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Mollusk
10-02-2004, 04:56 PM
I haven't posted for a long time but I thought this was important information to pass along. This is an e-mail sent by an American journalist in Iraq to his friends. Shows a different side than we're used to seeing.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/100304X.shtml

Crick
10-03-2004, 06:30 AM
Thanks for your post. Very interesting.

Jolie Rouge
10-03-2004, 07:04 AM
Editor's Note: This is an open letter from U.S. Army Maj. Eric Rydbom in Iraq to the First Lutheran Church of Richmond Beach in Shoreline, Wash. Rydbom is Deputy Division Engineer of the 4th Infantry Division.

It has been a while since I have written to my friends at First Lutheran Church about what's really going on here in Iraq. The news you watch on TV is exaggerated, sensationalized and selective. Good news doesn't sell.

The stuff you don't hear about on CNN?

Let's start with electrical power production in Iraq. The day after the war was declared over, there was nearly 0 power being generated in Iraq. Just 45 days later, in a partnership between the Army, the Iraqi people and some private companies, there are now 3200 megawatts (Mw) of power being produced daily, 1/3 of the total national potential of 8000 Mw. Downed power lines (big stuff, 400 Kilovolt (Kv) and 132 Kv) are being repaired and are about 70 percent complete.

Then there is water purification. In central Iraq between Baghdad and Mosul, home of the 4th Infantry Division, water treatment was spotty at best. The facilities existed, but the controls were never implemented. Simple chemicals like Chlorine for purification and Alum (Aluminum Sulfate) for sediment settling (the Tigris River is about as clear as the Mississippi River) were in very short supply or not used at all. When chlorine was used, it was metered by the scientific method of guessing.

So some people got pool water to drink and some people got water with lots of little things floating around in it. We are slowly but surely solving that. Contracts for repairs to facilities that are only 50 percent or less operational are being let, chemicals are being delivered, although we don't have the metering problem solved yet ( ... but again, it's only been 45 days).

How about oil and fuel? Well the war was all about oil wasn't it? You bet it was. It was all about oil for the Iraqi people! They have no other income, they produce nothing else. Oil is 95 percent of the Iraqi GNP. For this nation to survive, it must sell oil.

The Refinery at Bayji is [operating] at 75 percent of capacity producing gasoline. The crude pipeline between Kirkuk (Oil Central) and Bayji will be repaired by tomorrow (2 June). LPG, what all Iraqis use to cook and heat with, is at 103 percent of normal production and we, the U.S. Army, are ensuring it is being distributed fairly to all Iraqis.

You have to remember that only three months ago, all these things were used by the Saddam regime as weapons against the population to keep them in line. If your town misbehaved, gasoline shipments stopped, LPG pipelines and trucks stopped, water was turned off, power was turned off.

Now, until exports start, every drop of gasoline produced goes to the Iraqi people. Crude oil is being stored and the country is at 75 percent capacity right now. They need to export or stop pumping soon, so thank the U.N. for the delay.

All LPG goes to the Iraqi people everywhere. Water is being purified as best it can be, but at least its running all the time to everyone.

Are we still getting shot at? Yep.

Are American soldiers still dying? Yep, about one a day from my outfit, the 4th Infantry Division, most in accidents, but dead is dead.

If we are doing all this for the Iraqis, why are they shooting at us?

The general Iraqi population isn't shooting at us. There are still bad guys who won't let go of the old regime. They are Ba'ath party members (Read Nazi Party, but not as nice) who have known nothing but and supported nothing but the regime all of their lives. These are the thugs for the regime who caused many to disappear in the night. They have no other skills. At least the Nazis [in Germany] had jobs and a semblance of a national infrastructure that they could go back to after the war, as plumbers, managers, engineers, etc. These people have no skills but terror. They are simply applying their skills ... and we are applying ours.

There is no Christian way to say this, but they must be eliminated and we are doing so with all the efficiency we can muster. Our troops are shot at literally everyday by small arms and Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs). We respond. One hundred percent of the time, the Ba''ath party guys come out with the short end of the stick.

The most amazing thing to me is that they don't realize that if they stopped shooting at us, we would focus on fixing things more quickly and then leave back to the land of the Big PX. The more they shoot at us, the longer we will have to stay.

Lastly, all of you please realize that 90 percent of the damage you see on TV was caused by Iraqis, not by us and not by the war. Sure, we took out a few bridges from military necessity, we took out a few power and phone lines to disrupt communications, sure we drilled a few palaces and government headquarters buildings with 2000 lb. laser guided bombs (I work 100 yards from where two hit the Tikrit Palace), [but] he had plenty to spare.

But, any damage you see to schools, hospitals, power generation facilities, refineries, pipelines, was all caused either by the Iraqi Army in its death throes or from much of the Iraqi civilians looting the places.

Could we have prevented it? Nope.

We can and do now, but 45 days ago, the average soldier was fighting for his own survival and trying to get to his objectives as fast as possible. He was lucky to know what town he was in much less be informed enough to know who owned what or have the power to stop 1,000 people from looting and burning a building by himself.

The United States and our allies, especially Great Britain, are doing a very noble thing here. We stuck our necks out on the world's chopping block to free an entire people from the grip of a horrible terror that was beyond belief.

I've already talked the weapons of mass destruction thing to death - bottom line, who cares? This country was one big conventional weapons ammo dump anyway. We have probably destroyed more weapons and ammo in the last 30 days than the U.S. Army has ever fired in the last 30 years (remember, this is a country the size of Texas), so drop the WMD argument as the reason we came here. If we find it great if we don't, so what?

I'm living in a "guest palace" on a 500-acre palace compound with 20 palaces with like facilities built in half a dozen towns all over Iraq that were built for one man. Drive down the street and out into the countryside five miles away like I have and see all the families of 10 or more, all living in mud huts and herding the two dozen sheep on which their very existence depends ..then tell me why you think we are here.

WMD is an important issue. We have to find them wherever they may be (in Syria?), but that is not our real motivator. Don't let it be yours either.

Respectfully,

ERIC RYDBOM MAJOR, ENGINEER
Deputy Division Engineer
4th Infantry Division


www.snopes.com/politics/war/rydbom.asp

Jolie Rouge
10-03-2004, 07:06 AM
Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1, 2003...

.. the first battalion of the new Iraqi Army has graduated and is on active duty.

.. over 60,000 Iraqis now provide security to their fellow citizens.

.. nearly all of Iraq's 400 courts are functioning.

.. the Iraqi judiciary is fully independent.

.. on Monday, October 6 power generation hit 4,518 megawatts - exceeding the prewar average.

.. all 22 universities and 43 technical institutes and colleges are open, as are nearly all primary and secondary schools.

.. by October 1, Coalition forces had rehab-ed over 1,500 schools - 500 more than scheduled.

.. teachers earn from 12 to 25 times their former salaries.

.. all 240 hospitals and more than 1200 clinics are open.

.. doctors salaries are at least eight times what they were under Saddam.

.. pharmaceutical distribution has gone from essentially nothing to 700 tons in May to a current total of 12,000 tons.

.. the Coalition has helped administer over 22 million vaccination doses to Iraq's children.

.. a Coalition program has cleared over 14,000 kilometers of Iraq's 27,000 kilometers of weed-choked canals which now irrigate tens of thousands of farms. This project has created jobs for more than 100,000 Iraqi men and women.

.. we have restored over three-quarters of prewar telephone services and over two-thirds of the potable water production.

.. there are 4,900 full-service telephone connections. We expect 50,000 by year-end.

.. the wheels of commerce are turning. From bicycles to satellite dishes to cars and trucks, businesses are coming to life in all major cities and towns.

.. 95 percent of all prewar bank customers have service and first-time customers are opening accounts daily.

.. Iraqi banks are making loans to finance businesses.

.. the central bank is fully independent.

.. Iraq has one of the worlds most growth-oriented investment and banking laws.

.. Iraq has a single, unified currency for the first time in 15 years.

.. satellite TV dishes are legal.

.. foreign journalists aren't on 10-day visas paying mandatory and extortionate fees to the Ministry of Information for minders and other government spies.

.. there is no Ministry of Information.

.. there are more than 170 newspapers.

.. you can buy satellite dishes on what seems like every street corner.

.. foreign journalists (and everyone else) are free to come and go.

.. a nation that had not one single element - legislative, judicial or executive - of a representative government, now does.

... in Baghdad alone residents have selected 88 advisory councils. Baghdad's first democratic transfer of power in 35 years happened when the city council elected its new chairman.

.. today in Iraq chambers of commerce, business, school and professional organizations are electing their leaders all over the country.

.. 25 ministers, selected by the most representative governing body in Iraq's history, run the day-to-day business of government.

.. the Iraqi government regularly participates in international events. Since July the Iraqi government has been represented in over two dozen international meetings, including those of the UN General Assembly, the Arab League, the World Bank and IMF and, today, the Islamic Conference Summit. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs today announced that it is reopening over 30 Iraqi embassies around the world.

.. Shia religious festivals that were all but banned, aren't.

.. for the first time in 35 years, in Karbala thousands of Shiites celebrate the pilgrimage of the 12th Imam.

.. the Coalition has completed over 13,000 reconstruction projects, large and small, as part of a strategic plan for the reconstruction of Iraq.

.. Uday and Queasy are dead - and no longer feeding innocent Iraqis to the zoo lions, raping the young daughters of local leaders to force cooperation, torturing Iraq's soccer players for losing games, or murdering critics.

.. children aren't imprisoned or murdered when their parents disagree with the government.

.. political opponents aren't imprisoned, tortured, executed, maimed, or are forced to watch their families die for disagreeing with Saddam.

.. millions of longsuffering Iraqis no longer live in perpetual terror.

.. Saudis will hold municipal elections.

.. Qatar is reforming education to give more choices to parents.

.. Jordan is accelerating market economic reforms.

.. the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded for the first time to an Iranian — a Muslim woman who speaks out with courage for human rights, for democracy and for peace.

.. Saddam is gone.

.. Iraq is free.

.. President Bush has not faltered or failed.

.. Yet, little or none of this information has been published by the Press corps that prides itself on bring you all the news that's important.

Iraq under US lead control has come further in six months than Germany did in seven years or Japan did in nine years following WWII. Military deaths from fanatic Nazi's, and Japanese numbered in the thousands and continued for over three years after WWII victory was declared.

It took the US over four months to clear away the twin tower debris, let alone attempt to build something else in its place.

Now, take into account that almost every Democrat leader in the House and Senate has fought President Bush on every aspect of his handling of this country's war and the post-war reconstruction; and that they continue to claim on a daily basis on national TV that this conflict has been a failure.

Taking everything into consideration, even the unfortunate loss of our sons and daughters in this conflict, do you think anyone else in the world could have accomplished as much as the United States and the Bush administration in so short a period of time?

http://www.snopes.com/politics/war/combatend.asp

Jolie Rouge
10-03-2004, 07:08 AM
This is a letter from Ray Reynolds, a medic in the Iowa Army National Guard, serving in Iraq:

As I head off to Baghdad for the final weeks of my stay in Iraq, I wanted to say thanks to all of you who did not believe the media. They have done a very poor job of covering everything that has happened. I am sorry that I have not been able to visit all of you during my two week leave back home. And just so you can rest at night knowing something is happening in Iraq that is noteworthy, I thought I would pass this on to you. This is the list of things that has happened in Iraq recently:

(Please share it with your friends and compare it to the version that your paper is producing.)

* Over 400,000 kids have up-to-date immunizations.

* School attendance is up 80% from levels before the war.

* Over 1,500 schools have been renovated and rid of the weapons stored there so education can occur.

* The port of Uhm Qasar was renovated so grain can be off-loaded from ships faster.

* The country had its first 2 billion barrel export of oil in August.

* Over 4.5 million people have clean drinking water for the first time ever in Iraq.

* The country now receives 2 times the electrical power it did before the war.

* 100% of the hospitals are open and fully staffed, compared to 35% before the war.

* Elections are taking place in every major city, and city councils are in place.

* Sewer and water lines are installed in every major city.

* Over 60,000 police are patrolling the streets.

* Over 100,000 Iraqi civil defense police are securing the country.

* Over 80,000 Iraqi soldiers are patrolling the streets side by side with US soldiers.

* Over 400,000 people have telephones for the first time ever.

* Students are taught field sanitation and hand washing techniques to prevent the spread of germs.

* An interim constitution has been signed.

* Girls are allowed to attend school.

* Textbooks that don't mention Saddam are in the schools for the first time in 30 years.


Don't believe for one second that these people do not want us there. I have met many, many people from Iraq that want us there, and in a bad way. They say they will never see the freedoms we talk about but they hope their children will. We are doing a good job in Iraq and I challenge anyone, anywhere to dispute me on these facts. So If you happen to run into John Kerry, be sure to give him my email address and send him to Denison, Iowa. This soldier will set him straight. If you are like me and very disgusted with how this period of rebuilding has been portrayed, e-mail this to a friend and let them know there are good things happening.

Ray Reynolds, SFC
Iowa Army National Guard
234th Signal Battalion"


Origins: Like last year's much-circulated Combat's End piece, this message attempts to highlight what has been characterized as "the buildings that aren't burning" — the positive elements of U.S. military efforts in Iraq that are supposedly overlooked or ignored by a news media more interested in catching their audiences' attention by reporting the negative.

These types of items are generally impossible to categorize with a single truth value because they typically contain a mixture of fact, opinion, subjective statements, inaccuracies, and literally true but often misleading claims.

In regards to the question of authorship, it is true that SFC Ray Reynolds, a firefighter in civilian life, is a National Guardsman whose 234th Signal Battalion unit was called up to active duty, and that he wrote this piece. As Sgt. Reynolds responded to inquiries about his message:
I did write it and I am in Kuwait now on my way home. I wrote it while at home because I felt that too many people were exploiting the violence in Iraq to sell papers and gain votes. Sometimes the silent majority need to be awakened to respond to the bad things in our world. I am passionate about our President's decision and support this rebuilding whole heartedly...Yes legit..I am a fire fighter in Denison, Iowa and to verify, call Mike McKinnon of the Denison Iowa fire department.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/war/reynolds.asp

ladybugbhb
10-03-2004, 02:19 PM
the sad thing is, youwill not see any of this on any of the news channels

sahmsfreeb
10-03-2004, 02:35 PM
the sad thing is, youwill not see any of this on any of the news channels
because human kindess doesnt sell....
hatred, slime, sex and evil sells..

perhaps if the PAX chanel had its own news...

Jolie Rouge
10-03-2004, 02:37 PM
Claim: Navy corpsman's e-mail dissuades his mother from attending anti-war demonstration.

Status: True.


Dear Mom,

It's really your decision to march if you want to or not. You are the one who has to decide if what we are doing out here is right or not. My opinion is not yours.

I do, however, have things I would like for you and Grandma and everyone else at home to know.

I am a United States soldier. I was sworn to defend my country against all enemies, foreign and domestic. People may not agree with the things we are ordered to do. I would like to address those people by telling them that terrorism is not only a threat to us as Americans, but to many other innocent people in the world.

What type of country would we be if we didn't defend the rights and freedoms of others, not because they're Americans, but how about just because they're human?

We live in a country where people feel secure with their daily lives. They do business like usual and don't worry about the thought of terrorism actually happening to them.

The people of 9-11 thought the same thing. We now know that it can happen to anyone at any time.

Yet as Americans we're afraid of losing our soldiers to defend our security. I can only speak for myself when I say that my life is an easy expense to ensure that my family and friends can live in peace.

I strongly believe in what we are doing and wish you were here to see for yourselves the honor and privilege that American soldiers aboard this ship are feeling, knowing that we are going to be a part of something so strong and so meaningful to the safety of our loved ones. Then you would know what this potential war is about.

We will stand tall in front of terrorism and defeat it. We as soldiers are not afraid of what may happen. We are only afraid of Americans not being able to understand why we are here.

I ask for your courage as Americans to be strong for us; I ask for your understanding in what we believe is right. I ask for your support in what we are sworn to do: defend our country and the life of all.

We will succeed in our task and will end the threat of terrorism in our back yard. We will also end the threat of terrorism in our neighbors'.

We have to remind ourselves of what this country stands for: life, liberty and justice for all. In order to maintain those rights we have to stop the threat of terrorism.

I am proud to be here. I will be coming home, but not until I know that it's going to be safe for all Americans and for everyone I love.

My family is first. My country is where they live. I will defend it.

Lonnie J. Lewis
Navy corpsman
C Co. 1/4 WPN PLT
UIC 39726
FPO AP 966139726


P.S. Mom, please send this to everyone who has a hard time understanding why we are here. Ask the paper to put what I've said in a column so that others will know why we are here and what we are here for.

I love you all and will be home soon. I left my address so that if anyone feels like writing to let me know how they feel, they can.



Origins: The letter quoted above was sent via e-mail by Lonnie J. Lewis, a Navy corpsman deployed in Kuwait attached to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade, in response to his mother's query about how he would feel if she joined other relatives in participating in a Hollywood anti-war demonstration. His letter was published in the Las Vegas Review-Journal on 8 March 2003, and the newspaper also ran an article about Lewis' mother and grandfather the same day.

Lewis' mother, Karen Perez, said in a telephone interview that "she decided not to join the antiwar protest after reading her son's e-mail."




The URL for this page is www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/momletter.asp

stresseater
10-03-2004, 08:37 PM
Lewis' mother, Karen Perez, said in a telephone interview that "she decided not to join the antiwar protest after reading her son's e-mail." Good for her. :D

nanajoanie
10-03-2004, 09:17 PM
Jolie Rouge - you hit it right again this time. Thanks so much for this post. Our soldiers are doing a good job but it doesn't make the national news because there is no explosion or death or mutilation or surprise attack or no missle destroyed convoys. No excitement in telling something good about what's going on in the 'sandbox'. My son often tells me about the good things going on and the wonderful, grateful Iraqi people. The citizens are so glad we are there to help them. I also hear it from other soldiers. They have all been shot at, had missles hits on their convoys. But they are still fighting to help the "average" Iraqi" person and his/her family.

OMG!! I wish my son Mur was home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

nanajoanie
10-03-2004, 09:25 PM
Claim: Navy corpsman's e-mail dissuades his mother from attending anti-war demonstration.

Status: True.


Dear Mom,

It's really your decision to march if you want to or not. You are the one who has to decide if what we are doing out here is right or not. My opinion is not yours.

I do, however, have things I would like for you and Grandma and everyone else at home to know.

I am a United States soldier. I was sworn to defend my country against all enemies, foreign and domestic. People may not agree with the things we are ordered to do. I would like to address those people by telling them that terrorism is not only a threat to us as Americans, but to many other innocent people in the world.

What type of country would we be if we didn't defend the rights and freedoms of others, not because they're Americans, but how about just because they're human?

We live in a country where people feel secure with their daily lives. They do business like usual and don't worry about the thought of terrorism actually happening to them.

The people of 9-11 thought the same thing. We now know that it can happen to anyone at any time.

Yet as Americans we're afraid of losing our soldiers to defend our security. I can only speak for myself when I say that my life is an easy expense to ensure that my family and friends can live in peace.

I strongly believe in what we are doing and wish you were here to see for yourselves the honor and privilege that American soldiers aboard this ship are feeling, knowing that we are going to be a part of something so strong and so meaningful to the safety of our loved ones. Then you would know what this potential war is about.

We will stand tall in front of terrorism and defeat it. We as soldiers are not afraid of what may happen. We are only afraid of Americans not being able to understand why we are here.

I ask for your courage as Americans to be strong for us; I ask for your understanding in what we believe is right. I ask for your support in what we are sworn to do: defend our country and the life of all.

We will succeed in our task and will end the threat of terrorism in our back yard. We will also end the threat of terrorism in our neighbors'.

We have to remind ourselves of what this country stands for: life, liberty and justice for all. In order to maintain those rights we have to stop the threat of terrorism.

I am proud to be here. I will be coming home, but not until I know that it's going to be safe for all Americans and for everyone I love.

My family is first. My country is where they live. I will defend it.

Lonnie J. Lewis
Navy corpsman
C Co. 1/4 WPN PLT
UIC 39726
FPO AP 966139726


P.S. Mom, please send this to everyone who has a hard time understanding why we are here. Ask the paper to put what I've said in a column so that others will know why we are here and what we are here for.

I love you all and will be home soon. I left my address so that if anyone feels like writing to let me know how they feel, they can.



Origins: The letter quoted above was sent via e-mail by Lonnie J. Lewis, a Navy corpsman deployed in Kuwait attached to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade, in response to his mother's query about how he would feel if she joined other relatives in participating in a Hollywood anti-war demonstration. His letter was published in the Las Vegas Review-Journal on 8 March 2003, and the newspaper also ran an article about Lewis' mother and grandfather the same day.

Lewis' mother, Karen Perez, said in a telephone interview that "she decided not to join the antiwar protest after reading her son's e-mail."




The URL for this page is www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/momletter.asp


I'm sitting here with my eyes leaking all over me. I'm unable to stop. This was so touching. Her son said what I have been trying to post for several months. I'm so proud of all of our soldiers. Please everyone, support our troups regardless of how you feel about the 'war'. Those are our family members over there. I'm outta here. I can't see the monitor through the tears :(

Jolie Rouge
10-03-2004, 09:46 PM
{{nana}}


I am so sorry -- I didn't mean to make you cry.


I have several dear friends there too and recently one of them told me their deadliest enemy right now is the Americian Liberal Media ...

janelle
10-03-2004, 10:18 PM
Oil dreams? Insurgents disrupt oil flow routinely as a result of sabotage and oil prices have hit record high of $49 a barrel. Who did this war exactly benefit? Was it worth it? Are we safer because Saddam is holed up and Al Qaeda is running around in Iraq?
================================================== ========

Saddam is holed up???? Are you sure a journalist wrote this? What a strange thing to say about Saddam's imprisionment. He was "holed up" when he was hiding from the American troops but I wouldn't say he was holed up now---he is impisioned. Sounds like this was written before Saddam's capture. Something is funny about the story, I don't care what date it has on it.. :confused:

Jolie Rouge
10-17-2007, 11:46 AM
seemed topical just now ....

YankeeMary
10-17-2007, 12:40 PM
Oh my I just read this without of course reading the date. I asked DH did they end the war...lol. Then I read where Nana said she wished Mur was home and I thought oh my they called him back out, hardcore war must be going on, so I grabbed the remote to tune into CNN or something...lol. Then I have enough sense to read the date...lol. Thank God Mur is still home. I don't think I could handle another deployment of his...haha.

Jolie Rouge
10-17-2007, 12:58 PM
LOL - it was related to a thread in FYI ...

Sorry, didn't mean to scare you... :blush:

YankeeMary
10-17-2007, 01:05 PM
LOL - it was related to a thread in FYI ...

Sorry, didn't mean to scare you... :blush:

Well thats twice today you got me...:getyou

Jolie Rouge
10-17-2007, 01:09 PM
hmmm ... three is my lucky number ...

Be afraid

very afraid

( wanna buy a box ? )

loris520
10-17-2007, 01:10 PM
Interesting statistics Regardless of where you stand on the issue of the
U.S involvement in Iraq, here's a sobering statistic. There has been a
monthly average of 160,000 troops in the Iraq theatre of operations
during the last 22 months, and a total of 2,867 deaths. That gives a
firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000 soldiers.

The firearm death rate in Washington D.C. is 80.6 per 100 ,000
persons for the same period. That means that you are about 25% more
likely to be shot and killed in the U.S. Capital than you
are in Iraq.

Conclusion: The U.S. should pull out of Washington.

ought this kind of intresting had to post it.

Jolie Rouge
10-17-2007, 02:26 PM
Interesting statistics. Regardless of where you stand on the issue of the U.S involvement in Iraq, here's a sobering statistic. There has been a monthly average of 160,000 troops in the Iraq theatre of operations during the last 22 months, and a total of 2,867 deaths. That gives a firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000 soldiers.

The firearm death rate in Washington D.C. is 80.6 per 100,000 persons for the same period. That means that you are about 25% more likely to be shot and killed in the U.S. Capital than you are in Iraq.

Conclusion: The U.S. should pull out of Washington.

Thought this kind of intresting had to post it.

Not sure how old that data is ... but this is current...

MNF-Iraq reported: http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?op...12&It emid=21

Violence reduced in Baghdad
Sunday, 14 October 2007

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq – A reduction in violence in neighborhoods on Baghdad’s northwest side and an improved security situation are allowing reconstruction efforts and economic gains to flourish, according to the commander of the brigade that has patrolled the area for nearly a year.

...

The implementation of the Baghdad Security Plan, Operation Fardh Al-Qanoon, allowed the Dagger Brigade to move into neighborhoods with a permanent presence, Burton added, with the end result being an 85 percent reduction in violence in the area since May. ( in an area which spans most of northwestern Baghdad )

“Of our 95 ‘Mulhallas,’ or neighborhoods—58 of them are now considered under control, 33 remain in a clearing status with violence continuing to go down, and four remain in a disrupt status,” Burton noted. He said murders in the area, which a year ago occurred more than 150 times each week, are down to an average of five a week.

That is fewer then in New Orleans ...

tngirl
10-17-2007, 04:24 PM
I'm voting for Colbert

nightrider127
10-17-2007, 05:06 PM
No doubt in my mind who I am going to vote for.

SPUD!!!! Thats right folks, unless someone better comes along, I will write in Spuds name. So if you hear, on Election night 2008, that someone in Ohio voted for someone named Spud, it will be me.

Jolie Rouge
11-13-2012, 06:05 AM
Spuds 2016

Jolie Rouge
03-29-2014, 09:01 PM
http://img.ifcdn.com/images/7f76bd9cfa9c2b5370edd52b01840b6982c85c4da6a42446a6 39a611ca6267a5_1.jpg