Iraq & Afghanistan in the news

Suicide Bombers--Combat Lessons:
Let's Ask Some Questions

By Dick Field

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

These bloody bombs that the Jihadist 'virgins-in-paradise' seekers explode seem a nightmare for military and civilians alike. We see the same scenario repeated time and time again, yet all militaries, Canadian, British or American don't seem to change their behaviour too much.

(Left to Right) Command Sgt. Maj. Dan Ous of the 4th Infantry Division's 2nd Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment and Lt. Col. Louis Lartigue, Commander Lt. Col. Arthur Kandarian and Command Sgt. Maj. Felipe Paul of the 101st Airborne Division's 1st Squadron 32nd Cavalry Regiment pose for a photo after a short "Relief in Place" ceremony at forward operating base Normandy.

101st Airborne Division's 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry wraps up tour

By Mark Wojciechowski

Monday, September 11, 2006

MUQDADIYAH, Iraq As the 101st Airborne Division wraps up its tour, the 2nd Squadron, 9th Cavalry will assume operations while elements of the 25th Infantry Division move into theater.

Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division's 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry have handed over their area of operations to the 2nd Squadron, 9th Cavalry, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, from Fort Carson, Colo. The 2nd Sqdrn., 9th Cavalry was previously operating out of Forward Operating Base Wilson in the Salah ah Din Province and has since moved to this area of Diyala Province to wrap up their tour.

Iraqi Police recruits proudly display their diplomas upon a graduation ceremony at the Scorpion Training Academy in Diyala Province

Iraqi Police Recruits Graduate Scorpion Academy

By Mark Wojciechowski

Thursday, September 7, 2006

MUQDADIYAH, Iraq The Scorpion Training Academy at Forward Operation Base Normandy continues to add quality Iraqi Police officers to Diyala Province.

This two-week course culminated with a graduation ceremony for 27 Iraqi Police officers at this old Iraqi Army training facility. The academy is sending more capable protectors of the Iraqi people back to their police stations throughout Diyala Province.

The main objectives here are to provide advanced training to Iraqi Police officers so they may protect and serve the people of Iraq and build a security force capable of helping to stabilize a nation.

Polish war correspondent, Mr. Waldemar Milewicz

A Polish intelligence success in Iraq

Progress of the New Iraqi Army

Members of the 5th Iraqi Army Division’s MiTT, which is made up of elements from the 101^st Airborne Division and the Army Reserve’s 80^th Division from Virginia, have been developing the Iraqi Army soldiers to conduct many different military operations on its own.

Iraqi Army Taking Control

BAQUBAH, Iraq (June, 2006) — Sending the Iraqi army forth to take care of security operations is the key to the safety of the Iraqi people and the ground work for the establishment of a free government.

Iraqi army Soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division are independently conducting operations in their area of Diyala Province. They are performing tasks such as gathering their own intelligence, to patrolling their streets and hunting suspected anti-Iraqi forces.

Iraq’s Band of Brothers (and their mothers)

IA Humanitarian Mission Brings Smiles to Poor Village

Two companies from the 2^nd Battalion, 1^st Brigade, 5^th Iraqi Army Division traveled to a remote location of Diyala Province not far from the Iranian border to distribute humanitarian supplies and build relations with the impoverished people here.

As the convoy of newly painted Iraqi Army Humvees approached the small, seemingly abandoned mud huts, a few mangy dogs appeared … then a few small children, then a few women in their hooded garments, and finally the village sheik.

IA Humanitarian Mission Brings Smiles to Poor Village

Is Iraq's failure a foregone conclusion?

The Second Battle for Fallujah

Iraqi Army Receives Direction with GPS Training

The 2^nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division is being trained on the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS). GPS technology has been used for many years by U.S. military and civilian personnel. The concept is based on using satellites to locate and navigate to determined positions on the ground.

Iraqi Army on Target

BAQUBAH, Iraq (April 23, 2006) — When it comes to protecting the people of Iraq from the insurgency, hitting the enemy target is the Iraqi army’s aim.

With the help of the 4^th Infantry Division’s 1-68 Combined Arms Battalion Military Transition Team, this unit of Iraqi army soldiers and many just like it are increasing their target accuracy.

The three-day program focuses on the fundamentals of basic rifle marksmanship, more commonly referred to by the U.S. Army as BRM.

Catholic Faith on the Frontlines in Iraq

By Mark Wojciechowski
Friday, April 14, 2006
BAQUBAH, Iraq (April 14, 2006) — Soldiers are good at getting by with what they have, especially in a combat zone. When resources are scarce, they have the ability to adapt and overcome hardship. This also holds true for some soldiers of the Catholic faith.

When Catholic chaplains are stretched thin across the theater of operations, and they aren’t there to hold regularly scheduled services, Sgt. 1^st Class Brian Wojciechowski and Chief Warrant Officer William Christman of the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4^th Infantry Division, hold Catholic services at Forward Operating Base Warhorse, about 30 miles northeast of Baghdad.

The real picture in Iraq

By Mark Wojciechowski
Friday, April 7, 2006

BAQUBAH, Iraq (April 7, 2006) -- Building the force to fight the insurgency is essential to a free and democratic Iraq. Many people know this.

The latest waves of sectarian violence, since the bombing of the Golden Mosque, are obvious attempts to disrupt and throw the fledgling Iraqi government into chaos. Many people know this as well.

Brave Soldiers of the Iraqi Army are stepping up daily despite being targeted by anti-Iraqi forces. Not as many people know this since they don't see it in the media.

They see the attack on an Iraqi Army recruiting station, but they don't see the day after, when more recruits line up to join the ranks of the Iraqi Army to protect their country.

Shower in the Desert

By Mark Wojciechowski
Tuesday, March 28, 2006

BAQUBAH, Iraq (March 28, 2006) -- Traveling from forward operating base to forward operating base can be bothersome at first, but you try to get settled into a routine and, before you know it, you're off and running to the next FOB.

FOBs are basically life sustainment areas for soldiers operating in theater. They are usually built up and fortified with security so that planning, maintenance and rest can be accommodated before missions outside of "the wire."

What It's Like on the "bird"

By Mark Wojciechowski
Monday, March 6, 2006

Tikrit,-Iraq- …Your flight lands and sends an intense rush of wind and sand against your body. The crew chief waves you on to approach the "bird"; you lumber towards the ramp at the rear of the aircraft in full "battle rattle" and all of your equipment. If it is cold outside your body goes beyond a shiver to a jaw clinching brace.

You take a giant step up and past the machine gun mounted on the ramp.

Iraqi vote: Voice of the people

"The time has come to build Iraq with our own hands and to use the great wealth that God has granted to Iraq to rebuild Iraq so that we can turn our poverty into wealth and our misery into happiness." The words of Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, according to the AP.

Defining victory in Iraq

Victory in Iraq can be declared when there is an elected representative government in place that controls Iraqi security forces of sufficient strength and experience to prevent Islamic fundamentalists from gaining control of the nation by force of arms.

Baghdad journal:
Fantasies, castles and Kellogg, Brown & Root

The day had started pretty normally for this part of the world, a suicide bomber climbed on to a bus in a bus station, just across the river, not far from the Green Zone and blew himself and some 30 passengers into the next world. At the same time the spate of Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) attacks continued throughout the country. For the average citizen, life continues to be difficult, but from my conversations with our local colleagues it would appear that there are some glimmers of hope. I admit that my colleagues are not a fully representative cross-section of Iraqi society, but nevertheless I detect some hope that progress will be made soon.

A Marine's Greetings from Fallujah

This is a letter I received from Santa Monica Police Officer Doug Woodham who is serving in Iraq. As a retired Santa Monica police officer I wanted to pass it on to all of you. Say a prayer for Doug and his outfit this Thanksgiving and remember that it is their sacrifice which enables us to join with our families and friends on this, the most traveled of our holidays. As we used to say..."Bless the boys who are here today.  Bless the boys who couldn't make it. Bless the boys who died fighting for our country. Our Father..."

Message from the heart of a soldier

(Editor’s note: Retired Lt.-Col. William Mann, who sent canadafreepress the touching powerpoint picture movie, "If I Die Before You Wake", written by Dustin Evans, Rick Tiger and Dave Brainard, performed by Dustin Evans, has written a prelude which he is hoping you will read before watching the presentation posted here).

Methodism and the War In Iraq

A funny thing happened on the road to Baghdad. It seems that while Methodist bishops were meeting in North Carolina to adopt a resolution calling for an end to what they proclaimed to be an "unjust war" in Iraq, a group of Iraqi Kurds were taking out advertisements in the Wall Street Journal thanking America for rescuing them from the tyrrany of Saddam Hussein. Sounds funny, doesn't it? It gets funnier.

Doing right: Staying true in Iraq

One trick fanatic Islamics rely on is The Lie. That’s not new to human history. It dates way back to Cain versus Abel.

War Games...Fighting an Uphill Battle

Here we go again! I'm sure by now the American public knows of the agenda in the mainstream media to try to make the American troops look like the aggressors in the War on Terror. I sneered at the latest attempt by the media to make our troops look bad...the reports of burnt bodies of Taliban fighters U.S. troops "supposedly" desecrated.  I will side with the troops as they give their reasons for burning the bodies (Stench Prompted U.S. Troops to Burn Corpses )...they simply reeked!

Treacherous Journalism

My first response to the huge article that began under the newspaper’s banner, four columns wide, ten and a half inches deep, was one of revulsion. It was Saturday, October 22, and, above the main headline was a paragraph in large, boldface typeface that read, "Insurgent attacks kill four more American troops, pushing the total number of U.S. military deaths near 2,000 since the start of the Iraq war. Page. 8"

U.S. troops: 2,000 deaths for what?

Congratulations to the stalwart who remain loyal to Iraqi freedoms ensconced. Right now the Iraqis are waging a war against their own Muslim fanatics. But the sane determine to win their democracy in place of Saddam Hussein’s despotic grip.

Negotiating With Our Murderers

Making the rounds of the opinion editorial pages of various U.S. dailies, Prof. Allen J. Zerkin, has been urging the United States to begin opening channels to al Qaeda for the purpose of seeking "a truce…no matter how much that galls us."

Creating freedom in Iraq

Regardless of which way the Constitutional referendum in Iraq turns out, the people win. The bloody process of making a government for Iraq is not that different from the bloody process of making a government for the United States. What is important for both countries is that the people are making a government for themselves, rather than submitting to the rule of a dictator.

Hearts and Minds of the Umma

"We must repeat what we mentioned previously, that the majority of Muslims don't comprehend this and possibly could not even imagine it. For that reason, many of your Muslim admirers amongst the common folk are wondering about your attacks on the Shia. The sharpness of this questioning increases when the attacks are on one of their mosques…this matter won't be acceptable to the Muslim populace."

Whining isn't helpful

Winning or losing a war depends in large part on how committed the combatants are to victory. The whining and moaning about the so-called war on terrorism is increasing in both numbers and volume and is amplified by much of the media, which has assumed the role of megaphone for the political left. The number of individuals who insist that this war is not one we can win are increasing and has even spread into the president’s own party.

Reasonable Bush: Iraq, stay the coursel

Of course. There is no other choice but to stay the course unless America and other freedom-based nations want to be overrun by Muslim terrorists. It comes down to that stark fact.

How to Turn Iraq Into Another Vietnam

The anti-war blame-America-first folks behind the movement to create another Vietnam in Iraq are well versed in how to accomplish their goal. They still have the blueprints from when they created the first Vietnam. But younger Americans impatient with the progress in Iraq have no real memory of how Vietnam happened. So I thought someone should provide a roadmap for success, or failure as the case may be…

Can Democracy Succeed in Iraq?

In the midst of our desire to see a happy outcome in Iraq, we must never lose sight of the ability of Arabs to reject every opportunity to join the modern community of nations, i.e., the industrialized West and those in Asia who are working toward a more peaceful, integrated worldwide marketplace.

Terrorism Allows No Room for Negotiation

It was discovered in Munich, during the 1972 Olympic Games, that terrorists could not be dissuaded from carrying out heinous acts of cold blood against innocents when motivated by ethnic hatred or religious fanaticism. It also became apparent that the rest of the world could and would carry on as though the fedayeen's (men of sacrifice) acts of barbarism were of no particular cause for concern. To emphasize this, The Olympic Games continued with full media coverage after the murder of 11 members of the Israeli team by PLO affiliates referred to as "Black September".

Saddam and al Qaeda: There's abundant evidence of connections

By Claudia Rosett, Opinionjournal.com/
Wednesday July 13, 2005

President Bush has given some good speeches lately, including his talk June 29 at Fort Bragg, N.C., in which he stressed some of the reasons for going into Iraq, and his address this past Monday at the FBI Academy at Quantico, Va., in which he talked about the role of intelligence in defeating terrorists and stressed that "the heart of our strategy is this: Free societies are peaceful societies."

I was a Teenage Terrorist

By Andrew Walden, FrontPageMagazine.com
Friday, July 15, 2005

In 1996, Abdurahman Khadr, then 13-year-old terrorist-in-training, stood face to face with his idol: Osama bin Laden. Before long, Khadr would join the ranks of al-Qaeda’s jihad in Afghanistan, fulfilling the calling of his hard-line Islamist family by waging war against the hated Americans. Now, after a stint at Guantanamo Bay prison, Abdurahman will become an American hero–at least if Hollywood has its way.