lost another american hero today- this time from wwII

Private First Class Ray Jacobs - someone you should know. "...Marines on the ground, still engaged in combat, raised a spontaneous yell when they saw the flag. Screaming and cheering so loud and prolonged that we could hear it quite clearly on top of Suribachi..." The first flagraising atop Mount Suribachi, February 23, 1945. Hank Hansen (without helmet), Boots Thomas (seated), John Bradley (behind Thomas) Phil Ward (hand visible grasping pole), Jim Michaels (with carbine) and Chuck Lindberg (behind Michaels). Photo by Lou Lowery. 10AM, Feb. 23, 1945 Remember the *1st* Iwo Jima flag raising? The one Joe Rosenthal *didn't* get a picture of? Nothing bad against Joe - he got the best one that day, no argument! Private First Class Ray Jacobs was one of those flag-raisers. He didn't make it into the pictures. They were kind of busy, taking the island and all. They had other things on their mind, I'm guessing. He died today. The media hasn't noticed, yet. But we'll make sure they do. So make a hole down there in Fiddler's Green! War hero, genuine, 1ea, Inbound Now is the time at Castle Argghhh! when we dance, In Memoriam.

Ops coming up to win in mosul

U.S. Commanders On Battle For Mosul January 29th, 2008 Posted By Pat Dollard. MOSUL, Iraq - The top U.S. commanders in northern Iraq predicted Tuesday the battle to oust al-Qaida in Iraq from its last urban stronghold will not be a swift strike, but rather a grinding campaign for Mosul that will require more firepower from both the Pentagon and Iraqi allies. The statements appeared to discount suggestions by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that Iraqi forces were gathering for a “decisive” attack as soon as all reinforcements are in place. “It is not going to be this climactic battle … It’s going to be probably a slow process,” said Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, commander of U.S. forces in northern Iraq. In a telephone interview from his headquarters in Tikrit, Hertling described the strategy for Mosul—Iraq’s third-largest city—as the same step-by-step tactics used in the U.S.-led troop offensives in Baghdad: win control of a district and keep troops there to hold it. Hertling said he was moving a considerable force of “enablers” into the Nineveh province and Mosul, its capital. He would not disclose numbers, but said the move on Mosul had long been planned. But attention on Mosul has sharply increased in the past weeks with a rise in insurgent violence, including a bomb cache that tore through a poor Sunni neighborhood, killing about 60 people and wounding more than 200 last week. Then on Monday, U.S. forces were caught in a bomb- and-bullets ambush that killed five U.S. soldiers. Al-Maliki has promised to send a wave of Iraq police and soldiers into the Mosul area to crush al-Qaida and its backers. The offensive raised the possibility that Iraqi forces were moving toward a critical test by leading the difficult urban offensive in a city of 2 million people. Hertling’s comments, however, suggested a heightened level of U.S. involvement and oversight. Lt. Col. Michael Simmering, of the 3rd Armored Cavalry at Forward Operating Base Marez near Mosul, also described the insurgent force in the city as a patchwork of groups, including al-Qaida in Iraq and other factions, “all vying for different things at this point.” “The thing about the insurgency in Mosul is that there are many different facets,” he said. “This is going to be a long, protracted push by coalition forces and more importantly by Iraqi security forces to re-establish security,” Simmering added. “If you’re looking for one big culminating event, you’ll never quite see it. I call this the ‘campaign for Mosul.’” Michael O’Hanlon, an Iraq watcher at the Brookings Institution, agreed. “Al-Qaida regenerates so it is impossible to say it ever has had or will have a ‘last stand,’” he said. “But it is true we can identify and target existing infrastructure and leadership, and that we’ve been fairly successful in most parts of Iraq except Mosul to date.” That is what Hertling counts on. “There are some foreign fighters, there are some hardcore Iraqis and there are a bunch of others that I think can be persuaded to fall off of the organization either because they are going to see a lot of their friends killed or they’re going to be offered jobs,” the general said. As violence had declined in many parts of Iraq, U.S. reconstruction teams have increased efforts to reopen factories and businesses as a way to further blunt the insurgency. “I think what you see is once you get young men working again they will quit doing the things that allow them to form into gangs which support these extremist organizations,” he said. At Mosul’s airfield, a cold wind blew across the tarmac as pallbearers took turns unloading a flag-draped coffin from the back of five Humvee ambulances carrying the bodies of the soldier’s killed in Monday’s attack. Even civilian workers formed an honor line as the dead soldiers’ bodies were loaded into a gray C-130 transport plane. Soldiers refused permission to photograph the ceremony, saying the pain of the sudden loss of five comrades was too great, and that not all the families had been notified. Later Tuesday, a suicide car bomber targeted another U.S. patrol in Mosul, killing at least one Iraqi and wounding as many as 15, the military and police said. The bomber detonated an explosives-laden car in a predominantly Sunni area in eastern Mosul, a police officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to release the information. No American casualties were reported. In Baghdad, a bombing at a checkpoint wounded five American soldiers and three civilians, the U.S. military said. The attacker—described as a female suicide bomber—triggered the blast as women were being searched to enter a commercial street in the predominantly Sunni Amariyah neighborhood in southwest Baghdad, according to a local police official and an Iraqi army officer who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to release the information. But Navy Cmdr. Scott Rye, a U.S. military spokesman, said initial reporting indicated it was not a suicide attack but a bomb that was left at the checkpoint and later detonated. He said no deaths were reported, but five soldiers and three civilians were wounded. Northwest of Baghdad, Iraqi police said a Sunni leader was killed late Monday when his car exploded after he had met with U.S. forces. The apparent attack against Abbas al-Dulaimi is the latest against a member of a so-called Awakening Council—Sunni groups that have turned against al-Qaida and credited with helping significant U.S.-led gains across central Iraq. (AP)

Good results from op near tikrit..

Coalition Nabs 18 AQ Near Tikrit Including Head Interrogator/Torturer January 28th, 2008 And the beat goes on… BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces detained 18 suspected terrorists Sunday and today during operations to disrupt al-Qaeda networks operating in central Iraq. During an operation east of Tikrit near the Hamrin Mountains Sunday, Coalition forces captured an alleged al-Qaeda in Iraq associate who serves as an interrogator at a terrorist prison and training camp in the region. The suspected terrorist also reportedly facilitates the purchase of weapons and the movement of fighters in the area. The targeted individual’s brother was killed during a Coalition forces operation Sep. 30 for his involvement in leading a terrorist cell responsible for running illegal checkpoints, emplacing improvised explosive devices, and kidnapping Iraq citizens in the Hamrin mountain region. During the operation, the wanted individual identified himself to the ground force and was subsequently detained, along with 12 suspected terrorists. In Baqubah early this morning, Coalition forces captured a wanted individual believed to be involved in an al-Qaeda in Iraq suicide IED network operating in the Diyala province. Reports indicate the suspected terrorist is associated with the al-Qaeda in Iraq leader killed Jan. 22 for his role in the same network. In addition to the wanted individual, the ground force detained three suspected terrorists on site. Farther north near Mosul today, Coalition forces detained one suspected terrorist while targeting an alleged associate of an al-Qaeda in Iraq senior leader formerly responsible for the networks in northern Iraq. “The barbaric nature of al-Qaeda in Iraq continues to find new depths of depravity,” said Cmdr. Scott Rye, MNF-I spokesman. “We stand committed, along with the Iraqi Security Forces and the Iraqi population, to end their terror and create a safer country.”

al qaeda's last haven in mosul- well not for long..

Iraq Announces Major Offensive in Mosul By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press Writer Friday, January 25, 2008 (01-25) 07:58 PST BAGHDAD, (AP) -- The Iraqi prime minister announced Friday that the government was preparing to strike back against al-Qaida in the northern city of Mosul after two days of deadly bombings killed nearly 40 people. He promised the fight "will be decisive." U.S. and Iraqi forces have staged many operations against insurgents north of Baghdad where levels of violence remain high even as they drop elsewhere in the country.The announcement by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki came after warnings by the U.S. military that Mosul was the last major city where al-Qaida maintains a strong presence after largely being driven from Baghdad and other major population centers. "Today, our troops started moving toward Mosul ... and the fight there will be decisive," al-Maliki said during an address in the Shiite holy city of Karbala. He did not say how many troops were being sent or provide more details in his wide-ranging speech, an apparent attempt to show his beleaguered administration was assuming control of the situation in Mosul with the U.S. military in the background."Now we have a real army. The days when the militants could do anything in front of our armed forces are gone," al-Maliki said. Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf later told The Associated Press that 3,000 police were being sent as reinforcements for the 16,000 policemen already in Mosul to combat insurgents. But he gave no date for the start of the operation due to security concerns. He also said additional soldiers would be sent to the area but provided no specifics.Residents and security officials reported no immediate sign of stepped up security. The recent violence in Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, began Wednesday when an abandoned apartment building believed to be used as a bomb-making factory exploded after the Iraqi army arrived to investigate tips about a weapons cache. At least 34 people were killed and 224 wounded when the blast tore through surrounding houses in the Zanjili neighborhood, a poverty-ridden district on the west bank of the Tigris River. A suicide bomber then killed a police chief and two other officers Thursday as they toured the devastation from the previous day. Residents with insurgent sympathies taunted the chief moments before the attack. Al-Maliki traveled to Karbala, 50 miles south of Baghdad, a day after a roadside bomb targeted a senior aide of Iraq's Shiite spiritual leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in the city. The aide, Abdul-Mahdi al-Karbalai, escaped with a wound to the arm, but two of his bodyguards were killed and two were wounded, according to local police. Al-Maliki met with the white-turbaned cleric, who wore a bandage on his right forearm. There have been several assassination attempts against al-Sistani's followers in recent months as internal Shiite rivalries increased in the oil-rich southern Iraq, which also is home to some of the majority sect's most sacred shrines. Al-Qaida and its supporters would find themselves without a major base of operations if ousted from Mosul, which occupies transport crossroads between Baghdad, Syria and other points. But a drawn-out fight could serve to rally insurgents and expose potential security weaknesses where U.S. troops are thin and Iraqi forces must take a front-line role. Al-Qaida first started to lose its footholds in the western Anbar province after Sunni tribes turned against them and joined the U.S.-led fight. The military successes then began to pile up in Baghdad and other central regions — forcing many insurgents to seek new havens in the north. "Mosul will continue to be a center of influence for, center of gravity for, al-Qaida," said U.S. military spokesman Rear Adm. Gregory Smith earlier this week, calling it a hub for both insurgent financing and foreign fighters. The U.S. military also said Friday that American and Iraqi troops had cleared a roadside bomb-infested route between Baqouba and Khan Bani Saad, a strategic village on the northern outskirts of Baghdad. Thirty roadside bombs were removed from the road and surrounding areas along with 12 booby-trapped houses, 11 car bombs and six weapons caches, the military said in a statement. The troops also killed an estimated 41 suspected al-Qaida in Iraq militants, although the military stressed the exact number could not be confirmed because many were killed in aerial bombardments and their bodies were removed before ground forces arrived.

Pat Dollard's new film on Iraq coming out soon..

Tuesday, January 22, 2008 DISPATCHES FROM THE FRONT LINES Obsession with reality makes film different. Result is 'a pulsating pictorial of the effects of terror' Editor's note: Reporter Matt Sanchez, currently embedding with military units throughout both Iraq and Afghanistan, has been providing WND readers with a glimpse into the war on terror most Americans have never seen. By Matt Sanchez © 2000 WorldNetDaily.com-->© 2008 WorldNetDaily.com This spring, Pat Dollard's Young Americans will air on cable television, the result of years of work. But there's a good reason for the time it has taken: Pat Dollard is a man obsessed with reality, his reality of the war he experienced while embedded with the 3rd battalion 7th Marines in Ramadi. Mixing that desire with Hollywood never is simple, either. Getting attention for movie projects often is a large part of the goal, with much of a project's budget going to advertising. Just that attention can make a film a blockbuster or package it for the discounted DVDs. Publicity is everything in Hollywood, and that's what makes the films about the war in Iraq so different. Despite a lot of attention, films like Redacted have been shunned by mass audiences and panned by critics who actually wanted to like the film or agree with the message. "I am glad the movie was made, and I wish it were better," said a New York Times film critic in an attempt to be as flattering as possible to much celebrated director Brian De Palma. Dollard got nowhere near that type of generosity. In an article written for Vanity Fair, Pat Dollard is excoriated as a pro-war cheerleader. Surprisingly, The New York Times also gave an unflattering portrayal of Dollard. Despite the criticism from places both expected and not, Dollard's Young Americans will be a make or break endeavor. At a studio in Santa Monica, Pat and his editorial assistant Donnie "dB" Bracamontes put the final touches on the third episode in the Young American series. Critics who complain Hollywood has not accurately portrayed Iraq will need to be careful for what they wish. Dollard trumps the pretenders by giving such an engaging view of Iraq, I found myself watching the 30-minute episode half-way out of my seat. The episode showed the Marine response to a major bombing at the Ramadi glass factory. What follows is not just a CNNesque report on raw violence, but a pulsating pictorial of the effects of terror. Marine from the 5th Anglico preparing to sweep a home for weapons in Ramadi. The first five minutes were exhilarating and frightening. I found myself nodding my head and anticipating what was going to happen, because I had been there before. Dollard himself makes no pretense of objectivity, his website sells "Jihad Killer" shirts and during Young Americans the audience will hear Dollard's voice give on-the-spot editorials. "You see, you liberals, this is what you're supporting!" There really is no substitute for being there, but it takes an entirely different personality to choose a place because it's dangerous. In 2005 and 2006, Ramadi was reputed to be the most dangerous place on the planet "I went to Ramadi because I knew it was going to be the next Fallujah," Pat said, referring to the 2004 Battle of Fallujah, when Marines cordoned off the city and swept through to weed out entrenched terrorists dreaming of jihad. By the time I saw Fallujah in 2007, I met some of those Marines who helped to clear out the town nicknamed "The City of Mosques." But even those riflemen had an eerie reverence for the violence in Ramadi. The battles of Fallujah were extremely violent, but Ramadi was supposed to be the capital city of the al Qaida-proclaimed Islamic Republic of Iraq. Unlike Fallujah, Ramadi was the city that had kept the Marines under siege, and not the other way around. Young American editor dB Bracamontes won a Clio Award for editing, and has worked on the trailers for major releases: Transformers, Batman Begins, I Am Legend and the list goes on. In a city where people make a lot of money pretending to be someone else Bracamontes is the real deal working behind the scenes to make so many others stand out. Although dB is accustomed to demanding directors, Dollard is obsessed. "I knew I had to go over [to Iraq], because Hollywood would never make this film." It's one thing to believe in a cause – Dollard says he was not at all surprised by 9/11 – it is entirely another to risk bodily harm in order to prove a point. So far, Dollard is right, Hollywood has not attempted to make an accurate film on Iraq, and Dollard has paid a high price to prove this point. On a night patrol, Patrick Dollard and his Marine escorts were hit by an IED. Lt. Almar Fitzgerald and Cpl. Matthew Conley were killed in the violent assault. Dollard still has physical problems from that night, but speaks less of his own injuries and more of the Marines who lost their lives. "Corporal Conley's first child was born within a week or two of his father's death." Feeling emboldened. Today, the people of Ramadi celebrate on streets that were deserted. Ramadi was the focus of the al-Qaida attempt to subdue Iraq and form an Islamic Republic. This is the mood permeating Young Americans, a blend of dread, suspense and violence mixed in with sorrow, reflection and humor. In other words, this is precisely what being in Iraq is like. "This isn't Dog the Bounty Hunter, this is the real thing," Dollard said when we talked about the rush of going on night house raids in places where the participants had no intention of making speeches for the cameras. Over half a year and 600 hours of footage in the formerly most dangerous place on earth has had a spill-over effect into how Dollard perceives the world today. "The best of spiritual America, the spirit of America is in Iraq," is how he describes it. Being spared when so many around him died has had a profound effect on this documentarian. "I'm a God man myself." A part of this literal cultural warrior still is in Ramadi. "I feel contempt for the average civilian," Dollard says. "I can't stand that I live in a culture, especially in Hollywood, where measure of man is self-indulgence." Young Americans debuts this spring on Showtime. You have been warned.

RAF scrambles fighters as russians replay cold war

RAF alert as Russia stages huge naval exercise in Bay of Biscay Tony Halpin in Moscow RAF fighters scrambled to track Russian long-range bombers joining a naval task force yesterday as Moscow practised strike tactics off the coast of France and Spain and test-launched nuclear-capable missiles. The fleet of Russian warships, supported by fighter jets and the bombers, engaged in Russia’s biggest naval exercises since the end of the Cold War. The war games close to two Nato member states were the most forceful reminder to date of President Putin’s determination to flex Russia’s military muscles as relations with the West have deteriorated. The navy boasted that they were Russia’s largest Atlantic exercises since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Nato F16 and Tornado jets tracked two strategic “Blackjack” bombers as they approached the Bay of Biscay to test-fire missiles. A Russian navy spokesman said that SU33 fighters would make training runs alongside them from the flagship Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier. The Admiral Kuznetsov is leading a carrier strike group of 11 vessels backed by 47 aircraft that began exercises in the Mediterranean before moving to the Atlantic. A naval spokesman said: “This is the biggest exercise of its kind in the area since Soviet times.” All the warships and aircraft, which are drawn from Russia’s Northern and Black Sea fleets, were carrying full combat ammunition loads. Long-range “Bear” bombers, ordered by Mr Putin to resume round-the-clock missions in August for the first time in 15 years, will join the exercises today alongside Tu22M3 Backfire strategic bombers and airborne early warning aircraft. Colonel Aleksandr Drobyshevsky, an aide to the commander-in-chief of the Russian Air Force, said: “The air force is taking a very active part in the exercises.” Captain Igor Dygalo, assistant to the navy commander-in-chief, said: “The Russia Navy’s carrier strike group has arrived to the assigned region in the Atlantic and aircraft based on the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier will soon take off for their training mission.” Captain Dygalo reported that the Moskva battleship had successfully hit a target with a Bazalt supersonic cruise missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead over a range of 350 miles. He said: “The missile system used for launches has no match in performance terms.” Vice-Admiral Nikolai Maksimov, who is heading the task force, has said that its tour of duty is aimed at restoring Russia’s naval presence “in key operational areas of the world’s oceans”. The Ministry of Defence and its counterparts in Europe were informed about the exercises a month ago. Pavel Felgengauer, one of Russia’s leading defence analysts, told The Times that the display of power was much less impressive than it appeared. Russia’s navy was so depleted that perhaps only 30 out of 300 vessels could go to sea at any time. “They have put them all together and sent them to the Atlantic. This is just an attempt to show the flag before the presidential elections and to tell people at home that Putin’s eight years have restored Russia’s imperial greatness,” he said. “The Admiral Kuznetsov is due to go in for repairs when it returns home. There are two tugs with it now because everybody understands that it could go bust at any moment.” The exercises are taking place in an atmosphere of growing friction between Russia and the West, however, as Mr Putin adopts an increasingly belligerent stance in disputes over independence for Kosovo, Iran’s nuclear ambitions and American plans for a missile defence shield in Eastern Europe. In a further sign of assertiveness, last week the Kremlin ordered the revival of Soviet-era military parades in Red Square. The latest Topol-M nuclear missiles will join a tank parade on May 9, marking victory over Nazi Germany, for the first time since 1990. Flush with money from oil and gas sales, Russia has embarked on a rearmament programme and will spend $189 billion (£96.3 billion) to upgrade half of the army and navy’s equipment by 2015. Defence spending has quadrupled since Mr Putin came to power in 2000. It will rise by 16.3 per cent this year to $36.8 billion (£18.8 billion) and to $45.5 billion (£23.2 billion) by 2010. Some analysts say that Mr Putin’s sabre-rattling is part of domestic politics to project an image of strength for voters and bolster support for his chosen successor, Dmitri Medvedev, in the presidential election on March 2.

united nations sees continued progress in iraq

U.N. Envoy Offers Upbeat Report on Iraq http://www.nysun.com/article/69897 BY BENNY AVNI - Staff Reporter of the New York Sun January 22, 2008 UNITED NATIONS — In the most upbeat assessment by a U.N. official since America invaded Iraq, Secretary-General Ban's top envoy in Baghdad, Steffan de Mistura, told the Security Council yesterday that it "cannot ignore the recent improvements" in Iraq since last year's troop surge. Mr. de Mistura, who arrived in Baghdad last fall, acknowledged that Iraqis and the coalition forces still face serious "challenges" in the near future, but in yesterday's periodic report to the council, he noted marked progress since last year and said the security situation has not only improved but that there have been "welcome steps towards national reconciliation and inclusive political dialogue," though "tentative and overdue." U.N. assessments of the conditions in Iraq since the war began in 2003 have often been bleak and critical of the activities of the American-led international troop contingency, known as the Multi-National Force–Iraq. A former secretary-general, Kofi Annan, famously called America's decision to unseat Saddam "illegal." But yesterday, Mr. de Mistura credited the surge of American troops for much of the success in Iraq. Asked about the upbeat nature of his assessment and his departure from past U.N. practice, Mr. de Mistura, a 37-year veteran of the world organization, cited three reasons. "First, I am an optimist by nature," he told The New York Sun. "Second, there really are results on the ground, and third, I believe that only by saying that, you get even more results." The challenges facing Iraq, he told the council, are "largely unaltered," given the "complex, inextricably linked," and "quite daunting" issues facing the country. However, he added, "We cannot ignore the recent improvements both in the security and political situation in Iraq. The notable decline in hostile activities can be credited to the cumulative effect of increased deployment of MNF–I troops," as well as to the cease-fire declared by the Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr, and to "increased cooperation with neighbors on security-related issues." That last point, which later was made even clearer when Mr. de Mistura talked in a briefing with reporters about the cooperation that Iraq gets from its "immediate" neighbors, was the only issue of his presentation that was disputed by America's U.N. ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad. Speaking on behalf of the coalition, Mr. Khalilzad expressed Washington's assessment about the negative role played by two of Iraq's immediate neighbors, Iran and Syria. The "Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps continues to train, equip, and fund Shia extremists despite reported assurances to Prime Minister al-Maliki that Iran will cease lethal aid," Mr. Khalilzad — who served as the American ambassador to Iraq between 2005 and 2007 — told the council. "Foreign terrorists and suicide bombers still enter Iraq through Syria," he added. "Syria must do more to stem these flows." Mr. de Mistura later told reporters that Mr. Khalilzad "has more access to more information than I have." Both men agreed that the United Nations has played a much more significant role since the council has decided to increase the world body's presence there. Specifically, they cited the U.N.'s role in helping to mediate disputes over access to natural resources in Iraq's northern regions, including the oil-rich area of Kirkuk, where some tentative solutions have been reached recently. Since the council passed its Resolution 1770 last august, the United Nations has increased the number of its representatives in Baghdad and Erbil to 89 international staffers from what was just below 50. The General Assembly recently approved the budget for a new headquarters building, known to many as "the bunker." In addition to the staffers, there are 256 security officers assigned to protect the U.N. mission in Iraq, including 162 Fijian troops who don the signature U.N. blue helmets.

keeping watch on the iranians

Satellite launch bolsters ability to spy on Tehran By Yossi Melman, Haaretz Correspondent Israel launched early Monday a sophisticated new spy satellite, designated TECSAR, which could boost intelligence gathering capabilities regarding Iran. The satellite was sent into orbit from the Sriharikota Launching Range in India, using an Indian rocket. The TECSAR, manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), has the ability to use radar to identify targets even under adverse weather conditions including dense clouds. As such, it differs from Israel's Ofek series of reconnaissance satellites, which rely on cameras. IAI officials said that the satellite, which weighs some 300 kilograms, was launched at 5:45 A.M. Israel time, and was successfully placed in orbit. IAI ground stations reported receiving signals at 7:10 A.M. showing that all measuring parameters were operating correctly. Scientists and engineers are now conducting a battery of tests to check the systems and gauge their performance. A first picture from the satellite is expected within two weeks. The TECSAR launch was postponed a number of times in the past, largely due to weather conditions. Israel currently operates a number of reconnaissance satellites, including Ofek 5 and Ofek 7, as well as several commercial satellites such as the Amos and EROS series. A total of 11 Israeli satellites have been placed in orbit, a number of them still operational. The Ofek 5 was launched in May, 2002, and the Ofek 7, last July, from the Palmachim missile range on Israel's coast. Israel intends to launch another two spy satellites as part of its strategic cooperation commitments

NY Times and media continue smearing our military

Smear Campaign by Oliver North WAUKESHA, Wis. — Here in "Cheesehead" country, where Green Bay Packers fans go to Lambeau Field with snow shovels, military recruiting never has been much of a problem — until now. "These are outdoors, patriotic people," a military recruiter told me as I prepared to speak at a Boy Scouts function here. "Young people up here are tough. They hunt, they ice fish, they go to football games in an open stadium in the middle of a blizzard. This used to be a great place to be a recruiter, but not anymore," he continued. "What's happened?" I asked this two-tour veteran of the "global war on terror." His reply was blunt — and an indictment of the so-called mainstream media: "The press is killing us. We have parents and high school guidance counselors telling our best prospective recruits that they have too much potential to waste it in the military. Last year, we had to debunk myths about how the war in Iraq was being lost. Now when we go to talk to parents, they ask us about stories they have heard about suicides, drugs — and now murders. There is no 'good news.' It's very discouraging." Remember those words: "very discouraging." The "murders" my recruiter referred to are those "documented" by The New York Times in a front-page story entitled "Across America, Deadly Echoes of Foreign Battles." The "Deadly Echoes" piece appeared concurrently with the hunt for a male Marine suspected of killing a fellow female Marine in North Carolina — a story that has been repeated almost hourly on the cable news channels. The authors of the Times piece claim that they found 121 cases where veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan committed a killing, or were charged with one, after their return from war. What this amounts to, says the Times, is "a cross-country trail of death and heartbreak." The Times reprints one local newspaper headline reading, "Iraq veteran arrested in killing." The story goes on to fan the flames: "Town by town across the country, headlines have been telling similar stories. Lakewood, Wash.: 'Family Blames Iraq After Son Kills Wife.' Pierre, S.D.: 'Soldier Charged With Murder Testifies About Postwar Stress.' Colorado Springs: 'Iraq War Vets Suspected in Two Slayings, Crime Ring.'" This collection of sensational headlines is an effective gimmick, but it ignores reality. The homicide rate for 18- to 34-year-old civilians who have never served in the military is actually five times higher than it is for those who are now, or who recently have been in, the armed forces. Had the Times wanted to make a different point, instead of impugning the U.S. military, they could have done a Google search to find these headlines: "Deputies: Couple commits suicide after foreclosure notice," from KATU-TV; and "Foreclosure May Have Led to Homicide-Suicide," from WRTV; and "Lengthy SWAT Standoff Over Foreclosure Ends in Suicide," from the Houston Chronicle. The New York Times could compile such headlines to dissuade Americans from homeownership. "Very discouraging" is how the recruiter described the current attack on those who serve in the U.S. armed forces. He's right; and the recent Times hit piece is just part of a pattern that began to emerge in the so-called mainstream media as the situation on the ground in Iraq began to improve late last year. By autumn 2007, casualties, attacks on civilians, roadside bombings, assassinations and sectarian violence in Iraq had plummeted. But for the potentates of the press, the lack of bad news from the battlefield didn't mean that bad news about our military couldn't be created elsewhere. From October through December last year, there was a series of print and broadcast "investigative reports" about high rates of suicide, desertion, drug abuse and divorce among members of our military. A Nov. 17 Associated Press story blared: "Soldiers strained by six years at war are deserting their posts at the highest rate since 1980." In fact, the drug abuse and suicide rates for military personnel are considerably lower than that for the same age group in the U.S. population, and the divorce rate in the military remains slightly lower than in the overall population. The desertion rate for the Marines actually has declined since Sept. 11, 2001. Despite significant improvements on the battlefield in Iraq, the combined effects of this adverse "reporting" have created a more challenging recruiting environment — and made it more difficult for young war veterans to find good jobs once they have completed their service. In December, the unemployment rate for 20- to 24-year-old veterans was nearly 17 percent — more than three times the rate for non-veteran Americans. It's clear evidence that the smear has worked.

international agencies see good year for iraq

Agencies see good year for Iraq http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/7193174.stm BBC News Iraq faces a period of economic growth and political progress, according to assessments by the International Monetary Fund and the UN. The IMF sees 7% growth in 2008 and a similar rise next year, and says oil revenues from buoyant exports should be up by 200,000 barrels a day. The UN envoy to Iraq welcomed dialogue between the Sunni and Shia communities and praised the government's work. But analysts warn much depends on rapid progress in the next six to 12 months. Reporting from Baghdad, the BBC's Jonny Dymond says the IMF and UN statements amount to a coincidental chorus of approval that tops off what have been, by Iraq's dismal standards, a good few weeks. The change in the political mood is largely down to the passing of a law on Saturday, enabling some members of the Baath Party of Saddam Hussain to re-enter the military and bureaucracy, our correspondent says. They were barred from public service by one of the first acts of the US-run Coalition Provisional Administration. The law reversing that expulsion, combined with the sharp fall in violence in much of Iraq, has led to greater optimism. Oil-fuelled growth Mohsin Khan, director of the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia department, said Iraqi GDP growth would likely top 7% this year and hold at between 7% and 8% next year. "Of course all of this is conditional on oil production expansion and the security situation improving," he said. On oil production, he forecast a rise of "at least" 200,000 barrels to 2.2m barrels per day. Anecdotal evidence, Mr Khan added, suggests there was also an "improvement in economic activity" in the second half of 2007, combined with an improvement in security. However, Iraq will "continue to need aid, particularly in the security area", the IMF official said. Compliment The UN's Staffan de Mistura said he would present a positive picture of progress in Iraq in a report to the UN Security Council despite earlier serious misgivings "At the beginning of [2007]... we were genuinely concerned by the lack of progress on national dialogue," he told Reuters news agency by telephone. "Today that has substantially changed. It has changed our mind from being worried or from being pessimistic." The UN report would, he said, "compliment" Iraq's government on its work at fostering reconciliation. "Iraq needs to maintain the momentum, 2008 is going to be a crucial year," Mr de Mistura added.

USAF strikes increasingly effective over iraq

U.S. Boosts Its Use of Airstrikes In Iraq http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/16/AR2008011604148_pf.html Strategy Supports Troop Increase By Josh White Washington Post Thursday, January 17, 2008; A01 The U.S. military conducted more than five times as many airstrikes in Iraq last year as it did in 2006, targeting al-Qaeda safe houses, insurgent bombmaking facilities and weapons stockpiles in an aggressive strategy aimed at supporting the U.S. troop increase by overwhelming enemies with air power. Top commanders said that better intelligence-gathering allows them to identify and hit extremist strongholds with bombs and missiles from above, and they predicted that extensive airstrikes will continue this year as the United States seeks to flush insurgents out of havens in and around Baghdad and to the north in Diyala province.The U.S.-led coalition dropped 1,447 bombs over Iraq last year, an average of nearly four a day, compared with 229 bombs, or about four each week, in 2006."The core reason why we see the increase in strikes is the offensive strategy taken by General [David H.] Petraeus," said Air Force Col. Gary Crowder, commander of the 609th Combined Air Operations Center in Southwest Asia. Because the United States has sent more troops into areas rife with insurgent activity, he said, "we integrated more airstrikes into those operations. The strategy was evident last week, as U.S. forces launched airstrikes across Iraq as part of Operation Phantom Phoenix. On Thursday morning in Arab Jabour, southeast of Baghdad, the U.S. military dropped 38 bombs with 40,000 pounds of explosives in 10 minutes, one of the largest strikes since the 2003 invasion. U.S. forces north of Baghdad employed bombs totaling more than 16,500 pounds over just a few days last week, according to officers there."The purpose of these particular strikes was to shape the battlefield and take out known threats before our ground troops move in," Army Col. Terry Ferrell, commander of the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, said at a news conference in Baghdad last Friday, describing the Arab Jabour attacks. "Our aim was to neutralize any advantage the enemy could claim with the use of IEDs and other weapons," he said, referring to improvised explosive devices.Counterinsurgency experts said the greater use of airstrikes meshes with U.S. strategy, which calls for coalition troops to clear hostile areas before holding and then rebuilding them. U.S. forces have put the new counterinsurgency efforts into play by using their increased numbers to home in on insurgent strongholds.Colin Kahl, a professor of security studies at Georgetown University who studies the Iraq war, said airstrikes rose in 2007 because of a combination of increased U.S. operations and a realization that air power can have a strong psychological effect on the enemy."Part of this is announcing our presence to the adversary," said Kahl, who recently returned from a trip to the air operations center. "Across this calendar year you will see a reduction in U.S. forces, so there will be fewer troops to support Iraqi forces. One would expect a continued level of airstrikes because of offensive operations, and as U.S. forces begin to draw down you may see even more airstrikes."Senior Air Force officials said the greater use of airstrikes stems from better intelligence that provides a clearer picture of the battlefield. Commanders said the additional U.S. forces in Iraq over the past year have pushed insurgents out of urban areas and into places that are easier to target. "You see an increase in the number of kinetic strikes because we have found the enemy, we are finding the enemy's emplacement sites, manufacturing facilities for IEDs and caches of weapons," said Air Force Lt. Gen. Gary L. North, the U.S. Central Air Forces and Combined Forces Air Component commander. "And we're striking them."The Marine Corps keeps its own statistics for airstrikes in western Iraq but could not provide 2007 data.In Afghanistan, where U.S. and NATO bombings picked up in the middle of 2006, coalition airstrikes reached 3,572 last year, more than double the total for 2006 and more than 20 times the number in 2005. Many of the strikes have targeted the Taliban and other extremists in Helmand province, and military officials said they have been able to use air power to support small Special Forces units that engage the enemy in remote locations.Human rights groups estimate that Afghan civilian casualties caused by airstrikes tripled to more than 300 in 2007, fueling fears that such aggressive bombardment could be catastrophic for the innocent. Marc Garlasco, a military analyst at Human Rights Watch who tracks airstrikes in Iraq and Afghanistan, said the strikes carry unique risks. "My major concern with what's going on in Iraq is massive population density," he said. "You have the potential for very high civilian casualties, so you need really granular intelligence on what you're going to hit. But I don't think they're being careless."In preparation for last week's major airstrikes near Baghdad, North said, he met two weeks ago with Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division and U.S. forces in Baghdad, to walk through the plans."What you're seeing in the last few days is a very deliberate process honed by intelligence, targeted and aligned to get the desired effect in a particular area," North said.Commanders also said they are using air power more creatively, in some cases dropping bombs that explode in the air to detonate insurgent roadside bombs. Other U.S. munitions have cut off small bridges or roads to isolate insurgent movement. As seen in Air Force videos, some attacks have been extremely precise, such as when a Predator unmanned aircraft fired an AGM-114P Hellfire missile to kill three extremists who were setting up a mortar attack on Nov. 7 in Balad.North said the Air Force has at times used concrete-filled bombs to detonate IED sites and is using 250-pound GBU-39 small-diameter bombs to make blasts safer for civilians. Commanders also have been using airstrikes on houses suspected to be rigged with explosives, called "house-borne IEDs."Such a strike happened Jan. 6, when soldiers with the 2nd Battalion, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team spotted five suspected insurgents with rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47 rifles apparently rigging a house with explosives near Khan Bani Saad, northeast of Baghdad. Lt. Col. Stuart Pettis, air liaison officer for Multinational Division North, said the unit asked for airstrikes."After doing a show of force to get civilians out of the area, they engaged the house and the fighters with a 500-pound bomb," he said of the attack by two British Tornado GR4 jets. "They took the fighters out."

baghdad is safer and returning to normalcy

Normalcy returns to Baghdad, block by block http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080113/FOREIGN/504850653/1001&template=printart By Richard Tomkins - BAGHDAD — Signs of improved security in Baghdad go beyond the obvious dampening of street battles and bombings: It's in the smaller transformations taking place in neighborhoods that the seeds of possibility are starting to take root. "When we meet and talk, we speak about how we must hold together in the future, and if we don't, the future won't be so good," said Thayia Aziz Kudam, a neighborhood leader in the East Rashid area of southern Baghdad. "Gangs, militias, al Qaeda — all of us, we want them to go away. We don't want them." East Rashid was best known from 2006 until last fall for sectarian violence and al Qaeda's campaign of terror. It has long been a mixed community, with Sunni Muslims in the majority but with Shi'ites and Christians as well. Today, a trickle of returning refugee families — about 400 since the end of October, according to one district leader — is greeted by large banners reading "Welcome back" and "We are all one." The growing sense of hope and confidence is based on the establishment of security checkpoints by the Iraqi National Police and Iraqi Security Volunteers — an armed, neighborhood-watch-type organization being established across the capital. Also helping is the frequent presence of patrols by U.S. and Iraqi military forces. The Americans, members of the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Cavalry, Stryker Regiment, are based in an abandoned Chaldean Catholic seminary at a combat operations post dubbed Blackfoot. The seminarians fled in 2006 after al Qaeda beheaded a priest and threatened the rest. In September and October, the Americans fought fierce battles in East Rashid, facing snipers, mortar attacks and roadside blasts. A long line of photographs on a wall of the Stryker headquarters honors the young soldiers who died in the battle. "When we first got here, there were memorial services almost every day," said Sgt. Jim Tripp, who belongs to a psychological-operations unit attached to the Stryker group. Attacks with improvised explosive devices and snipings still occur, but far less frequently than before, the soldiers say. Although Mr. Kudam's neighborhood is starting to resemble scenes of a normal life, the streets still are deserted in other parts of East Rashid. The problems are worst near 60th Street — once a major shopping area that became the scene of intense fighting between Iraqi militias and al Qaeda. Only an occasional pedestrian is seen hurrying across the broad avenue, even now. Neighboring streets are lined with vacant, battle-scarred houses and heaps of rubble and garbage, disturbed only by scavenging dogs. Farther from 60th Street, however, the streets are filling with people, walking more calmly and shopping at markets that sell everything from vegetables to small electronics. "It's quieter now; not much shooting anymore," said Omar Mohammed Salem, a 12-year-old whose family moved to East Rashid after being driven from another area of southern Baghdad a year ago. Many of the returning residents say they would like to see even more police checkpoints, which they consider key to encouraging more of their neighbors to come home and reopen shops and businesses. That, in turn, will require increased cooperation between the Sunni and Shi'ite factions in East Rashid. Leaders of the two groups meet regularly with local and national police and the Iraqi army to discuss security needs and to resolve conflicts. At one recent security meeting, Sunni and Shi'ite community leaders took up seats on opposite sides of a C-shaped table, barely looking at one another. But after two hours of talks, they were eating and chatting together. "We are all one people," a National Police official told them. "All of us are responsible to God for the blood of the innocent people."

ny times once again smears our brave military fighters

There is no limit to the slanders that the liberal media will slag on our military.. SMEARING SOLDIERS- THE GRAY LADY'S KILLER-GI LIE January 15, 2008 -- THE New York Times is trashing our troops again. With no new "atrocities" to report from Iraq for many a month, the limping Gray Lady turned to the home front. Front and center, above the fold, on the front page of Sunday's Times, the week's feature story sought to convince Americans that combat experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan are turning troops into murderers when they come home. Heart-wringing tales of madness and murder not only made the front page, but filled two entire centerfold pages and spilled onto a fourth. The Times did get one basic fact right: Returning vets committed or are charged with 121 murders in the United States since our current wars began. Had the Times' "journalists" and editors bothered to put those figures in context - which they carefully avoided doing - they would've found that the murder rate that leaves them so aghast means that our vets are five times less likely to commit a murder than their demographic peers. The Times' public editor, Clark Hoyt, should crunch the numbers. I'm even willing to spot the Times a few percentage points (either way). But the hard statistics from the Justice Department tell a far different tale from the Times' anti-military propaganda. A very conservative estimate of how many different service members have passed through Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait since 2003 is 350,000 (and no, that's not double-counting those with repeated tours of duty). Now consider the Justice Department's numbers for murders committed by all Americans aged 18 to 34 - the key group for our men and women in uniform. To match the homicide rate of their peers, our troops would've had to come home and commit about 150 murders a year, for a total of 700 to 750 murders between 2003 and the end of 2007. In other words, the Times unwittingly makes the case that military service reduces the likelihood of a young man or woman committing a murder by 80 percent. Yes, the young Americans who join our military are (by self- selection) superior by far to the average stay-at-home. Still, these numbers are pretty impressive, when you consider that we're speaking of men and women trained in the tools of war, who've endured the acute stresses of fighting insurgencies and who are physically robust (rather unlike the stick-limbed weanies the Times prefers). All in all, the Times' own data proves my long-time contention that we have the best behaved and most ethical military in history. Now, since the folks at the Times are terribly busy and awfully important, let's make it easy for them to do the research themselves (you can do it, too - in five minutes). Just Google "USA Murder Statistics." The top site to appear will be the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics. Click on it, then go to "Demographic Trends." Click on "Age." For hard numbers on the key demographics, click on the colored graphs. Run the numbers yourself, based upon the demographic percentages of murders per every 100,000 people. Then look at the actual murder counts. Know what else you'll learn? In 2005 alone, 8,718 young Americans from the same age group were murdered in this country. That's well over twice as many as the number of troops killed in all our foreign missions since 2001. Maybe military service not only prevents you from committing crimes, but also keeps you alive? Want more numbers? In the District of Columbia, our nation's capital, the murder rate for the 18-34 group was about 14 times higher than the rate of murders allegedly committed by returning vets. And that actually understates the District's problem, since many DC-related murders spill across into Prince George's County (another Democratic Party stronghold). In DC, an 18-34 population half the size of the total number of troops who've served in our wars overseas committed the lion's share of 992 murders between 2003 and 2007 - the years mourned by the Times as proving that our veterans are psychotic killers. Aren't editors supposed to ask tough questions on feature stories? Are the Times' editors so determined to undermine the public's support for our troops that they'll violate the most-basic rules of journalism, such as putting numbers in context? Answer that one for yourself. Of course, all of this is part of the disgraceful left-wing campaign to pretend sympathy with soldiers - the Times column gushes crocodile tears - while portraying our troops as clichéd maniacs from the Oliver Stone fantasies that got lefties so self-righteously excited 20 years ago (See? We were right to dodge the draft . . .). And it's not going to stop. Given the stakes in an election year, the duplicity will only intensify. For an upcoming treat, we'll get the film "Stop-Loss," starring, as always, young punks who never served in uniform as soldiers. This left-wing diatribe argues that truly courageous troops would refuse to return to Iraq - at a time when soldiers and Marines continue to re-enlist at record rates, expecting to plunge back into the fight. Those on the left will never accept that the finest young Americans are those who risk their lives defending freedom. Sen. John Kerry summed up the views of the left perfectly when he disparaged our troops as too stupid to do anything but sling hamburgers. And The New York Times will never forgive our men and women in uniform for their infuriating successes in Iraq. Ralph Peters' latest book is "Wars of Blood and Faith."

New USAF tanker coming on line?

EADS says to build freighter in US if Tanker wins Mon Jan 14, 2008 10:00am EST By Andrea Shalal-Esa WASHINGTON, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Airbus parent EADS (EAD.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Monday it would build both Airbus A330 freighters and Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) KC-30 refueling tankers at a U.S. plant if Northrop wins a $40 billion U.S. Air Force tanker competition. Top EADS officials made the announcement in Mobile, Alabama, as Air Force officials consider tanker bids submitted this month by a Northrop-led team that includes EADS and by Boeing Co (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research). An award is due by late February at the soonest. EADS, saddled by the euro's recent rise against the dollar, said the decision to build A330 freighters in the United States would result in "a robust final assembly line that ensures low risk, high efficiency and increased capacity for both military and commercial customers." EADS stressed the move was contingent on a win in the Air Force tanker competition. "Selection of the KC-30 by the U.S. Air Force will not only provide the world's most capable military tanker, it also will result in the establishment of the first large commercial aircraft assembly facility in the United States in over 40 years," Thomas Enders, Airbus chief executive, said in a statement. It would also be the first Airbus assembly in the United States, said Enders, a member of the EADS executive committee. "This significant investment would effectively transform EADS and Airbus into a second U.S.-based producer and exporter of large commercial aircraft," Enders said, noting EADS was already the largest single international customer for U.S. aerospace products. EADS said the Mobile site would be expanded to support the production of up to four aircraft per month, ensuring it could meet Air Force delivery requirements while fulfilling the A330 freighter's order book, which is already at 66 aircraft. It said the proposed KC-30 production center would be expanded by 20 percent, adding at least 300 additional workers above the 1,000 currently slated for the tanker assembly. Depending on when the Air Force made its contract award, construction of the combined freighter assembly line could begin as early as late 2008, EADS said. (Editing by John Wallace)

For those who have been whining about "benchmarks"

From the Captain at Captain Quarters Blog: De-Baathification Reform Law Passes In Iraqi Parliament Those who claim that the surge strategy in Iraq has paid no dividends because it hasn't met Congressional benchmarks may wish to skip to the next post. The Iraqi National Assembly has passed one of the two most critical benchmarks that the American government had pressed for Baghdad to adopt, the de-Baathification reform that will allow Sunnis to once again enter government jobs: Iraq's parliament adopted legislation Saturday on the reinstatement of former Baath party supporters to government jobs, a benchmark sought by the United States as a key step toward national reconciliation. The voting was carried out by a show of hands on each of the law's 30 clauses. The bill, officially called the "Accountability and Justice" law, seeks to relax restrictions on the right of members of Saddam Hussein's now-dissolved Baath party to fill government posts. It is also designed to reinstate thousands of Baathists in government jobs from which they had been dismissed because of their ties to the party. Without doubt, this is a critical step towards national reconciliation. It moves the official position of the Iraqi government from group think to individual responsibility. Those who committed serious crimes during the Saddam Hussein years will still face prosecution, but membership in the Ba'ath party will not disqualify Sunnis any longer from employment in the government. This allows Sunnis to retake their jobs and join the Shi'ites and Kurds in administering government functions, especially in Sunni areas. It gives them a stake in the new, representative government instead of being shut out of it. Sunnis will now have every reason to support the central government in Baghdad rather than attempting to undermine it to get back what they lost in the fall of Saddam, and they won't need to again adopt the fascist Ba'ath principles to do so. This looks like progress to me. It's progress that wouldn't have come without lowering the violence and removing the provocations and depredations of al-Qaeda in Iraq. That wouldn't have happened at all had we not ramped up our efforts and taken a much more aggressive posture against the terrorists -- and the Sunnis would not have cooperated if we hadn't signaled so strongly that we intended to beat AQI and stick it out. I wonder how the anti-war crowd will spin this. My guesses: 1. It's too late -- the sky is already falling!2. Too many people have died to make freedom worth it.3. (crickets chirping) Or is there spin I missed? UPDATE & BUMP: My radio partner Mitch Berg adds, "Halliburton! HALLIBURTON!" (Say it like Shatner shouts "KHAN!" in Star Trek II). Also, it's probably a bad day for Lubbock On-Line to run a letter to the editor calling Michelle Malkin "Bush's Asian-babe PR shill" for supporting the surge.

USAF showing no mercy to terrorists in iraq

Get some Zoomies! BAGHDAD, Iraq - One of the largest bombing campaigns of the war destroyed extremists’ “defensive belts” south of Baghdad, allowing American soldiers to push into areas where they have not been in years, a top commander said Friday. The day before, two B1-B bombers and four F-16 fighter jets dropped 48 precision-guided bombs on 47 targets, U.S. Air Force Col. Peter Donnelly, commander of the 18th Expeditionary Air Support Operations Group, told reporters in Baghdad. The targets consisted mainly of weapons caches and powerful roadside bombs buried deep underground—key defensive elements for al-Qaida in Iraq insurgents, said Donnelly and Army Col. Terry Ferrell, commander of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. Extremists were believed to have controlled Arab Jabour, a Sunni district lined with citrus groves, but Ferrell said “the predominant number” have now fled to the southwest since his troops’ operations began Jan. 1. “We’re moving into areas where coalition forces have not been in months or years in some cases,” Ferrell told reporters via a video link, adding that insurgents “had established a deliberate defensive belt to deny our movement in the area.” Ferrell said the southwest is “where we take this fight to next. It is all about fighting the enemy where the enemy wants to go.” As U.S. and Iraqi ground forces move through areas to push out insurgents, Ferrell said members of the so-called “Awakening Council” movement—mostly Sunni fighters who switched sides to join in the fight against al-Qaida—will be relied upon to stabilize the region and maintain security. It was those Sunni fighters, Ferrell said, who largely provided the intelligence that allowed U.S. forces to locate the targets destroyed in Thursday’s bombing. Despite the massive size of the airstrikes, Donnelly said that to the military’s knowledge, no civilians were killed. That could not immediately be independently confirmed. He added that the targeting of three targets was called off because unmanned surveillance planes showed civilians in those areas. Donnelly said it wasn’t yet known how many insurgents were killed in the attacks. But Mustapha Kamil Shibeeb al-Jibouri, leader of Arab Jabour’s Awakening Council, said the airstrikes killed at least 21 al-Qaida militants including a group leader. “Their bodies are still in the area. They have not been evacuated yet,” he told The Associated Press. After Thursday’s fierce airstrikes, soldiers discovered two houses used to torture kidnap victims and arrested at least 12 suspected insurgents, according to an Iraqi officer. The bombing campaign was part of a nationwide operation that the U.S. military began on Tuesday in an effort to rid Iraq of al-Qaida fighters. Little initial resistance has been reported, though at least nine U.S. soldiers have been killed since the offensive began—the deadliest days for American forces since last fall. In the farming village of Zambaraniyah, on the outskirts of Arab Jabour about nine miles southeast of the capital, scenes of neglect and devastation were testimony to years of fighting between militants and U.S. and Iraqi troops. Most of the land is torched or left fallow along small roads that were once laced with booby traps and bombs. Fields are strewn with trash and the blackened hulks of cars. Many buildings are pockmarked by gunfire, and most homes are abandoned. Maj. Alayne Conway, a spokeswoman for troops in central Iraq, said the amount of ordnance dropped in 10 minutes nearly exceeded what had been used in that region in any month since last June. Conway said the air attack “was one of the largest airstrikes since the onset of the war” in March 2003. An AP reporter in Zambaraniyah observed that the bombing continued until Thursday evening. Even before Thursday’s massive attack, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Mark Solomon told a small group of reporters in Zambaraniyah that residents were returning to their homes and that stores and schools were reopening. (AP)

operation phantom phoenix moving forward

U.S. Airstrikes Hit 'Al Qaida Safe Havens' http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-7213421,00.html Thursday January 10, 2008 9:03 AM BAGHDAD (AP) - U.S. bombers and jet fighters unleashed 40,000 pounds of explosives during a 10-minute airstrike Thursday morning, flattening what the military called al-Qaida in Iraq safe havens on the southern outskirts of the capital. A military statement said B-1 bombers and F-16 fighters dropped the explosives on 40 targets in Arab Jabour in 10 strikes. The massive attack was part of Operation Phantom Phoenix, a nationwide campaign launched Tuesday to root out al-Qaida in Iraq fighters. Thirty-eight bombs were dropped within the first 10 minutes, with a total tonnage of 40,000 pounds,'' the statement said. The attack was carried out above approaching troops of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, which has battled insurgents south of the capital for months.

Yet another al qaeda terror cell destroyed in iraq

Coalition forces disrupt al-Qaeda in Iraq operations; three killed; 28 detained MULTI-NATIONAL FORCE-IRAQ PRESS DESK BAGHDAD, Iraqhttp://www.blogger.com/703.343.8790 Press Release A080108b January 8, 2008 BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces killed three terrorists and detained 28 suspects yesterday and today during operations targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq networks in central and northern Iraq. East of Mahmudiyah today, Coalition forces conducted an operation targeting an alleged al-Qaeda in Iraq leader for the network in Arab Jabour. The targeted individual is reportedly responsible for an attack in Hawr Rajjab in November that killed two Iraqi police members. As the ground force arrived in the area, they observed three armed men maneuvering around the target buildings. Coalition forces tracked the men to a static location and directed them to come out, but they did not comply.

The men then began to maneuver in separate directions. One of the men threw a grenade at the ground force’s position, and they engaged the hostile threat, killing him. The ground force then engaged the remaining armed men in a separate location, killing them. Upon clearing the area, Coalition forces discovered three machine guns and military style assault vests. The ground force also detained six suspected terrorists. In Baghdad, Coalition forces captured a wanted individual believed to be an associate of the al-Qaeda in Iraq media and propaganda network. The wanted individual allegedly replaced a suspect detained by Coalition forces Dec. 21, and is believed to have ties to numerous senior al-Qaeda in Iraq leaders in the region. Two suspected terrorists were detained in addition to the wanted individual. North of Manusuriyah, Coalition forces detained five suspects while targeting associates of the al-Qaeda in Iraq network operating in the northeast Diyala River Valley region.

As the ground force cleared the area, they discovered numerous machine guns, military style assault vests and grenades which were safely destroyed on site. During operations yesterday, Coalition forces detained 14 suspects in Baghdad and Mosul while targeting associates allegedly involved in al-Qaeda in Iraq media networks and assassination operations. “The barbaric nature of al Qaeda and their Taliban ideology is being rejected by the Iraqi people,” said Navy Capt. Vic Beck, MNF-I spokesman. “Iraqi and Coalition Forces will continue to close ranks against these terrorists, disrupting their networks and forcing them out of their safe havens and operating bases.”

on the offensive once again across iraq

Major Joint US-Iraqi Operation Begins http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-7207411,00.html Tuesday January 8, 2008 12:01 PM By ELENA BECATOROS Associated Press Writer BAGHDAD (AP) - U.S. and Iraqi forces launched a major operation to strike against al-Qaida in Iraq and other extremists, the U.S. military said Tuesday, in an effort to build on a recent overall reduction of violence and push militants from their strongholds. The division and brigade-level operation, dubbed Phantom Phoenix, will cover the entire country, the military said. ``Phantom Phoenix will synchronize lethal and non-lethal effects to exploit recent security gains and disrupt terrorist support zones and enemy command and control,'' the military said in a statement. Violence across Iraq has fallen dramatically in recent months, an improvement attributed to a combination of 30,000 extra troops sent into the Baghdad area; the work of U.S.-backed predominantly Sunni tribal groups who turned against al-Qaida in Iraq; and a cease-fire declared by radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr for his Mahdi Army militia. ``Al-Qaida in Iraq is attempting to regain strength and establish new support areas in northern Iraq,'' said Lt. Col. James Hutton, a spokesman for the U.S. military. ``AQI has fled its former sanctuaries and remains a dangerous foe.'' Extremists have been pushed out of their former stronghold in Anbar province west of Baghdad, and appear to be concentrated in the province of Diyala to the northeast of the capital and in Mosul to the north. U.S. and Iraqi forces will ``continue to pursue al-Qaida and other extremists wherever they attempt to take sanctuary,'' Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, the No. 2 commander in Iraq, said in a statement announcing the start of the joint operation. ``We are determined not to allow these brutal elements to have respite anywhere in Iraq.'' Few details were given, but the ``non-lethal'' part of the operation will focus on providing basic services and improving local governance and economic life for Iraqis, the statement said. Despite the general reduction of violence, attacks against civilians, members of the U.S.-backed armed groups known as Awakening Councils and Iraqi security forces continue to kill scores. U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner said last week the recent attacks were the ``clearest indication'' that al-Qaida in Iraq - believed to consist mainly of Iraqis but to have foreign leadership - was worried about losing the support of its fellow Sunni Arabs. Monday's bombing occurred at the entrance of a Sunni Endowment office, a government agency that cares for Sunni mosques and shrines, and near an Awakening Council office in Azamiyah, which had been a stronghold of Sunni insurgents and a safe haven for al-Qaida in Iraq. On Tuesday, the local Awakening Council erected banners bearing words of condolence hung on walls and at intersections in Azamiyah. The switch of allegiance by insurgents in Azamiyah was one of the most significant in a series of similar moves across Baghdad's Sunni neighborhoods. Azamiyah is home to Iraq's most revered Sunni shrine, the mosque of Imam Abu Hanifa, and many in the area served as officers in Saddam Hussein's army and security agencies, giving an edge to the insurgency there.

Alot of positive progress over the weekend in Iraq

Apache Troop Establishes Presence, Conducts ‘Meet and Greet’ in Qayyarah Saturday, 05 January 2008 By Spc. Eric A. Rutherford115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment QAYYARAH — In an area roughly the size of Georgia, with varying landscape from desert to mountains, Iraq’s Ninevah province is becoming acquainted with 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. One such area is Qayyarah, which is one of 50 villages and towns that Apache Troop, 1st Squadron has been working in the area for nearly a month. Apache took to the streets, Dec. 30, for their first dismounted patrol intended to let the Iraqi people in the Qayyarah marketplace meet and greet the Soldiers and to voice their security and infrastructure concerns.“It was the first time we have been down there and done a dismounted patrol,” said Capt. Steve Wojdakowski, the commander of Apache, who led the mission. “We wanted to let the people know that we are here and what we are about.” Wojdakowski, of Gunnison, Colo., said his men have already visited a lot of the villages in the area to assess what the needs of the Iraqi people are. The patrol was a coordinated effort between the Soldiers and the Qayyarah Iraqi police (IP), who helped to provide security as the Soldiers walked through the bustling market and met vendors and shoppers. Wojdakowski said that it is good for the Iraqi people to see the Coalition forces (CF) working alongside the IP, because it lets the people know the CF is here to protect and help them. While Soldiers walked past the fresh produce and butcher shops, Staff Sgt. Scott Anderson was leading the security detail in the streets. “Everything went good with the commander,” said Anderson, Fire Support non-commissioned officer in charge for Apache. “People seemed happy we were there.” The IP and Soldiers providing security moved together to make sure there was a clear path of movement for Wojdakowski and his men both in the market place, and on the street. Anderson, of Copperas Cove, Texas, said his security detail did a great job being on the ground in the marketplace for the first time. With security in place, Apache Soldiers walked through the entire market, making sure every Iraqi there had an opportunity to talk to them to voice concerns or just say hello. Wojdakowski said he and his men will be back on the ground there again soon to build a stronger relationship with the people of the area. North Babil Iraqi Tribal Council Meets at Kalsu http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16258&Itemid=1 FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU — Members of the North Babil Tribal Council (NBTC) met at Forward Operating Base Kalsu, Jan. 3, to discuss matters of regional importance with Iraqi security forces (ISF) leaders and the Vanguard Brigade leadership. The NBTC first met in October, 2006, as a means of linking all the sheiks in the North Babil area, and thereby keeping Coalition and Iraqi security forces informed. The group of U.S. troops, Iraqi police, Iraqi Army Soldiers and tribal leaders discussed infrastructure projects, security, and efforts to legitimize the Concerned Local Citizens programs. The Iraqi police made a strong showing at the meeting, as they provided security on the convoy to FOB Kalsu, and the Iraqi Army leadership led discussions on regional security. “The Iraqi Army has enormous capability, but there’s still some equipment they need” said Col. Thomas James, commander of 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. “The older battalions have more equipment and training, but they’re all great units.” Also at the meeting, Brig. Gen. Fadil Raddad, the new Iraqi police chief for North Babil, renewed his non-sectarian stance, stating that he is an Iraqi, not a Shia or Sunni. After the meeting, council members held a press conference at the Kalsu dining facility that drew about 30 Iraqi reporters. The eventual goal is to hold future meetings at locations chosen by the tribal leaders and ISF leaders and not on Coalition installations.

US nuclear bomb detection teams on constant alert

Scientists scan cities. Response teams are ready. And if there were a lethal device, experts would work on tracing the source. By Ralph Vartabedian, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer January 6, 2008 About every three days, unknown to most Americans, an elite team of federal scientists hits the streets in the fight against nuclear terrorism.The deployments are part of an effort since 2001 to ratchet up the nation's defenses. More than two dozen specialized teams have been positioned across the nation to respond to threats of nuclear terrorism, and as many 2,000 scientists and bomb experts participate in the effort. Spending on the program has more than doubled since it was launched.And an evolving national policy aims to create a system of nuclear forensics, in which scientific analysis could quickly identify the source of a nuclear attack or attempted attack. A key report on nuclear forensics is due next month.The counter-terrorism efforts are becoming routine. Scientists in specially equipped helicopters and airplanes use radiation detectors to scan cities for signs of weapons. They blend into crowds at major sporting events, wearing backpacks containing instruments that can identify plutonium or highly enriched uranium.So far, they have not encountered a terrorist. Near the Las Vegas Strip, they investigated a homeless person who somehow had picked up a piece of radioactive material. On the streets of Manhattan, a hot-dog vendor fresh from a medical test triggered a policeman's radioactivity sensor. But the teams have not become complacent. If the many layers of federal defense against nuclear smuggling break down, these unarmed weapons designers and physicists, along with experts from the FBI, could be the last hope of staving off a catastrophic attack. They are supposed to rush up to a ticking nuclear explosive (or a "dirty" bomb, which would disperse radioactive material) and defuse it before it's too late -- a situation often depicted by Hollywood that seems less fictional every year."After everything else fails, we come in," said Deborah A. Wilber, the scientist who directs the Office of Emergency Response at the Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration. "I don't believe it is a question of if it will happen. It is a question of when."Since the attacks of 2001, the office has created 26 rapid-response units around the nation. If a device were located, two other specialized teams would rush to the scene, one from a base in Albuquerque, where a fueled jetliner is on 24-hour alert. Another FBI team would depart from rural Virginia.The teams would first attempt to disable a bomb's electrical firing system and then quickly transfer the weapon to the Nevada desert. There, the bomb would be lowered into the G Tunnel, a 5,000-foot-deep shaft, where a crew of scientists and FBI agents would attempt to disassemble the device behind steel blast doors, logging any evidence.About 1,000 nuclear weapons scientists and 500 to 1,000 more FBI professionals participate in the nation's emergency response effort, though not full time. Increased investment in the project reflects an acknowledgment that the nation remains vulnerable to nuclear terrorism. But the effort is also reaching for something greater than defense: a Cold War style of deterrence.The scientists are also experts in the rapidly evolving field of nuclear forensics, which aims to track nuclear materials to their country of origin. Even if a bomb detonates, fallout can be analyzed to identify the terrorists and their state sponsors. A retaliatory strike could be the response.The idea is to force other nations to take better care of their own nuclear fuels or else find themselves in the cross hairs of the U.S. nuclear arsenal.A major technical and policy analysis of this approach -- the report that is due next month -- is being conducted by some of the nation's top nuclear weapons experts, sponsored by the American Assn. for the Advancement of Science and led by Stanford University physicist Michael M. May. In the meantime, the United States is retrieving and locking down nuclear fuels abroad, has created a line of radiation detectors at foreign and domestic ports, and has increased intelligence efforts. If those and other measures fail, the emergency response teams are a last hope, but one nobody should rely on, said Charles B. Curtis, president of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, which pushes for stronger efforts to prevent nuclear terrorism. Intercepting a device "is a very, very, very difficult problem, but not impossible," said Curtis, a former Energy Department deputy secretary. Vahid Majidi, a nuclear weapons chemist and head of the FBI Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate, seemed more confident. Asked how good his chances would be to find a nuclear bomb in Manhattan with 24 hours' warning, he said, "Quite reasonable."He continued: "When you think of issues only as a technical problem, you only think of technical capability. I am not sitting on my hands waiting for some detector to go off. We will use every asset at our disposal. Technology is a very small portion of what we do."The full capability of the teams is classified. Bruce Goodwin, nuclear weapons chief at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, said the teams now had "some really remarkable tools that can prevent nuclear function," suggesting a device that can foil the arming system or perhaps even neutralize its basic operation. It is assumed that any terrorist bomb would have booby traps and anti-tampering devices, perhaps designed by scientists who studied at the same universities that trained U.S. weapons scientists. Emergency response scientists run exercises in which one team designs a booby-trapped bomb and another team tries to disarm it.A weapon stolen from a national stockpile might pose fewer problems than a makeshift terrorist device. "We know a lot about other people's weapons," said Curtis. "They will tolerate a greater intrusive disarming strategy than an improvised nuclear device." History has some unfortunate lessons. In 1980, Energy Department experts were sent to help disarm a 1,000-pound conventional bomb placed by an extortionist at Harvey's Resort Hotel in Stateline, Nev. The bomb had extraordinary anti-tampering devices that prevented the teams from disassembling, disarming or even moving it. So the bomb experts decided to fire a shaped charge into the arming mechanism, hoping to sever it from the rest of the bomb before it could detonate. After the hotel was evacuated, the team triggered the charge from a safe distance. The strategy failed and the bomb badly damaged the hotel. But today's level of expertise would easily have solved the problem, said Joseph J. Krol Jr., a retired Navy rear admiral who heads the National Nuclear Security Administration's Office of Emergency Operations, to which Wilber's emergency response office belongs. "We are very much better prepared," Krol said. "How we operated then and how we operate now is like night and day."Indeed, Philip E. Coyle, a former deputy director at Lawrence Livermore, recalled that when he served on the emergency teams in the 1970s and 1980s, he carried a card in his wallet to present at an airport in an emergency so he could order airlines to take him where he needed to go. "It sounded good, but I always wondered whether it would work," he said. Now the teams travel by government aircraft and other federal vehicles.A successful terrorist nuclear attack would trigger the so-called national response plan.Many federal agencies would swing into action, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Defense Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice, as would myriad obscure offices unknown to the vast majority of Americans. For example, the National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center, based at the Livermore lab, would run advanced computation models of fallout patterns to provide evacuation plans for potentially millions of people. Whether so many federal agencies could work together in the chaos of a nuclear attack, all while coordinating with state and local officials, is a matter of grave concern in Congress. But Majidi and Krol say extensive planning and exercises have clarified the lines of authority.Communications would be a major undertaking."If you tell 100 million people to go east, 25 million will go west because they don't trust the government," said Jay C. Davis, a retired weapons scientist who is working on the forensics study.The forensics study is trying to assess how authoritative the U.S. could be in attributing a nuclear device to a particular source and in making its case to the American public and the rest of the world.Davis said it was hoped that nuclear forensics could determine the size of a detonation within one hour; the sophistication of the bomb design within six hours; how the fuel was enriched within 72 hours; and the peculiar details of national design -- "Does this look like a Russian, a Chinese or a Pakistani device, or something we have never seen before?" -- within a week.What next? That part of the strategy is still evolving. Retaliation is one option that counter-terrorism officials have suggested in congressional testimony. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Pasadena), who has sponsored legislation to increase funding for nuclear forensics, suggested that any policy had to be flexible."It would be left to the administration in office to determine what the repercussions would be," he said.Deterrence might depend simply on the perception that the U.S. could respond with a counterstrike. But if nuclear fuel were traced back to Russia, would the U.S. start a nuclear exchange? And what if the nuclear materials came from the U.S.?Of course, those on the front lines hope such a quandary never has to be confronted. The scientists and engineers -- who say anonymity is their only defense -- talk about their jobs with marked calm."I told my wife that I have a job that might require me to leave home in the middle of the night and I won't be able to say where I'm going," said Jerry, one team member. "Well, that didn't set too well with her. But she works in the Pentagon, and was right next to the corridor that took the hit in the 9/11 attack. So we share what this service means."

continuous good news from iraq

Iraqi Officials Release More Outstanding Security Numbers http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2008/01/iraqi-officials-release-more.html The good security news continues to roll in from Iraq. Only 14 of the 35 US fatalities in December were from hostile fire. Numbers from icasualties.org Now, here are more numbers released this week by Iraqi officials:** Militant incidences have declined 70-90%** Assassinations down by 79% ** Kidnappings down by 72%** Car bombs declined 75%** Injuries amongst police have declined 23%** Injuries amongst police army 28% ** Injuries amongst police civilians 32% Charlie Foxtrot has more good news on the Iraqi surge numbers. Numbers from icasualties.org The following is a translation by Iraqi-American Haider Ajina from a headline and article in Buratha News on December 29, 2007: Iraq Interior Ministry is preparing for an August take over of security responsibility for Baghdad. Today the Iraq interior ministry announced, that it is preparing for an August of 2008 take over of security responsibility for Baghdad . This is because in 2007 militant incidences have declined 70-90%, assassinations by 79% and kidnappings by 72%. General Abdul Kariem Khalaf chief of National Central Command in the interior ministry said in a press conference today Saturday, “Iraq Interior Ministry is preparing for an August take over of security responsibility for Baghdad”. He also pointed out the large decline in militant activity since the surge or operation Rule of Law in Baghdad and surrounding areas. He said, "Militant incidences have declined 70-90% from June to December, assassinations by 79% and kidnappings by 72%. Unknown bodies found are now between 3-5 per day which is not alarming. Injuries amongst police have declined 23% Army 28% and civilians 32%. Much of this decline is due to neighboring countries (Syria and Saudi Arabia) have seriously started controlling their boarders and reduce foreign fighters coming across the border. We built 580 boarder crossing look out posts." He said, ‘We have concentrated operation rule of law since February in Baghdad. Thus car bombs declined 75% from June to December, we completed 200 sorties. Thus terrorist activity has moved north, which is the next battle, as many Iraqi security officials have said’. He added, "In the capital Baghdad the interior ministry has absorbed 1758 men of the Abu-Ghrab awakening council and 3,253 in Mansur, all have joined the police force. The ministries plan is to absorb 12,641 further by April." "The interior ministry has created three new security offices. The first to monitor the police (internal affairs). The second is criminal investigation office to resolve crimes. The third is information and investigation office with its goal to help shore up the police in fighting out-law groups such as Al-Qaeda. Haider Ajina comments: Numbers showing the success of the surge or operation rule of law are coming out weekly, with monthly numbers confirming much of the news from the Iraqi media. The numbers confirm the tremendous positive effect the surge and police and army training has had on the security situation in Iraq. The awakening councils are now having their own members absorbed into the police and Army. This will prevent tribal police or tribal militia developing. The outlaws are being forced north while their numbers and financial backing is being reduced substantially. The awakening councils thanks to and along with our forces in the north are ready and prepared to confront the terrorists and outlaws heading their way.

us casualties hit lowest point in four years

US deaths in Iraq hit four-year low http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c71d2442-b896-11dc-893b-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1 By Steve Negus, January 2, 2008 Financial Times US military deaths in Iraq fell in December to the lowest monthly total in almost four years, and estimates of civilian deaths also showed a sharp decline. However, 28 people were reported killed in a suicide bombing in east Baghdad on Tuesday, underscoring that the violence continues. Twenty-two US troops were reported killed in December, the lowest total since February 2004 and the second-lowest monthly toll of the war. A British soldier also died as the result of an accident. In contrast, the US military reported 112 fatalities in December 2006. The independent Iraq Body Count, a website that tallies press reports of civilian deaths, logged 902 Iraqi fatalities in December, compared with more than 2,500 for each of July and August. Government ministries noted 481 civilian deaths, compared with 1,930 in December 2006. In a sign of increased public confidence, residents of several Baghdad districts danced in the streets and set off fireworks to mark the new year in midnight celebrations that would have been difficult to imagine in the fear-racked capital of a year ago. US and Iraqi officials credit the decline in violence to the “surge” of US troops, as well as Sunni Arab rejection of the radical al-Qaeda movement and a ceasefire called by Muqtada al-Sadr, a radical Shia cleric. Troop numbers in Iraq, however, are already beginning to come down, and Iraqi politicians have yet to reach agreements on key issues that divide the country’s ethnic and sectarian blocs. Senior US commander General David Petraeus warned on Saturday that progress was “tenuous in many areas and could be reversed”.

more and more professors see us winning in iraq

In Iraq's success, Bush's vindication http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/story.html?id=191722 'None of the American mistakes invalidate the war - any more than the Dresden bombings invalidated the fight against Hitler' For the past two years, I have taught a course on the Iraq war -- first at the graduate level at The New School university in New York, and now at the undergraduate level at my new home at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont. We spend a lot of time on the background to the war before moving onto its consequences. At a certain point, I pop the question: Is democracy a failure in Iraq? Students usually eye me suspiciously before offering up a series of conditionals: If so and so happens then failure is more or less likely, while so and so suggests the possibility of success. In a world of instant opinions and impatient journalistic commentary, discussions of democratic development in Iraq -- and with it, the judgment of the war itself -- have become well-nigh impossible. In the classroom, however, it is possible to take the long view. And while my students are usually skeptical about the prospects of success, my own view is more positive: Iraqi democracy is on the right track. As it continues to develop in the decades to come, George W. Bush's war will be vindicated. Let me explain with reference to two key considerations: legacies and time-horizons. It is no secret that Iraq labours under several legacies -- a history of imperial mis-design, an economy and a political culture devastated by the consequences of Saddam Hussein's regime, ethnic divides, the oil curse and a wholly undemocratic regional setting -- all of which makes democracy-building a tall order. Yet Iraq is rising to the challenge. The only semi-democratic states in the Arab world are Jordan and Kuwait. Iraq is rapidly surpassing them in terms of its electoral, civil and media freedoms. Democracies with income levels similar to Iraq include the Philippines, Indonesia and Nicaragua. They represent the proper standard of comparison for the quality of democracy in Iraq. And by that standard, the country is doing fairly well. Iraq's legislature is, albeit slowly, making real progress. Laws governing oil revenues, the re-integration of ex-Baathists and the country's first national budget are either already agreed upon or close to it. The rights of provincial governors are to be clarified by another new law. Meanwhile, the government is sharing out oil revenues, hiring ex-Baathists and spending on capital construction through consensus arrangements. Through it all, the give-and-take of coalitional politics is emerging. As for time horizons, the government elected in 2005 has served only two years in office. We usually give our politicians at least a four-to five-year term in order to engineer even minor changes in public policy. Why would we expect Iraq to build a functioning democracy in terrible conditions in a shorter time? Talk about double standards. "Sure," you might say, "the Iraqis may yet establish a decent democracy of some sort. But why would this vindicate the war itself ? Wasn't the Bush administration deceitful in its use of weapons-of-mass-destruction as a pretext for launching the invasion? And didn't the absence of a UN Security Council resolution explicitly authorizing war make it an illegal act?" Yes, on both counts, but that does not undermine the justification of the war. While American citizens are rightly angered by the Bush administration's mendacity on WMD, the failure of democratic checks and balances prior to the war, and the war's mounting costs (which will make every American about $10,000 poorer according to economist Joseph Stiglitz), as an outsider my concern was simply the elimination of a rogue regime and the provision of better life prospects for its citizens. On this count, there was a robust humanitarian justification for the war against Saddam's Iraq. Of course, the war had to meet certain conditions. First, the war had to be fought justly. Lots of mistakes have been made in fighting this war -- the early emphasis on "force protection" that resulted in needlessly high civilian casualty rates, for instance, and the travesty of dozens of prisoners being mistreated at Abu Ghraib (the prison where Saddam's regime tortured and executed an estimated 7,000 dissidents between 1984 and 1999). But none of these mistakes are serious enough to invalidate the war as a whole, any more than the Dresden bombings invalidated the fight against Hitler. Secondly, the war had to do on balance more good than harm -- the so-called "proportionality" condition. The more than 100,000 Iraqi deaths since the war's onset -- roughly 0.4% of the population -- has been a horrible price to pay for removing Saddam from power. This figure, however, must be compared with the number of lives that would eventually be lost when Saddam's unpopular and sadistic regime fell by indigenous hands -- say, by a Shia-led assassination or an internal Baath-party coup. Virtually every analysis of such a scenario predicts a bloody mess that would make the chaos that actually unfolded in post-invasion Iraq look like a petty squabble by comparison. When Idi Amin's similarly loathed regime in Uganda fell to an internal rebel insurgency in 1979, 200,000 lives -- 1.6% of the population -- were lost before order was restored in 1986. Yugoslavia's wars of succession had already claimed just over 1% of the local population be-fore NATO interventions in Bosnia and Kosovo (neither endorsed by the UN) ended the killings there. By any measure, the "proportionality" condition has been met in Iraq. Finally, there had to be a reasonable probability of success. This is where the establishment of a democratic government comes in. The developments described above are vindicating, not undermining, the original case for war. The U.S. Congress is right to set demanding benchmarks for the Iraqi parliament as part of plans for a drawdown of U.S. forces as early as 2009. But this bureaucratic imperative is no substitute for objective analysis. Iraq's democracy may be failing some congressional benchmarks, but it is succeeding beyond appropriate expectations that account for Iraq's cruel legacies, its income level, and its short lifespan. I'm no fan of Bush. But I am a fan of the Iraq war. As Iraq's democracy emerges -- the next parliamentary elections are due in late 2009 -- my appreciation of the tragic need for this war will continue to grow.