7 terrorists dead, 4 hostages freed, anti-aircraft weapons destroyed, and political shakeup announced

Not bad for a day's work.

Yesterday:

AIR STRIKES TARGET AL QAEDA TERRORISTS WEST OF TAJI

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition Forces targeted members of an al-Qaeda in Iraq network Friday during an air strike operation west of Taji.

Intelligence reports indicated that this network is responsible for threats to Coalition aircraft.

Coalition Forces believe key terrorists were killed during the air strike. Results are still being assessed at this time.

Today:

AIR STRIKE LEADS TO HOSTAGE RESCUE; WEAPONS CACHE UNCOVERED

BAGHDAD, IRAQ – An assessment performed by Coalition Forces following an air strike in Arab Jabour on Saturday led to the rescue of four Iraqi citizens and the uncovering of a terrorist weapons cache today.

Four Iraqi citizens were liberated from a building near the site of yesterday’s air strike. According to one of the liberated hostages, the terrorists holding them captive fled immediately after the air strike. All four hostages were treated on site for various injuries. One of the hostages said he had been held captive for 50 days.

At the site of the air strike, Ground forces also found remnants of an anti-aircraft heavy machine gun known as a DShK and multiple rocket propelled grenades and grenade launchers. Additionally, a DShK Tripod was found dug in the ground along the Tigris River with spent ammunition cartridges. ...

Coalition Forces used two precision guided bombs in the strike destroying a small structure and killing seven terrorists hiding inside. A large secondary explosion was noted after the initial bombs were dropped on the target, indicating the presence of explosive material within the structure.

Meanwhile, PM Maliki sees the light:

Iraq PM vows Cabinet shakeup in 2 weeks

The prime minister did not say how many Cabinet members would be replaced. But some officials said about nine would lose their jobs, including all six Cabinet members loyal to radical anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, an al-Maliki ally. ...

During the interview, al-Maliki said other top officials would face prosecution for ties to insurgents, sectarian militias and death squads — including members of parliament.

Looks like Mookie would be well-advised to extend his Iranian vacation indefinately.

...pressure for change has mounted since President Bush ordered 21,500 U.S. troops to Iraq last January despite widespread opposition in Congress and among the U.S. public — weary of the nearly four-year-long war....

Al-Maliki said he was encouraged by Iraqi public response to the new Baghdad security operation — which has led to a sharp drop in violence in the capital.

Dare we say the "surge" is working?

Make your voice heard March 8 - March 17

From MoveAmericaForward

From California to Washington, D.C. March 8th – March 17th

On the eve of the 4th anniversary of the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom, a national patriotic, pro-troop caravan will cross the nation, traveling from California to Washington, D.C. to show support for U.S. troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Members of the public are encouraged to join the caravan and attend the pro-troop rallies along the way.

The “THESE COLORS DON’T RUN” national caravan will depart San Francisco, California on the morning of Thursday, March 8, 2007, traversing the length of the state and then heading across the nation to Washington, D.C. The effort is in support of the "Gathering of Eagles" event in Washington, D.C. on March 17th. The patriotic caravan will feature 25 pro-troop rallies in cities across the nation.

People attending the rallies are asked to bring American flags to each rally that will be collected and brought to Washington, D.C. where they will be displayed at the Gathering of Eagles event to create a giant "Flag City" on Saturday, March 17, 2007.

GEN Petraeus Awards Purple Hearts at the 28th CSH

Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images
More photos here.

Attack of the "Right-Wing Goon Squad"

If this is the "lunatic fringe", count me in.

The LA Times strikes again. In this unhinged rant (disguised as an Op-Ed), they go ballistic about the participation of three "discredited" Swift Boat Veterans for Truth "operatives" in an "inflammatory" panel discussion at the American Conservative Union's annual Conservative Political Action Conference.

Never mind that one of them happens to be a Medal of Honor recipient who is a WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam War veteran and spent over 5 years as a POW.

He and the others are characterized as symbolic of the "unprincipled, right-wing extremists" who are taking over the quote-unquote conservative movement.

What can we expect from these lunatics, you ask?

Expect to see all the old myths revived: The antiwar left spits on returning troops and gives aid and comfort to the enemy. Oh, John Murtha, why do you hate our brave troops?

Myths? Didn't Joshua Sparling get spit at recently during a demonstration in Washington, DC?

Their concern about the fate of conservatives is touching:

All this is bad news for the conservative movement, which will only become more marginal if it continues to embrace its lunatic fringe.

And they bemoan all this as "depressing" because "Americans just aren't that dumb."

Well. There's something I can agree with. We're not that dumb. Not anymore. Never again.

h/t Michelle Malkin

Update: Jason has a good smackdown, and so does Noonan .

Alabama storm victims at Ft Rucker

* * * developing * * *
Patti talked to Ft. Rucker today and Soldiers' Angels is currently coordinating efforts with them for family relief.

They have lost family members and many of them have lost their homes. We are getting Angels on the ground to help.

Soldiers' Angels has started a FT Rucker Family Relief Fund.

You can donate at PayPal here.

To volunteer time please email Bonnie

You may send WalMart Gift Cards, or Amex Credits or vouchers for Holiday Inn, Days Inn, Comfort Inn to:

ARMY COMMUNITY SERVICE, Attn: Sue
BUILDING 5700
NOVOSEL, ROOM 390
FT. RUCKER AL 36362


I have met Matt's donation of $50. Please help if you can.

Soldiers' Angels Mourns Sgt. Jeremy D. Barnett

From Renee of the Soldiers' Angels Living Legends Team:

We have a fallen Hero from Soldiers' Angels, Sgt. Jeremy D. Barnett.

Sgt. Barnett 27, of Mineral City, OH, died Feb. 24 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germany, of wounds sustained from a landmine detonation in Ad-Dujayl, Iraq, on Feb. 21.

He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Jeremy is survived by his parents, Dave & Michelle Barnette, and his three younger sisters, Natalie, Emily and Rebecca Barnett.

Renee

You may have heard or read about Jeremy in the past week. As a Soldier, he served his country. As a forward observer, his job was to make sure other soldiers going on missions would be safer, saving lives.

And after he was mortally injured, as an organ donor he saved yet another life.

Jeremy's parents were flown to Germany after he was wounded. There they spent Friday and Saturday morning with him before he was brought to the operating room for the surgery that would not save his life, but that of a 51-year-old European.

"I bathed my son," Michele Barnett said. "I escorted him to the doors of the operating room."

"He gave his life twice," his mother said. "Once for his country and once for another human being.

"He did what a lot of us never have enough guts to do.

"Our son's heart is beating in this person's body so that they can live. It was my son's choice to be an organ donor and I was never more proud of my son - he was truly a hero". "

Michelle Barnett is truly a hero, too.

Please take a moment to read these two articles about Jeremy and his family:
- Remembering Sgt. Jeremy Barnett - Heart of a soldier - Mineral City man killed in Iraq helps save another's life
- A soldier's heart saves another life

The Patriot Guard Riders will be riding for Sgt. Jeremy Barnett .


Remember our Heroes.

"A human life is a human life, sir"

More from Robert Bazell's special report at MSNBC, Wounds of War:

With almost no warning, three Medevac helicopters touch down at Camp Speicher near Tikrit, Iraq. ...

"He's got some open wounds, he has some ortho wounds, and he needs an X-ray," says a doctor as he evaluates the men. "The fourth guy has some back wounds."...

"I need two units of blood!" orders the doctor. "He looks like he has lost plenty of blood."

The worst of the cases ... goes immediately into surgery, where in less than an hour doctors administer 30 units of blood.

"Right now, we have had five major traumas come in," says Eric Shrye. "We're down to our last 10 percent of our blood supply."

The four patients who arrived on the medevac helos are Iraqis - two of them insurgents who had been seen placing an IED. A search of their car revealed weapons and a video camera to film the planned attack.

The story continues:

The call goes out at the base for volunteer blood donors, and within minutes dozens of soldiers line up. Brian Suam is at the head of the line. He says it doesn't matter that his blood might be used for insurgents.

"A human life is a human life, sir," Suam says.

Previous: Medical Warriors

The Kid is Alright!

Continuing on today's theme about America's youth, here is a new post from Robert Connolly, a regular contributor to the SAG blog.

A few weeks back, we took a swing at helping out the soldiers of the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division. They have been in Eastern Afghanistan for the past 12 months taking care of business in that very rugged territory. At the last minute, their tour was extended until June. They are professionals, so when the word came to turn around and head back, they did it. If they had a problem, it was largely due to having disposed of all the extra things that make life bearable: hygiene items, snack stuff, electronics, bedding, and so forth.

I explained the situation to my faculty and staff colleagues and students here and asked them to consider helping out one infantry company of about 150 men. Many did, and I once again renewed acquaintances with the folks at the local Post Office. Many of you are personally familiar with this.

I wanted to bring to your attention the extraordinary industry and commitment of one 12-year old whose efforts dominated all my (generous) adult helpers.

Sarah (not her real name) decided that she was going to make it her mission to help all of these guys. Not just a platoon... an entire infantry company. With the financial backing of her parents, this young lady put together 150 (!) hygiene kits for me to send to 3rd Brigade troopers. Each kit was contained in its own big Ziploc bag with the following items: two small cans of shaving cream, six razors, deodorant, two small bottle of shampoo, two small bars of soap, one small bottle of body wash, a small container of foot powder, a toothbrush, two small tubes of toothpaste, dental floss, two energy bars, and two single-servings of drink mix. Oh, and she added a travel pack of detergent into the Ziploc bag, too. Now if you know anything about hygiene needs, you realize that Sarah covered all the bases.

To make this work, Sarah negotiated bulk discounts with local merchants (dad made his fortune in the sales business…it runs in the family!) and then organized a mammoth packing operation at home. (If you haven’t done something like this, you cannot imagine how big this job really is.) Sarah’s dad brought everything to me, but it took three days to transfer everything. With everything that she and my other ‘helpers’ provided, we were able to make a substantial dent in needs for three infantry companies, a cavalry troop, and a field artillery platoon. Without Sarah, we wouldn’t have made anywhere near this big an impact.

I don’t guess Sarah knows (or even cares) too much about red states, blue states, Congressional resolutions, and so forth. What she knew is that these guys needed a hand, and she was going to do what needed doing. As 12 year old, she understood the fundamentals of supporting the troops. There is a lesson there for an awful lot of adults.

Bravo, Sarah! The kid is alright!

Bob can be reached via email or you may leave him a comment below.

Remember Me

If you watch only one video today, make it this one created by Elizabeth "Lizzie" Palmer, a 15-year-old high school sophomore from Columbus, OH.

You hear a lot about "kids today", but when I see our young soldiers and Marines... and things like this from young people like Lizzie, I'm very hopeful.

With thanks to Sara for sending this on.


Update March 2: I just found the following in the comments to this video at YouTube.

I am LTC Jack Eckles.

...the soldier labled "Wife" was a soldier lost to me and my Company. Her name was SGT Regina (Gina) C. Reali, KIA, Eastern Baghdad, 23 Dec. 2005 along with her fellow soldier, SGT Cheyenne C. Willey. I was their commanding officer and we miss them very much. Thank you for such a beautiful tribute.

Godspeed, SGT Reali and SGT Willey. We will remember you both always.

Hey, Macarena

Soldiers from Forward Operating Base Warhorse were told if they didn’t dance for the National Football League’s Buffalo Bills’ cheerleaders, the Jills, the Jills would not perform their routine for them.

These Soldiers quickly jumped on stage to perform the “Macarena” for the Jills.

(U.S. Army photo by Spc. Ryan Stroud, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs)

H/T Iraq War Today