Thursday, November 29, 2007

Military Roundup   [W. Thomas Smith Jr.]

• Bangladesh relief effort.
• Marines' duties go well beyond combat.
• Briefing with Pentagon Press Sec. Morrell.
• 'Gay question' general linked to Clinton.
• More on China and the Kitty Hawk.
• More F-15 stand-downs.
• Greyhounds of the sea.
• Enter General Jones.

• Sunni and Shiia clerics meet in Najaf.
• Baghdad Day celebrated after nearly four years.
• Dragoons capture suspect linked to May abductions.
• Operations in Iraq here, here, here, and here.
• U.S. deaths in Iraq remain at 20-month low.

... Five weeks from now, Camp Pendleton and Miramar Marine Corps Air Base troops will deploy from Regimental Combat Teams 1 and 5, and a headquarters group will go to Anbar province to replace the North Carolina-based II Marine Expeditionary Force. What those troops will find in former insurgent-laden cities such as Ramadi, Fallujah and Haditha will be a much more peaceful environment, Helland said. "People are on the streets, telephones are working and buses are starting to run again," he said. "People want to get back to normal. Instead of us finding (weapons) caches, they are turning them in. "They are cooperating with the Iraqi police and the military is now able to move out of the cities." Underscoring Helland's remarks was a published report Tuesday from Marine Col. Stacy Clardy, head of a combat force now in Iraq, that said the number of "enemy incidents" in Anbar has fallen by 75 percent since the first of the year. ...

• First football game between West Point (Army) and Annapolis (Navy) is played, 1890. Navy wins 24-0.

Editor’s note: Please see this note.

11/29 09:48 AMShare