NEW ORLEANS
Marines from 14th Marine Artillery Detachment fire a 19-gun salute in honor of U.S. Sen. David Vitter during arrival honors for the commissioning of the amphibious transport dock ship USS New Orleans in New Orleans, March 10, 2007. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Kurt Eischen - Story

Labels: 14th Marine Artillery Detachment, Marines, photos, ships, US Navy, USMC, USS New Orleans

Phoenix

Labels: Appeal for Courage, Iraq, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Supporting the troops

Mohammed Maroof Hussein, the Balad Ruz mayor, and Col. Farris, the Balad Ruz director of police discuss essential services and security with Col. David W. Sutherland, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division commander and senior U.S. Army officer in the Diyala province, during a meeting at Kirkush Military Training Base, Saturday. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Serena Hayden, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs)


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR# 03107-01
March 10, 2007

BALAD RUZ, Iraq – The Balad Ruz mayor and director of police met with the commander of the 5th Iraqi Army Division and the senior Coalition Forces commander, Saturday, to discuss services and security for the people throughout the region.

Mohammed Maroof Hussein, the Balad Ruz mayor, and Col. Farris, the Balad Ruz director of police, spoke with Maj. Gen. Shakur Hulail Husayn, the 5th IA Division commander, and Col. David W. Sutherland, the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division commander, to determine solutions for the fuel, food, and essential services in Balad Ruz.

The mayor, when speaking of his three concerns, said he realizes the issues are interrelated and affect the entire city.

“The mayor asked for this meeting with the Iraqi security leadership to address the concerns of the people,” said Sutherland. “He is fighting for them to express the reality of the situation. This is democracy at work and shows the trust the people have in the Iraqi Security Forces. The Coalition Forces will surely support the ISF in their efforts.”

While the mayor was concerned about food, fuel and essential services, he did say security has greatly improved in the area since the IA and CF defeated the terrorists south of Balad Ruz.

“My goal is to help with security first, then services,” said Mohammed, who said he continues to work with the government and CF to solve the problems his people face.
Although there have been a number of attacks recently, to include the suicide bomber who killed 28 citizens and wounded an additional 31, the mayor said, “There is little you could do to stop a suicide bomber,” and is still pleased with the security in the area.

The meeting is significant because it shows the local government and security forces working for their people to bring a more stable and secure environment.

Labels: 1st Cavalry Division, 3BCT, Balad Ruz, Diyala Province, Good News, Iraq, Kirkush Military Training Base, Operation Iraqi Freedom, photos

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EU's Solana in Beirut at start of Middle East tour

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NATO warns U.S. missile defense could divide allies
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Decorated American Indian Veteran Dies

Worldwide Wackos
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North Korea nuclear disarmament complex: IAEA
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New Democratic Mass. governor reels after blunders
Kin of Thurmond to open nonprofit
Last day of trade talks for SKorea, U.S.

Illegal Immigration / Border Control
Court: 'Iron River' of Guns Flowing Into Mexico
Pa. city to defend illegal immigrant law
Immigration raids can divide families

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment / Law and Order
Suspect in Kidnapping of Newborn From Hospital Faces Extradition
Texas Mom Charged With Killing Her Kids
N.Y. mugger sought after attacks on elderly women
Conrad Black's U.S. trial hinges on executive graft
Churchgoer slain before Sunday service

U.N. News
U.N. Team: World Must Protect Darfur Civilians
U.N. accuses Sudan of Darfur war crimes
Chief U.N. nuclear inspector in Beijing

Mother Nature
Southern California Wildfires 30 Percent Contained - PHOTOS - VIDEO
Hundreds evacuated in California wildfire - Video
Wind-whipped Calif. fire damages 2 homes
Fishing to end in monument islands

Oddities
Pi fans to meet March 14 (3.14, get it?)

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Gas Prices Spike 20 Cents in 2 Weeks
Police Arrest 7 Spectators at Neo-Nazi March in Missouri
Comedian Richard Jeni Dies of Apparent Suicide
Bones of Missing Woman Found Lying Next to Cane in Her New York Home

Fox News
Second Tour Helicopter Crash in Hawaii Kills 1
Funerals Today for 10 N.Y. Fire Victims
March Madness Seedings Announced
Starbucks Reportedly Planning Record Label
Jet Malfunction Hurts 14, Closes Dubai Airport
Germans Annoyed by EU Commissioner's Call for Autobahn Speed Limits
'300' Takes Top Spot at Box Office With $70 Million
'300' Debut May Have Set Box Office Record
NHL Suspends Islanders' Chris Simon for Record 25 Games

Reuters: Top News
Misery tempts Palestinian Christians to flee
Zimbabwe's Tsvangirai beaten, hurt in custody: lawyer
Mouse tests show stem cells treat brain disease
Middle East, Africa need water reform: World Bank
Burton's "Nightmare" spurs digital 3-D growth
EU takes aim at Apple over iTunes
Hormone paradox may help explain teen moodiness
Diabetes: a growing problem in newly-rich Asia
Black leads still absent from network dramas
Bet on for fate of Heather Mills leg on dance show
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Dlr down broadly, yen subdued as risk appetite returns
Futures point higher on M&A; Asia, Europe up
Stocks rise, yen slides as risk appetite returns
U.S. stocks seen edging up, quiet day on agenda
Citigroup must show cost cuts work
A year later, organic just mild, not hot
Schering-Plough to buy Akzo's Organon for $14.5 bln
Merrill Lynch eyes bid for CanWest Ten stake: source
Texas Pacific, Cerberus submit bids for JVC: sources
UnitedHealth to buy Sierra Health
Citigroup says no plans to sweeten Nikko bid
Lenders to halt New Century financing

AP World News
Dow, Nasdaq poised for higher opening
Jolie overwhelmed at 1st by refugee work
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Army Guard Leader Visits Troops in Afghanistan
Commander Wants to End One-Year Tours
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America Supports You
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Veterans Spend Time Tubing
Groups Donate Gift Certificates

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Air Strike Targets Taliban - Story
Coalition Forces Kill Insurgent - Story
Communications Thwart Taliban
U.S. Troops Nab Al Qaeda Killer
Unit Weathers Dust Storm

Transformation
Marines Finish Corporals Course
Cadets Conducting Research
Navy to Commission Transport
F-35 Production Inches Closer

Face of Defense
Son Motivates Marine's Success
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Brothers Share Childhood Dream

DefendAmerica
NEWS UPDATES
Communications Thwart Taliban - Story
For Top News Visit DefenseLink

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U.S. Navy’s First Riverine Squadron Deploys - Story
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Soldiers Put Knowledge, Skills to the Test - Story

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Radio, Television Network Hits Iraq Airwaves
Class Helps Soldiers Care for Combat Casualties
More than 60 Sign Up for Iraqi Police Force

IN AFGHANISTAN
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Afghan Workers Keep Vehicles in Prime Condition

IN DJIBOUTI
Army Engineers Plan Well for People of Assama

BACKGROUND
IRAQ
Renewal In Iraq
Iraq: Security, Stability
Fact Sheet: Progress and Work Ahead
Report: Strategy for Victory in Iraq
Iraq Daily Update
This Week in Iraq
Multinational Force Iraq
State Dept. Weekly Iraq Report
'Boots on the Ground' Audio Archive
Weekly Reconstruction Report (PDF)
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps

AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan Update
Maps

WAR ON TERRORISM
Fact Sheet: Budget Request
Fact Sheet: Terror Plots Disrupted
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

Weather
Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul Qandahar

Germany
Ansbach Aschaffenburg Berlin Berlin-Tempelhof Berlin/Schonefeld Bremerhaven
Darmstadt Frankfurt Frankfurt/Main Freiburg/Breisgau Garmisch
Garmisch-Partenkirchen Geilenkirchen Gelnhausen Giessen Kitzingen
Hanau Am Main Heidelberg Mainz Mannheim Nurnberg Stuttgart Trier
Wiesbaden Wurzburg

Gitmo

Guam
Agana Agana Heights Agat Andersen AFB Asan Barrigada

Iraq
Al Azamiyah Al Basrah Al Hillah Al Karkh Al Kazimiyah Al Kut
An Nasiriyah Baghdad Baqubah Mosul Najaf Nineveh Tall Kayf

Japan
Kadena Air Base Okinawa Tokyo Yokohama

Philippines
Baler Radar Site Catanduanes Radar Site Manila

South Korea
Cheju Upper/Radar Chonju Chunchon Inch'on Kunsan Masan Mokp'o
Osan Pusan Seoul Suwon Taegu Taejon Tonghae Radar Site Ulsan Yosu

Today in History
0417 - St Innocent I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
0604 - St. Gregory I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1000 - Odo of Lagery elected as Pope Urban II, replacing Victor III
1054 - Pope Leo IX escapes captivity & returns to Rome
1144 - Gherardo Caccianemici elected Pope Lucius II, succeeding Callistus II
1350 - Orvieto city says it will behead & burn Jewish-Christian couples
1496 - Jews are expelled from Syria
1587 - English parliament leader Peter Wentworth confined in London Tower
1597 - England routes troops to Amiens
1609 - Bermuda becomes an English colony
1619 - Dutch settlement on Java changes name to Batavia
1622 - Ignatius of Loyola declared a saint
1642 - Abel Tasman is 1st European in New Zealand
1664 - 1st naturalization act in American colonies; New Jersey becomes a British colony
1689 - Former English King James II lands in Ireland
1737 - Galileo's body moved to Church of Santa Croce in Florence, Italy
1755 - 1st steam engine in America installed, to pump water from a mine
1773 - Jeanne Baptiste Pointe de Sable found settlement now known as Chicago
1789 - US Post Office established
1799 - Austria declares war on France
1848 - 2nd republic established in France
1849 - 1st gold seekers arrive in Nicaragua en route to California
1850 - 1st US $20 gold piece issued
1860 - Congress accepts Pre-emption Bill; free land in West for colonists
1865 - Affair near Lone Jack, MO
1867 - Last French troops leave Mexico
1868 - Congress abolishes manufacturer's tax; Great Britain annexes Basutoland in Africa
1877 - Great Britain annexes Walvis Bay at Cape colony
1884 - Mississippi establishes 1st US state college for women
1888 - 2nd day of the Great blizzard of '88 in northeast US (400 die)
1889 - Battle at Metema (Gallabad); Ethiopian Emperor Yohannes IV, defeated
1900 - President Steyn of Orange-Free state flees from Bloemfontein
1903 - New York Highlanders (Yankees) approved as members of American League
1904 - 1st main line electric train in UK (Liverpool to Southport)
1906 - Heavy storm ravages Dutch west coast
1912 - Captain Albert Berry performs 1st parachute jump from an airplane
1916 - French airship sinks British submarine D3
1917 - Russian Dumas sets up Provisional Committee; workers set up Soviets; Stalin, Kamenev & Muranov arrive in St Petersburg
1919 - Austrian National Meeting affirms Anschluss (incorporate into Germany)
1925 - British government of Baldwin refuses to ratify Geneva agreement
1926 - Denmark begins unilateral disarmament
1930 - Mohandas Gandhi begins 200 mile (321 km) march protesting British salt tax
1933 - FDR conducts his 1st "fireside chat"
1934 - Acting President Constantine Päts commits coup in Tallinn, Estonia; Josip Broz (Tito) freed from jail
1938 - Nazi Germany invades Austria (Anschluss)
1939 - Pope Pius XII crowned in Vatican ceremonies
1940 - Finland surrenders to Russia during WWII, giving up Karelische Isthmus
1941 - German occupiers confiscate AVRO studios in Netherlands
1942 - British troops vacate the Andamanen in Gulf of Bengal
1943 - Soviet troops liberate Wjasma
1945 - 30 Amsterdammers executed by Nazi occupiers; Italy's Communist Party (CPI) calls for armed uprising in Italy; New York is 1st to prohibit discrimination by race & creed in employment; The British Empire celebrates its 1st British Empire Day; USSR returns Transylvania to Romania
1946 - Part of Petsamo province ceded by Soviet Union to Finland
1947 - Belgian government of Huysmans resigns; President Truman introduces Truman-doctrine to fight communism
1950 - Belgium votes (58%) for return of King Leopold III
1951 - Communist troops driven out of Seoul
1957 - German Democratic Republic accepts 22 Russian divisions
1958 - British Empire Day is renamed "Commonwealth Day"
1959 - Dutch Liberal Party wins 2nd parliamentary elections; US House joins Senate approving Hawaii statehood
1962 - Dutch Premier De Quay announces secret talks with Indonesia
1964 - Jimmy Hoffa sentenced to 8 years; Malcolm X resigns from Nation of Islam
1966 - Pioneer Plaza dedicated [San Francisco]
1967 - Indonesian congress deprives President Sukarno of authority
1968 - Mauritius gains independence from Britain (National Day)
1970 - US lowers voting age from 21 to 18
1971 - Syrian premier Hafez Assad elected President; Turkish Government of Demirel forced to resign by Army
1975 - Vietcong conquer Ban me Thuot, South Vietnam
1976 - South African troops leave Angola
1977 - Chile President Pinochet bans Christian-Democratic Party; Egypt's Anwar Sadat pledges to regain Arab territory from Israel
1980 - Jury finds John Wayne Gacy guilty of murdering 33 in Chicago
1981 - Soyuz T-4 carries 2 cosmonauts to Salyut 6 space station; Walter R.T. Witschey installs world's largest sundial, Richmond, VA
1982 - PLO chief Yassar Arafat appears on "Nightline"
1984 - British ice dancing team, Torvill & Dean, become 1st skaters to receive 9 perfect 6.0s in world championships
1986 - Giotto encounters Comet Halley
1987 - Federal judge dismisses lawsuits sought by Oliver North
1989 - 2 cyanide-contaminated Chilean grapes found (Philadelphia); Madagascar AREMA party wins parliamentary election
1993 - 317 killed by bomb attacks in Bombay; Inkhata leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi begins 2½ week speech
1994 - Church of England ordains 1st 33 women priests
1995 - Congress party loses India national election

Birthdays
1336 - Eduard Duke of Gelre (1361-71) husband of Catharina of Bayern
1479 - Giuliano de' Medici monarch of Florence
1755 - Georges Couthon French politician
1758 - Leopold, Earl of Limburg Stirum, Dutch General/politician [or March 22]
1806 - Jane Means Appleton Pierce 1st lady-Franklin Pierce (1853-57)
1816 - David Stuart Brigadier General
1818 - John Lorimar Worden, Union Navy Captain
1821 - Luitpold von Bayern, Prince-regent of Bayern; Sir John Abbott Québec Canada, (C) 3rd Canadian Prime Minister (1891-92)
1823 - William Flank Perry, Confederate Brigadier General
1824 - Gustav R. Kirchoff, Prussian physicist (spectral analysis)
1827 - John Robert Jones and William Richard Terry, Confederate Brigadier Generals
1830 - William Felix Brantley, Confederate Brigadier General
1831 - Clement Studebaker, automobile pioneer (Studebaker)
1835 - Simon Newcomb, US scientist/mathematician/astronomer
1862 - Jane Delano, nurse/teacher/founder (Red Cross)
1863 - Gabriele D'Annunzio, Italian writer/military hero (The Intruder)
1877 - Wilhelm Frick German, protector of Bohemia/Moravia
1878 - Gemma Galgani, Italian saint
1881 - Daniel Webster Hoan, Mayor-Socialist-Milwaukee; Kemal Atatürk, 1st President of Republic of Turkey; Väinö A. Tanner premier of Finland (1926-27)
1900 - David Croll, QC senator
1907 - Margaret "Peggy" McCrorie, Herbison politician
1908 - David Saul Marshall, diplomat, lawyer/politician
1911 - Gustavo Diaz Ordaz, President of Mexico
1912 - James McKay, lord provost of Edinburgh
1917 - Tom Normanton, British MP
1922 - Lane Kirkland, union president (AFL-CIO)
1923 - Walter M. Schirra, Jr., Captain USN/astronaut (Mercury 8, Gemini 6, Apollo 7)
1925 - Leo Esaki [Esaki Reona], Japan, physicist (Tunnel effect-Nobel 1973)
1925 - William G. Whitehurst (Representative-VA)
1926 - David Oliver Williams, trade unionist (COHSE); George R. Ariyoshi (Governor-HI)
1927 - Raul Alfonsin President (Argentina)
1929 - Lupe Anguiano, Mexican-American civil rights activist
1930 - Antony Acland, provost of Eton/British ambassador to US
1932 - Andrew Young, US ambassador to UN (1977-79)/(Mayor-Atlanta)
1936 - Lloyd Dobbins, newscaster (NBC News Overnight)
1938 - Norman Hogg, British MP
1942 - Salvatore "the Bull" Gravano, mobster (testified against Gotti)
1948 - Kent Conrad (Senator-ND); Virginia Bottomley, British minister of state health/secretary (Heritage)
1949 - David Mellor, Secretary of the British treasury/MP; Mary Alice Williams news reporter (NBC-TV)

Passings
0417 - Innocent I, Italian Pope (401-417)
0604 - Gregory I the Great Pope (590-604)
1507 - Cesare Borgia cardinal/soldier/politician, killed in battle at 31
1570 - Jacob van den Eynden, Grand Pensionary of Holland, dies
1628 - John Bull, thought to have composed British national anthem (God Save The King)
1888 - Henry Bergh, founder (ASPCA), dies at 76
1889 - Yohannes IV [Kasa], Emperor of Ethiopia (1872-89)
1902 - John Peter Altgeld, German/US Governor of Illinois, dies at 54
1914 - George Westinghouse, US engineer (Westinghouse Electric), dies at 67
1924 - Hilaire Comte de Chardonnet, inventor (rayon)
1925 - Sun Yat-Sen, Chinese revolutionary president, dies at 58
1945 - Anne Frank, diarist (Diary of Anne Frank), killed in Belsen Camp
1958 - Princess Ingeborg of Sweden, dies at 79
1974 - Billy Fox, Protestant member of Dublin parliament, assassinated
1992 - Hans G. Kresse, Dutch cartoonist (Eric the Viking), dies at 70
1992 - Salvo Lima, mayor (Palermo)/MP (christian-democrat), murdered
1993 - Wang Zhen, Marxist/vice-premier of China (1988)
1996 - Gyula Kallai Prime Minister of Hungary (1965-67), dies at 85

Reported Missing in Action
1967
Adrian, Joseph D., USAF (NJ); F100 shot down

Clark, John W., USAF (MO); RF4C shot down (w/Goodrich), released February, 1973 - retired as a Colonel - alive and well as of 1998

Goodrich, Edwin, USAF (NY); KIA during capture - remains returned August, 1985

1968
Griffith, John Gary, USN (MO); A6A ditched right off the catapault (w/Kollman), Killed, body not recovered

Kollmann, Glenn E., USN (CA); A6A ditched right off the catapault (w/Griffith), Killed, body not recovered

Rogers, Edward F., USMC (MA); KIA, body not recovered

1969
Robinson, Floyd H., US Army (KS); disappeared after a heavy firefight

1970
Scull, Gary B., US Army (IA); disappeared after outpost came under heavy fire

1971
Jeffs, Clive G., USAF (UT); F100D shot down

1975
Mitchell, Betty J.; released from Hanoi October, 1975

Phillips, Lillian M.; released from Hanoi October, 1975

Phillips, Richard L., released from Hanoi October, 1975

Scarborough, Jay; released from Hanoi October, 1975

Dolan, Edward V., Civilian - Air America; DC4 crashed

Miller, George C., Civilian - Air America; DC4 crashed

Miller, Carolyn P., Civilian - Wycliff Bible Translators; captured by NVN, released from Hanoi October, 1975

Miller, John D., Civilian - Wycliff Bible Translators; released from Hanoi October, 1975

Miller, John D., Civilian - Wycliff Bible Translators; released from Hanoi October, 1975

Seidl, Robert, Civilian - Air America; DC4 crashed

Labels: Headlines, History