WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2008 – The war in Iraq isn’t over, but a successful end is in sight, thanks to hard work between the United States and Iraq, President George W. Bush said in his weekly radio address today.“Earlier this week, Iraq's Presidency Council approved two landmark agreements that will solidify Iraq's democratic gains, affirm its sovereignty, and put its relations with the United States on a strong and steady footing,” he said. “The first agreement that America and Iraq have signed is called a strategic framework agreement.”
This pact sets out a common vision for U.S.-Iraqi relations in the years ahead, he said. Under this agreement, the two nations will work together to bring greater stability to Iraq and the region. That will include working to promote stability in the region through trade and investment as well as supporting Iraq’s leaders and citizens.
“Only a few years ago, such an agreement was unimaginable,” Bush said. “Terrorists were seizing new ground and using violence to divide the Iraqi people along sectarian lines and the nation was nearing the point of political collapse and civil war. Today, violence is down dramatically. The Iraqi military is growing in capability, taking the lead in the fight against the extremists, and working across sectarian lines.
“There is hope in the eyes of young Iraqis for the first time in many years,” he added.
The second agreement, a status of forces agreement, has the primary purpose of ensuring the protection of U.S. troops and Defense Department civilians as Iraq begins to exercise greater sovereignty.
“It [also] lays out a framework for the withdrawal of American forces in Iraq,” Bush said. “This withdrawal will take place in two stages.”
The first stage will occur next year, when Iraqi forces assume the lead for security operations in all major population centers, while U.S. combat forces move out of Iraqi cities and into an overwatch role, Bush said. After this transition has occurred, the drawdown of American forces will continue to the second stage, with all U.S. forces returning home from Iraq by the end of 2011.
Bush acknowledged early differences of opinion about the initial decision to remove Saddam Hussein from power and the subsequent conduct of the war. But as the situation becomes more and more positive, he said, the country has an opportunity to adopt a new perspective.
“Americans should be able to agree that it is in our nation's strategic and moral interests to support the free and democratic Iraq that is emerging in the heart of the Middle East,” he said.
The president also acknowledged the sacrifices made to reach this point, including long separations from friends and family, and for many, the ultimate sacrifice.
“Throughout the past eight years, I've seen the tremendous talent and courage of those who wear the uniform,” Bush said. “Their efforts have overthrown tyrants, made our nation safer, put terrorists on the run, and opened the door to liberty for more than 50 million people.
“Now, thanks to their work in Iraq and the courage of the Iraqi people, a hopeful new era is dawning for their democracy and ours,” he said.
Bush also conveyed his appreciation for the American people’s sacrifices.
“The battle in Iraq has required a large amount of time and a large amount of money,” he said.
Bush added that he would attend the Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia this afternoon, and said he was looking forward to spending time with “brave men and women of the United States military.”
Monday, December 8, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Corpsman Recalls Firefight That Earned Navy Cross
As the Marines in 1st Platoon, Alpha Company, 2nd Assault Amphibious Battalion advanced to secure the northern bridge in Nasiriyah, Iraq, on March 23, 2003, it seemed to then-Seaman Apprentice Luis Fonseca, a Navy hospital corpsman, that all hell had broken loose.
“As we came up and over the bridge, we ran right into an ambush,” he said from his current assignment aboard the USS Bataan. “They threw all they had at us -- small-arms fire, heavy machine-gun fire, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and artillery rounds.”
That’s when Fonseca got the call from then-Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. David Myers, asking him to check on the Marines in one of the vehicles that had been hit.
Trading his communications helmet for Kevlar, the corpsman on his first deployment grabbed his medical bag and headed for the vehicle, which by then was in flames. Five Marines had suffered at least shrapnel wounds.
“I noticed I had two patients with partial lower-leg amputations, one with flash burns to his eyes, and all had shrapnel wounds,” Fonseca said. “I applied tourniquets on the two Marines with the partial leg amputations and instructed the other Marines around to apply battle dressings on the others that were wounded.”
Fonseca decided to move the wounded Marines to his vehicle to get them out of the middle of what became a six-and-a-half-hour firefight. After reassessing wounds and administering morphine to the two troops with partial leg amputations, Fonseca got a call that another vehicle had been hit.
Normally, the column is lined up in numerical order. In the midst of the firefight, as the vehicles maneuvered to gain an advantage, they got out of order.
Fonseca couldn’t find vehicle C206 and returned to his own vehicle just as the enemy got what he described as four lucky hits.
“Two of them were on our right side. One was on our center top hatch. All three were … 122 mm mortar rounds,” he said. “The fourth and final round that disabled the truck was a recoilless rifle round that blew up our transmission.”
When the smoke cleared, the wounded Marines were transferred to another vehicle and moved out of the area -- all but one.
“I picked up the last Marine … and carried him to a ditch,” Fonseca said. “The Marine and I sat in the ditch for about 30 minutes before I could get another vehicle to pick us up and drive us out of there.”
When Fonseca had gotten all his patients to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines’ corpsman, he turned around and headed back to the fight, where he rejoined his platoon.
“We lost about 18 Marines that day,” he said. “Fifteen others were wounded and left the battlefield, and about 10 others [who] were wounded … stayed.”
Fonseca, now a petty officer 2nd class, treated about a dozen Marines during that firefight, and as far as he knows, all of them survived their injuries. He was determined not to let them down. “As long as I was alive, I would keep working, even if it meant my life,” he said.
Fonseca was awarded the Navy Cross for his efforts to ensure the safety and well-being of the Marines under his care during the battle of Nasiriyah.
Though he was honored to have received it, he said, he doesn’t feel the medal truly belongs to him.
“The Navy Cross means to me honor, sacrifice and loyalty,” Fonseca said. “Honor because it is my honor to wear the Navy Cross for my brothers that gave their lives in that fight. So, it’s my honor to wear their Navy Cross that honors them. A lot of men sacrificed that day. Unfortunately, some families and friends had to sacrifice their loved ones.”
Since that first tour in Iraq, Fonseca has been back to Iraq once, and has served a tour in Afghanistan. He is married, and the couple has two sons.
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“As we came up and over the bridge, we ran right into an ambush,” he said from his current assignment aboard the USS Bataan. “They threw all they had at us -- small-arms fire, heavy machine-gun fire, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and artillery rounds.”
That’s when Fonseca got the call from then-Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. David Myers, asking him to check on the Marines in one of the vehicles that had been hit.
Trading his communications helmet for Kevlar, the corpsman on his first deployment grabbed his medical bag and headed for the vehicle, which by then was in flames. Five Marines had suffered at least shrapnel wounds.
“I noticed I had two patients with partial lower-leg amputations, one with flash burns to his eyes, and all had shrapnel wounds,” Fonseca said. “I applied tourniquets on the two Marines with the partial leg amputations and instructed the other Marines around to apply battle dressings on the others that were wounded.”
Fonseca decided to move the wounded Marines to his vehicle to get them out of the middle of what became a six-and-a-half-hour firefight. After reassessing wounds and administering morphine to the two troops with partial leg amputations, Fonseca got a call that another vehicle had been hit.
Normally, the column is lined up in numerical order. In the midst of the firefight, as the vehicles maneuvered to gain an advantage, they got out of order.
Fonseca couldn’t find vehicle C206 and returned to his own vehicle just as the enemy got what he described as four lucky hits.
“Two of them were on our right side. One was on our center top hatch. All three were … 122 mm mortar rounds,” he said. “The fourth and final round that disabled the truck was a recoilless rifle round that blew up our transmission.”
When the smoke cleared, the wounded Marines were transferred to another vehicle and moved out of the area -- all but one.
“I picked up the last Marine … and carried him to a ditch,” Fonseca said. “The Marine and I sat in the ditch for about 30 minutes before I could get another vehicle to pick us up and drive us out of there.”
When Fonseca had gotten all his patients to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines’ corpsman, he turned around and headed back to the fight, where he rejoined his platoon.
“We lost about 18 Marines that day,” he said. “Fifteen others were wounded and left the battlefield, and about 10 others [who] were wounded … stayed.”
Fonseca, now a petty officer 2nd class, treated about a dozen Marines during that firefight, and as far as he knows, all of them survived their injuries. He was determined not to let them down. “As long as I was alive, I would keep working, even if it meant my life,” he said.
Fonseca was awarded the Navy Cross for his efforts to ensure the safety and well-being of the Marines under his care during the battle of Nasiriyah.
Though he was honored to have received it, he said, he doesn’t feel the medal truly belongs to him.
“The Navy Cross means to me honor, sacrifice and loyalty,” Fonseca said. “Honor because it is my honor to wear the Navy Cross for my brothers that gave their lives in that fight. So, it’s my honor to wear their Navy Cross that honors them. A lot of men sacrificed that day. Unfortunately, some families and friends had to sacrifice their loved ones.”
Since that first tour in Iraq, Fonseca has been back to Iraq once, and has served a tour in Afghanistan. He is married, and the couple has two sons.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Anticipation Key to Homeland Security, NorthCom Commander Says
WASHINGTON, Aug. 21, 2008 – Anticipation is key to protecting the United States against threats from air, land, sea, cyberspace and even Mother Nature, the commander of U.S. Northern Command said yesterday.
“All of those things require a response at some level from the Department of Defense, and that’s our role,” Air Force Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr. said during an address at The Atlantic Council of the United States. “So we work across all of our interagency partners to ensure that we anticipate the threat, that we plan for it, and that we’re in a position to execute.”
The command is accomplishing that through what Renuart called a “coalition village of the many,” a cooperative effort by 45 federal agencies working together to secure the homeland. But how it does that is something of a work in progress because of an ever-changing enemy, the general said.
The enemies of yesterday were relatively predictable, said he noted.
“You can’t define [the] threat today. Our threats today are unpredictable; they’re diverse,” he said. “[Our enemies] benefit from technologies and materials that are readily available because of the global economy, … and they don’t follow any of the conventional laws of war.”
If NorthCom isn’t in front of some of the threats and events with the potential to adversely affect the country, it’ll never catch up, Renuart said.
He cited Hurricane Katrina as a good example, explaining that NorthCom often is called on to support local and state governments in response to natural disasters.
“We had great military capacity from the [National] Guard, the Reserve and the active component that was there [and] ready to respond, but we hadn’t figured out how to integrate all that to be most effective,” Renuart said. “What Katrina showed us was that unforeseen events can have catastrophic effects if you haven’t prepared for them.”
To prevent another situation like the Katrina aftermath, NorthCom is planning for potential threats on all fronts.
The command is building a logistic support network of government agencies, as well as the private sector, for disaster victims. It’s also ensuring proper support for Customs and Border Patrol and has an Arctic policy as interest in the region grows.
“Increased access to this resource-rich area and the economically important region that it portends to be has security implications,” Renuart said. “Increasingly, the views from scientists are there are untapped resources in that region.
“We have to have a national security policy that acknowledges the importance of the Arctic region in the future,” he continued, “and that we are properly positioned to support it.”
All of this is great progress, he said, but the command has a new challenge on the horizon -- a new administration.
“We’re going to select a new government in our country, and that … will bring with it some … risk for us in the country,” the general said. “Will a terrorist element or an unsavory character out there choose to take advantage of that period of time as we transition to conduct something on our country?
“I don’t see a threat there that tells me that’s going to happen today,” he added, “but the minute you take your guard down, it could.”
To contend with all it faces in the coming weeks, months and years, NorthCom is focusing on building continuity of operations. It’s working to make sure its “operational-level players” -- the Department of Homeland Security, the Defense Department, the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and others -- have what they need to provide a coordinated response to any homeland threat the United States faces.
“Nearly six years after [NorthCom’s] creation, we really do, we believe, provide as close to one-stop shopping for the … military defense of our nation, as we have ever had before,” Renuart said.
“All of those things require a response at some level from the Department of Defense, and that’s our role,” Air Force Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr. said during an address at The Atlantic Council of the United States. “So we work across all of our interagency partners to ensure that we anticipate the threat, that we plan for it, and that we’re in a position to execute.”
The command is accomplishing that through what Renuart called a “coalition village of the many,” a cooperative effort by 45 federal agencies working together to secure the homeland. But how it does that is something of a work in progress because of an ever-changing enemy, the general said.
The enemies of yesterday were relatively predictable, said he noted.
“You can’t define [the] threat today. Our threats today are unpredictable; they’re diverse,” he said. “[Our enemies] benefit from technologies and materials that are readily available because of the global economy, … and they don’t follow any of the conventional laws of war.”
If NorthCom isn’t in front of some of the threats and events with the potential to adversely affect the country, it’ll never catch up, Renuart said.
He cited Hurricane Katrina as a good example, explaining that NorthCom often is called on to support local and state governments in response to natural disasters.
“We had great military capacity from the [National] Guard, the Reserve and the active component that was there [and] ready to respond, but we hadn’t figured out how to integrate all that to be most effective,” Renuart said. “What Katrina showed us was that unforeseen events can have catastrophic effects if you haven’t prepared for them.”
To prevent another situation like the Katrina aftermath, NorthCom is planning for potential threats on all fronts.
The command is building a logistic support network of government agencies, as well as the private sector, for disaster victims. It’s also ensuring proper support for Customs and Border Patrol and has an Arctic policy as interest in the region grows.
“Increased access to this resource-rich area and the economically important region that it portends to be has security implications,” Renuart said. “Increasingly, the views from scientists are there are untapped resources in that region.
“We have to have a national security policy that acknowledges the importance of the Arctic region in the future,” he continued, “and that we are properly positioned to support it.”
All of this is great progress, he said, but the command has a new challenge on the horizon -- a new administration.
“We’re going to select a new government in our country, and that … will bring with it some … risk for us in the country,” the general said. “Will a terrorist element or an unsavory character out there choose to take advantage of that period of time as we transition to conduct something on our country?
“I don’t see a threat there that tells me that’s going to happen today,” he added, “but the minute you take your guard down, it could.”
To contend with all it faces in the coming weeks, months and years, NorthCom is focusing on building continuity of operations. It’s working to make sure its “operational-level players” -- the Department of Homeland Security, the Defense Department, the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and others -- have what they need to provide a coordinated response to any homeland threat the United States faces.
“Nearly six years after [NorthCom’s] creation, we really do, we believe, provide as close to one-stop shopping for the … military defense of our nation, as we have ever had before,” Renuart said.
Monday, June 30, 2008
U.S. Ambassador Cites Positive Changes in Iraq
Iraq is enjoying some substantial political, and economic progress in addition to better security, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq said during an interview on CNN’s “Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer” today.
“As security has improved, the environment has changed for the better,” Ryan C. Crocker from Baghdad. “That allows for compromises to emerge that simply were not possible before.”
He pointed to better budget execution as one piece of evidence pointing toward Iraq’s changes for the better, and also noted provinclial elections are coming up. “Those elections, in the latter part of this year, will be a very significant step,” he said.
Crocker acknowledged that the United States’ work in Iraq is not over when Candy Crowley, filling in for “Late Edition” host Wolf Blitzer, asked him about the increase in casualties in some areas since May.
“Overall, we have seen an improvement in the security situation and a reduction in casualties, both Iraqi and American,” Crocker said. “We’re up against some resilient and determined enemies [who] have the capacity to hit back, and that’s what we’re seeing, both from al-Qaida and its allies and from Shiia militias.”
While the enemy may be pushing back, the Iraqi government’s response displays intolerance for these acts and a determination to reclaim their neighborhoods from the perpetrators, the ambassador said. Leadership response to a June 24 attack in Baghdad’s Sadr City area aimed at district council members is a prime example, Crocker said.
On June 26, the council reconvened to hold the election that had been scheduled for the day of the attack and elected one of the members who had been wounded as its new chairman. It then denounced the attackers, publicly thanked the United States for its support, and extended sympathy to those affected by the attack, Crocker said.
“We’ve got more hard work in front of us,” he said. “The fighting is by no means over, but clearly we are in a different and better place than we were even six months ago.”
But while Iraqi security forces are successfully taking Iranian-backed militias off the street in Basra, Sadr City and other areas around Iraq, Crocker said, he had no direct answer to whether there was Iranian activity in Iraq has decreased. But the channels remain open for talks among the United States, Iraq and Iran, however, he said.
“I think it’s important to have that option,” he said. “But also, it’s important to have talks for a purpose, not just for the sake of having another session. We’ll need to choose the timing when we think it will improve the situation [and] make some progress.”
Until talks happen, Iraq and the United States will push forward on the current path, one that includes forging an agreement allowing U.S. servicemembers to remain in Iraq past the expiration of the U.N. Security Council resolution. The resolution expires at the end of the year.
The possibility of Iraq wanting the ability to prosecute U.S. personnel for crimes could be a stumbling block, however. Crocker outlined where the negotiations stand.
“We’re negotiating a very broad set of issues with our Iraqi partners,” Crocker said. “We’re operating under some pretty fundamental principles. One of them is full respect for Iraqi sovereignty, Iraqi law and the Iraqi process.
“Neither we nor they will put anything into this agreement that would contravene those principles,” he continued. “At the same time, we do have to have the necessary precautions and authorizations for our forces to do what they need to do to support Iraq.”
Though work remains to be completed in Iraq, Crocker said, he is certain the climate is in place for Iraqis to build their country on all fronts -- security, political and economic.
“As security has improved, the environment has changed for the better,” Ryan C. Crocker from Baghdad. “That allows for compromises to emerge that simply were not possible before.”
He pointed to better budget execution as one piece of evidence pointing toward Iraq’s changes for the better, and also noted provinclial elections are coming up. “Those elections, in the latter part of this year, will be a very significant step,” he said.
Crocker acknowledged that the United States’ work in Iraq is not over when Candy Crowley, filling in for “Late Edition” host Wolf Blitzer, asked him about the increase in casualties in some areas since May.
“Overall, we have seen an improvement in the security situation and a reduction in casualties, both Iraqi and American,” Crocker said. “We’re up against some resilient and determined enemies [who] have the capacity to hit back, and that’s what we’re seeing, both from al-Qaida and its allies and from Shiia militias.”
While the enemy may be pushing back, the Iraqi government’s response displays intolerance for these acts and a determination to reclaim their neighborhoods from the perpetrators, the ambassador said. Leadership response to a June 24 attack in Baghdad’s Sadr City area aimed at district council members is a prime example, Crocker said.
On June 26, the council reconvened to hold the election that had been scheduled for the day of the attack and elected one of the members who had been wounded as its new chairman. It then denounced the attackers, publicly thanked the United States for its support, and extended sympathy to those affected by the attack, Crocker said.
“We’ve got more hard work in front of us,” he said. “The fighting is by no means over, but clearly we are in a different and better place than we were even six months ago.”
But while Iraqi security forces are successfully taking Iranian-backed militias off the street in Basra, Sadr City and other areas around Iraq, Crocker said, he had no direct answer to whether there was Iranian activity in Iraq has decreased. But the channels remain open for talks among the United States, Iraq and Iran, however, he said.
“I think it’s important to have that option,” he said. “But also, it’s important to have talks for a purpose, not just for the sake of having another session. We’ll need to choose the timing when we think it will improve the situation [and] make some progress.”
Until talks happen, Iraq and the United States will push forward on the current path, one that includes forging an agreement allowing U.S. servicemembers to remain in Iraq past the expiration of the U.N. Security Council resolution. The resolution expires at the end of the year.
The possibility of Iraq wanting the ability to prosecute U.S. personnel for crimes could be a stumbling block, however. Crocker outlined where the negotiations stand.
“We’re negotiating a very broad set of issues with our Iraqi partners,” Crocker said. “We’re operating under some pretty fundamental principles. One of them is full respect for Iraqi sovereignty, Iraqi law and the Iraqi process.
“Neither we nor they will put anything into this agreement that would contravene those principles,” he continued. “At the same time, we do have to have the necessary precautions and authorizations for our forces to do what they need to do to support Iraq.”
Though work remains to be completed in Iraq, Crocker said, he is certain the climate is in place for Iraqis to build their country on all fronts -- security, political and economic.
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