DefendAmerica 11/12/2003

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Nov 12, 2003

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FARMERS' MEETING — U.S. soldiers discuss farmer compensation issues with Iraqi citizens during a meeting in Al Hawijah, Iraq, Nov. 5, 2003. DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Jeffrey A. Wolfe, U.S. Air Force

Terrorists Strike Italian HQ
In Iraq; More Weapons Seized

By John D. Banusiewicz / American Forces Press Service

     WASHINGTON, Nov. 12, 2003 — At least 22 people were killed today when two vehicles crashed the gate of the Italian military headquarters in Nasiriyah, Iraq, and one exploded.
     News reports say the death toll is expected to rise. The blast leveled the building, and people are presumed to be trapped under the rubble. Eight Iraqis and 14 Italian military police and soldiers accounted for the preliminary death toll number.
     In overnight raids that concluded this morning, 4th Infantry Division soldiers took 36 suspected insurgents into custody, including the man believed to have shot down a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near Tikrit on Nov. 7, and five suspected accomplices. Six U.S. soldiers died aboard the Black Hawk. Story

PRESIDENT BUSH

'Terror is Not the Tool of the Free'; U.S. Will Finish Mission

By Jim Garamone / American Forces Press Service

     WASHINGTON, Nov. 12, 2003 — "We will finish the mission we have begun, period," President Bush said during a Veterans Day speech at the Heritage Foundation here Nov. 11.
     Bush said that two years into the war on terror, the United States cannot afford to appear weak. He contrasted the decision Harry S. Truman made to launch the Berlin Airlift to the current war on terror.
     In 1948, Berlin, surrounded by the Soviets, was isolated and in danger of starvation. Bush said the whole world watched to see if America would back down. "In an urgent meeting, all the alternatives were discussed, including retreat," the president said. "When the moment of decision came, President Harry Truman said this: 'We stay in Berlin, period. We stay in Berlin, come what may.'"
     Truman's decision stopped the Soviet advance across Europe, and set the stage for the later liberation of the region from communism, Bush said.
     The same is possible in the war on terror. More   Remarks

Iraq Weekly Progress Update (Governance, Electricity, Education, Oil, Security, Economics, Health Care)

Iraqi War Vets Still Want to Serve Despite Crippling Injuries

ARLINGTON, Va., Nov. 11, 2003 — Among the many veterans who came to see President Bush pay tribute to the nation's veterans on the 50th anniversary of Veterans Day here today, three said they still are willing to serve their country, ready to go back to war and rejoin America's latest battle in Iraq.
They belie the traditional image of countless older veterans of bygone wars who packed the amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery to hear the president speak. These three veterans are young and eager. And they all said they would rejoin their buddies back in Iraq tomorrow if it weren't for the fact that they are all paralyzed. More

Sanchez: Enemy Will Not
Break Coalition's Will

     WASHINGTON, Nov. 11, 2003 - Anti-coalition forces "will fail" to breakthe will of the coalition and of the vast majority of the Iraqi people,Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez said in Baghdad, Iraq.
      Sanchez, the commander of Combined Joint Task Force 7, said the pace and intensity of operations against anti-coalition forces has increased. "The trend (of engagements) has gone up," Sanchez said during a press conference. "It was in the mid-teens about 60 days ago, and it is now about 30 to 35 engagements in a day."
     The general said the anti-coalition forces have attacked the real signs of coalition progress in Iraq. He blamed most of the attacks on former Baathist regime members who gained under Saddam Hussein's regime. He said those members are embracing terrorist techniques "designed to attract media attention, to intimidate the Iraqi people, and, just as importantly, to create a picture of chaos in the country." More

Service Members Involved in 'Noble Cause,' Chairman Says

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11, 2003 — American service members are involved in a "noble cause" in protecting the United States from the threat of terrorism, Joint Chiefs Chairman Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers said today.
Myers gave round-robin interviews to the television networks' Veterans Day morning shows. He said that terrorists, specifically al Qaeda, have vowed to do away with the American way of life. He said American service members are a "new generation of heroes" who are taking the fight to the terrorists in Iraq, Afghanistan and areas around the world. More

Radio

Television

America's Only Exit Strategy in Iraq is Success, Rumsfeld Says

By Jim Garamone / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Nov. 12, 2003 — The only "exit strategy" for U.S. forces in Iraq is success, but the coalition is well on its way to achieving that aim, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Nov. 11.
Rumsfeld spoke on the CBS and Fox News morning shows for the Veterans Day observance. He said success in Iraq is defined as turning sovereignty back to a duly elected, representative government. More

International Partners

Navy Ordnance Disposal Team, Polish Security Operate in Iraq

AL HILLAH, Iraq, Nov. 9, 2003 (NNS) — For Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Task Force 56 personnel stationed in Al Hillah, Iraq, life is pretty surreal.
Working alongside Polish Army soldiers and living in an abandoned palace overlooking the Euphrates and the Babylon ruins has definitely been a unique experience thus far for these San Diego-based Sailors. More

COMMENTARY

I Am A Veteran

MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. (AFPN) — “I am a veteran.” Four words that still seem so strange for me to say.
In my mind, veterans have always been the men in their American Legion or Veterans of Foreign Wars caps who served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. It hasn’t been the airman or officer you see playing with a young child in the park or have over to your house for a barbeque. In September I returned to Ramstein Air Base, Germany, from a five-month deployment to Baghdad, Iraq, and Camp Doha, Kuwait, as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. More

Army Engineers,
Kurdish Workers Rebuild Airport

A soldier from 887th Engineer Company, attached to the 326th Engineer Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), uses a grader to push filler material over what will eventually become a taxiway for the Bakrajo Regional Airport in northern Iraq. U.S. soldiers are working with kurds to bring money into the As Sulayimaniyah economy. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Joshua Hutcheson.

MOSUL, Iraq, Nov. 8, 2003 — The former Bakrajo airstrip in northern Iraq, created by Saddam Hussein in 1988 to transport troops, will soon become a regional airport for the people of As Sulayimaniyah.
Soldiers from the 887th Engineer Company, attached to the 326th Engineer Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) are working with Kurdish laborers to expand the old airstrip into “a regional hub airport for flights between Baghdad, Mosul and Turkey,” said Capt. Andrew Loeb, commander, 887th Engineer Company. “It’s a joint project working with the ministry of reconstruction for the As Sulayimaniyah province.” More

Reservist's Colleagues
Donate Care Packages for Detainees' Newborns

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Nov. 6, 2003 — These are not your typical Baghdad care packages. The brown boxes arriving from the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families contain diapers, pacifiers, blankets and powder, not items high on any soldier’s hit list.
Instead, these items are on their way to the 800th Military Police Brigade’s Baghdad Correctional Facility, to be given to new and expecting mothers. More

. U.S. Restores Looted Medical Clinics in Basrah

. Nineveh Civil Defense Headquarters Opens

Task Force Medical Team Upgrades Hospitals in Eastern Afghanistan

By U.S. Army Spc. Cain S. Claxton / 10th Mountain Division

BAGRAM, Afghanistan, Nov. 10, 2003 — A Combined Joint Task Force-180 medical team administered a much needed shot in the arm to three Afghan hospitals, installing $750,000 worth of new equipment and training local health care workers how to
use it.
Soldiers from the 452nd Combat Support Hospital, Milwaukee, Wis., refitted Nangarhar University Training Hospital and Public Hospital in Jalalabad, as well as Kandahar’s Mir Wais Hospital, with new and upgraded equipment and supplies. More

. U.S. to Give $1.6 Billion to Speed Up Afghan Reconstruction Projects

Veterans Day More Photo Essays

Marines ascend the plaza of the Tomb of the Unknowns as part of the 50th annual Veterans Day National Ceremony, Arlington National Cemetery, Nov. 11, 2003. Defense Dept. photo by 1st Lt. Steve Alvarez 7 More Photos

Global War on Terrorism

. Pace: U.S. Making Progress In Global War on Terrorism

. President Signs $87.5 Billion Package for Iraq, Afghanistan

. U.S. Believes Terrorists Still Pose Threat to Civil Aviation

. Ridge Says Worldwide Resolve Required to Combat Terrorism

On Iraq

. Powell Urges Attention to the Good News in Iraq As Well As the Bad

. Iraqis Shouldering More of Security Mission

. The New Iraq: Progress and Accomplishments

Military News

. Predictability, Stability at Heart of New Troop Rotation Policy

. VA Secretary Details Plans for Better Care, Service to Veterans

. National Guard, Reserve Update

Bush Thanks Veterans, Says People Defended Are Grateful

     ARLINGTON, Va., Nov. 12, 2003 — President Bush expressed the nation's gratitude to its veterans in remarks at Arlington National Cemetery here Nov. 11, where he also laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns.
    On a day that saw him sign legislation to increase some military benefits, double the benefits paid to surviving family members of service members who die on active duty, and establish six new national cemeteries, Bush said Veterans Day is a day for the country to remember the debt the nation owes to all who have worn the uniform of the United States.
    "Our veterans have borne the costs of America's wars and have stood watch over America's peace," the president said. "And today, every veteran can be certain the nation you served and the people you defended are grateful." More

	U.S. Views — Quotes by President Bush & other U.S. leaders
	Defense Views — Quotes by U.S. defense leaders
	Maps of Iraq — Maps of the nation of Iraq and the region
	Women of Iraq — U.S. is committed to women's participation in rebuilding Iraq
	Demining Iraq — U.S. is committed to demining program in Iraq

President George W. Bush

"Two years into the war on terror, the will and resolve of America are being tested, in Afghanistan and in Iraq. Again, the world is watching. Again we will be steadfast; we will finish the mission we have begun, period. "

Remarks to the Heritage Foundation,
Nov. 11, 2003

Defense Officials
Identify Army Casualties

     WASHINGTON, Nov. 10, 2003 — Defense Department officials announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
      Staff Sgt. Gary L. Collins, 32, of Hardin, Texas, was killed on Nov. 8, in Fallujah, Iraq. Collins was riding in a Bradley Fighting Vehicle when it hit an improvised explosive device. The soldier died of his injuries. Collins was assigned to 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, based in Fort Riley, Kan.
      Sgt. Nicholas A. Tomko, 24, of Pittsburgh, Pa., was killed on Nov. 9 in Baghdad, Iraq. Tomko was the door gunner in a convoy vehicle when his team came under small arms attack. The soldier died of his injuries. Tomko was assigned to the 307th Military Police Company, U.S. Army Reserve, New Kensington, Pa.
      These incidents are under investigation.

America Pays Tribute to the Troops

Marine Commandant, New York
Stock Exchange Honor Veterans

NEW YORK, Nov. 11, 2003 — The U.S. Marine Corps and the New York Stock Exchange are both steep in tradition and history. Both thrive today after more than 200 years of existence.
On the day after the Marine Corps' 228th Birthday, Gen. Michael W. Hagee, Commandant of the Marine Corps, visited the stock exchange to honor those who have served. Hagee rang the opening bell to open the stock market and commemorate Veterans Day this morning. More

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U.S. Marine Corps Joseph DiPofi

Joseph DiPofi, at 105 years old, is the oldest living Marine. DiPofie lives in Niagara Falls, N.Y. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt Jonathan Moor

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y., Nov. 11, 2003 — At 105 years old, Joseph DiPofi, born April 11, 1898, is the Oldest Living United States Marine.
DiPofi, a Marine veteran who served honorably from 1922-1925, was found following the national release of a story about Eugene Lee, the Marine recently found living in Syracuse who was, until now, identified as the Oldest Living Marine. More

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