B36 News - 06 September 2006

"They" like me, "they" really like me!

If you recall a few days ago I got an email from "they" telling me that I was violating OPSEC by publishing a map of Operation Together Forward. I was later cleard of any violations and allowed to repost the map, but I made sure to let "they" know that I was eager to help out to make sure that OPSEC is maintained.

It would seem that I left a positive impression. It's nice to know that there are other defenders of freedom out there that are interested in what I have to say.

Iraqi Ground Forces Command
After a short delay as a result of a clerical error, the IGFC assumed operational control of the 8th Iraqi Army Division. This is the first of 10 divisions that will ultimately be responsible for defending Iraq once we've accomplished our mission. I'd recommend keeping an eye on this as one of the primary indicators of our mission accomplishment and thereby our victory and return home.

On that topic, it's nice to hear the President saying that we will stay until we win. That's the kind of support that will let us accomplish our mission, win, and come home.

Iraq Has a Parliment!
You've probably heard that the Iraqi parliment voted to extend the state of emergency here in Iraq. What you might have missed was the two simple facts that Iraq has a parliment that voted!

The decisions that are made by this government will reflect the will of the Iraqi people now and if it doesn't then the people of Iraq can vote their representatives out of office.

Don't forget where we came from or how we got here. In about 3 and a half years we've replaced a dictatorial form of governmetn that has been in place for generations with a democratic one. Success doesn't happen overnight, have patience and let us win.

New Iraqi Flag?
Unbeknownst to many (yours truely included until recently), the flag commonly known as the Iraqi flag was instituted by Saddam. The flag that's associated with the Kurdish regions of Iraq is the flag that was used before Saddam destroyed his country. There has been a recent push to fly a single flag in Iraq, a decision that met with much opposition as many who were oppressed by Saddam didn't feel any attachment to it.

In response to this push-back, President Talibani has decided that Iraq will soon be flying a new flag, symbolic of a new and unified country. Better get your "old" Iraqi flags while you still can!

OTF Update
Operation Together Forward continues to secure more and more of Baghdad. The bad guys are getting squeezed into less and less territory and as such they are fighting harder to avoid getting caught or killed, but that's not stopping us.

You've come to expect me to talk about numbers of weapons found and people caught or killed, but what you don't hear much about in regards to OTF is the action that doesn't involve pointing or firing a weapon. Check this out:

• 45,800 buildings cleared
• 49 mosques and 39 mullahs cleared
  
• 425 weapons registered
• 1,152 doors replaced
• 38 windows replaced
• 1,366 locks replaced
• 25,561 cubic meters of trash removed

Yep, that's right. The US military doesn't just take out the human garbage.