s attack did not cease, U.S. troops used precision guided munitions to destroy the building being used as an insurgent fighting position.  Parts of the buildings were destroyed.  The enemy’s attacks stopped.  The number of insurgents killed and wounded as a result of the strike is unknown at this time.

While investigating the area after the strike, U.S. troops discovered an Iraqi citizen shot by an insurgent earlier in the engagement. Insurgents had taken his vehicle to transport the body of the killed and wounded insurgents out of the area.

 

4 terrorists killed, 6 captured outside of Dujayl

TIKRIT, Iraq – U.S. troops killed 4 terrorists and captured 6 others near Dujayl, about 80 miles north of Baghdad, Dec. 15 after the terrorists attempted to engage a U.S. Army convoy during curfew hours. 
 
Soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, engaged the enemy after they observed the terrorists setting up ambush positions along Highway 1, the main highway between Baghdad and Mosul. 

Upon further investigation, U.S. troops discovered various semi-automatic machine guns – including three AK-47s, three rocket-propelled grenade launchers, and one RPK fully-automatic machinegun.

 

Iraqi Army, Iraqi Police capture a document forger working for insurgent groups and a weapons smuggler

BAGHDAD – 1st Iraqi Army Division forces captured a forger during operations Dec. 17 in Fallujah who produces forged documents and false identifications for insurgents operating from Ramadi to Baghdad.
Iraqi forces captured 2 more insurgents believed to be part of an improvised explosive device cell operating in the area. Iraqi forces confiscated equipment and material used to produce false identification and documents.

In a separate operation, Iraqi Police Forces captured a weapons smuggler during an operation in Tikrit, who is supplying weapons and improvised explosive devices used in insurgent attacks against Iraqi civilians and security forces.

The weapons smuggler is an experienced IED maker and provides IEDs, small arms and heavy weapons to insurgent groups conducting attacks in the Tikrit area. Iraqi forces confiscated 3 assault rifles and a pistol.



Iraqi Army captures IED, murder leader and 7 other terrorists

BAGHDAD – Ninth Iraqi Army Division troops captured a member of an illegal armed group during operations Dec. 16 in Baghdad who is involved in attacks against Iraqi civilians and Iraqi Security Forces.

He is involved in IED attacks against civilians and security forces as well as kidnapping and murder.  He is also involved in setting up illegal checkpoints to help facilitate his kidnapping and murder operations. The Iraqi Force captured seven other terrorists.

 

Iraqi Army, Coalition Forces Discover Cache, Kills Seven Terrorists

BAQUBAH, Iraq – Soldiers from the 5th Iraqi Army, with support from 1st Cavalry Division troops, killed 7 terrorists, captured 3 other terrorists and discovered a cache while conducting operations in Baqubah Tuesday. This terrorist cell is responsible for the kidnappings and violence throughout the Baqubah markets. They have been eliminated from further operations against U.S. and Iraqi troops and civilians.

While conducting operations to eliminate terrorists and insurgents from
the Baqubah area and provide a secure and safe environment for the people of the
region, U.S. soldiers were involved in several small arms fire attacks. Anti-Iraqi
forces killed one Iraqi Army soldier and wounded seven.

With assistance from a U.S. air weapons team, 7  terrorists were killed during the attacks and an additional 3 terrorists were captured. The troops also discovered a cache consisting of rocket propelled grenades, mortar rounds and other improvised
explosive device material.

“This operation is ongoing evidence that the 5th Iraqi Army is conducting
intelligence-driven, evidence-based operations,” a U.S. Colonel said.

Iraqi National Police prevent casualties, saved lives from car bomb

BAGHDAD – Iraqi National Police manning a security checkpoint potentially saved many Iraqi lives by thwarting a car bomb threat here Dec. 17.

The driver of a car stopped short of a checkpoint in the Al Amariya district and got out of his car.  He told police officers he had been kidnapped and forced to drive to that location. The driver said he suspected his kidnappers placed an explosive device in the vehicle. 

An alert Iraqi National Policeman immediately cleared the area after seeing a suspicious bag in the vehicle’s trunk.  Not long afterward, the bomb detonated causing only minor damage to an adjacent car. No one was injured from the blast.

 More than 500 gunmen killed, arrested in Iraq 3 weeks ago

BAGHDAD   -- The Iraqi Ministry of Interior said Thursday that it killed or captured 537 gunmen 3 weeks ago.
The National Police arrested 79 gunmen while the local police arrested 403 others in scattered areas of Iraq, the ministry said in its weekly report.
 
10 terrorists were killed by national police forces while 45 others were killed by local forces. He added that 7 hostages were rescued and released.

The report carried on by saying that 41 policemen were killed by insurgents throughout the previous week 156 policemen were injured. The statement revealed the names of top Iraqi members of leading terrorist groups that were arrested in addition to five Egyptians and five Syrians in Dyala province near  Baghdad.

Police also managed to dismantle 3 booby-trapped vehicles and seize 6,000 pieces of weapons.

In other news, Iraq's government has executed a Tunisian man, Yousri Fakher Mohammad, 30 days after being found guilty in an Iraqi court. Mohhammad was one of several people responsible for the attacks on the shrines last February. Those attacks have led to thousands more Iraqi deaths due to sectarian violence.
 
Iraq Executes 13 Prisoners                             Dec. 19, 2006

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - 13 men convicted of murder, kidnapping and other crimes were hanged in a Baghdad jail on Tuesday, lining up shortly before their execution in hoods and green jumpsuits, their hands bound behind their backs.

The government executed the 13 men after an appeals court and the presidency approved the verdict, said Busho Ibrahim, undersecretary of the Justice Ministry. ``They included terrorists and other criminals convicted of abduction and murder as well as assassination plots in several provinces,'' he said.

Television footage showed the hooded men standing in a row shortly before they were hanged. Several stooped, and one man had his arm around the shoulder of another. Some images showed two men standing together on a gallows with nooses around their necks.

The footage also showed a bearded man without a hood as he listened to an official tell him that his appeal had been rejected and the sentence was death. ``OK,'' the prisoner said, impassively.

 
‘Cache house’ uncovered in Baghdad, huge number of weapons

FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq – Soldiers with the 1st Bn, 26th Infantry Regiment discovered a weapons cache in a militia safe house in Baghdad Dec. 19.

While establishing a cordon around the house, the U.S. Soldiers came under small arms fire and responded by hurling a grenade, which killed an insurgent.

Once inside, the unit discovered a large cache of weapons and rounds including
30,000 rounds of ammunition, 200 mortar rounds, 1 prefabricated improvised
explosive device, 2 suicide vests, 2 suicide belts, 20 107mm rockets, 31 grenades, 10 AK-47s, 6 machine guns, 2 rocket-propelled grenade launchers, 20 propanetanks, and 4 anti-tank mines.

Also recovered were materials used to forge identification cards, and 20 walkie-talkies.
 
 
Iraqi Police recruiting drive signs up 1,115 in Al Anbar

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq – In one of the most successful recruiting efforts in
western Iraq to date, 1,115 Iraqi men have recently signed up to join the Police Forces in the restive Al Anbar Province.

The new recruits, mostly from the Anbar cities of Ramadi, Fallujah and Hit, will
attend a five-week training course at the Jordanian International Police Training
College. Following successful completion of the course the new officers will join the
more than 8,000 police currently serving in communities throughout Al Anbar Province.

The successful recruiting effort this month moves the Government of Iraq and
Multi-National Forces West one step closer to achieving the joint goal of ensuring
11,330 trained law enforcement officers are on the job by April 2007.

“There are no spectacular victories in a counterinsurgency, but this represents a
significant development in the fight for the people of Anbar,” said a Marine LTC.

 
U.S.& Iraqi Army troops kicking bad guys in the butt:
 
 
8 TERRORISTS KILLED DURING EARLY MORNING RAID NEAR BAQUBAH

BAGHDAD, IRAQ – U.S. troops killed 8 al-Qaida terrorists today in an early-morning raid near Baqubah.

Acting upon intelligence sources, U.S. troops launched an operation to detain individuals running a known terrorist cell. At the objective, U.S. troops received enemy rifle and machine gun fire.  Due to the heavy volume of enemy fire, U.S. troops also engaged the terrorists by calling in airstrikes.     

U.S.A.F. fighters fired rounds neutralizing the enemy threat. U.S. troops then cleared the objective of terrorists.  Upon a search of the objective area, they found 2 female nationals who were killed during the firefight.  U.S. troops found machine guns, AK-47s and rifles at the scene.

 
U.S. Troops Conducts Strike On Insurgents, Killing 2

AR RAMADI, Iraq – U.S. troops conducted a precision strike on insurgent forces after observing 3 men loading weapons from a known cache site into a vehicle in central Ramadi.

After making positive identification, U.S. troops fired precision ordnance at the vehicle, killing 2 terrorists. One terrorist was seen limping away from the scene.

 
 
U.S. Forces Engage Insurgents & Supporters In Ar Ramadi, 6 Killed

AR RAMADI, Iraq – 6 Iraqis were killed in conjunction with a firefight in the hostile Hamaniyah area in Ar Ramadi in the early hours of Nov. 28.

Prior to dawn, U.S. troops discovered an improvised explosive device in a historic IED location in Hamaniyah. The patrol spotted 2 insurgents moving away from the trigger site. The 2 men took up positions on the roof of a house and observed the U.S. troops clearing the IED.

As U.S. troops cleared the IED, the insurgents engaged the soldiers providing security with small arms fire. After establishing positive identification, U.S. troops engaged with small arms and machine gun fire. As the insurgents continued to engage the patrol, U.S. troops returned fire with M1-A1 Abrams main gun tank rounds.  U.S. troops conducted an extensive search of the house and found 6 Iraqis dead.

According to local residents, the house was a known insurgent safe house. It was reported that one of the insurgents was wounded and other insurgents came to him from the house.

 
2 Terrorists Arrested In Funeral Procession

FORWARD OPERATING BASE MAHMUDIYAH, Iraq — Soldiers of the 6th Iraqi Army Division stopped a vehicle north of FOB Mahmudiyah Nov. 24, discovering that the driver and passenger were heavily armed.

Soldiers found an Uzi submachine gun with a silencer in the vehicle, as well as a number of hand grenades, and multiple false identification papers.  The vehicle had infiltrated a funeral procession when it was stopped, but none of the people in the procession could identify the men.

The men were uncooperative during questioning by Iraqi troops and were taken to an Iraqi Army facility for further interrogation.

 
Special Iraqi Army Forces Captures 2 Leaders, 7 Others, of Illegal Armed Group IED Cell

BAGHDAD – Special Iraqi Army Forces, with U.S. advisors, captured 2 leaders of an illegal armed group cell during a raid Nov. 28 in Baghdad who are believed to be responsible for producing and detonating improvised explosive devices and car bombs. 7 other terrorists were captured by Iraqi forces during the raid.
 
 
Iraqi Army captures 2 in mortar attack near Taji

TAJI, Iraq – Iraqi Army Soldiers of the 9th Iraqi Army Division captured 2 insurgents here today on a motorcycle carrying 3 mortar rounds and a large sum of money.
       
The two men were placed into custody after allegedly firing two mortar rounds into the 2nd Iraqi Brigade’s area of operations.  The insurgents were passing through an Iraqi checkpoint at the time of their capture. Iraqi Army soldiers were conducting a reconnaissance mission in the area after discovering mortar rounds had been fired in their vicinity.
 
Iraqi Army Troops Kill 3, Captures 28 Insurgents
 
BAGHDAD - Iraqi soldiers killed 3 insurgents and arrested 28 during the past 24 hours in different parts of Iraq, the Defence Ministry said.