Servicemembers in Iraq become U.S. citizens
Photo by Staff Sgt. Jeremy D. Crisp
April 12, 2008

Spc. Vivek Mishra (right) with the 101st Airborne Division, shakes hands with Pfc. Henry Michael, 72nd Military Police Company, during a naturalization ceremony held April 12 at the Al Faw Palace, Camp Victory, Iraq. The Soldiers were part of a group of 259 servicemembers, representing 71 countries, who gained their American citizenship.

Labels: 101st Airborne Division, 72nd Military Police Company, Al Faw Palace, Camp Victory, photos, US Army

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Learning to fish in Saddam's lake
1,300 Iraqi troops, police dismissed
Sons of Iraq Screened for ISF
Foreign-Born Troops Become U.S. Citizens in Largest Naturalization Ceremony in Iraq
U.S. military in Iraq: Something’s got to give
The Iraq wars
Al-Sadr denounces Gates, demands US troops quit Iraq
US counting on 'diplomatic surge' for Iraq

Operation Enduring Freedom
8 Police Killed in Separate Attacks in Afghanistan

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
Carter Ignores Objections - Ex-president wants Hamas in peace process
Israeli PM, Palestinian President to Meet Sunday
Olmert, Abbas to meet later in day

Other Military News
PaCom, Indonesia Recommit to Shared Security Interests

Worldwide Wackos
New Call to Drop Nuke Program
Iran to Propose Solutions On Nuke Issue to U.N. Council
Deadly Iran mosque blast not an attack: media

Politics / Government
Hillary Dubs Obama Comments 'Elitist'
President's Radio Address
Australia gets first female governor-general

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment / Law and Order
Authorities Meet With Abuse Suspect in Polygamy Compound Raid
Jeffs Hand-Picked Compound Members - PHOTOS
Court to consider death penalty for child rape
Top judge shot dead in southern Russia
Ohio troopers disciplined for Klan photo

U.N. News
Death of U.N. Policeman Marks Unrest in Haiti
Clashes in Darfur, protests mark five years of war

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News / Watching the Web
Dr. Phil, Bail Bondsman?
Burt Glinn, Magnum photographer, dies

Mother Nature
Levee break floods corner of Missouri

Oddities
College Student Dead After Apparent Fall Over Balcony
Teen Killed By Bolt Of Lightning During Freak Storm

Fox News
Embracing Faith, Not Mass
Pope Asks Faithful to Pray for Successful U.S. Trip
FOX News Special Coverage: The Pope in America
1,000 Tanzanians March With Olympic Torch Relay Team
Dalai Lama Plans Speech On Tibet Crisis
Alicia Keys: 'Gangsta Rap' Created to Convince Black People to Kill Each Other

Reuters
Pope brings peace message to U.S. amid Qaeda threats
Zimbabwe opposition to challenge poll recount - Video
Nepal's Maoists heading to victory in key election
Kibaki will unveil new Kenyan cabinet
Berlusconi, ex-mayor face off in Italian election - Video
After breaking ice, China, Taiwan talk business
Britney Spears in minor traffic accident in L.A.
Finance chiefs urge IMF keep closer eye on economy
G7 currency shift signals growth fears
100 days to clean up capitalism
UBS CEO says the bank is over the worst: report
Microsoft prefers own Yahoo bid among options: source
Philippine property firms look closer to home for sales
Canada's Hudson's Bay Co says CEO Jerry Zucker dies
Cadbury should swallow Hershey or be swallowed
Stocks face wild ride with banks, inflation
OPEC sees softer oil demand, committed to stability
Court grants Teva generic Risperdal exclusivity

AP World News
Hadley: 'Cop-out' to skip Olympics start
Focus on world food prices, market woes
Britney Spears in minor car accident
Johnson gets first NASCAR win of 2008
Italians decide on Berlusconi's comeback
Immelman leads Masters; Woods in fifth
Kovalev wins it in overtime for Montreal
Obituaries in the news

News Blaze
National policemen from 7th NP Bde. provide medical clinic for citizens of Doura
PHOTOS: 'Longknife' Soldiers Reup Apache-style
MND-B Air Weapons Team Engages IED Emplacers, Wounds 3 Locals
Soldiers' Angels and Patriot Guard
Iraq News
Operations in Iraq
FOB Warhorse Memorial Photos
Videos
Campaigns for National Offices Often Rely on Outside Expertise
Athlete Works to Broaden Access for Those with Disabilities

CENTCOM
Baby left at doorstep finds new home
Iraqi-U.S. joint patrol works to deter oil looting
Troops build African partnerships with well-drilling project
Iraqis want to establish national sovereignty
Village of Hope gives Iraqis new perspective

USJFCOM
USJFCOM signs letter of intent to support interagency online training
Phase two of Multinational Experiment 5 kicks off
More about Multinational Experiment 5 - podcast
Joint Interoperability Division helps training take flight - podcast

Multi-National Force - Iraq
One terrorist killed, 11 suspects detained in northern Iraq
MND-C Soldiers aid residents, remove weapons cache (Baghdad)
Local cooperation brings in multiple suspects (Jisr Diyala)
MND-B Soldier attacked by IED (Baghdad)
Coalition Forces capture suspected Special Groups criminal

DefenseLink
TOP NEWS
Gates Foresees Fewer Troops in Iraq in 2009
Troop Levels, Readiness Require 'Delicate Balance'
Research Agency Celebrates 50 Years of Technological Evolution
Robotic Vehicles Steer Into Research Agency's Spotlight

IRAQ NEWS
Iraqi Forces Step Up Operations
'Surge' Brigade Heads to Fort Riley
Coalition Missile Kills Six Criminals

FACE OF DEFENSE
Soldier Cracks Egg Ban for Troops

MILITARY NEWS
PaCom, Indonesia Recommit to Security Interests
Military’s Hawaiian Playground Undergoes Facelift
Pentagon to Host Military Naturalization Ceremony
Course Teaches Tips to Neutralize Vehicle Bombs

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Delta Blue Star Moms Support Troops, Each Other

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

Today in History
0837 - Best view of Halley's Comet in 2000 years
0989 - Battle at Abydos - Byzantine emperor Basilius II beats Bardas Phocas
1055 - Bishop Gebhard van Eichstätt named Pope Victor II
1111 - Pope Paschalis II crowns Roman catholic-German King Hendrik II
1204 - Crusaders occupy Constantinople
1241 - Battle at Theiss - Mongols beat Hungarian King Béla IV
1346 - Pope Clemens VI declares German emperor Louis of Bavaria, envoy
1367 - Battle at Nájera Spain Castilië & England beat Aragón & France
1517 - Osmaanse army occupies Cairo
1556 - Portuguese Marranos who revert back to Judaism burned by order of Pope
1598 - Edict of Nantes grants political rights to French Huguenots
1640 - English Short Parliament forms (- May 5)
1741 - Royal Military Academy forms at Woolwich
1759 - French beat European Allies in Battle of Bergen
1796 - 1st elephant arrives in US from Bengal, India; Battle at Millesimo, Italy - Napoleon beats Austrians
1808 - William Henry Lane ("Juda") perfects the tap dance
1829 - English Emancipation Act grants freedom of religion to Catholics
1834 - HMS Beagle anchors at river mouth of Rio Santa Cruz, Patagonia
1849 - Hungarian Republic proclaimed
1860 - 1st Pony Express reaches Sacramento, CA
1861 - After 34 hours of bombardment, Fort Sumter surrenders to Confederates
1863 - Battle of Irish Bend, LA (Fort Bisland); Hospital for Ruptured & Crippled in New York is 1st orthopedic hospital
1865 - Battle of Raleigh, NC
1873 - Colfax Massacre in Grant Parish, LA (60 blacks killed)
1882 - Anti-Semitic League forms in Prussia
1883 - Alfred Packer convicted of cannibalism
1902 - J.C. Penney opens his 1st store in Kemmerer, WY
1904 - Congress authorizes Lewis & Clark Expo $1 gold coin; Battle at Oviumbo, Africa - Hereros chase away German army
1906 - Mutiny on Portuguese battleships Dom Carlos & Vasco da Gama
1912 - Royal Flying Corps forms (later RAF)
1918 - Electrical fire kills 38 mental patients at Oklahoma State Hospital
1919 - Amritsar Massacre - British Army fires on hundreds of Indian Nationalist rioters in India
1920 - 1st woman US Civil Service Commissioner, Helen Hamilton, appointed
1923 - Army wins the 1st college three-weapon fencing championship
1926 - Bicyclists without bicycle-tax-stamp rounded up in Amsterdam
1928 - 1st trans atlantic flight Europe-US (Fitzmaurice-von Hünefeld-Köhl)
1933 - 1st flight over Mount Everest (Lord Clydesdale)
1934 - 4.7 million US families report receiving welfare payments; US Congress passes Johnson Debt Default Act
1936 - Metaxas proclaims himself dictator of Greece
1940 - 2nd battle of Narvik-8 German destroyers, destroyed
1941 - Heavy German assault on Tobruk; Russian-Japan no-attack treaty goes into effect
1943 - FDR dedicates Jefferson Memorial; Nazis discover mass grave of Polish officers near Katyn
1944 - South Carolina rejects black suffrage; Transport nr 71 departs with French Jews to Nazi-Germany
1945 - Allies occupy Wien (Vienna); Canadian army liberates Teuge & Assen Netherlands from Nazis; US marines conquer Minna Shima off Okinawa
1946 - Eddie Klepp, a white pitcher signed by defending Negro League champion Cleveland Buckeyes, is barred from field in Birmingham, AL
1948 - 75 scientists ambushed on way to Mount Scopus
1954 - Robert Oppenheimer accused of being a communist
1957 - Due to lack of funds, Saturday mail delivery in the US is temporarily halted
1959 - Vanguard SLV-5 launched for Earth orbit (failed); Vatican edict forbids Roman Catholics from voting for communists; USAF launches Discoverer II into polar orbit
1960 - France becomes the 4th nuclear nation, exploding an A-Bomb in the Sahara; Transit 1B, 1st navigational satellite, placed in Earth orbit
1961 - UN General Assembly condemns South Africa for apartheid
1964 - Ian D. Smith becomes premier of Rhodesia
1966 - Pan Am places $525,000,000 order for 25 Boeing 747s
1970 - Apollo 13 announces "Houston, we've got a problem!" as Beech-built oxygen tank explodes en route to Moon
1975 - Chad military coup by General Odingar; Christian Falange kills 27 Palestinians, begins Lebanese civil war
1976 - Federal Reserve begins issuing $2 bicentennial notes
1979 - Christian Turks occupy St. Jansbasiliek; Yusuf Lule becomes premier of Uganda
1980 - "TASS" denounces US boycott of the Moscow Summer Olympics
1981 - Washington Post's Janet Cooke wins Pulitzer Prize for "Jimmy's World" (later admits story was a hoax and returns prize)
1984 - 11th Space Shuttle Mission (41C)-Challenger 5-returns to Earth
1985 - Ramiz Alia succeeds Enver Hoxha as party leader of Albania
1987 - Portugal signs agreement to return Macau to China (in 1999)
1988 - Italy government of De Mita forms
1992 - Great Chicago Flood - Chicago's underground tunnels flood; 5.5 earthquake hits Netherlands
1994 - President guard at Kigali Rwanda, chops 1,200 church members to death; Target date for Israeli complete withdrawal, doesn't occur

Birthdays
1519 - Catherine de Médici, Queen of Spain/daughter of Henry II
1545 - Elisabeth van Valois, French Queen of Spain/daughter of Henri II
1593 - Thomas Wentworth London, Earl of Strafford/Viceroy of Ireland
1732 - Frederick Lord North, British PM (1770-82)
1743 - Thomas Jefferson, 3rd US President (1801-09)
1749 - Frederik Sigismund van Bylandt, Dutch count/Vice-Admiral
1756 - Louis H. J. Condé, French prince
1771 - Adam F.J.A. van der Duyn, Dutch Governor (South Holland); Richard Trevithick Illogan, inventor (steam locomotive)
1791 - Félix Earl de Merode, Belgian minister of War/Finance
1822 - Leroy Augustus Stafford Confederate Brigadier General; William Stephen Walker, Confederate Brigadier General
1832 - James Wimshurst, British designer/inventor (electricstatic generator)
1847 - Cornelis Pijnacker Hordijk, Governor-General (Netherlands East-Indies)
1892 - Arthur Harris Cheltenham, Marshal of the RAF; Robert A. Watson-Watt, English physicist (radar)
1901 - René-Jean Pleven, French premier (1950-52)
1907 - Harold Stassen, (Governor-MN), perennial presidential candidate
1913 - Bernard Chacksfield, Air Vice-Marshal
1921 - James Wilson, British Lieutenant-General
1922 - John George Vanderbile Henry Spencer-Churchill [11th Duke of Marlborough], English large landowner
1933 - Ben Nighthorse Campbell (Senator-CO)
1935 - Kenneth Hayr, air marshal; Peter Heap, diplomat
1939 - Barbara-Rose Collins (Representative-MI); Wijnie Jabaaij, Dutch MP (PvdA)
1949 - Jean-Jacques Favier Kehl, astronaut (STS 78)
1951 - Jack Quinn (Representative-NY)
1953 - Stephen Byers, MP
1954 - Barbara Roche, MP

Passings
1517 - Tuman Bey, last Mamelukken sultan of Egypt, hanged
1638 - Henri II, Duke of Rohan-Gié, French Hugenot leader, dies at 58
1868 - Theodorus [Kasa], Emperor of Abyssinia, commits suicide
1932 - Johannes T. de Visser, 1st Dutch minister of Education, dies at 75 [or 14th]
1967 - Luis Somoza Debayle, President of Nicaragua (1956-63), dies at 44
1975 - N'garta Tombalbaye, President of Chad
1984 - Christopher Wilder, FBI's "most wanted man", accidentally kills self
1993 - Max Tripels, Dutch attorney/MP, dies at 72
1994 - P. J. Engels, Dutch MP (KVP), dies at 70; Taleb Ali al-Suheil, Iran sheik, murdered in Lebanon at 64
1997 - George Wald, scientist (Nobel), dies at 80

Reported Missing in Action
1966
Mape, John Clement, USN (CA); A1H shot down - remains ID'd March, 1999

1968
Stischer, Walter Morris, USAF (TX); RF4C shot down - released by PL (Laos) March, 1973 - retired as a Colonel - alive and well as of 1998

1969
Pierson, William C., US Army (WI); AH1G crashed

1972
Christensen, John Michael, USMC (UT); A6A shot down (w/Leet)

Leet, David Laverett, USMC (WI); A6A shot down (w/Christensen)

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