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Beatrice1000
Resource Specialist
Joined: 10 Aug 2004
Posts: 1179
Location: Minneapolis, MN
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 Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2005 5:12 pm Post subject: Fallujah update: troops doing incredible work! |
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When I look at these pictures of ongoing operations in Fallujah, it is with complex emotions. I think how terribly dangerous every moment is -- I try to imagine being a soldier there, tearing things down, rebuilding, surrounded by unknown foes who are hunting you, who want to kill you or worse -- and who want to destroy everything you so laboriously create -- Manning checkpoints in and out of the city, knowing what you know about what you are dealing with... And yet within that environment there is order -- a determined persistence to continue on -- and I am so darn proud of their undertaking. The courage is almost unfathomable ... and this is only one of many places all over Iraq where our soldiers are hard at work. Protecting a little flicker of democracy against such odds -- incredible. (One would expect to find these images plastered all over our media -- in the headlines of newspapers: “Look America, see what you can do! How very proud you must be of your soldiers!”)
Consider putting that city “back together” from scratch. This is huge!
FALLUJAH UPDATE:
U.S. Marines and Iraqi civilians distribute food and water at the Humanitarian Assistance site in the Jolan area of the city of Al Fallujah. (1/15/05)
“As Residents Return to Fallujah, Marines Help Them Rebuild - 1/12/05
(excerpts)
FALLUJAH, Iraq: .... Fallujah, located on both sides of the Euphrates River west of Baghdad, had about 210 defensive positions in neighborhoods, mosques and schools. Many of the positions were laced with improvised explosive devices. The insurgents were planning more. The Marines found 503 weapons caches and are still finding about three per day. "The amount of weapons we found was incredible," said one Marine. "It was tough destroying it all." In one improvised explosive device factory – built in a home – the Marines uncovered 40 IEDs and two vehicle-borne IEDs, officials said. All told, Marines and soldiers found 29 IED/VBIED factories.
The Marines also found houses where insurgents tortured those who disagreed with them. Those houses often contained headless corpses and bodies "mutilated beyond belief," said the official. .... In the south, the Marines and soldiers razed whole blocks as insurgents fought to the end. And yet even as that was going on in the southern portion of the city, Marines were delivering supplies and clearing roads in the north.
The effort continues today. "I know you don't think so, but when I look at Fallujah, I'm impressed with how good it looks compared to the way it did," said Marine Col. John Coleman, chief of staff for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. Navy Seabees have hauled away tons of rubble. They have patched countless holes in houses and started the process of returning electricity and water to the city. They have now hired local construction firms to continue the work. The Marines are feeding thousands in the city at three humanitarian aid centers... (con’t.)
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After going through security checkpoints, Fallujans line up for rations at a humanitarian aid center. (Photo by Jim Garamone -1/05)
Fallujans pass a military convoy as they return to their city across the New Bridge. Insurgents had laced the bridge with improvised explosive devices. (Photo by Jim Garamone-1/05)
Marines make identification cards for returning Fallujans, 1/12/05. The cards create a database with fingerprints and retina scans to identify people. (Defense Dept. photo by Jim Garamone)
Iraqi civilians wait outside the city of Fallujah, Iraq, on foot and in vehicles to pass through one of multiple entry control points that give them access back into the city, 1/8/05. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Daniel J. Klein)
U.S. Marines and Iraqi civilians hand out humanitarian items at the humanitarian assistance site in the Jolan district of the city of Fallujah, Iraq, 1/4/05. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. James J. Vooris)
** MORE PICTURES **
** SOME MUSICAL TRIBUTES TO THE TROOPS **
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GenrXr
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Joined: 05 Aug 2004
Posts: 1720
Location: Houston
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| Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2005 5:19 pm Post subject: |
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I love our military and the sacrifice they are making so I can enjoy an easy living here state side. It is important we understand what they are doing in the middle east is something which has needed to be done since after WWII and as such the world will forever be safer. We are on the right side of history and the anti-american left facists are once again on the wrong side of history.
_________________
"An activist is the person who cleans up the water, not the one claiming its dirty."
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to stand by and do nothing." Edmund Burke (1729-1797), Founder of Conservative Philosophy |
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Airedale
Ensign
Joined: 02 Jun 2004
Posts: 50
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| Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2005 8:39 pm Post subject: |
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Other news;
From Mosul, Iraq ;
City-wide Cleanup Begins in Mosul
Mosul, Iraq -- Starting immediately, approximately 3,000 people will be hired and paid very well for cleaning up Iraq’s second largest city, Mosul.
All citizens of Mosul are eligible to participate in the cleaning program, which will consist of removing piles of trash, painting and repairing guard rails and bus stops.
The cleaning program is anticipated to last of six months.
Release #050114cc
http://www.mnf-iraq.com/media-information/news-releases.htm
Not a "Main stream media " news source |
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Beatrice1000
Resource Specialist
Joined: 10 Aug 2004
Posts: 1179
Location: Minneapolis, MN
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| Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2005 4:25 am Post subject: |
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I’m still fascinated with what we are trying to do in Falluja and so very proud of our work. Now that it’s in the process of being rebuilt and stabilized, it doesn’t seem to be of interest to many reporters… One would think that any reporter seeing these pictures would think, oh my goodness, what incredible work the military is doing in that city. One would think that.
U.S. Marines with 4th Civil Affairs Group hand out school supplies to Iraqi children on their first day back to school in Al Fallujah, Iraq, after Operation Al Fajr (New Dawn), Feb. 5, 2005. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Thomas D. Hudzinski)
<**MORE PICTURES**>
A US marine waves to an Iraqi woman on Sunday Feb. 6, 2005 as returnees begin to rebuild Fallujah under the protection of the Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines. Despite lingering anger over the scale of destruction, strict security measures now make the former insurgent stronghold in the "Sunni Triangle" one of the safest cities in Iraq, according to US forces. (Scott Peterson/Getty Images)
Iraqis hired by US Marines to clean the streets work alongside the road. (Scott Peterson/Getty Images)
A marine on patrol keeps both stun grenades and candy close at hand. (Scott Peterson/Getty Images)
<**MORE PICTURES**>
| Quote: | “Fallujans welcome security, await electricity,” by Scott Peterson, CS Monitor (2/8/05)
The former insurgent stronghold had one of the best voter turnouts in the Sunni triangle.
(excerpts/emphasis mine)
Amid the ruins of Fallujah, white flags are emerging - alerting US & Iraqi forces to the presence of Iraqi families moving back home, clearing the rubble, & trying to renew hope. Residents say that the insurgents who made the city a virtual no-go zone are gone. …
But now, the US Marines and the Iraqi government face a new challenge: convincing Fallujans that the insurgency here is over and that their ravaged homes can and will be rebuilt. "This is probably the safest city in the country," says US Marine Lt. Col. Keil Gentry, executive officer of Regiment Combat Team 1 (RCT1), that controls Fallujah. "Is it blooming everywhere? No. But it's like the beginning of spring, with signs of green emerging here and there." An unexpected measure of success came on election day last week. Nearly 8,000 people here defied insurgent threats and voted, according to US military officials.…..
Iraqis say the result shows how secure Fallujans are beginning to feel, and note with added surprise that more than a few said their ballot was for Iyad Allawi, the US-backed interim prime minister who ordered the Fallujah invasion. "It's better that the Americans are here," says Abdulrahab Abdulrahman, a teacher who carries a folder containing a compensation claim for the damage to his house. "I have the freedom to be a student, or whatever I want to be." The mujahideen "are gone," he says, clearly pleased, standing on a street strewn with rubble. "They are finished." ….
But even as many Fallujans shift from anger to accommodation, there are complaints. There is little electricity and less running water. When Mr. Abdulrahman sees a marine pointing his rifle at pedestrians far down the street to get a better look through his rifle scope, the Iraqi scolds: "Don't do that. You could shoot a child." Among the sullen is Abdulwahid, a teacher who acknowledges that Fallujah is safer - perhaps even one of the safest places in Iraq - though he detests the US presence. "We don't fear anything now, but I'll feel safer when the Americans end their occupation," he says in English. …..
US military officials are quick to acknowledge that not everyone welcomes their presence. "There is a lot of stoicism - I've had some hard stares," says Colonel Gentry, from Carlsbad, Calif. But the Marines are trying to soften the blow by creating jobs, and stepping in when local officials are overwhelmed. ….
"We thought when people came in, they would be (ready to) riot, because of the destruction," says Capt. Paul Batty, of the 3rd Battalion 5th Marines. "This whole evolution (from invasion to rebuilding) has gone better than we ever imagined.” ….. Officers acknowledge that the learning curve for bringing a wrecked city empty of both civilians and insurgents to any kind of normalcy has been steep. Election day turnout was a first step. "We were shocked," says Batty. "We nearly ran out of ballot papers. We were not prepared for that many people." (...con’t) |
“The Scimitar” – 2/11/05, p. 7:
"Fallujah citizens’ tips lead to insurgents, weapons caches"
CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, Iraq — Iraqi citizens in Fallujah provided information that aided Iraqi and U.S. forces in two counterinsurgency operations Feb. 1. In a move that officials said demonstrated the citizens’ desire to rid their city of insurgents, the residents informed Iraqi army forces around 1 p.m. about insurgents living in a specific house in southern Fallujah. The Iraqi soldiers immediately went there. Upon searching the premises, they apprehended four insurgents and discovered four rocket-propelled grenade launchers, two sniper rifles, a suicide belt, two gas masks, an improvised rocket launcher, two 52 mm rockets, three RPG motors and two grenades. Four hours later, a citizen approached an Iraqi public order battalion with information regarding a possible weapons cache in southern Fallujah. The battalion provided that information to U.S. Marines, who found eight 155 mm artillery rounds, two 122 mm mortar rounds, six 152 mm artillery rounds, 600 feet of detonation cord, 500 feet of time-fuse cord, two seismic detonators and two canisters of explosives.
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wpage
Lieutenant
Joined: 03 Aug 2004
Posts: 213
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| Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2005 4:53 am Post subject: |
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| This is such GOOD NEWS! The old MSM should be shamed as much as possible. Thanks for these excellent photos and news articles. |
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Me#1You#10
Site Admin
Joined: 06 May 2004
Posts: 6503
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| Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2005 4:58 am Post subject: |
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| Airedale wrote: |
Not a "Main stream media " news source |
Great website...thanks for the link. |
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Beatrice1000
Resource Specialist
Joined: 10 Aug 2004
Posts: 1179
Location: Minneapolis, MN
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| Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2005 3:05 pm Post subject: |
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This is just too precious - had to give it a post:
Marines make Valentine's Day visit in Fallujah, Iraq
Rahma Katheer, 8, a native of Fallujah, Iraq, gives Cpl. David Pavon, a civil affairs noncommissioned officer with Civil Affairs Detachment 4-4, Regimental Combat Team 1, 1st Marine Division, a kiss after receiving Valentine cards and candy from him Feb. 14, while in Fallujah, Iraq. The Marines visited several facilities in the city, during a civil military operation to check the progress of each location. (Photo by: Cpl. K. T. Tran) |
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