Thursday, August 10, 2006

British officials quickly banned hand luggage on all trans-Atlantic flights and raised security to the country's highest level — suggesting a terrorist attack could be imminent.

But a top Scotland Yard official was confident the plot had been foiled.

"We think this was an extraordinarily serious plot and we are confident that we've prevented an attempt to commit mass murder on an unimaginable scale," said Scotland Yard Deputy Commissioner Paul Stephenson.

Read the Rest at Fox News


Related Story:
U.S. Raises Flight Threat Levels to Severe, Imposes Liquid Ban After British Plot

CONFIDENCE COURSE – A U.S. Army soldier pulls her way to the top of the slide to victory obstacle during the confidence course phase of basic combat training at Fort Jackson, S.C., Aug. 8, 2006. Basic combat training consists of nine weeks of training designed to hone skills and teach new skills as well as optimize physical and mental performance. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Desiree N. Palacios

Lt. Gen. Abdul-Aziz Abdel-Rahman al-Mufti (left), commander of 4th Iraqi Army Division, and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad (second from left), present gifts to the division’s senior staff Aug. 8 during a ceremony at Forward Operating Base Dagger, in Tikrit. Photo by Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika, USA


By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 9, 2006 – The Iraqi army is halfway to its goal of 10 divisions as the 4th Division assumed command of the area north of Baghdad yesterday.

The division assumed primary control of its area of responsibility from the 101st Airborne Division. This is the fifth of 10 division headquarters in Iraq to assume the lead in regional operations.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman called the development a key benchmark in the effort Iraqis are making to take control of their own country. The division will be in the lead for security in Salah Ad Din, Sulaymaniyah and Kirkuk provinces. This area includes the cities of Tikrit, Kirkuk and Samarra and Iraq’s northern oil fields.

Overall, Iraqi security forces are in the lead with five army divisions, 25 army brigades and 85 army battalions, Whitman said. The Iraqi national police have two battalions in the lead in other areas.

In northern Iraq, 33 battalions, nine brigades and two divisions have demonstrated their ability to operate independently and now lead the fight against terrorists and anti-Iraqi forces. The 5th Iraqi Army Division assumed the lead in Diyala province in July.

The assumption of authority ceremony was held at Camp Dagger, outside Tikrit. Iraqi Lt. Gen. Abdul-Aziz Abdel-Rahman al-Mufti, commander of the 4th Army Division, and U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Thomas Turner, commander of Task Force Band of Brothers, presided.

Dignitaries attending the ceremony included Iraqi National Security Adviser Mouwaffak al-Rubaie, Defense Minster Gen. Abdul Qadir Muhammed Jasim, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad, Multinational Force Iraq Commander Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the governors of Salah Ad Din, Sulaymaniyah and Kirkuk provinces, and many provincial and local leaders.

“I think this is a good day for Iraq,” Khalilzad said. “The people of Iraq are starting to get organized so they can take on more responsibility for their own country.”

Casey agreed. “I think what you saw here today was a great statement in progress and unity in Iraq,” he said. “They (Iraqis) keep taking small steps and getting better and better every day.”

The 4th Division will continue to report through the coalition command structure until the Iraqi Ground Forces Command is fully set up at Camp Victory, outside Baghdad, Multinational Corps Iraq officials said. “The IGFC begins standing up in September with its formal alignment under the Joint Headquarters and will then conduct a phased assumption of overwatch for Iraqi army divisions,” said Army Lt. Col. Michelle Martin-Hing, a Multinational Corps Iraq spokeswoman.

American advisers will continue to work with the 4th Division as it moves forward. Servicemembers assigned to military training teams are embedded with the Iraqi units. Thirteen such teams are with the 4th Division. Roughly 150 U.S. personnel are assigned to the teams, and U.S. units will continue to partner with Iraqi units as they gain more capabilities.

Servicemembers of Task Force Band of Brothers, which is built around the 101st Airborne Division, “will continue to train and operate with the Iraqi army as they now take the lead for security operations,” Martin-Hing said.

(Based in part on a Multinational Corps Iraq news release.)

Lt. Gen. Abdul-Aziz Abdel-Rahman al-Mufti, commander of the 4th Iraqi Army Division, salutes during the playing of Iraq’s national anthem during a ceremony to mark the 4th Iraqi Army Division’s taking the lead on security for Salah Ad Din, Sulaymaniyah and Kirkuk provinces. This assumption of responsibilities marks the 50 percent mark of primary control of Iraq by Iraqi security forces. Photo by Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika, USA

Lt. Gen. Abdul-Aziz Abdel-Rahman Al-Mufti (left), commander of the 4th Iraqi Army Division, and his division sergeant major unveil the unit’s colors Aug. 8 during a ceremony at Forward Operating Base Dagger, in Tikrit. Photo by Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika, USA


Biographies:
Zalmay Khalilzad
Gen. George W. Casey Jr., USA

Related Sites:
Multinational Corps Iraq

ROOFTOP SECURITY — U.S. Army Spc. Spain and Staff Sgt. Orr from the Tigerforce Scout Platoon, 1-327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), pull rooftop security in Hawijah, Iraq, during Operation Gaugamela, July 31, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Linsay Burnett

News of Note
Israel at War
Hitting the Brakes
Israel puts military campaign in Lebanon on hold for 2-3 days
Three Southeast Asian Nations Prepare to Send Troops to Lebanon
Nasrallah Vows 'Graveyard for Israel'
White House Defends Policy
Lebanon's Saniora Says He Does Not Expect U.N. Resolution Soon
Video: Report: Iranian Fighters Found
Video: Israel Launches Ground Assault
Video: Bloodiest Day Yet for Israel
Shep at Lebanon's Border
We Cannot Wait Forever'
Israel begins massive ground assault in southern Lebanon
Kissinger: Disarming Hezbollah Key
White House Defends Mideast Policy
Lebanon PM Skeptical of U.N. Action
Video: Israel Expands Campaign
Video: Battle at the Border
Video: Warplanes Target Tyre
Israeli troops push deeper in Lebanon - Video
US says still no deal on Mideast resolution at UN - Video
Hizbollah tactics put Israelis on closer footing
Lebanese Hizbollah denies Iranians among its fighters
US urges Israeli restraint in new offensive
Israel OKs expansion; 15 troops killed
Nasrallah urges Arabs to leave Haifa

Operation Iraqi Freedom
At Least 30 Killed in Explosion Near Najaf Shiite Shrine
Army Helicopter Goes Down in Iraq
4 Arrested in Iraq in Kidnap of U.S. Reporter Jill Carroll
Marines: Carroll was held near Iraq base

Homeland Security / War on Terror
Sailor Charged With Spying
U.S. to Receive Swiss Bank Files of Alleged Terror Funds
3 MIA Egyptian Students Nabbed; 8 Still Missing
September 11 film premiere draws tears in New York

Worldwide Wackos
Iranian president chides Bush in CBS interview
Iranian doctors say they cloned a sheep
Cuba warns on pirate TV - Video
Special Report: Castro and Cuba (Reuters)
Out of "paradise", N. Koreans fix teeth, social skills
Venezuelan Governor Set to Run Against Chavez

Homegrown Moonbats
Mike Wallace: Iranian Leader an 'Impressive Fellow'
Author sees "Fiasco" in Iraq

Politics / Government
Lieberman Vows to Run as Independent After Loss
Video: Renegade Joe
Lieberman loss offers signs of angry electorate - Video
Internet, activists help topple prominent Democrat
Democrats abandon Lieberman, back Lamont
Lieberman files to run as independent

Media in the Media
Wired News pulls freelancer's stories

Mother Nature
Indian floods worsen, 4.5 mln people homeless
China Evacuates 1.3 Million Ahead of Typhoon Saomai

News from My Neck of the Woods
Big Dig Memo Writer Fired After Problems With Resume

Oddities
How not to open a grenade...
Dumb has a new definition...
Woman, 85, left in vault at Swiss bank

Other News of Note
Statue of Liberty's crown to stay closed
U.S. to Expand Monitoring of Wild Birds for Avian Flu

Fox News
Stocks to Watch: Imax
Photographer Convicted of Murdering Va. Co-Ed Behl
Civil Rights Leader Robert McCullough Dies at 64
X-Rays Reveal Structures of Half-Billion-Year-Old Embryos
Gates Foundation Pledges $500M to Fight Against AIDS

Reuters: Top News
Alaska launches probe of BP pipeline management
Mexico leftists block foreign banks in protest - Video
Brazil's Lula moves closer to Oct election victory
Sri Lanka fighting rages on after rebels end blockade - Video
Breakthrough gives 3-D vision of dawn of life
Physicist James Van Allen dies
Google sees privacy threats
Viacom to buy Atom Entertainment
Tests probe if pill a day can keep AIDS at bay
New test predicts if lung cancer will spread
Statin drugs reduce stroke risk
Coming soon: First photos of Tom Cruise's baby?
Robin Williams enters alcohol treatment
US stocks fall for 4th day
Stocks fall on growth concerns and oil prices
AIG, Viacom shares rise after earnings
Cisco brightens tech spending outlook - Video
EchoStar shares rise after results
Airlines shares fall on demand concerns
Copper bends, doesn't break
Casinos "whale hunt" for top spenders
Alaska launches probe of BP pipeline management

AP World News
Mom's dieting can be unhealthy for kids
Esquire says Daniel Craig best-dressed
Clarett arrested with 4 guns in SUV
Survey: Online sexual solicitations down
Alaska freezes hiring over oil shutdown
Paleontologists X-ray fossil embryos
Dow ends down 64, Nasdaq finishes down 1
VoIP subscribers jump 21 percent in 2Q
Toyota's Lexus tops dependability study
Toronto's Roy Halladay gets 14th win
UC libraries join Google's book project
Malaysia fines Pussycat Dolls organizers
Bruins president Sinden steps down

Military.com
Jill Carroll's Kidnappers Snagged - Video
Legion to VA, Bush: Keep Your Promises

CENTCOM: News Releases
COALITION FORCES DETAIN WANTED TERRORIST

COALITION FORCES RECOVER WEAPONS CACHE, IEDS

EXTREMISTS ATTACK KAMDESH PRT, 15 ENEMY FIGHTERS KILLED

MND-B SOLDIERS FIND WEAPONS, DETAIN 6, DISCOVER RECRUITMENT VIDEOS

CF HELICOPTER GOES DOWN IN AL ANBAR

ANP TRAINING ACADEMY GETS 36 NEW MOTORCYCLES

JOINT STATEMENT BY AMBASSADOR KHALILZAD & GEN. CASEY ON 4TH IAD HANDOVER

MND-B SOLDIERS SEIZE WEAPON CACHE, MUNITIONS

IA SOLDIERS DETAIN 6 SUSPECTED TERRORISTS, SEIZE LARGE WEAPONS CACHE

IRAQI KILLED BY IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICE ATTACK IN WESTERN AL ANBAR

PHASE II OF OPERATION TOGETHER FORWARD KICKS OFF IN BAGHDAD

USJFCOM
Urban Resolve 2015 kicks off to support warfighters - Podcast
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Command to release news through podcasting
Warfighters test tools for new command and control program
Command's simulation tool changes name as it expands scope
More about modeling and simulation
Joint fires contract goes to SAIC
Joint Systems Baseline Assessment 2006 completes technical assessment
Kamiya takes over as head of Joint Warfighting Center and joint training - Photos

Department of Defense
NEWS UPDATES
4th Iraqi Army Stands Up - Story - Photos
U.S. Chopper Crashes in Iraq - Story
For Top News Visit DefenseLink

ON THE GROUND
Water Treatment Plant Receives Upgrade - Story
Iraqis Improve Defenses with Border Forts - Story
Iraqi Soldiers Finish Personnel Course - Story

IN IRAQ
Power Production Team Critical to Iraq Mission
4th Iraqi Army Division Takes Security Lead
Iraqis Assume Training Responsibilities
Baghdad to Get New Communications Center
Iraqi Army Soldiers Plan Day at the Range
Education and Youth Center Opens in Tarmiya

IN AFGHANISTAN
Meeting Clairifies Reconstruction Team's Role
Munitions, Weapons Airmen Secure Bombs
Air Force Specialists Keep Planes in Flight

IN DJIBOUTI
Djiboutian Military Police Visit Camp
Exercise Focuses on Crisis Response
U.S., French Marines Train in Desert

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 (PDF)
'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: War on Terror
Fact Sheet: Terror Plots Disrupted
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

Weather
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

Gitmo

Today in History
1519 - Magellan's 5 ships set sail to circumnavigate the Earth.
1792 -Parisian mobs in Paris attack the palace of Louis XVI.
1809 - Ecuador declares independence from Spain (National Day).
1821 - Missouri is admitted as 24th U.S. state.
1846 - Congress charters the "nation's attic," the Smithsonian Institution
1885 - In Baltimore, Leo Daft opens America's first commerically operated electric streetcar.
1893 - Chinese are deported from San Francisco under the Exclusion Act.
1911 - The Parliament Act reduces the power of the House of Lords.
1913 - The Second Balkan War ends with the Treaty of Bucharest - Bulgaria loses.
1919 - The Ukranian National Army massacres 25 Jews in Podolia, Ukraine.
1921 - FDR is stricken with polio.
1945 - Japan announces its willingness to surrender to the Allies, provided Emperor Hirohito's status remains unchanged.
1948 - ABC enters the world of network TV at 7 pm; Allen Funt's "Candid Camera" debuts on that same network.
1949 - The National Military Establishment is renamed the Department of Defense.
1960 - Discoverer-13 is launched into orbit; it returns the first object from space.
1961 - England applies for membership in the European Common Market.
1965 - Joe Engle takes the X-15 to 82 km.
1966 - The first lunar orbiter is launched by the U.S.; a daylight meteor, seen from Utah to Canada, is the first known case of a meteor entering the Earth's atmosphere, and leaving again.
1977 - Postal employee David Berkowitz is arrested in Yonkers, NY for the "Son of Sam" murders.
1981 - In San Clemente, the Richard Nixon Museum closes.
1988 - The U.N. estimates that Asia's population has hit one billion.
1990 - The U.S's Magellan spacecraft lands on Venus.

Birthdays
1874 - Herbert Clark Hoover, 31st President (1929-1933)

Passings
1945 - Robert Goddard, father of American rocketry
1963 - Estes Kefauver (Sen-TN)
1988 - Arias Arnulfo, three-time president of Panama

Reported Missing in Action
1965
Mailhes, Lawrence Scott, USN (AR); A1H crashed, Killed, body not recovered

1969
Mickelsen, William E., Jr., USN (MN); A4E crashed during carrier landing attempt, Killed, body not recovered

1970
Crowley, John E., US Army (NY); passenger on UH1H that crashed, remains ID'd April, 2000

1971
Bates, Paul J., Jr., US Army (AZ); O1G crashed, Killed, body not recovered

Dolan, Thomas A., US Army (MD); O1G crashed, Killed, body not recovered

1972
Sansone, James J., USN (MA); fell overboard, Killed, body not recovered