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Monday, February 07, 2005

Mea Culpa...

OK, OK, that was funny.

If you will read the comment to my post about the Iraqi villagers killing 5 insurgents, you will see that I was busted for putting up a link that had a French-associated news organization.

Therefore, in the interest of remedying the situation, you can also find the story here:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200502/s1295847.htm

and at various blogs throughout the Net....

Thanks, Wilson.

Bet You Didn't See This on the News

Iraqi village takes up arms against insurgents, killing five

MAHMUDIYAH, Iraq, Feb 3 (AFP) - Inhabitants of an Iraqi village killed five insurgents who attacked them for taking part in the country's historic election, police said Thursday.

The insurgents launched the raid after earlier warning the inhabitants of Al-Mudhiryah, south of Baghdad, against taking part in Sunday's vote, said a police captain who requested anonymity.

Another eight insurgents and three villagers from the same tribe were wounded in the clashes late Wednesday, said the police official. Eight cars belonging to the attackers were set ablaze.

The village, which is near Mahmudiyah in Babel province, is made up of Sunni and Shiite Muslims.

"We call on the government to intervene to stop the Salafists who have been threatening our country," tribal leader Sheikh Abu Mohammed told AFP, referring to Sunni hardliners.

AFP

Not Yet Notified

Solemnly, they knelt
and placed a hand
on a boot ~
they bowed their heads
and prayed
and said goodbye
to friends, each one a brother ~
a Band of Brothers
Marines
standing tall,
sons of mothers;
the bills of their caps
pulled down
you could not see
their eyes~ they
were in shadow
but you know they
are sad, you know......

The fourth Marine,
as yet unnamed~
because his family had
"not yet been notified"
What a difference
a few words can mean.

Notified -
"Not yet" notified
perhaps a box checked
off some military form
paperwork becoming the norm..

Not yet, not yet
Oh God, don't tell
his mother
that he is gone just yet

her life will never be the same
she will never forget the
words - she'll never forget
her little boy - his name....

this young man
getting up the nerve
to ask his girl to be his wife

now has lost his life;

and the bearer of this sad news,
the one who speaks the words
will never forget,

He and all the others,
the bearers of such tragic news
are also Brothers.

Christina 1-05

The 82nd Airborne Division


by Pfc. Mike Pryor
January 25, 2005
Staff Sgt. Jason Jamora, Pfc. Kyler West and Spc. Adam Franks, from Company C, 3rd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, await the signal to dash across the street to a compound in Baghdad suspected of harboring insurgents.



by Spc. J. H. French
January 7, 2005
Staff Sgt. Scott Logan, 82nd Military Police Company, 82nd Airborne Division, gives a small Iraqi girl pop tarts while on patrol in Ar Ramadi, Iraq.



by Pfc. Adam Sanders
January 18, 2005
Paratroopers from the 325th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, patrol the Al Sudeek district of Mosul, Iraq.



by Sgt. Michael AbneyOctober 29, 2004
Paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division provide security for Soldiers searching for a weapons cache inside a house in Zurmat, Afghanistan.

all photos from Army Images

In Today's News - Monday, February 7, 2005

JuneauEmpire.com: Associated Press
Rice: Israel, Palestinians must keep word
Both sides in the long conflict between Israel and the Palestinians must keep their word as prospects brighten for a lasting peace, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said during her first trip to the Middle East as secretary of state.

Iraq suicide bombings kill 25 people
A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a hospital compound in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Monday, killing 12 policemen and injuring four others, hospital officials said.

Assailants seize consulate in Switzerland
Unidentified assailants took over the Spanish consulate in Switzerland's capital on Monday, and were believed to have seized at least one hostage, police said.

Israel reopens key Gaza cargo crossing
Israel on Monday opened the key cargo crossing into the Gaza Strip after several weeks of closure, the latest in a serious of confidence-building measures.

Support falling for insurgents in Iraq
More Iraq coverage "They saw what we did for them in the election by providing safety, and now they understand this is their army and their sons," said Sgt. Haider Abudl Heidi, a National Guardsman we... [in MSNBC] The US News: Iraq News

Gunmen Abduct 4 Egyptian Workers in Iraq
web sites ) in April 2003. A final tally was expected by Thursday, but initial returns point to a landslide by Shiite Muslim candidates endorsed by their clerics. Shiites are believed to comprise ab... [in Yahoo] The US News: Iraq News

Rome Warned to Pull Soldiers Out of Iraq
web sites ) claimed they still were interrogating her and said they had given Rome a final warning to withdraw its troops from the country, according to a statement posted on the Internet Sunday. [in Yahoo] The US News: Iraq News

22 Iraqi Officers Killed Near Baghdad
Insurgents in pickup trucks attacked a police station south of Baghdad late Sunday, prompting an hourlong gunfight that killed 22 Iraqi security forces and 14 attackers, a police official said. [in Yahoo] The US News: Iraq News

AP Interview: Investigator Says Firms That Bought Iraqi Oil From Traders May Be Complicit
GENEVA (AP) - Companies that bought Iraqi oil from traders who allegedly bribed Saddam Hussein for contracts under the U.N. oil-for-food program could be implicated in a web of corruption uncovered by... [in Tampa Bay Online] The US News: Iraq News

Terror Suspects in Kuwait Planned to Use Ice Cream Trucks to Attack U.S. Convoys Traveling to Iraq KUWAIT CITY (AP) - An Interior Ministry official on Sunday confirmed a report that suspected militants captured in recent police raids confessed they had planned to use ice cream trucks packed with ex... [in Tampa Bay Online] The US News: Iraq News

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: War on Iraq
Blast at Iraqi hospital kills 8, hurts 16
An explosion at a hospital in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Monday killed eight people and injured 16 others, hospital officials said. Seattle Post-Intelligencer: War on Iraq


Ananova: War In Iraq
Bail decision due on terror suspect
An international terror suspect who has been held under house arrest for more than nine months is to be accused of breaching his bail conditions. Ananova: War In Iraq

Omagh bombing probe police quiz man
Omagh bomb inquiry detectives are questioning a man about serious terrorist offences. Ananova: War In Iraq


Yahoo! News: War with Iraq
Rumsfeld: Iraq Needs Time for Military
Once its internal security forces are trained to handle violent insurgents, Iraq will require more time to build a military force strong enough to meet any threats from Iran or other neighbors, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld says. Yahoo! News: War with Iraq

Islamic Radicals Hunt Barbers in Baghdad
Umm Ali says militants killed her son last month for the most unlikely of reasons: He trims men's beards. Yahoo! News: War with Iraq

Ex-Kansan proud of work with Iraqis
She doubts that people back in the States will believe her. It is hard to imagine life at Camp Blue Diamond in Ramadi, Al Anbar Province, Iraq, she said. Kansas.com: Iraq

Patriots shine...Bush budget...Afghan search
Katu.com: Iraq & Terror

Troops reach wreckage
Katu.com: Iraq & Terror


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
Terror Bombers Kill 25 in Iraq
Egyptians Kidnapped in Baghdad
Terrorists Hunt Barbers in Iraq
Assailants Seize Consulate, Take Hostages in Switzerland
FBI to Help in Investigation of Georgian PMs Death
Rice Meets With Ariel Sharon
Israel Reopens Gaza Crossing
NATO Rescuers Reach Wreckage of Afghan Jetliner
GI Demoted for Mud-Wresting at Iraqi Camp
Rumsfeld Says Iraq Needs Time
Complaints of Vote Irregularities Emerge
Former Saddam General in Custody


From the Department of Defense
Iraqi Government Likely to Strike Balance
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2005 — The government that ultimately emerges in Iraq will likely strike a balance between religious and secular interests, but whatever it looks like, it will reflect the culture and values of the Iraqi people — not Americans, Vice President Dick Cheney said this morning on Fox News Sunday. Story

Overcoming Insurgency Key to Iraq's Success
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6. 2005 — It's impossible to know exactly when Iraq's security forces will be fully ready to take over their country's internal security and the coalition can leave Iraq, but several factors will play a role, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said today during interviews on the Sunday morning talk shows. Story

ON THE GROUND
Troops See Election as Culmination of Effort
TAJI, Iraq, Feb. 6, 2005 — Soldiers from the Oregon based 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry, which is deployed with the 1st Cavalry Division in Baghdad, reflected recently on how they felt about the Jan. 30 elections and the events that ensued. Story

Operation Big Dig Takes Bite Out of the Desert
LATIFIYAH, Iraq, Feb. 4, 2005 — After several weeks of collecting and destroying weapons caches in the Latifiyah area of north Babil, Task Force 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division, got a tip about a cache in the desert. Story


Special Report - Iraqi Elections
'Finger in the Eye' of Extremists
Rumsfeld: World Must Stand by Iraq
Fact Sheet: Timeline
Fact Sheet: Transitional Admin Law
Fact Sheet: Candidate List Regulations

TOP NEWS
IN IRAQ
Iraqi Security Forces Update

There are a total of 136,065 Iraqi security forces trained and equipped, senior defense officials said Feb. 4, 2005. About 79,000 serve in the Ministry of Interior Forces — police, civil intervention, emergency response, border enforcement, highway patrol, dignitary protection. Another 57,000 serve in the Ministryof Defense Forces — Army, National Guard, Intervention Force, Special Operations, Air Force and Coastal Defense Force.

More Insurgents Captured in Iraq
Raids on Insurgents Continue
Iraq Daily Update
Year in Review 2004 Fact Sheets (pdf)
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps
Weekly Progress Report (pdf)

IN AFGHANISTAN
Weapons Discovered in Afghanistan
Afghan National Army Stands Guard
Enduring Freedom Marks 3 Years
Afghanistan Daily Update
Maps

WAR ON TERRORISM
Vehicles To Be Up-Armored
U.S. Strength Vital in Face of Terror
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

MILITARY NEWS
Center Offers Hope for Amputees
National Guard, Reserve Update

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