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JuneauEmpire.com: Associated Press
Iraq sets dusk-to-dawn curfew before vote
Just ahead of the first free balloting in Iraq in half a century, the nation battened down for the vote, imposing a 7 p.m.-6 a.m. curfew on Friday and closing Baghdad International Airport. Five U.S. soldiers were killed in the capital and insurgents blasted polling stations across the country.

Iraqi expatriates begin voting in U.S.
Hundreds of Iraqis streamed into polling places in five U.S. cities Friday, the first day they could vote in their homeland's election. Nearly 26,000 people have registered to vote in five U.S. metropolitan areas with heavy Iraqi populations: Detroit, Chicago, Nashville, Tenn., Los Angeles and Washington.

Sen. Biden, Iran minister clash over nukes
Sen. Joseph Biden and Iran's foreign minister clashed Friday over Tehran's nuclear ambitions, with Biden hinting at the possibility of armed conflict unless fears of an Iranian weapons program were put to rest.

Lockheed wins presidential copter contract
A new fleet of presidential helicopters will be built by Lockheed Martin and its international partners, the Navy announced Friday, ending a fierce competition that had both political and international implications.

Israelis halt military activity in Gaza
Israel's army chief ordered his troops Friday to halt raids in the Gaza Strip and move against West Bank militants only with his approval, a major policy reversal after more than four years of fighting and a key step toward a truce with the Palestinians.


Ananova: War In Iraq
British troops enforce poll curfew
British troops were swooping through streets in an eerie silence as they mounted night-time patrols to enforce Iraq's election curfew. Ananova: War In Iraq


The US News: Iraq News
Wyoming Marine dies in Iraq
A Wyoming Marine was among the 31 servicemen killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq Wednesday, the deadliest day since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.Staff Sgt. Brian Bland, 26, was a 1995 graduate of Ne... [in Casper Star Tribune] The US News: Iraq News

How to Assess Iraq Election Day Results
Because there will be no exit polls nor complete election results released Sunday night, it could be difficult to assess and understand the results of Iraq ( [in Yahoo] The US News: Iraq News

Karzai urges Iraqi people to take part in polls :
[World News]: Kabul, Jan. 28 : Afghan President Hamid Karzai today urged Iraqis to follow his country's example by defying al Qaeda threats and voting in this month's Iraq election. Afghans chose th... [in New Kerala] The US News: Iraq News

For Iraqi Expatriates in the U.S., a Chance to Savor the Vote
But even as they exulted in the opportunity to vote, many expatriates expressed deep fears about Sunday's vote in Iraq. New York Times: World Special

Iraq prepares for elections amid continuing violence >
Last Updated 29/01/2005, 12:16:14 In the lead to up the election in Iraq there's been a spate of violent attacks across the country.In the latest unrest three U-S soldiers have been killed in western... [in Radio Australia] The US News: Iraq News

Iraqi family's journey inspires hope
BAGHDAD - It has been said you can't go home again. The Naama family is trying to prove otherwise, though their journey home has not been an easy one. [in MSNBC] The US News: Iraq News

U.S. Commander Predicts Large Iraqi Voter Turnout
HOUSTON (AP) - The general who commands U.S. forces in Iraq said Friday that millions of Iraqis will vote this weekend in the face of likely bloodshed because they recognize their nation must not retu... [in Tampa Bay Online] The US News: Iraq News

Bush says Iraqi vote will set a 'powerful example'
Photo: AFP WASHINGTON (AFP) - As Iraqi exiles cast ballots around the world, US President George W. Bush said weekend elections in their war-torn homeland would inspire pro-democracy reformers thro... [in AFP via Yahoo] The US News: Iraq News

U.S. Army Helicopter Crashes in Baghdad
An Army helicopter crashed in southwest Baghdad on Friday night, and the fate of the crew was not immediately known, a U.S. military official said. [in Yahoo] The US News: Iraq News

Bright spots emerge on Iraq's cloudy horizon
Yahoo! News: War with Iraq

Army Officer Speaks Out on Security During Iraq's Elections
Mary Stoker Smith U.S. forces are securing aggressive security missions for the elections. Friday WTVO Channel 17 News talked with a U.S. Army public affairs officer stationed in Baghdad about the acc... [in WTVO] The US News: Iraq News

Arab Media Split Over Iraqi Elections
Editor's Note: Arab media are showing a diversity of viewpoints in the run-up to the Jan. 30 Iraqi elections, with support for the elections coming from media that are also critical of the U.S. occupa... [in Pacific News Service] The US News: Iraq News

Indianapolis Marine Shares View on Iraq Developments
Karen Hensel News 8 brings you a special look at the war in Iraq from an Indiana State Trooper serving as a Marine there. Lieutenant Colonel Mark Smith has been corresponding with News 8 via email. He... [in WISH TV 8] The US News: Iraq News


Iraq Vote Will Set Global Example
The elections in Iraq will set an example of democracy for the rest of the Middle East, President Bush said Friday."This history is changing the world," Bush said, speaking of S... [in Tuscaloosa News] The US News: Iraq News

Tough security in Iraq for tomorrow's polls
Reuters, AFP, Baghdad Iraq clamped tough security measures across the country yesterday, sealing land borders and curbing travel to foil insurgents bent on wrecking tomorrow's election, but a car bom... [in The Daily Star] The US News: Iraq News

Blitz of TV ads rolls as Iraqi candidates try to reach voters
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqi candidates are making their pitches to voters in a barrage of last-minute advertising unlike anything this country has ever known. [in Marin Independent-Journal] The US News: Iraq News

Iraqi officials have said they are close to capturing their top enemy, Al-Qaeda frontman Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, as the country goes on high alert to foil insurgent efforts to wreck the historic electio... [in The World News] The US News: Iraq News

Iraqi exiles begin casting votes in historic election
Click to enlarge LONDON (AFP) - Thousands of expatriate Iraqis cast ballots in their country's first free election for over half a century, with emotions running high among voters despite the relativ... [in AFP via Yahoo] The US News: Iraq News

Politicians seize the day in Iraq
. The political machines of the campaigns are as varied as the 111 political groups vying for 275 seats in the National Assembly. Grassroots candidates like Sheik are sticking to their neighborhoods, ... [in International Herald Tribune] The US News: Iraq News

Four killed in Baghdad police blast
A car bomb exploded near a Baghdad police station, killing four Iraqi policemen and injuring four other people, police said. Officers guarding the police station in the capital's southern Dora neighb... [in Ananova] The US News: Iraq News

Iraq Says Winning War on Rebels as Polls Near
By Andrew Marshall BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Insurgents bent on wrecking Sunday's election in Iraq killed 10 Iraqis and five U.S. troops on Friday but the government said it had caught three al Qaeda lie... [in Reuters] The US News: Iraq News

Iraqi authorities announce capture of three associates of terror leader; five U.S. soldiers killed
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Authorities in Iraq have arrested three close associates of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, officials said Friday, claiming to be close to capturing the al-Qaida-linked terror mastermind h... [in Casper Star Tribune] The US News: Iraq News

Hundreds of Alabama-based soldiers return from Iraq
Print this story. Nearly 400 Alabama-based soldiers on active duty for nearly a year are set to return home at several homecoming ceremonies throughout the state on Saturday, Alabama National Gua... [in Tuscaloosa News] The US News: Iraq News

Yahoo! News: War with Iraq
Bright spots emerge on Iraq's cloudy horizon
Yahoo! News: War with Iraq


Weather
Weather information from The Weather Channel
Iraq
Al Azamiyah
Al Basrah
Al Hillah
Al Karkh
Al Kazimiyah
Al Kut
An Nasiriyah
Baghdad
Baqubah
Mosul
Najaf
Nineveh
Tall Kayf

Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar
Ghurian
Herat
Kabul
Qandahar


From Fox News
Homicide Bomber Kills Eight in Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq — A homicide bomber detonated explosives strapped to his body in front of a police station in a Kurdish town near the Iranian border, killing eight people on the eve of Iraq's crucial national election, Iraqi and U.S. officials said. Insurgents blasted polling places in at least seven cities. Story

Election Workers on Front Lines
Iraqis Stock Up on Food, Gas
Riot, Bomb Scare at Australia Polls
Iraq Sets Curfews Ahead of Vote
Three Zarqawi Men Nabbed
U.S. Chopper Crashes in Baghdad
Iraqi Expats Vote Around World
Iraqi-Americans Go to Polls
Hawaii Mourns Loss of Marines
Insurgents Step Up Attacks in Iraq
Kennedy Wants Pullout Timeline
Chopper Crash Victims From Across U.S.
Iraqi Expats Begin Casting Ballots
Book: Gulf War Stopped Iraq Nukes
37 Troops Killed on Deadliest Day in Iraq


From the Department of Defense
Iraqis in U.S. Cast Votes in Elections
NEW CAROLLTON, Md., Jan. 28, 2005 — Iraqi citizens, many who fled their native country for the United States to escape Saddam Hussein's brutality, came here today to take part in something they never thought they'd live to see: Iraq's first free elections in more than six decades. Story Photo Essay

U.S. Ambassador Predicts Big Voter Turnout
WASHINGTON, Jan. 28, 2005 — The U.S. ambassador to Iraq said he expects millions of Iraqis to go to the polls this weekend during what he called "a major stride toward freedom on the part of the Iraqi people." Story

Iraqi Elections Represent Historic Moment
WASHINGTON, Jan. 28, 2005 — Iraq's Jan. 30 elections mark "the beginning of the end of the miseries and difficulties that the people of Iraq have endured for so many decades," Iraq's interim deputy prime minister told Pentagon reporters today during a videoconference from Baghdad. Story

Iraqis Take Lead in Conducting Elections
WASHINGTON, Jan. 28, 2005 — Iraqis are planning and implementing their own elections Jan. 30, and American and other coalition forces will operate only in support roles, a senior U.S. officer explained Jan. 27. Story

ON THE GROUND
Support Soldiers Sweat So Others Won't Bleed
CAMP TIGERLAND, Iraq, Jan. 28, 2005 — On the support side, there is probably no tougher job than extracting the main gun on an M-1A1 Abrams tank. It's usually done in a maintenance facility with cranes and lifts and all the specialized tools to do the job. Story

Engineer Battalion Helps Refurbish Iraqi Clinic
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 28, 2005 — Over the past few months, U.S. soldiers have been busy improving businesses, schools and even waterlines in the Saba Al Boor area. The most recent project nearing completion is a clinic that has gone from offering only one form of care to offering a variety of health services to residents. Story

Support Teams Maintain Forward Equipment
FORWARD OPERATING BASE ANACONDA, Afghanistan, Jan. 28, 2005 — Ensuring millions of dollars worth of military equipment remains mission-capable is a large task, but it’s one the U.S. soldiers from the Company B, 325th Forward Support Battalion, maintenance support team are ready to handle. Story Photos

Bagram, Task Force Host Diplomat Day
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Jan. 27, 2005 — More than 20 high-level diplomats and embassy officials visited Bagram Airfield and the headquarters of Combined Joint Task Force 76 earlier this week. Story

IN IRAQ
141st Engineer Combat Battalion Skills in High Demand
Dual Military Couples Share Deployment
Cousins Deploy Aboard USS Bonhomme Richard

IN AFGHANISTAN
Deployed Unit Keeps Airmen, Flightline Safe
Multiple Units Form Combined Task Force

WHY I SERVE
Marine Keeps Lines of Communication Open
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C., Jan. 28, 2005 —"When my drill instructor came charging out asking, 'Who's the joker who thinks he's from the North Pole?' I knew I was in for it," Sgt. Brian F. Shelton, a Marine with 2d Tank Battalion here, said. Story

HONORING THE FALLEN
Helo Crash Hits Unit 'Like Beirut'
WASHINGTON, Jan. 28, 2005 — A spokesman for the Hawaii-based Marine unit that lost 26 Marines and one sailor from the Jan. 26 helicopter crash that killed 31 troops in Iraq says the incident has impacted Marines like the 1983 Beirut bombing. Story

Special Report
Iraqi Elections
Iraqi Governors Address Concerns
Iraq Works to Promote Security
Citizens Assist Iraqi, U.S. Forces
Bush Expresses Confidence
Terrorists Fear Free Elections
Curfew, Restrictions Aid Security
Security Strategies Proposed
Iraqis Prepare for Election
Fact Sheet: Timeline
Fact Sheet: Transitional Admin Law
Fact Sheet: Candidate List Regulations

TOP NEWS
IN IRAQ
Army Helicopter Crashes
Suspected Insurgents Captured
Weapons, Munitions Caches Found
2 U.S. Soldiers Killed, 3 Wounded
Iraq Daily Update
Year in Review 2004 Fact Sheets (pdf)
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps
Weekly Progress Report (pdf)

IN AFGHANISTAN
Missing Aircraft Search Continues
Enduring Freedom Marks 3 Years
Afghanistan Daily Update
Maps

WAR ON TERRORISM
Bush: 'Freedom on the March'
Australian Detainee Transferred
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

MILITARY NEWS
Top Doc Discusses Help for Stress
National Guard, Reserve Update