🚀 go-pugleaf

On 18 Nov 2005 19:48:45 -0800, greathornedlizard@yahoo.com wrote:

>Congress in it's infinite lack of wisdom has seen fit to play politics
>with the dead souls of 2000+
>American soldiers and 30,000+ Iraqi civilians.
>One cannot help but wonder "can these scumbags dig a deeper hole?"



Democrats are desperate. The know they cant go to the well much
longer. They have very little time left to exploit Iraq. 


403-3 AGAINST TROOP PULLOUT


Seems the anti-war dems talk the talk. But dont walk the walk.
Murtha wimped out. 



Get your facts straight buttercup.


GlobalSecurity.org........


"On 20 October 2003 the Project on Defense Alternatives estimated that
between 10,800 and 15,100 Iraqis were killed in the war. Of these,
between 3,200 and 4,300 were noncombatants -- that is: civilians who
did not take up arms."


And how many of those civlians were used as human shields?
Or put in harms way becuase they put weapons and ammo near civilians
to protect them? Or killed by the Iraqi mlitatrays own incompetance.
Ordnance fired with little care for civilians at all.

Gleeful *Stargis wrote:
> On 18 Nov 2005 19:48:45 -0800, greathornedlizard@yahoo.com wrote:
>
> >Congress in it's infinite lack of wisdom has seen fit to play politics
> >with the dead souls of 2000+
> >American soldiers and 30,000+ Iraqi civilians.
> >One cannot help but wonder "can these scumbags dig a deeper hole?"
>
>
>
> Democrats are desperate. The know they cant go to the well much
> longer. They have very little time left to exploit Iraq.
>
>
> 403-3 AGAINST TROOP PULLOUT
>
>
> Seems the anti-war dems talk the talk. But dont walk the walk.
> Murtha wimped out.
>
>
>
> Get your facts straight buttercup.
>
>
> GlobalSecurity.org........
>
>
> "On 20 October 2003 the Project on Defense Alternatives estimated that
> between 10,800 and 15,100 Iraqis were killed in the war. Of these,
> between 3,200 and 4,300 were noncombatants -- that is: civilians who
> did not take up arms."

Putz, this is 2005, going on '06
>
>
> And how many of those civlians were used as human shields?
> Or put in harms way becuase they put weapons and ammo near civilians
> to protect them? Or killed by the Iraqi mlitatrays own incompetance.
> Ordnance fired with little care for civilians at all.

On 19 Nov 2005 06:47:14 -0800, greathornedlizard@yahoo.com wrote:

>
>Gleeful *Stargis wrote:
>> On 18 Nov 2005 19:48:45 -0800, greathornedlizard@yahoo.com wrote:
>>
>> >Congress in it's infinite lack of wisdom has seen fit to play politics
>> >with the dead souls of 2000+
>> >American soldiers and 30,000+ Iraqi civilians.
>> >One cannot help but wonder "can these scumbags dig a deeper hole?"
>>
>>
>>
>> Democrats are desperate. The know they cant go to the well much
>> longer. They have very little time left to exploit Iraq.
>>
>>
>> 403-3 AGAINST TROOP PULLOUT
>>
>>
>> Seems the anti-war dems talk the talk. But dont walk the walk.
>> Murtha wimped out.
>>
>>
>>
>> Get your facts straight buttercup.
>>
>>
>> GlobalSecurity.org........
>>
>>
>> "On 20 October 2003 the Project on Defense Alternatives estimated that
>> between 10,800 and 15,100 Iraqis were killed in the war. Of these,
>> between 3,200 and 4,300 were noncombatants -- that is: civilians who
>> did not take up arms."
>
>Putz, this is 2005, going on '06
>>
>>
>> And how many of those civlians were used as human shields?
>> Or put in harms way becuase they put weapons and ammo near civilians
>> to protect them? Or killed by the Iraqi mlitatrays own incompetance.
>> Ordnance fired with little care for civilians at all.


Dope. Civilian murders are now caused intentionally by islamo-facists
bombers.
Unintended and unavoidable civilian deaths by Americans and coalition
troops during Saddams removal in *2003* is a tiny blip compared to the
intentional mass killing and genocide under Saddam regime before it
was REMOVED in 2003.

If the Islamo-facists would stop attacking Iraqs democracy. The deaths
would be zero. 

You are trying lump in the islamo-facists *intentional murdering* of
innocents with coalitions unintentional and unavoidable accidental
deaths of civilians in Saddams removal. That SADDAM caused because he
was told to "get out of Dodge". And refused. 



Your greasy liberal twisting of the truth doesnt hold up very well.


Please do a comparison of the deaths of innocents under Saddams Regime
in Iraq and today. Muslim on muslim violence is the NUMBER ONE killer
of muslims. Any accidental deaths caused by the coalition forces is a
*drop in the bucket*. And we are fighting so the Iraqis will make that
number zero one day. 

The great muderer of innocent muslims, are muslims. 
And Saddam was one of the worst.



Here is Saddams legacy. A legacy of filled mass graves. 
The legacy of a tyrant. The legacy that you would have condemned the
Iraqi people to continue to endure with no end in sight. And a legacy
of supporting terror that was being exported to the world. A legacy
that found its way to us. A legacy that had to be stopped before it
was too late. So todays children would not have grow up to fight a
much larger war that we may not be able to win. 



DO THE MATH...............


Life Under Saddam Hussein: Past Repression and Atrocities by Saddam
Hussein's Regime 
http://www.state.gov/p/nea/rls/19675.htm


Babies found in Iraqi mass grave
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3738368.stm
A mass grave being excavated in a north Iraqi village has yielded
evidence that Iraqi forces executed women and children under Saddam
Hussein. 


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/29/AR2005042901191.html
113 Kurds Are Found In Mass Grave
Hussein Victims Almost All Women, Children


Horrors of Iraq's mass graves
http://www.shianews.com/hi/articles/politics/0000374.php


Mass Graves of Iraq: Uncovering Atrocities
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/27000.htm

Mass grave unearthed in Iraq
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/10/13/iraq.graves/

    


Iraq's Mass Graves 
http://www.state.gov/s/wci/rm/36198.htm
Andrew S. Natsios, Administrator, U.S. Agency for International
Development

Washington, DC
July 22, 2004
When Saddam Hussein was plucked from his spider hole, unkempt and
disoriented, he seemed an oddly insignificant figure. But make no
mistake, the "butcher of Baghdad" and his sons have few rivals when it
comes to megalomania, rapacity, terror, sadism, infanticide, and
widespread murder. 

A picture of life in Saddam's regime is emerging from victims,
witnesses, even reluctant executioners, who are slowly coming forward
with their stories now that Saddam has been found and put away. They
tell tales of torture, live burnings, and indiscriminate slaughter
that they witnessed either directly or through slits in blindfolds.
Some talk of being buried alive and abandoned as dead - to live a life
in terror and hiding.

Over the past decade and a half, I have seen the aftermath of the
killing fields of the Khmer Rouge and the death pits in Rwanda. I can
attest to Saddam's tenure as President of Iraq as being equally savage
and murderous.

Since Saddam's regime was overthrown, 270 mass graves have been
reported. To date, 53 sites have been confirmed. Some graves contain
six bodies; some a score or more. Others are trenches, hundreds of
meters long, densely packed with thousands of victims. Hundreds of
white bundles contain the bones exhumed from these sites and they line
warehouse floors row upon row. Some were fresh victims; others have
lain in their graves for over 35 years.

They contain the remains of Shiites, murdered for their beliefs. They
contain the remains of Kurds, murdered for their ethnicity. They
contain the remains of Sunnis who dared speak out against the tyranny
or were suspected of being insufficiently "Baathist." They contain the
remains of Kuwaitis, and other victims of Saddam's aggressive wars.
They contain the remains of Bahrainis, Egyptians, and Saudis, killed
by one who presented himself as the spokesman of Arab solidarity and
avatar of Arab renaissance.

The methods of execution were grisly. Victims are being exhumed with
hands lashed together and bullet holes in the back of their skulls.
Women and children are being found executed in similar fashion. This
butcher did not respect gender or age, motherhood or the innocence of
children. He is even reported to have killed over 40 members of his
own family.

The whole arsenal of methods employed by previous architects of
genocide was employed in Saddam's death machine.

From 1983 to 1988, during the Iran/Iraq War, chemical attacks by
Saddam's army resulted in 30,000 Iraqi and Iranian deaths. This broke
a taboo that had existed since World War I and the horrors of trench
warfare. 
From 1987-1988, during Saddam's campaign of terror in the North, an
estimated 180,000 Kurds were rounded up and systematically killed. 
In 1988, five thousand Iraqi-Kurds in 40 villages were killed in a
single day, the victims of nerve and mustard gas. 
The so-called Anfal campaign was part of a broad strategy that
intended to destroy the ancestral homes and habitats of Kurds. Over
2,000 mountain villages were razed in Saddam-style pograms. 
The Marsh Arabs of southern Iraq, who had maintained a unique way of
life since Biblical times, were victims of a similar fate last decade.
Primarily Shias, they were feared as "resistants" beyond the reach of
Saddam's henchmen in their watery habitats. He systematically drained
the marshes and forced half of their population - approximately
200,000 - to seek refuge in Iran. 
The marsh lands have been linked to the Garden of Eden and Noah's
flood. Their destruction has been called an unprecedented "eco-cide,"
a new weapon in the arsenal of 20th century tyrants, one Saddam
pioneered at the end of the first Gulf War when he torched his oil
wells and massively dumped pollutants into the Gulf. 
In October 1991, Iraqi leaders were privately acknowledging that
250,000 people were killed during the Shia uprisings that followed
Desert Storm. 
Some Western Human Rights Groups have argued that atrocities on a mass
scale ended in 1991 with the end of the Gulf War. This is not true. In
terms of lost lives, Saddam's death machine stepped up the assault on
his enemies using more subtle forms.

Within 1-2 years of the war, Iraq had repaired its water and sewerage
systems. But the death rate among children soared, in large part
because clean water was not evenly provided to the Iraqi people.
Filthy water is the major cause of under 5 mortality in Iraq. This is
one of many reports about how Saddam used sanctions as a cover for an
insidious effort to kill off the children of groups opposed to him:
Kurds, Marsh Arabs, and Shia.

In effect, while pursuing his genocidal campaign most systematically,
he was building sympathy in the West for relaxing its sanctions. His
victims no longer needed to be buried clandestinely in the night.
After 1991, it was in his interest to broadcast death in Iraq and
blame it on Washington and London.

Tapes of Ali Hassan Al-Majid - "Chemical Ali" - have emerged and he
should certainly be among the first on the docket of the Iraqi Special
Tribunal. He was caught boasting about the Kurd massacre. "That
evening I went to Suleimaniyeh and hit them with special ammunition
[chemical weapons]. I told the mustashars that they might say they
like their villages and that they won't leave. I said I cannot let
your villages stay because I will attack it with chemical weapons.
Then you and your family will die. You must leave right now. Because I
cannot tell you the same day that I am going to attack with chemical
weapons. I will kill them all with chemical weapons. Who is going to
say anything? The international community? ---- them! The
international community and those who listen to them." The person
speaking is kith and kin of Saddam, cut from the same cloth as Uday
and Qusay.

Sloan Mann was one of the first to follow Iraqis to the mass grave
sites. He was dispatched to Iraq as part of the first deployment of
Abuse Prevention Units, created by USAID to protect human rights in
emergencies or conflicts. I would briefly like to share with you some
of the reasoning behind the creation of the Abuse Prevention Unit and
how it came to operate in Iraq.

The Abuse Protection Unit was designed to make human rights protection
operational in the post-conflict situation where they are most
vulnerable. It played to the particular strength of my Agency, our
field staffs, which are accustomed to operate among indigenous peoples
in some of the most dangerous places in the world.

Our particular fears in Iraq were widespread reprisals of Shia and
Kurds against Sunnis. We also feared that the chaos from the passing
of the old order might be used as a cover to settle scores in tribal
feuds as well as personal vendettas. Vengeance would likely lead to
increased instances of rape and looting. And this would lead to
countermeasures of the same kind as well as vigilantism.

The Abuse Protection Unit was to be the eyes and ears of my Agency,
the U.S. Military, and the CPA in tracking the actual outbreak of
human rights abuses and identifying potential outbreaks. They
canvassed hospitals, clinics, and popular haunts. They interviewed the
military as well as the people in the street.

Sloan Mann recounts how his task evolved. There were reprisals and
violations of person and property - but nothing systemic, he reported.
Significantly, he credits local clerics, among others, for keeping a
damper on the violence.

His street excursions took him to a nondescript building with a
nondescript office, outside of which was a curiously long line. Inside
was the Iraqi Lawyers Association. Working without computers, they
were collecting paper evidence of missing Iraqis. The Lawyers
Association led Sloan Mann to Saddam's killing fields.

"When I showed up," reports Sloan, "people were randomly digging
through the site. I went there two days after the mass grave was
discovered�.The site was very disturbed. Children walked barefoot in
the grave. There were many families. Some were mourning. Some were
curious onlookers."

The Coalition Provisional Authority was initially criticized for
permitting such things. The most vocal were some of the groups that
are quickest to invoke the words "rights" and "humanity." They, I
suppose, would have wanted us to police and discipline these people at
this moment.

We were literally witnessing modern pietas, grieving mothers cradling
the remains of a lost son. Humanity requires deference to such grief
first and foremost. We are engaging Iraqis to develop ways to allow
access to the evidence of these crimes against humanity that does not
compromise the grief of a mother.

The CPA authorized Sloan and other US officials to help Iraqis exhume
their loved ones. The Abuse Protection Unit used approximately $300
dollars out of the score of small grants allotted them to buy shovels
and wheel barrels. This was received by the desperate Iraqis as a
godsend. They had hitherto been forced to use their bare hands,
kitchen utensils, and household buckets in the exhumation process.
Sloan confesses to be being equally overcome by the outpouring of
grief as well as the gratitude he witnessed.

These Iraqis are desperate that what happened to them be known so that
they get some vindication for what they suffered. This is why we
published the pamphlet on Mass Graves and have invited the survivors
to speak to you today.
---------------







You must have missed the OCEAN of good news out of Iraq.
Here it is. Dare you read it? Your fragile house of cards may
collapse...........



Good news from Iraq, 30 August 2005
by Arthur Chrenkoff at August 30, 2005 08:14 AM 

Note: Also available at "The Opinion Journal" and Chrenkoff. Many
thanks to James Taranto and Joe Katzman for providing the venues for
good news, and many thanks to all the readers and fellow bloggers who
support the series.

Maj. Joe Leahy, is a civil engineer with the 20th Engineer Brigade of
the Army National Guard. He has been stationed at Camp Victory,
outside of Baghdad, since November 2004 - enough time to get
frustrated:

"We all know it's a dangerous place. But the thing that I want people
to understand is that they only see those one or two instances in the
country that are negative. You don't really hear about the 100 things
that have gone good,"
says Maj Leahy. "One thing we've got to understand is that it's not
going to happen tomorrow, but we are doing something that's getting
better everyday."

Maj Leahy's good-bad ratio might be debatable, but enough servicemen
and women, as well as their families and friends back home, not to
mention general public, were getting frustrated lately with the media
coverage of Iraq to cause some limited, though still welcome,
soul-searching among major media outlets. Whether the coverage will
improve as a result remains to be seen, so in the meantime, here are
the last two weeks' worth of stories, at least some of them you might
have missed. 


Society

Economy

Reconstruction

Humanitarian Aid

The Coalition Troops

Security

SOCIETY:


Some Sunnis might not like the constitutional proposals, but that's
democracy. There's certainly nothing like a major political
disagreement to motivate people to engage in the political process:


Angered by Shiite calls for a federal region, Sunni clerics urged
followers... to vote against the constitution if it contains measures
they believe would divide the country... 
Iraq's three major Sunni organizations appeared to have taken a united
stand both for voting and against demands for federalism after they
boycotted the Jan. 30 parliamentary elections...

Sheik Mahmoud al-Sumaidaie, of the influential Sunni Association of
Muslim Scholars, told worshippers at Baghdad's Umm al-Qura mosque to
register for the upcoming votes because "we are in need to your voice
to say 'yes' for the constitution or 'no.'"

And such voices are growing louder and increasingly representative of
the whole Sunni community: 


The general conference of Sunnis in Iraq, which includes "the Sunni
Mortmain", "the Association of Muslim Scholars", "the Iraqi Islamic
Party", and a group of Sunni parties and organizations, was held in
Baghdad and has urged all Arab Sunnis to participate in the coming
elections. 
In his speech before hundreds of attendees, Ahmed Abdel Ghafur Al
Samera'i said, "Participating in the plebiscite on the constitution is
a prescribed duty for all Sunnis."

He added, "I swear to Allah that the greatest privilege, through which
you gain the love of Allah, is your efforts in participating in the
coming elections and gathering the Sunnis, hoping that Allah would
alleviate their suffering."

Alaa Maki, member of the political bureau in the "Iraqi Islamic
Party", has confirmed, "The party has suggested the provision of
cities of Sunni majority with additional lists, so that everyone would
be able to register their information in the electors and plebiscite
on the permanent constitution records."

He added, "We would enter the elections with a heavier weight than
some people imagine. We would continue in participating in the
political process side by side with the constituents of the Iraqi
people." He referred to the existence of some misunderstanding among
the political blocs, with regard to the elections' law and the
mechanism of executing them. He called all Imams and preachers to
direct and urge people to participate in the plebiscite on the
permanent constitution and participate in the coming elections. 
Here you can check out the flier being distributed by the Islamic
Party, convincing Sunnis that voting is a religious duty. What a
difference a few months can make. 


There's also a change of mind in this former trouble spot: "After
boycotting the previous elections, Falluja is preparing to participate
in the referendum on the constitution. Falluja's clerics council
advised the Imams of the mosques and the people not to miss this
historical chance and to take part in it through the four centers
opened there. Community leaders and clerics organized lectures to
educate the people about the importance of their participation and
that the constitution is for the interests of all Iraqis, which will
decide their identities." 



Here's more from Fallujah:


All indications showed that there is high percentage of people in the
regions that boycotted the last parliamentary elections are
registering their names to participate in the coming October
referendum and the general elections next January, Laith Kubba told
the press. 
In Fallujah, considered one of the major hotbed of Iraqi insurgency,
clerics of mosques called on the residents in the city to participate
in the constitution referendum scheduled to be held in mid October.

They urged the residents through loudspeakers to participate and say
"no" to those who want to isolate them from the political process.

The Iraqi Islamic Party, the largest Sunni party, also distributed
handouts calling on the people to participate the referendum. Many of
the residents showed support and desire to participate.

"I want to participate and I call on the people of the city to do so
because we do not want to let those who came from the other side of
the border to rule us again," said Mohammed Uthman, a government
employee.

"If we don't participate this time, it means we let the present
government to continue, and thus the real ruler would be the Iranians
and not the Iraqis," he added.
Four registration centers have now been open in Fallujah. 


Bizarrely, both the main Sunni terror group, Ansar Al Sunna, as well
as Shia radical Muqtada al Sadr, have been both calling on supporters
to register to vote in the constitution referendum. "[One] statement
issued by six of the seven Ansar groups promised that there will not
be attacks against Americans on the day of the referendum, 'to protect
those who go to vote.' 'Voting is a jihad of words and is no different
from the jihad of the sword,' the statement said. 'There are no
objections to participation in the referendum to show the world our
strength and to defeat federalism'." 



Registration of new enrollees is now in full swing: 


The Independent Supreme Commission for Elections has announced
launching more than 500 centers for registering electors in all Iraqi
cities. Farid Ayar, member of the commission council said in a
statement, "There are543 centers all over Iraq, of which 517 are
currently working regularly." He pointed out, "The necessary
protection has been provided for the working centers. There are 26
closed centers at present, due to the lack of sufficient security
protection."
USAID has been helping to bring the constitutional debate to the
people (link in PDF): "The Constitutional Dialogue program has
organized over 3,000 dialogues throughout Iraq, reaching almost 80,000
Iraqis who also shared their opinions through 64,000 questionnaires.
To date, 210 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have participated,
including 151 NGOs contracted by USAID and 59 NGOs working as
volunteers. Feedback indicates that the dialogues are achieving their
dual purpose; to educate and consult the public." 



In other recent USAID initiatives: 


Over the past month, USAID arranged for 18 experts to provide
assistance to the Iraqi National Assembly's (INA) Constitutional
Committee resulting in the production of 72 topical papers in Arabic
on issues including federalism, natural resource allocation, human
rights and electoral systems... 
The final constitutional dialogues were conducted last week, reaching
over 79,000 Iraqis in over 3,100 meetings...

USAID representatives organized a workshop to address the advantages
and disadvantages of various electoral systems.

USAID is also helping the growth of the local government throughout
Iraq: 


USAID's Local Governance Program (LGP) is promoting the organization
of Local Government Associations (LGAs) throughout Iraq. The LGAs will
act as lobbying and advocacy organizations to represent the interests
of the local government without having any authority to direct their
operations. Recent activities included: 
- A training session on the role of LGAs for 23 new members of an LGA
in Babil Governorate. LGA members met with the local INA office to
explain the role of LGAs and to present a list of issues related to
local government.

- In Karbala Governorate, LGP and LGA members met to map out
forthcoming activities and to plan a conference on the impending
Constitution to raise public awareness. On July 17 LGA members and the
LGP met with the Provincial Council (PC) to provide an update on
activities and to offer assistance. The LGA suggested providing
education and advocacy to the general public on the legal
responsibilities of the PC.

- The LGP presented training sessions on "Understanding Public
Services" for 36 LGA members-24 men and 12 women.

Some of the past wrongs are being righted:


Even a year ago, the dusty, rolling hills north of Kirkuk were largely
barren. But the horizon has changed rapidly in recent months with a
flurry of newly constructed cinder block homes dotting the hillsides. 
Thousands of returning Kurds have transformed pockets of land around
Kirkuk into small settlements - leading to the rebirth of villages
once emptied out by former dictator Saddam Hussein under his
"Arabization" plan to force out ethnic Kurds and Turkomen. 
In this village, 15 miles northeast of Kirkuk, hundreds of new houses
have sprouted since January because the flow of displaced Kurds
returning to the area has grown steadily since the U.S.-led ouster of
Saddam in 2003.

"We are starting from the beginning again," Mayor Abdul Samad Rahim
Karim said. "God willing, we will succeed in making Shwan better than
before."

The returnees are a legacy from Saddam�s era, when the Ba�athist Party
forcibly expelled tens of thousands of Kurds and Turkomen and replaced
them with Arabs from the south to consolidate government control over
oil resources and farmlands located in northern Iraq.

In other places, the Kurds� return, many to squatter camps around the
city, and their demands for restoration of their property have
provoked sharp protests from many Arabs as well as Turkomen in the
community.
In one of the other important aspects of dealing with the country's
dark past, the Ministry of Immigration is working to restore Iraqi
citizenships on people who have lost it or been stripped of it in the
past. And in civil society news, once banned, trade unions, too, are
reviving in Iraq. 



In entertainment news, two thousand hopefuls sign up for the Iraqi
Idol:


Many Iraqis already obsessively watch "American Idol", a version of
the original British "Pop Idol" franchise, and a glitzy Lebanese copy
called "Arab Superstar" on free-to-air Arabic satellite channels. 
But "Iraq Star" is a brave indigenous effort to perk up the spirits of
a depressed nation. The studio set is spartan and drab, and there is
no studio audience, though viewers are being promised tinseltown
touches when the finale is held in Beirut.

"We are trying to lighten the load and problems Iraqis are going
through," said director Wadia Nader during recording of an episode
this weekend in a Baghdad hotel.

"We had shows like this in the 1960s when people were discovered on
television. But since then, with so many wars, Iraqis couldn't see
this kind of thing," he added.

Another show entertains and helps fight the insurgency at the same
time: 


Shattered glass, body parts, a blood-splattered blue sedan: the grainy
video pans over the scene as Iraqi officers comb the site of a
drive-by assassination. 
It's "Cops" Iraqi-style, minus the "Bad Boys" soundtrack but otherwise
roughly modeled after the American TV show.

Created to make government more transparent, "The Cops Show" featuring
Kirkuk officers in action is the first of its kind in the country and
is breaking new ground in Iraqi television. A live call-in portion
gives the public the chance to praise the security forces or gripe
about them.

Screened weekly on Kirkuk Television, which broadcasts in this
northern city of nearly 1 million people, "The Cops Show" has opened
the floodgates in a community long suppressed.

"During Saddam Hussein's time, it was very different," station manager
Nasser Hassan Mohammed said. "You were unable to ask questions. You
couldn't say anything bad about police.

"Now people can call in directly. Anyone has the right to do this.
This is the difference now. This is freedom."

The call-in portion, initially a novelty, has become a staple of the
show, and panelists field up to 30 calls per segment, Mohammed said.
And because Kirkuk is ethnically mixed, the show switches among the
languages spoken by Kurds, Arabs, Turkomen or Assyrians.

It took Iraqis a while to master the art of the phone-in.

"But after more than a year, they understand very well," Mohammed
said.

There's also some much needed foreign help to preserve Iraqi
historical heritage:


Denmark, Italy and the United Nations have extended new grants to
preserve ancient sites in the southern Province of Dihqar, the
province�s deputy governor, Ahmad Ali, said. 
Dhiqar is home to some of Mesopotamia�s best-known ruins, among them
those belonging to the fabled Sumerian cities of Ur and Larsa.

�An agreement has been signed with the United Nations Development
program to maintain and develop archaeological and tourist sites in
the province,� Ali said.

He said Italy has allocated $450,000 for the construction of �a
cultural and information center in Nasiriya, the provincial capital.

Dhiqar, with an area of 12,900 km square, is a key southern province.
Besides its archaeological riches, the province is the site of major
oil fields.
ECONOMY: 


The International Monetary Fund report paints a picture of Iraq beset
by problems, but nevertheless with good prospects: 


Iraq is suffering from rampant inflation, endemic disease and falling
oil production, the International Monetary Fund said yesterday in its
first review of the country for 25 years. 
Nevertheless, Lorenzo Perez, the IMF director who oversaw the review,
said that in the medium term he was "quite optimistic" about the
country's prospects, although this will "depend on the level of oil
prices".

"It is easy to overlook that the establishment and maintenance of
relative macro-economic stability in the midst of violence is an
achievement in itself," he added.

The IMF said sweeping reforms were needed in almost every sector of
the economy, which is thought to have halved in size between 1999 and
2003, when the invasion occurred.

A formal agency will from now on chase the investment dollar for Iraq:


U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Andrew
Natsios and Iraq�s Minister of Planning signed an agreement in Amman,
Jordan, to establish the Iraq Investment Promotion Agency, which will
play a leading role in job creation and economic development for years
to come. 
The agreement commits USAID to equip the new agency�s staff and train
them in managing the organization and promoting investment. 

Support will be delivered through USAID�s Izdihar project, whose staff
had worked with the Government of Iraq to develop an investment
promotion strategy that culminated in the signed agreement.

With the creation of the Iraq Investment Promotion Agency, Iraq will
join the more than 160 other countries with similar agencies that
compete for approximately $7 trillion annually in foreign direct
investment worldwide. 

In addition, the work of the new agency will help expand the markets
for Iraq�s domestic products and services, stimulate economic growth
and create new jobs at home.

Some tentative steps towards privatization are being taken by the
authorities: 


The Ministry of Industry has set up a committee to register eight
major state-owned companies on the Baghdad Stock Exchange. 
A statement faxed to the newspaper did not say when these firms will
go public but stressed that the move will not be initiated until the
ministry works out guarantees that tens of thousands of employees that
will keep their jobs.

The committee is currently evaluating these companies and would advise
the ministry on the price and number of shares that will be available
to the public at the Baghdad exchange.

Taha Ismael, who heads a central commission charged with privatizing
of state-owned companies, said the move will cover four cement
factories, a pharmaceutical firm, and three construction enterprises.

�Employees will be given share options which they can buy and pay for
later,� he said.
USAID is helping to bring the Iraqi accounting profession into the
twenty first century: "Sixteen Iraqi accounting and auditing
professionals recently received international accounting standards
training in Amman, Jordan, as part of the Izdihar project. The sixteen
professionals, who are members of accounting and auditing
associations, university professors and industry practitioners, will
become the core group of trainers who will lead seminars for more than
300 accounting students and industry professionals in Iraq. During
more than a decade of isolation, Iraq lost touch with international
accounting standards, international financial reporting standards, and
ethical standards for accountants and requirements for typical modern
annual reporting for corporations. In order to address these needs,
the training of trainers program was developed to improve the skills
of Iraqi accountants, strengthen the accounting industry in Iraq and
enhance the accountability, transparency and usefulness of financial
documents used to make sound business management decisions." 



Kurdistan continues to boom: 


Fly into Arbil, the regional capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, and you feel
that you have arrived in another country. 
It is the Kurdish, not the Iraqi, flag that flutters from Arbil
International Airport, Kurdistan's new, glass-fronted "gateway" to the
world, which saw its first flights from Dubai, Beirut and Amman arrive
last month.

The airport was built on a former military base once used by Saddam
Hussein's regime to bomb the Kurds of Halabja.

Now it brings in investors. Businessmen, scared away from other parts
of Iraq, are coming to Kurdistan instead, and helping its economy to
take off.

"Before all we saw was war, and planes bombing our cities and
villages," says the airport manager, Kameran Murad, who fought against
the regime in the late 1980s.

"Now the aircraft are our link with the outside world. Everything is
changing."

Take the town of Suleimaniya. Its skyline is dotted with cranes.
Everywhere you look bulldozers are at work.

"Things are booming. The price of land is ridiculous. It's just going
up and up and up," says businessman Bettin Saleh, who has two shops in
a new mall.

"People have money, people are spending it, they feel it's safe to
spend - and build for the future."

And there's no shortage of labour, as Arab Iraqis head north to join
the Kurdish workforce.

"I'm here because it's dangerous where I'm from and there are no
jobs," says Aziz Abed Ali, from Baghdad. "Here it is safe and there is
work."

So does Najaf, thanks to religious tourism: 


Property prices in Najaf are being driven through the roof by the Shia
visitors who have flocked to its holy sites since the invasion of Iraq
by Coalition forces. 
Home to the shrine of Imam Ali, a cousin of the prophet Mohammed and a
revered figure in Shia Islam, Najaf is considered a top pilgrimage
site by members of the denomination.

These include millions living across the border in Iran, who were
unable to visit during the reign of Saddam Hussein.

The fall of his regime and accompanying thaw in relations between the
two countries has brought with it an influx of pilgrims. And there are
plans to spend 20 million US dollars on a new international airport
near Najaf, with the help of a low-interest loan from Iran.

At the same time, local real estate agents and entrepreneurs say they
are doing a roaring trade.

"Those experienced in religious tourism have started to buy land and
buildings in order to turn them into hotels and tourist villages,"
said Hussein Abdullah, who owns a real estate agency. "They expect
[that in the future] Iraq will be the focal point in the world."
Iraq's economic links with other countries keep expanding.
"International Finance Corporation (IFC) considered the possibility of
investing $210.3 million in the construction project of cement works
in Iraq with a productive capacity of 2.9 million tons per annum. Also
according to Russian analysis agency AK&M, IFC intends to participate
in the capital of new company by investing $8.3 million. The first
investment project in Iraq with participation of IFC was realized in
finance sector in November 2004 when IFC invested $35 million in the
capital of Credit Bank of Iraq." 


Baghdad Chamber of Commerce and its Swedish counterpart have signed an
agreement for the establishment of a joint chamber of commerce to
fester economic and other cooperation between the two countries. There
is also some input from other European countries: "A group of German
and European companies has asked the ministry of labor and social
affairs to employ 5278 unemployed workers to employ them in projects
that those companies planning to start in Iraq. The (RIRP)
group-companies have asked the ministry to provide them with workers
and the department of job finding in the ministry has started to
provide the needed numbers." 


Iraq's foreign debt, accumulated to a massive extent by Saddam, is
being progressively written off. The latest country to partially
forgive Iraq's debt is Romania, which has reduced the liability by 80
per cent, from $2.5 billion to $0.5 billion. Bulgaria, too, is writing
off $340 million of Iraq's debt, and extending the repayment of the
remainder 80 per cent over 20 years. 



In oil news, the oil production and exports continue to improve:


Iraq has stepped up oil production from its southern oilfields by
300,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 2.3 mln bpd, a spokesman for the
state-owned South Oil Company told Agence France-Presse. 
'Production from the southern oilfields has been increased to 2.3 mln
barrels per day from today,' said Samir Jassem Masquqi.

Southern Iraqi oil production was previously 2 mln bpd, of which 1.5
mln barrels were exported and the rest used for domestic consumption.

Iraq produces and exports from 450,000 to 550,000 bpd from its
northern oilfields.

Oil Minister Ibrahim Bahr al-Ulum said last week that oil exports and
revenue had reached their highest levels since March 2003, when US-led
forces invaded the country.

Crude exports rose 11 pct to 1.6 mln bpd in July, compared to 1.44 mln
barrels the month before.

Oil export revenues reached 2.5 bln dollars in July, Ulum said. 

In communications news: 


The Korean government has expressed its readiness to supply Iraq with
an internet system, of a capacity of 10000 subscribers as a test
system, in the field of the mutual cooperation between the two
countries. 
This came during the visit of Dr. Javan Fuad Masum, telecommunication
minister, to the Korean embassy, where she met the Korean ambassador
to Baghdad.

The ambassador expressed his hope for establishing a group of projects
relating to the field of telecommunications, including the development
of an ADSL system, in specific. He promised to provide Iraq with an
internet system, in addition to training 10 technicians in this field
in Korea. The ambassador has promised to bear the responsibility of
erecting and operating the Korean exchanges (Samsung brand), which
Iraq has been provided with earlier.

In transport news, air travel revives in Iraq: 


If there's one business that's quite literally taking off in Iraq
right now, it's air travel, with more and more Iraqis lining up to get
out of their troubled land, either for a break or forever. 
Since resuming flights a year ago after being grounded for 14 years by
sanctions, Iraqi Airways now operates 20 flights a week to
destinations like Amman, Damascus, Istanbul and Dubai.

Many are fully booked, producing a hectic scramble at Baghdad airport
when the gate is called, as desperate passengers clamber over one
another to get to the front of the line.

Routes to Beirut, Cairo, Saudi Arabia and Iran are expected to begin
in the coming weeks, and a flight to London from Basra or Baghdad is
on the cards for late September or October.

"The expansion is going very well," Captain Ali al-Bayaa, chief
executive of the airline and a former pilot, said on Thursday as he
oversaw operations at Baghdad's airport, possibly the most heavily
defended airfield in the world.

"We should have a flight starting to Cairo in the next 10 days, which
will be very popular," he said.

For 18 months after Saddam Hussein was toppled, the country remained
too dangerous for commercial airlines, with insurgents occasionally
firing shoulder-fired missiles at aircraft.

Then Royal Jordanian began a regular service to and from Amman,
employing South African pilots and air crew to fly the route, which
involves a dizzyingly tight spiral take-off and landing in Baghdad to
avoid the threat of rocket attack.

Now, two and a half years after Saddam's fall, there are half a dozen
airlines jetting in and out of Baghdad, supplying a rapidly growing
demand for air travel. At the same time, travel agencies are opening
up again after years of inactivity.

The first international flight has touched down in Basra:


The first international airline flight to land in the southern Iraqi
city of Basra in 15 years arrived here yesterday [22 August] receiving
a warm welcome from local officials. A Sharjah-based Phoenix Air
Boeing 747 arrived from Dubai with 22 passengers on board. The company
will begin two flights a week between Dubai and Basra, Iraq�s second
largest city, officials said. "Hopefully flights to Iraq will increase
from the region and the world," said Basra's governor Mohammed Al
Waili at the airport while greeting the arriving passengers. Since the
U.N. imposed economic sanctions in 1990 after Iraq invaded Kuwait, no
foreign airline has flown to Basra.
Iraqi authorities are now working to convert the Najaf airport from a
military to international use. Meanwhile, the first flight of Tigris
Air from Iraq touched down in Cairo. Flights between Iraq and Baku,
Azerbeijan, are being planned. And so are six flights a week between
Syria and Iraq. 



On the land, the specialists from the state railway company are
currently working on designs to link the Iraqi and the Iranian railway
networks. Speaking of railways, a major renovation effort is currently
underway across the country: 


Ninety-seven railway stations have been renovated by the Facilities &
Transportation (F&T) Sector of the Project & Contracting Office (PCO).
The $42 million railroad program has 28 more stations to complete. 
Forty-one of the completed stations are in northern Iraq throughout
the governorates of Salah al-Din, Ninewa and Tameem...

Reconstruction work included electrical work; plumbing, sanitation and
water delivery system upgrades; roof repairs; installation or repair
of air conditioning units; and interior renovations such as painting,
plaster and tile work.

There are two main types of railway stations under renovation:
five-room crew stations used only by railway workers, and nine-room
passenger stations for use both by railway passengers and railway
workers, according to the PCO. Of the 97 railway stations to be worked
on by the PCO, approximately 22 are passenger stations; the rest are
crew stations only. 

Currently the railway works out to be about 30 percent passenger use
and 70 percent freight use.

The railway stretches from southern to northern Iraq, approximately
1,260 miles of track, with railway stations appearing about every 15
miles.

One of the major stations under renovation is Baghdad Station,
currently scheduled for completion by early December 2005. Other
projects currently under construction include train maintenance and
repair shops in Kirkuk, Al-Samawa and Baiji, with another one planned
in Baghdad.

Station renovation work is a joint effort between PCO, the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Iraqi Republic Railroads (IRR) and
local Iraqi workers.
RECONSTRUCTION: 


In Baghdad, major telecommunications infrastructure will be undergoing
rebuilding and renovation: 


As of October 1, works would start on rehabilitating what has been
destroyed, during the bombing with American planes and rockets, of the
telecommunication building and tower in Al Ma'moun region, west of
Baghdad, or what has been known as "Saddam Tower" before April 9,
2003. 
An Iraqi company would be in charge of the reconstruction, while a
European company from Luxemburg would set the new designs for this
building, which is considered as one of the most prominent landmarks
of Baghdad, according to Javan Ma'sum, Iraqi telecommunications
minister.

The minister added that the cost of rehabilitating the building and
the tower reaches 20 million dollars, which are designated from the US
aid to Iraq. She pointed out that a celebration would be held in
Baghdad on this occasion, where the start of works that would totally
depend on Iraqi expertise, would be announced.

Ma'sum noted that the design of the building and tower would be
totally changed, where modernization and touches that reflect the
Iraqi prospective of the project are domineering.

She said that the whole telecommunication building in Al Senk region,
on Al Rasheed Street in Baghdad, would be knocked down, to be rebuilt
later this year. This is due to the fact that the ministry experts
found out that the overhauling and rehabilitation of the building
would be more expensive than rebuilding it.

She noted that Spain has promised to provide with the necessary
finance for establishing a new exchange, with a high capacity to serve
subscribers, in Al Diwaneya province (170 km south of Baghdad).
Italy is contributing to the reconstruction of the south: "Italy has
allocated 2.18 million euros [$2.68 million] for development in Iran's
southern Nasiriya province, where most of the Itaiy's 3,000-stong
military contingent in Iraq is based. 'The funds will be used in
Nasiriya and surroundings for several projects in the fields of
health, education, drinkable water and infrastructures, including
roads, sport facilities and the sewage system,' Ahmad al-Shaykh Ali,
the deputy governor of Dhi Qar region - under whose jurisdiction
Nasiriya falls - told Adnkronos International (AKI). The project areas
will jointly identified by the Italian army and the regional council."


Judicial infrastructure is also rising up: "Construction is complete
on phase one of the $865,000 Basrah courthouse project. This
five-phase project is expected to be complete in October. The main
courthouse, expected to hold a number of high profile trials,
continues to operate during construction. Iraqi subcontractors are
working on the project, and employing an average of 70 local Iraqi
workers daily." 



The clean-up of Iraq continues: 


Rakan Ahmed Al Allaf, director of the general municipalities'
administration in the ministry of municipalities and general works
said, "Al Wehda municipality has lifted 1800 tons of garbage, 1400 m3
of debris, 100 tons of wastes and has filled up 150 m3 of swamps. 
He added Al Zohur municipality has lifted 840 tons of garbage, 500 m3
of debris and 40 tons of wastes, and has paved streets, filled up
swamps with earth and finished the municipality building." He pointed
out, "Al Jisr municipality has lifted the garbage and debris, which
were accumulated in (101, 102, 103, 104 and 105) sites and Al Ta'mim
district. It has lifted 1750 tons of garbage, 350 tons of debris, and
40 tons of wastes. It has also pulled the still rain water. Al
Yousefeya municipality has lifted 125 tons of garbage and 30 m3 of
debris, and has cleaned 2500 meters of roads. In Al Rashedeya
municipality, the districts of Al Zahra and Al Bad'a districts have
been cleaned in addition to Al Naheya region. Gardens, parks and
platforms have also been maintained."

Al Allaf pointed out, "These municipalities managed to collect the
rents of its real estate, lifted many violations over its lands,
committed dust and stone operations in various districts to Iraqi
contractors and companies to execute them."

USAID's Community Action Programme is helping local communities to
carry out projects that benefit their neighborhoods: 


USAID's Community Action Program (CAP) helped a community in Maysan
Governorate rehabilitate its sports stadium. The 15,000 person stadium
was built in 1959 and regularly hosted soccer and track and field
competitions. However, during the war between Iraq and Iran, the
stadium was used as an Army arsenal and was severely damaged during a
bombardment, resulting in the closing of the facilities. CAP
contracted the rehabilitation and the community association organized
sports tournaments among the surrounding schools as part of its
contribution towards this project. The stadium was handed over to the
Directorate of Youth and Sports in May at an opening ceremony that
drew many spectators and participants. The project is expected to
benefit over 2,000 people. 
A Baghdad area kindergarten was rebuilt with CAP assistance. The
kindergarten was in a state of complete disrepair, making it almost
impossible for teachers to gauge the educational and emotional
development needs of the children. Classrooms were dark and damp and
all furniture was broken. Parent and community association members in
the area stressed to USAID the need to improve the facilities. The
project was completed on May 4 and included the complete
rehabilitation of the premises. The classrooms are now well lit,
clean, and equipped with modern equipment. This project will benefit
204 pre-school children.

CAP helped a community in At Tamim governorate pave its sidewalks
around the town center. Most of the roads are not paved in this town
in the southwest of the governorate causing flooding and muddy
conditions. With paved sidewalks, people can move freely in their town
and a heavy rainfall will not cause a local catastrophe.
The Iraqi authorities, in cooperation with the United Arab Emirates
are planning some health-related projects: "A medical city and a
faulty of medicine would be established in Al Sadr city, and the
Emirati authorities would start establishing a medical city in Al Sadr
city, which would include 4 big hospitals, laboratories and a faculty
of medicine. The construction of the two hospitals in Thi Qar and Al
Selaimania would start at the same time. He specified the achievement
date by a period of less than two years." Another two hospitals will
be established with the American support in Maisan province. 



Meanwhile, the authorities are setting up mobile medical centers to
provide care in areas of Baghdad with insufficient health
infrastructure: 


In coordination with a number of humanitarian, Baghdad health
department has established medical centers and camps in some poor
districts in Baghdad to offer medial assistance for the residents of
these regions, which suffer from the spread of epidemics and diseases,
due to the contamination of water and the lack of health services. Dr.
Ahmed Al Zubeidi confirmed that these centers offer examinations and
medical supplies for poor modest families in the regions of Al Dawra,
Al Amel district, Al Baya', Sowaib, Al Radwaneya, and other regions,
where there are no centers or hospitals for treating patients, and
epidemics and diseases have spread due to the poor health services. He
added that the mobile medical center includes more than five doctors
of various specialties, who offer their medical services to patients.
Each center or clinic can accommodate more than 600 patients. He
pointed out that the majority of cases received in the center are
children's and elders' diseases, in addition to the wounded.

And Great Britain is involving its private sector in an effort to help
train Iraqi medical personnel: 


The government will today [25 August] invite the private sector to
compete with the NHS for a contract to help rebuild the health service
in Iraq. 
About 50 medical teams will be invited to come to Britain over the
next two years to update their skills. But, in a sign of the times,
ministers think this assistance need not necessarily be provided by
the flagship hospitals of the NHS.

They publish tender documents today for a "suitably qualified
organisation or consortium" to arrange the clinical training at an
expected cost of up to �5m. Aid for healthcare in Iraq has been
directed at rebuilding hospitals and clinics. But discussions with
Iraqi officials have identified upgrading skills as the most
productive assistance.

The teams that come to Britain will be expected to become "change
agents" to spread reform on their return.

In education news, improvements in schools continue: 


More than 600 children will return to renovated or rebuilt schools in
Maysan province when school starts this fall. This week, renovation on
the Al-Eethnar Mud School was completed, and the Al Eethar Mud School
was replaced at a cost of $87,000, benefiting 500 students who attend
classes there. Eight newly built schools in Wassit and Babil provinces
are receiving new furniture before the start of the school year. Each
of the school projects will receive office desks and chairs, file
cabinets and new student desks. Collectively, 400 three-student desks
will be proportionally divided among the schools, based upon the
number of students.
In other news, "Dr. Abdel Falah Hassan Al Sudani, education minister,
confirmed that the ministry has decided to establish four model
schools in each province. He added that these schools would be similar
to Baghdad College, upon technical and scientific specifications. He
added that the ministry is currently coordinating with international
authorities and humanitarian organizations for the purpose of
including a great number of schools in several Iraqi regions. The
minister pointed out that the ministry is currently establishing more
than 400 schools, upon new engineering and constructional criteria." 



USAID's Higher Education and Development (HEAD) program is helping to
build ties between American and Iraqi universities to help rebuild the
country's higher education system. Among the recent initiatives:


A fifth Iraqi archaeology student has arrived at the State University
of New York's Stony Brook (SUNY/SB) campus. His English skills are in
need of significant improvement but should improve during English
training in the summer and fall semesters to be able to progress into
the M.A. program in Archaeology in the Spring 2006 semester... 
On July 2, the International Human Rights Law Institute (IHRLI) at
DePaul University's College of Law and the School of Law at a northern
Iraqi university hosted the opening of newly renovated law library
facilities...

A soil sciences laboratory has been set up at a central Iraqi
university with the assistance of the HEAD program's Al Sharaka
partnership, a cooperative effort between five Iraqi Universities and
a consortium of American universities led by the University of
Oklahoma...

Three boxes of learning materials arrived recently for distribution at
two Colleges of Agriculture and Forestry at northern Iraqi
universities. 

Electrical projects are progressing across the country: 


More reconstruction projects in Sadr City started this week, including
a $13 million electrical distribution project. When the project is
complete, an estimated 128,000 more people will have a reliable source
of electricity. The project includes installation of power lines,
3,040 power poles, 80 transformers, 2,400 street lights, and power
connections to individual homes, complete with meters. Construction
started on the $3.8 million Al Rayash Electricity Substation project
in the Al Daur district of Salah Ad Din province, located between
Tikrit and Bayji. The project, expected to be complete in early
December, will provide reliable service to 50,000 Iraqi homes and
small businesses. An electric distribution and street lighting project
in Daquq was completed on Aug. 17, providing new overhead distribution
lines and street lighting in the community.
Meanwhile, the construction of electricity system in Fallujah is now
90 per cent complete and should be finished by mid-September. And Iran
will be selling 600 power generators to Iraq. 


Work continues on various water projects in Salahedin province:
"Engineer Ghazi Naji, assistant of the water general manager in the
ministry of municipalities and public works said that the works have
included repairing broken pipes of various diameters in Biji, Al Dur,
Al Tuz and maintaining and repairing the pipes, pulling stations,
control panels, washing pumps, filters, and chlorine devices in the
water projects of Biji, Al Dur, Al Tuz and Al Sherqat."


Meanwhile, in the capital: "About 2 million people will benefit from
the Baghdad trunk sewer line, which was completed this week. Workers
cleaned and repaired the Baghdad trunk sewer line and its associated
manholes and pumping stations. The $17.48 million project restored
principal sewage collection elements in the Adhamiya, Sadr City and
Nissan districts of Baghdad, and will provide for the intended sewer
flows to the Rustamiya wastewater treatment plant." 


And in Basra: "Two million dollars of Iraq Reconstruction Program
money was released to purchase electrical equipment for a Pump Station
to upgrade Basra Sweetwater Canal system. This pump station will
supply a constant and reliable source of water for two million Iraqis
in Basra and the surrounding area."


Also: "The Ministry of Environment announced a project to control the
quality of the drinking water for Iraq, which is aided by the World
Health Organization. Nahla Hatim, manager of the project, said the
cost of the project, which includes laboratory work and installing
laboratories for environmental tests, is $2 million and will help out
in protection of the environment and the water resources." 


USAID is promoting the best agricultural practice throughout the
country: "The Agriculture Reconstruction and Development for Iraq
(ARDI) program�s recent winter crop demonstration showed that the
modernized farming methods used produced crop yields that were an
average of 48 percent higher than fields planted using traditional
methods. Under the program, ARDI and the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA)
planted 40 demonstration areas on the fields of cooperating farmers in
Sulaymaniyah, Arbil, and Da-huk. Each area contained two one-hectare
plots; one planted using traditional practices and the other using
modernized practices... A total of 1,219 farmers and agriculture
students participated in the field days." 



In other recent USAID initiatives: 


Tomato farmers are harvesting higher yields thanks to improved
technologies learned under the Open Field Tomato Demonstration
initiative of USAID's Agriculture Reconstruction and Development for
Iraq (ARDI) program. For the demonstrations, ARDI established plots in
Baghdad, Diyala and Babylon governorates on which they introduced drip
irrigation, black plastic mulch, and fertilization. With the Ministry
of Agriculture, USAID representatives monitored the plots and helped
participating farmers control tomato pests... 
A new sustainable fodder project in Wasit governorate will help
livestock breeders improve the health and productivity of their sheep
flocks. The project, which is sponsored by the ARDI program, focuses
on farmers who tend flocks of 30 to 150 head of sheep, providing them
with fodder for temporary relief and training in fodder production...

An ARDI program to improve buffalo calving rates through hormone
treatments is showing positive results. The program is being
implemented in Baghdad, Muthanna and Dhi Qar governorates where
buffalo sometimes do not enter estrus during the hot season because of
climactic stress, and may not successfully mate or produce milk.

A Connecticut man, meanwhile, has been working to revive Iraqi
bee-keeping:


Hundreds of honeybees swarm around the 3-foot-high wooden hive in the
suburban backyard at 33 Kettle St. 
Flying in and out of narrow slits in the box-like structure, they form
a buzzing cloud around Andrew Cote, who is trying to avoid being stung
a seventh time.

"Mother of God," he says, his deadpan voice belying the pain of the
sixth sting.

Cote has at least two stings on his underarms and one on his lower
back, areas not covered by the mesh hood he donned minutes ago, as the
bees became more agitated. "I got twice as many stings today as I did
in two months in Iraq."

The 34-year-old Norwalk native returned on Aug. 11 from an aid mission
to Iraq, where he spent the summer sharing his knowledge of bees and
pollination with Iraqi farmers and beekeepers.

During the trip, sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International
Development, heavily armed guards swarmed around him as he traveled
from city to city in a convoy of armored vehicles.

With estimates that as much as 80 percent of everything humans eat
depends on pollination by bees, Cote said, restoring and improving
agriculture in the war-ravaged country depends heavily upon the men,
and a few women, who Cote helped train during his 10-week trip.

A new survey will help Iraq better manage its scarce water resources:


Ministry representatives met to discuss the progress of the Strategy
for Water and Land Resources in Iraq. 
All participating ministries are collecting data relevant to water and
land use, including hydrologic and hydro geologic information, water
quality and crop-water requirements. This data will be used to analyze
specific interventions and strategy priorities...

The Strategy for Water and Land Resources in Iraq will serve as the
first inclusive planning document for Iraq�s water sector since 1982.
Through the planning process the Iraqi government will determine the
availability of water resources. The strategy will then enable
coordination between ministries and governorates to allocate those
water resources. The strategy will also provide a foundation for
continued restoration of the Southern Marshlands, and provide the
Iraqi government with a strong position when negotiating international
water treaties with its neighbors.

Speaking of marshlands, more good news for the southern marshlands and
wetlands once drained by Saddam as punishment for their rebellious
inhabitants: 


The Iraqi water minister Abd al-Latif Jamal Rashid has given the go
ahead to an ambitious plan to build modern villages around the lakes
in the south of the country and turn them into tourist areas.
Announcing the plan, the ministry's spokesman told Adnkronos
International (AKI): "the ministry has confirmed the start of work on
different projects in those areas, with the financial and technical
support of the US government in the context of the donation made to
the Iraqi government," amounting to 450 million dollars. It follows an
announcement last week by the water ministry that the Treasury had
agreed to increase the money earmarked for the relaunch of the
marshlands in the south of the country to 300 billion Iraqi dinars
(one US dollar is roughly the equivalent of 1,470 Iraqi dinars). This
money will also be used to carry out the projects to develop the
lakes, which will be re-filled using fluvial channels.

As to the marshes themselves: 


The ancient Iraqi marshlands drained by Saddam Hussein as punishment
against their occupants are back to almost 40 percent of their former
level, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said on
Wednesday. 
In a rare good news story for Iraq, Nairobi-based UNEP said latest
satellite imagery showed a 'phenomenal' recovery rate for the southern
marshlands, back to almost 3,500 square km after dwindling to just 760
in 2002...

UNEP said the marshlands totalled almost 9,000 square kilometres in
the 1970s � one of the world's largest wetlands with rare species like
the Sacred Ibis bird.

While satellite images showed wetland cover back to nearly 40 percent
of that in August, the figure was closer to 50 percent back in the
Spring thanks to winter rains and snow melt in the headwaters of the
Tigris and Euphrates, UNEP said.

'The new satellite imagery shows a rapid increase in water and
vegetation cover over the last two years,' it added in a statement.
'While more detailed field analysis of soil and water quality is
needed to gauge the exact state of rehabilitation, UNEP scientists
believe the findings are a positive signal that the Iraqi marshlands
are well on the road to recovery.'

Toepfer, however, warned that full reflooding would still take 'many
years' and must be carefully nurtured.

With foreign assistance, Iraqi environmental specialists are getting
trained:


A Lab Technician training course to be held in Amman, Jordan, in early
September is being planned for technicians from Iraq�s five regional
Environmental Health Education Resource Centers (EHERC). 
The course is being sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID) Higher Education and Development (HEAD) program
which supports a partnership between the State University of New York
at Stony Brook (SUNY/SB) and several Iraq universities to build
capacity for teaching and research in environmental health...

Workshop topics include training on equipment for soil, water, and
lead testing; and the operation of air pollution monitoring equipment.
<HUMANITARIAN AID: 


United Nations World Food Programme is helping Iraq's most vulnerable
and needy: 


Support to Vulnerable groups - A total of 21,576 mt of commodities
(7,781 mt High Energy biscuits, 5,791 mt wheat flour, 3,166 mt
vegetable oil and 4,838 mt pea/wheat blend) have so far been
dispatched into Iraq under WFP's current emergency operation 10360.0. 
Distributions so far amount to about 14,946 mt of the total dispatched
commodities benefiting 1,324,740 beneficiaries. The present security
situation continues to affect the overland transport of food into
Iraq.

Food for education - Preparations are underway to preposition the High
Energy Biscuits and vegetable oil for the children when the schools
re-open in September after the end of the summer holidays.

During the last school year about 8,886 mt ( 7,781mt of HEB and 1,105
mt of veg. oil) have been delivered into various schools in Iraq with
approximately 5,201mt of High Energy Biscuits and 806 mt of vegetable
oil distributed under school feeding activities benefiting 806,558
school children...

Vulnerable Group Feeding - A total of 12,690 mt of various commodities
including Wheat Flour, Vegetable Oil and Pea-Wheat blended food have
been delivered into Iraq with 8,939 mt having been distributed to
518,182 beneficiaries.

A charity is helping Iraq's disabled:


Free Wheelchair Mission recently shipped a container of 550
wheelchairs to the port of Shuwaikh, Kuwait in a momentous
humanitarian mission to aid Iraq's disabled and poor. United States
Military Major Glenn Rubalcava, Public Health Officer stationed in
Kuwait City, coordinated the compassionate effort through the
Humanitarian Operations Center (HOC) located in Kuwait. 
Both the Iraqi and Kuwaiti governments waived import fees for all the
humanitarian aid that involved the HOC. The wheelchairs were convoyed
from Kuwaiti to Iraqi military bases and then were picked up from the
military bases by civilian contractors. The civilian contractor
transportation companies then delivered the wheelchairs from the
military bases to their final destinations throughout five
geographical locations in Iraq. Wheelchairs were distributed to camps,
hospitals, clinics, and orphanages throughout the country. 

200 wheelchairs were distributed to the British and Polish sector
(southern Iraq), which includes An-Najaf, Ad-Diwaniyah, An-Nasirayah
and Al-Basrah. 300 wheelchairs went to the Iraqi Assistance Center
(IAC) in Baghdad. They will distribute to Civil Affair units in
Fallujah, Ramadi, Baghdad, and Samarra.
Iraqi authorities will be constructing three major housing complexes
for Iraqi refugees who chose to return home. 



The good work of one Colorado business continues to bring cheer to
Iraqi schoolchildren: 


A small girl, not much older than 6 or 7, struggled with a math lesson
at her school northeast of Baghdad, Iraq. 
The subject was not the reason for the girl's frustration; she was
equipped with only a broken pencil and a few pieces of paper.

A U.S. soldier visiting the school in the Diyala province of eastern
Iraq saw the students' dilemma and decided to do something about it.

"I was very sad for her because she reminded me of my daughter, and I
wanted to do as much as I could to help these children," said Army
Spec. Steven Wilkerson.

The young soldier, a member of the Army's "Battle Boar" 1st Battalion,
Googled for help.

EZ School Supplies, based in the Denver West Office Park in Golden,
popped up on the Internet search engine. In May, Wilkerson e-mailed
the company to see if it would donate some school supplies.

"The local schools do not have funds to purchase supplies, as they are
very impoverished," Wilkerson wrote for his commander, Lt. Col. Roger
Cloutier.

Officials of EZ School Supplies, a company formed just two years ago
by a 2000 graduate of Golden High School, were excited by the request.

The rest in history: 


EZ partners with the Learning Legacy Foundation, which specializes in
providing supplies to underprivileged students. 
Tapping into that connection, EZ sent 35 packs of pencils, paper,
erasers and folders to the 1st Battalion's 30th Infantry, which is
serving a 12- to 14-month tour in Iraq.

Students who received the first shipment got "very excited and are
extremely happy," wrote Wilkerson, who responded by sending photos of
smiling schoolchildren.

Other actions to help Iraqi children are also bearing fruit: 


A request for assistance for children in Iraq sent home from a 36th
Division soldier has generated overwhelming response, according to a
member of his family. 
"The response has been almost overwhelming," Charles Snow, the
grandfather of SPC Adam Gregory, said Thursday. "We are extremely
grateful for all the donations."

Gregory's letter was quoted in a Brownwood Bulletin story published
Aug. 6.

A deadline of Friday, Aug. 26 has been set for the donations so they
can be boxed for shipment to Iraq.

Gregory has been stationed in Iraq since January, and he said he has a
special feeling for the children.

Snow said some donations of adult shoes have been received, but
children's items are especially sought. Even used shoes are
acceptable, if they are clean. Cash donations will be used to pay
postage for shipping.
See the story for details if you can help. 


A joint Iraqi-American effort is also helping children: "Children in a
village of Tamim province received school supplies, clothing and toys
from the Nahrain Foundation, a nongovernmental organization that
focuses on providing proper nutrition, decent clothing and medical
supplies to Iraqi women and children. The foundation received its
supplies as part of a joint effort between American donations and a
coalition forces-run program known as 'Operation Provide School
Supplies,' which accepts donations from private citizens and
corporations in the United States." 


And Mennonite Central Committee is helping Iraqi schoolchildren: "MCC
is shipping 4,200 relief kits and 24,000 school kits to Iraq, which
continues to be troubled by violence and instability. The relief kits
will be distributed to Iraqis who have been displaced to camps by
urban warfare, and the school kits will be distributed to children in
low-income neighborhoods of Baghdad. The total value of the shipments
is $442,000 Cdn./$360,000 U.S." 



Meanwhile, Louisiana shows that it has a heart: 


In bringing a young Iraqi to this country for a critically needed
operation, Tulane University's medical center and Louisianians serving
in Iraq are showing that this country has a big heart. 
An 8-year-old Iraqi boy will undergo surgery at Tulane to repair a
hole in his heart.

Operation Mend a Heart was inspired by one of our own, Lt. Col. Mark
Matthews of Denham Springs, who recently returned from a nine-month
tour of duty in Iraq.

Earlier this year, Matthews, while stationed at U.S. Central Command
in Qatar, helped arrange for a 5-year-old Iraqi girl and her father to
be transported to this country so she could undergo heart surgery at
Maine Medical Center in Portland. The surgery was completed
successfully in February.

Matthews' wife, Toni, a surgical nurse, nicknamed that effort
"Operation Have a Heart to Save a Heart." It's now evolved into a
joint project of the U.S. military, Tulane Hospital and Clinic and
Tulane Health Sciences Center.

"It is a project of the heart," Mark Matthews said.

The Chicago Rotarians are also helping: 


Ali Ayad is only 9, yet he wears a colostomy bag and has a heart
filled with holes. He lives in Baghdad in a single room of a small
house shared by 16 other people. He arrived Monday at O'Hare Airport
after 25 hours of travel. Yet, many could learn something from Ali,
who refused a wheelchair as he walked onto American soil for an
operation that could change his life... 
Ali and Masuma Hmod, 11 months old, both from Iraq, are in Chicago for
surgeries to correct a congenital heart defect known as tetralogy of
Fallot...

Ali and Masuma are being sponsored by the Rotary Club's Gift of Life
program. It helps bring children from developing countries to modern
health-care facilities, said Dr. George Harris, a local Rotary
official and a pediatrician at Advocate Hope Children's Hospital in
Oak Lawn, where the two youngsters' surgeries are to be performed.

The Iraqi-American Association of Illinois was a primary donor for the
children's trip. Other donors include Rotary Clubs in Hinsdale and
Orland Park and 10 Roman-Catholic churches.

Rotarians donated nearly 500,000 frequent-flier miles to buy tickets
for the children and their companions: Ali's aunt, Nadia Murzoq;
Masuma's mother and two Iraqi physicians who are accompanying them,
Abdul Raheem Daoud and Mohammad Jassim Hassan Ali Nassir.

There will be more help for Iraqi patients, thanks to this initiative:


Next month, an international medical team consisting of 60 specialists
in cardiac surgery and the technology of operations' equipments would
arrive in Iraq for erecting a field station to conduct such surgeries
for several Iraqi citizens who are suffering from heart diseases and
the current events are hindering executing such operations. Sheikh Ali
Al Ka'bi, director of the Emirati Red Cross in Iraq, said in a
statement that the team would include global surgeons from all over
the world and specialists in equipments and anesthesia. The field
hospital would be established to execute heart operations in Ibn Al
Bitar Hospital in Al Karkh region in Baghdad.
<THE COALITION TROOPS: 


The troops are active on the ground in Diyala province:


Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry, Task Force Liberty are
working with the people of the Diyala Province to build schools,
improve the water supply, pave roads and rebuild their local
government. 
Coalition Soldiers are providing Iraqis with money to improve their
way of life and, in order to ensure projects in the Diyala Province
are progressing on schedule, Soldiers conduct routine checks of these
sites.

The work the Soldiers are doing is helping to rebuild the city
services, said 1st Lt. Jeremy Krueger, civil-military operations
officer for Task Force 1-30, and native of Pensacola, Fla.

"I think the projects in our [area of operations] are important," said
Krueger. "What we are doing is improving the infrastructure for this
whole area that has been torn down over the last several years. It�s
helping the population immensely. It is providing new schools for
them, new roads, new water projects, water supplies that they have
never had and also some of the projects are businesses that are going
to provide some revenue for the area."

The unit is still working on developing more projects in order to
better the area, said Sgt. Maj. Matthew J. West, civil-military
operations sergeant major for Task Force 1-30 and a native of Dallas,
Texas.

We have 83 projects that have been submitted or are currently
underway, West said.

According to Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, reconstruction of Fallujah is
going well: 


Reconstruction is seeing some "amazing" progress, Lynch pointed out. 
"Last November, there were significant military operations in
(Fallujah)," he said. "By this November we will have completed 438
projects totaling $71.3 million and will continue the progress with an
additional 19 projects worth over $65 million after the elections."

The people of Fallujah, he said, have reliable access to electricity
and water, and can send their children to one of the 49 schools now
open. Fallujans also will soon have their own TV and radio station.

The troops continue to work on important water infrastructure
projects: 


In Iraq, where even water that comes from the tap could be
contaminated with chemicals or sewage seeping into the ground, clean
water is the most basic need of people throughout the country. 
While there is an adequate supply of bottled water, water for cooking,
cleaning and bathing is a precious commodity. In many cases, wells
have not been dug deep enough to go below the contaminated ground
water.

Under the $18 billion Iraq Reconstruction Program, 184 public works
and water projects are planned, including 158 water treatment
facilities, two sewage treatment plants and 11 water resource
projects. The Corps of Engineers and Project Contracting Office
program contracts the work out to local laborers, with the Corps of
Engineers Gulf Region District overseeing the construction.
Read about some of the projects currently on the way, for example: "A
massive $125 million water treatment plant in Ifraz will pump treated
water about 20 miles southeast to the more than 900,000 residents of
the city of Irbil." 



In other recent water-related projects financed and overseen by the
military: 


Officials from [Iraq and the United States] also signed a charter to
detail plans to bring much-needed projects to the people of
Husseiniya, an agricultural town north of Baghdad whose population
boomed during the previous regime. Coalition Forces are working with
the Ministry of Municipalities and Public Works to build storm
drainage projects, water-quality improvements, and most importantly,
sewage treatment facilities. The Husseiniya Charter is the first of
its kind in the area, and will serve as the test-bed and guide for
other projects in impoverished areas in and around Baghdad... Iraqi
workers in Baghdad finished the $3.6M Al Amari Water Distribution
project this week. The project can produce approximately 250 cubic
meters of potable water daily and service about 2,000 families in the
Al Amari and 9-Nissan areas of Baghdad.

The troops are also building roads:


The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region South District (GRS) has
been working on modern asphalt roads in Najaf to facilitate
agriculture sales and to provide better routes to village schools and
hospitals. 
�GRS is currently managing the construction of two village road
projects in the Najaf Province,� said Art Bennett, GRS Transportation
and Communication Sector project manager. �The roads serve small
villages and local industries � in this case, cement and gypsum
plants. The second project, or segment, parallels the Euphrates
River.�

Bennett said that segment one � the Alhaydariya village road - is
about 15 kilometers long and costs $1.2 million. The contract was
modified and extended to move power poles away from the shoulder of
the road, and to create that shoulder. The modifications also included
the shoring up of water pipelines that were unsupported off the side
of the road. The additional money is $18,000. He added that the
project is 40 percent complete. Total cost of the project with the
modifications is $1.3 million.

Segment two, the Al-Cement factory village road, is about seven
kilometers long at $337,697. Also modified because of power pole and
water pipe issues, the additional allocated money is about $12,000. It
is about 38 percent complete. Total cost of the project is about
$348,000.

�The intent of these projects is to provide paved roads for everyday
use by the local population,� said Bennett.

Work on water infrastructure also continues: 


Three governorates will be receive upgrades in treated potable water,
according to an announcement August 18 by a team of Iraqi and U.S.
government entities. 
From the $18.4 billion allocated for the total Iraq Reconstruction
Program, about $3 million is budgeted for bringing treated potable
water to approximately 25,000 Iraqi citizens in the Dahuk, Babylon and
Wassit Governorates. The projects will upgrade 15 systems, each
including water wells, compact potable water treatment plants and
pumps.

The contracts were competed and awarded to local Iraqi contractors,
with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) providing quality
assurance oversight. Each of the 15 sites will employ approximately 20
Iraqi laborers on a daily basis.

The work will also train local operators on site in the technology and
maintenance of the water systems. Completion dates for the 15 projects
vary, but all are scheduled to be finished by January 2006.

Army surveyors are also laying groundwork for future reconstruction
and infrastructure expansion: 


The weight of their body armor combined with the strain of having to
lift a jackhammer over their heads makes their arms quiver like jello.
Sweat pours down their faces and burns their eyes, but they won�t stop
now. They can�t. 
One after another, they connect four-foot stainless steel rods
together and drive them further below the surface of the earth.
Thirteen rods and 52 feet later, the rods refuse to be driven any
further.

The engineers assigned to Multinational Corps-Iraq then cover the
exposed tip of the rod with a custom access cover and insert a
fluorescent orange sign to indicate the location is ready to be
surveyed.

The team of U.S. and British Army geodetic surveyors has successfully
established another reference point along the road to reconstruction
in Iraq, one of many in the first Iraqi Geospatial Reference System
that identifies geospatial locations using names or numeric
coordinates.

Coalition and Iraqi engineers use the data collected by Iraqi
Geospatial Reference System to create accurate maps of Iraq and safely
rebuild the country�s roads, bridges and pipelines.

�Establishing a geospatial reference system is the first and most
crucial step to reconstructing Iraq,� said U.S. Army Sgt. Motaz
Mostafa, noncommissioned officer-in-charge of one of six Multinational
Corps-Iraq geodetic survey teams and assigned to the 175th Engineer
Company, 20th Engineer Brigade, Fort Bragg, N.C.

The joint coalition team began working on the project in April, which
is modeled on the National Spatial Reference System in the United
States.

Geospatial reference systems have already proven to be quite effective
in helping the United States and several other countries in Central
and South America, Africa and Eastern Europe recover from natural
disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes. War-torn
countries like Iraq require the same geospatial reconstruction, said
U.S. Army 1st Lt. Kenneth Joyce, Iraqi Geospatial Reference System
project leader assigned to the175th Engineer Company. 

The troops are working on Iraqi hospitals:


U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region South District estimates a
Dec. 25 completion of a refurbishment and renovation project for the
Najaf Maternity Hospital. 
Engineers report the $8.2 million project is 30 percent finished.

The project began Oct. 25, 2004.

Renovations include a new sewage system, a new boiler for heating,
ceramic tiles throughout all of the renovated portions of the facility
and a new residents� office. A reverse osmosis water treatment plant
for the hospital is finished and is ready to be turned over to the
hospital. An incineration system is also in the works.

Similar renovations continue at Najaf teaching hospital two kilometers
away from the maternity hospital.

The 266-bed hospital continues patient care even while renovations
continue.

More about the Maternity Hospital project here. And here's an update
on the Teaching Hospital:


From a bloody battlefield and one of the most dangerous places in Iraq
to a safe, prosperous and growing community of over one-half million,
the Najaf Teaching Hospital reflects the changes of the city of Najaf.
One year ago on August 27 the battle for Najaf ended.

A year ago the Najaf Teaching Hospital was closed. It had been looted
and its medical equipment destroyed by the Sadr Militia who had used
its eight floors as a military fortress. Its basement flooded, windows
and walls riddled with bullet and mortar damage, to many in Najaf, the
hospital looked hopeless.

Now the hospital is open, seeing hundreds of patients per day and
housing 80 in-patients. It is a training hospital for 200 medical
students, 50 pharmacy students, and 100 resident doctors who are
looking forward to improved and expanded services.

This is a true success story brought about by a close partnership of
Iraqi doctors and a U.S. team of doctors, engineers, project managers,
contractors, and Soldiers and U.S Army Corps of Engineers civilians.
When finished, the hospital will house a new magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI) scanner, have computed tomography (CT) scan services,
and have increased specialty surgical services including its first
open heart surgical team.

The hospital will employ 1,250 people, in an area where good jobs are
hard to come by.

The troops continue to fill in the gaps in medical care by conducting
visits to locations with limited access to health care: 


U.S. soldiers from the 116th Brigade Combat Team�s Task Force 1-163
Infantry delivered much-needed medical care to the village of
Husseinia, Iraq, Aug. 1. 
The medical assistance visit was done at the remote village because of
the lack of availability of medical care. Many smaller villages in the
western portion of Kirkuk Province are far from hospitals and medical
clinics.

�The visit was intended to be a mini-(medical assistance visit) but it
turned out to be a full-blown (medical assistance visit),� said U.S.
Army Capt. Jeff Westfall, the Task Force 1-163 Infantry officer. �We
were expecting maybe 30 patients, but we ended up with over 100.�

According to Task Force 1-163 Infantry, some villagers may not see
health care professionals for years at a time, making it tough on the
community and particularly the young. The task force also credits the
success of the visit to the improved security provided by an
ever-growing number of Iraqi security forces in the area.
Here's a similar operation in Mosul: "More than 200 Iraqi children
received medical screenings from Coalition Forces, with support from
Iraqi Police, during an operation Aug. 5 in western Mosul. Soldiers
and medics handed out soccer balls and hygiene products to the local
children while they conducted the screenings. More than 1,000 children
have received medical screenings during this and four similar
operations over the last three weeks." 


The troops continue to support the reconstruction of the education
system: "Approximately 18,000 Iraqi schoolchildren will sit in freshly
refurbished schools when their new school year starts in about six
weeks. Iraqi and U.S. government agencies announced Aug. 6 that
renovations of 43 schools in the northern and southern provinces are
funded for repairs, and contracts have been awarded for the work. As
part of the Iraq Relief Reconstruction Fund, over $1.3M was set aside
to continue a nationwide school repair program that addresses
rehabilitating sanitary facilities, electrical and mechanical systems,
and structural repairs to schools in Karbala, Dahuk, Najaf, Basrah,
and Qadisiyah." 



The 155th Brigade Combat Team, meanwhile, is doing a lot of community
outreach, in addition to its important sucurity work: 


The 155th is attached to the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force and
operates in the Karbala, Najaf and Babil provinces of Iraq. Blanton
said each unit in the brigade has adopted at least one school in its
area of operations and the soldiers distribute school supplies,
furniture, medicine and other goods. 
The unit's commander, Brig. Gen. Augustus Leon Collins, hopes a pen
pal program the unit plans to facilitate for American and Iraqi
children will offer a bridge between two diverse cultures.

"I believe it is critical that we expand the horizons of not only
Iraqi youth, but American youth as well," he said this past week in an
e-mail to The AP. "If we are able to establish a campaign where our
children are introduced to theirs, then we will remove the stigmas and
bias and possibly develop a bond that will be much stronger than any
military or diplomatic action."

In the Karbala Province, members of the 2nd Battalion, 114th Field
Artillery of the Mississippi National Guard, which is attached to the
155th, identified a substandard facility that housed orphaned girls.

Lt. Col. Gary E. Huffman said the soldiers teamed with Iraqi security
forces to rebuild the orphanage and delivered 50 beds and mattresses,
bed linens, clothes and toys.

"The work is continuous and through cooperation, mutual understanding,
and robust work efforts Karbala will grow and achieve the success that
the citizens and leadership seek," Huffman said.

Collins said projects to rebuild schools and orphanages are imperative
because "the future of this nation lies in its youth. What direction
this country takes will be determined by them."

It's not just the American troops. Australians have been making a
positive contribution in the south of the country: 


Local forces being trained by Australian troops in southern Iraq were
close to taking over responsibility for security in the area, the new
head of the Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, said... 
Air Chief Marshal Houston told the Herald Australian troops training
Iraqi security forces in the province of Al Muthanna had been very
successful and the Iraqis would be ready to take over responsibility
for security for the entire province "in the not too distant future".

He also praised another group of 50 Australian soldiers who had
trained 750 Iraqi logisticians.

The Australian soldiers in Iraq had an impressive ability to work with
the Iraqis because they were "classically Australian", Air Chief
Marshal Houston said.

"It's really a very successful model for how successful you can be in
training the Iraqis.

"Our ability to engage them man to man - it was very much a
male-dominated environment I have to say � It was classically
Australian; we weren't carrying any baggage and we had established a
very good relationship with them."

Italian soldiers, meanwhile, are protecting Iraq's historical
heritage: 


Italian troops stationed in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriya, will
provide 125,000 dollars for the restoration of the local museum which
has been looted and vandalised since the fall of Saddam Hussein's
regime. "Work will be carried out by an Iraqi company under the
surpervision of the Italian military," the museum's director, Abd
al-Amir al-Hamdani, told Adnkronos International (AKI). 
"Restoration will include the building's first floor, with seven
separate exhibition halls, including prehistoric, Sumero-Babylonian,
Assyric and Islamic sections, as well as exhibition space on the
second floor and the museum's library and the administration offices,"
al-Hamdani explained.

Italian police are holding a training course in Nasiriya for Iraqi
guards who will be in charge of safeguarding their country's museums
and archaelogical sites.

Here's more of the Italian assistance: "The Italian contingent of
Iraqi multinational forces, based in Dhi Qar region of Nasiriya in
southern Iraq will supervise the construction of 60 desalinisation
plants for the rural population. The project, financed by donor
countries, is needed because of the increase in drinking water salt
levels, explained Ali al-Dajili, an engineer coordinating the project
between the Italian forces and the provincial council. Works will
start in a month, he specified... The desalinisation plants, designed
by Italian army's engineers, will be built in specific areas along the
Euphrates river which will be determined by the provincial council."

<SECURITY: 


A new opinion poll has been conducted between July 12 and 17 in
Baghdad, Basrah, Salah Ad-Din, Najaf, Diyala and Irbil, with more than
1,200 Iraqis participating: 


An overwhelming number of Iraqis say there is no justification for
attacks on Iraqi civilians, Iraqi security forces or Iraqi public
service infrastructure. A total of 94 percent of Iraqis say there is
no excuse for attacks on Iraqi security forces, 97 percent say there
is no justification for attacking civilians, and 97 percent are
against attacks on infrastructure. The percentages slip when it comes
to disapproval of violence against Iraqis working with the coalition
and attacks against coalition personnel. A total of 81 percent of
those polled are against attacks against Iraqis working with the
coalition, with 12 percent saying there is justification for the
attacks and 7 percent with no opinion.

One negative of the poll: "Half of those polled said there was no
excuse for attacks against coalition personnel, while 40 percent said
there is a justification and 10 percent saying they don't know." 


Iraqis are proud of their security forces - a sea change from the way
most regarded the forces under Saddam Hussein. The poll shows 75
percent of Iraqis say their security forces are winning the fight
against anti-government forces. Iraqis regard the security forces as
representing the nation and not just one group (77 percent), and 73
percent of those polled believe the Iraqi police and military work
within the law and respect the rights of the people. 
Almost 80 percent of those surveyed said the sooner that Iraqi forces
maintain security, the sooner coalition forces can leave.

The poll showed some Iraqi misperceptions, officials said. A total of
64 percent of those surveyed said anti-government forces come mostly
from other countries. Coalition officials said most anti-government
terrorists are Iraqis.

Finally, 62 percent of the Iraqis surveyed said the security situation
in Iraq has gotten "much better" ( 16 percent ) or "somewhat better" (
46 percent ) in the past three months. Twenty percent of those
surveyed said the security situation was "somewhat worse" and 14
percent said the security situation was "much worse" than three months
ago.

Western Iraq has seen more "red on red" violence:


Rising up against insurgent leader Abu Musab Zarqawi, Iraqi Sunni
Muslims in Ramadi fought with grenade launchers and automatic weapons
Saturday to defend their Shiite neighbors against a bid to drive them
from the western city, Sunni leaders and Shiite residents said. The
fighting came as the U.S. military announced the deaths of six
American soldiers. 
Dozens of Sunni members of the Dulaimi tribe established cordons
around Shiite homes, and Sunni men battled followers of Zarqawi, a
Jordanian, for an hour Saturday morning. The clashes killed five of
Zarqawi's guerrillas and two tribal fighters, residents and hospital
workers said. Zarqawi loyalists pulled out of two contested
neighborhoods in pickup trucks stripped of license plates, witnesses
said.

The leaders of four of Iraq's Sunni tribes had rallied their fighters
in response to warnings posted in mosques by followers of Zarqawi. The
postings ordered Ramadi's roughly 3,000 Shiites to leave the city of
more than 200,000 in the area called the Sunni Triangle. The order to
leave within 48 hours came in retaliation for alleged expulsions by
Shiite militias of Sunnis living in predominantly Shiite southern
Iraq.

"We have had enough of his nonsense," said Sheik Ahmad Khanjar, leader
of the Albu Ali clan, referring to Zarqawi. "We don't accept that a
non-Iraqi should try to enforce his control over Iraqis, regardless of
their sect -- whether Sunnis, Shiites, Arabs or Kurds."
Iraqi authorities are at the moment holding 281 foreign nationals in
connection with terrorist activities: "In a press conference, [Leith
Kabba, spokesman for the Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Al Ja'fari]
said, 'Until now, the number of foreign detainees involved in charges
that are related, in a way or another to terrorism, is 281.' Kabba
pointed out, 'They are from Egypt (80), Syria (64), Sudan (41), Saudi
Arabia (22), Jordan (17), Libya (7), Palestine (10), Algeria (7),
Tunisia (6), Turkey (4), Iran (12), Qatar (2), and Britain (1), in
addition to other countries. He added, "Most of the reporting about
those came on behalf of citizens'." 



Baghdad's Sadr City is now safer and better: 


Patrols by U.S. and Iraqi Army Soldiers have resulted in safer streets
for the citizens of Sadr City. 
The once hotly-contested area is now patrolled by troops from B
Company, 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd
Infantry Division.

On July 28 the Soldiers performed a neighborhood patrol designed to
allow the Soldiers to become acquainted with their new neighborhood.

�It�s a lot of work, getting to know a new sector � we gather intel on
terrorist operations, assess how receptive the locals are to our
presence and develop informants,� said 1st Lt. Jason Schwab, platoon
leader. �We try and impress upon them that it�s in their best
interests to help us, because the people who kidnap and extort them
are the same ones planting bombs in the roads.�

During the patrol, Schwab stopped at the Al-Kanasa Police Station and
spoke with a warrant officer about the neighborhood.

�The people we talk to in the neighborhood have been pretty helpful
and want things to get better in Sadr,� said Sgt. Lee Minyard.
�They�re starting to realize we�re here to help them.�

Minyard pulled security throughout the patrol, which took the
dismounted infantrymen through the streets and alleys of Sadr.

�We tell people that it�s up to them to make a difference in their
communities,� said Staff Sgt. Christopher Brisley, section leader.
�They�re so used to relying on one leader to make all the decisions,
but they�re gradually taking the initiative.�

And so is the once infamous Haifa Street, thanks to the Iraqi security
forces now in control of the area: 


Soldiers called it the "Street of Death" and "Purple Heart Boulevard,"
a 3-mile-long residential corridor in central Baghdad that had become
a shooting gallery for insurgents. In 2004 alone, Haifa Street, once a
coveted address for the middle class, was the bloody site of more than
400 attacks on American and Iraqi security forces. Many residents on
the most troubled blocks fled their homes, some of which were promptly
commandeered as rebel sniper roosts. 
An American-Iraqi military campaign begun last year to retake the
street seemed to bear fruit as insurgents were captured, killed or
driven out of the area. And on Feb. 6 the American command handed over
a cut of north-central Baghdad, including Haifa Street, to the 1st
Brigade, 6th Division, of the Iraqi army. This transfer made the 1st
Brigade the first and only Iraqi army unit to have control of its own
battle space and put it on the leading edge of the Bush
administration's plan to have Iraqi forces take responsibility for the
country's security.

The good news for American officials, in a war where territorial gains
have been elusive, is that the Iraqi troops have not lost ground on
Haifa Street. Since the 1st Brigade took control, there have been only
three terrorist attacks along the street, and those came in the first
three weeks, commanders say.

Italians, meanwhile, are finding that there has been a great
improvement in security situation around Nasiriyah:


The Italians have overseen about $50 million worth of projects in Dhi
Qar province, most of them related to water or medical services
because the hospital is one of the most important in southern Iraq. 
The lesson from Nasiriyah, [Lt. Col. Danico] Presta and [Capt. Fabio]
Pacelli said, is that things can change for the better in Iraq, and
can seem to do so all at once. The improvement happens when security
is good enough that reconstruction can take root and the people can
see improvement in their life. That begets more cooperation, and more
willingness to turn in spoilers and therefore even more security. It's
a formula that is being attempted all across Iraq with varying levels
of success.

Iraq's reconstruction is not progressing on a linear path. It is a
delicate balance that once achieved and allowed to mature, can yield
results. The trick is lining up all the components.

One of the unique components in Dhi Qar was the establishment two
months ago of a 17-member reconstruction committee separate from the
political leaders in the province. The committee comprises university
professors, health care professionals, sheiks and engineers. No
improvement project is undertaken without the permission of the
council, which sets the priorities. Presta believes that sense of
local control is a key to success.

Generally in the south of the country:


The British Royal Marine in charge of coalition operations in
southeastern Iraq is optimistic about ongoing efforts there to train
Iraqi army and police forces to eventually assume security duties. 
"We have been able to force ahead with the main effort, which is
security sector reform," Maj. Gen. Jim Dutton, commander of
Multinational Division Southeast, told Pentagon reporters via a video
link from Basra.

Dutton's 13,000-plus-troop multinational command is made up of 7,900
British troops, 3,000 Italians, 640 Australians, 622 Romanians, 562
Japanese, 388 Danes, 97 Czechs, 33 Lithuanians, five Norwegians, and
two Portuguese.

Those troops, along with Iraqi army and police forces, are charged
with providing security for four southeastern Iraqi provinces, which
make up an area half the size of Great Britain. Dutton's area of
operations contains the cities of Nasiriyah, Basrah, and Umm Qasr,
Iraq's only deep-water port...

The general said he remains "confident that southeastern Iraq will
continue to develop."

"There is a real enthusiasm here for the democratic process, and there
was a very high turnout" for the January 2005 election, he said.

Dutton said there is "no shortage of volunteers" who want to join the
new Iraqi army, noting there are now about 5,500 Iraqi soldiers in his
sector. That number is expected to increase to 9,000 soldiers next
year, he said.

The new Iraqi police are receiving good training at academies in
Jordan or Baghdad, Dutton said. There are about 25,000 police in
southeastern Iraq, he said, more than 14,000 of whom have received
training.

And security is also improving in the north-western Ninweh province: 


Progress is evident in that more than 60 election registrations sites
have opened on time. That has been possible through the combined
efforts and partnership of the Independent Electoral Commission of
Iraq, provincial governments and Iraqi security forces, [Army Maj.
Gen. David Rodriguez, commander of Multinational Force Northwest and
Task Force Freedom] said. 
Gains also are being made despite the insurgents' ongoing attempts to
accomplish their objective of "destroying the Iraqi nation and the
people," he said. Since the election held in January, for example, 62
mid- to high-level terrorist leaders have been captured or killed in
Nineveh province alone, including 44 since early May...

Insurgents' attempts to use improvised explosive devices to their
advantage also have been reduced, Rodriguez said. Over the last three
months the number and effectiveness of insurgent IEDs is down by about
20 percent, he noted. The general attributes this to Iraqi and
coalition forces' better operations conduct, disruption of insurgent
senior leadership, less complex IED devices and more local tips. The
seizing of several large caches of bomb-making materials also has
contributed to that decrease.
Najaf province, meanwhile, is reporting a 90 per cent decline in crime
over the July and August period. 



The "Iraqization" of security will be the key to the future of the
country - and to the Coalition withdrawal. To that end, training of
Iraqi army and police continues. Army Lt. Gen. David Petraeus,
commander of Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq, recently
spoke about the successes - and challenges - of training Iraqi troops:


"I believe that Iraqis will save Iraq," he told CNN in an interview
and said the United States has helped Iraqis help themselves. 
"I think that over the course of the past 15 months or so there has
been enormous progress in doing just that," he said.

He said Iraqis and the Americans need to work together.

"There's a great deal still to be done," he said, "and it is a
long-term endeavor that will require persistence, patience and
resilience because the enemy is going to do everything that he can
over the next several months to derail the constitutional process and
then derail the elections in mid-December."

Petraeus has said more than 110 Iraqi police and army combat
battalions are "in the fight" -- a total of 178,000 trained and
equipped forces -- a vast increase since a U.S.-led invasion toppled
Saddam Hussein.

Pentagon officials, quoted in an August news article on the Defense
Department Web site, said "this time last year, only one battalion was
trained and equipped well enough to assist coalition forces."

While $2 billion has been invested in bolstering Iraqi security force
infrastructure, more needs to be done, Petraeus said, such as
establishing logistics and combat service capabilities and building an
air force.

First batch of Iraqi soldiers has finished their training in Great
Britain:


The first Iraqi soldiers to be trained for the country's new security
force by the British Army in the UK have taken part in a passing-out
parade. 
Thirty-five National Guardsmen spent the last three months at the
Infantry Battle School in Brecon, mid Wales.

They have been trained in military planning and strategy in the hope
that Iraqis will eventually take over the Allies' peacekeeping role.

The guardsmen will start to instruct other Iraqi recruits on their
return.

The course, based around British Army junior leadership training, took
place in both Arabic and English and was said to be tailored for the
demands of working in Iraq.

More courses are on the way. See also this profile:


Under Saddam Hussein's regime, Durgar Jassim was a member of the
Republican Guard's 10th Armoured Division, which fought against the
British south of Baghdad. Yesterday, two years later, he was on the
parade ground with his former enemy as one of 35 junior officers and
non-commissioned officers from the Iraqi army who had completed a
training course at the Infantry Battle School in Brecon, central
Wales. 
Capt Jassim, 29, a soldier for 12 years, said that training with men
he had once fought was not a problem. "We are not political persons;
we are military professionals," he said through an interpreter.

The newly-qualified instructors, who marched to Arabic commands at
their passing-out parade, will return to Baghdad at the weekend to
train the new generation of security forces.
And a young Iraqi officer, who for security reasons chose to remain
anonymous as Officer Mohammed, received the Overseas Sword, the award
for the outstanding foreign cadet at Britain's Sandhurst military
academy. 


There is also training of trainers: "In Taji, Iraqi soldiers completed
a Strategic Infrastructure Battalion "train-the-trainer" course. The
90 graduates will go on to serve as instructors at an Iraqi Army
training base. A class of future Iraqi army noncommissioned officers
graduated from their primary leadership development course on Aug. 15
in Tikrit. Iraqi army unit training also included combat lifesaving,
staff training, computer skills and weapons training." 


In other training firsts: "The 1st Iraqi Army Brigade implemented
Iraq's first noncommissioned officers academy this week. Iraqi
soldiers from the most recent class were the last group to be
instructed by the U.S. soldiers who had developed the training. During
Saddam's regime, an NCO corps did not exist in the Iraqi army. The
class will now be taught by NCOs from the 1st Iraqi Army Brigade, who
assisted earlier courses." 



Iraqi air force is also rebuilding: 


Now the site, 375 km southeast of Baghdad and once Saddam Hussein's
centre of air operations against Iran during the 1980-1988 war - is
home to Air Force Squadron 23 and its three C-130 Hercules transport
planes. 
The US-donated planes are the backbone of Iraq's new air force, which
also includes a dozen light reconaissance planes and another dozen
helicopters spread across the country. Officials are vague on numbers
for security reasons.

Currently, 109 Iraqi students - all air force veterans with years of
experience - are learning how to maintain and fly the Hercules fleet.
The youngest trainee is 30. Others appear twice that age.
In police news, "the Iraqi Police Service graduated 239 police
officers from advanced and specialty courses at the Adnan Training
Facility August 18, according to the Civilian Police Assistance
Training Team." 



Fresh from training, more and more Iraqi security forces are coming
onboard and taking on responsibilities around the country. One of the
new Iraqi units has been making a difference in north-western Iraq: 


The U.S. military has achieved major success in developing and
training an Iraq Army battalion. 
U.S. officials said the success in the training and deployment of the
1st Battalion of the 1st Brigade was demonstrated in operations in the
Mosul area. The reconstituted battalion, part of the 3rd Iraqi Army
Division, has operated its own personnel, intelligence and logistics
sections.

"This battalion is undoubtedly one of the best in Tall Afar," Capt.
Greg Mitchell, a U.S. company commander, said. "It can maneuver on its
own without American support. If it's going to take control of the
city, they'll require more training and assistance, but they've made
great progress."

The success of the battalion was cited for the unraveling of the Al
Qaida network led by Abu Mussib Al Zarqawi. Since May 2005, Iraqi
forces such as the 1st Battalion have played a major role in capturing
senior Al Qaida commanders in the Mosul area.
Iraqi Navy is also slowly starting to make a difference: "The Iraqi
Coast Guard had a busy and successful month of operations in July,
according to their monthly operational reporting to the Ministry of
Interior. According to the report, the Iraqi Coast Guard searched 183
barges and vessels in July, with 11 of these searches resulting in the
discovery of illegal documentation. In addition, 60 tons of illegal
fuel were confiscated along with AK-47 automatic rifles, ammunition
and fuel pumps. Six people were detained during the operations." 


Overall, by mid-August, 100 per cent of the brigade level operations
in Iraq were conducted jointly by the Coalition and the Iraqi forces. 


And another first in the south: "Coalition forces turned over Camp
Zulu in As Suwayrah, Iraq, to the Iraqi Army Aug. 21. This is the
first coalition forces camp within the Multi-National Division
Central�s South area of responsibility to be turned over to Iraq�s 8th
Division. The division�s 3rd Battalion, 3rd Brigade will be
permanently housed there." American forces have also withdrawn from
two bases in Najaf area. 


Security infrastructure continues to be created, like these facilities
for the police: "Construction started on a Police Facilities project
in the Samarra District of Salah Ad Din Province. This 250-officer
station in the northeast part of Samarra, which is a $4.3M investment,
will provide a presence in the city to help stabilize law and order.
The contractor employs 25 Iraqi workers, and the project is scheduled
for completion in November." 


There is more: "A patrol station in the Karkh district of Baghdad
province was completed, as was a $390,300 border-post project on the
Saudi Arabian border. A division headquarters building for the Iraqi
Army in Salah Ad Din province was also completed this week. The $7
million project includes a single-story building with a concrete roof
and interior office space to accommodate the unit. Additionally, a $2
million firing range in Taji was completed this week." 


Read also about the work of the 94th Engineer Battalion which has been
doing much work on upgrading security infrastructure around Mosul and
in the western Iraq. 


There is also smaller scale assistance: "The Coalition's
Multi-National Division Central-South (MND CS) gave seven cars to
Iraqi Police in the southern city of Ad Diwaniyah August 16. The MND
CS Civil Military Cooperation (CIMIC) team made the transfer
possible." 


In stories of security cooperation from the locals: 


"Local citizens in the city of Hit gave Iraqi soldiers the location of
an IED that they said three anti-Iraq force operatives had planted
earlier in the day {August 9]"; 


�Iraqi soldiers were led to a weapons cache in Fallujah while on a
dismounted security patrol Aug. 10. Soldiers with 3rd Battalion, 4th
Brigade, 1st Iraqi Intervention Force, located followed instructions
to the cache from a local Iraqi. The cache consisted of four
rocket-propelled grenade launchers, three machine guns, 22 RPG rounds,
one rocket, two rifle grenades, RPG fin assemblies, one bag of
ammunition, one can of .303 ball/tracer mix, one can of armor
piercing/tracer mix, one timing device and one battery. They detained
three suspected insurgents"; 


Thanks to information from local residents, ten suspects were arrested
and three weapons caches seized by Task Force Baghdad soldiers on
August 13; 


On August 14, three insurgents were arrested and weapons confiscated
in the town of Hit by Iraqi soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade,
1st Iraqi Intervention Force, and U.S. Marines from 3rd Battalion, 3rd
Marine Regiment, following a tip from a local citizen; 


"Based on two separate tips from Iraqis, coalition forces discovered
weapons caches that contained rocket-propelled grenades and two
launchers, 16 mortar rounds and a launcher, and five boxes of
anti-aircraft ammunition hidden in northwest Baghdad. Another tip led
coalition forces to a large cache of artillery shells in the early
hours of Aug. 16. The shells apparently were intended for use as
improvised explosive devices. The 25 to 30 individual rounds, located
inside a building within Anbar province, were destroyed after security
forces confirmed there was no one in the building. After a local Iraqi
identified his neighbors as insurgents, Iraqi soldiers and coalition
forces conducted a joint cordon-and-search operation in northwest
Fallujah and detained two suspects";


"Coalition forces captured a known Al Qaeda-in-Iraq member, two
suspected terrorists and destroyed a terrorist sanctuary, weapons and
equipment near Al Asad Aug. 23. Acting on tips from local Iraqis,
Coalition forces raided the hide-out and confirmed that the location
was being used by the terrorist to facilitate weapons and vehicle
borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) operations. After he was
captured, the Al Qaeda-in-Iraq member provided information about
related terrorist activity in the area. Based upon this information,
Coalition forces captured two suspected terrorists. Coalition forces
also captured and destroyed a VBIED and two weapons caches consisting
of mortars, rockets and rocket propelled grenades".


In other recent security successes: 


Several roadside bombs discovered and disarmed by Iraqi troops
throughout the country on August 9 and 10; in Balad, Baqubah, Raway
and Tikrit; more details here;


"Several suspected terrorists were detained and numerous weapons
caches were seized in military operations west of Balad Aug. 10...
During raids of suspected terrorist safe houses in Salah Ad Din
province, Task Force Liberty soldiers detained one individual and
uncovered three rocket-propelled grenade launchers, nine RPG rounds, a
mortar tripod, several rifles and two hand grenades. About 20 pounds
of bulk explosives were also found at the site. In other action, after
taking small-arms fire, task force soldiers returned fire, killing one
insurgent and wounding another during a raid in Ad Duluiyah. The task
force also detained six individuals and confiscated several rifles, a
bulletproof vest, two RPGs, seven RPG rounds, multiple grenades and a
130 mm projectile";


"Iraqi and U.S. Soldiers squelched a terrorist attack on a patrol base
in southwest Baghdad Aug. 11 when terrorists fired five
rocket-propelled grenade rounds at the base, along with 10 minutes of
rifle fire. A patrol consisting of Iraqi and U.S. Soldiers set out in
the direction of the attack and captured six of the attackers and a
weapons cache of two RPGs and three rifles with ammunition hidden
nearby";


Muhammad Salah Sultan, also known as Abu Zubair, an aide to Al
Zarqawi, killed in Mosul on 12 August; more here;


"Task Force Baghdad soldiers... thwarted attacks and captured suspects
Aug. 12. Three separate combat operations in northern and southern
Baghdad resulted in the capture of six terror suspects and the seizure
of a car bomb before terrorists could use it";


The raid in Mosul on 12 August, which discovered an insurgent facility
containing 1500 gallons of 11 different chemical substances; 


In Abayachi and Fallujah, "Iraqi Army soldiers detained several
suspected insurgents and seized weapons during operations on Aug. 13";


Task Force Baghdad soldiers prevented three car bomb attacks in a
space of five hours in southern Baghdad on August 13; they also
captured ten suspects and recovered two weapons caches; 


"In northern Iraq, Task Force Freedom detained 21 terrorist suspects
in Mosul Aug. 13-14 in several separate operations by Multi-National
Forces and Iraqi Security Forces";


On August 14, Iraqi and American troops in Hit disarmed a roadside
bomb, located an arms cache in Mosul, and found more weapons and
arrested eight suspects in Baghdad; 


"Five large improvised explosive devices on major Baghdad highways
were identified by Task Force Baghdad Soldiers Aug. 14 and then safely
destroyed before they could hurt anyone";


In mid August, "Iraqi Police Service officers in the New Baghdad
district conducted a variety of operations, including raids involving
over 450 officers. Police confiscated 30 AK-47 rifles, two hand guns
and a machine gun during the raids. They also arrested 30 suspected
terrorists, three of whom were targeted in the raids"; 


On August 16, "Thi Qar province police announced that they foiled a
plan to blow up the electricity station of Nasiriya in southern Iraq,
which is the second biggest station in Iraq. The police found Katiosha
rockets pointed at the station and they defused them seconds before
they were to launch"; 


Weapons cache discovered by Iraqi troops under a vehicle in Rawah;
"The cache contained two light machine guns and 3,000 rounds of
ammunition, nine AK-47 rifles and 500 rounds of ammunition, a NATO
machine gun and 200 rounds of ammunition, four concussion grenades,
one fragmentary grenade without fuses, and various other ammunition";


"Iraqi soldiers and coalition Special Forces advisers killed three
terrorists in a combined raid on a kidnapping cell southeast of
Fallujah on Aug. 19... Soldiers found numerous weapons and bomb-making
materials in the house";


"Task Force Liberty Soldiers stopped a pair of improvised explosive
device attacks and detained four individuals in north-central Iraq
Aug. 20. Soldiers in a combat logistics patrol near Balad Ruz observed
two adults and a child digging a hole for an IED at about 6:15 p.m.
The three individuals were detained and Soldiers seized the IED. The
two adults were taken to a Coalition Forces base for questioning and
the child was released to his family. The IED consisted of two 130mm
artillery rounds and was destroyed. Later, a combat patrol near Tikrit
caught two individuals digging near a previous IED blast hole at 7:30
p.m. and took the suspects in for questioning";


The arrest by the Kurdish authorities of 11 members of an Ansar al
Islam terrorist cell plotting the assassination of the Kurdish leader
Mas'ud Al Barzani; 


All in one day's work on August 21: six suspects captured and weapons
confiscated in Haditha, two roadside bombs and a weapons cache found
in Hawija and Mugdadiyah, three other roadside bombs defused by Iraqi
forces throughout the country, three weapons caches retrieved in
Samarra, three suspects captured in Rawah and another nine in the
north, eight captured in Khalidiyah together with bomb making
equipment, and nine other suspects arrested throughout the country by
Iraqi forces; 



"Iraqi police were inspecting a truck hauling ice in the New Baghdad
area when officers uncovered 20 rockets concealed beneath the ice. The
rockets were intended for an attack against a government ministry...
In other developments, Iraqi police officers on patrol discovered 32
mortar rounds and 20 rockets in two separate incidents in Baghdad Aug.
21".