They Have My Back!

Shake it 3rd PLT Iraq

Helos and Their Guns

Zebari: Don't Abandon Us

Zebari: Don't Abandon Us
Sunday, 06 May 2007
By Hoshyar Zebari
Foreign Minister of Iraq

Last weekend a traffic jam several miles long snaked out of the Mansour district in western Baghdad. The delay stemmed not from a car bomb closing the road but from a queue to enter the city's central amusement park. The line became so long some families left their cars and walked to enjoy picnics, fairground rides and soccer, the Iraqi national obsession.

Across the city, restaurants are slowly filling and shops are reopening. The streets are busy. Iraqis are not cowering indoors. The appalling death tolls from suicide attacks are often high because of crowding at markets. These days you are as likely to hear complaints about traffic congestion as about the security situation. Across Baghdad there is a cacophony of sirens from ambulances, firefighters and police providing public services. You cannot even escape the curse of traffic wardens ticketing illegally parked cars.

These small but significant snippets of normality are overshadowed by acts of gross violence, which fuel the opinion of some that Iraq is in a downward spiral. The Iraqi people are indeed suffering tremendous hardships and making grave sacrifices -- but daily life goes on for 7 million Baghdadis struggling to take back their capital and country.

Recently, at an international summit on the future of Iraq in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, my government asked the international community to maintain its engagement in our country to help us achieve our goals of security and stability. We recognize that our request conflicts with a plethora of voices decrying the situation in Iraq and those in the British and American publics who seek an expeditious withdrawal from a war they claim is all but lost.

So why should the world remain engaged in Iraq?


Read the rest of the article HERE

Freedom Facts

In 2006, medical care improved in Iraq with the renovation of 15 hospitals. Each completed facility sees approximately 500 patients per day for a total of 11,000 patients nationwide.

10 SUSPECTED TERRORISTS DETAINED, CACHE FOUND

10 SUSPECTED TERRORISTS DETAINED, CACHE FOUNDApr. 24, 2007
http://www.mnf-iraq.com

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition Forces detained 10 suspected terrorists and uncovered a cache of weapons in several operations in central Iraq Tuesday.

Three coordinated Coalition Forces raids apprehended 10 individuals suspected of operating with al-Qaeda in Iraq and facilitating foreign fighters southeast of Fallujah.

In Baghdad, Coalition Forces discovered a weapons cache containing rockets, mortars, terrorist propaganda and improvised explosive device-making materials. Explosive ordnance disposal teams neutralized the cache.

“We will continue to work diligently to eliminate foreign terrorists, who are killing innocent Iraqis every day and destabilizing the country,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesperson.

Load 'Em Up

U.S. Army Soldiers move to the UH-60 Black Hawk after searching the area for items of interest during an aerial response force mission, Iraq, March 31. Soldiers are assigned to the 1st Platoon, Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Andy Dunaway

Sparks Flying

Cpl. Benjamin Meyer of Steven's Point, Wis., a combat engineer with Company A, 325th Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, uses a power saw to cut away storefront locks during an early morning raid on suspected sniper positions in Baghdad’s Adhamiyah district, April 3.

U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael Pryor

Scanning for Weapons

U.S. Army Spc. Douglas Harlan, left, and a fellow soldier conduct a cordon and search for weapons caches and insurgents in Old Baqubah, Iraq, April 2, 2007.


U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Stacy L. Pearsall

Clear the Room

U.S. Army Soldiers breach a house to search for insurgent activities during an operation in Zaghiniyat, Iraq, March 29.


The mission is to rid an area of insurgent forces and to allow coalition forces freedom of movement throughout an area of operation. The Soldiers are with Charlie Troop, 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Joann Makinano.