Truth, Lies and In Between

Should be required reading for all the moonbats.

Why our troops must stay

I APPRECIATE Peter Abigail and ASPI giving me the opportunity to address this distinguished group on the situation today in Iraq and the broader security implications.

In one sense, this quiet corner of Parliament House is a long way from conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. In another sense, it helps bring into focus much of what is at stake.

A hallmark of our free society is the ability to debate issues forcefully and to resolve inevitable differences peacefully. Our enemies in Iraq and Afghanistan see this as a sign of weakness. We know it is our greatest strength.

This place is where political differences are aired and resolved in policy. I am well aware of the sharp political differences that exist in Australia today over Iraq, differences that have existed since the Government’s initial decision to commit forces four years ago.

More.

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March 21, 2007
Release A070321b

FIVE TERRORISTS KILLED, EXPLOSIVES FACTORY DESTROYED

BAGHDAD, Iraq –Coalition Forces killed five terrorists, destroyed a bomb-making factory and detained three suspected terrorists during an operation Wednesday near Taji.

As ground forces entered the target buildings, they encountered several armed men. Coalition Forces used self-defense measures killing five terrorists and detaining three suspected terrorists.

During the raid, Coalition Forces discovered an adjacent building was being used as an explosives factory. Inside the building, Coalition Forces found large caliber ammunition and explosive manufacturing materials including numerous 50-gallon barrels of explosive material.

Coalition Forces conducted an air strike to destroy the explosives factory, associated vehicles, ammunition and weapons.

At least four large secondary explosions were noted after the initial bomb was dropped on the target, indicating the destruction of the explosive material within and beneath the structure.

A careful analysis was conducted prior to the strike, and every possible precaution to avoid unnecessary collateral damage was taken. No Coalition Forces or civilians were injured during the operation.

“Coalition Forces will continue to systematically kill or capture al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorists regardless of where they may hide or operate,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesperson. “No place is safe for a terrorist in Iraq.”

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Golden Dragons capture mortar team
Multi-National Division – Baghdad PAO

CAMP STRIKER, Iraq — A 120mm mortar system and terrorist cell were captured southwest of Sadr Al-Yusufiyah, Iraq, March 19.

Soldiers of Company A, 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) ran into four terrorists with AK-47s at about 1:30 p.m. local time. The terrorists fled.
The men had seemed to be guarding a home; Soldiers entered and questioned 13 local nationals in the home while other Soldiers of the team pursued the fleeing terrorists.

In the house, the Soldiers discovered two 120mm mortar rounds and three 82mm rounds, as well as a number of hand grenades.

Approximately a half-hour later, the Soldiers found a 120mm mortar tube in a truck parked at a house nearby. In the truck were also found two 120mm rounds, a loaded PKC machine gun with 200 rounds of ammunition, a mortar sighting device, nine 120mm charges, and 30 Russian-made shape charges.

As the terrorists fled, they left many objects in a nearby reed-line, which the Soldiers seized. The objects included four 82mm mortar rounds, two load-bearing vests full of loaded magazines, two hand grenades, two 82mm mortar charges, a video camera, a black ski mask, a DVD and a bag of tools.

In the second house, the Soldiers discovered five 82mm mortar fuses, two AK-47s, seven full magazines for AK-47s, a new global positioning system unit, a mortar compass, a calculator, a piece of paper with mortar tables on it, two notebooks, a video cassette, an unknown rifle, and a bag of electrical components.

“They’ve been launching attacks throughout our area of operations, aimed at (coalition forces) but in a lot of cases they have been injuring civilians as well, so we’ve put a lot of priority on capturing them”. said Maj. Web Wright, a native of Annapolis, Md., and a spokesman for the 2nd “Commando” BCT.

“Capturing 120mm mortar system is significant,” Wright continued. “When you find the tube it strips away their capability to attack, whereas if you find a cache of rounds, although it takes ammunition from them, that tube can still be used again. This time we captured the tube and the people who are trained to use it. This is a very significant event.”

The cell was suspected to have attacked Soldiers of the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd BCT, earlier that day.

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VBIED discovered; terrorists fail
Multi-National Division – North PAO

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, Iraq – Soldiers from the 303rd Military Police Company and Company C, 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, discovered a car bomb around noon March 19 near the Al Fatah Mosque in Bayji.

“This mosque is located along a main road in Bayji and is traveled daily by tens of thousands of people. If detonated, it would have been a disaster,” said Maj. Curtis Buzzard, executive officer, 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. “If it had exploded, damage to the Al Fatah mosque and deaths to innocent civilians in the area would’ve been inevitable. Clearly, the terrorists here have no respect for Islam and no respect for the Muslim people and Bayji community.”

An explosive ordnance disposal team was immediately dispatched to the scene where the four-door sedan was discovered with three 50-pound propane tanks filled with three 152 mm, two 155 mm, and one 130 mm rounds. Detonation wire was also found laid from the car bomb, across three light poles, and dropped down the base of a fence within the mosque’s facility.

Coalition forces received sporadic small-arms fire throughout the clearance and investigation of the car bomb. Only minor damages to vehicles were sustained, and no casualties were taken by the troops.

After disabling the car bomb, the troops detained three individuals near the start of the detonation wire, which they traced to a group of buildings near the mosque. The detainees were taken into custody for questioning.

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Alaskan Paratroopers find enemy cache
Multi-National Division – Baghdad PAO

FOB FALCON, Iraq – An enemy ammunition and bomb-making cache was found by Multi-National Division – Baghdad paratroopers during an operation March 19 south of Baghdad.

Paratroopers of the 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division found the weapons, ammunition, and materials for making improvised explosive devices in two targeted houses near the skirts of the western bank of the Tigris River.

The cache consisted of six anti-tank mines, two fire extinguishers, 15 propane tanks, 30 feet of silver cord, an electric igniter, six 60mm mortar rounds, one 81mm mortar round, one bayonet, 100 feet of copper wire, 75 feet of detonation cord, seven rubber pressure plates, six pistol ammunition rounds, seven .50 caliber ammunition rounds, a quarter pound of C4 explosive, six 57mm anti-aircraft ammunition rounds, five pounds of home-made explosives, one digital camera memory card, one six inch pipe bomb, and ten pounds of accelerant.

An explosive ordnance disposal team detonated the cache on site.

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