Tuesday, April 29, 2008
--------------------------------- ----------------------------------- ------------
Today in the Department of Defense
Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates and Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England have no public or media events on their schedules.
Col. Loree K. Sutton, the director of the Defense Center of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury and special assistant to the assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, psychological health and traumatic brain injury, will speak at a press conference at 10:00 a.m., EDT, for a Sesame Workshop at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial Gateway, Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va.
U.S. Army says it's killed 38 enemy fighters in Baghdad
The U.S. military said yesterday it had killed 38 fighters in a day of battles in northeastern Baghdad as militants took advantage of dust storms to launch apparently coordinated assaults.
Gitmo prosecutor returns as defense witness
The former chief prosecutor for the Guantanamo war crimes tribunal appeared as a defense witness yesterday, called in to testify that the tribunal process was too tainted to provide a fair trial for Osama bin Laden's driver.
Bin Laden's former driver has become the latest detainee at Guantanamo Bay to refuse to participate in his war-crimes trial.
Iranian official warns against import of Western toys
A top Iranian judiciary official has warned against the "destructive" cultural and social consequences of importing Barbie dolls and other Western toys into the country.
Poll: Clinton has better chance of beating McCain
Hillary Rodham Clinton has a better chance than Barack Obama of beating Republican John McCain, according to a new Associated Press-Ipsos poll that bolsters her argument that she is more electable in the fall than her rival for the Democratic nomination.
Authorities probe attack on Afghanistan's president
Afghan security officials hunted yesterday for suspects in the attempted assassination of President Hamid Karzai during an attack that killed three people and underscored the fragility of his U.S.-backed government.
Palestinian mother, 4 children killed in Gaza Strip attack
An Israeli tank shell slammed into a tiny Gaza Strip home yesterday during a skirmish with gunmen, killing a Palestinian woman and four of her children as they prepared to sit down for breakfast, Palestinian officials and relatives said.
Iran's president makes brief visit to Pakistan
Iranian and Pakistani leaders resolved issues related to a multibillion-dollar gas pipeline project opposed by the United States during the Iranian president's brief visit yesterday to Pakistan, state media has reported.
Zimbabwe's opposition re-unites, declares control of Parliament
Zimbabwe's divided opposition movement re-united yesterday after months of bickering, declared it had a majority in parliament and told President Robert Mugabe to concede defeat in the presidential elections there.
Re-enlisting reservists will help fight the war on terror
One hundred men and women gathered on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol last week to reenlist in the U.S. Army Reserve, a patriotic action that represents the changing face of the U.S. military, according to the reservists.
North Korea silent on nuclear cooperation with Syria
South Korea's new chief nuclear negotiator was scheduled to meet his American counterpart in Washington yesterday, amid continuing fallout over claims of nuclear collaboration between North Korea and Syria.
North Korea has yet to react publicly to evidence, presented during intelligence briefings on Capitol Hill last Thursday, indicating that North Korea secretly helped Syria develop a nuclear reactor for military purposes.
Israel urged to learn from past
Many Germans didn't believe that former dictator Adolph Hitler was serious about what he said, and Israel must not make the same mistake with Iran, Israel Air Force commander Maj. Gen. Eliezer Shkedi said in a weekend television interview.
Arizona's governor vetoes bill on police role in immigration
Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano has vetoed a bill that would have required city and county police agencies to have programs to confront federal immigration violations.
The proposal - approved by the Legislature - would have allowed local police agencies to meet the requirement to confront immigration violations in several ways. Those ways included getting training for their police and jail officers, putting federal immigration agents in units within their departments or cultivating relationships with federal authorities.
The governor said the proposed requirement was "unnecessary and expensive."
Father's YouTube video of run-down barracks sparks military response
The U.S. military is promising action to address conditions in a barracks at Fort Bragg, N.C., after a soldier's father posted images on YouTube showing a building that he said "should be condemned."
"This is embarrassing. It's disgusting. It makes me mad as hell," Ed Frawley said of the building where his son, Sgt. Jeff Frawley, had to live upon his return this month from a 15-month deployment to Afghanistan.
Frawley said yesterday that Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Dick Cody called him to say he shares Frawley's anger and that "there's no excuse." Cody said he would not want his own sons or any troops to return to such conditions, Frawley said.
Frawley's 10-minute video shows still photos from throughout the building, which appears to be falling apart and filled with mold and rust. Paint - which Frawley said is lead-based - is chipping. Ceiling tiles are missing. A broken drain pipe allows sewer gas into the building, while another one has tissues stuffed into it in an apparent effort to stop the gas from coming in.
Photos from the communal bathroom show some of the most disgusting images. In one, a soldier stands in a sink to avoid what Frawley describes as three inches of sewage water that filled the floor when toilets overflowed. At times, "sewage water backs up into the sinks in the lower floors of these barracks," Frawley said in his narration. "The soldiers have to tell one another who's taking a shower when they turn the sinks on, or the person taking the shower gets scalded with hot water."
Frawley said the Army promised to have new barracks ready when his son's unit, part of the 82nd Airborne Division, returned.
"The conditions depicted in Mr. Frawley's video are appalling and unacceptable, and we are addressing the concerns he expressed," said Maj. Tom Earnhardt, a spokesman for the 82nd Airborne Division, in a written statement. "Our paratroopers are our most valuable resource, and our commitment is to their well-being. Our actions now must represent the best we can do for our soldiers. Fundamentally, we acknowledge these conditions are not adequate by today's standards," he added. "The images in Mr. Frawley's video are alarming, and our soldiers deserve the best conditions we can provide as an institution. "
Officials at the base invited the media into the barracks and acknowledged that there are serious problems.
Earnhardt said the building had been mostly unused during the 15 months Frawley and his unit were away. Fort Bragg has a massive construction project underway to create housing, but it is behind schedule, Earnhardt said. The buildings used by the 82nd Airborne are about 50 years old, he said. Earnhardt said the incident with the overflowing toilet took place the first day after the unit's return and has been addressed.
Sen. Elizabeth Dole is among government officials who have responded to the video. In a written statement, she called living conditions in the barracks "unacceptable" and said the situation "must be immediately corrected."
Ed Frawley said he is "hoping no one gets fired. I just want to see it get fixed. They have the slowest contractors in the world," he said, adding that people in jails live "in better conditions."
Cops in Thailand seize more than 1,000 fake passports
Thai authorities have seized more than a thousand fake Asian and Western passports and arrested a man in one of the biggest anti-counterfeiting operations in recent years, police said.
Mohammed Karim, a 56-year-old from Bangladesh, was nabbed in a Bangkok townhouse late on Saturday, where they found a sophisticated passport making operation and more than 1,000 finished and unfinished documents, Police Maj. Gen. Chaktip Chaichinda said yesterday. "He admitted that he made fake passports," Chaktip said, adding that his partner, a Myanmar national, escaped arrest.
The passports were for several countries, including the United States, New Zealand, France, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Malta. Police seized two computers, a scanner, three printers and rubber stamps for several countries.
"This guy is rich. He has a BMW. He said he made about 300,000-400,000 baht per month (around $10,000)," Chaktip said.
The passports were sold to a group of Thai and Burmese middlemen who then sold them to gangs engaged in prostitution, terrorism and smuggling, he said.
If convicted, Karim faces up to 20 years in jail. "It's the biggest fake passport case in the past four to five years," Chaktip said.
Passport fraud is a common problem in Thailand, where police seized 100 fake documents last year.
Military judge hears motions in court martial of Ft. Hood soldier
A military judge at Ft. Hood, Texas, yesterday heard motions in a court-martial for an Army sergeant accused of killing a severely wounded, crying and unarmed Iraqi insurgent last summer.
Review ordered for anthrax vaccine refusers
A federal judge's decision could lead to clearing the records of military personnel who refused to take mandatory anthrax shots between 1999 and 2004.
Judge James Robertson, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, admonished the Air Force Board for the Correction of Military Records, which had rejected a petition by two former Connecticut Air National Guard officers for compensatory relief for back pay and lost promotions after they claim they were forced to resign for refusing the vaccine.
The plaintiffs, Thomas Rempfer and the estate of the late Russell Dingle, based their appeal on a separate anthrax vaccine lawsuit.
Al-Qaida wouldn't hesitate to blow away a city: That's why we need 42-day detention, says former MI-6 boss
The former head of MI-6 is backing controversial government plans to hold terror suspects for 42 days without charge, saying it might prevent a "dirty-bomb" attack on Britain.
MI-6 prides itself on avoiding political debates, but former chief Sir Richard Dearlove warns that the U.K. would "regret' not bringing in longer detention for terror suspects.
Sir Richard, 63, who retired from MI-6 in 2004, says that in some serious cases the current 28-day limit is not enough to build a case or to gather intelligence on the scale of the threat faced by Britain.
SeaWorld dolphin dies after mid-air collision
SeaWorld officials in Orlando, Fla., are still trying to determine the cause of a mid-air collision during a dolphin interaction Saturday that killed one of the animals.
The dolphins were performing jumps in Discovery Cove when the collision occurred, spokeswoman Becca Bides said yesterday. "Unfortunately, one of the animals was injured and has died," she said. "The second animal appears fine and is under veterinary supervision."
The dolphins were in the center of the pool, over deep water and about 50 feet from the onlookers. "This is an unfortunate, random incident," she said. "While it is not unusual to have two animals performing aerial behaviors at the same time, we are reviewing the situation to ensure even such a random incident does not occur again."
The dolphin that was killed, "Sharky," was 30 years old.
Homeland insecurity: Seventeen illegal immigrants found on boat off San Diego
U.S. immigration authorities say they arrested 17 Mexican citizens yesterday on suspicion of illegal immigration after finding them aboard a boat about 10 miles off the coast of San Diego, Calif.
Agents have identified one person believed to have piloted the smuggling boat, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesman Vince Bond. The other 16 people - 12 men and four women - are in Border Patrol custody, Bond said. All were wearing life vests and there were no injuries.
Federal agents on a nighttime marine patrol spotted the 26-foot boat on their radar around 1 a.m., off Point Loma, due west of downtown San Diego. The boat was not using navigation lights, officials said.
Immigration authorities have found more than two dozen boats since last summer that were apparently used for human-smuggling. Fifteen people were rescued in March from a boat floating off San Diego's coast after being stranded for more than a day without food or water.
U.S. wary of small-boat terrorism
As boating season approaches, the Bush administration wants to enlist America's 80 million recreational boaters to help reduce the chances that a small boat could deliver a nuclear or radiological bomb somewhere along the 95,000 miles of U.S. coastline and inland waterways.
According to an April 23 intelligence assessment, "The use of a small boat as a weapon is likely to remain al-Qaida's weapon of choice in the maritime environment, given its ease in arming and deploying, low cost and record of success."
While the United States has so far been spared this type of strike in its own waters, terrorists have used small boats to attack in other countries.
The millions of humble dinghies, fishing boats and smaller cargo ships that ply America's waterways are not nationally regulated as they buzz around ports, oil tankers, power plants and other potential terrorist targets. This could allow terrorists in small boats to carry out an attack similar to the USS Cole bombing, says Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen. That 2000 attack killed 17 American sailors in Yemen when terrorists rammed a dinghy packed with explosives into the destroyer. "There is no intelligence right now that there's a credible risk" of this type of attack, Allen says. "but the vulnerability is there."
To reduce the potential for such an attack in the United States, the Department of Homeland Security has developed a new strategy intended to increase security by enhancing safety standards. The Coast Guard is part of that department.
Yesterday officials announced the plan, which asks states to develop and enforce safety standards for recreational boaters and asks them to look for and report suspicious behavior on the water - much like a neighborhood watch program. The government will also look to develop technology that will help detect dangerous materials and other potential warning signs.
The United States has spent billions of dollars constructing elaborate defenses against the monster cargo ships that could be used by terrorists, including strict regulations for containers and shipping. "When that oil tanker is coming from the Middle East, we know everything about it before it gets here," said John Fetterman, deputy chief of Maine's Marine Patrol. But when it comes to small boats, he said, "nobody knows a lot about them."
Initially, the government considered creating a federal license for recreational boat operators, but that informal proposal was immediately shot down by boating organizations. Coast Guard and homeland security officials have toured the country in the past year to sound out the boating industry and its enthusiasts. While the government insists there will be no federal license, the strategy suggests that the government consider registering and regulating recreational boats.
There are about 18 million small boats in the country, contributing to a $39.5 billion industry, according to a 2006 estimate from the National Marine Manufacturers Association.
Fetterman and his officers regularly get intelligence reports about unknown or unrecognized boaters taking pictures of a bridge or measurements of a dam, but, he says, there just aren't enough officers on the water to address every report.
The only way to police the waterfront, says maritime security expert Stephen Flynn, "is to get as many of the participants who are part of that community to be essentially on your side." Flynn, a fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations, says treating boaters as allies rather than as a threat will go a long way.
The government has taken tentative first steps to secure the waterways, but at a much slower pace than the effort aimed at large container ships. Small boats are not the top terrorist threat facing the United States, officials say. But the nation shouldn't wait to be attacked, said Vayl Oxford, the head of homeland security's Domestic Nuclear Detection Office. "We just cannot allow ourselves to get to the point where we're managing consequences," he said.
Oxford's office is leading two pilot programs that train and arm harbor patrols with portable radiological and nuclear detection equipment, starting with Seattle's Puget Sound. A similar program for San Diego is in the planning stages.
Many local departments across the country have been concerned with the small boat threat. The New York Police Department has scuba teams and marine units equipped with radiation detection that patrol New York's waters, but few departments across the country have similar resources. That is why the strategy is intended to create a layered defense that would create a national federal standard to operate a boat, Allen says.
The Coast Guard will work with states to establish minimum safety standards and ways to enforce the new rules. That may include requiring boat operators to have a copy of the safety certification on board with them and a piece of identification that links them to the certificate. That's important, security officials say, because currently there is no uniform requirement for pleasure boaters to have identification on board with them on the water.
The government defines small boats as any vessel less than 300 tons.
The new strategy will not only create more awareness on the water, but additional state safety requirements could have other benefits: keeping boats ship-shape and having their inspections up to date; more lifesaving equipment on board; and possibly fewer drunken people operating boats, said California's homeland security adviser Matthew Bettenhausen.
In 2006, there were 710 boating deaths, more than 3,400 injuries and close to $44 million worth of property damage, according to the latest statistics from the Coast Guard. Of the 710 deaths, 70 percent occurred on boats operated by someone who did not have boating safety instruction.
Sept. 11 'Wall of Heroes' to include sick cops
New York City will honor eight police officers who succumbed to illnesses related to Ground Zero dust, the city announced yesterday.
John McCain's serious foreign policy
Sen. John McCain was on a conference call with right-wing bloggers yesterday and boasted: "I think that people should understand that I will be Hamas' worst nightmare."
Iraq mass graves yield 100 bodies
Iraqi police have found 100 bodies in a mass grave. Most of the bodies had their hands bound and gunshot wounds to the head.
Iraqi lawmakers call for end to Sadr City siege
As the fighting raged, a group of 40 lawmakers gathered in the war-torn neighborhood to announce they are willing to work with Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, and urged the U.S. and Iraqi military to pull out of the area.
Al-Sadr has rejected pre-conditions set by the government for talks to end Iraqi army attacks on his militia force.
Iraqi police say gunmen kill local commander of anti-U.S. cleric's forces
A police official says Ali Ghalib, a commander of al-Sadr's Mahdi Army in the Hakimiya neighborhood in central Basra, was gunned down by gunmen on a motorcycle as he was driving yesterday.
Israel's air force chief: Iran threat is real
If any country takes the words of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad more seriously than the United States, it is Israel. And that's not surprising: Ahmadinejad has called for Israel to be wiped off the map, and Israeli intelligence estimates that Iran could be two years away from having a nuclear weapon.
NATO forces soldier among 17 killed in Afghan attacks
One NATO forces soldier and 16 insurgents were killed, and four NATO soldiers and a dozen more rebels were wounded, in two separate attacks in the eastern and southern regions of Afghanistan, officials said yesterday.
Oil prices hit new record high
Oil prices hit an all-time high near $120 a barrel after a weekend refinery strike closed a pipeline system that delivers a third of Britain's North Sea oil to refineries in the U.K.
Iraqi forces fight well in eastern Basra, Baghdad battles, admiral says
By Gerry J. Gilmore, American Forces Press Service
Iraqi security forces fought and performed well during recent battles against insurgents in the Iraqi cities of Baghdad and Basra, a senior U.S. military officer posted in Iraq said.
"We've had significant achievements in the fight against criminal groups over the last several weeks," Navy Rear Adm. Patrick Driscoll, a Multinational Force-Iraq spokesman, told reporters at a Baghdad news conference. "In Basra and Baghdad, Iraqi security forces have demonstrated bravery and professionalism and have made great strides in securing those areas where Iraqis were held hostage by those who oppose the rule of law and commit acts of violence that endangered innocent Iraqis."
Iraqi and Voalition security forces have cleared hundreds of roadside bombs and other deadly ordnance from the streets and by-ways of eastern Baghdad's Sadr City sector, which houses 3 million Iraqi residents, noted Maj. Gen. Qassim Atta, an Iraqi military spokesman who accompanied Driscoll at the news conference. The roadside-bomb removal improves safety and security and also "alleviates the traffic jams and also provides more freedom to the citizens to move from one neighborhood to another in Baghdad," Atta said.
About two weeks ago, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki directed his security forces to confront illegal militias in the southern city of Basra. The fighting in Basra then spread to eastern Baghdad, primarily in Sadr City, the home to thousands of followers of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
Recent anti-insurgent efforts by Iraqi and Coalition forces in Basra and eastern Baghdad have improved security in those two areas, Atta reported. The Iraqi government has earmarked more than $100 million for reconstruction needs in Basra and $150 million for redevelopment in Sadr City, the Iraqi general said.
Security in Basra has "improved dramatically over the last several weeks," Driscoll observed, noting the Iraqi security forces have driven out criminals and have moved into the city's neighborhoods to ascertain citizens' needs.
The Iraqi Interior Ministry reports that Basra's citizens are returning to their marketplaces and the city's children are going back to school, Driscoll said.
Capacity has been expanded at Basra's civil military operations center. Basra's CMOC team manages reconstruction efforts across the city and includes Iraqi, U.S., and other-agency participation, he said. "This will help facilitate the quick delivery of essential services, get business going again, and provide basic aid to the populace," Driscoll explained.
In addition, Coalition forces are re-prioritizing funding to accelerate Basra reconstruction projects such as sewage services, new street lighting, medical care and business incentives, Driscoll reported. Similar reconstruction operations are taking place in eastern Baghdad, he noted.
"Once again, this is the process we're hoping for, where security is established, and then that will allow us to bring in the services I've mentioned and also let people get back to a normal life," Driscoll said.
Air Force photographer becomes Marine Corps infantryman
By Cpl. Ryan Tomlinson, USMC
Marine Corps Cpl. Andrew M. Oquendo, a scout with Company D, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 5, stands in front of a light armored vehicle at Camp Korean Village, Iraq, on April 16. Oquendo, 22, from Paterson, N.J., joined the Marine Corps infantry after being a photographer for the U.S. Air Force. (Photo by Marine Corps Cpl. Ryan Tomlinson)
A hard-fought transition brought one Marine from shooting photos to shooting rifles.
Cpl. Andrew M. Oquendo, a scout with Company D, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 5, went from photographer with the U.S. Air Force to infantryman in the U.S. Marine Corps.
The 22-year-old infantryman from Paterson, N.J., joined the Air Force after struggling to make payments on his tuition at Delaware State University. He said he was determined to experience what it takes to be successful, so after talking with a high school friend and a recruiter, he reported to basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, in February 2005.
"The Air Force was the only branch I could think of that I wanted to join," Oquendo said. "I didn't see any other options, so I signed the dotted line to start my future."
Upon graduation, he was provided the sense of pride by becoming a member of the U.S. military. "I felt like most Marines feel when they graduate boot camp and earn the eagle, globe and anchor," he said. "I felt like I was on top of the world."
The new airman checked into the Defense Information School at Fort Meade, Md., for training as a photographer. In July 2006, while stationed at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, Oquendo deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
While in Qatar temporarily, Oquendo was assigned to photograph a visit by Maj. Gen. Anthony Przybyslawski, then-commander of the Air Force Personnel Center. "He liked the photos so much he asked if I could accompany him through the rest of his tour," Oquendo recalled. During the tour, Oquendo said, he saw Marine infantrymen conducting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and had a feeling that something was missing in his life. He felt he wasn't contributing enough to the Global War on Terrorism. "I knew what I really wanted to do, so I had to do whatever it took to achieve it," he said.
After building the courage, he talked to Przybyslawski about his ambitions and got the help he needed to make the transition from the Air Force to the Marine Corps. "I went to the administrative center to apply for separation forms, and the lady at the front desk thought I was crazy for filling it out after how long I'd been in," Oquendo said. "Little did she know how committed I was to becoming a Marine."
Within two weeks, his separation request was approved and he left the Air Force on Nov. 1, 2006. Three weeks later, he stepped on the "Yellow Footprints" at Parris Island, S.C., with the ambition of becoming an infantry Marine. "Since I had been in the military for two years, it was kind of like cheating, because a lot of times were easier for me than the other recruits," Oquendo said.
He's now deployed to Iraq for his second combat tour, this time with the Marine infantry, and he is as happy as ever. "I wanted to be an infantryman, because it's the backbone of the Marine Corps," he said. "It's the stuff you read about in the history book - making a difference in the world."
"When it comes to motivation, Oquendo brings it to a different level," said Marine Corps Sgt. James D. Leach, a scout squad leader with Company D, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. "It's good having him around."
Troops in Iraq kill terrorists, capture suspects, seize weapons
Coalition and Iraqi forces killed 42 members of Iranian-backed "special groups," detained eight terrorism suspects, and seized weapons in Iraq over the past four days, military officials said.
During operations in northeastern Baghdad on Monday:
- Iraqi and Multinational Division-Baghdad soldiers manning a checkpoint retaliated against a large group that attacked them around 6:35 p.m., local time, with small-arms fire. The U.S. component of the combined force used 120-mm fire from M1A12 Abrams tanks and small-arms fire, killing 22 attackers and forcing the rest to flee. No U.S. or Iraqi soldiers were harmed or killed.
- While on dismounted patrol around 6 p.m., 4th Infantry Division soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, were attacked with small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. Soldiers providing a cordon engaged the attackers with 120- mm tank rounds and machine-gun fire from an Abrams tank, killing seven.
- Soldiers from the 1-68th Armor Regiment killed five attackers who had fired rocket-propelled grenades in the course of three separate operations.
- An aerial weapons team killed a man after he attacked soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team with small-arms fire around 8:30 a.m. In the same area about two hours later, soldiers from the 1-68th Armor Regiment killed another man after he attacked their checkpoint with small-arms fire.
Elsewhere in Iraq on Sunday:
- Soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team returned fire and killed two attackers in a group that attacked a combat outpost with small-arms fire in eastern Baghdad around 3:15 p.m.
- Coalition forces killed one enemy fighter and uncovered an explosives cache in Baghdad's Rashid district. During the engagement between the ground force and armed attackers, a 14-year-old child was injured in the crossfire. He was treated at a Coalition medical facility, then released to the care of his family.
- Soldiers with 3rd Iraqi Army Division - advised by U.S. Special Forces soldiers - detained six suspected insurgents in Bulayj during an operation to disrupt insurgent networks operating in the area.
In operations April 26, separate tips led Multinational Division-Center soldiers to weapons caches in Mahmudiyah, near a patrol base about 20 miles south of the Iraqi capital. The cache contained improvised explosive device-making materials. Another cache, uncovered at a house near the Qaqa Apartments in Mahmudiyah, included six mortars, a 107-mm rocket, a 57-mm projectile, ball bearings and other explosive-making materials, and an IED that consisted of blocks of TNT.
Elsewhere, Iraqi soldiers discovered a large cache containing mortars, rockets and IED-making materials northwest of Yusufiyah. Troops turned over the contents of the cache to a Coalition forces explosive ordnance disposal team for controlled detonation.
In operations April 25 and 26, Iraqi security forces - advised by U.S. Special Forces soldiers - killed three men during an operation to prevent special groups violence in Hussayniya, and Iraqi special operations forces operating in Jazeera Desert nabbed the two suspected weapons smugglers.
'Adopt a Platoon' still thrives after ten years
By Jamie Findlater
Iga Hagg knows all about care packages; in fact, after 10 years of sending them out, she's pretty much an expert.
"The troops appreciate beef jerky, sunflower seeds, movies, DVDs," she said. "In the outlying areas, they appreciate receiving baby wipes and socks and hygiene products - and all this is topped off with tons of cookies."
Hagg first realized the importance of care packages when her own son was deployed to the Balkans, she explained during an "ASY Live" BlogTalkRadio interview. The online radio program is an extension of the Defense Department's America Supports You program, which connects citizens and companies with service members and their families serving at home or abroad.
"In every letter he would send, he would talk about how nine out of 10 of his buddies did not receive regular mail," Hagg said.
Since 1998, her organization, "Adopt a Platoon," has been sending out thousands of care packages to let U.S. troops know they care. In fact, she said, the group sends out about 30,000 pieces of mail and care packages a month.
"It is my experience," Hagg said, "that Americans want to support the troops, but unless they have a deployed service member - a spouse or a son or daughter in the military - they don't know how. For this reason, we rely greatly on our 'platoon moms and dads.'"
The group also works closely with combat hospitals and gets word from chaplains who tell them what items the troops need the most. One of Adopt a Platoon's current projects, "Operation Don't Bug Me," stemmed from one of these requests. The group sends mosquito repellent during the summer months. Other operations range from supplying soldiers with sunglasses, to seasonal moral boosters such as "Operation Holiday Stocking" and even a special campaign called "Operation Underwear."
"Only American mothers truly care and understand the most important needs that you wouldn't normally think about," she said.
The group's "Operation Crayon" started in 1999 in the Balkans to help out with humanitarian missions in Bosnia and in Kosovo. Today, it serves areas in Iraq and Afghanistan. "Now, while our troops help with reconstruction efforts, we can provide the writing tablets and supplies for the schools," Hagg said.
A teacher by trade, Hagg said she understands that it is important to get everyone in the community involved. "We rally fellow Americans, our neighbors and our community to stand behind our troops," she said. "We encourage people to submit an application, and we follow through with personal phone calls. We work to involve teachers and their students, families, business, civic groups." Everyone can get involved as much or as little as they like, she said. "A classroom in a senior high school wants to write letters, but can't afford the care packages," she said, "so we form a partnership with them."
Though trying to determine what items will truly give troops that extra push is a full-time job, Hagg said, it's worth the effort. She said troops appreciate cards and letters the most. "They just need to know that we're thinking about them all the time," she explained.
The success of the organization over the past decade is proof that America values its service members, Hagg said. "I had no idea in 1998 that we would be as big as we are today," she said. "It just goes to show that our American people want our support our deployed sons and daughters."
(Jamie Findlater, host of "ASY Live" on BlogTalkRadio.com, works in the New Media Branch of the American Forces Press Service.)
Today's papers
By Daniel Politi
The New York Times, Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal's worldwide news box lead with the Supreme Court ruling that laws requiring citizens to show photo identification before voting are constitutional.
The Los Angeles Times devotes its top non-local spot to the 6-3 decision, in which the justices upheld an Indiana law that is generally considered to have the strictest voter-identification requirements in the country mainly because opponents failed to prove that anyone had been blocked from casting a ballot because of the law. Everyone says the decision is likely to encourage other states to pass voter-identification laws although few think it will have a significant effect on this year's presidential election.
USA Today fronts the Supreme Court decision but leads with word that there has been a record number of air strikes by unmanned airplanes in Iraq this past month. Commanders ordered 11 attacks by Predators in April, which is almost double the previous monthly high. The Pentagon has been pushing for more drones to be used in the war zone and military leaders are "expected to rely more on unmanned systems as they begin to withdraw 30,000 U.S. troops sent last year," says USA Today.
DNC ad shows U.S. soldiers being blown up
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has sparked outrage among veterans and others across the Internet by running an anti-John McCain ad that shows U.S. soldiers being blown up.
After the new ad’s voice-over castigated McCain for suggesting that the United States may stay in Iraq for "maybe 100" years, the footage becomes shocking. The DNC ad then shows an explosive device detonating near two soldiers standing beside a palm tree. The two soldiers disappear in an explosive fireball. The video also shows images of burning vehicles.
You can see the DNC ad Click Here Now
The footage appears similar to film taken by jihadists who videotape IED explosions that kill American combat troops. The jihadists place the video on the Internet to tout their "kill Americans" campaign success.
The U.S. Army estimates that more than 6,500 jihadist Web sites promote violence against America and American troops.
Many U.S. media outlets have refused to air excerpts from such videos for several reasons - including out of respect of the servicemen and women depicted in the videos.
The DNC apparently does not agree. Calls to the DNC for comment and for information about the footage went unreturned.
The Republican National Committee (RNC) harshly criticized the ad, stating: "It is becoming clear that [DNC Chairman] Howard Dean and the Democratic National Committee will say and do anything to defeat John McCain." The RNC demanded that the ad be stopped.
The McCain campaign and the RNC contend that the Democrats have been distorting McCain’s comment that the United States may remain in Iraq for "maybe 100" years. Such critics say McCain’s comments have been taken out of context. The Associated Press reported that he actually went on to say: "As long as Americans are not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed, it's fine with me, and I hope it would be fine with you, if we maintain a presence in a very volatile part of the world where al-Qaida is training, recruiting, equipping and motivating people every single day."
Republicans also allege that the DNC violates federal election law by coordinating its ad campaign with the Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton campaigns.
The RNC counsel has sent letters to the heads of NBC, CNN, and MSNBC demanding that the ad be pulled.
Pentagon urged to develop investment plan for space acquisitions
The Defense Department has made progress in bolstering its small-scale procurement program for space capabilities, but the department should develop a full investment plan to strengthen the initiative, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has recommended.
In its study (GAO-08-516), the GAO analyzed the Defense Department's "Operationally Responsive Space" initiative, which is designed to quickly fill capability gaps with low-cost satellites. Despite significant investments in space systems, senior military commanders have detailed shortfalls in each major conflict over the past decade.
Since the GAO last assessed ORS in 2006, the department has strengthened its ability to manage the initiative by creating the Joint ORS Office. Defense has filled eight of the office's anticipated 20 positions and has clearly laid out its responsibilities, the GAO reported.
Free school breakfasts in Cambodia threatened by rising rice prices
Short of cash and facing huge increases in the price of rice, the United Nations agency that feeds the world's poorest people can no longer supply 450,000 Cambodian children with free breakfasts.
Clandestine migrants stuck in 'jungle' by Calais
Kurds, Afghans and Eritreans pay much and risk more in their attempt to reach Britain. On the coasts of northern France, they bide their time as they wait to be smuggled over the English Channel, undeterred by the French riot police or regular assaults with tear gas.
Scores killed in Chinese train collision
A pre-dawn collision between two passenger trains in Eastern China yesterday killed at least 66 people and injured 400, according to authorities, making it one of the deadliest rail accidents in a decade.
Police put premium on gas purchases
During an 18-month period, city of Tampa, Fla., police officers bought nearly 26,000 gallons of premium gas to fill their city vehicles when regular fuel would have worked just fine.
The city also lost out on more than $25,000 in federal diesel tax reimbursements because no one asked for the money.
Those findings were among 11 problems detailed in an internal audit about gas purchases made with city-issued credit cards.
"We have got to treat the taxpayers' money like it's our own money," Councilman Charlie Miranda said when told about the audit findings. "They need to be frugal."
The audit covered December 2005 through May 2007. The city has issued 1,136 Shell credit cards to city police officers and some civilian employees who have been assigned vehicles. The cards are to be used at Shell gas stations to fill up. In fiscal year 2007, the Tampa Police Department spent nearly $3 million to buy about 1.3 million gallons of gas.
A police department policy states that officers are allowed to use their gas credit cards to purchase regular, unleaded gas for police vehicles. Only those who drive vehicles that specifically need premium gas are allowed to buy premium. The auditors found police officers unnecessarily bought 25,718 gallons of premium instead of regular gas. Buying regular gas would have saved more than $3,000, according to the audit.
"That's the one that hit me the hardest," Assistant Police Chief Michael George said. "That's $3,000 we spent that we shouldn't have spent." George said he found five employees who made 36 or more premium gas purchases during the 18-month audit period. Letters were placed in those employees' personnel files. George said he also sent a letter to the entire force to remind them to buy regular gas.
Miranda said the mayor also should write the officers a letter to tell them to stop buying premium. "That should end right now," Miranda said. "I'm not in the mood to spend money unwisely."
Councilman Tom Scott was incredulous when told officers are buying premium gas. "Given the budget crisis we're in, every dollar, every dime matters to [the] city government," Scott said. "No longer can we afford to go out and buy premium."
Every 1-cent increase in the cost of gasoline costs the city about $26,000 during the course of a year.
The audit also found that the city should have requested a refund of federal diesel taxes from the Internal Revenue Service, but failed to do so between October 2000 and July 2007. Diesel taxes during that period were 24.3 cents a gallon, or a total of $25,318. George said the police department is seeking at least a partial refund.
Scott said the city needs to do a better job. "The issue becomes, whose responsibility was that and how to correct that in the future?" Scott said.
Tampa police had been allowed to take home their cars until the late 1980s, when Mayor Sandy Freedman ended the privilege. Mayor Dick Greco reinstated the take-home practice when he was elected in the mid-1990s.
The audit also found several other problems, including that the city didn't have a good system of checking whether the cards were used to fill personal vehicles. "We could not conclusively determine if all gas purchases were for city of Tampa vehicles and for business purposes," the auditors wrote. "Controls over the credit card issuance and bill payment process were not adequate."
For example:
- The key to the drawer where temporary fuel credit cards are stored was not kept in a separate secure location. The cards are stored in a locked desk drawer. The key is kept in a separate unlocked drawer in the same desk. "When the desk is left unattended, an unauthorized individual could take the key and gain access to the credit cards," the auditors wrote. George said no one ever took the cards without permission, but said the cards would be kept in a more secure location.
- Auditors found 77 purchases where the gallons of fuel purchased exceeded the fuel tank capacity for the vehicle. George said that happened whenever one person bought gas for multiple training vehicles, which don't have their own city identification numbers. That needs to be better documented, George said.
- Two employees who resigned from the police department had fuel transactions charged to their gas credit cards after their departure dates. George said one employee left his gas card in his car and the next user filled up with it. He said something similar happened with the other employee. George said the department will do a better job making sure employees who leave the city turn in their gas cards when they turn in their badges.
U.S. Air Force receives last GPS IIR satellite
By Staff Sgt. Don Branum, USAF, 50th Space Wing Public Affairs, Schriever AFB, Colo.
The Air Force received the last in a series of GPS IIR(M) satellites from Lockheed Martin during an recent fly-out ceremony at the Lockheed Martin facility in Valley Forge, Pa.
"The IIR satellites have been great," said Lt. Col. Doug Schiess, operations officer for the 2nd Space Operations Squadron. He represented the 50th Space Wing at the ceremony. "One of the things they've done for us is allowed us to reduce our operations tempo. We used to have to do two supports per day on all GPS satellites, but the IIRs have allowed us to go down to one support per day."
The IIR satellites require less support because they have improved autonomous capabilities. The primary autonomous capability is a IIR redundancy management function, which tracks and manages the satellite's subsystems. Internal tests are run regularly and components can be autonomously swapped if a failure is detected.
The IIR series of satellites also has been more robust. After nearly 11 years since the first IIR satellite was launched, all the IIR satellites remain operational and are still on their primary clocks.
"We have multiple clocks for redundancy on each satellite," Col. Schiess said. "Our older IIA satellites are on their second or third clocks, but we haven't had to change a clock yet for the IIR satellites."
This robustness makes the satellites more likely to live beyond their projected design lifetimes, which means more utility for taxpayers' dollars.
When GPS IIR(M)-20 launches this summer, it will be the 19th IIR satellite in orbit. Of those 19 satellites, seven are the newer IIR(M) models, which provide an additional signal called L2C for civilian use and additional military code, or M-code, signals. "The M-code is a modification that the Air Force asked Lockheed Martin to do after they had the GPS IIR contract," Colonel Schiess said. "The M-code provides anti-jam capability, and as we saw we were going into a jamming environment, we knew we'd need the capability sooner than it would have been available on the GPS IIF satellites."
Lockheed-Martin specialists, at the request of Air Force officials, pulled some of the satellites that were ready for launch out of storage to add the M-code, flex power and L2C capability.
GPS IIR(M)-20 also will transmit on a frequency called L5, which is primarily designed for aviation safety-of-life applications. "Lockheed-Martin modified this satellite (per the Air Force's request) to transmit on the L5 frequency so we can demonstrate to the International Telecommunication Union (the United Nations body that governs use of satellite communication frequencies) that we're using the frequency," Col. Schiess said. "We had to start using the frequency or we'd lose the ability to say it's ours."
The L5 payload aboard the IIR satellite will provide a demonstration signal that secures exclusive protection of the L5 signal spectrum for U.S. use.
GPS IIR(M)-20 is the last IIR(M) satellite the Air Force received due to the L-5 modification, but it will not be the last IIR(M) satellite to launch. GPS IIR(M)-20 is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., on June 30. The last IIR(M) satellite to launch, GPS IIR(M)-21, is scheduled for lift-off on Sept. 11.
Group extends scholarship application deadline
By Samantha L. Quigley, American Forces Press Service
Operation Homefront has extended the deadline for those interested in one of 25 American Patriot Freedom Scholarships the group offers to children of military families for tuition and other education-related expenses.
"The organization is extending its application date to allow the children stationed at military bases abroad additional time to submit their applications," Arthur Hasselbrink, founder and president of Homefront America, said.
With the change in deadline, applications must be postmarked by May 30. Homefront America, with the help of the W. Daniel Tate family and Sara's Hope, which offers annual scholarships to high school students performing random acts of kindness, will award 25 $1,000 scholarships in June. This year's awards will bring the value of the scholarships awarded since the program's 2006 start to $70,000.
Military dependent children of retirees, disabled or fallen service members or active-duty service members stationed stateside or abroad are eligible to apply. This eligibility extends to activated or deployed Guardsmen and reservists, officials said.
Applications consist of an essay of 500 words or less on one of four pre-approved topics. They will be judged on originality, length, and relationship to the topic chosen, as well as grammar and spelling.
Complete guidelines, instructions and application materials are available on the Homefront America Web site,
www.homefrontamerica.org .
Homefront America is a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and companies with service members and their families serving at home and abroad.
Related sites: Homefront America ; America Supports You .
JCS chairman accepts award on behalf of service members
By Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff accepted the Gold Medal of the Union League of Philadelphia there last night on behalf of the men and women of the U.S. military, who he said make America's freedom possible.
Navy Adm. Mike Mullen told the league members that he was honored and humbled to receive the award, but that the men and women of the armed forces are the real honorees.
"We should remember tonight those who serve around the world, particularly those who serve in harm's way," Mullen said. "It is their service that is the foundation for us as a nation. They make such a difference, and they make all of us proud."
The chairman told the black-tie crowd that, while the world is full of challenges, U.S. service members have risen to surmount them. He told of a recent visit he made to Iraq and the fact that he walked through neighborhoods in Baghdad and northern Iraq. "This is something you couldn't do just weeks earlier," Mullen said. "It is like that in many places in Iraq, and it wasn't that way a year ago."
Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force-Iraq, deservedly gets credit for turning the country around, the chairman said. "But the individuals who really get the credit in my book are the soldiers, the Marines, sailors and airmen who are on the streets making that happen," he added. "They're the ones who made the surge succeed. They're the ones that get the credit. They have done it with their blood, with their sacrifices and with the American spirit, which has tied them to those who first served when our country was formed."
Mullen said he spends a lot of his time trying to understand the pressure the ground forces are under. He said he has traveled to visit service members stateside and overseas "to be in touch with what's on the ground," so he can use that input in the decisions he makes or when he recommends courses of action.
Service members are not shy about telling him their feelings, especially when they are in a combat environment, he said. "I treasure that," he told the audience. He said he has seen that troops are under pressure, "but they are performing at an exceptional level. They are resilient, and they are proud of what they are doing," he added. "They are seeing themselves succeed in a way they weren't a year ago, and they have a skip in their step."
The chairman said that, although work remains to be done in Iraq and a growing insurgency in Afghanistan isn't going to go away, the military must manage the conflicts in such a way that service members have more time between deployments with their families.
"It is in getting it right for the immediate future that consumes a great deal of my time," he said. "But it is not just the immediate future that I am concerned about, because this war we're in, and the extremists that we are fighting, is going to be around for decades, not for months or years. And we're going to have to stay focused on this."
The United States has to build a military for the future that can handle the un-conventional enemies of today and conventional threats that may crop up, the chairman said, and the country cannot do it alone. "We've got to build relationships and partnerships with countries around the world," Mullen said.
During and after World War II, the admiral noted, U.S. leaders understood the need for allies in the struggle against fascism and communism, and the same is true today. "We need those partners. We need those relationships," he said. The United States must continue to bolster on-going relationships and cultivate emerging relationships with other nations, Mullen said. "We live in an incredible time, a time of great uncertainty, very unpredictable, and the only way I can see us moving ahead is together - with allies and partners who have the same objectives in mind," he said.
Mullen stood in the footsteps of Abraham Lincoln, who received the league's first Gold Medal in 1863. Since Lincoln received the honor at the height of the Civil War, 35 Americans have been so honored, including Army Maj. Gen. George G. Meade in 1866; Secretary of War Elihu Root in 1915; President Calvin Coolidge in 1927; General of the Armies John J. Pershing in 1928; President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1962; Chief Justice Warren E. Burger in 1986; and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld in 2006.
Related site: The Union League of Philadelphia .
