The "Black Eye" is finally closed.....

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Abu Ghraib prison, whose name became synonymous with abuse, has been emptied of detainees, a senior Iraqi justice ministry official said Sunday.
"There's not a single prisoner left there," Deputy Justice Minister Busho Ibrahim told The Associated Press.
The facility has been turned over to Iraqi authorities since it was emptied on Aug. 15, he said.
Iraqi authorities have not decided what they will do with the empty facility, Ibrahim said.
The U.S. military said a transfer of nearly 3,000 detainees from Abu Ghraib to other detention facilities run by the military was planned. But it would not comment on the timing of the transfer.
"We are currently in the process of transferring the Abu Ghraib facility back to the Government of Iraq. For operational security reasons we would prefer not to discuss the actual timing of the operation until it is complete," said Lt. Col. Keir-Kevin Curry, spokesman for detainee operations.
He said the transfer "will allow us to consolidate our effort at fewer sites and improve the conditions for both the coalition guards and the detainees."
Ibrahim said that another detention facility, Fort Suse, in the northern Sulaimaniyah area, will also be emptied and handed over to Iraqi authorities on Sept. 22.
Abu Ghraib came to symbolize American mishandling of prisoners captured in Iraq, both during the U.S.-led invasion three years ago and the fight to subdue the largely Sunni Arab insurgency since then.
Widely publicized photographs of prisoner abuse by American military guards and interrogators at the facility prompted intense global criticism of the U.S. war in Iraq and fueled the insurgency. The scandal led to a wide-scale investigation that resulted in convictions and dismissals against U.S. Soldiers.
Abu Ghraib was also a notorious detention center during Saddam Hussein's days, where the former dictator incarcerated his political opponents. Right before the invasion, Saddam released thousands of inmates at the facility, including common criminals, which was seen as a move aimed at spreading chaos after the military attack.
Ibrahim said the detainees at Abu Ghraib were moved to a new $60 million detention facility that has been built as part of Camp Cropper near Baghdad International Airport. Detainees in Fort Suse will be moved to Camp Cropper and Camp Bucca, which is near the southern port of Umm Qasr, he said.
"Abu Ghraib was quite an old place. I used to hear about it since I was 6, I'm now 60," Ibrahim said.
Abu Ghraib, a 280-acre facility, a jumble of top-security buildings and minimum-risk tent cities located along a dusty highway west of the city, has come under repeated attacks from insurgents. In April 2005, a barrage of 28 mortar rounds killed 22 prisoners and injured 91. There were no U.S. deaths in that attack.
U.S. military officials had said they have always had the intention to move detainees from Abu Ghraib because it is in a region susceptible to attacks and was difficult to support logistically.
More than 13,000 detainees are being held at coalition facilities, in Camps Cropper, Bucca, and Fort Suse. Many detainees are awaiting trial, others formal charges.
A committee consisting of U.S. and Iraqi officials from the ministries of human rights, justice and interior has reviewed the cases of more than 30,000 detainees and recommended more than 15,400 for release.

Just When We Thought We Had Them Beat...

This particular article speaks of the IED perils troops deal with daily. I have had two encounters with this specific IED. One exploded and one unexploded. The results are devastating.

Three factories in Iran are mass-producing the sophisticated roadside bombs used to kill British soldiers over the border in Iraq, it has been claimed.

The lethal bombs are being made by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps at ordnance factory sites in Teheran, according to opponents of the country's theocratic regime.

Designed to penetrate heavy armor, the devices being manufactured in Iran involve the use of "explosively formed projectiles" or EFPs, also known as shaped charges, often triggered by infra-red beams.

The weapons can pierce the armor of British and American tanks and armored personnel carriers and completely destroy armored Land Rovers, which are used by the majority of British troops on operations in Iraq.

The Sunday Telegraph revealed in April that Iranian-made devices employing several EFPs, directed at different angles, were being used in Iraq.

And in June, this newspaper obtained the first picture of one of the Iraqi insurgent weapons - designed to fire an armor-piercing EFP - believed to have been responsible for the deaths of 17 British soldiers.

British Government scientists have already established that the mines are precision-made weapons thought to have been turned on a lathe by craftsmen trained in the manufacture of munitions.

Members of the Washington-based Iran Policy Committee have released the details about the three bomb factories gathered by the exile group, the National Council for Resistance in Iran (NCRI).

Iranians working for the NCRI pinpointed the facilities at three industrial sections called Sattari, Sayad Shirazi and Shiroodi. The factories are in the Lavizan neighborhood in northern Teheran which is controlled by the country's defense ministry. The Sattari Industry specialists in anti-tank mines and operates under the aegis of the IRGC's al-Quds or Jerusalem Force.

Alireza Jafarzadeh, a former spokesman for the NCRI who in 2002 revealed the existence of two Iranian nuclear facilities at Natanz and Arak, said the devices were smuggled to Iraq via Iran's Shalamcheh border region.

"These sites are close to a military site, known as Lavizan 2, that is now being used for Iran's nuclear programme. It shows there is a high level of co-ordination by the Iranian regime, which wants to destabilize Iraq to make way for an Islamic Republic.

"This is not a ragtag workshop in some remote area. These sites are within an area that is one of the most sanitized parts of Teheran which is controlled by the Iranian defense Ministry."

He added that NCRI sources reported the movement of EFP devices from Teheran into Iraq as recently as June and that supplies of the devices, which began last year, had been stepped up in recent months.

The infra-red triggering mechanism for roadside bombs was perfected by Hezbollah, under Iranian tutelage, against Israeli forces in the 1990s. Mr Jafarzadeh said that in recent weeks Iran had facilitated the movement of cash from Shia groups in Iraq to Hezbollah.

Brig James Dutton, then the commander of British forces in southern Iraq, revealed last November that EFPs had led to a marked increase in the lethality of attacks. He said the "technology certainly, and probably the equipment is coming through Iran". He added: "They come in various grades, these EFP improvised explosive devices, from those that could be made in a relatively simple workshop to those that would require a reasonably sophisticated factory."

Last week, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a former IRGC commander and the man believed by Western intelligence agencies to be in charge of Iranian operations in Iraq, was asked in an interview with CBS television why Iran would furnish roadside bombs to Iraqi insurgents.

He ignored the question, instead responding: "We are saddened that the people of Iraq are being killed. I believe that the rulers of the US have to change their mentality. I ask you, sir, what is the American army doing inside Iraq? Why are the Americans killing Iraqis on a daily basis?"

The factory disclosures come amid growing unease among soldiers in Iraq over what they believe is inadequate protection against terrorist booby traps.

There are fears that soldiers' lives are being put at risk by senior officers insisting that troops must conduct patrols in armored Land Rovers even though they provide little or no protection from such insurgent devices.

Pressure continues to mount on the Ministry of defense to introduce a new range of military vehicles that will protect troops from the terrorist bombs in Iraq.

The last two soldiers to be killed by the device were Lieut Tom Mildinhall, 27, and L/Cpl Paul Farrelly, 28, both members of the 1st Queen's Dragoon Guards, who were killed on May 28 in a district north-west of Basra.

The Next Trial

The next trial for Saddam started today. As you can imagine, he refused to enter a plea as did his cousin; the famous Chemical Ali. The judge automatically entered a "not guilty" plea for them both.

WHEN Saddam Hussein arrives in a Baghdad courtroom tomorrow to face genocide charges over a murderous campaign conducted against Kurds in northern Iraq, the witnesses will be hoping for a fairer hearing than those in his first trial.
Attempts to prove Saddam’s guilt over the killings of 148 men in the Shi’ite village of Dujail in 1982 descended into chaos as three lawyers were murdered and the defence team and chief judge walked out. The former dictator railed repeatedly against judges and witnesses from the dock before boycotting the proceedings and going on hunger strike.
The trial, which began last October, dragged on through a series of adjournments, culminating in a long wait for a verdict that, even now, is not expected before October.
The Kurds who survived Saddam’s persecution nearly 20 years ago, including the gassing of Halabja in which 5,000 people were killed, have been warned that their long wait for justice may result in similar frustration. A human rights group said last week that the court lacks the ability to conduct the trial.
“Based on extensive observations of the tribunal’s conduct of its first trial . . . Human Rights Watch believes that the Iraqi High Tribunal is presently incapable of fairly and effectively trying a genocide case,” the group said in a report.
The charge sheet for the second trial is written in the unemotional language of international law: Saddam and six other Iraqi leaders are accused of genocide and crimes against humanity for their role in the deaths of more than 100,000 Kurds in the 1988 Operation Anfal, Arabic for “spoils of war”.
The language of the survivors of that operation is far more raw. They remember that entire Kurdish villages were erased from the map and that tens of thousands of men were carted off in army trucks, never to be seen again.
The worst nightmares are suffered by those who lived through Saddam’s attack on Halabja in March 1988, when planes fired missiles containing a toxic mixture of mustard gas and nerve agents.
Last week Aras Akram, who is due to testify in the trial, broke down as he described the attack. He was 19 and lived with his father, mother and 11 brothers and sisters. All died from the gas; he survived only because he had been hurt in an initial missile attack and had been taken to a shelter.
“I was injured in the back and bleeding badly. When my mother and my nine-year-old sister found me, my mother started crying. I told her to go back to my uncle’s because I thought I would die and I didn’t want her to see me die.”
He is now married with three children, but the memories are more vivid than his daily life. “At 2am we heard an explosion that was different — light and low — and there was a new smell and our eyes became red.” Ironically, an Iraqi army officer in the shelter may have saved him. “The officer told us they were using chemical weapons and sprayed us with water.”
Akram escaped to Iran, where he was injected with an antidote, and returned to Halabja days later. “At my uncle’s house I saw dead bodies on a truck,” he said. “I saw my sister’s foot sticking out. The driver knew me and tried to make me go away. I said, ‘Please, I want to be sure they are my family’. They were all my family.”
Those who met Saddam at the time say he and his regime felt no remorse. Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish leader and now a member of the Iraqi parliament, took part in talks with Saddam and his cousin Ali Hassan al-Majeed, known as Chemical Ali, that led to an uneasy peace between the government and the Kurds.
“I asked Ali Hassan al- Majeed, ‘Where are the missing 182,000?’ “Chemical Ali said, ‘182,000 — where did you get that number? We didn’t take any more than 100,000’.”
Asked privately by Othman why he had attacked Kurdish villages, al-Majeed is said to have replied: “I was only doing my duty and executing orders.”
Human Rights Watch doubts that such evidence will be heard in an orderly way. “None of the Iraqi judges and lawyers has shown an understanding of international criminal law,” its report said. “The court’s administration has been chaotic and inadequate.”

August 14, 2006

What, you may ask, is important about this date? Well, as of this date, I have 40 days left on this deployment to Iraq. It was also 124 degrees outside this afternoon. The sun was out. I spent the day in court. I ate two meals and most important of all; I have 40 days left. I can see over the hill and will be looking at the bottom pretty soon.

The people coming to relieve me have a hard road to pave ahead of them. I certainly feel like we started melting the tar for them. The violence in other parts of Iraq have somewhat subsided. Baghdad, of course is another story. While I was in Mosul, the guys and girls of the 172 Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT) were looking forward to going home to Alaska and seeing their families after a one year deployment. They packed up and had their going away parties only to be kept in Baghdad as the build up security team and will be here another 2 months after I am gone.

The E-7 selection board has met and made their selections. I looked really hard on the list but couldn't pull my name out. In other words, I will be an E-6 for at least another year. I did, however, apply for a Commission as a Limited duty Officer and should hear the results later in 2007.

August 14, 2006 comes to a close and another business day has gone and another day less we will fight this war. Most of all I have 40 days left.

You know you have been here too long when.....

· When mortars land near your compound and you roll over in bed and think "still way off, I got another 5 minutes".
· When you start humming with the Arabic song playing on the radio on the shuttle bus.
· You put all your gear on and drive an extra 3 miles to eat at the another MNF-I dining facility to have the exact same food they are serving in your dining facility because you think it tastes better.
· You actually volunteer for convoy security duty because you still haven't seen the country yet.
· You start picturing your wife in traditional Arab dress.
· The PSDs and contractors have more fire power than the military combat units.
· You drink the water from the tap because you want to drop 20 pounds in two weeks.
**· Driving around in SUVs with weapons pointed out the windows and forcing cars off the road seems very normal to you.
· You can put your body armor and helmet on in the dark in under 5 seconds.
· When the organization you work for has changed its name more than 3 times.
· When you can actually talk to people in the United States on a cell phone, yet you can't get people on their cell phone a block away.
· When you actually spend more time writing e-mail about the dog in the compound versus how the fight went the other night.
· Your idea of a fun Thursday night is to go to the Palace pool to watch the State Department folks get drunk, naked and try to pick each other up.
· When you actually get excited to get a package that contains 3 pair of socks, 12 bars of soap and a Victoria Secret Catalog.
** · When you start to enjoy the rocking of the trailer every time the MEDEVAC choppers fly over.
· You see celebratory fire going over the compound at night and think, "wow the colors are so pretty" and want to fire back.
· You’re thinking of buying real estate in the green zone.
· You wake up and think Baghdad; I am still in friggin Baghdad.
· You make the new guy show you his count down timer just to make you feel better about your time you have left in country.
· You're in the Navy and you realize you are in the middle of the desert, the exact opposite of being in the middle of the ocean, where one might normally find the Navy.
** · You're in the Air Force, and you're on the plane home because an Air Force tour is too short to have been a long Iraq tour.
· You plan on removing all trees and grass in your yard when you get home so it will look more natural.
· You forget there are other colors than brown that can be found in places other than power point slides.
**· The temp drops down to 102 degrees and you shiver while reaching for your Gortex jacket.
· You have noticed a change of season, from long, hot and dry to short, cold and wet.
· When you call home and your kids ask "Who is this?"
**· When you go on R&R, you duct tape your child to the roof of your car, hand him a pellet rifle, and assign him a sector of fire for the ride to "The Olive Garden."
**· When you can comfortably shave and brush your teeth using bottled water, but don't mind showering in the "non-potable" local water.
· While on R&R, you look out the window and find Nature, which leads you to wonder who stole your sandbags.
· When some of the contractors wear their DCUs (Desert camouflage uniform) more properly than some of your soldiers.
· When 12 hours is a short work day.
· When, During the BUA(Morning Battle Update Brief), "MND-W asked MNSTC-I for the FRAGO that MNC-I was supposed to publish, but couldn't because MNF-I hadn't weighed in, since they were too inundated with MOD and MOI war-gaming the JCCs within the ISF to square us away!" is a valid comment and generates no questions.
**· When you start using words like G'day mate, Cheers, and Bloody ‘ell as part of your normal vocabulary.
· When you have your opinions printed in the STARS and STRIPES more than 3 times.
** (THE WINNER!!!)· When you step into any office and there are 6 colonels, 12 lieutenant colonels, 15 majors, and 8 captains supervising the work of 1 sergeant.
· When you end every phone conversation with "Out".
· When you're ordered to get an air mission together on short notice because it's a "Hot priority" only to have the Major call back once he is in the air to ask "Does anyone know where I am going?"
· When the weapon buyback program has become so successful that you have issued the same AK-47 to the Iraqi army 3 times.
** · When you can actually tell the difference between the sound of an exploding car and an exploding mortar.
· When on R & R you tell your wife that your weapon status is Red and you’re looking for the clearing barrel.
· When on R&R you go to church and wonder why no one is wearing body armor or carrying a weapon to the service.
· You see an indirect fire attack take out a generator and get angry at the enemy for hitting the one that powers your computer.
· You see an indirect fire attack take out your air conditioner and your vigor to fight is renewed.
**· You yell at the FNG(FRIGGIN NEW GUY) for shouting incoming when the rounds don't impact close enough to hit your hooch with dirt.
· You know that you need to run inside immediately after any win of an Iraqi sports team to keep from being hit by celebratory fire.
**· You never worry about oversleeping because if the morning call to prayers doesn't wake you, the daily 0630 mortar attack will.
· The highlight of your shopping experience at the PX is to see that they got in a new shipment of Schick Tracer razor blades.
· When you send out your laundry and your whites become grayer, your blacks become grayer and your DCU's become grayer - makes it easier to sort loads.
· You get offended by people wearing clean, pressed DCU's.
· You decide that it is a better course of action to pull your blankets over your head than put on your body armor during a mortar attack - the blanket will save you and at least you are comfortable.
· You make a contest out of seeing who can wear their uniform for more days before becoming entirely disgusted with themselves.
· You wonder if the fish served at dinner really was carp caught out of the Tigris or Camp Victory's lake.
· A rocket or a mortar really isn't a big deal until the crater it leaves is big enough to trip over in the dark on the way to the latrine.
· You go to a social gathering and intermittent gun fire or explosions don't even cause a pause in the conversation.