April 2007 - Iraq Special Weapons News

23 April 2007 - Iraq Special Weapons News

April 22 airpower summary: C-17s provide intra-theater heavy airlift support AFPN 23 Apr 2007 -- Coalition airpower supported coalition ground forces in Iraq and International Security Assistance Force troops in Afghanistan in the following operations April 22, according to Combined Air and Space Operations Center officials here.
Coalition Forces Kill, Detain Terrorists; Iraqi Troops Find Weapons AFPS 23 Apr 2007 -- Coalition forces killed 16 terrorists, detained 45 suspected terrorists and, along with Iraqi army troops, uncovered multiple weapons caches in operations throughout Iraq over the past three days, military officials reported.
Training, Technology Combine to Save Lives in Iraq Army News 23 Apr 2007 -- Expanded training in combat life-saving procedures has enabled a greater than 98-percent survival rate for U.S. troops injured in Iraq, a coalition surgeon said Thursday.
Strike Group Commanders Visit Oil Terminals Navy NewsStand 23 Apr 2007 -- Two U.S. Navy admirals visited the Al Basrah and Khawr Al Amaya oil terminals April 20 to support the coalition forces currently in command of Combined Task Force (CTF) 158 in the Northern Persian Gulf.
USS O’Kane Conducts Approach Operations in Persian Gulf Navy NewsStand 23 Apr 2007 -- While operating in the central Persian Gulf, Sailors from USS O’Kane (DDG 77) are conducting "approach operations" as a way to reassure mariners and merchants that coalition forces are helping to provide security and stability in the region.

Boxer Expeditionary Strike Group Completes MSO in Persian Gulf Navy NewsStand 23 Apr 2007 -- Boxer Expeditionary Strike Group (BOXESG) completed maritime security operations (MSO) in the Persian Gulf on April 16.
Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group Enters 7th Fleet Navy NewsStand 23 Apr 2007 -- The Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group (BHRESG) entered the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR) April 23, while enroute to the Persian Gulf in support of the global war on terrorism.

Press briefing with Ryan C. Crocker, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, April 23, 2007. MNF-I 23 Apr 2007
President Bush Meets with General Petraeus, Discusses War in Iraq The White House 23 Apr 2007
Bush Stands Firm in Opposing Iraq Timetable VOA 23 Apr 2007 -- President Bush has restated his opposition to any timetable for a withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, continuing a showdown with opposition Democrats over funding of the war
Bush Cites Progress with Iraq Strategy Washington File 23 Apr 2007 -- Although many challenges remain in Iraq, the new U.S. stability strategy is meeting expectations, President Bush says.
Bush: Extra Troops Will Give Iraqi Government ‘Breathing Space’ AFPS 23 Apr 2007 -- About half of the U.S. troops involved in the surge to Baghdad and Anbar province have arrived in Iraq and are beginning their work of providing security so the Iraqi government can move forward, President Bush said here today.

Legislators Agree on Iraq Funding Bill; Vote Scheduled for Later This Week VOA 23 Apr 2007 -- House and Senate negotiators have agreed on a military funding bill containing a timetable for withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq
US Lawmakers Work to Complete Iraq Timetable Legislation VOA 23 Apr 2007 -- President Bush is hardening his opposition to any timetable for a withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, and faces showdown with opposition Democrats over funding for the war

Iraqi Security Force Deserves Support of its Countrymen, General Says AFPS 23 Apr 2007 -- Iraqi civilians need to support security force members who sacrifice their own safety for their fellow Iraqis, a top U.S. military official said.
Success Ultimately Up to Iraqis, New U.S. Ambassador Says AFPS 23 Apr 2007 -- Success in Iraq is possible, but achieving that success will ultimately be the task of Iraq’s new government and its people, the top U.S. diplomat in Iraq told reporters in Baghdad today.
Rice Looks Forward to Neighbors Conference on Iraq Washington File 23 Apr 2007 -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says she looks forward to attending an international conference on Iraq in May to which Syria and Iran also have been invited, and in gauging participants' attitudes toward bringing stability to the region.
US Applauds International Attention to Iraq's Humanitarian Crisis VOA 23 Apr 2007 -- The top State Department official for refugee issues has praised a conference last week in Geneva on displaced Iraqis, calling it a good starting point for international coordination for assistance

Backgrounder: The Iraqi Kurdish Question cfr.org 23 Apr 2007
Analysis: All’s Not Quiet on Iraq’s Northern Front cfr.org 23 Apr 2007
Iraqi Air Force celebrates 76th anniversary AFPN 23 Apr 2007 -- The 76th anniversary of the Iraqi Air Force drew a crowd of approximately 100 distinguished visitors, guests and Iraqi and U.S. servicemembers to New Al Muthana Air Base in Baghdad, Iraq.
IRAQ: Yazidi minority demands protection after killings IRIN 23 Apr 2007 -- Members of the Yazidi religious minority have asked the Iraqi government and international NGOs to protect them after gunmen on Sunday killed 23 Yazidis in Mosul, northern Iraq.

Larijani: Gates's anti-Iran claim `a very big joke' IRNA 23 Apr 2007 -- Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani on Monday dismissed as 'a very big joke' the claim of the US Defense Secretary Roberts Gates that Iran assists al-Qaeda, saying it is an escape forward.

Iraqi Premier Stops Building Of Wall In Baghdad RFE/RL 23 Apr 2007 -- A controversy has emerged over the building of a security barrier around Al-Adhamiyah, a Sunni district in Baghdad, to separate it from nearby Shi'ite areas.
Construction of Baghdad Barrier to Stop VOA 23 Apr 2007 -- The Iraqi prime minister has ordered a halt to construction of a controversial security barrier that the U.S. military had been building around a mainly Sunni neighborhood in Baghdad