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Archive for March, 2008

Jonn over at This Ain’t Hell has some excellent links to articles covering this sham of an embarrassment. Rurik, unbeknownst to most, was able to mix in with the crowd and get some rather interesting tidbits about this gathering.

Jonn has three of Rurik’s articles here:

Send in the Clones.
What I saw at the Circus Part I.
What I saw at the Circus Part II.

I encourage you to go over to both John’s and Rurik’s sites, and read them. They worked very hard so we did not have to. They also covered somethings which we should stay atop of so as not to allow this group of malcontents to destroy our Military again. Not on my watch! Never again.

Update: There are a few problems with this post which I am trying to correct. The first one being the title. It should be, Winter Soldier II, not Soldiers. Also, I am having difficulty connecting to the links for Rurik’s articles. If anyone is able to successfully get to his site, please let me know. That way I will know it is just me. That would be a shame, but it would help me to know. Thanks.

Update 2: Jonn has returned my question as per the links, and they are working correctly. It seems that the problem is mine, so go ahead get over there! 😉

Posts I’ve trackbacked to:

This ain’t Hell, but you can see it from here: The last word on Winter Soldier II.
Tilting at Windmill Farms: Misdirected Outrage?
A NEWT ONE: War News: Iraq, Al Sadr, Iran and Basra.
Conservative Cat: Getting Ready for the Women’s Tackle Football Season.
Tel-Chai Nation: Congress to vote today on Jewish refugees issue in mideast.
Blue Chronicle Star: Beautiful Murderer.
Blue Star Chronicles: Sgt. Matt Maupin Remains Identified in Iraq. God rest his sole and comfort his family.
Blue Star Chronicles: Another Democratic Superdelegate is Facing Criminal Charges.
Blue Star Chronicles: Lillian Asplund Leaves Titanic Memories as Its Last Living Survivor.
Wolf Pangloss: LiveLeak, Fitna, the Base.
Shadowscope: Blogs For Borders Video Blogburst.
123beta: Tone Down Gmail.
Wolf Pangloss: Gangbusters in Basra.
Nuke Gingrich: The Daily Snort.
Faultline USA: His Teachers Confirmed Obama Was a Registered Muslim.
Maggie’s Notebook: Hillary Clinton, Chris Matthews and MSM Perpetuate.

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Posts that have trackbacked to this post:

1. Maggie’s Notebook: UN Weakens Freedom of Expression to Coddle Islam.

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Frontline is going to have this program which is made by some of our milbloggers/National Guardsmen who were (are) deployed over in Iraq, and this is a videotaping of their experiences. It should be very interesting, since the reporters will not be there. They are giving the camera equipment and everything to this California National Guard team to film the action themselves.

Below is just a preview. If you are interested in watching the program (and I see no reason why you wouldn’t be if you’re reading this site!), it will be playing on Frontline at 9pm EST on PBS. HOWEVER, check your local listings just to make sure. This will be Tuesday, April 1, 2008.

Two of our friends, JP from Milblogging and Toby Nunn will be videotaping their experiences. Please catch this show over on Frontline. It will probably be one of the very few we will have the oportunity to watch that is actually about our troops. Heh hem, I mean…a truthful one about them!

In June 2007, as the American military surge reached its peak, a band of National Guard infantrymen who call themselves “The Bad Voodoo Platoon” was deployed to Iraq. To capture a vivid, first-person account of the new realities of war in Iraq for FRONTLINE and ITVS, director Deborah Scranton (The War Tapes) created a “virtual embed” with the platoon, supplying cameras to the soldiers so they could record and tell the story of their war. The film intimately tracks the veteran soldiers of “Bad Voodoo” through the daily grind of their perilous mission, dodging deadly IEDs, grappling with the political complexities of dealing with Iraqi security forces, and battling their fatigue and their fears.

Watch a preview now at: pbs.org/frontline/badvoodoo. [This is the preview I have provided above, because theirs did not work for me.] Visit the PBS pressroom for press release and photography. www.pbs.org/pressroom. Online starting April 1.

Keep in mind, if you intend to respond to this e-mail, please write back to me at milblogging AT gmail COM com.

Bad Voodoo’s War is a Clover & A Bee Films production for FRONTLINE and Independent Television Service (ITVS). The writer, producer and director is Deborah Scranton. FRONTLINE is produced by WGBH Boston and is broadcast nationwide on PBS. Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers. Major funding for FRONTLINE is provided by The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Additional funding is provided by the Park Foundation. ITVS is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people. FRONTLINE is closed-captioned for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers and described for people who are blind or visually impaired by the Media Access Group at WGBH. FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of WGBH Educational Foundation. The executive producer for ITVS is Sally Jo Fifer. The FRONTLINE executive producer for special projects is Michael Sullivan. The executive producer of FRONTLINE is David Fanning.

Today I am having an open post trackback, and you are welcome to trackback or ping an article you wish to share with others. I like to use Linkfest for this, because there are many people with good posts already up over there. It is also a good way to share your articles. Give it a go, eh? The only rule I have is that there shall be no porn. Thanks, and have a great day.

Posts I’ve trackbacked to at Linkfest and other sites:
Linkfest Haven, the Blogger's Oasis Add this post to Technorati Add this post to Del.icio.us. Digg! Digg!
Posts that have trackbacked to this post:

1. Pirate’s Cove: Excitable Andy Once Again Proves He Is Not A Conservative.
2. Stuck on Stupid: Hillary The Deadbeat.
3. Woman Honor Thyself: AddicteD to Your Cell PhonE?
4. Right Truth: Political Warfare and the Proliferation of the Vote – The Basis for a Strong Nation Part 5.
5. Tilting at Windmill Farms: Misdirected Outrage?
6. A NEWT ONE: War News: Iraq, Al Sadr, Iran and Basra.
7. Conservative Cat: Getting Ready for the Women’s Tackle Football Season.
8. Tel-Chai Nation: Congress to vote today on Jewish refugees issue in mideast.
9. Blue Chronicle Star: Beautiful Murderer.
10. Blue Star Chronicles: Sgt. Matt Maupin Remains Identified in Iraq. God rest his sole and comfort his family.
11. Blue Star Chronicles: Another Democratic Superdelegate is Facing Criminal Charges.
12. Blue Star Chronicles: Lillian Asplund Leaves Titanic Memories as Its Last Living Survivor.
13. Wolf Pangloss: LiveLeak, Fitna, the Base.
14. Shadowscope: Blogs For Borders Video Blogburst.
15. Stageleft: Life on the left side: Eh … Close Enough.

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There is so much going on right now that I really don’t have time to write. It’s truly driving me nuts! I’ve turned two evictions into two possible resolutions with the people involved being allowed to stay, other’s taxes, social security giving my money to someone else since December!, cigarrette taxes, plumber, accounting, bills, and all of this with no money. Oy vey!

Just wanted to touch base, so I could feel some sense of sanity. Yeah, laugh now. Wait until it happens to you! lol. Everyone have a great weekend, and remain grateful for living in this, the greatest country ever, and under the watchful eye of an everloving and faithful LORD and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Anyone who does not like me mentioning Jesus Christ, there are millions of other sites. You may remain here and learn a thing or two (along with me), or you may choose to leave and visit someone else. There is NO WAY I am going to stop discussing my love and gratitude for my God, the One and Only true God. And you, my dear friend, cannot make me. Ya see, YOU ARE THE INFIDEL, not me! (LOL) Okay, maybe not an infidel, but an unbeliever at least.

I sure do pray for you, that your heart would be softened and opened up enough so that you may see and hear and know the Truth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He can heal you right here and now. Maybe not in the way you have determined He should or the way that those who do not Him would understand, but He most definitely would if it were His will. You would also find true Peace, a Peace that this world does not comprehend, but you can attain it during even the most unpeaceful of times.

You need to accept the fact that God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whosoever believes in Him, shall never die but have eternal life. Just accept Jesus Christ as Lord, repent of your sins, accept God’s love for you, and have a relationship with Him. There is no one on this world that cannot be saved. I know what I am saying, and I still know it. OBL will NOT ask for forgiveness, therefore he will not be granted it. What if he does? Then the angles in Heaven will rejoice…

Join the Christians Against Leftist Heresy
blogroll sponsored by Faultline USA
.

Tip o’ the ol’ Hat to Planck’s Constant for his post, “A Muslim Reaction to Fitna – Threats“, which gave me the burr in my bonnet.

Posts I’ve trackbacked to:

Right Truth: Sunday Reading List 3/30/08.
2. Woman Honor Thyself: AddicteD to Your Cell PhonE?
3. Right Truth: Political Warfare and the Proliferation of the Vote – The Basis for a Strong Nation Part 5.

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This is today’s Flight 93 Blogburst, and I would very appreciate it if you would consider joining. This is our country, and we all should have a say as to what kind of memorial we would like to see in that field in Pennsylvania. After all, they were American men who gave their lives in a valiant attempt to save the lives of the people on that flight. Hey! You in Congress! You do realize this plane was headed for you, don’t you? Hello? Yeah, really nice. Just as I thought. They have forgotten. Have you?

Please read the post Eric has provided for us:

A petition to stop the crescent memorial is now being circulated on the ground in western Pennsylvania . As a complement to this old fashioned canvassing effort, an electronic petition has also been created at ipetitions.com. Please circulate far and wide!

The petitions highlight four cases of apparent Islamic symbolism in the memorial design. Here is the text (electronic):

Call for Congressional investigation of Islamic symbolism in the Flight 93 memorial

Many features of the chosen Flight 93 Memorial design are intolerable:

1. THE GIANT CRESCENT . The centerpiece of the original “Crescent of Embrace” design was a giant red Islamic shaped crescent. Every particle of this original crescent design remains completely intact in the so-called redesign, which only added a few irrelevant trees. The giant crescent is still there.

2. IT POINTS TO MECCA . The giant crescent points to Mecca . A crescent that Muslims face into to face Mecca is called a “mihrab,” and is the central feature around which every mosque is built. The Flight 93 Memorial is on track to become the world’s largest mosque.

3. THE ISLAMIC SUNDIAL. The minaret-like Tower of Voices is a year-round accurate Islamic prayer-time sundial (one of many typical mosque features that are realized in the crescent design, all on the same epic scale as the half mile wide central crescent).

4. THE 44 BLOCKS. There are 44 glass blocks on the flight path, equaling the number of passengers, crew, AND terrorists.

Intentional or not, these features are entirely unacceptable. This travesty must stop and investigations must begin.

1) We the undersigned call on our state and federal legislators to undertake their own thorough and independent investigations of the Flight 93 Memorial design. The truth must come out.

2) We ask that the crescent design be scraped entirely and that it be replaced with a new design that is not tainted by Islamic or terrorist memorializing symbolism.

3) We demand a fitting and proper memorial that HONORS the brave men and women of Flight 93.

Please take a minute to electronically sign this petition. All signatures collected by the end of April will be printed out and delivered to the May 3rd public meeting of the Memorial Project, along with Xeroxes of the hand-signed petitions.

That is just the start. There will be another public meeting in August, where we hope to present a much larger pile of petitions, and all signatures will eventually be delivered to the Pennsylvania state legislature and to Congress. Keep sending until the crescent design is stopped!

In the short term, we have a number of supporters in the Pennsylvania legislature at this point who are working to gain backing for an investigation. A demonstration of public demand should help that effort.

The paper petition

In order to make the paper petition self-sufficient, there is a second page, to be printed on the back of the petition, that provides explanations and graphical documentation of the four highlighted cases of Islamic symbolism. The idea is to have a petition that can circulate virally. Anyone can print it out and have enough information right on the petition itself to know that the objections are legitimate. (Mailing instructions are also included.)

Here are the back-side explanations of the four intolerable features:

1. THE GIANT CRESCENT

The original Crescent of Embrace design was a giant Islamic shaped crescent with the crash site placed between the crescent tips, in the position of the star on an Islamic crescent and star flag:

Crescent and flag22%

The redesign was supposed to eliminate these Islamic symbol shapes, but as Congressman Tom Tancredo wrote to the Park Service in November 2007, these features remain completely intact in the so-called redesign, which only disguised the crescent with a few additional trees. Architect Paul Murdoch’s refusal to eliminate the Islamic symbol shapes suggests intent, but intentional or not, these symbol shapes are unacceptable. Congressman Tancredo is now calling for the crescent design to be scrapped in its entirety, and we join in that request.

2. IT POINTS TO MECCA

Several credible analysts have found that a person facing directly into the giant crescent (still present in the redesign) will be facing almost exactly at Mecca:

60%SizeMeccaOrientationGraphic

The green “qibla” circle in the graphic above is from the prayer-direction calculator at Islam.com. It shows the direction to Mecca from Somerset PA (ten miles from the crash site). The red arrow shows that a person standing between the crescent tips and facing into the center of the crescent will be facing almost exactly at Mecca .

This Mecca orientation claim must be authoritatively investigated and answered. If it is true that the crescent points to Mecca , and hence can serve as an Islamic prayer direction indicator (the central feature around which every mosque is built), then whether this construct was intentional or not, it indelibly taints the design.

3. THE ISLAMIC SUNDIAL

Anyone can see the overt similarity between a traditional Islamic sundial (left-hand image) and Tower of Voices part of the Flight 93 Memorial (right-hand image):

SundialComposite65%

When the shadow of the traditional sundial reaches the outer curved vertical in this photo, it will be time for Islamic afternoon prayers. Shadow calculations confirm that, on any day of the year, when the shadow of the 93 foot tall crescent shaped Tower of Voices reaches the inner arc of trees, it will also be time for Islamic afternoon prayers.

4. THE FORTY-FOUR BLOCKS

Tom Burnett Sr. does not want Tom Junior’s name inscribed on one of the 44 translucent blocks that are to be emplaced along the flight path. Forty-four is the number of passengers, crew, AND terrorists:

MemorialWallPlus44thBlock30%

The left side of this graphic shows the Memorial Wall, which follows the path of Flight 93 down to the point of impact. At eye level are 43 glass blocks. Forty are inscribed with the names of the 40 heroes. Three are inscribed with the 9/11 date.

Right-hand image: the 44th glass block sits at the end of the Entry Portal Walkway, where the flight path crosses the upper crescent tip. It marks the spot where, in architect Paul Murdoch’s description, the terrorists broke our humanitarian circle, turning it into a giant (Islamic shaped) crescent. This circle-breaking, crescent-creating feat is memorialized by the inscription: “A field of honor forever.”

The Park Service dismisses the suspicious block count on the grounds that the 44th glass block is much larger than the others. Mr. Burnett is not comforted by the magnificence of the 44th block, and neither are we. This design must be stopped, and investigations must be launched!

Other petition formats

The same four intolerable features are described in the annotated “Map of Betrayal” that was the subject of one of last month’s blogbursts. Thus the map makes a perfectly serviceable back side for the petition, providing an alternative petition/flyer combination.

The information on the map is denser than the explanations above, but has its own intrigue, showing how the different terrorist memorializing parts fit together like an elaborate puzzle.

The petition being circulated on the ground now in Pennsylvania is still another variation. It has slightly different wording than the electronic petition, and slightly different explanations of the four points than presented above. All the different formats are interchangeable. They all highlight the same four objectionable features, and they will all be delivered together to state and federal legislators.

Until we get a Congressional investigation, the petition will be an ongoing tool for raising awareness and registering opposition. If you participate in any activist fora or email lists, please forward the text and links along. (The electronic and paper-petition links are collected together on this petition Page at CrescentOfBetrayal.com.)

Blogburst blogroll

To join, email Cao (caoilfhionn1 at gmail dot com) with your blog’s url.

Today I am having an open post trackback, and you are welcome to trackback or ping an article you wish to share with others. I like to use Linkfest for this, because there are many people with good posts already up over there. It is also a good way to share your articles. Give it a go, eh? The only rule I have is that there shall be no porn. Thanks, and have a great day.

Posts I’ve trackbacked to at Linkfest and other sites:

third world county: Liberals? Not.
Nuke Gingrich: Photoshop for free!
Woman Honor Thyself: Young Pass-ionate Love…or Mature Love….
McCain Blogs: Weekend Maverick Linkfest 3.28-3.30.
Adam’s Blog: Post of the Weekend for March 28-30, 2008.
The Amboy Times: Blogger says I should be shot.
The World According to Carl: A Hillary Lie Illustrated.
Pirate’s Cove: Weekend Pirate Linkfest Sticky Post 3/28-3/30.
Cao’s Blog: Friday Open Trackbacks.
A Newt One: A Newt One will join in with the effort to cause endless chaos within the democrat party.
Rant It Up: Paula Nelson Kicks a Drunk Off Stage.
D=S: STRANGE FACTS OF PAST PRESIDENTS pt12.
The Yankee Sailor: Thursday Open Post.
Thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Linkfest Haven, the Blogger's Oasis Add this post to Technorati Add this post to Del.icio.us. Digg! Digg!
Posts that have trackbacked to this post:

1. Wolf Pangloss: Fitna Weekend Open Trackbacks.
2. Wolf Pangloss: 200+ Billion Barrels of Oil underneath North Dakota.
3. Pirate’s Cove: Ye Olde Goracle Bloviates On Skeptics.
4. Conservative Cat: In Which I Set the Record Straight.
5. Planck’s Constant: A Muslim Reaction to Fitna – Threats.
6. Shadowscope: Green Thumb Sunday.
7. Right Truth: Sunday Reading List 3/30/08.

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I have just learned from the Family Research Center that the 2nd District Court of Appeals has vacated the decision by the California Supremes to ban anyone and everyone who does not a California quality teachers certificate and/or belongs to one of the many unions we have out here, then your career as a teacher to your children was over! Good for you, 2nd Court of Appeals. However the fight is not yet over.

I have to wait an hour to reach the office, but the link they’ve provided is incorrect. Hey, things happen. It’s just very good to know that the whole world hasn’t gone looney!

The Court is still going to have another hearing about this issue, so please put on your prayer slippers. AND USE THEM! 😉

We must fight back for the sake of our children, our families, our communities, our states, and our sovereignty! Since when does the government own our children??? THEY MOST CERTAINLY DO NOT. They want to claim nutrality when it comes to religion? Okay, then explain to me why it’s okay to have muslims praying in school, but Christian children are not even afforded the benefit of a moment of silence? Hmm?

Here is the link to the Family Research Center: FRC. Have a great day. I will try to get that link for us. 😉

Update: Here is the link to this news article.

Court of Appeal Grants Petition for Re-hearing

On March 25, the California Court of Appeal granted a motion for rehearing in the In re Rachel L. case—the controversial decision which purported to ban all homeschooling in that state unless the parents held a teaching license qualifying them to teach in public schools.

The automatic effect of granting this motion is that the prior opinion is vacated and is no longer binding on any one, including the parties in the case.

The Court of Appeal has solicited a number of public school establishment organizations to submit amicus briefs including the California Superintendent of Public Instruction, California Department of Education, the Los Angeles Unified School District, and three California teacher unions. The court also granted permission to Sunland Christian School to file an amicus brief. The order also indicates that it will consider amicus applications from other groups.

Home School Legal Defense Association will seek permission to file such an amicus brief and will coordinate efforts with a number of organizations interesting in filing briefs to support the right of parents to homeschool their children in California.
Court of Appeal Grants Petition for Re-hearing.

On March 25, the California Court of Appeal granted a motion for rehearing in the In re Rachel L. case—the controversial decision which purported to ban all homeschooling in that state unless the parents held a teaching license qualifying them to teach in public schools.

The automatic effect of granting this motion is that the prior opinion is vacated and is no longer binding on any one, including the parties in the case.

The Court of Appeal has solicited a number of public school establishment organizations to submit amicus briefs including the California Superintendent of Public Instruction, California Department of Education, the Los Angeles Unified School District, and three California teacher unions. The court also granted permission to Sunland Christian School to file an amicus brief. The order also indicates that it will consider amicus applications from other groups.

Home School Legal Defense Association will seek permission to file such an amicus brief and will coordinate efforts with a number of organizations interesting in filing briefs to support the right of parents to homeschool their children in California.

There is also a Hat Tip to Michelle Malkin: Court to reconsider California home school ruling. She is always right on the cutting edge. I’d watch out if I were you! This is very good news indeed. 😉

Join the Christians Against Leftist Heresy
blogroll sponsored by Faultline USA
.

Today I am having an open post trackback, and you are welcome to trackback or ping an article you wish to share with others. I like to use Linkfest for this, because there are many people with good posts already up over there. It is also a good way to share your articles. Give it a go, eh? The only rule I have is that there shall be no porn. Thanks, and have a great day.

Posts I’ve trackbacked to at Samantha Burns’ OTA:

S. The Crazy Rantings of Samantha Burns: OTA Weekend and Petition.
Pirate’s Cove (M, F): Ye Olde Goracle Bloviates On Skeptics.
F. The World According to Carl: A Hillary Lie Illustrated.
F, Woman Honor Thyself: Young Pass-ionate Love…or Mature Love….
Su. The Amboy Times: Blogger says I should be shot.
Wknd, Stuck on Stupid: Hillary The Deadbeat.

F. Stix Blog, Wknd. Leaning Straight Up, Wknd. 123beta (F, Wknd), Su. Grandinite, Wknd. Blue Star Chronicles, S. LyfLines, Su. Onemanbandwidth, Su. Free Constitution, Su. Conservative Culture (Su, T), S. Church and State, Su. Stageleft, Su. walls of the city, Wknd. The Uncooperative Blogger, Wknd. The Bullwinkle Blog, S. Point Five, S. 7 Deadly Sins, S. Selective Amnesia, S. Case Notes from the Artsy Asylum, Su. InMuscatine, Su. Miceland, Su. Peakah’s Provocations, Su. Otimaster (Spanish).

These sites haven’t written for months or I could not connect to them: S. Steeljaw Scribe, Su. The Blazer Blog, Su. Where are my socks?, Su. The Dissentators (Su, M).

Posts I’ve trackbacked to at Linkfest and other posts:

Conservative Cat: In Which I Set the Record Straight.
Planck’s Constant: A Muslim Reaction to Fitna – Threats.
Shadowscope: Green Thumb Sunday.

Linkfest Haven, the Blogger's Oasis Add this post to Technorati Add this post to Del.icio.us. Digg! Digg!
Posts that have trackbacked to this post:

1. D=S: SENATOR GORDON SMITH NEEDS OUR HELP!

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by Jim Garamone
Armed Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON (March 26, 2008) — Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki should be commended for taking the initiative to go after extremists and criminals in Basra, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said Wednesday. The Iraqi government launched an operation last week to go after militias and criminal elements that do not follow the rule of law in the southern oil city. “Citizens down there have been living in a city of chaos and corruption for some time, and they and the prime minister clearly have had enough of it,” Morrell said.

News reports out of Basra said there has been fighting between the Iraqi army and illegal militias and criminal elements. Maliki ordered five extra battalions to the city, bumping the force up to 15,000. “They are conducting aggressive military operations … trying to rid the city of militias, thugs, smugglers that have been plaguing it for months now,” Morrell said. “But I think it’s very noteworthy that the prime minister, that the government, for that matter, is ready, willing and now able to take the fight to the extremists and to the criminals down there. They were not of this capacity some months ago.”

The Iraqi security forces could not deploy a force like this in the past, Morrell said. “Part of the point of the surge was to give them the time (and) the training to increase their capability, and they are now displaying it,” he said. The coalition has provided some air support in the operation, but no ground elements, the press secretary said. “This is an Iraqi-led operation, and what’s more than that, it is a Shiia-dominated government going after Shiia extremists down there, and that is significant,” he said.

The Iraqi military has made enough progress that the government now feels confident in going after Shiite extremists in a part of the country where it previously had not exerted great influence. The problems in Basra have been festering, Morrell said. “I think the city has always been dealing with a level of criminality and corruption that no one has been comfortable with,” he said. “It has not been to a point such that it became a security threat that would undermine the central government.”

Source: CentCom.

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MNFI

TIKRIT, Iraq (March 20, 2008) – Iraqi Soldiers discovered a weapons cache of explosives east of Balad, March 16. The weapons cache included ammonium nitrate, more than a dozen mortar shells, several pounds of homemade explosives, several weapons, and materials for making improvised explosive devices. “These discoveries will continue to deny the enemy the means to conduct future attacks,” said Maj. Dan Meyers, a U.S. military spokesman in northern Iraq.

Source: CentCom.

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3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs

FOB KALSU, Iraq (March 20, 2008) – A young girl and her family are anxiously awaiting a decision from an organization in Los Angeles to determine the fate of her eyesight.

Soldiers of Company D, 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, escorted 5-year-old Noor to the 86th Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad, March 14, to have her eyes evaluated by an optometrist. The medical evaluation done in Iraq will give doctors almost 8,000 miles away the information they need to determine whether they’ll perform the surgery.

Initial diagnosis by Lt. Col. Hee-Choon Lee, battalion surgeon for the 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, found that Noor was blind due to a birth defect which resulted in poorly-developed corneas in both her eyes. Her 32-year-old uncle Mustafa also suffers from the same defect. The information from Noor’s medical appointment will be evaluated by doctors from the Eye Defects Research Foundation, a non-governmental organization in Los Angeles. The foundation will make a decision on whether or not she is a viable candidate for surgery and where the surgery would take place.

Lee said if representatives from the foundation can find other patients to operate on in Iraq, then a trip could be organized. If not, then coalition forces would work to have the young child and her family taken to Los Angeles to have the surgery done.

While her uncle is also being evaluated as a candidate for surgery, his case requires more caution. Lee said because he is an adult, his eyes might not heal as easily as those of his young niece. “I think Noor’s left eye has a lot of hope. Her right eye may not be a good candidate because it is too small,” said Lee a native of Larton, Va., “All the (ultrasound) pictures were sent up and we’re waiting.”

In a study of corneal transplants success in pediatric patients done by Emory University, the success rate in the best of circumstances was only 50 percent. “We are all working towards getting this young girl the gift of sight,” Lee said.

Source: CentCom.

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Bagram Media Center.

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (March 18, 2008) — Too weak to move out of the fetal position or even utter a noise, a malnourished 2-year-old girl, weighing only seven pounds, was nursed back to health by Afghan National Security and Coalition forces medics in Arghandab District, Zabul Province, recently.

“When she arrived she weighed 7.8 pounds,” said a Coalition soldier, at the scene. “She was so weak she could not move out of the fetal position and did not respond when we gave her a bath. Apparently, the child has never even attempted to speak either.”

She was brought to the attention of the ANSF during a humanitarian aid mission in Zabul Province during Feb. 25 and Coalition forces knew she would need to receive immediate care at a nearby Coalition medical facility to survive. Her father objected because he feared insurgent reprisal for accepting help from the Coalition forces. The District Chief eased his fears by explaining the consequences of inaction.

After deliberation, the father went with his daughter to the clinic for treatment, said the soldier. “The first two weeks of intensive care started this child on the road to recovery,” said a Coalition soldier.

During the initial stages of treatment, the medical team cared for the girl around the clock. To prevent future problems, the father was instructed on the proper care and feeding for a child of her age. By his own admission, the father had raised the infant exclusively on a diet of tea and bread. “She devoured every ounce of food we put in front of her,” the soldier said. “Her cheeks and face really filled out in a short time, and she finally uncurled out of the fetal position enough to move on her own.”

The girl weighed 12.6 pounds when Coalition medics released her March 12. She had gained almost five pounds in 12 days. “She still has a lot of recovering to do, but she is heading in the right direction,” a soldier said.

Photo: Afghan National Security and Coalition medics nursed a malnourished 2-year-old girl, weighing only seven pounds, back to health over two weeks in Arghandab District, Zabul Province, Feb. 25 to March 12.

Source: CentCom.

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MNC-I

BALAD, Iraq (March 15, 2008) — A Hillah Iraqi Special Weapons and Tactics team recovered a weapons and munitions cache in Al-Iskandariyah as the result of a tip from a local citizen March 13, 2008. Following up on a call from a citizen to the ISWAT tip line, a Hillah ISWAT team conducted an Iraqi-only operation and recovered what they believe to be an al Qaeda in Iraq weapons cache for use against Coalition forces bases in north Babil. The cache consisted of nine 122mm rockets, two 122mm artillery rounds with detonation cord, one 152mm artillery round with detonation cord, and four artillery fuses.

Source: CentCom.

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