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Posts Tagged Iraq
Guard and Reserve Need To Maintain Readiness
From the Army Times:
The Defense Department anticipates fewer warzone deployments for guardsmen as deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan slow down, but the skills those troops have learned over a decade at war must stay sharp, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told top National Guard leaders Tuesday.
Libya and Iraq: The Price of Success
Posted by Brian in News, Threat Watch on 27/Oct/2011 14:56
Libya and Iraq: The Price of Success is republished with permission of STRATFOR.
By George Friedman
In a week when the European crisis continued building, the White House chose publicly to focus on announcements about the end of wars. The death of Moammar Gadhafi was said to mark the end of the war in Libya, and excitement about a new democratic Libya abounded. Regarding Iraq, the White House transformed the refusal of the Iraqi government to permit U.S. troops to remain into a decision by Washington instead of an Iraqi rebuff.
Though in both cases there was an identical sense of “mission accomplished,†the matter was not nearly as clear-cut. The withdrawal from Iraq creates enormous strategic complexities rather than closure. While the complexities in Libya are real but hardly strategic, the two events share certain characteristics and are instructive. Read the rest of this entry »
Hesitation Kills: A Female Marine Officer’s Combat Experience in Iraq
From: CSPAN
Major Jane Blair talked about her memoir Hesitation Kills: A Female Marine Officer’s Combat Experience in Iraq. She kept a journal of her and her fellow Marine officers’ experiences in the Iraq war. The guest interviewer was Representative Loretta Sanches (D-CA).
Mike Burghardt: Classic American resilience.
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News, Warriors on 12/Jul/2011 23:07
Mike Burghardt flips off the Iraqi insurgents that failed to blow him up. Classic American resilience.
Robert Gates Served 8 Presidents
From: Boston Globe
Gates is known to tear up when he talks to troops, particularly during visits to the war front. He acknowledged that in his comments yesterday, saying he knew it would be difficult to get through his remarks if he tried to include a tribute to the armed forces.
So he sent an e-mail message to all members of the military on Wednesday, lauding the troops for their courage and commitment.
“For 4 1/2 years, I have signed the orders deploying you, all too often into harm’s way. This has weighed on me every day,’’ he said in the note. “I have tried to do all I could to provide whatever was needed so you could complete your missions successfully and come home safely – and, if hurt, get the fastest and best care in the world.’’
2nd Infantry Division Live Fire Exercise in Iraq
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News, Threat Watch, Training, Warriors on 25/Jun/2011 17:45
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U.S. Army Pfc. Robert Parker of Alpha Company, 5/20th Infantry, 2nd Infantry Division provides support by fire as his squad members bound to cover during a squad live fire exercise at Kirkush Military Training Base, Diyala province, Iraq, June 27. U.S. and Iraqi forces trained to clear mined wired obstacles, clear bunker complexes and reaction to contact.Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Ted Green
Raw Intelligence Report: Conditions in Baghdad
Posted by Brian in News, Threat Watch on 14/Jun/2011 13:28
This is a report from Stratfor Global Intelligence
June 13, 2011
Editor’s Note: What follows is raw insight from a STRATFOR source in Baghdad, Iraq. The following does not reflect STRATFOR’s view, but provides a perspective on the situation in Baghdad.
After the fall of Baghdad in 2003, the city was a nice place despite the lack of law enforcement and government. By February 2004, most businesses were operating, people were happy and stores were open until midnight. There was no shortage of fuel, and electricity was more reliable. The city was very clean, and the crime rate was low. There was also no fear of kidnapping or car bombs. It was a functioning city with law, even without law enforcement. There was even a lion in the Baghdad Zoo, though I heard it later died.
On March 2, 2004, explosions shook the Shiite Kazimiyah district, killing tens and wounding hundreds. These explosions were the start of more attacks and car bombings between the Shia and Sunnis that increased in later years. In 2003 and 2004, Baghdad was a city where I envisioned living permanently one day. That is not the case now.
The roads are in very poor condition, with lots of garbage everywhere — some of it dating back to 2003. Many streets are blocked with concrete walls. There are many checkpoints inside the city manned by soldiers and police, but they did not seem to be well trained or prepared for potential threats. I hardly saw them checking cars or asking people for identification. We drove 400 kilometers (250 miles) and encountered more than 26 checkpoints; none of them stopped us to ask for identification. The soldiers and police at the checkpoints do not seem to be loyal to the Iraqi state but are there to get their salaries and make a living. The taxi driver told me that since the government does not enforce the law, the soldiers do not want to ask for identification and hold people accountable because they fear reprisals later. Therefore, they let everyone go and avoid problems. Read the rest of this entry »
Shot in the Face
Posted by Gary in Gear, Medic, Warrior Tools, Warriors on 8/Jun/2011 07:01
From: Oakley News
Sergeant Tim Arthur is at the gun turret of an MRAP (an armored anti-mine vehicle), scanning the bleak Iraqi horizon for threats as the fuel delivery convoy rolls on toward its destination. It’s November, and a shroud of fog has settled over the area. It’s a fog so dense, so opaque that Arthur never even sees the sniper who shoots him in the face.
Counter IED Summit – Tampa Florida
Counter IED Summit – Tampa Florida, July 25-27, 2011
IDGA’s Counter IED 2011 Summit will deliver a comprehensive overview of the latest requirements, emerging policies, programs, and methods involved in defeating and mitigating the IED threat. This year’s critical summit will cover the recent changes in the directions from “Defeating the Device” to “Train the Force”
Gary Sinise – Operation International Children
From: IDGA
Gary Sinise on Winning Hearts and Minds with Operation International Children
Gary Sinise, actor, musician, and co-founder of Operation International Children, discusses the program’s creation and how it was put into action. He also details how OIC has expanded past the original mission in Iraq and into Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa, and even in response to Hurricane Katrina. He talks from firsthand experience in theater delivering supplies to children in schools and how it is building goodwill between U.S. military forces and the local populations. He also gives insight into the future of the program.
Iraqi Shiite Militias Contine to Pose a Threat as U.S. Forces Leave
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News, Threat Watch on 28/May/2011 00:18
“The attacks on the Americans in Maysan Province, near the Iranian border, and elsewhere in southern Iraq provide one of the starkest examples of what officials call a reinvigorated threat posed by Shiite militants and followers of the anti-American Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr during the American military’s waning days here.
These Shiite militias have emerged as perhaps the greatest threat to the 46,000 United States troops still in Iraq, military officials say. And a barrage of recent attacks — some of them deadly — has raised questions about the safety of Americans as the military withdraws troops and equipment in the months ahead.
“There are plenty of groups who will be paid to kill the last Americans on their way out,†said Col. Douglas Crissman, the military commander who oversees Maysan and three other southern provinces.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/27/world/middleeast/27shiite.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
Obama and the Arab Spring
Posted by Brian in News, Threat Watch on 25/May/2011 14:23
Obama and the Arab Spring is republished with permission of STRATFOR.
By George Friedman
U.S. President Barack Obama gave a speech last week on the Middle East. Presidents make many speeches. Some are meant to be taken casually, others are made to address an immediate crisis, and still others are intended to be a statement of broad American policy. As in any country, U.S. presidents follow rituals indicating which category their speeches fall into. Obama clearly intended his recent Middle East speech to fall into the last category, as reflecting a shift in strategy if not the declaration of a new doctrine.
While events in the region drove Obama’s speech, politics also played a strong part, as with any presidential speech. Devising and implementing policy are the president’s job. To do so, presidents must be able to lead — and leading requires having public support. After the 2010 election, I said that presidents who lose control of one house of Congress in midterm elections turn to foreign policy because it is a place in which they retain the power to act. The U.S. presidential campaign season has begun, and the United States is engaged in wars that are not going well. Within this framework, Obama thus sought to make both a strategic and a political speech. Read the rest of this entry »
Lt. Col. (Ret.) Allen West: Define the Enemy
Posted by Brian in Opinion, Threat Watch, Warriors on 8/May/2011 22:31
I am not sure when this speech was given but it was uploaded in Sept. 2009. Allen West is the only person I have seen who speaks plainly about the enemy we face. I value his opinion over any politician’s since he has been to both Iraq and Afghanistan and fought the enemy.
Iraq, Iran and the Next Move
Posted by Brian in News, Threat Watch on 27/Apr/2011 12:57
Iraq, Iran and the Next Move is republished with permission of STRATFOR.
By George Friedman
The United States told the Iraqi government last week that if it wants U.S. troops to remain in Iraq beyond the deadline of Dec. 31, 2011, as stipulated by the current Status of Forces Agreement between Washington and Baghdad, it would have to inform the United States quickly. Unless a new agreement is reached soon, the United States will be unable to remain. The implication in the U.S. position is that a complex planning process must be initiated to leave troops there and delays will not allow that process to take place.
What is actually going on is that the United States is urging the Iraqi government to change its mind on U.S. withdrawal, and it would like Iraq to change its mind right now in order to influence some of the events taking place in the Persian Gulf. The Shiite uprising in Bahrain and the Saudi intervention, along with events in Yemen, have created an extremely unstable situation in the region, and the United States is afraid that completing the withdrawal would increase the instability. Read the rest of this entry »