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In a stinging setback for the national gay-rights movement, Maine voters narrowly decided to repeal the state’s new law allowing same-sex marriage. With 87 percent of precincts reporting early this morning, 53 percent of voters had approved the repeal, ending an expensive and emotional fight that was closely watched around the country as a referendum on the national gay-marriage movement. Polls had suggested a much closer race. With the repeal, Maine became the 31st state to reject same-sex marriage at the ballot box. Five other states - Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire and Vermont - have legalized same-sex marriage, but...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 20, 2009 – The security situation in northern Iraq has improved greatly in recent years, a senior U.S. military officer told Pentagon reporters today. Al-Qaida, which several years ago launched attacks with abandon in northern Iraq, is now “desperate,” Army Brig. Gen. Robert B. Brown, deputy commanding general for Multinational Division North and the 25th Infantry Division, said during a satellite-carried teleconference. Today, the division’s area of operations “has completely changed,” said Brown, who was in northern Iraq as a Stryker brigade commander in 2004 and 2005. Brown, whom President Barack Obama has nominated for promotion to major...

CAMP TAJI – The shift of U.S. forces out of Iraqi cities has created a new set of tasks for troops in the Iraqi countryside, and a newly-formed group is concentrating on infrastructure projects here. Combining the talents of the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment's leadership with members of the embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team North and the 1479th Civil Affairs Company to form a Project Working Group, the goal is to highlight projects that benefit the local populace. During a meeting held at the Tarmiyah Center, Oct. 13, district engineers from Tarmiyah, Abayachi, and Mushada met with members of the...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8, 2009 – Attacks committed by al-Qaida and other insurgents operating in Baghdad and its environs continue to drop three months after U.S. combat troops moved out of Iraqi cities, a U.S. brigade commander posted there said today. “Security is still the first order of business for the units in this brigade, as well as our Iraqi partners in uniform. Overall, I think we’ve been making steady progress in this area,” Army Col. Tobin L. Green, commander of the 1st Cavalry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team, told Pentagon reporters during a satellite-carried news conference. Green’s Fort Hood, Texas,-based...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8, 2009 – Iraqi security forces are making tremendous progress throughout southern Iraq, the commander of coalition forces in the region said today. Army Maj. Gen. Richard Nash, who commands the Minnesota National Guard’s 34th Infantry Division as well as Multinational Division South in Iraq, said the Iraqi army, police and border police are performing very well. “The Iraqi security forces have had tremendous success in establishing security throughout the nine provinces of southern Iraq,” Nash said in a video conference with Pentagon reporters today. The spreading security is encouraging local Iraqis to side with the government and...

In an interview with Philadelphia-based radio host Michael Smerconish, President Obama said the following about critics who called his healthcare proposal “socialist:” “FDR was called a socialist when he passed Social Security. JFK and Lyndon Johnson - they were both accused of a government takeover of health care when they passed Medicare. This is the process that we go through, because understandably the American people have a long tradition of being suspicious of government until the government actually does something that helps them.” Obama is right. What we often call “socialism” is simply the same old welfare state most Americans...

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq, July 28, 2009 – The commander of Multinational Forces Iraq said today he’s extremely pleased with the way Iraqi security forces have stepped to the plate following the June 30 withdrawal of American forces from the cities and towns of the country. Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno said he is on track to fulfill the mission he and his command of 130,000 Americans in the country have received. “I’ve been given very clear guidance: one is that we will have a change of mission on Aug. 31, 2010, and we will no longer have a combat mission,”...

WASHINGTON, July 21, 2009 – Several weeks after American forces in Baghdad handed over security leadership to their Iraqi counterparts, friction is giving way to a smoother transition of power, a top U.S. commander in the Iraqi capital said. Maj. Gen. Daniel Bolger, commander of Multinational Division Baghdad, today described “hiccups and friction” that followed the American withdrawal from Iraqi cities in accordance with the June 30 deadline. “Despite those initial frustrations, it seems to be going well,” he told reporters at the Pentagon, adding: “I think each day that goes by we get a little bit better at working...

The Iraqi National Police take the lead and escort a U.S convoy through Baghdad, July 6. Photo by Capt. Tommy Avilucea. Multi-National Security Transition Command – Iraq. BAGHDAD — The Iraqi National Police (NP) and Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq (MNSTC-I) joined forces for convoy operations July 5 - 6, to comply with U.S./Iraq Security Agreement articles. The NP led a convoy through the streets of the Iraqi capital, supporting a U.S. Army mission to transport Americans to various locations. The well-coordinated movement took the convoy through city streets and on highways. The convoy aggressively moved through the traffic...

WASHINGTON, July 9, 2009 – A detainee transfer and two base renaming ceremonies recently signified the changing role of U.S. forces in Iraq. Soldiers salute behind a tribute to Army Staff Sgt. Todd Olson during a base renaming ceremony in Samarra, Iraq, June 30, 2009. The base had been named in honor of Olson, who was killed in an attack in Samarra in 2006. It is now called Fond'k Abo Hera. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jazz Burney   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Iraqi officials traveled to the Remembrance II theater internment facility on Camp Cropper in Baghdad...

BAGHDAD — The historic Ibn Sina Hospital will return to Iraqi Government control this fall. In accordance with the Iraq Security Agreement, U.S. forces are scheduled to return the facility to the Iraqis, October 1. Currently operated by the U.S. Army’s 10th Combat Support Hospital (CSH), the staff will continue to provide quality healthcare for all patients throughout the next two months of transition. Col. Raphael De Jesus, 10th CSH Commander, wants to reassure servicemembers and civilians that they need not worry about care. "The mission of the 10th CSH is sustaining,” says De Jesus. “Our ability to provide excellent...

FOB HUNTER — U.S. Soldiers recently transferred a military base to Iraqi Security Forces near Majaar Al Kabir in a ceremony attended by key U.S. and Iraqi leaders in the Maysan province. "This is a historic event for the citizens of the Maysan province and for all Soldiers operating in Iraq," said Lt. Col. William Walski, commander, 2nd Squadron, 13th Cavalry Regiment. "We are proud of the relationships we have built with the Iraqi Security Forces and are confident of their ability to protect the citizens of Maysan province." During the ceremony, remarks were given by Muhammad Shia, governor of...

WASHINGTON, July 2, 2009 – It’s “so far, so good” in Iraq since U.S. combat forces withdrew from the country’s cities and towns, the commander of Multinational Force Iraq said yesterday. “It’s going fine -- no problem at all,” Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno said on the PBS program “Newshour With Jim Lehrer.” Iraqi troops and police are manning checkpoints and stations by themselves, the general added. Baghdad and Kirkuk have seen bomb attacks, but Iraqi forces have been able to handle the situations, Odierno told news anchor Judy Woodruff. U.S. forces have been moving out of the cities and...

It may not be "Mission accomplished," but we are getting closer. Yesterday, the United States completed the process of withdrawing from Iraq's cities. American forces closed or turned over to Iraqi authorities 150 bases and facilities. The Iraqis are happy to see us go, and we are glad to be leaving.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – U.S. troops pulled out of Baghdad on Monday, triggering jubilation among Iraqis hopeful that foreign military occupation is ending six years after the invasion to depose Saddam Hussein. Iraqi soldiers paraded through the streets in their American-made vehicles draped with Iraqi flags and flowers, chanting, dancing and calling the pullout a "victory." One drove a motorcycle with party streamers on it; another, a Humvee with a garland of plastic roses on the grill. U.S. combat troops must pull out of Iraq's urban centers by midnight on Tuesday under a bilateral security pact that also requires all troops...

Lt. Col. Timothy Karcher, commander, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, presents Sameer al Haddad, a representative from the Office of the Prime Minister of Iraq, a symbolic key signifying the transfer of responsibility of Joint Security Station Sadr City in northeast Baghdad during the official ceremony, June 20. Photo by Sgt. Shejal Pulivarti, 1st Cavalry Division. BAGHDAD — A common sense of triumph and accomplishment drifted in the air during a ceremony in northeast Baghdad’s Sadr City district June 20, as U.S. Soldiers returned Joint Security Station (JSS) Sadr City to the Iraqi Army (IA), in accordance with the U.S.-Iraq...

An Iraqi Soldier hoists the Iraqi flag during a transfer of authority ceremony to signify the opening of the Balad Joint Coordination Center, which was previously Forward Operating Base Paliwoda, June 15. Photo by Spc. Jazz Burney, 25th Infantry Division. TIKRIT — U.S. Soldiers lowered the American flag and Iraqi Soldiers raised the Iraqi flag to signify the reclassification of Forward Operating Base Paliwoda into the Iraqi-led Balad Joint Coordination Center during a ceremony near Balad, June 15. The Balad JCC combines Iraqi Army and Police coordination elements, along with civilian emergency response functions together in one center. A small...

BAGHDAD — Iraqi Soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, 54th Army Brigade, 6th Infantry Division, held a ceremony at Joint Security Station Kahdra on June 10 to celebrate the transfer of authority from Coalition forces. The transfer was a direct result of the Iraqi Security Agreement and the teamwork of the Iraqi Security Forces, Coalition forces and the Iraqi people. "The transfer of JSS Kahdra is another way of validating the work Iraqi Security Forces have done with the aid of Coalition forces for so long," said Capt. Maxwell Scott, an intelligence officer. "This ceremony not only represents the advent of...

BAGHDAD — As the June 30 deadline for U.S. Soldiers to be out of Iraqi cities draws near, U.S. forces under Multi-National Division - Baghdad handed over Joint Security Station (JSS) Hurriyah II to Iraqi Security Forces, June 9. "This is yet another step the sovereign state of Iraq has taken to provide for the security of the people of Baghdad and the progress that has been achieved together with the Iraqi Security Forces," said Col. Joseph Martin, commander, 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team. "Iraq is now enjoying irreversible momentum toward a peaceful and prosperous future." Since October, elements of...

WASHINGTON, June 8, 2009 – Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq is working toward its mission to assist the Iraqi Interior Ministry in generating a professional and credible police force, one of the command’s deputy commanders said today. The command also is helping the ministry develop institutional capacity to acquire, train, develop, manage, sustain and resource those forces, Army Maj. Gen. James Milano, deputy commander of the MNSTC-I’s interior affairs directorate, said in a Pentagon news conference. “What we and the Iraqis are striving for is a condition known as police primacy,” he said. “Under police primacy, the Iraqi police forces...

WASHINGTON, June 3, 2009 – Though the Afghan National Police still face many challenges, they continue to make progress on a daily basis, a senior U.S. advisor said. “The police officers that I see and deal with on a daily basis are very dedicated to their cause and to their nation,” Army Col. Dave Harris, commander of Regional Police Advisory Command South, said during a “DoDLive” bloggers roundtable May 29. Harris oversees 19 teams in southern Afghanistan that mentor thousands of members of the Afghan National Police in the country’s Helmand, Kandahar, Uruzgan and Zabul provinces. The mentors live, train...

Lt. Col. John Vermeesch (right), commander of 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, prepares to sign transfer contracts with Samir Hadad, the secretary director for the Iraqi Prime Minister, at Joint Security Station Hurriyah, May 30. Photo by Staff Sgt. Peter Ford, Multi-National Division – Baghdad. BAGHDAD — An historic event took place here when Coalition forces (CF) transferred Joint Security Station Hurriyah to the Iraqi Army (IA), May 30. "The transfer of JSS Hurriyah from Coalition forces to Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) is one more step in the process of relinquishing control of...

WASHINGTON, June 1, 2009 – The United States continues to hand over authority to Iraqis in keeping with the terms of an agreement between Washington and Baghdad that took effect Jan. 1. American forces in Iraq last week transferred responsibility of a security base manned by coalition and Iraqi personnel and a vehicle maintenance center. “The U.S. forces leaving this base are giving the opportunity to the Iraqi forces to take their place and to take complete control of this base, which indicates a new era for the Iraqi armed forces,” Iraqi Army Lt. Col. Majid said in a May...

Hesco barrier removal along Abu Nuwas Street in the Rusafa district of Baghdad, May 28. Photo by Sgt. Rebekah Malone, 225th Engineer Brigade. BAGHDAD — Just as American teenagers hang out with friends on a hot summer night, Iraqi teenagers were doing the same, May 28, except their entertainment was watching U.S. Soldiers tear down barriers blocking a popular street in central Baghdad. Many cheered, gave a thumbs-up or simply said, "Good!" The walls surrounding the small Combat Outpost, known simply as 102, in the Rusafa district of Baghdad, came crashing down, further evidence of the implementation of the Security...

WASHINGTON, May 27, 2009 – Southern Iraq is “a much better place to live and raise a family than it was a year ago,” thanks to tremendous strides in security, governance, job opportunity and essential services, the commander of the 1st Cavalry Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team said today. Army Col. Philip Battaglia described two major lines of progress he’s seen since his “Long Knife Brigade” arrived at Multinational Division South last year: one focused on security and the other, on local government. “The Iraqi security forces have developed into a professional, lethal force, capable of independently securing their citizens...

WASHINGTON, May 8, 2009 – From an overall perspective, security in Iraq remains improved, the Multinational Force Iraq commander said during a Pentagon briefing today. Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, provides an operational update briefing May 8, 2009, to the Pentagon press corps. DoD photo by R.D. Ward  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “We continue to see overall levels of violence at or near the lowest level since the summer of 2003 inside of Iraq,” Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno said. In addition, Odierno said, the capacity and capability of the Iraqi security...

TIKRIT — Several senior leaders from the U.S. Embassy and Multi-National Corps – Iraq recently visited Contingency Operating Base Speicher to review the progress achieved by the Salah ad-Din Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT). PRTs have often been hailed as crucial components in creating stability here. The team's relationship with the military units they serve with is a key part of their success -- the stronger the mutual support, the more effective both organizations are. In Salah ad-Din, that relationship is strong and growing daily. "The CG's priority is to support the PRTs," said Maj. Gen. James P. Hunt, deputy commanding...

MOSUL — The Commander if the Ninewa Operations Command (NOC), Iraqi Maj. Gen. Hassan Karim, hosted a joint assessment briefing recently to discuss current operations in the Ninewa province and the removal of Coalition combat forces from Iraqi cities by June 30. Gen. Ray Odierno, the commanding general of Multi-National Force - Iraq, took part in the briefing, which took place here at Forward Operating Base Diamondback. Joining the general were his top commanders as well as representatives from the Iraqi government and Police. During the meeting, Minister of Defense Abd Al-Qadir expressed the need to defeat the terrorist's network....

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, TIKRIT — The incoming governor of Salah ad Din province brought the provincial leadership to an orientation tour of the Provincial Joint Coordination Center in Tikrit, April 23. One of the most critical components to reposition forces, per the Security Agreement, is the joint coordination centers. The center brings local Iraqi Security Forces, government officials, emergency response managers and Coalition forces together to coordinate emergency response functions from a consolidated headquarters. There are a series of coordination centers spread across the major cities in Salah ad Din province. Retired Iraqi Army Staff Brig. Gen. Issa, the...

Major Dickie Head looks bemused as we emerge from the safety of an armoured Iraqi Army Humvee and walk towards what was one of the most dangerous parts of Basra - now a small, but busy, market. This is the first time he has returned to this area since a tour of duty which saw him and his men engulfed in a vicious and lengthy battle near the city centre. His unit was trying to recover the bodies of the five British service-personnel killed when a Lynx helicopter was brought down by insurgents on 6 May 2006.

AMARAH — Construction of the Iraqi Army’s (IA) new Maymona Location Command in southeast Iraq is on schedule for completion by September, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The $35.9 million project, overseen by USACE’s Gulf Region Division (GRD), will provide a base for 1,000 Iraqi Soldiers. “This location command will support Iraqi Army units stationed in our area,” explained Ali Abdul, the Iraqi engineer overseeing construction for the GRD. “It will ensure our Iraqi Soldiers have the supplies they need as they improve security in our area.” Shelly Carter, a GRD construction representative, says the Iraqi...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA, Iraq, April 17, 2009 – The 772nd Military Police Company and an Iraqi police advisor team are starting a new approach to police training in Iraq’s Wasit province that will provide a sustainable training system for when coalition forces leave the country. “Our overall goal is to start a program in Wasit that can be a model for the rest of the country,” said Army Staff Sgt. Elton Dean, headquarters squad leader, 772nd MP Company. “What we want to do is give the minister of interior a reason to institute a program like this in order...

CAMP ECHO — Iraqi Policemen (IP) trained with U.S. Soldiers at the Convoy Support Center in Scania to improve their traffic control point operations, April 4. IP from the Shumoly district of Babil province performed vehicle and personnel searches during exercises to increase their ability to mitigate the threat of smugglers moving dangerous weapons into the area. “The biggest threat is smuggling in the area,” said Staff Sgt. Jacob Strickland, 16th Field Artillery Regiment. “If they can decrease the smuggling, everyone in Babil province will be safer.” “They’ve established an acceptable level of security here,” said Capt. Jonathan Holm, Battery...

WASHINGTON, April 16, 2009 – Though suicide bombings continue to be a threat, the security situation in Iraq continues to improve, a senior Pentagon spokesman said today. “[Insurgent attacks] still remain down, and commanders have certainly indicated that they’ve seen tremendous progress, but that does not mean we will be void of these spectacular suicide-type attacks,” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. Lethal attacks from suicide bombings in Anbar province, Kirkuk and Mosul claimed the lives of five soldiers and at least 20 Iraqis, while another 40 or more American and Iraqi troops have been wounded in the past week. A...

WASHINGTON, April 9, 2009 – American forces in Iraq continue to transfer more responsibilities to the Iraqi government and their security forces as part of the security agreement that went into effect on Jan. 1, a Multinational Force Iraq general said yesterday. “Our combat forces will be out of the cities by June,” Army Maj. Gen. David Perkins, the command’s director of strategic effects, said during a “DoD Live” bloggers roundtable. “That doesn’t mean we won’t operate in those cities, but we will not be basing our combat forces in the cities.” Since Jan. 1, U.S. forces have transitioned more...

WASHINGTON, April 6, 2009 – The improved security and reduced violence in Iraq today is far different than the situation that existed there just a few years ago, a senior U.S. officer posted in Iraq said today. “This is my fourth deployment in Iraq, and I can tell you that the improvements that I have seen –- that I’ve personally seen -- have been astounding,” Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Juan G. Ayala, commanding general of 2nd Marine Logistics Group, told reporters during a satellite-carried Pentagon news conference. Ayala participated in the news conference from his unit’s base at Camp al...

March 2009 saw the fewest number of U.S. casualties in Iraq since the beginning of the war. Nine American men and women died in Iraq last month -- five of those troops were killed in non-hostile action. And to add one more interesting fact, one of the four Americans killed in hostile action was a woman, who was serving at a Forward Operating Base in Mosul. July 2008 was the second lowest month for casualties in Iraq, with 13 total. March 2009 was the first month where U.S. casualties were in the single digits since the beginning of the war.

Things are looking brighter in Iraq, according to a recently released poll of Iraqis conducted at the end of February. The poll was sponsored by ABC, the BBC and Japan’s NHK. Asked how well things were going for them in their life, 65 percent of Iraqi respondents said things were going well for them. This is compared to 55 percent of Iraqis responding in a similar manner in February 2008 and just 39 percent saying life was going well for them in August 2007. On a personal level, Iraqis seem optimistic about their futures. Fifty-six percent of Iraqis believe that...

WASHINGTON, March 31, 2009 – The security and political situation in Iraq continues to improve, but ethno-sectarian agendas and other obstacles remain, according to Defense Department findings. Pentagon officials today released a congressionally mandated quarterly report on Iraq that focuses on December through February, a period during which pivotal security arrangements between Washington and Baghdad took effect. “With the signing and implementation of the strategic framework agreement, the relationship with Iraq has become more mature and what we would consider a more normalized U.S.-Iraqi relationship through economic, diplomatic, cultural and security ties,” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said today. A...

WASHINGTON — The amount of insurgent- and crime-related violence in Iraq continues to drop as security improves, a senior U.S. military officer told reporters at a Baghdad news conference today. "Some significant improvement has taken place across the board" with regard to security operations and levels of violence in Iraq, said Army Maj. Gen. David G. Perkins, director for Strategic Effects at Multi-National Force - Iraq. For example, insurgent-committed attacks in Iraq have decreased to their lowest level since August 2003, Perkins said, noting that represents a more than 90-percent decrease since June 2007. Last year, Perkins said, Iraq averaged...

A young Iraqi man hooks chains on the lifting points of a concrete barrier as the barriers are removed from a market in Samarra, March 23. Photo by Sgt. Ian Terry, 25th Infantry Division Public Affairs. FOB BRASSFIELD-MORA — Scores of Samarra citizens joined provincial and community leaders March 23 as concrete barriers were removed during a ceremony reminiscent of the opening of the Berlin wall nearly twenty years ago.The concrete barriers, commonly known as T-walls, surround several government and military buildings throughout Samarra to provide a layer of protection against insurgent attacks.  While T-walls have become a familiar site...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President Barack Obama has told his crisis-weary nation he sees signs of economic progress but pleaded for time to navigate out of the worst financial maelstrom in decades. Obama used a prime-time news conference to tout his 3.6-trillion-dollar budget as the key to national recovery, during an intense week of economic and foreign policy rollouts ahead of his first big trip abroad next week. The president said his government, in its first two hectic months in office, had framed a comprehensive strategy to attack the crisis on "all fronts." "It's a strategy to create jobs, to...

DIYALA — The Iraqi Army assumed control of Combat Outpost Ayres from 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division during a ceremony held March 19. Capt. Matthew Caprari, commander, Apache Company, 3-21 Inf., the unit that had operational control of COP Ayres, signed control over to Iraqi Army commander Lt. Col. Khalil Malik Ahmed, commander, 3rd Battalion, 20th IA Brigade. The official documents were signed during a brief ceremony, presided over by Khalil and Lt. Col. James R. DeMoss, battalion commander, 3-21 Inf. “Today is a significant day for the Iraqi and U.S. partnership,”...

WASHINGTON, March 23, 2009 – The Iraqi security forces are performing high-level and fast-paced operations in Basra, making progress in other areas possible, the commander of Multinational Division – Southeast said today. British army Maj. Gen. Andy Salmon said the “atmospherics” in Basra are positive and that the citizens have high expectations for the future. “People are content with the security here, very confident in the way the Iraqi security forces are delivering that, but they're also focused on jobs, health and education for the future,” Salmon said during a video teleconference with Pentagon reporters today. The Iraqi army and...

USA Today, to its credit, carried a front page story, “Iraq combat deaths at 6-year low.” According to the article: U.S. combat deaths in Iraq have flattened at the lowest level since the war began six years ago Thursday, and the Navy has not lost a member to combat in more than a year. Three Marines have been killed in combat since August, and none since December, records show. The Air Force hasn’t had a combat death since April, and the Navy since February 2008. In some weeks, casualty figures for Iraq show, the number of non-combat deaths for U.S....

WASHINGTON, March 16, 2009 – As security continues to improve in Iraq, civil affairs units and provincial reconstruction teams become more effective, the commander of the Army reserve’s 304th Civil Affairs Brigade said today. Army Col. Daniel R. Ammerman, commander of the Army Reserve’s 304th Civil Affairs Brigade, listens to an Iraqi officer lecture on his division’s military operations capabilities at Al Faw Palace in Baghdad, March 12, 2009. The brigade assisted the Iraqi army in hosting the event, which allowed civil military operations representatives from all over Iraq to brief Iraqi and coalition forces on their projects and...

WASHINGTON, March 12, 2009 – The war in Afghanistan poses the biggest challenge to the Defense Department, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said yesterday, but he expressed confidence that Iraq “is in a better place” and warfighters and wounded warriors are better provided for than two years ago. Speaking on PBS’ “Tavis Smiley Show,” Gates reflected on the challenges he faces as defense secretary and the accomplishments he has helped to bring about. “Clearly, the war in Afghanistan is our biggest current challenge,” he said. “Getting the strategy right on that, having a path forward, and having clear and attainable...

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq, March 12, 2009 – A 44-year-old soldier here is serving in Iraq for the second time, an experience he says is considerably different from his first. An Army Ranger and veteran of operations Just Cause in 1989 and Iraqi Freedom in 2004, 44-year-old Army Sgt. 1st Class Gordon Ross has seen a lot more than many of his fellow soldiers in his 22-year Army career. Being an “old” soldier, Ross, the 2nd Platoon sergeant for Company H, 1st Battalion, 161st Infantry Regiment, has seen many changes throughout the Army and throughout the struggle here in Iraq....

WASHINGTON, March 11, 2009 – U.S. forces in Iraq increasingly fill their days with something not thought of as a traditional military role -- taking part in meetings. In recent days alone, U.S. troops have hosted forums and meetings on everything from fostering progress in Diyala province and Balad to improving conditions for women nationwide to fielding battle tanks to the Iraqi army. All are designed to move Iraq toward self-sufficiency. One local sheik in Diyala province viewed a March 3 meeting there with provincial leaders and leaders from the U.S. 25th Infantry Division’s 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team as...

WASHINGTON, March 11, 2009 – Building a nation takes time, and progress shouldn’t be measured through Western standards, a senior coalition commander said, referring to Iraq’s future defense capabilities. “There have been some huge steps forward, but there are a number of areas that we are going to have to develop … in the near future to actually understand and allow the government of Iraq to … go forward as an independent nation,” British army Brigadier Mark G. Lacey, deputy commanding general of Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq, told bloggers and online journalists March 9 during a “DoD Live”...