If you go to the site, then click on the pic, and click again, you can get a full-screen view of The Eagle
CAMP LIBERTY -- A new symbol of freedom and appreciation now greets Soldiers and visitors to the headquarters of Multi-National Division -- Baghdad, after an unveiling ceremony in front of division headquarters here, Feb. 5.
Dr. Muayad Muslin Hamid al-Jaburri, an influential Iraqi cardiologist and humanitarian, donated the gold eagle-head statue to all the Soldiers of MND-B in admiration for their sacrifices while working to make Baghdad a safer place to live.
"The Eagle represents a little bit of mixed culture, knowing how important the eagle means to Americans and knowing that in the Arabic culture we have been putting eagles on top of the castles for thousands of years to show power and protection," said Jaburri.
The statue also symbolizes the basic rights Soldiers, Iraqi Security Forces and local civilians have been striving to spread across the nation.
"The eagle is symbol of freedom," said 1st Lt. Hunter Wakeland, a native of Kennebunkport, Maine, who serves as a platoon leader with MND-B.
The eagle is also a token of Jaburri's appreciation to the division and the Soldiers for what they went through to help the Iraqi citizens. He recognized and showed appreciation for the sacrifices that have been made for the citizens of Baghdad, specifically in Doura.
Two years ago, the Doura neighborhood of southern Baghdad was a dangerous place; as an al-Qaida in Iraq stronghold there were numerous murders and violence was a daily occurrence. Today, the citizens of Iraq can visit the bustling Doura Market feeling safe and secure because of the hard work of MND-B Soldiers and the help of local citizens such as Jaburri.
"Now I can walk the streets and see the children playing at the park and going to school," said Jaburri. "My mother can go shopping without fear, and my wife can safely go to work."
#1
Curious - the "Shoe" statue in Tikrit was all over the MSM with pictures, video, etc. Exercise for the reader, try to find an article about this statue ANYWHERE in the MSM.
Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno was an unlikely dissident, with little in his past to suggest that he would buck his superiors and push the U.S. military in radically new directions.
A 1976 West Point graduate and veteran of the Persian Gulf War and the Kosovo campaign, Odierno had earned a reputation as the best of the Army's conventional thinkers - intelligent and ambitious, but focused on using the tools in front of him rather than discovering new and unexpected ones. That image was only reinforced during his first tour in Iraq after the U.S. invasion in 2003.
As commander of the 4th Infantry Division in the Sunni Triangle, Odierno led troops known for their sometimes heavy-handed tactics, kicking in doors and rounding up thousands of Iraqi "MAMs" (military-age males). He finished his tour believing the fight was going well. "I thought we had beaten this thing," he would later recall.
Sent back to Iraq in 2006 as second in command of U.S. forces, under orders to begin the withdrawal of American troops and shift fighting responsibilities to the Iraqis, Odierno found a situation that he recalled as "fairly desperate, frankly."
So that fall, he became the lone senior officer in the active-duty military to advocate a buildup of American troops in Iraq, a strategy rejected by the full chain of command above him, including Gen. George W. Casey Jr., then the top commander in Iraq and Odierno's immediate superior.
Communicating almost daily by phone with retired Gen. Jack Keane, an influential former Army vice chief of staff and his most important ally in Washington, Odierno launched a guerrilla campaign for a change in direction in Iraq, conducting his own strategic review and bypassing his superiors to talk through Keane to White House staff members and key figures in the military. It would prove one of the most audacious moves of the Iraq war, and one that eventually reversed almost every tenet of U.S. strategy.
Just over two years ago, President George W. Bush announced that he was ordering a "surge" of U.S. forces. But that was only part of what amounted to a major change in the mission of American troops, in which many of the traditional methods employed by Odierno and other U.S. commanders in the early years of the war were discarded in favor of tactics based on the very different doctrine of counterinsurgency warfare.
Now, President Obama, an opponent of the war and later the surge, must deal with the consequences of the surge's success - This is a WaPo piece. an Iraq that looks to be on the mend, with U.S. casualties so reduced that commanders talk about keeping tens of thousands of soldiers there for many years to come.
The most prominent advocates of maintaining that commitment are the two generals who implemented the surge and changed the direction of the war: Odierno and David H. Petraeus, who replaced Casey in 2007 as the top U.S. commander in Iraq and became the figure most identified with the new strategy. But if Petraeus, now the head of U.S. Central Command, was the public face of the troop buildup, he was only its adoptive parent. It was Odierno, since September the U.S. commander in Iraq, who was the surge's true father.
In arguing for an increase in U.S. forces in Iraq, Odierno went up against the collective powers at the top of the military establishment. As late as December 2006, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was privately telling his colleagues that he didn't see that 160,000 U.S. troops in Iraq could do anything that 140,000 weren't doing. The month before, Army Gen. John P. Abizaid, then head of Central Command, told a Senate hearing that he and every general he had asked opposed sending more U.S. forces to Iraq. "I do not believe that more American troops right now is the solution to the problem," Abizaid emphasized. Much more at link; excerpts from a new book, doncha know!
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/08/2009 14:17 ||
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#1
I wonder is this a case that "success has many fathers".
Perhaps Al-Q was more beaten than some people thought? Maybe it was just a matter of time?
#2
Odierno and Petraeus deserve all the accolades for designing and implementing The Surge, but it was teh evil incompetent stoopid McChimpy Bushitler that put his chips down on it in the face of outrage, lies, propaganda, cowardice and lack of patriotism by the MSM and Donks (and not a few cowardly Reps). He deserves as much credit as they do, and all deserve our acclaim and support. Real leaders do what is needed, even if unpopular. Can you imagine the finger-in-the-wind Donks doing that? Me neither
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/08/2009 18:57 Comments ||
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#3
Don't worry - by the time the '10 elections get hot the narrative would be that Obama and the Democrats were the ones who implemented the Surge and are responsible for its success.
#5
WORLD AFFAIRS BOARD > US OFFICERS OFFER/GIVE DISMAL REVIEW OF AFGHANISTAN/US-NATO's FUTURE IS ON THE LINE IN AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN [Richard Holbrooke].
Also, PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUMS > US OFFERS TO HELP BANGLADESH SECURE ITS [unprotected] MARITIME SEA BORDERS [iff Bangla's DHAKA GOVT. so desires and requests].
* TOPIX > GENERAL JAMES JONES: PRESIDENT OBAMA'S PLAN TO RAISE AFGHAN US TROOP LEVELS TO 60,000 IS NOT ENOUGH!?
Candidates endorsed by anti-US cleric Muqtada al-Sadr will appeal the results of last weekend's election results in Baghdad and other Iraqi provinces because of alleged voting irregularities, a spokesman said on Saturday.
The allegations are among a chorus of questions raised by Shia religious parties and Sunnis about the outcome of provincial elections, in which allies of Shia Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki won a sweeping victory.
"There are huge differences between results announced by the electoral commission and the figures we have from our observers in some provinces," said Tahir al-Kinani, spokesman for one of two candidate lists backed by al-Sadr.
Al-Kinani told reporters at a news conference that the candidates were appealing the results in the provinces of Baghdad, Najaf, Maysan and Qadisiyah.
The election results have been heralded as an endorsement of al-Maliki's crackdown on extremism and violence that followed the 2003 US-led invasion. Those results, which must be certified, put al-Maliki in a strong position ahead of parliamentary elections later this year.
Sadrist-backed candidates were tied with a Sunni group for a distant second in Baghdad behind al-Maliki's coalition, according to preliminary results released on Thursday.
Elsewhere, Sadrist-backed candidates finished well behind al-Maliki and the religious-backed Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, which maintains ties to both Iran and the United States.
Al-Sadr, who lives in Iran, lost much of his clout last year when government forces routed his militia from strongholds in Baghdad and Basra. His movement did not field candidates under the Sadrist banner but endorsed lists of nominal independents.
In the days following the elections, tension mounted in some areas where early returns leaked by political parties led to allegations of irregularities.
In Anbar province, a former Sunni insurgent stronghold west of the capital, a leader of tribesmen who turned against al-Qaida in the area complained that rival Sunnis stole the election, a charge they denied.
In Baghdad, al-Kinani said the al-Sadr backed candidates were demanding the electoral commission identify those involved with manipulating election results.
The election commission has pledged to investigate all allegations of voting irregularities.
The elections came as Iraq has enjoyed a steep decline in violence, though there are daily reminders of dangers that face Iraqis and US troops.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2009 00:00 ||
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Aswat al-Iraq: Soldiers from the Iraqi army's 6th Anbar Division seized a cache of arms and munitions in the area of Amiriyat al-Falluja on Saturday, the division commander said.
"The underground cache, seized in an isolated farmland, contained six RPG-7 shells, eight improvised explosive devices, explosives used in home-making suicide belts, 10 night-vision goggles, medium munitions, TNT and 11 rockets," Lt. Colonel Ghazi Faisal told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
six RPG-7 shells, eight improvised explosive devices, explosives used in home-making suicide belts, 10 night-vision goggles, medium munitions, TNT and 11 rockets
Man could have purdy good time in Bagdad with that. Stay after 'em gents!
Aswat al-Iraq: A U.S. patrol on Saturday wounded two civilians who were on their way to the holy Shiite city of Karbala for the Arbaeen pilgrimage, a security source said. "Random fire by U.S. patrolmen in Afak district, (30 km) east of Diwaniya, injured a man and a woman local residents of Missan province who were going on foot to Karbala to perform the rituals of Imam Hussein bin Ali's Arbaeen pilgrimage," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. "The wounded civilians were rushed to a hospital for treatment," he said, adding the injuries are not serious. He did not say why the U.S. forces opened fire at the two civilians.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2009 00:00 ||
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Aswat al-Iraq: The Missan police seized weapons and munitions in different parts of the province on Saturday, according to the district police department spokesman. "Forces from Qalaat Saleh police department seized 64 mortar shells on the road leading to the area of Nahr al-Ezz, (50 km) south of al-Amara," Col. Sadiq Sallam, the department's relations & information director, told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. "Also, five improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were seized in the area of Abu Rimaneh, central Amara," he added. "Each IED weighs 20 kg of the highly explosive material C4," Sallam said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2009 00:00 ||
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Aswat al-Iraq: Combined Iraqi-U.S. forces on Saturday conducted a security raid on gunmen in Balad district, killing three of them and arresting 13 others, said a source from Salah al-Din police. "The operation started after Friday (Feb. 6) midnight," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. "It targeted al-Qaeda organization's safe havens at Talal-Thahab village, 10 km east of Balad," he said. "The forces engaged with the gunmen, and the campaign continued until Saturday afternoon," he added. He noted that the forces seized different kinds of arms during the operation. Iraqi police forces and Sahwa (Awakening) tribal fighters are still tracking down some of the gunmen at the village's orchards, according to the source. For their part, local residents said that they saw U.S. helicopters striking two houses where gunmen were hiding.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2009 00:00 ||
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Basra is now less dangerous than Manchester, according to the commander of British troops in Iraq.
Maj Gen Andy Salmon told The Daily Telegraph that following months of steady improvements in the security situation in Iraq's second city, the rate of violent crime and murder in Basra had fallen below that of some major British cities.
"On a per-capita basis, if you look at the violence statistics, it is less dangerous than Manchester," he said, hailing a "radical transformation" in Iraq's prospects. Since an Iraqi government offensive largely routed violent insurgent groups in Basra last May, British officials in Iraq say that the city has become ever more secure and stable and the Iraqi security forces increasingly competent.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2009 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Now, President Obama, an opponent of the war and later the surge, must deal with the consequences of the surge's success -
Candidates endorsed by anti-US cleric Muqtada al-Sadr will appeal the results of last weekend's election results in Baghdad and other Iraqi provinces because of alleged voting irregularities, a spokesman said on Saturday.
Aswat al-Iraq: Soldiers from the Iraqi army's 6th Anbar Division seized a cache of arms and munitions in the area of Amiriyat al-Falluja on Saturday, the division commander said.
Aswat al-Iraq: A U.S. patrol on Saturday wounded two civilians who were on their way to the holy Shiite city of Karbala for the Arbaeen pilgrimage, a security source said. "Random fire by U.S. patrolmen in Afak district, (30 km) east of Diwaniya, injured a man and a woman local residents of Missan province who were going on foot to Karbala to perform the rituals of Imam Hussein bin Ali's Arbaeen pilgrimage," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. "The wounded civilians were rushed to a hospital for treatment," he said, adding the injuries are not serious. He did not say why the U.S. forces opened fire at the two civilians.
Aswat al-Iraq: The Missan police seized weapons and munitions in different parts of the province on Saturday, according to the district police department spokesman. "Forces from Qalaat Saleh police department seized 64 mortar shells on the road leading to the area of Nahr al-Ezz, (50 km) south of al-Amara," Col. Sadiq Sallam, the department's relations & information director, told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. "Also, five improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were seized in the area of Abu Rimaneh, central Amara," he added. "Each IED weighs 20 kg of the highly explosive material C4," Sallam said.
Aswat al-Iraq: Combined Iraqi-U.S. forces on Saturday conducted a security raid on gunmen in Balad district, killing three of them and arresting 13 others, said a source from Salah al-Din police. "The operation started after Friday (Feb. 6) midnight," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. "It targeted al-Qaeda organization's safe havens at Talal-Thahab village, 10 km east of Balad," he said. "The forces engaged with the gunmen, and the campaign continued until Saturday afternoon," he added. He noted that the forces seized different kinds of arms during the operation. Iraqi police forces and Sahwa (Awakening) tribal fighters are still tracking down some of the gunmen at the village's orchards, according to the source. For their part, local residents said that they saw U.S. helicopters striking two houses where gunmen were hiding.
