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Filed Under: Announcements, Author: RightFielder, California, Humanitarian, Military, Patriotism, Why We Fight: Series
In Honor of Capt. Brian Freeman, U.S. Army
Do you live in Riverside County, California? Then you may be aware of the radio station Q103.3 Classic Rock. Each year they hold a Charity Golf Tournament. This year Q103.3 is pleased donate the proceeds from our 5th annual Golf Tournament to the surviving wife and children of a Temecula soldier who was killed in action while serving his country in Iraq. Capt. Brian S. Freeman, a resident of Temecula, Calif. He first entered the Army Aug. 21, 1995, at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.
Upon graduation in spring of 1999, he joined the active-duty Army for a five-year tour. He completed his tour in spring of 2004 and transferred to the Inactive Ready Reserve. Freeman’s military awardsincluded two Army Commendation Medals, two Army Achievement Medals, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with “M” device, Army Service Ribbon, Iraq Campaign Ribbon, Combat Action Badge, Air Assault Badge, Parachutist Badge and the Marksmanship Qualification Badge. He was a former member of the Army World Class Athlete Program who competed in bobsled and skeleton with the U.S. national team in 2003.
He won a bronze medal as a four-man sled brakeman at a 2002 America’s Cup race. On a personal note, he was a kind, loving husband and a wonderful father. He worked for KB Homes out of the Temecula office. In September 2005, he began mobilizing in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was assigned to the 412th CA Battalion during the spring of 2006 and deployed to Iraq shortly thereafter. In the spring of 2006, he was deployed to Iraq to act as a liaison between the military and local Iraqis to help rebuild civic institutions in the Shiite holy city of Karbala. He quickly established strong relationships with the governor and citizens of the area. Not only did he help obtain more equipment and training for the Iraqi security forces and additional funding for renovation projects, but he developed personal bonds with those he worked with. When his interpreter died in the line of duty, Freeman helped secure death benefits for the family, and condolence payments that had been previously turned down. He also made arrangements for a Karbala police officer’s son to travel to the United States for heart surgery. Capt. Freeman, was captured and killed in Iraq, Jan. 20th 2007.
He left behind a wife, Charlotte, and two children Gunnar, age 3, and Ingrid age 1.
Q103.3 will donate the proceeds from this year’s golf tournament to Charlotte Freeman, through the non-profit organization “All from the heart.”
This is one of those rare events in life where you can come out; have a great time golfing with on-air personality Jeff Gonzer, advertise for your business, and help one of Temecula’s own families through their time of crisis.
Call KTMQ at 951-296-9050 for information regarding sponsorships. (Website)
Player entry fee $103.00 per person, which includes lunch, golf (4 man-scramble), and dinner
Date: June 15th, 2007
Registration and Lunch: 12 noon
Putting Contest: 1:00PM | Shotgun Start: 2 PM
—
Cross-posted at Rightfielder
Author’s note: Capt. Freeman did have concerns about the Iraq War. He met with John Kerry and discussed troop levels, funding, etc. Though he had reservations, he reported for duty, served faithfully, and died a hero’s death for his country. He was in the process of enlisting with the United States Coast Guard. I have met his widow personally and she is very grateful for support during this time of hardship. This is where we conservatives can put teeth into President Bush’s slogan “Compassionate Conservatism.”
CaliforniaConservative.org is proud to support this event.
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Filed Under: Author: RightFielder, Iraq, Military, Patriotism
This weekend my family went to Sea World in beautiful San Diego. The weather was perfect. The shows were awesome. But what really took my breath away was walking by the gift shop and seeing this sign…
Then, before the Shamu show the following video played:
I bought season passes.
Publisher’s Note: Please pass this on to others. Let’s get the word out about SeaWorld — if only more businesses would do the same.
Cross-posted at Rightfielder
Filed Under: Author: RightFielder, Iraq, Middle East, Military
Last November I wrote an article entitled Break with Al Qaeda.
In it I stated…
Iraq is being “divided†but it is not the division that the Mainstream Media predicted (and possibly hoped for). This is not a “civil war.†A line has been drawn in the sand. The teams are…
A) The new Iraqi government with its army and police
B) Former Saddam Loyalists
C) Sunni Insurgents
D) Zarqawi’s Al Qaeda thugsMy prediction is that group “A†will continue to grow, as Iraqi forces continue to be trained up, and as former insurgents and Saddam loyalists accept the “New Iraq†and assimilate into society. The Sunnis and the Shi’ites may never be best friends, but they will learn to work together. The “insurgencyâ€Â, like a candle in the wee morning hours, will flicker and be extinguished. Zarqawi and his thugs will be captured or killed- as even the last throes of the insurgency will hopefully see that it is Al Qaeda who are the invaders, the killers, the takers- and it is America who has liberated them and helped them to start a new life.
In the article I went on to document that the murdering brutality of Zarqawi was not winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi’s. Beheading public servants and construction workers only disgusted the majority of Iraqi’s. And when Al Qaeda thugs continued to strap bombs to themselves and blow up innocent Iraqi men, women and children even much of the insurgency said “enough.†The Sunni insurgency began gunning it out with Al Qaeda on the streets of Iraq, and even turning them in to the Americans.
My theory is simple. I assume that the average Iraqi on the street is a man much like me. We make our decisions based on the best information available to us. For months Al Jazeera has been broadcasting into homes that it is the American occupiers who are wrecking Iraq and killing women and children. But while the propaganda machine grinds out an alternate reality through the matrix of television land, the man on the street sees the real world. (continue reading post »)
Filed Under: Author: RightFielder, Iraq, Liberals, Middle East, Military
Ever since I heard what John Kerry said last December:
And there is no reason, Bob, that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women, breaking sort of the customs of the–of–the historical customs, religious customs.
I have been speechless, and more than a little sick in the pit of my stomach.
They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, so here are 22 pictures from my eclectic little collection, gathered from the web.
Take a look and tell me if the children look terrorized…
Filed Under: Author: RightFielder, Iraq, Middle East, Military
As a follow up to an earlier article I wrote on environmental cleanup in Iraq, I thought that I would do a search to see if anyone from the mainstream news has been reporting on the rebuilding in Iraq.
A couple of Google searches turned up the following article from the Washington Post
As you can immediately see from the title, the article is not about the positive work that the Army Corps of Engineers and others have been doing, it quickly submerges to appeal to liberals lower, more base desires to see wasteful government spending, and failure by the Bush Administration and the Military. It begins…
U.S. Has End in Sight on Iraq Rebuilding Documents Show Much of the Funding Diverted to Security, Justice System and Hussein Inquiry
By Ellen Knickmeyer
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, January 2, 2006; Page A01BAGHDAD — The Bush administration does not intend to seek any new funds for Iraq reconstruction in the budget request going before Congress in February, officials say. The decision signals the winding down of an $18.4 billion U.S. rebuilding effort in which roughly half of the money was eaten away by the insurgency, a buildup of Iraq’s criminal justice system and the investigation and trial of Saddam Hussein.
The analysis of this paragraph on an Islamic website was pretty much what was intended. As one wrote, “Americans are leaving the rest of the rebuilding to us. They are much better at destroying things than rebuilding.†The point of the article seems to be that out of 18 billion dollars allocated to rebuild Iraq, we wasted 9 billion.
But that is not the point I want to make or argue. I would like to discuss the one half that was done right, as admitted by the Washington Post. This means that 9 billion dollars worth of hospitals, schools, water and power facilities and police stations have been built, with a deathly silence by the mainstream media.
Where are the reports? Where are the pictures? What happened to the “watchdogs of the military and government� I am a taxpayer. I have a right to see!
A little more investigation finds this article again from the Washington Post
U.S. Engineer Views Work Done So Far With Pride
By Ellen KnickmeyerWashington Post Foreign ServiceMonday, January 2, 2006; Page A10
BAGHDAD — Speeding off to another rebuilding project, Maj. John Hudson of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers wheeled out of the driveway of one of his many prides and joys: the headquarters of Iraq’s new broadcast regulatory body, a sunlit building with an open floor plan, overlooking the Tigris River….Hudson kept talking about his projects, without spilling a drop from his travel cup of Starbucks coffee, sent from home.
“A lot of the high-end finish materials still have to be imported,” Hudson said, referring to the seamlessly laid marble tiles in the new offices of the National Communication and Media Commission. The marble for the $5.2 million offices came from Italy, Hudson presumed.
“Craftsmanship,” said Hudson, a blue-eyed 35-year-old from Colorado Springs. “A lot of pride and workmanship in that project.”
Later, at an Army Corps of Engineers office in the Green Zone — the fortified site of much of the Iraqi government — Hudson, in flak jacket and helmet, spread his hands lovingly on a map of Baghdad. “Two youth centers. Two fire stations — those are in some of your poorer neighborhoods. Baghdad highway patrol. A facility for the SWAT team. A new perimeter wall for Doura,” a power plant in Baghdad’s insurgency-ridden south. A checkpoint on a southern road into the city. An electrical substation.
Hudson picked out the sites instantly, his finger stopping on each one. The projects are among 90 under his domain and among 3,600 projects in an $18.4 billion reconstruction package for Iraq due to peak, and be completed, this year.
Not bad for the Washington Post. But is that all we get? A brief mention of the facilities built? What about pictures? What about interviews with the kids who go to the youth centers? Again, the erie silence of a graveyard at midnight. Only the whisper of a cold breeze to let you know that something really is happening.
Where can we turn for this critical information? Not to the mainstream news, for they are not interested in the 9 billion that is a success and is greatly benefiting the Iraqi people.
At this time I didn’t even find mush at the Army sites, but we hit pay dirt at the rebuilding link of Defend America.
Let’s just look at the last six months. How about the Sweetwater canal work last August?
By LuAnne Fantasia
Gulf Region Division
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Aug. 22, 2005  Two million Iraqi citizens in Basra and the surrounding area will have a constant and reliable source of water when the Basra Sweetwater Canal system upgrade is complete.
Two million dollars of the Iraq Reconstruction Program’s $18.4B was released this week to purchase electrical equipment for Pump Station #2, to include breakers, a mobile substation, switchgear, wire, and towers to provide permanent power to Pump Station #2. All materials are scheduled for full delivery by May 2006.
Or the
Mosul Dam repairs last September?
By Gulf Region Division
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Sept. 9, 2005  Stabilization of the Mosul Dam continues with an additional $20 million in Iraq Reconstruction and Relief Funds allocated this week for that purpose. The Iraq Ministry of Water Resources and the Ministry of Electricity have made the dam a top priority for the region.
The largest dam in Iraq, Mosul earthen dam holds back upwards of 12 billion cubic meters of water for the arid western Ninewah Province while creating hydroelectric power for the 1.7 million residents of Mosul. This reconstruction project includes an upgrade of specialized maintenance equipment, seismic monitors, materials and spare parts. A training element is included with the aid package, which will help make the project self-sustaining in the future….
New automatic grout-injection equipment included in the project will help arrest seepage under the dam. Seismic equipment will provide information to monitor the dam’s stability. Both types of work are critical in continuing flood protection, irrigating farmland, and maintaining sufficient water to generate 320 MW of electricity.
An Iraqi contractor has been selected for this important work as part of an effort to encourage local economic development and jobs. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will provide engineering and quality-control oversight from Gulf Region North near the city of Mosul. The project is scheduled for completion in early 2006.
Or the
8.4 million dollar Ramadi waste water treatment plant which will
be capable of treating 30,000 cubic meters per day of effluent - large enough to serve both Ramadi (in excess of 200,000 people) and Tameem (with a 100,000 population) on the other side of the river.
Or the new electrical substation in Babil
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Oct. 21, 2005  A new $4.9 million electrical substation will provide approximately 20,000 Iraqis in the southwestern portion of Babil an increase in power reliability. The substation, completed in early October, replaces an existing facility.
Local Iraqis performed the labor that included design and construction of a 33/11 kilovolt switch-gear building, a guard house and installation of two transformers and new switch gear equipment. The local Iraqi economy benefited from the project over the past 10 months, as 80 to 140 Iraqis worked at the site each week since construction began in January 2005.The project was funded with Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Funds, with oversight by the Project and Contracting Office’s Electricity Sector, and quality control provided by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region South. The Electricity Sector is one of four Project and Contracting Office sectors managing reconstruction projects throughout Iraq.
The other sectors are Oil, Public Works and Water, and Facilities and Transportation.In total, the Project and Contracting Office Electrical Sector is responsible for 434 projects valued at approximately $3.2 billion. This figure includes about $140 million of non-construction funds allocated for equipment and training.
To date, the Electricity Sector has completed approximately 82 projects totaling an estimated $660 million. Currently, an estimated $1,300 million is being used on projects that are now in progress. This leaves $1,250 million for remaining projects.
Or last November’s article about the water supply and sewer distribution system in Baqubah
Gulf Region North
U.S. Army Corps of EngineersMosul, Iraq - The Baqubah Directorate General of Water, the Ministry of Interior, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) worked diligently to complete a water and sewer system that will benefit 4,280 Iraqi homes. The project included designing and building a water supply and sewer distribution system in Baqubah, the provincial seat of Diyala.
Construction on the new facility began in May 2005. Since that time, the project employed an average of 250 local Iraqi construction workers including pipe fitters, plumbers, electricians, masons, carpenters, plasterers, truck drivers, and backhoe operators. The project was scheduled for completion today.“The contractors corrected deficiencies early and worked effectively to complete this facility a month ahead of schedule,†said USACE Construction Representative for the project, Joaquin Duenas.
Or last December, the improving of roads by the Corps of Engineers
Within the last several months, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region Division reworked more than 80 kilometers of road and, in the next several weeks, an additional 120 kilometers of hard surface roads will be added. The Tameen road segment, one of 17 road projects, has improved mobility for 30,000 people in three villages and the surrounding area.
These improvements generally include roadbed preparation and the paving of existing dirt roads. The finished work leaves behind graded shoulders, culvert installation, and general drainage improvements. These improvements will also provide paved roads for not only the residents, but also substantially decrease emergency vehicle response times. These efforts provide benefit to the residents in the area and help to reduce vehicle maintenance.
Or the 28 rail stations that were recently renovated?
By Suzanne M. Fournier
Gulf Region South
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
TALLIL, Iraq, Dec. 1, 2005  Workers have modernized 28 railroad stations in the Iraq’s southern provinces, starting at Iskandariyah Station in Northern Babil, just south of Baghdad, and reaching south into Thi-Qar province.Residents living in Babil, Qadisiyah, Muthana and parts of Thi Qar provinces can now catch the train at their local train station and travel to destinations within the region, boarding and exiting at clean, safe, healthy, remodeled railroad stations. Workers have performed numerous tasks at the southern province rail stations such as repairing, plastering, painting and restoring electricity, water and toilets.
Thi-Qar has two of nine renovations completed. Thi-Qar and Basrah Province rail stations are scheduled to have renovations finished by spring of next year.
Rail station renovations provide community residents with safe and healthy access to the rail transportation system. Passengers can use the stations to access travel within their local area and eventually to travel throughout Iraq and destinations beyond.
Local businesses can now use the renovated rail stations to ship and receive commodities by scheduling freight movement with their local stationmaster. This will make it easier for business professionals and farmers to ship their products to regional and global markets.The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed the rail station renovations by using Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Funds.
Or this month, the Kirkuk Main Electrical Substation:
By Polli Barnes Keller
Gulf Region North
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
MOSUL, Iraq, Jan. 9, 2005  The city of Kirkuk will soon benefit from the construction of the Kirkuk Main Substation 11 kilovolt feeder cable. This $123,000 project will consist of the installation of 1,500 meters of 11 KV underground feeder cable to the Kirkuk Substation in the Almas Quarter. This cable will connect the substation to a distribution network.
When asked why this project was so important, Saman Mosa, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project manager said, “The Kirkuk main substation is supplying power to an expanding community in downtown Kirkuk. An expanding city definitely needs more power for all kinds of consumption. Examples of these needs are: domestic use, industrial use, sewer services, and water. This feeder cable is part of the infrastructure that will fulfill these needs.”Approximately 1.5 million people live in the Kirkuk area. The installation of this cable will provide a more reliable electricity supply.
“There are other kinds of loads which need a reliable power supply, such as hospitals. This leads to the necessity of making this substation more reliable by connecting more feeders to it. This project is going to serve about 3,000 people in Kirkuk city.”
Saman Mosa, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Or last week in the following article from Defend America
Millions Get First Tap Water in Eight Years
Iraqi workers completed repairs to two water treatment plants in south Baghdad.By Norris Jones
Gulf Region Central District
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 18, 2005  Despite insurgent activity, Iraqi workers completed repairs to two water treatment plants in south Baghdad after nearly four months of work. Due to their skill and bravery, an estimated one million Baghdad residents will benefit from the renovations that continued regardless of insurgent attacks.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region Central (GRC), provided oversight for the restoration project. Local workers cleaned the large, 34-meter sedimentation basins, repaired pumps and generators, and installed new chlorine pumps. Because of these combined efforts, each treatment plant now produces about 2,000 cubic meters of clean, potable water per hour.“Mahmoudiya and Latifiya residents in south Baghdad this week had water flowing from their faucets for the first time in nearly eight years,†said Alfred Everett, GRC Resident Engineer supporting the U.S. Army 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division. “That’s what people in those communities are telling us.â€Â
So my friends, the information is out there, we just have to dig to find it.
As far as the other 9 billion being “eaten up†by
1) The insurgency,
2) A buildup of Iraq’s criminal justice system and
3) The investigation and trial of Saddam Hussein
I am not sure that I have seen a fair analysis of this. There is no use (1) building things if the insurgents are just going to blow them up. In that context it seems perfectly reasonable to divert some funds to protecting the infrastructure that already exists.
And (2) building up the criminal justice system is necessary to a functioning society.
That leaves (3), Saddam’s trial. Now to me this has seemed a farce at times, but I am judging Eastern Ways with a Western mentality- and in that context of course things don’t make sense.
In any case, trying Saddam is necessary to the Iraqi’s moving forward.
Funny, once again we find accusers ignoring the good and defending the criminals.
As if putting them away isn’t necessary and good for society.
In any case, Iraq is being rebuilt, and the Army Corps of Engineers is doing a fine job doing it and overseeing it.
As far as us not, “finishing the job†think of this. The Iraqis are sitting on tens of billions of dollars worth of oil. When they start exporting it, they will have plenty of money to build things the way that they want to.
In closing, I leave the reader with some cold, hard FACTS
Iraq Reconstruction Program, by the numbers
¶ More than 2,600 projects valued at more than $6.2 billion¶ More than 1,450 projects completed, valued at $1.4 billion
¶ More than 180,000 Iraqis employed
Security projects
¶ 919 border forts, points of entry, military facilities, and prisons and courts
Electrical projects
¶ 429 generation, transmission and distribution projects
¶ 2,250 megawatts of power added to grid (enough to power 5 million Iraqi homes)
¶ More than 1,400 electrical towers and 8,600 km (more than 5,330 miles) of power transmission lines installed
¶ $4.3 billion allocated for electrical power improvements
Public works and water
¶ 319 projects in water treatment, sewer systems and water resource projects
Oil
¶ 132 projects in restoration, water injection pump stations, plant repairs
Buildings, health and education
¶ 1,110 schools, primary health care centers, hospitals and public buildings
Transportation and communication
¶ 219 village roads, expressways, bridges, airports, ports, railroad stations, postal facilities
Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region Division
Sounds like money well spent to me.
Cross-posted at Rightfielder
Filed Under: Author: RightFielder, Homeland Security, Iraq, Military
This whole idea of a “truce” is truly a load of garbage.
I sincerely hope that my fellow Americans can see it for what it is.
Fact number 1:
Osama declared war on the U.S. during Clinton’s presidency.
Fact number 2:
We did not really respond (there was the “truceâ€Â)
Fact number 3:
Osama launched the first successful attack on U.S. soil, killing thousands of American citizens.
Fact number 4:
We are kicking butt now and checking DNA later.
Fact number 5:
The walls are closing in on Osama’s little cave.
It is hard to find good help these days. In corporate America, we offer gymnasiums, child care, meals, vacations, and benefits. In the Afghanistan / Pakistan wastelands, those filling out Osama’s job applications can expect a life of hiding, misery, and now even scorn by many fellow Muslims — and perhaps a fate like those in the video clip linked below.
RELATED:
“We Do Not Negotiate With Terrorists”
Cross-posted at Rightfielder
Filed Under: Author: RightFielder, Iraq, Middle East, Military
Here’s a press release from the Multi National Force website:
January 18, 2006
Release A060118a
Counterinsurgency operation in Hit
FORWARD OPERATING BASE HIT, Iraq – Iraqi Army soldiers and approximately 1,000 Marines, Sailors and Soldiers with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), are conducting counterinsurgency operations in the al Anbar province.
Operation Wadi Aljundi ( Koa Canyon ) began Jan. 15 in an effort to capture or kill insurgents and to locate and destroy their weapons caches in the Western Euphrates River Valley between the Jubbah/Baghdadi region and the city of Hit .
This combined operation involves 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Division, and the 22nd MEU’s ground combat element, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment.
The majority of the forces are conducting cordon and knock operations and searching areas of interest for weapons and insurgent activity along the Euphrates River , approximately 80 miles northwest of Baghdad . In addition to the Iraqi Army, Marines are also working with Iraqi Police in the Baghdadi region.
More information on the operation will be released as it becomes available.
1,000 U.S. Marines, Sailors, and Soldiers working together with the New Iraqi Army, conducting successful counterinsurgency operations. (continue reading post »)
Filed Under: Author: RightFielder, Environment, Iraq, Liberals, Middle East, Military
Here’s a great story taken from Defend America, complete with pics.
First, allow me a brief introduction. Politically, I am “to the right†hence the name Rightfielder. Now I had thought that us right-wingers were supposed to be the ones “destroying the environment.” I had thought that us Christian Conservatives were supposed to have our own interpretation of Genesis 1:28 in which the Bible declares, “Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and have dominion over it,†which really reads: “Destroy everything for monetary gain.†In antithesis, I had thought that the liberals were supposed to be the ones who really cared about the environment. Furthermore, many liberals in this country have been trying to portray our military in Iraq as unwanted killers.
The truth?
2) The “Dominion Passage†in the Bible actually teaches mandated stewardship with Divine accountability. This means reasonable care for Creation- not lunacy or creation worship. This has nothing to do with whether or not I want to scarf up a bucket of greasy KFC, or drive a gas guzzling S.U.V. This is nobody else’s business but mine. Well, perhaps mine, my doctor’s, and my insurance companies’.
3) The liberals do care about certain things, as long as it fits their worldview. When it is a group that they support doing the deed (picketing, clean up, public speaking) they tout the person as exceptional and an example. When it is a group that they have ridiculed (Operation Rescue, The Military, etc…) they completely ignore the story. (At least they are consistent in their inconsistency)
4) Our Military is the greatest humanitarian group in Iraq right now. It is absolutely inexcusable the way the liberals have altogether avoided reported the building of hospitals, schools, and the rebuilding of water and electricity.
Well, U.S. Military, I’m sorry. I am sorry that it takes little “right wingers” and bloggers like me to point out all the great things that you are doing. My only hope and prayer is that the history books will treat you with more fairness and respect than your contemporaries in the Mainstream Agenda Media.
Here’s the article:
Iraqi Rebuilding Includes Environmental Cleanup
Almost 100 containers of hazardous waste were removed from a field in Mosul.
By Claude D. McKinney
Gulf Region North
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
MOSUL, Iraq, Dec. 30, 2005  Reconstruction of Iraq includes more than the restoration of dilapidated infrastructure. In this case, it includes hazardous waste clean up.“These types of projects, though seemingly small, send a very visual message to the community that things are getting better.”
There were reports of containers lying in a field in Mosul, Iraq. Some were steel drums neatly placed on wooden rails; others, a jumbled collection of plastic cans. These, together with other questionable items, generated a contract to mobilize the Nawroz Company to remove and clean-up the spill. No one knew how long they had been there.
In all, almost 100 containers of hazardous waste, and one boiler with some miscellaneous parts, were removed from the site. The waste material was taken to Marez for disposal.
A Stryker patrol from Forward Operating Base Courage provided security during the operation.
“These types of projects, though seemingly small, send a very visual message to the community that things are getting better,†said Lee Kenderdine, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who had contractual over-watch for this project.
Editor’s note: Claude McKinney is the Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region North.
Stryker patrol keeping things secure. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, watching over the project. The New Iraq, a bright day in history clouded by the mainstream media, yet rays of light reach us and fill us with hope, despite their efforts in obscurity.
Cross-posted at Rightfielder
Filed Under: Author: RightFielder, Iraq, Middle East, Military, Patriotism
A recent success of our military has been the location and destruction of tons of weapons in Baghdad. If you have been following the War against Terrorism in Iraq, you have seen that Al Qaeda terrorists are the ones mostly strapping suicide bombs on themselves, and blowing themselves up in public places. This generally kills Iraqi’s over Americans at a rate of about 20:1. The bigger threat by far to American Marines and Soldiers has been IED’s, roadside bombs made out of artillery shells and set to go off when driven over, or triggered by a cell phone.
So it is indeed big news that we have uncovered and destroyed tons of this stuff, because that means it will not be used to make roadside bombs that could kill our troops.
It is also good news for the Iraqi’s. Read the article from Defend America
The ammunition dump north of Baghdad housed tons of ordnance stockpiled by former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s military.
By U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Kevin Bromley
3rd Brigade, 1st Armored DivisionTAJI, Iraq, Dec. 21, 2005  “Fire in the hole … Fire in the Hole,” shouted U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Neil Morrison immediately before he detonated seven 1,000 pound bombs nearly simultaneously Dec. 16.
The resulting explosion and shockwave shattered the afternoon’s post-rain silence and signaled the end of a year-long project to rid an old Saddam-regime ammunition dump of its deadly stores.
The ammunition dump, known as Area Echo and located north of Baghdad, housed tons of ordnance stockpiled by former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s military. The area contained everything from small caliber ammunition, mortars and artillery shells, to larger weapons such as 1,000 pound bombs, and surface to air missiles.
(continue reading post »)
Filed Under: Author: RightFielder, Iraq, Middle East, Military
Today our hearts grieve at the senseless murder by Al Qaeda of innocent civilians in Iraq.
Yet out of the horror, the bloodshed, the misery, comes one thing that in my opinion is yet another mark of progress in Iraq.
Last November I argued that the Iraqi people were becoming sick of the senseless butchery of Zarqawi, and that it was a matter of time before their anger and blame was directed at him and Al Qaeda full force for killing and maiming their women and children.
Read this article from the Washington Post:
Insurgents Kill 140 as Iraq Clashes Escalate
5 U.S. Troops Among DeadBy Nelson Hernandez and Saad Sarhan
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, January 6, 2006; Page A01BAGHDAD, Jan. 5 — The residents of Ramadi had had enough. As they frantically searched the city’s hospital for relatives killed and wounded in bomb blasts at a police recruiting station Thursday, they did something they had never publicly done: They blamed al Qaeda in Iraq, the insurgent movement led by Abu Musab Zarqawi.
“Neither the Americans nor the Shiites have any benefit in doing this. It is Zarqawi,” said Khalid Saadi, 42, who came to the hospital looking for his brother, Muhammed. Saadi said he hoped that sympathies in the city, considered a hotbed of support for the Sunni Arab insurgency, would turn against Zarqawi’s faction.
In this article we see:
Re-read this line, “They blamed al Qaeda in Iraq, the insurgent movement led by Abu Musab Zarqawi.â€Â
According to Webster, an insurgent is, “a person who revolts against civil authority or an established government; especially: a rebel not recognized as a belligerent.â€Â
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