DefendAmerica - Home Page 01/15/2004

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Jan 15, 2004

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DEPLOYMENT — USS Boxer departs San Diego, Calif., on a deployment to the Central Command area of responsibility in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II force rotation. More than 200 Marines and 900 Sailors embarked aboard USS Boxer are providing amphibious lift for a portion of the equipment and personnel from the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif., and 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Tiffini M. Jones

Cheney Addresses Terrorist
Threat, U.S. Security Strategy

By U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Doug Sample / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15, 2004 — In a speech that often evoked the events of Sept. 11, 2001, Vice President Dick Cheney emphasized Jan. 14 that the global war against terrorism is a long-term struggle.
Cheney spoke to the Los Angeles World Affairs Council. "Remembering what we saw on 9/11, and knowing the nature of these enemies, we have as clear a responsibility as could ever fall to government," Cheney said. "We must do everything in our power to keep terrorists from gaining weapons of mass destruction." More Remarks

Iraqi Currency Now Official,
Replaces Saddam-Era Money

By Gerry J. Gilmore / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15, 2004 — Billions of dollars worth of new, hard-to-counterfeit Iraqi dinar bank notes are now officially in circulation throughout the country, the Coalition Provisional Authority reported today.
The new money became the official currency of Iraq Jan. 15 after a three-month exchange period that also has involved the destruction of tons of Saddam Hussein-era notes, according to a joint Coalition Provisional Authority-Central Bank of Iraq news release. More

Reconstruction Project Funds Provide Improved Life for Iraqis

By Gerry J. Gilmore / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 14, 2004 — Millions of dollars dispensed through a U.S. civil affairs fund have fueled myriad reconstruction projects across Iraq, improving the lives of Iraqis in the post-Saddam Hussein era, according to a senior U.S. military civil affairs officer.
Army Brig. Gen. David Blackledge, commander of the 352nd Civil Affairs Command, noted today in a Baghdad briefing that U.S. civil affairs troops in Iraq are playing a vital role in operations "to improve the lives of Iraqis across the country." More Briefing

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

U.S. Defense Dept. slides with facts &
figures on reconstruction efforts in Iraq.

. Iraq Update . Maps of Iraq

. Iraq's 55 Most Wanted

. Saddam's Iraq Reign of Terror

Ar Ramadi Demonstration
Supports Coalition's Iraq Efforts

RAMADI, Iraq, Jan. 15, 2004 — A pro-coalition demonstration occurred in downtown Ar Ramadi, this morning at about 10 a.m., according to U.S. Central Command officials. It was organized to demonstrate against terrorism and show support for the unity of Iraq. The group stopped at the Government Center and the organizers took pictures with the Mayor and Chief of Police as a show of public support for their Iraqi civic leaders. At its peak, the crowd reached approximately 1,000 people. More

Troops Nab Two More
Senior Iraqi Insurgents

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15, 2004 — Task Force All-American soldiers nabbed two more senior anti-coalition leaders during combat operations in western Iraq, according to a Combined Joint Task Force 7 news release. Brig. Gen. Kalil Ibraham Fayal al-Dulaymi and Gen. Mamoud Khudair Younes were captured by 82nd Airborne Division troops today and Jan. 14, respectively. More

Myers: 'Positive Momentum'
In U.S.-China Relationship

BEIJING, Jan. 15, 2004 — The United States and China are making progress on security issues, Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers said today following meetings with senior Chinese leaders. The Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman said there is a "positive momentum" in the security relationship
Myers discussions with Chinese leaders also addressed the global war on terrorism. He said there is consensus that international terrorism "is a scourge that all countries need to fight," adding the Chinese are disturbed, as is the United States, by the possibility of weapons of mass destruction falling into the hands of terrorists. Story

Exchange Service Brings 'Bit
Of Home' to Deployed Troops

Troops visit Burger King at Baghdad International Airport. The Army and Air Force Exchange Service operates three Burger Kings and two Pizza Huts in Iraq. The Baghdad facility is one of the top 10 Burger Kings in the world. Photo courtesy of Army and Air Force Exchange Service. WASHINGTON, Jan. 14, 2004 — For troops patrolling the dusty and often dangerous roads in Iraq, anything from home is a welcome sight. Since setting up a mobile store at Tallil Air Base, near the town of Nasiryah, in April, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service continues to provide "a little bit of home" to deployed troops. More

Radio

Television

COMMENTARY

An Iraqi Education

This article originally appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Jan. 15, 2004.
Reprinted with permission from The Wall Street Journal © 2004,
Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All rights reserved

By Bill Evers

You come in-country on a military cargo plane, traveling from a military airfield in Kuwait. Your plane comes down steeply from the sky (to avoid Saddamist rocketeers) to the military side of the international airport in Baghdad. You're a senior adviser on education for the Coalition Provisional Authority, recruited by the White House and the office of the secretary of defense and approved by Ambassador Paul Bremer. Your five-month mission is to help revive teaching and learning in a country on the mend from a fascist despotism. What's it like? More

The Art of War More Photo Essays

U.S. Marine Cpl. Edwin Charles Broadnax, with 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, 2nd Marine Division, stands post at Echo Four at Camp Commando, Kuwait, March 18, 2003. This granite sketch is part of a collection drawn by U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Jack Carillo in Iraq during 2003. 7 More Photos

North Carolina, Maryland Reservists
Assist Iraq's Disabled Veterans

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 15, 2004 – Soldiers from the 422nd Civil Affairs Battalion, an Army Reserve unit from Greensboro, N.C., and the 354th Civil Affairs Brigade, an Army Reserve unit from Riverdale, Md., both part of Task Force 1st Armored Division, said their goodbyes to the Iraqi disabled veterans at the Al Shamookh Village for Disabled Veterans after the units' final mission there Jan 4.
Maj. Eric Murray, team chief for the 422nd, said the units built strong ties with the veterans after the veterans traveled across the city to visit them at the Al Karkh Civil Military Operations Center for help. More

Soldiers' Efforts Put Iraqi Fire Boat Back in Action

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 13, 2004 (Army News Service) — For the first time since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, Baghdad has a fire boat officially patrolling the Tigris River.
The fire boat, named the Future 2, was discovered during the summer – looted and inoperable – by soldiers of the 40th Engineer Battalion, 1st Armored Division, on the bank of the Tigris near the 14th of July Bridge. More

Capture Is ‘Significant Step’ in Reducing Anti-Coalition Acts

By K.L. Vantran / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 14, 2004 — A combined operation by members of the 82nd Airborne Division and special operations forces resulted in the capture of number 54 of Iraq's 55 most-wanted fugitives Jan. 11 near Ramadi, Army Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, deputy operations director for Combined Joint Task Force 7, announced during a briefing from Baghdad today.
Khamis Sirhan al-Muhammad, former Baath Party regional chairman for the Karbala governate, is in coalition custody, the general said. Due to circumstances of the capture, Kimmitt said, he could not provide any further details. More Briefing

Gen. Pace: Iraqis Provide More Info Since Capture of Saddam

Soldiers Capture Nephews of
Iraq's Most-Wanted Fugitive

WASHINGTON, Jan. 14, 2004 — Soldiers have captured four relatives believed to have harbored Izzit Ibrahim al-Douri, the most wanted fugitive in Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force 7 announced today.
An Iraqi citizen provided information that brought 720th Military Police Battalion soldiers to a location in Samara in the early morning hours today, a task force news release reported. More

Global War on Terrorism

. Ridge Lowers Threat Level, but Nation Remains On Guard

. Guard Artillerymen Training as MPs to Support Terror War

. Sailors, Marines Crack Down On Drug Smuggling in Arabian Sea

Iraq

. Myers Thanks Mongolian Allies For Peacekeeping Help in Iraq

. Rumsfeld Takes Steps to Avoid Increasing End Strength in Iraq

. Iraqi Officials to Issue 1st Postal Stamps Since Saddam's Fall

. Officials Call Saddam a POW But Say Status Could Change

. Powell: U.N. Speech Presented Facts about Weapons Program

Military News

. Myers Says Reenlistment Rate Strong During War on Terror

. National Guard, Reserve Update

Air Force Translator Arraigned

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., Jan. 14, 2004 (AFPN) — The opening session in the court-martial case involving Senior Airman Ahmad A. Al Halabi convened here Jan. 13. The accused is charged with Uniform Code of Military Justice violations including failure to obey a lawful general order, making false official statements and attempted espionage. Story

Transformation

New Style of Warfare
Vital to War on Terror

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15, 2004 — Within 10 years, U.S. forces around the world will enjoy greater combat effectiveness as a result of network-centric operations. That's a vision John Stenbit has pursued for the past two years, and it is already bad news for America's enemies. Stenbit is the assistant secretary of defense for networks and information integration, and DoD's chief information officer.
The term "network-centric warfare" broadly describes the combination of emerging tactics, techniques and procedures that a fully or even partially networked force can employ to create a decisive warfighting advantage. Story

More Transformation News

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troops waging the global war on terror.

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	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

Vice President Richard B. Cheney

"We have, today, more than 125,000 Americans serving in Iraq. They are confronting terrorists every day in that country, so that we do not one day meet the same enemies on the streets of our own cities."

Los Angeles World Affairs Council, Jan. 14, 2004

Profile

U.S. Marine Corps
1st Sgt. Anthony N. Page

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. Jan. 15, 2004 — According to Marine Corps promotion goals, Marines of any occupational specialty can expect to be promoted to first sergeant by their 18th year of service. Twenty-nine-year-old 1st Sgt. Anthony N. Page managed to accomplish this feat in 11 years.
Page, company first sergeant for Headquarters Company, Headquarters and Service Battalion, 2nd Force Service Support Group, joined the military in 1992. More

More Profiles

. Maps of Afghanistan

In Afghanistan

The Eyes Have It at
Afghan Combat Hospital

Capt. Mark Reynolds, 452nd Combat Support Hospital ophthalmology clinic at Bagram, Afghanistan, examines the eyes of 1st Sgt. Earnest Robertson, 1st Embedded Training Team. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Johnny A. Thompson

BAGRAM, Afghanistan, Jan. 14, 2004 – If U.S. and coalition forces here are going to be successful in their quest to kill, capture and deny sanctuary to al Qaeda and Taliban militants, they must first be able to see their nemesis.
And with the help of the hospital's ophthalmology unit, troops in the Afghanistan theater will never have to go into a combat operation with "blind" ambition. More

'On The Ground' Archive