Posts Tagged ‘Iraq’
September 7th, 2010 by Nathan Curby
Two American soldiers were killed and nine were injured on Tuesday when they came under fire from a man in an Iraqi army uniform. The two were the first American troops killed in the country since President Obama announced the end of the combat mission in Iraq last week.
Approximately 50,000 troops remain in Iraq despite the formal end of combat operations, helping train Iraqi security forces to take control of the fight against insurgents. The shooting occurred while soldiers acted as a security detail to guard a U.S. company commander who was meeting with Iraqi security forces. It was not immediately clear what motivated the shooter, although it may have started with a dispute with the Americans.
Tags: army, Iraq, military, military withdrawal, U.S. Army, violence, war
Posted in Israel & Middle East, Military & Veterans, Obama & Biden | No Comments »
September 1st, 2010 by Nathan Curby
The United States on Wednesday marked the transition to a new stage in the Iraq war, when U.S. troops will be on an “advise and assist” mission called Operation New Dawn. Vice President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Robert Gates presided over a ceremony in Baghdad to mark the change of command as Lieutenant General Lloyd Austin formally replaced General Raymond Odierno.
Nearly 50,000 U.S. troops will remain in Iraq to train Iraqi security forces. The Obama administration says all U.S. troops will be removed from the country by the end of 2011.
In a speech Tuesday night, President Barack Obama heralded the transition, saying, “The American combat mission in Iraq has ended.” Obama pointed out his opposition to the war from its beginning in 2003, when former President George W. Bush announced Operation Iraqi Freedom, and said that he is fulfilling his campaign promise to end U.S. involvement in Iraq. WORLD Magazine points out that the timeframe for withdrawal was actually launched by then-President Bush, who negotiated an agreement with the Iraqi government to have all U.S. troops out of the nation by the end of 2011. Obama later added the August 31, 2010 deadline for ending “combat operations” in Iraq.
An Associated Press fact check of Obama’s speech notes that American forces are still almost certain to face combat in the country, even though that is no longer their official mission.
Tags: Barack Obama, Iraq, Joe Biden, Lloyd Austin, Middle East, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation New Dawn, Raymond Odierno, Robert Gates, terrorism, war
Posted in Israel & Middle East, Military & Veterans, Obama & Biden, Terrorism & Persecution | No Comments »
August 19th, 2010 by Nathan Curby
The last combat brigade of American troops rolled out of Iraq into Kuwait early Thursday morning, a major step in President Obama’s plan to end combat operations in Iraq by the end of the month. Even though the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division was the last combat brigade to leave, 6,000 scattered combat troops remain until the end of the month, and another 50,000 troops will stay in Iraq to train Iraqi forces until the end of next year.
At the same time, the U.S. will more than double the number of private security contractors in Iraq to about 7,000. With military forces withdrawing, the contractors will defend American compounds against attacks, operate radars to warn of enemy rocket attacks, search for roadside bombs, fly reconnaissance drones and even staff quick reaction forces to aid civilians in distress, the New York Times reports.
The troops are leaving behind an increasingly volatile situation, as the country still has no stable government in the wake of its March elections, and violence appears to be on the rise. Five Iraqi government employees were killed in roadside bombings and other attacks Wednesday. One day earlier, a suicide bomber had killed 61 army recruits in central Baghdad.
Tags: Barack Obama, Iraq, Kuwait, military, military withdrawal, security contractors, terrorism
Posted in Israel & Middle East, Military & Veterans, Obama & Biden, Terrorism & Persecution | No Comments »
July 28th, 2010 by Nathan Curby
Pray for safety, success, and mental and emotional strength for U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a $58 billion measure to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, despite growing opposition to the wars among congressional Democrats. The House passed the Senate version of the war funding bill after the Senate rejected tens of billions of dollars in domestic initiatives that the House had included in its original version.
The measure received broad Republican support, with only 12 Republicans voting against it, but 102 Democrats opposed the bill, more than twice the number who voted against a similar measure last year. “What has changed in my mind is I am so discouraged at the chances of our commitment in Afghanistan succeeding that I think it’s time to say, no more,” said Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA).
The vote seemed to be unaffected by the Sunday release of 91,000 secret documents about the Afghanistan war. The documents, however, gave a voice to opponents of the war who say they paint a picture of a war that is rapidly deteriorating. President Obama argued that the documents did not introduce any new information to the debate, and that they reinforce his decision to make a change in strategy, sending 30,000 new troops to Afghanistan. The bill passed Tuesday will partially go to pay for those new troops.
Tags: Afghanistan, Barack Obama, Congress, Henry Waxman, House of Representatives, Iraq, Senate, war funding
Posted in Government & Law, Israel & Middle East, Military & Veterans, Obama & Biden | No Comments »
March 31st, 2010 by Nathan Curby
As Iran faces more questions over its nuclear program, it is becoming increasingly bold in its position internationally. Seeking to expand its global political and business ties, Tehran is using its vast gas and oil reserves to buy an ear in Moscow, Beijing, and elsewhere.
As Tehran increases its business ties with Russia, it is also looking to assert more influence throughout the Middle East. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has held meetings with Afghan President Hamid Karzai both in Tehran and Kabul, concerning U.S. officials that Karzai may be too influenced by Iran. Those concerns were heightened when Iran provided a shipment of weapons to fighters in the Kandahar region of Afghanistan.
U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen told reporters on Wednesday that Iran is having an increasing negative influence on Afghanistan. Mullen made the remarks during a trip to Kabul, and said he was “taken aback” by the arms shipment. Mullen said that while Iran’s influence in Afghanistan is growing, it is not as significant as in Iraq, where Iran has been accused of supporting insurgency fighters. Former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi complained that Tehran was trying to impact the recent elections by inviting all the major parties except for his to Tehran for talks.
And as Iran pushes the limits on its nuclear program, it is relying on business ties with Russia and China to protect it from UN sanctions. A CIA report to Congress said that Tehran is “keeping open the option to develop nuclear weapons,” and the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said that Iran is not being clear about its intentions for nuclear development. The CIA report came after the agency gained new insight into Iran’s nuclear program thanks to the defection of a leading Iranian nuclear scientist.
Obama said on Tuesday that he believes he can persuade the UN Security Council to enact strict sanctions against Iran. The U.S. recently scaled back its proposal for sanctions to try to win the support of Russia and China, but Obama administration officials denied that the proposal had been watered down, saying that since a draft resolution had not yet been circulated, it couldn’t have been altered.
Tags: Afghanistan, Ayad Allawi, Barack Obama, China, CIA, Hamid Karzai, IAEA, Iran, Iraq, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mike Mullen, Russia, UN, UN Security Council
Posted in Government & Law, Israel & Middle East, Obama & Biden, United Nations | No Comments »
March 31st, 2010 by Nathan Curby
This year’s parliamentary elections are supposed to be the turning point for Iraq. The outcome could decide whether the country will gain stability or collapse into civil war. But more than three weeks after the elections, the results have still not become clear.
Former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi’s Iraqiya party won 91 seats in the March 7 elections, beating current Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Islam party with 89 seats, but al-Maliki has appealed the results of the election, and a government panel is seeking to disqualify six of the winners. The Accountability and Justice Commission moved to disqualify six people who had won parliamentary seats in the elections, along with 46 other candidates, for alleged ties to Saddam Hussein’s outlawed Baath party. The panel did not disclose the party affiliations of the candidates, but many are expected to be members of Allawi’s coalition. The nation’s Sunni Arab minority, which held a disproportionate amount of power under Hussein, broadly supported Allawi’s Iraqiya party.
Under Iraq’s election rules, the largest bloc in parliament gets to name a prime minister candidate, who then must build a cabinet which gains the approval of parliament. If Iraqiya loses its two-seat lead, it will also lose the chance to nominate a candidate for prime minister and build its own coalition government.
Allawi has accused Iran of interfering in the election, trying to deprive him of the prime minister’s position by inviting all the major parties except his to Tehran for talks. “Iran is interfering quite heavily and this is worrying,” he told the BBC.
At stake is whether Iraq can hold elections which will stand valid, as well as whether the country will be controlled by the Shiite Muslim majority or Allawi’s more secular coalition. The final outcome could have a major impact on the U.S. military’s ability to begin withdrawing troops this year.
Tags: Ayad Allawi, Iran, Iraq, Iraqiya, Nouri al-Maliki, Shiite Muslims, State of Islam, Sunni Arabs
Posted in Government & Law, Israel & Middle East, Military & Veterans, Terrorism & Persecution | No Comments »
February 24th, 2010 by Nathan Curby
Unemployment for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars stood three percentage points above the national rate in January, according to Department of Labor statistics. Those veterans had an unemployment rate of 12.6 percent, compared to 9.7 percent for the nation as a whole.
Joblessness is one of many difficulties facing veterans as they return home. Many suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, some are homeless, and all return changed.
Three years ago, IFA’s monthly Prayer Letter featured an article called “Bringing Our Troops All the Way Home.” In it, Chaplain Major John Morris explained Beyond the Yellow Ribbon, a program by the Minnesota National Guard to help soldiers and airmen reintegrate into their communities.
Programs like BTYR are still very important in helping troops returning from deployment, and neeed your prayers and support. Hope for the Heroes is a ministry that sends a daily “message from God” from the Bible to military members via a phone call, text message, email, or facebook message. Their website features stories from veterans who have been impacted by the daily message. “I started to get strength from that little phone call each day to start looking for a job, to move home and to share a little of what was going on in my head,” reads a note from “Jason.” ”It’s not over. I still have horrible days, but now I have something else to think about besides my time overseas, I have something that gives me hope.”
Tags: Afghanistan, Beyond the Yellow Ribbon, Hope for the Heroes, Iraq, unemployment, Veterans
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