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Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Officer: It will take more than two years to safely withdraw troops

A quick withdrawal from Iraq may be more difficult that President-elect Barack Obama led Americans to believe in his campaign. A top officer says that complete withdrawal will take several years.

The Washington Post reports:

By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, November 17, 2008; 4:43 PM

The U.S. military would require two to three years to remove its roughly 150,000 troops and equipment from Iraq safely, and the timing of that withdrawal should be based on security conditions on the ground, the nation’s top military officer said today.

“To remove the entire force would be, you know, two to three years,” Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at a Pentagon news conference.

While Mullen said that he and the top commanders for Iraq and the region, Gen. Ray Odierno and Gen. David Petraeus, were “comfortable” with the status of forces agreement signed with Iraq today, he described some logistical hurdles to a U.S. troop withdrawal along a fixed timeline.

“We have 150,000 troops in Iraq right now. We have lots of bases. We have an awful lot of equipment that’s there. And so we would have to look at all of that tied to, obviously, the conditions that are there, literally the security conditions,” he said.

“Clearly, we’d want to be able to do it safely.”

Asked about a requirement that U.S. troops move out of Iraqi cities by mid-2009, Mullen said the gradual shift from urban areas has been the practice as Iraqi forces take responsibility for security in different provinces. But he said the Iraqi capital of Baghdad and northern city of Mosul were likely to pose special challenges.

“Turning the security of Baghdad over in that requirement will be a big challenge,” he said. “The other that is clearly not secure up north is Mosul. And we continue to be in a pretty tough fight up in Mosul,” he said.

Mullen emphasized that he still believes any U.S. troop reductions should be based on the levels of violence in Iraq - a position that runs counter to the official Iraqi stance.

It is important that the incoming administration forego kneejerk reactions to appease those who voted for Barack Obama. Obama must keep America’s safety as his No. 1 priority. That may preclude him from yanking troops out at a whim.

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Iraqi Cleric Defers on US Pact - Iran steamed

The U.S.-Iraq pact that says American troops will be out of Iraqi cities by next summer, has received a pass from a top Iraqi cleric, but irritated America’s sworn enemy, Iran. The Voice of America reports:

Iraq’s top Shi’ite cleric says any agreement on U.S. troops in Iraq must restore the nation’s full sovereignty.

But Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani issued a statement Tuesday indicating he would not get deeply involved in the issue and leave passage of the deal to lawmakers.

The influential cleric spoke as parliament debated an agreement signed Monday between the U.S. and Iraq that would see all American troops out in three years.

If approved, the agreement would replace a U.N. mandate governing the U.S. presence.

U.S. and Iraqi officials say the agreement is a firm commitment, but add the pact could be renegotiated.

In Iran, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani Tuesday criticized the deal, saying Washington wants to strengthen U.S. hegemony in Iraq.

On Monday, the head of Iran’s judiciary, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi, said he hopes the deal will benefit Islam and the sovereignty of Iraq.

The agreement comes six weeks before the current U.N. mandate is set to expire. It also follows the transfer to Iraq of security responsibilities in many of its provinces as violence declined sharply over the past year.

The deal would give Iraq authority over U.S. military operations for the first time, requiring the U.S. military to ask permission to search homes, and banning American use of Iraqi territory to launch attacks on third countries.

It also would give Iraq some judicial oversight of serious crimes committed by U.S. soldiers while off-base and off-duty.

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Afghanistan’s Taliban Reject Offer for Peace Talks

President-Elect Barack Obama wants to bolster troops in Afghanistan, a move that will further inflame the Taliban terrorists that have waged war on America since Sept. 11, 2001. The Voice of America reports on the situation:

Taliban militants on Monday rejected an offer to hold peace talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, saying there can be no talks while foreign troops are in the country.

On Sunday, Mr. Karzai offered to provide security for the Taliban’s reclusive leader, Mullah Omar, even if it means defying Afghanistan’s international partners.

The Afghan leader suggested that if the United States and other nations disagree, they can remove him or leave the country.

Mr. Karzai has long supported talks with any Taliban faction that accepts the Afghan constitution and renounces al-Qaida.

In Washington, officials at both the White House and State Department said political reconciliation in Afghanistan is desirable, but that there is no sign the Taliban is ready to turn away from violence.

In other news Monday, at least seven people were killed in two separate bomb attacks in southern Kandahar province.

Local officials say two police officers and a civilian were killed, and at least two other policemen wounded, in a suicide attack at the entrance to a government office in Dand district.

In Kandahar’s Panjwayi district, a bomb explosion near an Afghan Army patrol killed four civilians and wounded eight others.

No one has claimed responsibility for either attack.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.

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Monday, November 17, 2008

McCain Suing to Allow Soldiers’ Vote

AP Photo: A service member fills out an absentee ballot in Bagram, Afghanistan. Troops, aid workers and military contractors overseas sent in ballots in record numbers this past election.

Even as Barack Obama prepares to take over the White House, Sen. John McCain is fighting to ensure the votes of deployed troops are counted.

The Air Force Times has the story here.

RICHMOND, Va. — A hearing is set for Monday on a lawsuit that seeks to compel Virginia election officials to count late absentee ballots from U.S. troops serving overseas.

Republican John McCain’s presidential campaign is suing the State Board of Elections, claiming absentee ballots weren’t mailed on time to military members in foreign countries. A 1986 federal law requires ballots to be mailed to those troops at least 45 days before the election, which this year would have been Sept. 20.

The complaint asks the U.S. District Court in Richmond to order the board to count any overseas absentee ballots sent by Nov. 4 and received as late as Friday.

It is a sad day in America when a lawsuit has to pave the way for our troops’ votes to count. Where is Obama on this? Why hasn’t he put his resources toward ensuring this vote? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi?

Move America Foward sounded the alarm on this problem earlier this year. We sent Hero Voter packets to our troops overseas to help them get their vote in on time. But Congress and the president must change the way our troops vote so they can do so with ease. They fight and die for our country. It is stunning and unAmerican when they cannot vote.

If you know of a soldier, Marine, sailor, airmen or Coastie who could not vote because they were deployed, please send the story and details to me at Catmoy@moveamericaforward.org.

I am also working as a Fairfield City Councilwoman to move legislation. I need your help so we can help our troops. Please send me your stories with as many details as possible.

Again, my email is Catmoy@moveamericaforward.org.

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A Gold Star Mother Welcomes Her “Boys” Home

Meet Angelia Phillips, Gold Star Mother Of SPC Micheal “Pokey” Phillips, KIA 24 Feb. 2008, Baghdad Iraq.
This past weekend, this brave mother met her late son’s company. The strength of Angelia shows what gives Warriors their tenacity, vision and love of our country. I want to thank Angelia for raising a hero, and for being a hero herself. As we approach Thanksgiving, we must never forget our troops, their families and the loved ones who will always have an empty seat at their table because a troop gave his life for our country.

Here’s some of Angelia’s blog:

On Nov. 11th we packed our car and loaded up the family to head to Ft. Campbell. The men my son served with were on their way home from Iraq and I was finally going to get to meet and hug these men who have become so important in my life.

As we drove on Veteran’s Day I thought about how lucky the people in this country are to have the men and women of our military. Between it being Veterans day and where we were heading I had no choice but to see things from a perspective most Americans fail to look at. We drove without fear of IEDs. There were no check points. We could stop along the way and not fear snipers or suicide bombers. When we were hungry we had a multitude of options. And I knew without a doubt that these freedoms and this security are due fully to the fact we have such an outstanding group of people who made the choice to wear the uniform and defend these things.

I realized also.. we have WON in Iraq. Yes we are still there. Yes there is still some fighting. But it is safer in Iraq for American troops than civilians in Chicago these days. The foundation of what we set out to do is set. Our goals met and the lives of the Iraq people will be better. They are now tasting freedom. And anyone that wants to argue and diminish that victory and take that from these men and my son can try. But facts are facts. No one but these men and their leaders can claim that victory.

As I watched the plane filled with America’s finest land my heart leap and broke all in the same moment. I knew that from my son’s Company he would be the only one not walking off that plane. But in a way few will ever comprehend, the last part of my son did get off that plane. His spirit is in each of them and with them he came home too.

Please go to her blog for the complete entry. Every American should read it.

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Pact: Troops Out of Iraq Cities by June

VOA Photo: U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, left, and Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, right, shake hands after signing ceremony for security pact in Baghdad, 17 Nov 2008

American troops will leave Iraq cities by June, thanks to the historic and selfless work of our troops and their commanders. We owe our men and women in uniform so much for this victory. They have given freedom to millions of people who lived under the chain of a dictator. They have given us security and kept terrorists at bay after the horrible slaughter by terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001.

Now the U.S. and Iraq have signed an agreement. Here’s the story from the Voice of America:

U.S. ambassador Ryan Crocker and Iraqi Foreign Minister Hashyar Zebari agreed Monday to an arrangement Mr. Crocker described as historic. 

By calling for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraqi cities by June next year, and all American troops by the end of 2011, the pact overturns a long-standing U.S. policy against setting timelines for leaving the country.

The agreement would replace a U.N. mandate governing the U.S. presence.  It is now being debated in Iraq’s parliament, where it appears to have majority support. 

Foreign Minister Zebari told VOA Kurdish Service he expects a decision within ten days, but cautioned it is too early to predict whether U.S. troops might stay in Iraq after the new mandate expires in three years.

If passed by parliament, the pact would give Iraq authority over U.S. military operations for the first time, requiring the U.S. military to ask permission to search homes, and banning American use of Iraqi territory to launch attacks on third countries.

It also gives Iraq some judicial oversight of serious crimes committed by U.S. soldiers while off-base and off-duty.

The pact comes after a year of often testy negotiations, and six weeks before the current U.N. mandate is set to expire.  It also follows the transfer to Iraq of security responsibilities in many of its provinces as violence declined sharply over the past year.

The White House has said the pact - called the Status of Forces Agreement - does not need congressional approval.

It is opposed In Iran by radical Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and his supporters in parliament, who denounced the cabinet’s approval of the pact and are urging lawmakers to reject it.

Neighboring Iran has expressed skepticism that the pact gives Iraq enough protection from U.S. influence.  But today, the head of Iran’s judiciary was quoted in Iranian media as saying the Iraqi cabinet acted very well in approving the pact.

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Thursday, November 13, 2008

Lights on, Peace Settling in for Iraqi City

Good, good news. Iraqis are not only welcoming and admiring American troops, they are praising them and dancing in the streets.

By Ken Griffin
Special to American Forces Press Service

CAMP TAJI, Iraq, Nov. 10, 2008 - Only a year ago, reliable electricity in Sab al Bour, Iraq, was just a dream. The city, just north of Baghdad along the Grand Canal, was practically deserted, with only diehard residents and pockets of insurgents sticking around in the dark.

Iraqi officials dance in celebration at the end of an opening ceremony for a recently completed electrical sub-station in the city of Sal Ba Bor, Iraq, Nov. 8, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jacob H. Smith
(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. 

As of Nov. 8, residents in this small agricultural city are literally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, according to Sheik Nadeem Hatem al-Tamimi, an influential leader in the area. Outside the city’s new electrical substation, the sheik spoke, both literally and metaphorically, about the town’s emergence from darkness.

“We had evil forces trying to kill Iraqis, ... and they destroyed all essential services,” he said, describing insurgent attempts to control the city and population. “Today, we are calling for unity between all people of Iraq.”

The top coalition forces leader in the Taji area said he believes peace and s tability start with electricity, and he was at the event to congratulate Sab al Bour on its achievement.

“Reliable and sustainable access to power allows businesses to flourish, water to crops, schools to educate our children and light on the dark nights of the Iraqi winter” said Army Col. Todd McCaffrey, commander of the 25th Infantry Division’s 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team. “Sab al Bour is now postured to accept the return of its rightful residents.”

The rightful residents McCaffrey referred to are the large portion of Sab al Bour’s citizens who fled due to violence and lack of essential services. The internally displaced people now are returning at a rate of up to 50 families per week.

If the substation opening meant only more electricity, it would be meaningful enough. But the impact of this substation doesn’t stop with keeping the lights on. It will have a direct and immediate positive effect on other essential services in the area.

First, there’ll be more drinkable water. Purification stations rely on electricity to produce potable water.

Even more significantly, irrigation pumps in the area will work harder and longer. Soon, passing helicopters will notice large swaths of farmland turn from a dirty brown to a lush green, all thanks to the substation, said Army Capt. Mark Gillman, the brigade’s engineer in charge of electrical reconstruction.

“The pump station, due to power improvements, will irrigate thousands of acres of farmland with little interruption from blackouts,” said Gillman, who provided oversight and expertise for the otherwise Iraqi-run project.

Because the Sab al Bour area depends heavily on agriculture, the local economy should get a noticeable boost. Gillman, who is from Las Vegas, explained how all of the intertwined projects, which depend on electricity, are part of a “tailored network.”

“It started with the Ministry of Electricity, which brought up to 30 people in here at a time. They really set the pace for the other ministries,” Gillman said. “There was a lot of government of Iraq support for this small, mostly Sunni community.”

Attendees marked the substation’s opening with a ribbon cutting, a tour, and then singing and dancing. As they celebrated their victory and announced the lights were on to stay, they proclaimed they could move on to other goals.

“Now we will ask for other things – forgiveness and unity,” said the last speaker at the event. “Let’s now bring together all Sunni and Shiia in Iraq.”

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Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Gold Star Mom Debbie Lee Reflects on our Veterans

Veterans Day: A celebration to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.

A ‘war veteran’ (from Latin vetus, meaning “old")[1] is a person who has or is working in the armed forces

Our Vets:  Heroes...............Defender’s of Freedom..................Warriors........................Protectors

They are our sons, our daughters, our husbands, our wives, our Mother’s and Father’s. Their your neighbor, your teacher, your police officer, your Doctor, your nurse, your Pastor. They are young and old, tall and short, and from every ethnic background. They live in cities and rural communities, in the North, the South, the East, the West.

Some served one tour and others a lifetime. Some during times of peace yet others in the bloodiest battles of Germany, France, Korea, Viet Nam, Iraq, Afghanistan, or other countries of turmoil. Many have sacrificed their limbs, their eyes, their future and many have sacrificed their lives. Yet they all seem to have a common thread of selfless valor that runs through their veins. They are true patriots who because they deeply love their country, their families and their freedoms that they courageously prepare for battle so if they are called to defend this nation that they so love they are ready. 

I visited Fort RoseCrans National Cemetery in San Diego yesterday and placed flowers and a flag on my sons grave. My Mighty Warrior, Marc Alan Lee, the first Navy SEAL killed in Iraq 8-2-06. As I drove in the main gate they had 6 extra flags at the base of the huge flag pole. The wind was causing the flags to appear as though they were standing proudly at attention. As I sat on Marc’s grave and processed through the different emotions of pride, of love, of emptiness I glanced up the hill through the rows and rows of marble headstones to the flags that were majestically flapping in the extreme wind. So many have given so much to make sure that those colors still fly boldly representing “One Nation under God,” and the freedoms that we have in America. Freedoms we enjoy because of all of our Vets whether Sailor, Marines, Soldiers or Airmen, our Vets who deeply gave.

I know the price of freedom and I understand the sacrifices that our troops have given. They have done that for me, for you, for this nation. They didn’t do that for rewards or medals or recognition, but today please join me as our nation chooses to remember collectively and thank them and celebrate who they are and what they have selflessly given. I choose to do that every day because they are my HEROES and I am so grateful!

I am attaching Marc’s last letter home that we have called his “Glory” letter. You will be inspired and moved.  He challenges us to do random acts of kindness and I would ask you, in his memory, to honor our Vets today by picking up the check for their meal, coffee, groceries or whatever you can. Be as generous as you can. It’s a small token of our appreciation for all they have sacrificed. These are my heroes and have given so much not expecting anything in return. Attend a parade, thank them, shake their hands, give them a hug from a grateful nation.

Don’t forget those who are deployed. Send a care package, e-mail a card, check on their families. Please remember the families of the fallen who gave it all and share your gratitude and love with them.

Thank you to everyone of you who has served or who is serving. You are my heroes and today I celebrate you and honor you for all you have sacrificed and given for me and my freedoms.

Celebrating Our Vets,

Debbie Lee

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Thank you, Veterans

Millions of men and women have given selflessly to the security of our country. They have given us freedom by putting their own lives on the line in every war since the inception of the greatest country in the world, the United States of America.
We at Move America Forward salute every one of you. We consider every day veterans’ day, as we work on our mission to support our troops and their missions.
We should reflect every day on the brave men and women who are fighting for our freedom right now. They protect us in all climates, on any terrain, and against any enemy. No words can properly express the thanks that we owe them. Our warriors are humble, and don’t ask for anything in return for their service.

THANKSGIVING

Move America Forward are packaging special Thanksgiving packages for our troops, who are thousands of miles away from their families. Please go here to sponsor a package and sendd a note of thanksgiving to our troops.

WREATHS ACROSS AMERICA

This year Move America Forward has joined hands with Wreaths Across America in a goal to place a wreath on every veteran’s grave. We are proud to be part of this noble endeavor and ask you to please participate in remembering our veterans.

Thank you for your patriotism.

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Monday, November 10, 2008

MAF Picks up Another Shipment of Candy Diplomacy Jelly Beans for our Troops!

Today MAF went to Fairfield, CA to pick up another big order of Candy Diplomacy Jelly Beans!

These Jelly Beans are for our next big shipment of care packages, which are going to start going out very shortly so we can get them to the troops by Thanksgiving!

The idea for Candy Diplomacy came about when we shipped the troops little .35 ounce packets of Jelly Belly jelly beans in care packages last year.

The feedback we got from the troops was that not only were the jelly beans hugely popular among the troops, but they were the perfect size and item to hand out to the Iraqi children that some of the troops would visit with on patrol. 

So when we contacted the Jelly Belly company and told them about our idea to have a special message in Arabic printed on the bags, they thought it would be a great project and help make relations between Americans and Iraqis even friendlier

The first run of these specially bagged Jelly Beans was 100,000 bags and we blew through those in a few months because of the success of the “From the Front Lines” telethon which sold so many care packages. So Jelly Belly made us another shipment

Arriving at the factory

They made us put on hairnets and BEARD NETS!

LOTS of candy!

All packed up and ready to take the Jelly Bellys back to Sacramento

Ryan moves pallets around with this nifty electric pallet jack

Jelly beans stored and waiting for packing!

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