Hello everyone,
October has arrived, the temperatures up here in the north have consistently been down in the 90s during the day, and soldiers are resorting to long sleeve PT uniforms to fight the stinging cold during the 75 degree mornings. Fall finally arrives in Iraq. I am not a hot weather person, so you have to admit that I was good about not whining during the heat of the summer.
Over the past couple of weeks I made my way up to Tamim Province to the north of my location. The most well known city up there is the city of Kirkuk. Tamim Province is a mixed province of Arabs and Kurds, yet despite the mixed population, it is also one of the most stable provinces in the northern region, not counting the three provinces that are officially in the Kurdish region.
Kirkuk is one of the cities where Saddam Hussein ordered the Kurdish population to be evicted and replaced with Arabs. After the US removed Saddam, Kurds began to return to the region with the goal of reclaiming their homes and land. Tamim Province has a lot of oil and natural gas and the Kurds would obviously like to return to the industries in the province at which they once worked.
My trip to Tamim was to visit with several different types of units. I met with another Field Artillery unit that is conducting non-traditional FA missions (they all are); I met with the Kirkuk Police Transition Team, and I slid over to the west side of Tamim to the town of Hawijah to spend time with an Infantry battalion that has done a remarkable job of pacifying what was once a very violent region.
The most active terror groups in Tamim are Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) and Ansar al-Sunnah (AAS). Both are Sunni criminal groups, but the relationship between the two has been somewhat rocky over the years. AAS is comprised of Kurds and Arabs, mostly Iraqi, and they do support the goal of Osama Bin Laden to force the Sunni brand of Islam onto the rest of the world. AAS is considered a Salifist group, which means that its members believe that Islam should adhere strictly to its roots, and that innovation or ideas that did not come directly from Mohammed are forbidden. AAS has been very active in conducting IED attacks on coalition forces (CF) and Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), and its members are probably some of the most consistent in videotaping the IED attacks for posting on the internet (quick, someone perform a Google search and see how many video clips Mohammed posted online to ensure that this is not an innovative way for AAS to be spreading its beliefs). While AAS used to make it clear that it had nothing to do with AQI, as leaders from both groups have been captured or killed, the cooperation between the two groups has grown. AAS has been significantly damaged as an organization in Tamim.
Many people refer to Tamim as Kirkuk province, and I noticed that some newspapers do that as well. As most of you have probably heard, the Iraqi Parliament has passed the provincial election law, setting provincial elections for January 2009. These elections are likely to bring greater Sunni representation to the Iraqi parliament since Sunnis are unlikely to boycott the elections as they did in 2005. The original intent of the election law was to include a question on the future of Tamim province. Kurds would like to see Tamim revert to the control of the Kurdish autonomous region, while Arabs would prefer that it remains under the control of the Government of Iraq (GoI). The question of the status of Tamim will not be on the ballot in January, but the election law requires parliament to deal with the Tamim question no later than the end of March 2009. One of the changes in the election law is that minority Christian groups will not be ensured any representation in Parliament as they are now. This caused thousands of Christians to protest the law in Ninewa, and Prime Minister Maliki actually came out and called for Parliament to reinstitute protections for minority representation.
Although Tamim is fairly passive at this point, all is not completely well. In fact, a few days after I left FOB Warrior in Kirkuk, several rockets landed on the FOB, killing 6 foreign workers. During my time with the PTT in Kirkuk, we went on a mission to disrupt a local IED network with the local Iraqi Police (IP). Because of the favorable security situation in Kirkuk, the PTT has been able to train the IP rather than escort them from battle to battle, and they have developed into a fairly competent force. They are one of the police departments in the north that is fully staffed with full time investigators. I went with the PTT and IP on an early morning raid of a local known IED maker’s house. The suspect was captured at his other house in the country by an Iraqi Army (IA) raid, but there was plenty of evidence to be collected at his house in Kirkuk as well. The search of the house turned up spools of copper wire, timers, and trigger devices. The wife, of course, knew nothing, but the purpose for a person to have these three types of items hidden in various places around the house and yard is fairly obvious in this environment. The IED networks in Kirkuk have been heavily targeting the IP. The IP did a pretty decent job on the raid and on the search with a little help from the CF in finding those good hiding places around the (very cluttered) yard.
The Infantry commander over in Hawijah turned his area around much quicker than even he expected. His forces used a combination of carrot, stick, and a great deal of trust in the local Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) to clear the region of the terrorists. This is the unit that organized all of those soccer games a couple of months ago, and those games were made possible due to the aggressive efforts at bringing the security situation under control. The CF forces and ISF have a great relationship with each other and with the community in Hawijah, and the US commander relies heavily on the ISF to use their connections to locate the insurgents that will then be targeted by a combined US/Iraqi force. While the infantry unit “captures” more often than it “kills” these days, persistent IED emplacers are known to end up getting the attention of the CF sniper teams, which tend to effectively put them out of business.
Rather than fly back to Speicher this time, I joined up with a US logistics convoy for the return trip. These convoys are called Combat Logistics Patrols, or CLPs. These CLPs move out with a purpose, and they are on the roads constantly as they move supplies throughout the region. As the CLP traveled across the mountain range between Tamim and Salah Ad Din Provinces, believe it or not, there were some areas that actually looked nice. AQI apparently thinks so, too, because they are trying hard to keep a foothold in that area, which contains the oil rich city of Bayji. Who says that terrorists don’t enjoy a little nice scenery to start their day every now and then?
In an interview with the press over here, Prime Minister Maliki, for the first time, acknowledged the contribution of US and other coalition forces to his country’s progress. He said that Iraq “appreciates and respects their sacrifices and said that the deaths of the US troops would act as a bridge between the two countries for years to come. Maliki has been walking a tight rope with heavy pressure from Iran to push the US out of Iraq. Iran, by the way, is continuing to funnel fighters and weapons into Iraq. Maliki went on to say that the American people may not be fully aware of the accomplishments that the US intervention in Iraq has brought them. While he has been touting the security improvements in his country over the past year, this is the first time that he has actually given credit to US forces for playing a large role in those improvements. Maliki also said that despite the drop in violence, Iraq still needs US troops for some time. The US and Iraq are still hammering out a status of forces agreement that needs to be adopted by 31 December.
The US press is regularly critical of the political process over here, and even of the corruption that is common throughout government in Iraq. There are valid criticisms to be made on each of those topics, but I think that it is well past time for Americans to step back and realize what is happening in our own political process. When you have a group such as ACORN whose sole purpose it is to conduct voter fraud, and when you have a political party that applauds these illegal efforts, and when you have a population that simply shrugs their shoulders about it, you have a Republic that is in trouble. When you have judges ruling that it is unfair to require people to identify themselves before they vote, or to verify their place of residence, or to have a system in place that confirms whether a person has already voted, or to even show up to vote during posted voting hours, you have the makings of a crack pot third world system. Even in Iraq, voters are required to prove who they are before they vote. I somewhat mocked the happenings in Chicago a couple of months ago, but there is very little humor in the types of fraudulent activities that are now occurring in Ohio. Add to the mix a supposed “free press” that is complicit in the cover-up of the fraud, and I would like to know how that is different than what occurs in third world nations. The military and State Department are over here trying to teach the Iraqis how to execute a fair election process and how to run a corruption free government. Who is taking on that responsibility back there? With the vitriol that is being spewed in the US over one of the candidate’s Christian faith, it is apparent that there are some in the US who would gladly make an election law that bans Christians from seats in government. People should probably wake up.
The attached photos are from Kirkuk. The first one speaks for itself – the kids like the Americans. The second photo shows the typical wiring system in the towns over here. People rig wires anywhere they can to tap into electricity. My electrician brother-in-law will see this and realize that he has great job opportunities in Iraq if he wants them. The third picture is from the back yard of the target house. No room for after-raid soccer this time around. Iraqi yards are pure clutter. Finally, I don’t have relatives in the waste disposal business, so the street cleaning opportunities can go to someone else. For those who don’t know, Iraqi roadways are notorious for their litter. It is everywhere.
Everyone take c
are, and remember, if you are voting early, it’s only legal to vote once. 
Over the past couple of weeks I made my way up to Tamim Province to the north of my location. The most well known city up there is the city of Kirkuk. Tamim Province is a mixed province of Arabs and Kurds, yet despite the mixed population, it is also one of the most stable provinces in the northern region, not counting the three provinces that are officially in the Kurdish region.
Kirkuk is one of the cities where Saddam Hussein ordered the Kurdish population to be evicted and replaced with Arabs. After the US removed Saddam, Kurds began to return to the region with the goal of reclaiming their homes and land. Tamim Province has a lot of oil and natural gas and the Kurds would obviously like to return to the industries in the province at which they once worked.
My trip to Tamim was to visit with several different types of units. I met with another Field Artillery unit that is conducting non-traditional FA missions (they all are); I met with the Kirkuk Police Transition Team, and I slid over to the west side of Tamim to the town of Hawijah to spend time with an Infantry battalion that has done a remarkable job of pacifying what was once a very violent region.
The most active terror groups in Tamim are Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) and Ansar al-Sunnah (AAS). Both are Sunni criminal groups, but the relationship between the two has been somewhat rocky over the years. AAS is comprised of Kurds and Arabs, mostly Iraqi, and they do support the goal of Osama Bin Laden to force the Sunni brand of Islam onto the rest of the world. AAS is considered a Salifist group, which means that its members believe that Islam should adhere strictly to its roots, and that innovation or ideas that did not come directly from Mohammed are forbidden. AAS has been very active in conducting IED attacks on coalition forces (CF) and Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), and its members are probably some of the most consistent in videotaping the IED attacks for posting on the internet (quick, someone perform a Google search and see how many video clips Mohammed posted online to ensure that this is not an innovative way for AAS to be spreading its beliefs). While AAS used to make it clear that it had nothing to do with AQI, as leaders from both groups have been captured or killed, the cooperation between the two groups has grown. AAS has been significantly damaged as an organization in Tamim.
Many people refer to Tamim as Kirkuk province, and I noticed that some newspapers do that as well. As most of you have probably heard, the Iraqi Parliament has passed the provincial election law, setting provincial elections for January 2009. These elections are likely to bring greater Sunni representation to the Iraqi parliament since Sunnis are unlikely to boycott the elections as they did in 2005. The original intent of the election law was to include a question on the future of Tamim province. Kurds would like to see Tamim revert to the control of the Kurdish autonomous region, while Arabs would prefer that it remains under the control of the Government of Iraq (GoI). The question of the status of Tamim will not be on the ballot in January, but the election law requires parliament to deal with the Tamim question no later than the end of March 2009. One of the changes in the election law is that minority Christian groups will not be ensured any representation in Parliament as they are now. This caused thousands of Christians to protest the law in Ninewa, and Prime Minister Maliki actually came out and called for Parliament to reinstitute protections for minority representation.
Although Tamim is fairly passive at this point, all is not completely well. In fact, a few days after I left FOB Warrior in Kirkuk, several rockets landed on the FOB, killing 6 foreign workers. During my time with the PTT in Kirkuk, we went on a mission to disrupt a local IED network with the local Iraqi Police (IP). Because of the favorable security situation in Kirkuk, the PTT has been able to train the IP rather than escort them from battle to battle, and they have developed into a fairly competent force. They are one of the police departments in the north that is fully staffed with full time investigators. I went with the PTT and IP on an early morning raid of a local known IED maker’s house. The suspect was captured at his other house in the country by an Iraqi Army (IA) raid, but there was plenty of evidence to be collected at his house in Kirkuk as well. The search of the house turned up spools of copper wire, timers, and trigger devices. The wife, of course, knew nothing, but the purpose for a person to have these three types of items hidden in various places around the house and yard is fairly obvious in this environment. The IED networks in Kirkuk have been heavily targeting the IP. The IP did a pretty decent job on the raid and on the search with a little help from the CF in finding those good hiding places around the (very cluttered) yard.
The Infantry commander over in Hawijah turned his area around much quicker than even he expected. His forces used a combination of carrot, stick, and a great deal of trust in the local Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) to clear the region of the terrorists. This is the unit that organized all of those soccer games a couple of months ago, and those games were made possible due to the aggressive efforts at bringing the security situation under control. The CF forces and ISF have a great relationship with each other and with the community in Hawijah, and the US commander relies heavily on the ISF to use their connections to locate the insurgents that will then be targeted by a combined US/Iraqi force. While the infantry unit “captures” more often than it “kills” these days, persistent IED emplacers are known to end up getting the attention of the CF sniper teams, which tend to effectively put them out of business.
Rather than fly back to Speicher this time, I joined up with a US logistics convoy for the return trip. These convoys are called Combat Logistics Patrols, or CLPs. These CLPs move out with a purpose, and they are on the roads constantly as they move supplies throughout the region. As the CLP traveled across the mountain range between Tamim and Salah Ad Din Provinces, believe it or not, there were some areas that actually looked nice. AQI apparently thinks so, too, because they are trying hard to keep a foothold in that area, which contains the oil rich city of Bayji. Who says that terrorists don’t enjoy a little nice scenery to start their day every now and then?
In an interview with the press over here, Prime Minister Maliki, for the first time, acknowledged the contribution of US and other coalition forces to his country’s progress. He said that Iraq “appreciates and respects their sacrifices and said that the deaths of the US troops would act as a bridge between the two countries for years to come. Maliki has been walking a tight rope with heavy pressure from Iran to push the US out of Iraq. Iran, by the way, is continuing to funnel fighters and weapons into Iraq. Maliki went on to say that the American people may not be fully aware of the accomplishments that the US intervention in Iraq has brought them. While he has been touting the security improvements in his country over the past year, this is the first time that he has actually given credit to US forces for playing a large role in those improvements. Maliki also said that despite the drop in violence, Iraq still needs US troops for some time. The US and Iraq are still hammering out a status of forces agreement that needs to be adopted by 31 December.
The US press is regularly critical of the political process over here, and even of the corruption that is common throughout government in Iraq. There are valid criticisms to be made on each of those topics, but I think that it is well past time for Americans to step back and realize what is happening in our own political process. When you have a group such as ACORN whose sole purpose it is to conduct voter fraud, and when you have a political party that applauds these illegal efforts, and when you have a population that simply shrugs their shoulders about it, you have a Republic that is in trouble. When you have judges ruling that it is unfair to require people to identify themselves before they vote, or to verify their place of residence, or to have a system in place that confirms whether a person has already voted, or to even show up to vote during posted voting hours, you have the makings of a crack pot third world system. Even in Iraq, voters are required to prove who they are before they vote. I somewhat mocked the happenings in Chicago a couple of months ago, but there is very little humor in the types of fraudulent activities that are now occurring in Ohio. Add to the mix a supposed “free press” that is complicit in the cover-up of the fraud, and I would like to know how that is different than what occurs in third world nations. The military and State Department are over here trying to teach the Iraqis how to execute a fair election process and how to run a corruption free government. Who is taking on that responsibility back there? With the vitriol that is being spewed in the US over one of the candidate’s Christian faith, it is apparent that there are some in the US who would gladly make an election law that bans Christians from seats in government. People should probably wake up.
The attached photos are from Kirkuk. The first one speaks for itself – the kids like the Americans. The second photo shows the typical wiring system in the towns over here. People rig wires anywhere they can to tap into electricity. My electrician brother-in-law will see this and realize that he has great job opportunities in Iraq if he wants them. The third picture is from the back yard of the target house. No room for after-raid soccer this time around. Iraqi yards are pure clutter. Finally, I don’t have relatives in the waste disposal business, so the street cleaning opportunities can go to someone else. For those who don’t know, Iraqi roadways are notorious for their litter. It is everywhere.
Everyone take c
are, and remember, if you are voting early, it’s only legal to vote once. 
2 comments:
The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the blog post From the Front: 10/06/2008 News and Personal dispatches from the front and the home front.
Amen, brother. Great post... It's pretty sad that groups like ACORN gum up the works and steal elections. And the apolitical people just throw up their hands and say the stupid cop out anwswer "Everybody does it!" Good luck and God Bless.
Oh yeah for you people that are voting for McCain its Nov 4th. You Obama supporters have to vote on Nov 5th. Ok, everybody got that.
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