Tony Sodaro's "Iraqi Blog" after CPA

Site is now closed

Go to www.sodaro.com and check out the new site. This site will stay open fo historical purpous until Oct 1st 2005.

-Tony

Coming to a end

The site is nearing the deadline and will become an archive only. I decided to keep it up and running until October 1 2005 for other to read but no new posts.

Keep reading the other blogs out on the net. Don''t let them stop posting with good information and experiences.

Here are some to keep up with:

Mosul http://cbftw.blogspot.com/
Taxi Service http://thecost.blogspot.com/

Never forget my main supporter "THX Jane" !!!!
armiesofliberation http://armiesofliberation.com/

Oops the DoS has me in an artical. Never thought that would happen. At least all you see is my phat head in the picture... THX Stacy
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/31332.pdf

OK time to become a normal stupid American and start watching the "news".

It's ok I can only handle about 5 minutes without yelling at the TV; that they are stupid, who made you god and all knowing about what is going on in Iraq; where in the hell do the get this info, who are they asking???????? See I am still thinking to much! I just need to watch and say "ahhh that is what is going on"; as if that is ever going to happen now that I know the reality. And no - there are NO WMDs - never saw them, never will - right!?

Oh well, the new focus for me is to try to make sure the boys and girls get home and have what they need. "NO KERRY" Not that I like everything about Bush but at least he will get the troops home and not forget about them. Kerry "chose" to forget about the POWs and the MIA in Vietnam and Korea by shredding valuable documentation, while heading the senate investigative body determining the exhistance of the remaining POWs and MIAs, he accounted other people's statement - not his own experiences in Vietnam while testifying in front of the senate committee during the Vietnam War (can we say hearsay) - he was only there 4 months on a boat, not on land or in the jungle (my father-in-law was 4 tours and he is NOT a bad man by any means - one of the most honorable men I know; I would LOVE to see Kerry match his record, Frank's honor and sacrifice... I have the pleasure and privilege of knowing GREAT men... hmmm, three purple hearts in 4 months impresses me NOT!!!!!!!) and Kerry voted against the funding for proper vests (protective gear) for our military men and women in Iraq (level III does not stop AK rounds - he knows this and obviously didn't care) and most military personnel or their families can't afford the $$ for Level IV vests. Their blood is on Kerry's hands and those that voted against the funding for proper protection for our servicemen and women - NOT Bush! Please do your research! Ask!!!! What is Kerry's plan (he said he would only reveal it once elected - why!? Does he plan on forgetting about them too? Leaving them to the wolves? WHAT exactly is the plan - speak up man if you want to gain credibility!!!!)

Make sure you go to www.sodaro.com to sign up! I am working hard to get the site going.

Remember to Vote!!! Wherever your heart leads you.

Closing my Blog at this site!

Dont forget to start bookmarking my new site. I will be using www.sodaro.com starting October 1st. Go ahead and make yourself an accont and start adding info you would like to see discussed.

Thanks for all the support everyone has given me.

-Tony

IRAQ - VERY INTERESTING - DID YOU KNOW?

IRAQ - VERY INTERESTING - DID YOU KNOW?

1. The garden of Eden was in Iraq.

2. Mesopotamia, which is now Iraq, was the cradle of civilization!

3. Noah built the ark in Iraq.

4. The Tower of Babel was in Iraq.

5. Abraham was from Ur, which is in Southern Iraq!

6. Isaac's wife Rebekah is from Nahor, which is in Iraq.

7. Jacob met Rachel in Iraq.

8. Jonah preached in Nineveh - which is in Iraq.

9. Assyria, which is in Iraq, conquered the ten tribes of Israel.

10. Amos cried out in Iraq!

11. Babylon, which is in Iraq, destroyed Jerusalem.

12. Daniel was in the lion's den in Iraq!

13. The three Hebrew children were in the fire in Iraq (Jesus had been in Iraq also as the fourth person in the fiery furnace!)

14. Belshazzar, the King of Babylon saw the "writing on the wall" in Iraq.

15. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, carried the Jews captive into Iraq.

16. Ezekiel preached in Iraq.

17. The wise men were from Iraq.

18. Peter preached in Iraq

19. The "Empire of Man" described in Revelation is called Babylon,which was a city in Iraq!

And you have probably seen this one. Israel is the nation most often mentioned in the Bible. But do you know which nation is second? It is Iraq! However, that is not the name that is used in the Bible. The names>used in the Bible are Babylon, Land of Shinar, and Mesopotamia. The word Mesopotamia means between the two rivers, more exactly between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The name Iraq, means country with deep roots.

Indeed Iraq is a country with deep roots and is a very significant country in the Bible. No other nation, except Israel, has more history and prophecy associated it than Iraq.

And also... This is something to think about! Since America is typically represented by an eagle. Saddam should have read up on his Muslim passages...

The following verse is from the Koran, (the Islamic Bible)

Koran (9:11) - For it is written that a son of Arabia would awaken a fearsome Eagle. The wrath of the Eagle would be felt throughout the lands of Allah and lo, while some of the people trembled in despair still more rejoiced; for the wrath of the Eagle cleansed the lands of Allah; and there was peace.

Someone emailed this to me... for those that may get their knickers in a knot over the inacuracies... I am posting it because I find some of the things people pass interesting. Some is VERY accurate - some is not (Koran reference for one), but all should read the "list" as I am sure it is meant - That Iraq as a whole is a place of wonder with a rich history that many cannot conceive of. The experience of walking through the riuns at Babel to standing in the eternal flame, this country is rich beyond what one can sell... Of course, I should have known I had better write a serious notation after posting it as too many people choose not to see it for what it was meant to be... sorry... but I chose not to remove the Koran reference however inaccurate because it was part of teh original body...
-Tony

THX to my band buddies in Iraq

THX too Squeezetoy for the relaxing toons in Iraq. Felt good to be a roady for a day hanging with the band on a day of travel. THX guys enjoyed it...

Look Close im on the Black Hawk leaving the country...

Been A While

Just to let everyone know. I AM HOME back in the USA for a while. Not sure the next step but will continue to help my new famaliy and freinds in Iraq!

-Tony

Had to pass this on

Washington, D.C. - Our so-called mainstream media just doesn't get it. A major, historic announcement was made this week - and most of the potentates of the press missed it. Maybe that's because it wasn't made during the prurient trials of Scott Peterson, Kobe Bryant or Michael Jackson - where most of our national press corps seems to have their celebrity seeking attention focused.

Maybe that's why they weren't paying attention on Monday this week when President George W. Bush announced that as many as 70,000 troops and their families will soon be returning home from the European and Asian theaters. Maybe he made a mistake by saying it to my comrades-in-arms at their annual VFW convention in Cincinnati, because when he gave this stunning announcement, no reporters rushed to their laptops to file a story. They didn't all immediately grab their cellphones to call their editors. None of the big, hotshot television anchors rushed to check the tape. Nope, they just let it go with a yawn. Kind of like A-Rod batting a foul ball into the stands on his first pitch.

There is hope though. John Kerry must have had a spy in the crowd, and as soon as he heard about the President's redeployment plan, he came out against it. Now that the Democrat presidential candidate has announced his opposition, there's hope. The masters of the media love controversy. Now they can come out against it too.

Kerry surrogate, Wes Clark, was also paying attention. Air Force One had barely lifted off for Washington before the little general was looking for a microphone to whine that "now is not the time to pull back our forces." Mr. Clark ought to try that line on his pal Mr. Kerry who wants to pull U.S. forces out of Iraq where they are needed, instead of out of Europe where they are not.

In his address to the annual VFW convention, President Bush noted that the world has changed dramatically since the post-World War II era, when we needed tens of thousands of U.S. troops in Europe and Korea. The War on Terror has replaced the Cold War. The Middle East has supplanted Europe as the global military hotspot. Meanwhile, U.S. military capabilities have grown exponentially.

Yet Mr. Kerry now charges that bringing servicemen and women home from Europe will somehow threaten U.S. national security. Why? Doesn't he trust them? Or was he so "seared" by imaginary events in Vietnam that he didn't notice that the wall has come down, the Evil Empire has collapsed and the Middle East is now the nexus of Global Terror?

More likely, the Kerry critique, delivered on Wednesday to a cool response before the same VFW audience, was simply the same blind, knee-jerk opposition that the Democrats have had for every Bush administration initiative. And therein lies the shame, for what the President has proposed makes imminently good sense given the realities of a New World disorder.

Despite Kerry campaign assertions that the Bush re-deployment plan is some kind of "August Surprise," it is in fact the culmination of more than three years of work by Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's Pentagon planners. And - again contrary to allegations from prominent Democrats - it is supported by both NATO and South Korean leaders.

They know, if Kerry & Co. do not, that there is no longer a need for 100,000 U.S. military personnel to protect the democracies of Europe. Western Europeans are no longer threatened by legions of Soviets and their satellite soldiers staring at them across the Fulda Gap. The major threat that the Europeans now face is the same enemy that places us at risk: radical Islamic Jihadism.

The President's plan to "thin out" our forces overseas assures that our military is more capable of contending with that threat. In Germany, 30,000 troops trained and equipped to fight a European ground war will be replaced by a brigade of 5,000 equipped with Stryker armored vehicles. This more mobile force will be able to deploy quickly and fight anywhere - rather than lying in wait in the German countryside for a Communist enemy we defeated years ago.

In a conference call coordinated by the Democratic National Committee, Wesley Clark, who should know better, claimed that "this redeployment will do nothing to ease the strain on our overstretched military forces." He's simply wrong. The President's plan is part of a major overhaul of the Army which will add 10 new, mobile combat brigades - without increasing end strength. Those new brigades will ensure that the men and women fighting the Global War on Terror - a war that is going to last for a long time no matter who wins this November - won't have to deploy as often as they do today.

If Senator Kerry and his colleagues truly care about the welfare of the U.S. military, they should applaud President Bush's plan to bring the troops home. Instead, it seems that they are more concerned about appeasing America's most vociferous European critics.

Shortly after the President's announcement, former UN ambassador and Kerry advisor Richard Holbrooke claimed that, "A withdrawal weakens the NATO alliance and will inevitably lead to less cooperation with our closest allies."

It sounds like the Kerry camp is less concerned about U.S. national security than about the anxieties of Peter Lang, the mayor of Baumholder in southern Germany, who said that without U.S. troops contributing to the local economy, the town "would bleed to death."

Let's hear the Democrats spin that to the people of an American town that has had a congressionally imposed base closure. It could be as interesting as one of Mr. Kerry's Vietnam war stories.

Read More

Marine Commandant Wants 'Big W' in Iraq

By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 23, 2004 The sports world is awash with war analogies, and today the Marine Corps' top officer turned the tables by applying a sports term to war.

The Marines are looking for a "Big W" in Iraq, Gen. Michael W. Hagee told an audience at the National Press Club here.

"We don't want a 'Little W,'" he said. "There is no one in Iraq who does not understand that if we wanted to come in and level Fallujah, level Ramadi, level An-Najaf, we could do that, but that's not mission accomplishment. That's the 'Little W.' We need the 'Big W' here."

The Marines, he said, are working with Multinational Force Iraq and with the interim Iraqi government headed by Prime Minister Ayad Allawi to bring about the right kind of victory in the war-torn country. The "Big W" helping the Iraqi people -- is achievable with patience, he said.

Those comments came during a question-and-answer session after Hagee addressed the group on the future of warfighting. He cited a new twist on the "joint sea basing" concept as a key factor in future wars.

In use since, World War II, joint sea basing is not a new concept. Sixty years ago, it meant securing a foothold and building a "gigantic mound of supplies and logistics," Hagee said.

The new and improved version of this old tactic would keep the arrival and assembly of the forces at sea and employ selective off-loading of supplies and logistics. This concept would provide the ability to send forces wherever they need to be "without waiting for a permission slip," Hagee said, quoting Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Vern Clark.

When the new vision of joint sea basing becomes common practice, Hagee, said, the result will be the ability to place 15,000 Marines anywhere in the world within 10-12 days. This, he explained, will provide more capability to the joint force commanders faster.

Joint sea basing is only one concept currently in development, the general said. With a goal of excellence in warfighting, the armed services are looking at ways to more closely tie the services' resources, he added.

One such concept is TacAir integration. TacAir would meld the Navy's and the Marine Corps' strike assets into one team. Models demonstrate that by employing TacAir integration and tying the Navy and Marine air assets together to use as one force, more sorties and more combat capability are possible at less cost to the taxpayer.

But, Hagee said, it's not technologies or tactics that are the most important aspect of the Navy and the Marine Corps.

"All of those are important," he said. "But the most important thing to us, of course, is that individual Marine and that individual sailor. And I can tell you, the most dangerous thing on any battle field is an armed, trained and educated United States Marine."

Biography:
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Michael W. Hagee

CPA is gone, What next?

The joke was and not saying any names "APC" CPA in reverse but a change in the meaning "American Permanent Coalition".

Ok lets focus on the money

All of the CPA projects and funds plus new wave of funds will all be handled by :PMO" opps name change on June 28th at very last minute it is now PCO...

Who is PCO:

The Iraq Project and Contracting Office (PCO) manages the $18.4 billion appropriated by the U.S. Congress to support the reconstruction of Iraqi infrastructure. This office is responsible for all activities associated with program, project, asset, construction and financial management of that portion of the reconstruction effort undertaken by the U.S. What is PCO?

PCO is:

- The people of the United States helping Iraqis rebuild their country and progress toward a strong and successful future for Iraq.

- Employment for hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, resulting in economic security, occupational training, and professional mastery of new skills

- Higher quality of life and enhanced internal security for Iraqis.

- The building of the Iraqi industries required to sustain and further improve the basic infrastructure services required for a modern nation.

The PCO is led by retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral David J. Nash. The staff assigned to assist him in the effort includes a wide range of professionals from the fields of construction, program management, financial management, logistics, information technology and security.

Participation from the Iraqis is a critically important issue since the project is all about rebuilding their nation.

The PCO uses an interesting management structure where a "nucleus" of U.S. government employees, along with some representation from Iraq and other nations, represent the "owner's" interest in the enterprise. Contractors are hired to provide the program management, both on an overall scale, as well as in each of the construction sectors.

The sectors are oil, electricity, public works & water, security & justice, transportation & communications, and buildings, education & health. Other contractors are assigned work within those sectors to perform the construction tasks.

Overall, $12.6 billion will be spent towards construction over the next few years. Building infrastructure is far more than construction, however, and so $5.8 billion will be spent on providing equipment, supplies and material to help support the entire realm of the infrastructure. Computers are needed to monitor and control electrical and water systems; vehicles are needed to transport materials or to support system maintenance; uniforms and supplies are needed to support the police and civil defense corps; and supplies are needed to support schools.

In short, PCO is all about nations working together to provide new beginnings for the people of a country in need of a friend. Together, the U.S., Iraq and others who take part will create not only a modern future for one nation, but will also discover the bonds of unity that are forged between free and prosperous people.

Main Website for PCO

Hope this helps awnser some of the questions.

-Tony

Turkey And Iraqi Kurds Coming To An Agreement Over Kirkuk

RADIKAL- Following yesterday’s developments, it seems that the idea of a ‘special status for Kirkuk’ is attainable. Although there’s no confidence in the political judgement of Jalal Talabani, the leader of the Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (IPUK), who made this declaration, the Foreign Ministry didn’t contradict him. Moreover, ministry sources confirmed reports of Talabani’s ‘Brussels-style’ proposal for Kirkuk, adding that Talabani had agreed not to unite Kirkuk with the Kurdish or Arabic region. Pointing to the excessive number of Kurds flocking to Kirkuk, the sources charged that this was meant to skew a census set for Oct. 12, and called on Talabani to change his attitude, which is at odds with his proposal.

But there wasn’t any indication then of how Turkey saw this proposal. The answer came in the afternoon. Speaking at a monthly press conference, Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Ilker Basbug said they believed giving Kirkuk a special status and protecting this status would be a cure for the regions ills. It was after listening to Basbug that I concluded that Turkey was about to agree with the Iraqi Kurds on the Kirkuk issue.

In fact, Basbug said yesterday ‘Of course, this is the Iraqis’ decision,’ but later on he laid out why Kirkuk is important for ‘Turkey’s security.’ The first reason he cited was the region’s abundant oil, and the second was the native Turkmen. Lastly, he stated that cultural reasons were also important, as Iraq has a multiethnic structure. More Info!

From the Front

By: Spc. Lorie Bright 07/07/2004
FROM THE FRONT:
Hello, my name is Lorie Bright; I am twenty years old, from Cleveland, Texas, and a proud member of the United States Army. I am a Civil Affairs Specialist, out of 451st Civil Affairs Battalion in Pasadena, Texas, now stationed in Kirkuk, Iraq.

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I am writing you today to ask you for your help. I am overseas in Kirkuk, Iraq working on the Public Education and Public Health Team. My colleagues and I would like to introduce a Mr. Toothbrush Week here in Kirkuk at each of the schools.

Since February, when we first arrived here, we have noticed that the majority of the people here do not have very clean teeth. It has concerned us from the beginning, and we sent letters home asking for donations of toothbrushes and toothpaste to be sent here so that we may help them by showing them how to brush their teeth and giving out the supplies needed.
Although we did get about 3,000 toothbrushes and almost 2,000 toothpastes sent, we still do not have enough for the difference we would like to make.

I have written you, hoping that you could feel my compassion for these children, or at least feel compassion for me, and help America to make a difference in the eyes of the Iraqi children, who may someday look at our children as friends.

I know that many of our families and friends back home do not agree with the reason we are over here, giving our lives for a country that they think does not want us to be here, but I am here, and I see how scared they are that we may leave. They need us here and want us here,
It is the two percent of terrorists and bad guys (that we ourselves also have in America) that causes the tension, pain, and deaths of our brothers, sisters, parents, and kids.

I am here for the children, for America's children, Iraq's children, and every child that is alive.

I am here in hopes that they may never have to be here and be in this position, so that my friends and family at home may stay there, sleep nicely, and warm at night.
I'm just asking for your help to make my job a little easier, so that we, as Americans, may come home a little sooner than if we just sat around doing nothing.
I would like to ask you if there is any way possible that you may donate some toothbrushes and toothpaste to our project. It does not have to be fancy, or expensive, we have received all sorts of donations.

We would just like to get more-- the more the better -- and these people are not picky.
I thank you so very much for even reading this, as I know many will throw it out after the first sentence.
If you cannot help, I ask you not to feel bad; I know we all cannot, I just ask that, if nothing else, you mention this to someone else that can help.

If you would like to contact me for questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to email me at lorieinkirkuk@yahoo.com.
Our address is 451st CA BN, APO AE 09347.

NOTE:

If you would like to receive pictures from the Mr. Toothbrush Week, feel free to email me your address and I will send you a disc of pictures around October. September is our goal to get enough donations collected. Every little bit helps. Remember this: To the world, you may be one person, but to one person, you may be the world.

I am sorry if I have offended anyone or bothered you in any way. I am just trying to do my job that I have given to myself, and make a difference in someone elses life. Make their life a little brighter.

To all of you who would like to hear about the good going on in Iraq. Click on the link and read all that you want. From different branches of the military and different parts of Iraq, a well rounded view of "THE GOOD THINGS IN IRAQ". May God Bless You All And Keep You All Always.
Lorie Bright

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Some final thoughts!

Concerned about Coalition Safety after post-30 June Iraq!


I will try to make this as objective as I can. Understand I will touch on some issues that are both “risky” for me to discuss as well as talk about things Americans do not normally consider or like to think of under the “sheet of protection” that they have at home in the US.

How I would like to describe “the sheet” is as how it pertains to the “concept” of a child. As a child when you were afraid and not in your comfort zone, the sheets of your bed seemed like a safe place; in reality you knew that the sheet in no way could help you; and in reality could cause more damage than help.

I now see America as “a sheet”; you can still get hurt; whether it is a car accident, falling off the bed or a drive-by shooting. God help us all if Terrorist attack, killing hundreds, maybe thousands.

I try to learn more everyday and each day I go on through my journey in Iraq. I try not to develop a predetermined prejudice against a “people” as a whole; but cannot always guarantee that I can do that for individuals. I am a person that likes to keep to my word; even when fate tries to intervene; and I try to be as fair as I can to all. At the same time, I have my own thoughts as to the things I would like to accomplish and people, places, and beliefs to protect.

I came to Iraq thinking that I would be in a compound, underground bunker in Baghdad or something of that nature. What I would see of the country would be the in and out of the deployment to the “bunker”. I soon learned, over the next few weeks, a lot about Iraq from individuals that had been in contact with me or had personally seen or lived in parts of Iraq. Remember this is the second time I offered to help out in Iraq. The first time I was in the Air Force volunteering for a Desert Storm assignment.

Iraq to me was what I saw on CNN day in day out, watching (as shown) the Iraqi’s running around with RPG’s and AK’s. Well some of that is still true, but go outside and take a camera with you and take one shot of your street or place the place you live and try to “describe” America by that one photo. Maybe then you will understand more of what you are seeing on TV. Additionally, consider the fact that if the news is boring or always “good”, human nature is to change the channel.

I did the same thing when I came to Iraq. I learned more about Arab’s, Kurdish and Assyrians. I have accomplished this by trying to learn how they live, work and worship. I thought this would give me a good concept of how and why they do what they do. As we are taught thru history, learn your enemy to be successful in strategies. In Iraq the first thing we had to figure out was “who was your enemy and who you could trust?” You need to consider that the coalition is made up of Military, Civilians and local Iraqi’s. This is a concept that has seldom been done as openly (to my knowledge) or has been planned out so that all are eager to succeed.

I was lucky and received a good assignment. I traveled thru Kuwait to Baghdad for a short time and to Arbil (Irbil, Erbil, or Howler). To come to a place that I thought I was in Turkey. From all that I had read and heard this place had too many hills, Trees and grass to be Iraq. I also didn’t see the “crazies” running around the roads with RPG’s but a few had AK’s. This wasn’t that big of an issue since I am from Texas and we have the right to protect ourselves, by this I mean that it was not an odd site to see a shotgun or machete in the back window of a truck.
I was quickly pulled in by US Army group assigned to the CPA and they gave me a whole new respect for the Army I could never have imagined growing up an Air Force supporter and marring into a Navy family. Again, I say that I have made new friends and developed a great respect for the Army in a short time. I wish I could express all of my feelings more literally and deeply or somehow share my experiences better, but it is hard for me to do accurately and still do them justice. Besides, I am not the best write. So here it goes, my attempt to put you in my shoes and understand my thoughts.

The question of all question that is constantly being asked:

What will happen after CPA?

What I know is that the DoS and DoD have plans to implement programs to help continue the growth of the country. Let’s face it we have spent billions in Iraq already and cannot afford just to pull out and let the investment try to survive without nurture. And don’t forget, the main subject that always seems to go by the wayside in politics when confronted (Unless your are French and just lost your OFF income) the oil, which will provide Iraq with some stable control and economy otherwise all of the Coalition countries have wasted time, monies and lives. Therefore, Iraq will still move on after CPA.

Should we have intervened in IRAQ?

My answer is YES and we (Coalition Countries) should have ignored the UN back in 1991 when they “made us” pull out and not finish the job we had started. If we had taken a stand in 1991, think of the positive issues we would be addressing today. Consider the number of Iraqi lives that have been lost in 10 years the UN allowed Saddam’s regime to torture, massacre and deprive. Maybe now in light of the Oil For Food (OFF) scandal and the UN’s role, France’s role (it has the primary oil contract) amongst others in assisting this travesty, in direct violation of it’s own sanctions, there arises the knowledge and understanding as to “why” or what was accomplished when the UN wanted us to stop and pull out in 1991. That is all history now and is hopefully one more lesson learned. We need to make sure it is well documented so that there is a good check and balance in the future. Politics will be politics, but knowledge will help us to better ourselves and to “encourage” others to do the same. (France should be taking notes instead of throwing stones – there is no more free profit under the guise of a UN sanction)

Is it going to be safe in Iraq after June 30th?

NO, Iraq has not been a safe place as compared to Americans “standards” for years. Why would it be any safer or worse then before? Yes the terrorist will be trying to get more news and publicity (it is a game for them. When they kill hundreds of Muslims without one American present, do you really think they are trying to “liberate” Iraqis from the oppression and occupation of a capitalistic society? Get real! It’s about the number of dead and maimed bodies and getting the biggest media plug) and American media is going to make sure terrorist win popularity. If the USA changes presidents will it be safer? I would say no. Either way politics are just part of the “end game.”


Is Iraq the new Vietnam?

I will say not to my current knowledge. I am not a history buff but have always listened and absorbed my elder’s tails regarding the situation. I have also worked in Iraq with a soldier that was in Vietnam for several tours on the ground and has had very unpleasant experiences that when described, “woke us up” considerably and helped us avoid the same mistakes. He told us Iraq was not the same but the politicians seem to be making the same mistakes; not learning from their mistakes; but he also expressed great hope for the future of Iraq and seemed to think that because of current technology, the public was better educated regarding the issues at hand. A comment that he made one day that has stuck in my mind ever since, was that on a daily basis, we were talking to friends or family in the states, that were giving us “Intel” on a situation in our own back yard (Iraq) that we had not been “briefed” on. This is all due to current technology. So if we do not want to repeat Vietnam, we need change the politician’s focus, they need to remember the political mistakes of the past and learn from them.

Bottom line – yes, both local Iraqis and Coalition forces are concerned for safety after June 30th , but we deal with it day by day, trying to make a better Iraq. All will tell you that it is definitely a safer place than it was 2 years ago. How much did you or “we” actually see or hear about the terror that was happening here in Iraq 2 years ago? None that I recall, while under the protection of our sheet!

Tony

U.S. Transfers Iraq Early

Legal documents handing over sovereignty were handed over by U.S. governor L. Paul Bremer to interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi in a small ceremony attended by about a half dozen Iraqi and coalition officials in the heavily guarded Green Zone. More

Bremer Details Top Accomplishments of Post-War Iraq

By Kathleen T. Rhem
American Forces Press Service

BAGHDAD, Iraq, June 21, 2004  As he prepares to leave Iraq after the handover of sovereignty to the interim Iraqi government, the American who has led the country since the end of major offensive operations looked back and detailed what he believes are the three greatest accomplishment there to date.

"I think what's important is actually to step back and look at the broader picture of what's been achieved over the last year," Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III explained June 16 to American reporters in Iraq with Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz.

Bremer said changes in the political and economic structures and the "psychological approach to the government" account for the possibility of a stable future for Iraq.

On the political front, Bremer outlined four areas in which Iraq has made great strides:

Representative government. The ambassador noted the Iraqi Governing Council was the most representative government in the history of Iraq. And the new interim Iraqi government will have even better representation of Sunnis and women. "In every respect, the interim government is more representative than what it succeeded, and it points the direction towards the elections, which will come in January," he said.

Acceptance of the idea that the rule of law is what governs the country, and not the rule of man. "This is a change from how this place was run under Saddam Hussein," Bremer said. The rule of law is being established in Iraq by the new temporary administrative law and an independent judiciary, he said.

Decentralized government "so that not every decision on every matter is made in Baghdad and not every decision in every ministry is made by the minister."

Minority rights. Bremer called this a "very sensitive issue in a country that is so torn apart by sectarian and national tensions, which were all exacerbated under (Saddam's) tyranny."
Regarding the economy, the ambassador cited three major accomplishments:

Open economy. Bremer said the economy in Iraq is more open than ever before, particularly during the past 35 years. Specific improvements include free trade, a liberal foreign direct-investment law, and low tax rates.

Fiscal responsibility. "We have begun to get them into the mindset  that you just don't print dinars to cover deficits, which is what Saddam did," Bremer said.

Responsible monetary policy. An independent central bank for the first time in Iraq's history and a successful currency swap in the middle of a war are the biggest improvements to Iraq's monetary policy.
The final area of great accomplishment in Iraq has been in fighting corruption, Bremer said. An aggressive training program is fighting corruption in police and security forces, and three institutions are addressing corruption in government, he added.

Bremer appointed inspectors general in all 26 ministries, "something they've never had before." The IGs are paid through the prime minister's office to ensure their independence.

Officials have revitalized and reappointed the Board of Supreme Audit, which Bremer described as similar to the U.S. government's General Accounting Office. "It's basically auditors to look at how the government is spending money," he said. Also, officials have established a Commission on Public Integrity, "which is a kind of a national ombudsman that can hear complaints from anywhere around the country against any government officials for corruption and can investigate and bring cases in court," he said.

Bremer acknowledged these institutions aren't going to end corruption by themselves. "But," he said, "all three of these are fundamental structural changes that I think, once the security situation is in better control, will give Iraq sort of the building blocks it needs for a stable future.

"No doubt there are a lot of other problems here, and there will be a lot more violence here, particularly I think in the next few months as we run towards elections," he continued. "But a lot of the structural changes that are needed for the end-state of a stable Iraq are in place now."

PG and RED new home!

Feel free to share this. Here is Red’s and Pretty girls’ new home in Iraq with new adopted owners. You can see they have shade and plenty enough room to run.

Soon after they looked around Red found a new friend. “Picture below”

Reds new freind!

More water falls

Look close and you can see a horse one each side

Sand and Water

Welcome to Iraq, Da Huk that is.

Look Close

Look close and you will see some Assyrian carvings that are older than dirt.

Water comes out over here

Well still not sure the path of water, but was fun anyway.

I think i should get a discount

Chevy should give me a car for all the burbon pics I have in Iraq

Transits of Venus

Transits of Venus occur twice every century, when the sun, Venus, and Earth precisely line up. Venus will pass through several phases tomorrow morning, beginning at 08:18 and ending at 14:22 local time. Observers in Iraq should be able to see it with the naked eye (but of course, you shouldn't be staring at the sun without some kind of heavy-duty filter). If you miss it, your next chance will be in 2012.

For more info: http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/venus_transit_2004.html

Can I use this to watch! Well could if it wasnt bombed out. All internals are gone just scrap metal left. "Korek Moutain Iraq"

No more Mister Nice Kurd

Kurd Sellout Watch: Day 459
No more Mister Nice Kurd.
By Timothy Noah
Posted Friday, June 4, 2004, at 4:36 PM PT

The Kurds have laid down an ultimatum. If they are not granted the rights they've enjoyed since March under the Governing Council's Transitional Administrative Law, they will, in effect, secede from Iraq.

The rights in question (which Chatterbox spelled out at greater length here) include control over Iraqi Kurdistan's police forces and taxation. The TAL further allows Iraqi Kurdistan to amend any laws passed by the central government of Iraq so long as they don't involve the following: foreign policy, the defense of Iraq's borders, currency, weights and measures, telecommunications, immigration, natural resources (read: oil), and the Iraqi judiciary. These rights are not guaranteed in the latest draft resolution on Iraq's interim government, which the United States and Britain submitted to the United Nations June 4.

On June 1, Masoud Barzani and Jalal Talabani, the leaders of Iraqi Kurdistan's two governing parties, sent a letter to President Bush making various complaints about the treatment Kurds have received from the United States. Most of these appear to be bluster aimed primarily at appeasing Barzani and Talabani's more agitated constituents. But the letter states one serious-sounding ultimatum:

Read More

Civil Affairs Operations Continue in Iraq

WASHINGTON, June 8, 2004 -- Soldiers from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, assigned in support of the 1st Marine Division in Iraq1 visited the Ali Jassim tribal area clinic to inspect improvement work there.

Officials said the clinic appeared to be in good condition, and the clinic staff reported that coalition forces restock them with donated medical supplies every two months.

Civil affairs teams also inspected progress on renovations to a soccer stadium in Ramadi. They found work was in progress and estimated the project could be completed by Aug. 23, one month early, if the current work schedule holds.

In Anbar province, civil affairs representatives with the 1st Marine Division signed a contract to purchase textbooks for 500 students to start a new literacy program for Iraqi police. The Iraqi Police Literacy Program will be conducted in two phases, with the first phase including 500 students. The program eventually will include up to 2,000 students.

The training program will ensure Iraqi police in the province can read to at least at a 6th grade level, officials said.

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq news releases.)

Kurdish Spam!

I cannot say this is real or not but do so that these words and ideas have been expressed to me in several meeting with Kurds.

Dear friends,

Below is a very strong worded letter from both Kurdish leaders Mr. Barzani and Mr. Talbani to Mr. Bush about the Kurdish affairs in today's Iraq. Please read it and help distribute it to all Kurds and "friends of the Kurds" that you may know. After all the sufferings and struggles we went through, I believe it is important for us " THE KURDS" to have a real voice in the NEW Iraq. Your support is really appreciated.

Yours,

Abdulkareem Shamdeen

----------------------------

Subject: Letter from Barzani and Talabani to President Bush Date: Sat, 5 Jun 2004 10:12:45 EDT Letter from Barzani and Talabani to President Bush June 1, 2004,

His Excellency President George W. Bush President of the United States of America The White House Washington, DC Dear Mr. President: We are writing this letter to your Excellency to present our views and concerns on the new Iraqi Interim Government, the Kurdish position and the future of the country. America has no better friend than the people of Iraqi Kurdistan. A year ago, our peshmerga forces fought side by side with the American forces for the liberation of Iraq, taking more casualties than any other US ally. Today, Kurdistan remains the only secure and stable part of Iraq. We note that, in contrast to the Arab areas of Iraq, no coalition soldier has been killed in the area controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government. The people of Kurdistan continue to embrace American values, to welcome US troops, and to support your program for the liberation of Iraq. Our Kurdistan Regional Government has given up many of its current freedoms in the interest of helping your administering authorities reach compromises with other Iraqis. We were therefore bitterly disappointed when your special representative advised us that a Kurd could be neither Prime Minister nor President of Iraq. We were told that these positions must go to a Shiite Arab and Sunni Arab respectively. Iraq is a country of two main nationalities, Arabs and Kurds. It seems reasonable that the Arabs might get one of the top jobs (of their choice) but then the other should go to a Kurd. We also believe the decision to use sectarian quotas for the top two jobs directly contradicts the Coalition's repeatedly stated position that democratic Iraq's government should not be based on ethnic or religious criteria, a position the US wrote into the Transitional Administrative Law. The people of Kurdistan will no longer accept second-class citizenship in Iraq. In Saddam's time and before, Kurds were frequently given the Vice President or deputy positions, which were window dressing without power. We had hoped the new Iraq would be different for the Kurdish people. Ever since liberation, we have detected a bias against Kurdistan from the American authorities for reasons that we cannot comprehend. At the outset of the occupation, the coalition seized the oil-for-food revenues that had been specifically earmarked for Kurdistan and redistributed them to the rest of Iraq-in spite of the fact that Kurdistan received far less of these revenues per capita than other Iraqis and notwithstanding the fact that our region was the one most destroyed by Saddam Hussein. CPA actively discouraged the equality of the Kurdish and Arabic languages, and repeatedly tried to “derecognize’ the Kurdistan Regional Government (Iraq's only elected government ever) in favor of a system based on Saddam's 18 governorates. US officials have demeaned the peshmerga, calling this disciplined military force that was America's battlefield comrade in arms, “militia.� In official statements, it is rare for the US government or the CPA even to refer to Kurdistan or the Kurdish people. We will be loyal friends to America even if our support is not always reciprocated. Our fate is too closely linked to your fortunes in Iraq. If the forces of freedom prevail elsewhere in Iraq, we know that, because of our alliance with the United States, we will be marked for vengeance. We do ask for some specific reassurance for this transitional period so as to enable us to participate more fully in the interim government. specifically, we ask that: The Transitional Administrative Law (TAL) be incorporated into the new UN Security Council Resolution or otherwise recognized as law binding on the transitional government, both before and after elections. If the TAL is abrogated, the Kurdistan Regional Government will have no choice but to refrain from participating in the central government and its institutions, not to take part in the national elections, and to bar representatives of the central Government from Kurdistan. The United States commit to protect the people and government of Kurdistan in the event insurrection and disorder lead to a withdrawal from the rest of Iraq. The Coalition carry through on commitments to reverse the Arabization of Kurdish lands and move forward to settle the status of Kirkuk in accordance with the wishes of its people, excluding settlers but including those ethnically cleansed by Saddam Hussein. The oil-for-food revenues unfairly taken from Kurdistan last year be restored in the entirety, and that Kurdistan receive its per capita share of the $19 billion in reconstruction assistance appropriated by the Congress. The United States support our plans to own and manage Kurdistan's natural resources, and in particular our efforts to develop new petroleum resources in the Kurdistan Region, where the previous regime sought to block all exploration and development that might benefit the Kurdistan people. The United States open a consulate in Irbil, and that it encourage other coalition partners to do the same. For the people of Kurdistan, it is vital that we maintain our direct links to the outside world and not solely dependent on a Baghdad where we are not considered fully equal citizens. The United States and the United Nations state clearly that the use of ethnic and confessional criteria for the selections of the interim government does not set a precedent for a future Iraqi government, and that Kurds are eligible for the posts of Prime Minister and President. If ethnic criteria are to be used to exclude Kurds from the top two positions in the interim government, we think it fair that Kurdistan be compensated with a disproportionate share of relevant ministries in the interim government. Mr. President, we know that these are difficult days for all of us who believe the cause of Iraq's freedom was worth fighting for. The Kurdish people continue to admire your confident leadership, your vision of a free Iraq, and your personal courage. We are certain that you will agree that Kurdistan should not be penalized for its friendship and support for the United States.

Sincerely yours, Masoud Barzani Kurdistan Democratic Party Jalal Talabani Patriotic Union of Kurdistan

future of Iraq can look like

BREMER: Well, the Kurdish area, of course, has had 12 years of relative independence, under the protection of the American and British forces. And when you travel there, you see what the future of Iraq can look like. It's a very prosperous area. There are a lot of people moving around. There is more self assurance against terrorism, although they've had very bad terrorism in Irbil just two weeks ago. But you can get a sense of how well the Iraqi people can do, given the opportunity. Read More

Iraqs US Mil Future

Iraq Pullout Would Be Disastrous

ROME - President Bush, facing tough talks with U.S. allies, said Thursday it would be disastrous if they took their troops out of Iraq.
Pulling out, Bush said, would send the wrong signals to the Iraqi people and to terrorists. "It would dispirit those who love freedom in Iraq," he said.

IIG - Press Packet

Biographical Sketches of IIG

President of Iraq
Sheikh Ghazi Ajil Al-Yawar
Sheikh Ghazi Al-Yawar, 45, a former Iraqi Governing Council member and president of the group during part of May, is the nephew of the leader of the Shammar tribe. He is a civil engineer who studied at the Petroleum and Minerals University in Saudi Arabia and at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Sheikh Ghazi Al-Yawar was recently the vice president of the Hicap Technology Company in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He was born in Mosul.

Deputy President of Iraq
Dr. Ibrahim Jaafari
Dr. Jaafari was born in Karbala in 1947 and earned his medical degree from Mosul University. Dr. Jaafari joined the Dawa movement in 1966 and eventually became its chief spokesman. The group, the oldest Islamist movement in Iraq, was founded in the late 1950s and is based on the ideology of reforming Islamic thought and modernizing religious institutions. The party was banned by Saddam Hussein in 1980, forcing Dr. Jaafari to move to Iran and then to London in 1989. He is a former Iraqi Governing Council member.

Deputy President of Iraq
Dr. Rowsch Shaways
Dr. Shaways is currently president of the Kurdistan National Assembly. He was Prime Minister of the Arbil-based Kurdistan Regional Government from 1996-99, and resigned to become President of the Iraqi Kurdistan National Assembly. Dr. Rowsch’s period in office saw key legislative changes affording women and children greater human rights than had been permitted under the old Iraqi penal system. While in Germany as a student, he was head of the Kurdish Student Union and returned to Iraq in 1975 to join the Kurdish rebellion. After the withdrawal of Saddam Hussein’s forces in 1991, he became Deputy Prime Minister in the joint Kurdistan Regional Government. He was born in 1947, and earned a doctorate in engineering while studying in Germany.

Prime Minister of Iraq
Dr. Ayad Allawi
Dr. Ayad Allawi graduated from Baghdad University from the Faculty of Medicine, and he obtained a master’s of science in medicine from London University in 1976 and a doctorate in medicine from the same university in 1979. Dr. Allawi is a neurologist and businessman who began his opposition to the former regime in 1971 when he moved to Beirut. He left Beirut in 1972 to begin his studies in the U.K. He has been a consultant to the United Nations Development Program, the World Health Organization, and the United Nations Children’s Fund. After surviving the brutal attack and assassination attempt ordered by Saddam Hussein, Dr. Allawi continued his efforts against the regime and co-founded the Iraqi National Accord, which attempted a failed 1996 coup against Saddam. He was most recently an Iraqi Governing Council member and chaired its security committee. He was born in 1945 in Baghdad.

Deputy Prime Minister
Dr. Barham Salih
Dr. Salih, who was most recently the Regional Administrator for Sulaimaniya, was born in 1960 in Iraqi Kurdistan. He joined the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in 1976 and was arrested twice by the Iraqi secret police. He left Iraq in 1979, and soon became the PUK’s spokesman in London. In 1991, having been elected to the PUK leadership, he departed for Washington, D.C., and served for 10-years as the PUK and Kurdistan Regional Government representative to the United States. Dr. Salih earned a bachelor’s degree in civil and structural engineering from the University of Cardiff and earned a doctoral in statistics and computer modeling from the University of Liverpool.

Minister of Agriculture
Dr. Sawsan Ali Magid Al-Sharifi
Dr. Al-Sharifi, the former Deputy Minister of Agriculture, was charged with programming and planning for reconstruction of the sector, and for ensuring the continuation of high quality research at the Ministry's numerous state boards and national production programs. She also has been the point-of-contact for USAID, CPA and World Bank reconstruction and development efforts in agriculture. Dr. Al-Sharifi earned her bachelor’s degree in animal production from Baghdad University and her master’s and doctoral degrees in animal breeding from Iowa State University. After returning to Iraq in 1984, Dr. Al-Sharifi held the position of Scientific Researcher at the prestigious Scientific Research Council. She is the author of more than 40 scientific research papers published in Iraqi and international journals, and she continues to supervise the research efforts of doctorate and master’s degree students in Iraq. In addition to her main professional responsibilities, Dr. Al-Sharifi is also the editor of the Iraqi Journal of Agriculture. She was born in 1956 in Baghdad.

Minister of Communications
Dr. Mohammad Ali Al-Hakim
Dr. Al-Hakim was most recently the Deputy Secretary General of the Iraqi Governing Council and Ambassador at the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He earned his bachelor’s degree in statistics from Al-Mustansiriyyah University in Baghdad, his master’s degree in computer science from Birmingham University, U.K., and a doctorate in information management from the University of Southern California. He was a global director for Nortel Networks and Cambridge Technology, and also co-founded a U.S.-based technology company called Infoclarus. Dr. Al-Hakim has been part of several delegations representing Iraq to the international and global financial community. He was born in 1952 in Najaf.

Minister of Culture
Mr. Mufeed Mohammed Jawad al-Jaza’iri
Mr. al-Jaza’iri obtained a master’s degree in journalism in 1966 while studying in Prague. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Mr. Al-Jaza’iri worked as a journalist and correspondent for Al-Bilad, Arba’atash Tammouz and Tareeq ash-Sha’ab and as an editor and broadcaster for the Arabic section of Czechoslovak Radio. From 1982-1988, he traveled to Kurdish northern Iraq to join the underground opposition to Saddam Hussein. He is a member of the Iraqi Democratic Journalists, Writers & Artists Association. He was born in Al-Madhatiyah in 1939.

Minister of Defense
Mr. Hazem Sha’alan
Mr. Sha’alan is Sheik of the Ghazal Tribe. He earned his degree in economics and management from Baghdad University in 1972 and began his career managing the Kut Dewanyah branches of the Iraqi Real Estate Bank. He served as Inspector General of the main branch in Baghdad from 1983-1985. He was forced to leave Iraqi in 1985 because of his opposition to the former regime and managed a successful real estate firm in the U.K. He has been governor of Diwaniyah since April 2003. He was born in 1947 in Diwanyah.

Minister of Displacement and Migration
Ms. Pascale Isho Warda
Ms. Warda is president of the Assyrian Women’s Union in Baghdad. She co-founded the Iraqi Society for Human Rights and served as the representative of the Assyrian Democratic Movement Foundation (ADM) in Paris. This was the highest position of any woman in the ADM, which is the primary Assyrian political party in Iraq. Additionally, Ms. Warda is the external affairs manager for the Assyrian Aid Society. She holds a degree from the Human Rights Institute at the University of Lyon in France. She was born in Duhok in 1961.

Minister of Education
Professor Sami Al-Mudhaffar
Professor Al-Mudhaffar is the one of the most senior biochemists in Iraq and has played an important role in promoting biochemistry and related subjects such as molecular biotechnology research. He received his bachelor’s degree in science with honors from Baghdad University in 1960, and then obtained his doctorate from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Professor Al-Mudhaffar began his career in 1967 with a teaching and research lecturing position at the University of Basra in the College of Science. He was promoted to assistant professor in 1971, and in 1979 he was promoted a position as professor of biochemistry at Baghdad University. From 1968-2000, Dr. Al-Mudhaffar was a lecturer at the University of Basra and Baghdad Univeristy in the College of Science. He has published more than 250 scientific papers, and he is a member of the editorial board of the Iraqi Journal of Chemistry and the Irari National Journal of Chemistry. He has received numerous fellowships, and is a member of many Iraqi and international societies and associations. Professor Al-Mudhaffar has over 33-years of teaching experience in different branches of biochemistry to undergraduate and postgraduate students. He was born in 1940 in Basra.

Minister of Electricity
Dr. Aiham Al-Sammarae
Dr. Al-Sammarae earned his undergraduate electrical engineering degree from Baghdad University and completed his doctoral studies at Chicago ITT University. He worked for three decades for KCI, an electrical contractor, and eventually rose to become its executive director. His experience includes power plant design and power generation. He presided over the Scientific Conference for Nuclear Energy in the United States for five years and published more than 30 technical papers. During the past 12-years, Dr. Al-Samarrae participated in most of the opposition's national conferences as an executive member of the Iraqi Middle Democratic Trend.

Minister of Environment
Professor Mishkat Moumin
Professor Moumin teaches law at Baghdad University and specializes in human rights courses. She is currently Assistant Director of the Iraq Foundation and is very active with the Advisory Council on Women’s Affairs, which is the political branch of the Higher Council on Women.

Minister of Finance
Dr. Adel Abdul Mahdi
Dr. Mahdi is an economist and member of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq. Born in Baghdad in 1942, he has graduate degrees in Politics and Economics from French Universities. He worked in a number of French think tanks, most recently as Head of the French Institute for Islamic Studies. He has also edited a number of magazines, in both Arabic and French and is the author of numerous publications. He was active in political life from an early age, being imprisoned, tortured and sentenced to death more than once in the 1960s. He was stripped of his job and passport in 1969 which forced him into exile in France. He lived in Iran for a time and joined the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, later serving as the official SCIRI representative in Kurdistan from 1992-1996. He served as the Deputy for Abdul Aziz al Hakim on the Iraqi Governing Council.

Minister of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Hoshyar Mahmood Mohammed Zebari
Mr. Zebari earned a political science degree in 1976 from Jordan University in Amman and completed his master’s degree in the sociology of development in 1979 from Essex University in the United Kingdom. He became a member of the Central Committee and Political Bureau of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in 1979, and served as a representative of the KDP in Europe before managing its International Relations Office from 1988-2003. Mr. Zebari was elected to the executive council of the Iraqi National Conference in 1992 and was elected to its Presidential Council in 1999. He was born in Aqrah in 1953.

Minister of Health
Dr. Ala’adin Alwan
Dr. Alwan holds a medical degree from the Alexandria Medical College in Egypt and postgraduate degrees from universities in the United Kingdom. He served as dean and professor at the Medical College at al-Mustansiriya University, Baghdad. Dr. Alwan was the World Health Organization’s representative and head of mission in Jordan and Oman, and served as head of the department of chronic and non-contagious diseases at the World Heath Organization’s offices in Geneva. He has held several positions in the Iraqi Ministry of Health and the Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education, and although his background is in medicine, Dr. Alwan also spent a major part of his career in the academic and teaching profession. He was born in 1949 in Baghdad.

Minister of Higher Education
Dr. Taher Khalaf Jabur Al-Bakaa
Dr. Al-Bakaa was most recently president of Al Mustansiriya University, where he has been a professor for more than a decade. Before rising to its presidency in 2003, Dr. Al-Bakaa’s academic posts at Al-Mustansiriya include being the chair of the Department of History in 1994, chairman of the Academic Promotion Committee since 1996, and editor of the college press. He holds memberships in the Federation of Arab Historians, the Iraqi Historians and Archaeologists Association, and the Federation of Iraqi Writers and Men of Letters. Dr. Al-Bakaa earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees in history from Baghdad University. He has authored books on regional history and has been published in several journals and magazines. He was born in 1950 in Dhi Qar.

Minister of Housing and Construction
Dr. Omar Al-Farouq Salim Al-Damluji
Dr. Al-Damluji earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in engineering from Baghdad University, where he eventually became a civil engineering professor. He also taught at the University of Technology’s Civil Engineering Department and supervised about 30 graduate and doctorial students studying civil engineering in the Universities of Baghdad, Technology, Nahrain and Kufa. He also wrote two books in soil mechanics and was a visiting professor to Hanover University and City University in London. Since 2000, Dr. Al-Damluji has served as the head of the Civil Engineering Department at Baghdad University. He is a registered engineer in the Iraqi Engineers society, American Engineers society and a member of UNESCO/Iraqi higher Education Committee.

Minister for Human Rights
Dr. Bakhtiar Amin
Dr. Amin earned a master’s degree in international affairs and a doctorate in political geography from the Sorbonne in Paris. During that time, he also studied the media in Sweden and eventually returned to become country’s Councilor in Immigration, Immigrants and Refugees in the 1980s. He was also Secretary General for the Kurdish Institute in Paris, councilor to Mrs. Daniel Meteran for the France Organization of Liberties, Director of the Human Rights Coalition in Washington, D.C., and the Executive Director of Coalition for Justice in Paris and Washington. He has participated in many national and international conferences, including the Human Rights Conference in Vienna and the Durban conference in South Africa. He has also organized educational courses for Iraqi correspondents, lawyers, academicals, political activists and minority’s rights in Paris, Geneva and London, and he has given testimony about situations in Iraq to the U.S. Congress, European Parliament and the Arabic Cooperation Organization. He has also been published widely on the issue of human rights. He is a native of Kirkuk.

Minister of Industry & Minerals
Dr. Hajem Al-Hassani
Dr. Al-Hassani was born in Kirkuk in 1954 and graduated from Mosul University. In 1979 he moved to the U.S. to study international trade at the University of Nebraska and earned a doctorate in industrial organization from the University of Connecticut. He has lectured at a number of American universities, managed an Internet company and worked most recently as head of the American Investment and Trading Company in Los Angeles. He has been a member of the board of a number of NGOs. Dr. Al-Hassani worked in the Iraqi Opposition for a number of years and became a member of the Politburo and then official spokesman of the Iraqi Islamic Party. He was elected to the follow up committee of the London Conference and has served as a Deputy Member of the Iraqi Governing Council and the Deputy Chair of its Finance Committee.

Minister of Interior
Mr. Falah al-Nakib
Mr. al-Nakib is a former opposition leader with the Iraqi National Movement. He is from a prominent military family in Samarra; his father was a military chief of staff in the 1960s. Mr. al-Nakib. 48, is a U.S.-trained civil engineer and was most recently the Governor of Salah ad-Din.

Minister of Justice
Dr. Malik Dohan Al-Hassan
Dr. Al-Hassan is a practicing lawyer and recently appointed Chairman of the Special Task Force on Compensation for Victims of the Previous Regime. In 2003, he was elected President of the Iraqi Bar Association. Dr. Al-Hassan, one of Iraq's foremost authorities on tort law, began his career as an investigating judge and then served as a law professor at the University of Baghdad. He was elected twice to the Iraqi Parliament during the Monarchy and was appointed Minister of Culture and Information in 1967. Dr. Al-Hassan received his diploma in Public and Private Law and his doctorate in Law while studying in France. He was born in Al-Hilla in 1920.

Minister of Labor & Social Affairs
Ms. Leyla Abdul Latif
Biographical information will be forthcoming.

Minister of Public Works
Ms. Nasreen Mustapha Berwari
Ms. Berwari graduated in 1991 from Baghdad University with a degree in architectural engineering and urban planning. She also studied public policy and management at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, where she completed her master’s degree in 1999. She also headed the UN Office in Kurdistan region of Iraq as Head of UN Field Office for Human Settlement in Dohuk from 1997-1998, and participating in the reconstruction of 4,000 villages destroyed under Saddam Hussein’s regime. Ms. Berwari became the Minister of Reconstruction and Development for the Kurdistan Region in 1999. She was born in 1967 in Baghdad.

Minister of Oil
Mr. Thamir Abbas Ghadban
Mr. Ghadban has worked for the Iraqi Ministry of Oil since 1973, and was detained and demoted from his position within the ministry for supporting democratic reforms. He earned his bachelor’s degree in geology from University College in London and his master’s degree in petroleum reservoir engineering from Imperial College at the London University. During his long career with the oil ministry, Mr. Ghadban was a reservoir engineer, head of petroleum and reservoir engineering, director general of studies and planning, a chief geologist, and chief executive officer. Mr. Ghadban has authored and co-authored more than 50 studies and technical reports dealing with various aspects of Iraqi oil fields. He was born in 1945 in Babil.

Minister of Planning
Dr. Mehdi Al-Hafidh
Dr. Al-Hafidh represented Iraq as minister plenipotentiary at the UN in Geneva from 1978-1980. He later joined the UN system in Trade and Development where he was Director for Special Industrial Development from 1983-1996, and then served as regional director for Industrial Development until 1999. Dr. Al-Hafidh has been a member of the Council of Trustees & Consultants at the Arab Ideology Institute since 1996, and was head the Arab Association for Economic Research in Cairo from 1998-2000. He was also a founding member of the Arab Organization for Human Rights, and worked as vice president of Al-Tasami Afro Asian Organization since 1980. After completing his undergraduate studies in chemistry, he earned his doctorate in economic science from the University of Prague.

Minister of Science & Technology
Dr. Rashad Mandan Omar
Dr. Omar obtained his doctorate in civil engineering from the University of London in 1977 and was the Director of the Committee for Oil Construction at the Ministry of Oil until 1999. Dr. Omar then worked in Dubai as a construction manager both in the private and state sector until his appointment as Minister of Science and Technology last September.

Minister of State for Provinces
Judge Wa’il Abdul al-Latif
Judge al-Latif was born in Basra in 1950, and graduated with a degree in Law from Baghdad University in 1973 and with a Diploma from the Judicial Institute in 1982. He served as a Judge in Basra, Samawah and as Deputy Head of the Appeals Court in Nasseriya before being imprisoned and prevented from traveling and working under the previous regime. Judge al-Latif published a number of legal articles, especially on family law. He was elected by the Basra Provincial Council to be the Governor of Basra.

Minister of State for Women
Ms. Narmin Othman
Ms. Othman is the former Minister of Education for Sulaimaniya, former advisor to the Ministry of Justice, and a former Minister of Social Affairs in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. She was a member of the Conference Advisory Steering Committee for the Voice of the Women of Iraq Conference on July 9, 2003. Prior to joining government service, she was an educator for eight years and a member of the Peshmerga. Ms. Othman also became the manager of the Save the Children office in Arbil and also served as manager of the Youth Activity Center in Sulaimaniya.

Minister of State
Dr. Kasim Daoud
Dr. Daoud, a native of Nasiriyah, graduated from Baghdad University’s Faculty of Science with a bachelor’s degree in 1971. He obtained his master’s of science from Lawdiff in 1978, and a doctorate in microbiology and environment from the University of Wales in 1982. He worked as a scientist in the United Arab Emirates for a number of years and was the General-Secretary for the Iraqi Democratic Movement. Dr. Daoud was born in Hilla on April 13, 1949. He is married and has two daughters and one son.

Minister of State
Dr. Mamu Farham Othman
Dr. Othman holds doctorates in English and German Philosophy. He was born in 1951. He is a scholar and linguist.

Minister of State
Mr. Adnan al-Janabi
Mr. al-Janabi is a London-trained economist who heads the 750,000-member Janabi tribe. He earned is bachelor’s degree in economics with honors from the University of London and his master’s degree in petroleum technology from Loughborough University in the United Kingdom. Mr. al-Janabi was head of marketing for the Iraqi oil industry in the 1970s and was responsible for economics and finance at OPEC headquarters in Vienna for several years. He was head of foreign relations for the Iraqi Oil Ministry in the early 1980s and was also elected to the National Assembly in 1996, where he served as vice-chair of its oil committee.

Minister of Trade
Mr. Mohammed Mostafa al-Jibouri
Mr. al-Jibouri was born in Mosul in 1949 and graduated from Mosul University in 1974 with a degree in Economics. He received a post-graduate degree in Economics from Glasgow University in 1983, and then returned to Iraq to work for the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO). He was elected Director General of SOMO in May 2003.

Minister of Transportation
Mr. Louay Hatem Sultan Al Erris
Mr. Al Erris was vice chairman of the Baghdad Provincial Council, Governor-Elect of Baghdad Province, an aircraft engineer for Boeing, and is now a Director General for Iraqi Airways. He has been a leading proponent of women’s rights during his service on the local councils, and is particularly active on the City Council’s Women and Children Committee. He acted as a spokesperson during the inaugural session of the City Council. Mr. Al Erris, 52, was elected to the Provincial Council in January 2004, and was subsequently chosen by his fellow council members to be vice-chairman.

Minister of Water Resources
Dr. Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid
Dr. Rashid graduated with a degree in civil engineering from Liverpool University, U.K., in 1968 and completed his doctorate in engineering at Manchester University in 1976. He is a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers and a member of the International Commission for Irrigation & Drainage. Dr. Rashid has worked in the fields of irrigation and drainage, water control engineering, and agricultural development and management. He has provided services and consultancy for projects in Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Yemen, and Egypt. Dr. Rashid has also been an official spokesman and representative for the Kurdistan Front Union in the United Kingdom since 1978. He was born in Sulaimaniya in 1944.

Minister of Youth and Sports
Mr. Ali Fa’iq Al-Ghabban
Mr. Al-Ghabban was born in Baghdad in 1955. He received his Bachelor Degree in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Baghdad in 1977. He was an active member in the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq and was forced to leave Iraq in 1980. Mr. Al-Ghabban has participated in several youth and sports activities outside Iraq, especially in Iran where he worked to help Iraqi refugees. He has served as a supervisor for many clubs and refugee youth centers.

Here are the materials on the Iraqi Interim Government (IIG) which were given to the press down in Baghdad yesterday.

Download file

Finding out I am a lazy American

You want me to dig the rock out of the ground and break it into small rocks so I can sell them for 10cents US. Hmmm not sure I can help you. As the Kurd stated this is his Job, due to I break the rocks the wrong way. Well at least I tried.

Good Job for me!

Later that day I think I found a rock Job for me. Some one pass me the spray paint, I can do this for you.

UN Dead lines!

I really hate to be negative but think it has to be mentioned. I am trying to follow up on unfinished project for CPA. See what I can do to help the Unknown after the fact. One of the locals pointed out to me that this was supposed to be finished along time ago with the Oil for Food (OFF) funds. Guess this is one more project that France and Saddam profited from. I think the sigh says it all to the locals and can not blame them for doubting the UN’s empty promises of the past and hopefully not the future.

REMEBER LESS THAN 30 DAY's OF CPA LEFT!

Kurdish News

If you have the ability you can pick up Kurdish channels thru Satellite streams with the following frequencies.

Europe, Western Asia, North Africa
Eutelsat Hotbird 3 (digital),13’ degree East,
Freq: 11.137 GHz
Pol: Horizontal
S/R: 27500 ksps
FEC: 3/4

Europe, Western Asia, North Africa
Eutelsat W2 (digital), 16’ degree East,
Freq: 11.184 GHz
Pol: Horizontal
S/R: 2667 ksps
FEC: 3/4

USA & CANADA Broadcasting
Telstar 5 (digital): 97’ degree West,
Ferq: 12.177 GHz
Pol: Vertical
S/R: 23000 ksps
FEC: 2/3

Also thru the Internet you can get the following.

Real Audio (Audio only) Click Here to start

To watch the KURD-TV-streaming Click Here

To watch the KURD-SAT-streaming Click Here

for more info here are the website link to the two main TV stations.

www.kurdtv.com

www.kurdsat.tv

More Media info

www.kurdmedia.com

ICDC Fire boat

Iraqi Civil Defense Corps representatives demonstrate the water cannons of the “Future 2” on the Tigris River. The Future 2 is Baghdad’s first active fire patrol boat since the fall of Saddam’s regime. U.S. soldiers found the boat looted and inoperable on the banks of the Tigris near the 14th of July Bridge. Although the boat is designed to put out fires, its main purpose is search and rescue operations and to assist boats in distress on the Tigris.

Iraqi Police Ranking

U.S. Army Col. Joseph Anderson and Mukandan Mehandi Salah, station chief 2W, pin ranks to an Iraqi police officer during the grand opening of 2West police station in Mosul, Iraq, Aug. 9, 2003. As of January 2004, the Iraqi Police Service, which is part of Iraq’s Ministry of Interior, employed approximately 67,000 personnel, according to the Coalition Provisional Authority.

Iraqi Security Support!

New members of Iraq's Civil Defense Corp show their diplomas after their graduation ceremony in Tikrit, Dec. 9, 2003. According to the Coalition Provisional Authority, over 175,000 Iraqis are working as part of the country’s security forces, more than the number of Coalition troops serving in Iraq. Over 1,000 new Iraqi Army soldiers are already on duty, with thousands more either in training or awaiting the beginning of their training. Other Iraqis are securing their country by serving in the Iraqi Police Service, the Border Police, Iraqi Civil Defense Corps, and the Facilities Protection Service.

FOUND IN IRAQ!

Email from Troops: Is this real

They run 10 mph, jump three feet, are a nocturnal spider, so only come
out at night unless they are in shade. When they bite you, you are
injected with Novocain so you go numb instantly. You don't even know you
are bitten when you are sleeping, so you wake up with part of your leg
or arm missing because it has been gnawing on it all night long. If you are walking around and you bump something that is casting a shadow over it, and the sun makes contact with it, you better run. It will instantly run for
your shadow, and scream the whole time it is chasing you.

PS. The one on the bottom is eating the one on the top. These are
Spiders found daily in IRAQ by troops. Imagine waking up and seeing one
of these in your tent!!

Fact:

Also known as Camel spider, Wind scorpions, Solifugid.
Galeodes arabs

Native to: Sinai desert.
This rarely imported species occasionally arrives in Egyptian shipments.

This weird looking arachnid is not in fact a scorpion or spider at all but belongs to its own order- solifugid. This species can attain a leg span of 5” and a body of 2”. Wind spiders are fast moving aggressive hunters, capable of over powering much larger prey than itself. Its front pair of legs are modified as feelers to detect and pull its prey into its large over sized jaws. Its three pairs of legs are capable of speed making this creature a fast moving killing machine.

The wind spider is adapted to life in the desert and can withstand the harsh environment well. As its name suggests it can sometimes be seen tumbling around in sand storms. To escape the worst of the environment they sometimes make burrows under bushes, buildings etc. The female will also make a burrow to lay her eggs.

This can be a challenging captive, but the examples we have imported recently have arrived in good condition. The wind spider is a seasonal animal so life expectance is not long, and growth is rapid due to their huge appetite. They are best kept in an aquarium with sand and potting compost mix, they don’t require humidity but some will drink form shallow water dishes or damp cotton wool. Temperatures should be in the 80°F with a 10°F night drop. Temperature variations should be provided, with hot and cooler spots. The opportunity to burrow must be provided, especially when dealing with wild collected females.

Take a look at the size of this creature’s jaws and you will appreciate the immense power, as previously mentioned overpowering a larger creature is not a problem. In the wild the diet would consist of small lizards & invertebrates, in captivity suitably sized commercial raised live foods are satisfactory.

Not much is known about the breeding cycle of this species, although the female is known to bury her eggs in a burrow. The hatching time is not known, so if you are lucky enough to have a female lay a clutch of eggs make sure you write notes of what happens, even if it is nothing at all.

Overall this is an amazing creature, not for the novice but if you have experience with inverts why not give it a go? The wind spider is not venomous in any way but those jaws can give a very painful bite, I have not been bitten myself, but I bet if it bites it won’t let go! More info Link 1 Link 2 Link 3 Link 4

Iraq is a country that spills over its borders in all directions

"Iraq is a country that spills over its borders in all directions," says geographer Harm De Blij. Kurds spread from the north into three other nations, Iraqi Shiites blend into Khuzestan, an Arab area in predominantly Persian Iran, and Bedouin Arabs mix into Saudi Arabia in the southwest.

Map legend:
Brown—Sunni Kurd
Pink—Sunni Arab
Yellow—Shiite Arab

Map copyright National Geographic

weapons was found

This small cache of weapons was found in the Huseinnia Khazaa Al-Timini Mosque by Soldiers with Special Operations Command and 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, during a search for weapons and suspected Al Sadr supporters in Kirkuk, Iraq, May 21, 2004. DoD photo by Pfc. Elizabeth Erste, U.S. Army. (Released)

Photo by: PFC. ELIZABETH ERSTE, 55TH SIGNAL COMPANY (COMCAM)
Record ID No. (VIRIN): 040521-A-6748E-021

Uniting Iraq's Disparate Cultures a Challenge

Constructing a representative government from the ashes of Saddam Hussein's totalitarian regime is a daunting challenge for Iraq. "If you look at an ethnic map, you'd say that Iraq's political geography is at odds with its cultural geography," says geographer Harm De Blij, distinguished professor at Michigan State University.
"As with most of the nations in that region, the boundaries [of Iraq] are the result of political decisions, mostly arbitrary, by the colonial powers early last century," said James P. Reams, retired Army Artillery Field officer and former West Point geography instructor. "That the boundaries have lasted into the 21st century is more a tribute to the series of local despots that have run these 'countries' since the colonial powers left."

Now that Iraq's regime has been toppled, the old cultural divisions are again surfacing. How and if different ethnic and religious groups can be united under one peaceful, stable system of government remains to be seen.

Modern Iraq was created after the defeat of the German-allied Ottoman Empire in World War I, when the victorious British and French carved up the territory of their defeated rival. One of their decisions was the establishment of the new nation of Iraq under the rule of King Faisal I. The monarch had led the great war's Arab revolt—popularized by Lawrence of Arabia—and had captured Damascus from the Ottomans in 1918.

Within the country's borders, three major groups—each with an identity and an agenda—occupy fairly distinct geographic regions (see map): Sunni Muslims, Shiite Muslims, and Kurds. Each calls Iraq home, but each is unsure of what its role will be in the new Iraq. If the country's territorial integrity is to be respected, they must somehow work together.

Kurdish Aspirations

In northern Iraq, the Kurds have recently begun to shake off decades of oppression. These traditionally pastoral people dwell in a region split by four different nations (Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Syria). Though most Kurds are Muslim, they represent a unique group that has long held its own national aspirations. "They are a distinct people with a distinct language (related to Persian or Farsi), much as Basques are different from Spaniards," explained David Miller, senior editor for National Geographic Maps.

The Kurdish minority was persecuted under the regime of Saddam Hussein. The Kurds took refuge in the mountainous north of Iraq where they enjoyed some degree of autonomy from Baghdad during the period between the Gulf War and the 2003 war that ousted the Hussein regime. Although these Iraqi Kurds played a role in the U.S.-led coalition that routed Hussein, their place at the table in the new Iraq is yet to be determined.

"Numerically, they represent optimistically only a fifth of the population and that's not a lot," said Harm De Blij. "Everyone talks about how much influence they'll have, but with their location and lack of presence elsewhere in the country I don't know how much they will be able to expect," De Blij said, while noting that the Kurds are themselves divided into two rival regional authorities.

But Iraq's Kurds now have over ten years of experience in self-government and will not be anxious to surrender influence to Baghdad. "They are regionally concentrated and can continue to run their own government—and even secede—if a central government of the new Iraq does not listen to them," Miller said.

"They will demand no less autonomy than that which they had under Saddam," Reams said of the Kurds. "However, I think they will realize that they cannot demand so much autonomy that they will incur Turkish wrath and even Turkish military incursions." Turkey is ever wary of Kurdish aspirations because of the sizable and often restive Kurdish minority within Turkey. "Since 1991, they've periodically staged raids into northern Iraq to get Turkish Kurd rebels who've fled to [Kurdish] Iraq to escape the armed forces," Miller added. "Hussein's government had protested these incursions, but couldn't do much about them."

"The Turks will be loath to see the Kurds playing a major role in a neighboring country," said De Blij.

Sunni and Shiite Muslims

The rift between Iraq's Shiite and Sunni Muslims is primarily one of divergent religious viewpoints, which has its beginnings with the line of succession after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Regional and cultural differences also exist, but Harm De Blij noted that the two lived rather harmoniously in Iraq until the rise of Baath Party power.

"What exacerbated this [difference] was a secular political movement—the Sunni Baath party. If there is one thing Shiites are not, they're not secular. As shown by the example of the Iranian revolution, religion is very central in their lives, and that's not the way Sunnis looked at it," De Blij said.

Saddam Hussein's sometimes brutal treatment of Shiites during his long reign has left a potentially deep rift between the groups—with many Shiites persecuted though they were numerically in the majority. "It's one of the tragedies of Iraq," De Blij said, "that because of that animosity a division was created that hadn't really been there before. At the time Iraq acquired its first and second constitution it was actually a fairly multicultural and accommodating society, but the ascent of the Baath Party and the rise of Saddam Hussein led to a vicious dictatorship of a Sunni minority quite unlike the historical character of Iraq."

Salving these longstanding wounds won't be easy, as mistrust and animosity have grown over the years. Western officials at work in Iraq must recognize and account for such distinctions at all levels.

"Local ayatollahs toting side arms with posses of loyal followers carrying AKs and knives will make theses tribal and cultural differences an inescapable consideration in the attempts to transition to some form of democracy and representative government," said Reams.

A priority of any new Iraq government is balancing recognition and representation of the nation's distinct cultural entities with a central, national government that can rule for the good of all. How much regional autonomy is too much? How to get all groups fairly represented under the same tent? They are tough questions, but they should be at the forefront of rebuilding a nation that was from the beginning an amalgamation of disparate groups.

"The talking heads we see on TV have maps but they only seem to show tanks, planes, roads, and forts," said De Blij. "I dont see many of them talking about the cultural, social geography of Iraq—and I hope somebody somewhere is looking at it that way."

Brian Handwerk
for National Geographic News
Click for more info!

Who Are Kurd's

See Kurdistan

Waterfalls, mountains, rolling green hills...enjoy beautiful images of Kurdistan in this online slideshow.

Where is Kurdistan?
The region known as Kurdistan spans several countries. The light colored areas on this map show the areas the Kurds live. See map

Learn More
For anyone interested in the situation of Kurds in northern Iraq, Office of the Iraq Programme is an essential resource.

Get the latest news, security council resolutions, reports of the Secretary-General, details on the enhanced distribution plan and the Secretary-General's 90-day report.

A Kurdish Hero
Integral to the history of the Kurds is the role of Mullah Mustapha Barzani. Find out more about this beloved Kurdish leader. Discover Barzani

Who Are the Kurds?
The Kurds are a distinct ethnic group of Indo-European descent that inhabit a region including parts of present-day Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Syria and the former USSR.

Kurds were promised autonomy in the Treaty of Sevres (1920) but the treaty was never ratified. Instead, a peace treaty between the allies and Turkey, Treaty of Lausanne (1923), was adopted which did not mention any rights for Kurds. Kurds were not mentioned in any subsequent international document until the UN Security Council Resolution 688 was passed in April 1991.
Historical Documents

1- Treaty of Sevres 1920
2- Treaty of Sevres (Kurdistan section)
3- The King-Crane Commission Report 1919
4- Treaty of Lausanne 1923
5- Wilson's Fourteen Points
6- UN SC Resolution 688

Long persecuted in their "host" countries, the Kurds' problems reached the world stage in 1991 when millions of Kurds fled Iraq after Saddam ferociously crushed a Kurdish rebellion in the north. The international community responded with the creation of a "no-fly zone" north of the 36th parallel (the area inhabited by the Kurds) which has since been protected by US and British military.

A Unique Situation
Protected by the no-fly zone, the Kurds in northern Iraq have been able to rebuild their war-torn homeland. Key to this effort has been the United Nation's Oil-for-Food Program (UN Resolution 986) which has supplied this devastated population with resources the Kurds have used to bring down infant mortality rates, restore electricity and clean water supplies, as well as rebuild infrastructure, like roads and hospitals.

Some people refer to this situation as "The Kurdish Experiment" – an opportunity for the Kurds to experience self-government and a chance to live (in the protected north) free from harassment by the Iraqi government.

Tales of Saddam's Brutality

Tales of Saddam's Brutality

The Iraqi people talk about mass graves and SaddamÂ’s crimes against humanity. The cruelty of Saddam's regime is evident in its brutality toward Iraqi citizens. Mass grave sites across Iraq provide further evidence of Saddam's atrocities. Below, the Iraqi people share their stories of brutality, torture, fear, and death. READ MORE!

Just got my new car!

Yea I wish, but never think I can afford or spend it on this!

Arbil Kids and me!

Here are some of the kids that were able to enjoy the toy, pens and paper plus candy I was able to pass out. This was at the Arbil Orphanage. THX to everyone that has sent me items to pass out. The kids love it and help us get past all the bad press we get.

Iraq will go on after CPA!

Iraq will go on after CPA, For Opportunities in Trade and Business!

If you're looking to use the power of 4th Rebuilding Iraq Expo to help grow your business, look no further than 4th Rebuilding Iraq Expo for all of your products, merchandising and marketing needs.

More info

Provisional Authority's chief spokesman said

Provisional Authority's chief spokesman said in Baghdad today.

The CPA regularly reviews security needs for U.S. and Iraqi officials, Dan Senor told reporters during a news conference. Izzedin Salim, the head of the Iraqi Governing Council, was killed during a suicide bomb blast near the coalition's headquarters compound in Baghdad. Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer, Senor noted, was chosen to replace Salim.

U.S., coalition and Iraqi officials, Senor noted, are currently working with U.N. envoy Lakhar Brahimi to determine the makeup of an interim Iraqi government that will take over after the CPA is dissolved June 30.

Read More!

Hmmm Whats this!

Well I just happened to run across the Hummer and noticed the tires were a little out of place!

One thing I will miss!

Good news with out all the editing! To include BBC, CNNI, Euro News, SKY.

OK OK I will not

OK OK I will not spam this out but it is funny!

THE ROBIN WILLIAMS PEACE PLAN

This may very well be the best thought out item we have read since 9/11/01.
Leave it to Robin Williams to come up with the perfect plan ... what we need now is for our UN Ambassador to stand up and repeat this message.

I see a lot of people yelling for peace but I have not heard of a plan for peace. So, here's one plan.

1. The US will apologize to the world for our "interference" in their affairs, past &present. You know, Hitler, Mussolini, Tojo, Noriega, Milosovich and the rest of those good ol' boys: We will never "interfere" again.

2. We will withdraw our troops from all over the world, starting with Germany, South Korea and the Philippines. They don't want us there. We would station troops at our borders. No one sneaking through holes in the fence.

3. All illegal aliens have 90 days to get their affairs together and leave. We'll give them a free trip ho me. After 90 days the remainder will be gathered up and deported immediately, regardless of who or where they are. France would welcome them.

4. All future visitors will be thoroughly checked and limited to 90 days unless given a special permit. No one from a terrorist nation would be allowed in. If you don't like it there, change it yourself and don't hide here. Asylum would never be available to anyone. We don't need any more cab drivers or 7-11 cashiers.

5. No "students" over age 21. The older ones are the bombers. If they don't attend classes, they get a "D" (for "deport") and it's back home baby.

6. The US will make a strong effort to become self-sufficient energy wise. This will include developing non-polluting sources of energy but will require a temporary drilling of oil in the Alaskan wilderness. The caribou will have to cope for a while.

7. Offer Saudi Arabia and other oil producing countries $10 a barrel for their oil. If they don't like it, we go some place else. They can go somewhere else to sell their production. (About a week of the wells fillin g up the storage sites would be enough.)

8. If there is a famine or other natural catastrophe in the world, we will not "interfere." They can pray to Allah or whomever for seeds, rain, cement or whatever they need. Besides, most of what we give them is stolen or given to the Army. The people who need it most get very little, if anything.

9. Ship the UN Headquarters to an isolated island some place. We don't need the spies and fair weather friends here. Besides, the building would make a good homeless shelter or lockup for illegal aliens.

10. All Americans must go to charm and beauty school. That way no one can call us "Ugly Americans" any longer. The language we speak is ENGLISH.....learn it...or LEAVE...

Now, ain't that a winner of a plan.
The Statue of Liberty is no longer saying "Give me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses." She's got a baseball bat and she's yelling, "You want a piece of me?"

NEW SIDE PROJECT GOING ON!

NEW SIDE PROJECT GOING ON!

Well been crazy around here. We have had to clear out dogs and deal with all sort of unplesent issues. We were able to save two, and durring the process Smiley was injured in a dog fight we assume. He ended up breaking his leg and died several days later at the Vet. Well we have still two left Pretty girl and Red. Now is the process to get them home. Info is needed if you know others doing the same thing. Good luck!

Tony

Nonprofit Group To Build Homes

Nonprofit Group To Build Homes for Disabled Troops
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
CLICK TO SEE WEBSITE

WASHINGTON, May 3, 2004 Concerned about the welfare of troops returning home with disabilities from the war on terror, a new nonprofit group is raising money to build houses adapted to their needs.

Homes for Our Troops is the brainchild of John Gonsalves, a construction supervisor from Wareham, Mass., who said he was struck by television news accounts of a humvee driver in Iraq who lost two legs during a rocket-propelled grenade attack. "I remember watching that and wondering, 'What happens to him from here?'" Gonsalves said.

Gonsalves said that news story inspired him to volunteer his services to an organization that builds houses for disabled troops but he couldn't find one. "That planted the seed for Homes for Our Troops," he said. "I knew that if I didn't get a group together and try to do this, it would haunt me the rest of my life."

When he launched Homes for Our Troops, Gonsalves admitted that he "knew nothing about nonprofits, but I did know how to build a house." He'd built houses adapted for people with special needs, incorporating ramps, wider doors and hallways, and lower sinks and counters, among other features.

Today, seven weeks after Homes for Our Troops began raising money, more than $100,000 in donations has rolled in, as well as $50,000 in labor and building materials. "Feedback has been phenomenal," said Gonsalves, who said he has received donations from all over the United States.

Homes for Our Troops hopes to break ground soon for its first project, a house for Sgt. Peter Damon, a Massachusetts National Guard soldier who lost his right arm above the elbow and his left hand and wrist in Iraq when a Black Hawk helicopter tire he was changing exploded.

Gonsalves said he hopes to have several houses under construction by this summer if fundraising continues at its current pace. "There's more than enough money in this country to do something like that," he said.

He encourages donors to give, regardless of the amount. "It doesn't have to be a large amount. It all adds up," he said.

Gonsalves said Homes for Our Troops is a way for Americans many of whom he said have gone on with their daily lives with little personal contribution to the terror war or awareness about how to make one to help repay the debt they owe to the men and women in uniform.

"The war on terror is something the American people should all be a part of not just the people on the front lines in Afghanistan and Iraq," Gonsalves said. "As Americans, we have a responsibility to do more for our veterans who are out there fighting every day and putting their lives on the line."

To make a donation to Homes for Our Troops, visit the organization's Web site or write: Homes for Our Troops, Inc., P.O. Box 615, Buzzards Bay, MA 02532.

Ok I am around and

Ok I am around and promiss I will Blog more. I will make it a habbit...

Tony