US Military News: 12/06/05

U.S.-Romanian Basing Agreement Helps Both Countries, Rumsfeld Says

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2005 - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld praised an agreement signed today by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that will allow U.S. troops to establish temporary bases for training in Romania.

"It's a good thing for Romania. It's a good thing for the United States," Rumsfeld said during a news conference at the annual Southeastern Europe Defense Ministerial, held here Dec. 5 and today.

Rumsfeld cautioned that any U.S. military bases in Romania should be considered as rudimentary forward operating sites, rather than the large, permanent bases developed for American troops in Germany during the Cold War. In the 21st century, most U.S. forces will be based in the United States, Rumsfeld said. Those forces need to be flexible and rapidly deployable to confront transnational threats like terrorism and can't be tied down on large overseas installations, he said.

Romanian Defense Minister Teodor Atanasiu said his nation's military would benefit and learn much by training alongside American troops.

Rumsfeld also saluted the group's accomplishments during this conference, the first one the nine-year-old organization has held in the United States. "We had excellent discussions on the progress and the future of cooperation of southeastern Europe," Rumsfeld said, noting SEDM has come a long way since its inception in 1996.

Ukraine today joined SEDM members Italy, Greece, Turkey, Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, the Macedonia, Slovenia and Croatia.

SEDM members also voted today to deploy the organization's Southeastern Europe Brigade headquarters to Kabul, Afghanistan, for a six-month peacekeeping mission starting in February 2006. "This effort will give the Afghan people some encouragement and confidence as the free people of southeastern Europe reach out to aid a region that is well beyond their borders," Rumsfeld said.

SEDM Chairman Albanian Deputy Defense Minister Besnik Baraj thanked Rumsfeld for hosting the meetings. New SEDM members, like Ukraine, will assist the organization in meeting future security challenges, Baraj said.

The United States helped develop SEDM to promote peace and stability and enhance regional security cooperation in southeastern Europe, DoD officials said. Some SEDM members, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Italy, Romania, Slovenia, as well as the United States, are also NATO members.

Moldova and Ukraine had been SEDM conference observers in years past, officials said. Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia and Montenegro are special guests at this year's meeting. Moldova is attending this year's meeting as an observer.

Saddam Hussein Nephew Receives Long Prison Sentence

American Forces Press Service

BAGHDAD, Dec. 6, 2005 - Saddam Hussein's nephew -- a former regime insider and once-active terrorist supporter -- was found guilty in a Baghdad court Dec. 5 of illegally crossing the Syrian border without authorization from Iraqi customs.

Aymen Sabawi received a 15-year sentence in addition to the six-year sentence he received during a September trial in which he was found guilty of possessing illegal weapons and manufacturing explosive devices. During his September trial, Sabawi submitted self-incriminating information in his testimony when he spoke of the illegal border crossing, officials said.

The combined sentences mean Sabawi will not be released from prison for more than 20 years, officials said.

Sabawi was apprehended in May by Iraqi and coalition forces near Saddam's hometown of Tikrit. His father, Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hasan al-Tikrit, is Saddam's half brother. He was apprehended in late February and remains in custody awaiting trial.

Officials said Aymen Sabawi and members of his family played a particularly active role in sustaining terrorism in Iraq by providing financial support, weapons and explosives, and that he frequently used neighboring Arab countries as safe havens to plan and launch terrorist attacks.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1483 specifically indicted the Sabawi family for stealing millions of dollars from the Iraqi people during Saddam Hussein's regime. Officials believe the Sabawi family used these stolen financial assets to fund terrorism and anti-coalition activities.

(From a Multinational Force Iraq news release.)

Related Site:

Multinational Force Iraq [http://www.mnf-iraq.com/]

_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2005/20051206_3563.html.

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Saddam Hussein Nephew Receives Long Prison Sentence

American Forces Press Service

BAGHDAD, Dec. 6, 2005 - BAGHDAD, Iraq, Dec. 6, 2005 - Saddam Hussein's nephew -- a former regime insider and once-active terrorist supporter -- was found guilty in a Baghdad court Dec. 5 of illegally crossing the Syrian border without authorization from Iraqi customs.

Aymen Sabawi received a 15-year sentence in addition to the six-year sentence he received during a September trial in which he was found guilty of possessing illegal weapons and manufacturing explosive devices. During his September trial, Sabawi submitted self-incriminating information in his testimony when he spoke of the illegal border crossing, officials said.

The combined sentences mean Sabawi will not be released from prison for more than 20 years, officials said.

Sabawi was apprehended in May by Iraqi and coalition forces near Saddam's hometown of Tikrit. His father, Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hasan al-Tikrit, is Saddam's half brother. He was apprehended in late February and remains in custody awaiting trial.

Officials said Aymen Sabawi and members of his family played a particularly active role in sustaining terrorism in Iraq by providing financial support, weapons and explosives, and that he frequently used neighboring Arab countries as safe havens to plan and launch terrorist attacks.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1483 specifically indicted the Sabawi family for stealing millions of dollars from the Iraqi people during Saddam Hussein's regime. Officials believe the Sabawi family used these stolen financial assets to fund terrorism and anti-coalition activities.

(From a Multinational Force Iraq news release.)

Related Site:

Multinational Force Iraq [http://www.mnf-iraq.com/]

_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2005/20051206_3563.html.

====================================================

Visit the Defense Department's Web site "America Supports You" at http://www.americasupportsyou.mil, that spotlights what Americans are doing in support of U.S. military men and women serving at home and abroad.

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America Supports You: Woman Lends Troops, Families an Ear

By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2005 - Deployed troops and their families are used to receiving material support from various sources, but sometimes they really need something less tangible.

"I think that a lot of times somebody just needs someone to listen for awhile and (to) know that they're not alone and not forgotten," said Alessandra Kellerman, president and founder of "Homefront Hugs," an organization started after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Kellerman is well qualified to listen and assist. A psychologist specializing in crisis intervention and behavioral management and a former military wife, Kellerman said that she can help both servicemembers and their families.

"Just Ask Ali," is an online forum in which servicemembers and family members can ask questions about issues affecting their lives. The service is available to anyone affected by a deployment. Through it, Kellerman offers guidance and suggestions. Some recurrent issues are addressed on the site, and the writers remain anonymous.

"They just need somewhere to go to say, 'Look, I'm dealing with this. Do you have any suggestions? Are there any resources our there that the military provides?'" she said. "Everybody's concerned about not overburdening the other."

Though the Gulf Breeze, Fla., resident, is willing and qualified to offer basic counseling, some issues are out of her realm of comfort, she said. In those cases, she refers people to the appropriate resources within the military.

"Although I do some counseling on the side with families, ... there are a lot of referrals that go on," Kellerman said. "I understand what the military is providing for the families and where they can go."

Kellerman knows well that as helpful as a friendly ear can be, sometimes a good old-fashioned care package is in order. For this reason, one of the facets of Homefront Hugs is a servicemember adoption program. Through Hugs4Smiles, Americans who want to show support for servicemembers can agree to send care packages to "adopted" servicemembers for a period of time.

"Sending packages is just a small way in which we can show our support for the troops," Mary Ellen Esquino, a Hugs volunteer, said. "The Homefront Hugs organization provided that service, and I will be forever grateful. (It) has been a constant support for the troops, their families and for the volunteers."

Those gestures of support are important, Kellerman said. She said that support of the troops should go beyond political and religious lines.

"I feel that we need to unite more and remind our troops that they're all Americans first and that we are behind them as long as they're serving our country, whether or not we're for or against the war," she said. "Because if one of our soldiers falters while trying to serve our country, we've done them a disservice. We may say we support our soldiers, but we really need to walk the walk."

Aside from the support Hugs offers servicemembers and their families, the organization also works to help the U.S. military foster a good rapport with Afghan citizens.

Homefront Orphan Hugs began in November at the request of Army Staff Sgt. Rodolfo "Raven" Fuentes of the 44th Signal Battalion stationed at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. The unit is collecting items for about 400 children in two orphanages near the base. The soldiers are requesting personal, school, medical and entertainment items for the children.

"It's an awfully hard time to be asking for (help for) orphans in another country right now, because we've been hit so hard with the hurricanes (in the United States)," Kellerman said. "It's really important that if we're going to say that we're all children of God and that it's beyond religion and politics that we reach out beyond our country as well."

All the projects under Homefront Hugs' umbrella exist for one reason: to let troops and their families know that no hero is forgotten, she said.

Related Sites:

Homefront Hugs [http://www.homefronthugs.com/]

America Supports You [http://www.americasupportsyou.mil/]

_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2005/20051206_3562.html.

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Visit the Defense Department's Web site "America Supports You" at http://www.americasupportsyou.mil, that spotlights what Americans are doing in support of U.S. military men and women serving at home and abroad.

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Bush, Cheney Express Confidence in U.S. Iraq Strategy

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2005 - The United States has a winning strategy for Iraq that's showing steady success on the political, economic and security fronts, the president and vice president said today in separate forums.

"Our strategy is one that ... will lead us to victory," President Bush said in response to a reporter's question following a meeting with Dr. Lee Jong-Wook, director of the World Health Organization.

Terrorists have nothing to offer the Iraqi people, who Bush said are showing "incredible courage" in the face of violence by extremists desperate to reverse the wheels of progress. That progress continues as Iraqi and coalition forces stay on the offensive against terrorists and train Iraqi forces so they can take charge of the fight, the president said. Meanwhile, the Iraqis are moving steadily toward a new democratic government, Bush noted.

Meeting with troops just returned from Iraq at Fort Drum, N.Y., Vice President Dick Cheney echoed Bush's confidence in the U.S. strategy for victory in Iraq.

"On the political side, we are helping the Iraqis to build the institutions of a free and representative government," the vice president said, noting that every benchmark in the process has been successfully met. "On the economic side, we are helping the Iraqis in the work of rebuilding and reforming their economy.

"And on the security side, coalition and Iraqi goals are to clear, to hold and to build," he said. Combined forces are clearing areas of terrorist control by taking the offensive, holding those areas from enemy control, and building a better future for Iraq through targeted reconstruction efforts, he said.

"Thanks to the quality of our forces and the will of the Iraqi people to keep and defend their freedom, we have been making steady progress," Cheney said. He noted the increase in Iraqi army and police combat battalions, which now number more than 120, and the growing amount of territory they are now controlling.

"And as they undertake more and more missions on their own, confidence is growing within the country, and more and more intelligence is coming directly from the Iraqi people," he said.

Staying the course with U.S. strategy in Iraq will ensure this continued progress, Cheney said. "Our strategy is clear, our tactics will remain flexible, and we'll keep at this work until we finish the job," he said.

Seeing the mission through will pave a better future for the Iraqis but also help ensure the United States' security interests, Cheney said.

"The lessons of September the 11th are lessons this country must never forget," Bush said at the White House. "We've got to take each threat seriously. We've got to stay on the offensive."

_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2005/20051206_3561.html.

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Visit the Defense Department's Web site "America Supports You" at http://www.americasupportsyou.mil, that spotlights what Americans are doing in support of U.S. military men and women serving at home and abroad.

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Cheney Praises Active, Guard Troops for Terror War Contributions

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2005 - Vice President Dick Cheney traveled to Fort Drum, N.Y., today to thank and welcome home troops just returned from Iraq and to tell them they've helped make a difference for the future of Iraq, the Middle East and the United States.

"We know your country asked you to carry out some difficult and some dangerous missions," the vice president told the group, which included members of the 10th Mountain Division and the Army National Guard's 42nd Infantry Division.

"You went about that work with tremendous focus, skill and regardless of the conditions," Cheney said. He praised the troops who he said "have been taking on tough assignments, adapting to enemy tactics, pressing on and hanging tough."

The vice president praised both divisions for the contributions they've made to the global war on terror. "In the four years since our nation was attacked, you've deployed on many fronts in the war on terror," he said. "Whether the job is dragging mortar tubes through waist-deep snow 9,000 feet up in the foothills of the Himalayas of Afghanistan, or conducting raids up staircases in urban Iraq, you know how to take the fight to the enemy and to get the job done right," he said.

He noted that 10th Mountain Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team was one of the first to train the Afghan National Army. And in Iraq, he added, it provided support for the elections and helped round up and detain about 600 terrorists around Baghdad.

Similarly, the 42nd Infantry Division, nicknamed "the Rainbow Division" during World War II by Gen. Douglas MacArthur, demonstrated its mettle as the first Army National Guard division headquarters to deploy into combat since the Korean War, Cheney said.

In Iraq, the Guardsmen conducted thousands of raids and search missions, killed and detained terrorists, helped train Iraq forces and provided security for the Oct. 15 constitutional referendum, he said. At the same time, they maintained, supplied and supported one of the largest operational areas ever belonging to an Army division.

"Each and every one of you is part of a team that continues to make history, removing threats to America and other free nations, bring new hope to a troubled region of the world," the vice president said. "As a member of the armed forces, each of you defends this country and represents the best that is in it."

Cheney praised the troops for dedicating themselves to serving the United States and its ideas and meeting that commitment during a challenging but critical time in American history.

As they have committed to the challenges, their families have, too, the vice president noted. "Military service often requires a great deal of commitment and sacrifices by families," he said. "And on behalf of the president and all Americans, I thank the family members who are with us today, and I want you to know that all Americans appreciate the sacrifices of our military families."

No one knows every turn in the road ahead in the war on terror, and servicemembers and their families will continue to make sacrifices as the fight continues, the vice president acknowledged. He called the period of struggle and testing an opportunity for the United States to make the world a better place. "And each of you," he told the soldiers, "is helping write a proud chapter in the history of freedom."

Following his statement, Cheney presented Purple Heart medals to two soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division's 1st Brigade, Special Troops Battalion, who were wounded by improvised explosive devices in Iraq: 1st Sgt. Jeffrey Moore and Pfc. Marcos Maldomado. Cheney also administered the oath of re-enlistment to 20 10th Division soldiers, reminding them of the division motto, "Never forget: Climb to Glory!"

Related Sites:

10th Mountain Division [http://www.drum.army.mil/sites/local/]

42nd Infantry Division [http://www.42id.army.mil/]

_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2005/20051206_3560.html.

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Visit the Defense Department's Web site "America Supports You" at http://www.americasupportsyou.mil, that spotlights what Americans are doing in support of U.S. military men and women serving at home and abroad.

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European Security Group Approves Afghan Deployment

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2005 - A regional European security organization agreed today to deploy its forces to Afghanistan for a six-month peacekeeping mission, according to a statement released by the group.

The Southeastern European Defense Ministerial has been meeting here Dec. 5 and today. This marks the first time SEDM has held its annual conference in the United States. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is hosting the event.

During today's morning meetings, all of the group's ministers voted to support the Southeastern Europe Brigade's upcoming mission in Afghanistan, the statement said.

NATO had asked SEDM if it would provide troops to assume the mission as the headquarters of the Kabul Multinational Brigade of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. The brigade is now slated to begin a six-month tour in Afghanistan in February.

Earlier in the day, Ukraine was formally admitted into SEDM, joining Italy, Greece, Turkey, Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Slovenia and Croatia. The United States helped develop SEDM, established in 1996, to promote peace and stability and enhance regional security cooperation in southeastern Europe. Some SEDM members, like Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Italy, Romania, Slovenia, as well as the United States, also are NATO members.

The Washington SEDM conference provides an opportunity for visiting defense ministers to discuss issues such as counterproliferation, border security, peacekeeping and upcoming regional exercises, according to DoD officials.

_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
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Visit the Defense Department's Web site "America Supports You" at http://www.americasupportsyou.mil, that spotlights what Americans are doing in support of U.S. military men and women serving at home and abroad.

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Kuwait Unit Supporting Warfighters Throughout Theater

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait, Dec. 6, 2005 - Experience has enabled officials here to provide key training, logistics and planning support to warfighters in the U.S. Central Command area of operations with fewer troops, a senior officer here told American Forces Press Service.

"The theater is maturing," said Army Col. Roderick Cox, Coalition Forces Land Component Command chief of staff here. "We are finding better, less troop-intensive ways of doing business."

Since the beginning of operations in Iraq, "the U.S. military footprint in Kuwait has dropped by 40 percent," Cox said. The colonel did not speak of specific numbers of Americans in Kuwait for security reasons.

The news is welcome because fewer troops mean the deployment pressures on U.S. military personnel are lessened and it frees up U.S. military personnel for other missions.

The effort centered here is extensive. Kuwait is the major sea and air port of entry to and exit from Iraq for U.S. and coalition personnel. The command handles all arrangements for getting U.S. military personnel and their equipment into the theater. "It is a complicated process to get the units here and marry them up with their equipment," Cox said. "And the scale is large also. Over the next year, we will move 300,000 people and all their necessities into and out of Kuwait." Some of these moves are deployments and redeployments. Others are rest and relaxation flights for servicemembers.

In addition, Kuwait provides an "opportunity training venue" for units arriving in the region. Command officials can schedule units to run through Udairi Range, in northwestern Kuwait. There they can use a specially built 11-kilometer-long road, complete with underpasses and overpasses, to practice convoy operations and to practice new methods against improvised explosive devices, Cox said.

Other ranges on the complex allow troops to practice handling checkpoints and dealing with civilians on the battlefield and to learn the latest tactics, techniques and procedures used against improvised explosive devices and car bombs. "We don't want our people to see things for the first time in Iraq," Cox said. "The range is connected in with experts in Iraq and back in the United States to ensure servicemembers are receiving the best and latest training."

Almost all supplies, from oil to food to spare parts, move through Kuwait into Iraq and, to a lesser extent, to Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa. The command moves everything servicemembers need to survive and prosper in Iraq. It also handles maintenance and replacement of vehicles and weapons systems.

The command also helps plan for contingencies in the region, Cox said. While officials do much of this planning at the command's stateside headquarters at Fort McPherson, Ga., experts in Kuwait help plan operations such as the U.S. mission to get needed humanitarian supplies to Pakistan.

The military is now able to downsize its footprint in Kuwait for a number of reasons. Automation and better control of items allow fewer people to do more work. U.S. officials working with Kuwaiti allies have consolidated bases in the country, Cox said. A portion of Camp Doha in Kuwait City, for example, will close in the next few weeks, with the additional areas closing by the end of 2006.

Finally, the American military does not need the same number of personnel because the processes and procedures in Kuwait have matured. Setting up operations is labor-intensive, Cox said. Maintaining them does not require the same level of personnel. The command also has contracted out many jobs formerly performed by American servicemembers, Cox said.

In addition, many of the American command and staff personnel in Kuwait wear multiple "hats." Many perform both service-specific duties and Coalition Forces Land Component Command duties.

Kuwait, which is a major non-NATO U.S. ally, has helped enormously, the colonel said. "Kuwait is a good and gracious ally and host," he said. The country continues to look for ways to help the American effort in the region. "To do this without them would be much harder," Cox said.

The command will continue to look for ways to reduce uniformed military personnel while maintaining the same high level of service, the colonel said.

Related Site:

Coalition Forces Land Component Command [http://www.kuwait.army.mil/]

_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2005/20051206_3559.html.

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Visit the Defense Department's Web site "America Supports You" at http://www.americasupportsyou.mil, that spotlights what Americans are doing in support of U.S. military men and women serving at home and abroad.

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Spouse Survey to Help Shape Future Family Programs

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2005 - Defense officials want to make sure that military spouses know it's important for them take the time to complete the online 30-minute survey they got notices about in the mail late November.

The new Defense Department survey has gone to spouses to get their views as defense planners shape family programs to meet their needs and interests, a top Pentagon family policy official said today.

Nearly 74,000 military spouses have been asked to participate in two new surveys, one directed at active-duty families and one for National Guard and Reserve families, according to John M. Molino, deputy undersecretary for military and family policy.

The survey group, selected at random to provide a cross section of all military families, received the notices asking them to participate in the online survey, Molino said during an interview with the Pentagon Channel. The survey period runs through late January.

The survey responses are confidential, he said, and responses will be instrumental in determining how DoD directs its resources to family programs in the future, Molino said.

"Participation in this survey will directly influence policy," he said. "So it is very important that the people who have been contacted and invited to participate" respond. This, Molino said, will give DoD a full cross section of responses to using in tailoring its family programs.

"There is always competition for limited resources, (so) we want to make sure we spend our money smartly in the future," he said. "And the survey is an opportunity for military spouses ... to be sitting around the table with us, to be giving us their input so that we can make smart decisions on how to spend these monies and these resources in the future.

"We can't really do it smart without them," Molino said.

The last spouse survey, in 1999, underscored the need for more and better child-care facilities, particularly on bases, and interest in enhanced education benefits, he said. Officials have worked to introduce improvements in both areas, he said.

Molino said he's hoping spouses asked to participate in the 2005 survey will weigh in with their views to help identify gaps and direct programs to fill them, particularly in light of changes in the military since the last survey.

The new survey, for example, will focus more on deployment issues and challenges they present families, he said.

"The world has changed since 1999. A lot has changed within the military and a lot has changed in the nature of the military (and) the makeup of the military family," Molino said.

"So we think it is time, as we look ahead, that we ask today's military families what's important to them (and) what's relevant to (them), so we can better plan and better spend the resources that we will spend in the future" on programs to meet their needs, he said.

Family programs have become increasingly important within the military, Molino said, noting that more than half of today's servicemembers are married.

Ensuring that families have strong programs and services boosts readiness, because it frees servicemembers to focus on the mission rather than wondering if their families are being taken care of, Molino said.

But family programs are a big factor in retention too, because families satisfied with military life are far less likely leave the military, he said.

"Families are a key," Molino said. The decision to join the military may be an individual decision, but the decision to stay in the military is a family decision."

Biography:

John M. Molino [http://www.dod.mil/prhome/mcfpmolino.html]

_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
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Visit the Defense Department's Web site "America Supports You" at http://www.americasupportsyou.mil, that spotlights what Americans are doing in support of U.S. military men and women serving at home and abroad.

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Secretary Urges Media to Report Full Story on Iraq

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2005 - As the United States wages its first war with widespread 24/7 news coverage, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld urged the media to ensure it's telling the whole story about Iraq, not just focusing on events that make dramatic headlines.

Rumsfeld, speaking at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University's campus here Dec. 5, said troops frequently ask him why the American people aren't getting a more accurate picture of what's happening in Iraq. They question why violence seems to get the heaviest coverage, while "good news" stories about successes tend to go unreported.

The secretary noted the media's indispensable role in keeping people informed and holding the government to account. Many in the media have done "excellent reporting" in Iraq, and some have been killed in the process, he said.

"But it's important also for the media to hold itself to account," Rumsfeld told the group.

"We've arrived at a strange time in this country, where the worst about America and our military seems to so quickly be taken as truth by the press and reported and spread around the world," the secretary said. Often this reporting occurs with little or no context or scrutiny, let alone correction or accountability, even after the fact, he said. Speed appears to be more important than accuracy or context to some reporters, he said, and their reports can spread around the globe, regardless of their validity.

Rumsfeld cited the recent example of the widespread media coverage of two Iraqis' claims that U.S. soldiers had attacked them with lions. These claims are still without substantiation, he said.

In May, rioting and several deaths resulted from what Rumsfeld called "a false and damaging" news story about a Koran being flushed down a toilet at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In yet another instance, a recent New York Times editorial implied that the U.S. armed forces were using tactics Rumsfeld called "reminiscent of Saddam Hussein."

Similarly, news reports that focus simply on terror attacks and bombings don't paint an accurate picture or tell the whole story of what's happening in Iraq, the secretary said.

"You couldn't tell the full story of Iwo Jima simply by listing the nearly 26,000 Americans that were casualties over about 40 days ... or explain the importance of (Gen. Ulysses S.) Grant's push to Virginia just by noting the savagery of the battles, and they were savage," Rumsfeld said.

Similarly, the secretary said, telling the story of what's happening in Iraq by focusing only on how many Americans have died leaves much of the story untold. Just as important, he said, is the story of what those troops died for and what they lived for.

Emails deployed troops send to friends and families tell more of that story, Rumsfeld said. "And much of it is different than what those in the United States are seeing and reading (in the press)," he said.

Rumsfeld urged reporters and editors to do some soul searching as they report on events in Iraq. He questioned how history will judge their reporting in the decades ahead, after Iraq's path is settled.

"I would urge us all -- government and the media -- to make every effort to ensure we are trying to tell the whole story," he said.

"We are all Americans. We are all in this together," Rumsfeld concluded. "And what we do today will not only impact us, but it will surely impact our children and our grandchildren and the kind of world they'll live in."

Biography:

Donald H. Rumsfeld [http://www.defenselink.mil/bios/rumsfeld_bio.html]

_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2005/20051206_3553.html.

====================================================

Visit the Defense Department's Web site "America Supports You" at http://www.americasupportsyou.mil, that spotlights what Americans are doing in support of U.S. military men and women serving at home and abroad.

====================================================
Visit the Defense Department's Web site for the latest news
and information about America's response to the war against terrorism: "Defend America" at http://www.DefendAmerica.mil.

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Iraqi Police Academy Attackers Not Women, Officials Say

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2005 - Contrary to an earlier report, two suicide bombers who killed at least 27 people and wounded at least 50 others today in a crowded courtyard at the Baghdad police academy were men, military officials reported.

"An ongoing investigation indicates the bombers, earlier reported as females, were male," a Multinational Force Iraq news release said.

Officials pointed out that suicide bombings by women have been rare in Iraq. Only two such bombings are known to have been carried out by women: one in September 2005 and another in 2003, officials said. The officials went on to note that the bombings were the worst violence for months in the Iraqi capital, where, they said, police officials are a favored target of Sunni Arab insurgents.

Though no U.S. military personnel were killed or wounded in the terrorist attack, officials noted, one U.S. contractor is among the wounded. No report on the contractor's condition was available.

Early reports, which indicated the bombers walked into a classroom full of students and detonated their explosives, are incorrect, officials said. Further investigations revealed that one of the suicide bombers detonated his explosives near a group of students outside a classroom, and that thinking the explosion was an indirect-fire attack, Iraqi police and students fled to a bunker for shelter, where the second bomber detonated his explosive-filled vest.

Task Force Baghdad military police rushed to the scene to help Iraqi police in assessing casualties and damage. As military and police forces secured the area around the academy, the wounded were evacuated to Baghdad's Kindi Hospital for treatment, officials said.

Related Site:

Multinational Force Iraq [http://www.mnf-iraq.com/]

_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2005/20051206_3554.html.

====================================================

Visit the Defense Department's Web site "America Supports You" at http://www.americasupportsyou.mil, that spotlights what Americans are doing in support of U.S. military men and women serving at home and abroad.

====================================================
Visit the Defense Department's Web site for the latest news
and information about America's response to the war against terrorism: "Defend America" at http://www.DefendAmerica.mil.

====================================================

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Soldier Killed, Weapons Caches Found, Terror Suspects Arrested

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2005 - A Task Force Baghdad soldier was killed Dec. 4 when a patrol vehicle he was riding in struck a roadside bomb in east Baghdad, military officials reported today.

The soldier's name is being withheld pending notification of the next of kin.

In eastern Baghdad, insurgents launched five different roadside bomb attacks against Iraqi and coalition forces Dec. 4, but no U.S. servicemembers were injured in the attacks, officials reported today.

In other news, Iraqi police and coalition forces nabbed six terrorist suspects during a two-hour raid Dec. 4 aimed at breaking up a known terrorist ring in eastern Baghdad. The suspects are being processed in the Iraqi justice system, officials said.

"We're continuing an aggressive campaign to capture the terrorists in our zone," said Army Col. Joseph DiSalvo, commander of coalition forces in eastern Baghdad. "The Iraqi security forces are doing most of the work, and we stand ready to support them whenever necessary."

Around 7 a.m. that day, a patrol from 3rd Battalion, 7th Cavalry, discovered an improvised explosive device. The roadside bomb, a surface-laid antitank mine, was destroyed by an explosive ordnance disposal team. No one was injured in the incident, officials said.

About a half-hour later, an Iraqi army patrol responded to a roadside bomb explosion that had targeted an Iraqi police patrol. No injuries or damage were reported.

Elsewhere, an Army military police patrol was attacked with a roadside bomb that detonated between two vehicles, resulting in no casualties or damage to equipment. A half-hour later, an American tank on patrol was attacked with a roadside bomb that missed the tank and didn't cause any casualties or damage to equipment.

Meanwhile, in the Rusafa area, the Iraqi army and Iraqi police responded to the site of another roadside bomb attack directed against civilians at a marketplace. Six Iraqi civilians were wounded in the attack and were evacuated by Iraqi security forces and emergency services to local hospitals for treatment.

Elsewhere in Iraq, four separate weapons caches containing various rockets, mortars, ammunition, bombs and surface-to-air missiles were found Dec. 5 during a joint U.S. military and Iraqi police cordon-and-search operation in the village of Simaqa in Kirkuk province, officials said. Sixteen people were arrested during the raids and are now in the custody of the Iraqi police. Soldiers from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, and Daquq police officers conducted the operation.

On Dec. 5, Iraqi army and coalition forces uncovered two weapons caches while conducting a combined cordon-and-search operation northwest of Rawah, officials noted. As the troops searched the area of the first cache site, they saw a military-aged man get into a boat and flee the area. The soldiers, of the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division, were not able to catch the man, officials said.

The first cache consisted of an AK-47 assault rifle with a full magazine, 16 timers in a bag, a cell phone with extra batteries, 21 hand-held radios, three small video cameras loaded with tapes and charged batteries, extra batteries and books. Soldiers found a bag of propellant when they searched the river area from where the man fled.

Less than two hours later, the troops found a second cache during a joint operation in the same area. It included a propane tank filled with explosives, three 155 mm rounds and a sniper rifle. Coalition forces detained seven suspects and two of them volunteered information about the location of more enemy suspects.

Iraqi soldiers detained two military-aged men the same evening while conducting an cordon-and-search operation in northwest Fallujah based on intelligence received. They also discovered two bags of explosive powder and a hand grenade. The suspects are being detained pending further investigation by authorities.

Elsewhere, a joint raid by Iraqi and coalition forces resulted in two suspects detained and several military vehicles recovered Dec. 5 a few miles southwest of Dujayl.

Soldiers with the 4th Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division, and coalition troops conducted the early morning raid. Troops also recovered five Toyota Land Cruisers used by the former regime. They also confiscated a large water truck and two assault rifles.

In the Mosul area, a joint patrol of Iraqi police and coalition troops recovered numerous weapons and munitions hidden in and around a home Dec. 5. Officials said two sticks of dynamite and a ski mask were discovered in one room of the house, while anti-coalition propaganda was found in another.

Outside the house, the police and soldiers found a 120 mm round encased in plaster, two canisters filled with dynamite plus another stick of dynamite, and they uncovered an AK-47 bandoleer from a pile of rubble. A second ski mask and materials for making IEDs were found in a courtyard. A shed in the courtyard contained another AK-47 bandoleer, officials said.

Coalition aircraft flew 46 close-air-support missions Dec. 5 for Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Air Force F-16s, a Predator, and U.S. Navy F/A-18s provided close-air support to coalition troops near Balad and Ramadi.

In addition, 14 U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft flew missions in support of operations in Iraq. Also, U.S. Air Force and Royal Air Force fighter aircraft performed in a nontraditional ISR role with their electro-optical and infrared sensors.

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq, Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq and U.S. Central Command Air Forces Forward news releases.)

Related Sites:

Multinational Force Iraq [http://www.mnf-iraq.com/]

Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq [http://www.mnstci.iraq.centcom.mil]

U.S. Central Command Air Forces [http://www.centaf.af.mil/]

_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2005/20051206_3556.html.

====================================================

Visit the Defense Department's Web site "America Supports You" at http://www.americasupportsyou.mil, that spotlights what Americans are doing in support of U.S. military men and women serving at home and abroad.

====================================================
Visit the Defense Department's Web site for the latest news
and information about America's response to the war against terrorism: "Defend America" at http://www.DefendAmerica.mil.

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Ukraine Joins Southeastern European Security Group

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2005 - Ukraine joined a regional European security organization today at a meeting being held here and hosted by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.

The Dec. 5-6 Southeastern European Defense Ministerial marks the first time the organization, founded in 1996, has held its annual meeting in the United States, Defense Department officials said. Ukraine joined SEDM members Italy, Greece, Turkey, Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Slovenia and Croatia.

Albanian Deputy Defense Minister Besnik Baraj, SEDM chairman, thanked Rumsfeld for hosting the meetings. New SEDM members, like Ukraine, will assist the organization to meet future security challenges, Baraj said.

During his opening remarks, Rumsfeld said the annual meetings enable SEDM-member defense ministers to discuss mutual security concerns such as counter-proliferation and border security issues. Rumsfeld also congratulated Ukrainian Defense Minister Anatoliy Hrytsenko for his country's admission into SEDM.

"Membership in this body has almost doubled since its inception some nine years ago," Rumsfeld said. That's a good sign, he said, as more countries cooperate to confront the threat of global terrorism.

"The importance of this conference of cooperation is clear as new threats emerge against the aspirations of the security of free people," Rumsfeld said.

About 90 nations have banded together to fight terrorism, Rumsfeld said, noting the SEDM meetings symbolize that partnership of nations.

Hrysenko said his country, which has troops serving in Iraq, is honored to join SEDM, and he volunteered to host next year's meeting.

The United States helped to develop SEDM about a decade ago to promote peace and stability and enhance regional security cooperation in southeastern Europe, DoD officials said. Some SEDM members, like Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Italy, Romania, Slovenia, as well as the United States, also are NATO members.

Moldova and Ukraine had been SEDM conference observers in years past, officials said. Special guests at this year's meeting are Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia and Montenegro. Moldova is attending this year's meeting as an observer.

Biography:

Donald H. Rumsfeld [http://www.defenselink.mil/bios/rumsfeld_bio.html]

Related Site:

State Department Background Note on Ukraine [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3211.htm]

_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2005/20051206_3555.html.

====================================================

Visit the Defense Department's Web site "America Supports You" at http://www.americasupportsyou.mil, that spotlights what Americans are doing in support of U.S. military men and women serving at home and abroad.

====================================================
Visit the Defense Department's Web site for the latest news
and information about America's response to the war against terrorism: "Defend America" at http://www.DefendAmerica.mil.

====================================================

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US Military News

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

U.S.-Romanian Basing Agreement Helps Both Countries, Rumsfeld Says

Saddam Hussein Nephew Receives Long Prison Sentence

Saddam Hussein Nephew Receives Long Prison Sentence

America Supports You: Woman Lends Troops, Families an Ear

Bush, Cheney Express Confidence in U.S. Iraq Strategy

Cheney Praises Active, Guard Troops for Terror War Contributions

European Security Group Approves Afghan Deployment

Kuwait Unit Supporting Warfighters Throughout Theater

Spouse Survey to Help Shape Future Family Programs

Secretary Urges Media to Report Full Story on Iraq

Iraqi Police Academy Attackers Not Women, Officials Say

Soldier Killed, Weapons Caches Found, Terror Suspects Arrested

Ukraine Joins Southeastern European Security Group

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