Over 1,200 military personnel in Iraq re-enlist

On Friday, 1,215 U.S. service members from all branches marked the 232nd birthday of the United States by re-enlisting at a ceremony in the Al Faw Palace rotunda on Camp Victory in Iraq.

These men and women already serving in in Iraq committed to over 5,000 years of additional service to their country, according to a Department of Defense press release.

“Volunteering to continue to serve our nation, while deployed – is both noble and inspiring,” said Gen. David Petraeus, commanding general, Multi-National Force – Iraq.

“It is, as award citations often state, in keeping with the finest traditions of our military services.”

While many in the states push for a military pullout from what they call, "an un-winnable war," men and women on the ground commit to fight on.

The fact these that soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen and Guardsmen voluntarily signed up to continue fighting provides a clear indication that they perceive the mission worth while and winnable.

UAE appoints diplomat to Baghdad.

Further evidence of progress in Iraq.

clipped from 66.111.34.180 "The cabinet approved in a session on Sunday the appointment of Abdullah Ibrahim al-Shahi, the current envoy to India, as UAE ambassador in Baghdad," the Agence France Presse (AFP) quoted the source, who preferred not to have his name mentioned, as saying. The step comes one month after UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan's visit to Baghdad, the first ever by a Gulf official at this level since the fall of the former regime in 2003. Iraqi Prime Minister on Sunday said canceling Iraq's debts due for the UAE would improve his country's economy and help stabilize security.

Security responsibility in Anbar turned over to Iraqi forces

A little over a week ago, the United States handed over security control of Anbar, Iraq’s largest province, to Iraqi forces. Anbar is 10th of 18 provinces, and the first Sunni majority area to revert to Iraqi control.

The passing of the baton to the Iraqi’s went by with little fanfare in the media, but the event exemplifies just how much progress the United States continues to make in Iraq.

Anbar, a vast desert region in western Iraq, was once called, “ the bloodiest place on the planet.” The city of Fallujah was the sight of some of the fiercest fighting of the war and the provincial capital Ramadi was a focal point of Al-Qaeda power.

A Sept 12, 2006 MSNBC article asked the question, “Is Iraq’s Anbar Province a lost cause?” The article concluded that the United States would likely leave the province to it’s own devices.

“The top U.S. commander in Iraq said Tuesday there has been some military and economic progress in Anbar, but for the first time, it appears the U.S. military is preparing to concede a large piece of Iraq to the enemy and leave it entirely to the Iraqis to eventually sort it out.”

But while the media was lamenting that U.S. and Iraqi forces were incapable of defeating the insurgency in Al Anbar, they were preparing to do just that.

Working with a coalition of local Sunni sheiks led Abdul Sattar Baziya, a powerful tribal leader whose father was murdered by Al-Qaeda for cooperating with American forces, U.S. soldiers and Marines were already laying the groundwork for victory in the region.

“The brave sons of Anbar have awakened to the need to defend our country. With the help of your country we will defeat the terrorist here,” Sattar told Fox News correspondent Oliver North.

Sattar used his influence to recruit local residents into the Iraqi police force and army. They then began to establish police security stations in Al-Qaeda controlled neighborhoods manned by Iraqi Army units (which were predominantly Shia) and police forces (predominantly Sunni) along with a platoon of U.S. troops.

As coalition forces began to establish a presence in previously insurgency controlled areas, they were able to help local residents return to some sense of normalcy by reopening schools and repairing damaged infrastructure.

So while the prognosticators of doom trumpeted their defeatist stories in newspapers and on the airwaves across the United States, the soldiers and Marines, along with their Iraqi counterparts, were steadfastly pressing on towards victory.

By December 2007, U.S. soldiers could walk down the streets of Fallujah and Ramadi without flack jackets.

U.S. and Iraqi forces have replicated this model of cooperation in many other areas of Iraq, including Shia dominated areas.

The transfer of security responsibility does not indicate total victory, but it does represent a huge step forward. Rebuilding a country from the ground up takes time and effort. Many people forget that it took decades to rebuild Germany and Japan after WWII.

Despite what the naysayers may believe, the U.S. continues to make progress in Iraq and the fact that Iraqi forces have quietly assumed sovereign control over more than half the country illustrates this reality.

Independence Day

It is fitting to launch this blog on July 4^th, as we celebrate the birth of this nation.

The United States exists because a few brave men were willing to risk their lives for the notion of liberty. As we look back, it’s easy to forget that when those 56 mensigned the Declaration of Independence, they had no assurance of success. They issued a challenge to the world’s greatest power. Many in the colonies thought their cause futile. They lacked the military power to back up their claim of independence and they signed knowing that failure would result in imprisonment or death.

Yet they signed anyway. They signed not for personal gain. They signed not because they stood to benefit in some monetary way. They signed not to gain land or power.They signed because they believed in an idea. They believed that people should live free.

And they were willing to die for that idea.

Patrick Henry summed up the courage and conviction of those men:

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace-- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

Today we face an equally formidable challenge to our freedom. Islamic extremists seek to bind the entire world by their law. Those who refuse to submit, they brand infidels worthy only of death. They’ve struck us at home and they continue to strike at us in Iraq and Afghanistan. They will not stop until they succeed in their stated goals…or until we stop them.

Freedom is their enemy. Democracy is a thorn in their side. Liberty is their destruction. They flourish only when they can subjugate the people.

We stand in their way and that is why they hate us.

Many today cry, “Peace, peace!” We all desire peace, but evil does not compromise. Evil does not negotiate. Evil does not go away.

The signers of the Declaration were willing to lay their lives on the line for the notion of liberty. Today, the men and women in out military risk their lives for the liberty of the Iraqi and Afghan people and not only theirs, but ultimately ours as well. The question becomes, do we as a nation have the fortitude to stand with them?