Positive News from Iraq

[Felix The Assassin]

As we all see on the news, we are back to nothing but the 'BAD" from Iraq. So's, I decided to post a open for public distribuiton news article, so you the unknowing can see a small bit of good that actually transpires in Iraq.

I ask that you do not send this to any other news agency, as they will deny, deny, deny, because they were to insterested in some other topic of the day.


Left to right -- Brigadier General ~edit~, United States Marine Corps, Legislative Assistant to the Commandant, (Former Assistant Division Commander of 1st Marine Division), Colonel ~edit~, United States Army, Chief of Staff, 1st Cavalry Division, (Former commander, 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division), and Command Sergeant Major ~edit~, Command Sergeant Major, III Corps, (Formerly Command Sergeant Major, 1st Cavalry Division) listen to remarks by House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) during testimonies on troop performance in Operation Iraqi Freedom.


Commentary: When the cavalry really counts
By Sgt. ~edit~
November 7, 2005

Too often Americans focus on combat losses in Iraq and overlook the long-term benefits of reconstruction projects in scores of Iraqi cities and towns.

The leaders of the 1st Cavalry Division gave testimony at the House Armed Services Committee Nov. 3 about mission successes, especially the rebuilding of infrastructure, during their tenure in Operation Iraqi Freedom II.

Sense of legitimacy

While Soldiers engage and destroy the enemies of the United States in far away lands, destroying the infrastructures of foreign nations is in fact not what American Soldiers do best, nor is it what they aspire to do. One example can be found in Sadr City during 2004, where the 1st Calvary Division took on the mantle of infrastructure rebuilding oversight that was being carried by their predecessors in theater, the First Armored Division and 2nd Cavalry Regiment.

“I can’t describe the scene in Sadr City in December, 2004, when fresh water began flowing from the brand new water network, servicing 100,000 people for the first time ever,” said Army Col. ~edit~, 1st Cavalry Division chief of staff during Operation Iraqi Freedom II. “This was only one part of the more than $300 million dollars in large scale infrastructure projects the 1st Calvary Division oversaw in partnership with USAID and the Iraqi people last year.

“Part of our area of operations included 20 square kilometers of fertile farmland along the Diyala River,” said ~edit~. “One of my Battalions created an Iraqi farmer’s co-op, and oversaw the planting of over 240 tons of seed and influenced thousands of Iraqi’s perceptions of the United States by donating tons of humanitarian items such as chickens, beef, sheep, shoes, and heaters directly to the people.”

Rebirth of nation, birth of democracy

Iraq’s first post-Saddam Hussein election voter turnout was measured by news services in terms of millions of voters who braved the barrage of insurgents and terrorist car bomb attacks on the voting stations. But there was there was something overlooked on the front pages of the world’s media coverage; the many faces of a new Iraqi nation.

“During the elections in January 2005, we worked side by side with Iraqi Election Commission officials throughout every step of the process,” said Abrams. “And we always ensured there was an Iraqi face in the front, and our Soldiers and junior leaders were right behind them in the background with a large safety net in the event something would be dropped – and things were dropped, but our Soldiers were magnificent, and it was seamless to both the Iraqi people and to the world.”

For those who have “bothered to come over there” and have seen what we’re doing, they really understand what we’re engaged in, said Army Command Sgt. Maj. ~edit~, command sergeant major of the 1st Cavalry Division during 2004. “The Soldiers know that what we’re doing over there is honorable and just. American Soldiers are “challenged every day, whether they are in training or on deployments, and they always live up to the challenges,” said ~edit~. “Our contractors and others who are with us also understand what we’re engaged in. Our Soldiers don’t just cut down the grass, they plant and replant the grass and help bring life back to the nation.”

[Melcheor]

Originally posted by Felix The Assassin: ... By Sgt. ~edit~ ...

Says it all really. Don't get me wrong, its good that you've posted this, its always worth hearing both poits of view. I still think its a rose tinted picture, even if it is true for the situation described. The media coverage of Iraq has died down recently over here. Either its getting better over there or the media has moved on.

I'm more inclined to believe this than much of the media coverage, but not much more...

[John D Harris]

Now Felix, you know better then to post something like this. Everybody knows the US military just wants to kill and maim innocent little children. Why they even teach you in boot camp how to steal teddy bears from babies. Everybody knows that you guys would rather target women and children then men that are armed. This story has to be a made up pro Bush pack of lies.
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*Spoiler* The above is called sarcasim.
Thanks for trying to bring out some of the truth Fleix, but it won't matter. There's an extremely large group of people that have NEVER been to Iraq, never will go to Iraq, "Hale" they don't even listen to those that have been to Iraq. Yet they think they got a clue sitting on their rears ends thousands of miles away confortable in their homes(in many cases their parents homes) behind their computer monitors giving up all abilty to disearn reasoning from feelings. Thanks again for your SERVICE and the years you put in.

[ 11-19-2005, 09:43 AM: Message edited by: John D Harris ]

[shamrock_uk]

I seem to have missed this one the first time round. There's a good website listing similar successes that can be found here.

Iraqi Infrastructure : Multi-national forces report on Iraq reconstruction successes Thursday, August 4th 2005 Working together, Iraqi citizens and Coalition partners have taken additional strides toward a self-reliant Iraq in July. Reconstruction and humanitarian projects touched the lives of Iraqis, while the constitutional committee worked toward a resolution of difficult issues. Each individual success marked progress. What follows is a partial list of these successes. Health Nineteen Iraqi military physicians, nurses, medics and medical equipment technicians from the Iraqi Armed Forces went to Germany for five weeks of field hospital, mass casualty and biomedical equipment maintenance training that taught them how to use a variety of donated medical equipment. During the second week in July, Coalition Forces worked with Iraqi health officials in Owja, of the Salah Ad Din province, to open a hospital for the general public. Troops helped hire doctors and nurses, obtain beds, and fix the air conditioning system. Now the hospital provides basic healthcare, including gynecology, x-rays and general practice. The hospital served Saddam Hussein's family and friends but has been closed for several years. More than 20 healthcare facilities have been renovated, with many others in the process of being renovated. The $653,000 Al Husseiniya Primary Healthcare Center under construction in the Al Resafa District of Baghdad Province will include teaching and delivery facilities, as well as a labor center. The facilities are scheduled to be completed by the end of the year and will relieve the overburdened outpatient care currently being provided by existing hospitals. The final objective of implementing this health care system is to reduce overall infant mortality rate by at least 20 percent. Security Iraqi Police graduated from the second of three classes conducted by medics of the 3rd Infantry Division. The five-day course consisted of patient evaluation, wound care and treatment, and rapid vehicle extraction. The students received a wealth of knowledge regarding health care and day-to-day protocols, as well as lifesaving techniques. The 2nd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 8th Iraqi Army Division from al-Hillah were certified as being fully capable of planning and executing security operations. The unit will take control of Camp Echo and surrounding areas in ad Diwaniyah. The Soldiers will soon be patrolling the streets and conducting anti-terrorist operations in the city. On July 13, the IA held a ceremony in al-Hillah to commemorate the occasion. The Chief of Staff of the Australian Army, Lt. Gen. Peter Leahy, hosted a ceremony to present awards to the Iraqi Soldiers who rescued Douglas Wood, the Australian contractor held captive by terrorists for six weeks. Lt. Gen. Naseer Abadi, Deputy Chief of Staff, attended the ceremony and represented the Minister of Defense. The group of Australians presented gifts and offered special thanks to the battalion commander of the forces responsible for the rescue, Col. Mohammed Fa'ek Raouf of 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division. Coalition Soldiers and Kirkuk 's religious leaders came together for a religious conference. Kirkuk 's Governor, Abdulrahman Mustafa, addressed the assembly and said there should be unity and equality between Arab, Turkomen and Kurds. On July 15, the support functions at the Kirkush Military Training Base were transferred to Iraqi control. This is the fifth major base to transition to Iraqi responsibility. KMTB is the home of the Iraqi Training Brigade. An Iraqi female police station tops the list of more than a dozen active construction and planned projects in Najaf. The female police facility will be used to train female cadets to properly search other females at the many checkpoints and security stops throughout Iraq . Three other police station projects are under construction in Waf'a and Najaf city; two are police stations and one is a headquarters building. On July 16, a group of determined and proud Iraqis took a step in building democracy, and gave girls across their country positive role models to look up to. They became the first all-female class to graduate from Iraqi Army basic training. The training, taught entirely by Iraqi instructors, consisted of weapons qualifications and physical fitness development. More than 6,000 Iraqi Security Forces were trained this month, including 1,514 who graduated from the Jordan International Police Training Center on July 30. Sanitation Through surface-cleaning grants from U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and long-term privatized contracts, Baghdad residents established all-Iraqi-contracted neighborhood dumpsters, trash collection and removal teams, and trash transfer points, and the practice of littering the streets is slowly starting to change. The first of 27 new compact water treatment units officially opened in Sadr City July 19. The compact water units bring water to the residents while the expanded water system for Sadr City continues to develop. Each water unit produces 15,000 liters of potable water a day. The water is fully treated and ready for drinking. Additional water programs benefiting Sadr City include the recently expanded Shark Dijlah Water Treatment Plant, which is now providing 190 million more liters of water per day to Baghdad . A new main water line is being constructed to connect the Shark Dijlah to the northern Sadr City water network, and a new Sadr City Water Treatment Plant, coming soon, will provide about 190 million liters of water per day directly to northern Sadr City. Many sewer trunk lines have been cleaned or fixed, and work on the majority of sewer trunk lines continues. Each day, 50 million additional gallons of treated, drinkable water are being pumped to the Baghdad residents. New water wells and treatment facilities are in the progress of being constructed in addition to new delivery pipes being installed. Solid waste (trash) is being removed from the majority of sites in the Baghdad area; with some areas having it removed at least twice a week. Reconstruction On July 4, construction was finished on a $29,000 courthouse project in the Soran District of Erbil Province. It was the only Courthouse project programmed for construction in the district, but nationwide, there are 22 prison and court projects planned, with 13 ongoing and nine complete. The $240,000 Zaherat Village Water Network project in the Diyala Governorate was also completed -- 49 days ahead of schedule. This project replaced and refurbished an existing potable water system and pipelines in Zaherat, Abi Saida and Muqdadiya village water networks, providing 300,000 gallons of potable water per day. The El Salvadorian battalion completed construction on a bridge in the city of Al Kifl . Thirty Iraqi Citizens were employed in the project, and officials estimate that 3,000 people will regularly use the bridge, which is located near the Al Jehad School. Another school, the $95,000 Al Masharq School project in the Thi Qar Province, opened July 11. Community Projects More than 200 children and community members gathered at the Bayaa Youth Center in the Al Rashid district of Baghdad to participate in a uniform and wheelchair distribution, followed by a soccer game July 13. The community program provided complete soccer uniforms, soccer balls, and a variety of other items for the 240 children involved in the Bayaa Youth Soccer League. There was enough equipment to outfit 15 teams. In addition to the soccer match, 300 people were treated for minor illnesses by Iraqi doctors at a community health screening, and program coordinators distributed five wheelchairs to disabled people in the area. Kissimmee, Florida is close to formalizing a Sister City agreement with Zafaraniya, Iraq. Despite the 7,000-mile distance and significant cultural differences, citizens of both communities are working to establish a powerful bond to improve both cities. Once accepted as members, the cities will gain numerous programs and grant possibilities that should positively impact Zafaraniya. The program can last anywhere from six months to two years and has substantive goals with specific needs in mind – grants can be made available to target specific infrastructure projects such as sewer and water distribution, power generation or trash collection. Coalition Soldiers provided food, cooking utensils and cleaning supplies July 22 to residents of Kindi, a Baghdad neighborhood north of the International Zone. The supplies were delivered in the form of a Rhode pack, a sustenance package of more than one ton of food and supplies that included rice, beans, canned fish and meat, vegetables, cooking oil, dessert treats, pots and pans, serving utensils and propane stoves. Electricity Since the transfer of sovereignty more than a year ago, a total of 1,451 projects valued at $1.4 billion have been completed. Large-scale capital projects like power plants, water treatment plants and oil infrastructure facilities are being reconstructed and, in some cases, built anew. Demand for electricity is currently growing faster than it can be supplied; however, new power lines of 33 kilovolts have been completed. Generation plants are being built and transmission lines are being constructed to replace a decades-old, neglected electrical power system. More than 1,400 electrical towers and 8,600 kilometers of transmission lines have been installed. Costs Construction was completed this month on a $437,000 electrical distribution project in the Al Anbar Province; a $264,000 Maternity and Pediatric Hospital in the Wassit Province; a $240,000 potable water project in the Diyala Province; a $217,500 police station in the Baghdad Province; a $50,000 school repair project in the Salah al Din Province; and a $29,000 courthouse project in the Erbil Province. These projects, and the efforts of Iraqi citizens and Security Forces, are steadily building Iraq 's infrastructure.

[Nightwing]

This hardly seems like good news to me. I would not expect any country to come in and kill 100,000 of us just to build new buildings and sewer systems. This is all so tainted because we should never have been there in the first place. We have service men dying not protecting their country. It is such a horrible thing that we don't have people dedicated to peaceful compassion, instead they just get impatient and turn to violent measures. Some day we as a country will see that we are all part of this world, and we need to realize our oneness with each other, not hold entire populations hostage because a few misguided people have created turmoil. Hardly good news Felix.

[Timber Loftis]

Hey, John D., trying to characiturize the other side of thise debate does nothing to bolster the arguments of your side. We who feel CHEATED and LIED TO about this war, and think it was all a SHAM would of course like to see our fine soldiers succeed, and we will be very happy to be proven wrong. Every day we wait to be proven wrong. It's been a long number of years now.

[Morgeruat]

Got this from my boss last week while I was out of my office, thought I'd share.

(Feel free to disseminate) Hello all, This is the first of my holiday greetings from the glorious Middle East. I have settled in to the Groundhog Day routine that is life on base in Kuwait. Sleep, eat, work, eat work more, eat, gym. Do again. What day is it?!? It is like a Lather, Rinse, Repeat lifestyle taken all too literally. The one thing that saves your sanity is watching fellow troops come and go, knowing that one day it is suddenly your turn to head for the terminal. Work is busy and a significant contribution to the fight, so sense of purpose is not lacking. If you see a familiar face saying Merry Christmas on the television, it could be me. I’m the one wearing Desert Camo. Army Broadcast was here to record holiday greetings for hometown release this week, so pay attention when those of us in the fight come on the small screen in the evening. You might know some of us. Communications are good. Email is available most days and phone calls happen weekly. Mail has been arriving within 10 days. My APO is Matthew Lemmon (NO RANK) 16 ESOG, Unit 5 APO AE 09855 Care packages come and go quickly, so anything (mostly food) you care to send would be appreciated by all. The mess hall does their best, and it is a good effort with what they have to work with, but the weekly steak is tough and the seafood is not exactly Red Lobster. I will dine out early and often when I get home! Sunscreen and bug spray are abundant here and not as critical as winter arrives. Enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday with friends and family. As you do, please take a moment to remember those in harms way for the cause of freedom. And remember further, that despite the heated political debate, that we here in the fight believe strongly in the mission and that things we take for granted such as good schools, public infrastructure, religious freedoms, and constitutional rights are being brought to millions by unsung heroes for the first time in their lives. History calls and we have answered in a way that only the best trained, best equipped in the world can – as we always have and always will. One Team, One Fight. For God and Country, TSgt Matthew (Scott) Lemmon 16th Expeditionary Spec Ops Group

[Lanesra]

Bush is irked

Bush irked by program of paying Iraqi newspapers for positive articles

By JIM ABRAMS
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — President Bush is disturbed by the U.S. military's practice of paying Iraqi papers to run articles emphasizing positive developments in the country and will end the program if it violates the principles of a free media, a senior aide said Sunday.

"He's very troubled by it" and has asked Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to look into the pay-to-print program, national-security adviser Stephen Hadley said.

"If it is inconsistent with the policy guidance it will be shut down," Hadley said on ABC's "This Week."

Hadley said there is a need to counter the disinformation campaigns of U.S. enemies in Iraq. "But the message we need to get out has to be truth and facts," Hadley told "Fox News Sunday."

Even if the stories are factual, "it's got to be done in a way that reinforces a free media, not undermines it," Hadley said.

Military officials on Friday detailed and generally defended the program under which a Washington-based contractor was authorized to pay Iraqi papers to run articles, compiled by coalition forces. The stories often praise the activities of U.S. and Iraqi forces, denounce terrorism and promote reconstruction efforts. The Lincoln Group has a contract for $6 million to perform public-relations and advertising work in Iraq.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the legality and policy ramifications of the program were unclear. "Just because it's legal doesn't mean it's the right thing to do," he said.

But legislators and Pentagon officials also offered defense of the program, which U.S. military officials in Iraq described as "a function of buying advertising and opinion-editorial space, as is customary in Iraq."

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said he did not know if that was standard procedure in Iraq. But, he said on NBC's "Meet the Press," if the stories were accurate, "if that's the way to get stories, I'm not terribly offended by it."

[Morgeruat]

And as long as the stories are true, what's wrong with it? Is it any different than Al Jazeera publicizing and glorifying the actions of Al Qaeda and the various beheadings and other acts which the civilised world considers atrocities?

[Timber Loftis]

In many countries, bribes are a standard part of doing business. If you want a permit to build, or a newspaper story published, the culture in many areas of the world is that you need a little "grease the skids" money. It's actually legal for US businesses to use bribes in limited circumstances (pretty complex to explain the rules to you), so if that's what is going on here, then there may be no other alternative.