Theodore's World

Update : Tuesday May 24

Foreigners Cleared In Bus Scare
TAMPA – Two Saudi men jailed last week after being accused of boarding a school bus and riding to a New Tampa high school could be released as early as today after federal and local authorities determined the pair are in this country legally and are not a security risk.
Monday, ICE Special Agent in Charge Robert Weber said investigators found Almanajam and Alsidran are here legally on student visas and that immigration holds would not be imposed.
“In a nutshell,” he said, “we determined what their status was and that it did not require any immigration detention. They are not here illegally.”
“We determined that they were apparently just confused,” Callaway said. “There is nothing else to lead us to file more criminal charges.”

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UPDATES:

Please look further down this post for the updates to this story.
Thank you, Wild Thing

 

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Saudi Men Who Rode School Bus Arrested
Published: May 20, 2006
TAMPA – Two Saudi men were arrested Friday after they boarded a school bus and rode to Wharton High School in New Tampa.
Students on the bus became alarmed, as did the bus driver, who called ahead. Hillsborough County sheriff’s deputies met the bus at the school and detained the men. No one was injured and nothing out of line occurred on the bus, deputies said.
Mana Saleh Almanajam, 23, who lives in Apt. 302 in The Point apartments, and Shaker Mohsen Alsidran, 20 Monticello Gardens, Apt. 304-A, each were charged with trespassing on school property. Both remained in Orient Road Jail on Friday evening. Bail for each was set at $250.
“Both defendants gave several versions of the reason they took a school bus to a high school,” said Hillsborough County sheriff’s spokesman J.D. Callaway.
“They said they wanted to go to Wharton to look around, and then they said they wanted to go there to have some fun, and then they said they wanted to enroll in the English classes there,” Callaway said.
“We’re not sure if this was a situation of them just being new to this country, or if they were confused or what it was,” Callaway said. “We were unsure as to exactly what the final reason was, but it did cause great concern for the students on the bus and for us. One of the guys was wearing shorts with a black trench coat.”
While on the bus, the men laughed and spoke in Arabic, Callaway said.
Ahmed Bedier, Tampa director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said the men likely meant no harm and that because “they were from Saudi Arabia, that escalated the situation.”
He blamed the incident on cultural differences.
“They didn’t differentiate between a school bus and public transportation,” he said.
The bus picked up the students and the men at about 7 a.m. Friday at the corner of Fletcher Avenue and 42nd Street, deputies said.
The bus driver, a substitute, reached her supervisors by telephone. They relayed the information to Wharton High resource Deputy Mike Eastman, who met the bus when it arrived at school at about 7:30 a.m., and detained the men.
The sheriff’s Homeland Security Division, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Regional Domestic Security Task Force, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the FBI all were notified.
Almanajam and Alsidran at first told deputies they were from Morocco, but later admitted being from Saudi Arabia, deputies said. They said they were enrolled at the English Language Institute at the University of South Florida.
Both arrived in the United States about six months ago and have student visas that require them to be enrolled at the English Language Institute, Callaway said.
Authorities searched the apartments of the two men and found nothing of concern, he said.
Wild Thing’s comment………
Was this deliberate to show how easy it is for possible ‘illegals up to no good’ to have access to America’s children? I wonder…. above are their photos.

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UPDATES: 5/22/06 
Monday 12:05a.m.

Judge Revokes Bail For Saudi Bus Riders

Circuit Judge Monica Sierra decided to hold them at a court appearance Saturday so investigators could dig deeper into their pasts. The prosecutor said neither man carried identification when they were arrested at Wharton High School, and authorities haven’t had an opportunity to gather background information beyond a check of state records.
Ahmed Bedier, Tampa director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations ( CAIR) said the men likely meant no harm and that because “they were from Saudi Arabia, that escalated the situation.”
He blamed the incident on cultural differences.
“They didn’t differentiate between a school bus and public transportation,” he said.
Bond review hearing is Tuesday.

Wild Thing’s comment…….The two Saudi’s are supposedly enrolled in the University of South Florida, which is around 8 miles from the High School they were apprehended.

Other Blogs discussing this.
* Florida Masochist * Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler * Six Meat Buffet

* Basil’s blog
* Mudville Gazette
* Stop the ACLU

Iran test-fires long-range missile
Iran conducted a test launch Tuesday night of the Shihab-3 intermediate-range ballistic missile, which is capable of reaching Israel and US targets in the region, Israel Radio reported. The test came hours before Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met with US President George W Bush in Washington to discuss the Iranian threat.
Military officials said it was not clear if this most recent test indicated an advance in the capabilities of the Shihab 3.
They said the test was likely timed to coincide with the Washington summit and with comments made by Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah during celebrations in Beirut marking the 6th anniversary of Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

“What deters the enemy from launching an aggression is the resistance’s continuous readiness to respond,” Nasrallah told scores of supporters. “Northern Israel today is within the range of the resistance’s rockets. The ports, bases, factories and everything is within that range.”

The Shihab test was only “partly successful,” according to news reports. The nature of the difficulties was not clear. The Iranians have been working to extend the Shihab 3’s current maximum range of 1,300 kilometers. A year ago, they successfully tested a solid fuel motor for the missile.
The Shihab test was only “partly successful,” according to news reports. The nature of the difficulties was not clear. The Iranians have been working to extend the Shihab 3’s current maximum range of 1,300 kilometers. A year ago, they successfully tested a solid fuel motor for the missile.
In December, Israel’s defense against an Iranian ballistic missile strike, the Arrow 2 missile system, succeeded in intercepting an incoming rocket simulating an Iranian Shihab 3 at an altitude higher than in the previous 13 exercises.
Maj. Elyakim, commander of the Arrow missile battery at Palmahim, told The Jerusalem Post last month that the missile crews were always on high alert, but that they were recently instructed to “raise their level of awareness” because of developments on the Iranian front.
The Arrow missile, he said, could intercept and destroy any Iranian missile fired at Israel, including ones carrying non-conventional warheads. Experts believe that if Iran is attacked by Israel or the US, Teheran would respond by firing long-range ballistic missiles at Israel.

Rice: Iran should play a role in Iraq
The US recognizes that Iran has a role to play in Iraq, but wants Teheran to help stabilize the country, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in an interview aired Tuesday on Arab television.
Rice’s comments came ahead of planned talks between the United States and Iran over the situation in Iraq.
“Iran will clearly play a role,” Rice told the Al-Arabiya satellite channel. “The question is: Will it be a positive role? Will it be a role that is befitting a good neighbor?”
“If Iran chooses to play a stabilizing role, chooses to play a transparent role, chooses to play a neighborly role, that would be a very good thing for Iraq,” Rice said.
US ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad has been authorized to hold discussions with Iran – the most public bilateral exchanges by the countries since soon after the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
US and Iranian officials said the talks would focus on the situation in Iraq, not on broader subjects like Iran’s controversial nuclear program or Iran’s renewed verbal hostility to Israel since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won power last summer.
No date for such talks has been set.
In an apparent shift from prior policy, Iran’s conservative government this year announced it was willing to begin a wide dialogue with the United States.
Wild Thing’s comment…….
So now we are encouraging an axis of evil superstate made up of Iraq and Iran? UGH!
Quran….Fight and slay the unbelievers wherever you find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem of war. (Surah IX:5)
Qur’an 9:3 “Allah is not bound by any contract or treaty with non-Muslims, nor is His Apostle.”
Qur’an 8:12 “I shall terrorize the infidels. So wound their bodies and incapacitate them because they oppose Allah and His Apostle.”

The Hill News
June 30 2005 – Keith Ellison at an anti-war Rally The Iraq Peace Action Coalition, an organization made up of Twin Cities area peace and justice groups initiated the event under the call of “End the war in Iraq – End the Occupation – Bring the Troops Home Now!” See complete PRESS RELEASE and PHOTS HERE.

With a fast-growing U.S. population estimated around 5 million, Muslims are increasing their voice in local and national politics every year. But thus far they haven’t had one of their own in a national position of power in Congress, the Cabinet or the Supreme Court.
He didn’t know it at the time, but Keith Ellison took a large step toward changing that earlier this month when he won the Democratic endorsement for the seat of retiring Rep. Martin Sabo (D-Minn.) in one of the safest Democratic districts in the country.
Ellison, a black Muslim, still faces a September primary challenge that could feature Sabo’s chief of staff, a former state Democratic party chairman. But he has already gotten closer than any other Muslim candidate in recent years and would be the first Muslim in Congress, according to several national Muslim groups.
He said that he’s not running on his religion and hasn’t thought much about what it would mean to be the first but that he sees the positives that could come from it. He would also be the first black congressman from Minnesota.
Ellison, who supports abortion rights, is calling for an immediate withdrawal of troops in Iraq because, he said, Iraqis and Americans both want them out and the war has cost too much. He disagrees with the route the House has taken on illegal immigration — turning “hardworking immigrants into felons” — and added that he supports a path to citizenship.
“I think it’s time for the United States to see a moderate Muslim voice, to see a face of Islam that is just like everybody else’s face,” Ellison said. “Perhaps it would be good for somebody who is Muslim to be in Congress, so that Muslims would feel like they are part of the body politic and that other Americans would know that we’re here to make a contribution to this country.”
Ellison is a 42-year-old two-term state representative who took the endorsement from a crowded field in surprisingly swift fashion at the 5th District’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party convention May 6. The district covers Minneapolis and some nearby suburbs.
Two other primary candidates skipped the convention, and Sabo Chief of Staff Mike Erlandson, whom the congressman endorsed, withdrew from the convention after being heckled and hasn’t yet said whether he’ll run in the primary. His campaign did not return phone calls.
David Schultz, a Minnesota politics expert at Hamline University in St. Paul, said Erlandson is Ellison’s top competition but will have a tough time making up lost ground.
“His strength has always been among the party leadership, if he had any strength whatsoever,” Schultz said. “And if you couldn’t get the endorsement with the party leadership, I don’t think he’s going to get it among the rank and file.”
According to the American Muslim Alliance, which supports Muslim candidates and educates Muslims about politics, four Muslims ran for Congress in 2004 — two for the Senate and two for the House. One was a Libertarian, and the other three lost in the primaries.
Overall, about 100 Muslims ran for public office in 2004, with close to half winning. One of them, a black Muslim Democratic state senator in North Carolina, is the highest-ranking Muslim elected official.
At least two others Muslims have run for the House this year, both in Texas. Republican Ahmad Hassan is a long shot running against Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) in her Houston district, and Republican Amir Omar lost a primary in the Dallas district.
Agha Saeed, chairman of the American Muslim Alliance, said getting a Muslim in Congress would be a step forward, but he emphasized that it must not be tokenism and should be part of a larger shift toward inclusion of Muslims in American politics and life.
“One person is not going to make any change, unless that victory for the individual marks the beginning of a new attitude and a new approach,” Saeed said.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is at the forefront of Muslim get-out-the-vote efforts nationwide. Spokesman Corey Saylor said CAIR put together substantial efforts in Ohio and Florida in 2004 and will broaden its scope in the upcoming midterms.
He said most of the progress in getting candidates elected has been on the local level but an Ellison victory would be a breakthrough.
“I think it would be huge, no questions asked — particularly for a community that feels very much like its presence in the United States is being questioned,” Saylor said. “This would be a tremendous assertion of the fact that we’re Americans and we’re just as interested in public service as anyone else, and here’s the proof — we have somebody in Congress.”
Saylor attributed the fact that there have been no Muslims in Congress to two things: The Muslim political movement in America is in its infancy, with the first groups having started less than two decades ago, and the lasting effects of Sept. 11 and the negative perceptions about Muslims that have resulted.
Ellison, who converted to Islam when he was 19 years old at Wayne State University in Detroit, said he doesn’t think district voters are afraid to vote for a Muslim, as long as they know he’s concerned about their welfare.
Wild Thing’s comment…..
God help us!!! God Help America! How would this be different then electing a Nazi during WWII. Answer: its not.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is at the forefront of Muslim get-out-the-vote efforts nationwide.
Everything seems to be going according to plan.

“Islam isn’t in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant. The Koran . . . should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on earth.”-CAIR chairman, Omar M. Ahmad (as reported by the San Ramon Valley Herald in July 1998

Media Lib Attacks Caspar Weinberger Troop Tribute
The Washington Post raised eyebrows when it assigned Ann Scott Tyson to review former Secretary of Defense Caspar W. Weinberger’s posthumously published new book, “Home of the Brave: Honoring the Unsung Heroes in the War on Terror.”
Weinberger’s last work has already been widely praised by former Secretary of the Navy John F. Lehman, the 28th Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, General P.X. Kelley (ret.), the 2.4 million-member Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and conservative media superstar Sean Hannity, among others.
Released just days before Memorial Day, “Home of the Brave” recounts the stories of 19 of the most highly decorated soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines fighting in the War on Terror. The book also criticizes the liberal media for its appalling lack of positive and hopeful stories coming out of Afghanistan and Iraq.
But writer Ann Scott Tyson slammed Weinberger’s tribute to the nation’s men and women in uniform calling it “disappointing,” “embellished,” “overblown.”
“I know,” the writer declares, “I was there.”
Some say the Post’s decision to have Tyson review a positive portrayal of the U.S. Armed Forces seems odd considering her consistently negative portrayal of the U.S. military.
Past reports by the controversial scribe have included headlines like: “Troop morale in Iraq hits ‘rock bottom.’” / “U.S. troops facing extended deployments amid the danger, heat, and uncertainty of an Iraq occupation are suffering from low morale that has in some cases hit ‘rock bottom,'” / “Two Years Later, Iraq War Drains Military,” / “Strain of Iraq War Means the Relief Burden Katrina Will Have to Be Shared” / and “Suicides in Marine Corps Rise by 29%: Fast Pace of Operations Are Believed to Contribute.”

Asked about the Washington Post hit piece, Weinberger co-author Wynton C. Hall told NewsMax: “I think it’s great! It makes our argument about liberal media bias for us.”
“Frankly, having Ann Scott Tyson review a pro-military book is like having a fan of the Boston Red Sox review the New York Yankees,” he added.

The 2.4 million member Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) calls “Home of the Brave,” “A potential bestseller” that can “go a long way in changing public perceptions and thus popular culture.”
Sean Hannity has labeled the book “One of the most important books yet written about the war on terror.”
Former President George H.W. Bush said about Home of the Brave, “These real-life heroes remind us of American history’s most enduring lesson: ‘Ours would not be the land of the free if it were not also the home of the brave.’”

Wild Thing’s comment…….
People like this Ann Scott Tyson should be sent to the caves in Afghanistan and Iraq and let her do reporting FOR the enemy since she already is doing just that now anyway.

This was written for Sebastian by a friend that writes poetry when he first came got him.

Sebastian
Super little pooch as cute as the Dickens,
Eloquent speaker for defending his home,
Best friend for Chrissie,
and her little heartthrob,
A little friend who doesn’t do algebra,
Simple cuddler who fits well in laps or arms,
Tempestuous mischief-making acrobat,
Ineffable cuteness: a fait accompli,
Advocate of hidden bones and toys, aha!
Never underestimate this Sebastian.
Copyright © 2004 by AKA Wordsmith. All rights reserved.

If you think dogs can’t count,
try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket
and then giving Fido only two of them.
–Phil Pastoret
We have a dog, Sebastian and a kitty Missy. They both are big supporters of the troops. Missy will put her paw on his forehead and wash his face. They are buddies and truly love each other. Of course when we got him 2 years ago, we let Missy decide when it was ok with her to have a brother that was a puppy. But after 10 days they began to sleep and play together.

This story is contributed by TomR. Thank you Tom.

In President Reagan’s own words! Here’s a good and ‘behind the scenes’ history lesson on how and why a one-time and big-time Islamic terrorist got his butt kicked, that stayed ‘kicked’ from 1986 to 2006! Qaddafi was the first of the modern day Islamist/terrorist to get hammered by any Western nation and as usual, it was America that had to do the job. Notice some adversaries have remained-France and the Western news media.

“This was one of the times, incidentally – while we were trying to come up with targets that would let us make our point but not hurt innocent people – when I really lost my patience with the press. Through the inevitable leak, several reporters picked up a scent that we might be planning an operation against Qaddafi in response to the disco bombing. In some cases, they got fairly accurate information, and some of their reports virtually announced to Qaddafi that the United States was planning to attack him. We tried to talk them out of revealing these state secrets – as far as I was concerned, maintaining secrecy in a war against terrorism is crucial – but they would have none of it. Every time they got a leak, they ran with it, even though it meant risking human lives.”
“On April 13, we settled on the principal target: Qaddafi’s military headquarters and barracks in Tripoli, which was located well away from civilian targets. Housed in this compound was the intelligence center from which Libya’s worldwide program of state-sponsored terrorism was directed. The attack was not intended to kill Qaddafi; that would have violated our prohibition against assassination. The objective was to let him know that we weren’t going to accept his terrorism anymore, and that if he did it again he could expect to hear from us again. It was impossible however, to know exactly where he would be at the time of the attack. We realized that it was possible, perhaps probable, that he might be at or near the intelligence center when our planes struck.”
“France and Italy refused to permit our F-111 bombers to cross their air space on the way from a base in England to Tripoli to join carrier-based planes from the Sixth Fleet in the attack. As a result, the F-111’s had to detour more than a thousand miles over the Atlantic and Mediterranean; this would shorten their effective range and, by leaving them with less reserve fuel, would possibly make them more vulnerable during the attack. The refusal upset me, because I believed all civilized nations were in the same boat when it came to resisting terrorism. At least in the case of France, however, economic considerations prevailed: While it publicly condemned terrorism, France conducted a lot of business with Libya and was typically trying to play both sides.”

Please see the website HERE for more of this subject. Thank you.

* Mudville Gazette

The U.S. cemetery in Cambridge, England, contains the remains of 3,812 of American war dead from World War II. (Courtesy photo)



The American Battle Monuments Commission maintains the U.S. cemetery in Normandy, France. The cemetery is situated on a cliff overlooking the English Channel. The 172-acre cemetery contains the graves of 9,387 U.S. servicemembers, most of whom died on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Courtesy photo

By Steven Donald Smith
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, May 23, 2006 – Recognizing the need for a federal agency to take the lead in honoring U.S. servicemembers who died on foreign soil, Congress enacted legislation in 1923 to create the American Battle Monuments Commission.
The American Battle Monuments Commission maintains and oversees American cemeteries and monuments around the world. They are commemorative sites honoring our nation’s war heroes,” retired Army Brig. Gen. John “Jack” Nicholson, secretary and chief executive officer of the commission, said.
The commission directs the administration and operation of 24 American military cemeteries and 25 monuments and memorials located in 15 countries, including three memorials in the United States. The commission is an agency of the executive branch of the federal government.
The commission maintains the sites with appropriated funds, Nicholson said, and employs about 300 foreign nationals.

“We sort of live by the motto of our first chairman, Gen. John J. Pershing, who said, ‘Time will not dim the glory of their deeds,'” Charles A. Krohn, deputy chief of public affairs, said.

Its mission also includes designing and constructing new cemeteries and monuments. For instance, the commission designed, planned and raised money for the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., which was turned over to the National Park Service shortly after it opened on April 29, 2004.
The primary focus of the commission is World War I and World War II, but it also maintains a cemetery in Mexico City from the Mexican-American War (1846-48) and a cemetery in Panama that includes many U.S. troops and civilians who died of yellow fever while building the Panama Canal, Krohn said.
There are 124,917 American war dead interred in ABMC cemeteries: 30,921 from World War I, 93,246 from World War II, and 750 from the Mexican-American War, commission officials said.
The families of those killed during World War I and World War II had the option of bringing the bodies of their loved ones back to the United States for burial. But 39 percent allowed the remains to be buried overseas at American cemeteries. In 1949, the next of kin again had the option of repatriating the remains or leaving them overseas. Sixty-five percent opted to move the remains back to the U.S., Krohn said.
The American cemetery in Normandy, France, is the commission’s most famous and most visited site, Nicholson said.
He said the Normandy cemetery, along with all the other sites, are a reminder to all people of what the U.S. has done for the cause of freedom.

“The United States has willingly sent its young men and women to these foreign countries when asked to restore their freedom,” Nicholson said. “We encourage people to visit them to be reminded of the sacrifice and courage of the Americans buried there.”

Krohn said that on a visit to a commission cemetery in Tunisia in February, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld became a “legend” with the folks who work at the commission.
“As he was being escorted through he saw a cigarette butt on the ground and, without saying anything, he bent down, picked up the cigarette butt and put it in his pocket,” Krohn said. “He may not have made much of it, but it was watched by a lot of people who were exceptionally moved by the thoughtfulness of that act.”

The biggest challenge faced by the commission is getting people to visit some of its more obscure cemeteries and monuments, Krohn said. “We have cemeteries near Paris and Rome, but nobody knows about them. Spreading the word is our biggest challenge,” he said.

Nicholson said visiting the sites is an educational experience, and everyone he has talked to has been glad they made the trip.

“I think there has never been an American or a person from any other country that has visited one of our cemeteries or memorials that regretted it,” Nicholson said. “Go see them. You’ll be glad you did.”

A full list of American Battle Monuments Commission cemeteries and memorials is available on the commission’s Web
Wild Thing’s comment……
Just a thought and maybe I am wrong, but wouldn’t it be respectful and show gratitude if the countries that we saved their glutes would keep up the Cemeteries as a way of saying thank you into eternity?

May 23, 2006
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael Pintagro
Task Force Spartan Public Affairs NCOIC
FORWARD OPERATING BASE ASADABAD, Afghanistan – The senior Southwest Asia theater commander met with Task Force Spartan and Afghan National Army leaders and Soldiers operating in Kunar Province during a visit of Regional Command East May 2.
Army Gen. John P. Abizaid, U.S. Central Command commander, visited Operation Mountain Lion battlegrounds in northeast Afghanistan alongside Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley, commander of Combined Joint Task Force – 76, Army Brig. Gen. James Terry, CJTF – 76 deputy commanding general for operations, and Army Col. John Nicholson, commander of Task Force Spartan.
The battlefield visit began at Forward Operating Base Asadabad in northeast Afghanistan’s Kunar Province. Nicholson, Afghan National Army officials and senior American ANA advisors briefed the CENTCOM commander on Operation Mountain Lion, the disposition of friendly and hostile forces, and the composition of enemy organizations.
The leaders discussed issues ranging from the opium trade and regional economic development to the Pakistani border and future operations while gathered around a table-top map. The Asadabad Provincial Reconstruction Team commander, Army Lt. Col. Pete Munster, provided insights into local governance as well as regional construction projects.
Abizaid, a native of Coleville, Calif., asked the assembled leaders about issues ranging from key local industries to efforts at reconciliation with disaffected Afghans. He also queried ANA officials and advisors about ANA progress.
Army Lt. Col. Steven Bapp, combat advisor to 3rd Brigade, 201st ANA Corps, described Afghan military progress as brisk. He also emphasized the role of Afghan leadership in regional military efforts, noting the prominent role of ANA Brig. Gen. Zmarai, the brigade commander.

“It’s not my brigade,” said Bapp, a resident of Cocoa Beach, Fla. “It’s General Zmarai’s brigade — it’s not my army: it’s the Afghan people’s army.”

Abizaid quickly expanded on the point.

“It’s their country and their army,” he said. “It’s our job to work ourselves out of a job — if they don’t win, we don’t win.”

ANA leaders described relations with Coalition forces as close and constructive.

“We have been coordinating everything with the Coalition,” said ANA Maj. Aziz, 3rd Brigade, 201st ANA Corps intelligence officer. “We have been conducting operations side by side.

“We discuss issues all the time, and when we have some information we pass it to the Coalition and when the Coalition has information, they pass it on to us,” he added.

Abizaid discussed terrorist tactics, commenting on such desperate enemy devices as bombings and suicide attacks.
The CENTCOM commander also met with Marines serving in the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Task Force Lava, as well as Soldiers serving in 1st Battalion, 32rd Infantry Regiment, Task Force Spartan. Abizaid received operational and terrain briefings from area leaders, including Army Lt. Col. Chris Cavoli, the 1-32 commander, and Marine Lt. Col. Chip Bierman, the Task Force Lava commander.
The general concluded his battlefield visit with a series of briefings and meetings in Jalalabad. He heard from key Task Force Spartan officers and PRT officials before departing for Bagram Airfield.

“The visit was extremely productive,” Nicholson said. “The Soldiers and Marines of Task Force Spartan enjoyed their time with him, and our commanders benefited form the opportunity to dialogue with the CENTCOM commander.

“The general made it clear from the start he wanted to discuss the tough issues and hear frank opinions,” the Baltimore native added. “He gave us a lot to think about, and I hope he returned to CENTCOM headquarters with some valuable input from the field.”

Abizaid assumed the top CENTCOM spot in July 2003, replacing Army Gen. Tommy Franks.

For soldiers, gratitude and praise from an Iraqi mayor
COLORADO SPRINGS – An Iraqi mayor stood before troops lined up on the lawn at Fort Carson on Friday morning and said only two words in English.
But those two words brought the crowd to its feet.
“Thank you.”
It was a telling gesture from Tal Afar Mayor Najim Al Jibouri, who spoke for about 20 minutes in his native tongue praising the 3rd Armored Cavalry for saving his city from certain ruin.
It was his first trip to the United States, arriving via Washington, D.C., then coming to Colorado Springs with his wife and son.
The mayor was invited as a part of a welcoming ceremony at Fort Carson for those who had just finished another tour in Iraq.
Al Jibouri, dressed in a black suit with a lavender tie, said he was glad to be back among them.

“Are you truly my friends?” he asked through a translator. “Yes. I walk a happier man because you are my friends. You are the world to me. I smell the sweet perfume that emanates from your flower of your strength, honor and greatness in every corner of Tal Afar. The nightmares of terror fled when the lion of your bravery entered our city.”

Last year, the 3rd ACR was credited with securing the city of Tal Afar and largely ridding it of insurgents. The mayor singled out Col. H.R. McMaster, whom he called “a wise leader.”

The mayor patted his hand on his heart and made the peace sign as a crowd of soldiers and their families gave him a standing ovation.
Al Jibouri proved to be a bit of a celebrity after the ceremony, which featured a display of charging horses and the cannon salute. People and press flocked around him, thanking him for coming and asking to have their photos taken with him.
Stephanie Gault, whose husband, Dana Gault, had just returned from his second tour in Iraq, settled for a picture with Al Jibouri’s son, Omar, when it became apparent she wouldn’t be able to cut through the crowd to get to the mayor.

“He’s a great man,” she said.

Maj. Gen. James Simmons praised the mayor as well, saying history would look favorably upon his role in supporting a democratic mission in Iraq. McMaster and Al Jibouri hugged, clasped their hands together and raised their fists in the air.
The mayor said afterward through a translator that he worried about fading support for the war in Iraq and urged Americans to remember what it was like before U.S. forces arrived.

“One year ago today, not even a bird used to be inside the city of Tal Afar because of all the shooting that happened continuously,” he said. “All of the schools were closed and all the government facilities were closed completely. Killing and murdering was allowed – even of the children.”

He said mistakes have been made – he did not specify them – but Al Jibouri said he believed troops might need to stay for another two to three years. He said there is still a lot of work to do.
That’s what 1st Lt. Nate Garner thought.
Back from his first tour in Iraq, he said the sagging support for the war didn’t bother him much because he saw a lot of progress in the country. Stationed in Baghdad, he said the improvised explosive devices along the roadsides seemed more hurried and crude and ineffective.

“We have a job to do over there and we’re doing it,” Garner said.