Nearly 6,000 Sunni Arab residents joined a security pact with American forces Nov. 28 in what U.S. officers described as a critical step in plugging the remaining escape routes for extremists flushed from former strongholds.
The new alliance - called the single largest single volunteer mobilization since the war began - covers the "last gateway" for groups such as al-Qaida in Iraq seeking new havens in northern Iraq, U.S. military officials said.
A dozen Sheiks presided over the ceremony for the 6,000 Iraqi's, signing the contract on behalf of the tribes.
These tribal leaders and tribes have been a critically important part of helping to bring about the security situation in Iraq and al-Qaeda's violence against the Muslims in Iraq has forced the Sunni's that were helping them to turn against them and join forces with the U.S.
About 77,000 Iraqis nationwide, mostly Sunnis, have broken with the insurgents and joined U.S.-backed self-defense groups.
Other Iraq News:
Baghdad 11/30/07:
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces killed one terrorist and detained 17 suspects late Thursday and today, during operations targeting al-Qaeda networks in central and northern Iraq.
During operations near Sharqat, Coalition forces captured a wanted individual believed to be a key member in al-Qaeda in Iraq’s media and propaganda network. Reports indicate the wanted individual may have been using the target area as a safe haven to re-establish the network after significant degradation by Coalition forces’ recent operations.
Baghdad 11/29/07:
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces detained 12 suspects during operations Thursday targeting al-Qaeda operations in central and northern Iraq.
Coalition forces captured a wanted individual during operations in Tarmiyah while targeting a foreign terrorist facilitator and associate of senior al-Qaeda in Iraq leaders. Coalition forces detained two other suspects during the operation without incident.
North of Samarra, Coalition forces captured a wanted individual during operations targeting foreign terrorist facilitators and senior terrorist leader associates. The wanted individual is also believed to be an al-Qaeda leader in Samarra
Balad 11/26/07:
BALAD, Iraq – Iraqi Forces, advised by U.S. Special Forces, detained one suspected al Qaeda in Iraq terrorist commander and two suspected extremists, as well as uncovered 18 improvised explosive devices during three separate operations Nov. 25 targeting criminal groups within Iraq.
Baghdad 11/24/07:
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces killed one terrorist and detained 10 suspects during operations Saturday in central and northern Iraq.
Coalition forces captured a wanted individual southwest of Kirkuk during operations targeting foreign terrorist facilitators.
Reports indicate the wanted individual was involved with reorganizing al-Qaeda in Iraq in the Hawija region. During the operation, as Coalition forces approached the target building, they saw several armed men leave the building attempting to evade the ground force. Perceiving hostile intent, Coalition forces called for supporting aircraft to engage, killing one terrorist. Upon entering a nearby building, Coalition forces discovered a man being held in chains, and reports indicate he was being held hostage for $150,000. In addition to the wanted individual, Coalition forces detained three suspects during the operation, two of whom were wounded. The wounded suspects received medical care on site before being detained.
During an operation in central Baghdad, Coalition forces captured a wanted individual believed to be a financier for al-Qaeda in Iraq operations. The wanted individual is allegedly associated with several senior terrorist leaders, including some involved in car-bombing attacks. During the operation.
To acquire your own news instead of waiting for the MSM to decide how much to tell you and whether or not they wish to, just go to the source, Centcom and go through their daily news releases.
In the meantime, our politicians are returning from Iraq with more good news.
U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens called the Rick Rydell show on KENI-AM 650 in Anchorage to talk about his impressions of security in Iraq. At the time of the call, he was in Jordan, on his way from Iraq to Italy to see NATO installations.
Stevens told Rydell that based on what he saw on the ground he felt as though "the surge had worked" and that many of the troops participating in it "are now on their way home. They're going to go home."
"It was really an eye-opener to see some of the things they're doing now to move in and help establish the Iraqi police to take over and to move our people back and let the Iraqi army and police take over what's left of the insurgency," Stevens said.
Stevens also said he was surprised to learn of the role tribal allegiances play in Iraq.
"That's not a government, but it has a spiritual leader and tribal leader," Stevens said. "I really didn't realize how important the tribe concepts are here in Iraq, but the tribes are really enormous families, long-standing families."
Joseph Lieberman also had news to report on the Neil Cavuto show, after his trip to Iraq, his third trip since last December:
LIEBERMAN: This is the third time I have been in Iraq since last December. And last December, Al Qaeda was winning — it's as simple as that — and we were losing. Today, Al Qaeda is on the run. We are winning.
What's more important, the normal people of Iraq are winning. They are returning to their homes. Their businesses are opening up again, and they have decided something that's critically important not just in Iraq, but in the larger war against terrorism. They have decided that al Qaeda is their enemy, and, ultimately, we are more supportive of their future than Al Qaeda is.
So, it's been, I think, one of the most remarkable turnarounds in modern military history. And it's time that everybody, including Democratic candidates, acknowledge reality and get off of this storyline of retreat and defeat that they have been too committed to.
Last but never least, words from those on the ground.
The U.S. Army's 1st Squadron of the 4th Cavalry commander, Lt. Col. Jim Crider explains his troops remarkably successful year in Baghdad, turning around its slice of the long troubled Dura neighborhood.
Good news from Iraq comes out every day, you just have to know where to find it and you can also contact Centcom and arrange interviews with soldiers on the ground, I have and the information gleaned from those interviews are not things you will see in your mainstream media.
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