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Feb 23, 2004

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HIGH-LEVEL VISITOR — Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III (2nd from right) meets Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld (2nd from left) at Baghdad International Airport Feb. 23, 2004. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Lisa M. Zunzanyika

Iraqis Grateful for Liberation; Eager for Political Sovereignty

By John D. Banusiewicz / American Forces Press Service

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Feb. 23, 2004 — Polls indicate Iraqis want the occupation of their country to end, but don't want the coalition to leave, the senior spokesman for the Coalition Provisional Authority said here today.
Dan Senor said the overwhelming majority of Iraqis are grateful for their liberation and are glad that Saddam Hussein's rule is over. They want to rule themselves, he said, but they know the security situation in Iraq requires continued coalition presence. More

U.S. Task Force Troops Assist
Iraqis Following Bomb Attack

By American Forces Press Service

     WASHINGTON, Feb. 23, 2004 — Task Force Ironhorse soldiers arrived on the scene today at a police station in Kirkuk, Iraq, to provide security and medical assistance following a car bomb attack there, according to a Combined Joint Task Force 7 release.
     The attack took place at the Rahimawah police station shortly after 8 a.m. local time. Iraqi police engaged a white four- door sedan as it sped through an entrance gate at the police station.
     The vehicle, carrying an improvised explosive device, detonated inside the courtyard of the police station. The explosion killed eight Iraqi national police officers and wounded at least 33 others along with two children.

Rumsfeld Praises Iraqi Resolve To Fight for Freedom, Liberty

By John D. Banusiewicz / American Forces Press Service

KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait, Feb. 22, 2004 — Terrorists have been targeting some of the roughly 200,000 Iraqis participating in their country's security, and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said today the Iraqi people don't like it – and they're not giving in.
"Instead of responding by acquiescing," Rumsfeld said, "we see that volunteers are still in line to join the police. They're still in line to join the army. Instead of retreating, they are leaning forward and taking losses, and God bless them for it." More

Secretary, Troops Surprise Each Other

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.

. White House Fact Sheet: Progress in Iraq

. Iraq Update . Maps of Iraq

. Iraq's 55 Most Wanted

. Mass Graves

Ridge Announces
New System, Database

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23, 2004 — Homeland Security Department Secretary Tom Ridge today announced the creation of a new, unified national emergency communications system and an infrastructure database. More

Defense Leaders Speak

President George W. Bush

" The war on terror is a new kind of war, in which every American is threatened and every level of government must work together. We've taken vital steps to secure our homeland."

Remarks to Nation's Governors, Feb. 22, 2004

Defense Views

Afghanistan Command
Condemns Attack

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23, 2004 — Combined Forces Command Afghanistan officials have condemned the attack on U.S. contract employees Feb. 22 near Panjawi District, 50 kilometers west of Kandahar, Afghanistan. More

More Pay for 1,500
Soldiers in War Zone

WASHINGTON, Feb. 20, 2004 (Army News Service) — About 1,500 soldiers are eligible to receive an extra $1,000 a month for being involuntarily extended in Iraq and Afghanistan. More

Defense Officials
Identify Army Casualty

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23, 2004 — Defense officials announced today the identity of a soldier who died supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Sgt. 1st Class Henry A. Bacon, 45, of Wagram, N.C., died Feb. 20 in Ad Dujayl, Iraq, when he was struck by a recovery vehicle while he was assisting a disabled vehicle. Bacon was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 1st Squadron, 10th Armored Cavalry Regiment, 4th Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Saddam's Capture - A Video from Golf Troops' Perspective

Radio

Television

International Partners 4 More Photos

Members of the Spanish Civilian and Military Cooperation Team prepare to present two wheelchairs to Iraqi civilians at Camp Andaluz in An Najaf, Iraq, earlier this month. The Spanish team, part of the Multi-National Division Central South, has hired local Iraqis to assemble more than 200 donated wheelchairs. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. John M. Foster Photo Essay Archive

USS Miami Returns From Deployment

By U.S. Navy Journalist 1st Class Mark A. Savage / Navy Region Northeast

GROTON, Conn., Feb. 20, 2004 (NNS) — The Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Miami returned to Naval Submarine Base New London Feb. 12, following a six-month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea and U.S. Central Command's Area of Responsibility. More

U.S. Troops Work to Rock the Vote in Iraq

Staff Sgt. Andrea Lopez prepares to turn a digital test set on its side so she can inspect its circuit cards. Sergeant Lopez is a precision measurement equipment laboratory technician with the 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron and is deployed from Aviano Air Base, Italy. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Chawntain Young

AR RAMADI, Iraq — Coalition Forces are working overtime to help Iraqis understand what democracy is and what the coalition's role in the new Iraq will be. The 346th Airborne Tactical Psychological Operations Company, from Columbus, Ohio, is working with 1st Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team as a part of Operation Rock the Vote to spread the coalition's message in the Ar Ramadi area. More

Army Jumpmasters Keep Skills Fresh in Iraq

FORWARD OPERATING BASE RIDGWAY, Iraq — The long line of paratroopers forms at the mouth of an empty hangar on an abandoned Iraqi airfield preparing for a jump into combat. The soldiers are thoroughly checked and ready to board the plane.
With that, the inspection is finished, all the parachutes are taken off and packed into a shipping container, and the soldiers drive back to their jobs. There is no jump on this day. The soldiers were involved in the Jumpmaster's Refresher Course held throughout the 82nd Airborne Division's area of operation in western Iraq. More

Task Force Collects 5,000 Munitions, Detains 21

MOSUL, Iraq, Feb. 22, 2004 — During operations conducted from Feb. 15 through Feb. 22, soldiers from 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, under the operational control of Task Force Olympia, collected more than 5,000 weapons and explosives and detained 21 suspects in connection with anti-Coalition activities, according to Combine Joint Task Force-7 officials. More

War on Terrorism

. America is Making Progress in War on Terror Says Bush

. Reconstruction Teams Work to Secure, Rebuild Afghanistan

Iraq

. Red Cross Committee Visits Saddam

. Raids Flush Out Terror Suspects

Military News

. Exercise Tests U.S. Response To Threats Against Homeland

. National Guard, Reserve Update

Sign an On-line Thank You Note

Valentine's Day Messages to the Troops

Due to the volume of Valentine's Day messages received, DefendAmerica will display these messages through Feb. 24.

Marshall Center Launches
Counterterrorism Course

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany, Feb. 23, 2004 — The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict and the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies have formed a partnership to develop and conduct a new five-week terrorism course under the Department's Regional Defense Counterterrorism Fellowship Program. Story

More Afghanistan Update Details

. Maps of Afghanistan

Profile

U.S. Marine Corps
Lance Cpl. Timothy Arevalo

Marine Lance Cpl. Timothy Arevalo Photo by Sgt. Jennie Haskamp

TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. — Marines train knowing some day they may have to fight in defense of their country and our way of life. But little did one Marine know when he boarded a plane for Okinawa in mid-December that he’d soon be fighting for his life. Story

More Profiles

In Iraq

Spaghetti Cook-off Brings
Soldier Early Trip Home

AR RAMADI, Iraq — The winner of a recent spaghetti sauce-making competition here was to receive a Sony Playstation 2 but when the tasting was done and the champion was announced, one soldiers got a much bigger prize. More

In Southwest Asia

Equipment Doctors Keep
Base Running, Personnel Safe

SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) — They diagnose, treat and cure. There is no room for error in their line of work, or it could cost someone his or her life. The professionals assigned to the 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron’s precision measurement equipment laboratory are doctors for one of the Air Force’s most precious resources – its equipment. More

'On The Ground' Archive