US army sees progress in Iraq; helicopter crash
Iraq-USA, Military, 7/3/2006

With the continued acts of violence in Iraq, a US army official said progress was being made.

This comes as the Pentagon announced yesterday the death of an airman who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. It said Airman 1st Class Carl Jerome Ware Jr., 22, of Glassboro, N.J.,died July 1, from a non-combat related cause at Camp Bucca, Iraq. He was assigned to the 15th Security Forces Squadron, Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. The incident is under investigation.

The day before, the Pentagon announced the death of a soldier, Cpl. Christopher D. Rose, 21, of San Francisco, Calif., who died on June 29 of injuries sustained from an improvised explosive device during combat operations in Baghdad, Iraq. Rose was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 67th Armored Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

AlsoSgt. Bryan C. Luckey, 25, of Tampa, Fla., died on June 29, in Mosul, Iraq, when he was shot by enemy forces while on mounted patrol. Luckey was assigned to the 562nd Engineer Company, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Fort Wainwright, Alaska.

S army official Colonel Jeffrey Snow, who is the commander of the 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, assigned to Multinational Division in Baghdad and has been operating primarily in northwestern Baghdad, said June 30th that " I think sometimes we just focus a little bit too much attention to, you know, IEDs and kidnappings and murders.  I am not denying those things happen, that they do.  I think how you get around that is, you know, I think embedded media is the answer.  By and large those media that have come out here and spent time with us -- and you were one of those -- I think they come away with a different perception when they actually get there and spend time with Iraqi security forces or they spend time with coalition forces, and they go around and see firsthand what is going on and talk to the people.  By no means do I want to undermine the kidnappings and some of the assassinations that are going on.  They're tough. And if I could give you one more example, take for example we have had some pretty tough attacks here recently with Operation Together Forward where some of our checkpoints have been attacked. Now, if you were to look at that, you'd think, well, that's a terrible thing the checkpoints are being attacked.  But if you go up there and you talk to the soldiers and the national policemen at those checkpoints, they feel like they're making a difference.  And we had four of these type attacks over the course of a three-day period.

"And in three out of the four, they thwarted those attacks.  They identified the VBIED before it got to the checkpoint, did a good job reacting, and as a result minimized casualties.  Additionally, they believe they have significantly disrupted the insurgent ability to move in and around western Baghdad. But if you don't get out there and spend the time with them, what you tend to focus on is the fact that, well, we had another, you know, VBIED strike.  That is unfortunate, but I think they're moving in the right direction."

He said "I believe that in conjunction with our Iraqi counterparts, we have contained, suppressed or disrupted the insurgencies in areas once considered safe havens.  Early in the deployment, success was indicated by the positive referendum and national election turnout that were a direct result of our combined operations to interdict insurgent networks and mitigate risk to the political process.

"Over the past four months, success has been seen in the disruption of Sunni and Shiite rejectionists and terrorist networks across the area of our responsibility.  The enemy has been forced to adopt new tactics as our combined offensive operations have continually disrupted insurgent activities.

" I'm pleased with the progress of Iraq security forces.  We have trained two Iraqi army brigades and one national police brigade that to a certain extent can plan, execute and sustain counterinsurgency operations with limited coalition support.  Though some logistics assistance is necessary, the Iraqi security forces are making progress in providing security for the Iraqi people.

"When we first arrived, we were partnered with one Iraqi brigade, and U.S. forces controlled over two-thirds of the battlespace.  As we depart, there are two Iraqi army brigades, a national police brigade  and a more robust Iraqi police force operating in our area, and Iraqi security forces are in the lead in two-thirds of the battlespace, with coalition forces in tactical overwatch. Because of the growing effectiveness of Iraqi security forces, we were able to expand coalition efforts to the west of Baghdad.  We have been able to disrupt insurgent networks and the route lines they used to travel into Baghdad by denying insurgents crucial support zones and destroying their caches."

He added "The Iraqi security forces are getting better every day, and although they have growing pains like any new army, they have demonstrated a strong will to fight and protect the Iraqi people.  It will only get better with time."

Previous Stories:
  US army investigates Iraqi family's deaths   (7/1/2006)
  US military: Iraqi army to meet training goal by year end   (6/29/2006)
  US says Maliki will not pardon some rebels   (6/29/2006)
  US military cleared of Iraq March raid wrongdoing   (6/3/2006)
  US General: Ramadi remains Iraq's most contentious city   (6/2/2006)
  Haditha Iraqi civilian shooting report will be public   (6/1/2006)

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