He was not charged with any crime and did nothing more than become impatient at the Vegas cops and dropped the F-bomb a couple times after they made him miss his flight over a bottle of Sprite.
These cops should be beaten to death.
Call it a show of patriotic pride. Or call it a crass red-white-and-blue marketing ploy.
Either way, the city of Las Vegas has ordered a Hummer dealership to take down an American flag that flies 100 feet above the business.
Dan Towbin, owner of Towbin Hummer, said he was in disbelief at the City Council's decision this week to require the business to take down the 30-by-60-foot Stars and Stripes that has flown since May 2006 in front of the dealership.
"It's ridiculous in today's day and age to suggest removing an American flag," he said.
Towbin must remove the flag within 60 days, though he said he was contemplating a lawsuit to challenge the council's unanimous action.
When Towbin originally got approval for his flag in May 2006, he agreed to a six-month review, contingent on complaints from neighbors of the dealership on Sahara Avenue near Lindell Road.
At Wednesday's City Council meeting, some residents showed up to complain about the noise from the flapping flag when the wind blows and the aesthetic effect of the looming flag pole.
The first sentence of this article irritated me right off the bat. "...call it a crass red-white-and-blue marketing ploy"?! These people are ridiculous.
Sure, a large flag can sometimes be an annoyance; the sound of it flapping and the hooks and rope banging against the pole. But everyone should fly the flag. It's sickening to realize that they can make you remove your flag, but yet cheer you on for burning a flag to exercise your first amendment rights.
Rudy Abandons Hypocrisy,Clarifies the Abortion Issue for Pro-life Voters
For years Rudy Giuliani tried to finesse his position on abortion with pro-life Republican voters. In order to disguise his support for so-called abortion rights, the former New York mayor professed to hate abortion.
“I’m against abortion,” Giuliani declared in a recent campaign appearance in South Carolina. “I hate it. I wish there never was abortion, and I would counsel a woman to have an adoption instead of an abortion.”
Hoping to parse the issue in such a way that would neutralize (or confuse) pro-life Republican voters in the presidential primaries, Giuliani repeatedly professed his personal loathing for abortion while sadly acknowledging that a woman’s right to choose is the law of the land and must so remain.
This dodge finally collapsed. As Abraham Lincoln once said, “The bottom is out of the tub.” Recent revelations that in the 1990s Giuliani and his former wife gave hundreds of dollars to Planned Parenthood, the nation’s leading abortion provider, dramatically underscored the hypocrisy at the heart of Hizzoner’s position.
Reportedly, Giuliani has decided to stop the charade. According to the New York Times, Giuliani will give up his earlier strategy of posing as a personal opponent of abortion and start running as an avowedly pro-abortion candidate. He will bypass early primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina where pro-life voters predominate and focus instead on the Feb. 5th super primary in states such as New York, California, and New Jersey that allegedly would be more receptive to a pro-abortion candidate.
MAYOR GIULIANI ANNOUNCES CITY HAS FILED SUIT TO CHALLENGE FEDERAL WELFARE AND IMMIGRATION LAWS
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today announced that the New York City Corporation Counsel has filed a law suit against the federal government challenging two provisions of the recently enacted Federal Welfare and Immigration laws. The suit contends that these laws are unconstitutional on the grounds that they violate the Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution by invalidating New York City's "Executive Order 124."
"I believe the anti-immigration movement in America is one of our most serious public problems," Mayor Giuliani said. "And Washington is only making the problem worse. I am speaking out and filing this action because I believe that a threat to immigration can be a threat to the future of our country. Just as they did in years past, immigrants today revitalize and reinvigorate the culture and economy of our cities and states."
The suit filed today is an action for declaratory and injunctive relief challenging two federal statutory provisions that encroach on the power of the City of New York to determine policies to ensure public health and safety and regulate its workforce. These provisions prohibit the City from continuing its well-considered policy, embodied in Executive Order 124 and enacted under former Mayor Edward I. Koch.
Executive Order 124 bars City employees from disclosing to federal immigration authorities the immigration status of aliens who come to their attention, unless required to do so by law, and more specifically barring the New York City Police Department from reporting the immigration status of victims of crime.
The suit contends that the reasons for this policy are evident. Undocumented aliens who are witnesses to or victims of crime must not be deterred from coming forward for fear of deportation, nor should undocumented aliens who are infected with contagious disease be deterred from seeking treatment, nor should undocumented alien children be afraid to attend public schools and forfeit their right to an education. The safety and public health of the entire City are dependent on all residents, regardless of their immigration status, cooperating with the government and securing government services to which they are entitled. The federal statutes at issue prohibit the City from continuing this particular policy and thus require the City to allow its officials to provide information on the immigration status of aliens to the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
The City's lawsuit also contends that the Federal laws together prohibit States and local government entities and their officials from prohibiting such entities and officials from sending information to the INS regarding the immigration status of an alien in the United States. It further charges that these provisions run afoul of principles of federalism and the Tenth Amendment and Guarantee clause of the United States Constitution because (1) they directly prohibit States and localities from engaging in the central sovereign process of passing laws of otherwise determining policy; and (2) they usurp States' and local governments' administration of core functions of government, including the provision of police protection and regulation of their own workforces, in a statute that is not of general applicability.
That's right idiots, keep throwing your support behind this fraud of a candidate. For more information visit the Giuliani Truth File
1. MYTH: This is amnesty.
FACT: Amnesty is the forgiveness of an offense without penalty. This proposal is not amnesty because illegal workers must acknowledge that they broke the law, pay a $1,000 fine, and undergo criminal background checks to obtain a Z visa granting temporary legal status.
FACT: To apply for a green card at a date years into the future, Z visa workers must wait in line behind those who applied lawfully, pay an additional $4,000 fine, complete accelerated English requirements, leave the U.S. and file their application in their home country, and demonstrate merit based on the skills and attributes they will bring to the United States.
FACT: Workers approved for Z visas will be given a temporary legal status, but they will not enjoy the full privileges of citizens or Legal Permanent Residents, such as welfare benefits and the ability to sponsor relatives abroad as immigrants.
2. MYTH: This proposal repeats the mistakes of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act.
FACT: The 1986 Act failed because it provided amnesty for 3 million immigrants, did not adequately secure borders, did not include a workable employer verification system, and created no legal avenue to meet the labor needs of the American economy.
FACT: This proposal addresses every one of the shortcomings from 1986:
No Amnesty: Illegal workers must acknowledge that they broke the law and pay a fine to be eligible for a Z visa.
Border Security: Border security benchmarks must be met before the Z visa and temporary worker programs go into effect. These triggers include: constructing 370 miles of fencing and 200 miles of vehicle barriers at the border and increasing the size of the Border Patrol to 18,000 agents.
Employer Verification System: An Employment Eligibility Verification System must be ready to process new hires before the Z visa and temporary worker programs go into effect.
Temporary Worker Program: A temporary worker program will relieve pressure on the border and provide a lawful way to meet the needs of our economy.
FACT: The 1986 Act offered green cards after just 18 months, but under this proposal, green card applicants must meet a number of responsibilities – something which will take most candidates more than a decade.
3. MYTH: The government will not and cannot meet its promise to crack down on the hiring of illegal workers.
FACT: Before the Z visa and temporary worker programs go into effect, an Employment Eligibility Verification System (EEVS) must be in place and ready to prevent unauthorized workers from obtaining jobs in the United States.
FACT: Employers will be required to verify the work eligibility of all employees using the EEVS, and all workers will be required to present stronger and more readily verifiable identification documents. Tough new anti-fraud measures will be implemented to restrict fraud and identity theft.
FACT: Employers who hire illegal workers will face stiff new criminal and civil penalties. For example, the maximum criminal penalty for a pattern or practice of hiring illegals will increase 25-fold, from $3,000 per alien to $75,000 per alien.
4. MYTH: This proposal would cut in half the amount of fence authorized by the Secure Fence Act of 2006.
FACT: The Secure Fence Act of 2006 – which authorized the construction of hundreds of miles of additional fencing; more vehicle barriers, checkpoints, and lighting; and increased use of advanced technology – will remain unchanged.
FACT: At least half of the additional fencing authorized by the Secure Fence Act must be built before the temporary worker program and Z visa could go into effect.
5. MYTH: The trigger period will cause a rush to the border.
FACT: To be eligible to apply for a Z visa, illegal immigrants must prove they were in the country prior to January 1, 2007.
FACT: Anyone caught crossing the border after the new law passes will be fingerprinted and permanently barred from receiving work or tourist visas from the U.S., creating a strong disincentive to illegal immigration.
6. MYTH: By providing an opportunity for citizenship to illegal immigrants already here, the bill will exponentially increase extended-family chain migration.
FACT: The proposal reforms our immigration system to create a new balance between family connections and our national interests and economic needs.
FACT: Visas for parents of U.S. citizens are being capped, while visas for siblings and adult children are eliminated.
FACT: To help keep our economy competitive, a new merit-based system similar to those used by other countries will give preference to attributes that further our national interest such as: job offers in high-demand fields, ability to speak English, and education.
7. MYTH: The temporary worker program is bad for American workers.
FACT: The temporary worker program relieves pressure on the border and meets our economic needs by allowing workers to enter the country to fill jobs that Americans are not doing.
FACT: The program protects American workers by requiring U.S. employers to advertise the job in the United States at a competitive wage before hiring a temporary worker.
FACT: To ensure "temporary" means "temporary," workers are limited to three two-year terms, with at least a year spent outside the United States between each term.
FACT: A cap of 400,000 is set on the program, which can be adjusted up or down in the future depending on demand.
8. MYTH: Illegal immigrants will come out of the shadows and on to the welfare rolls.
FACT: Z visa workers are not entitled to welfare, Food Stamps, SSI, non-emergency Medicaid, or other programs and privileges enjoyed by U.S. citizens and some Legal Permanent Residents.
FACT: In order to apply for and maintain Z visa status, workers must remain employed.
9. MYTH: Government agencies will not be able to share information to pursue immigration violators.
FACT: Under this proposal, there will be unprecedented information sharing between Federal, State, and local agencies to ensure that immigration laws are respected and enforced.
FACT: The new Employment Eligibility Verification System, which employers will be required to use for all employees, will rely on unprecedented information sharing across Federal and State databases, including Social Security records, passport and visa records, and State driver's licenses.
FACT: For Z visa applicants, DHS has authority to share information with law enforcement about terrorist aliens, security risks, and criminal aliens, including aliens who lie on their applications and aliens who commit fraud.
FACT: Under this proposal, DHS will receive Social Security Administration "no match" information on individuals and information on multiple uses of the same social security number by more than one individual.
10. MYTH: Senators are being asked to vote Monday on a lengthy bill that they will not have time to read.
FACT: Monday's vote is only a procedural vote to bring the bill to the floor for debate, not a vote on the bill itself.
FACT: This bill is the product of months of extraordinary negotiations between Senators from both parties and Cabinet-level officials.
It would be nice to know why they refuse to talk more about securing the border. Once we do that, then we can discuss what to do with the illegals that are already here.
People really don't understand the full ramifications of what is happening here. Our country is being sold out. Hispanics have one of, if not the highest birth rate in the country. That means the 12 or so million illegals here, will become 20 million in a few years. As the number of voting age Hispanics increase, so will the number of Democrats in office. This is essentially creating a new Democratic voting bloc. In 10 or 15 years, we could be living in a Socialist state. Income redistribution, punishment for wealth, universal healthcare, larger government, more entitlements, all this will be thrust upon us. Our money will then become the governments money and we only keep what they think we should have.
After several years of this, the unemployment rate will start to steadily increase because businesses are being so overtaxed they start to go bankrupt. This, of course, will cause more government entitlements for those unemployed. The cycle will continue until we are eventually a third world country because our nations wealth will have been spent on entitlements and we can no longer pay our debts. Our country will collapse from the inside and those outside forces will have plenty of influence on our future.
COALITION FORCES DISCOVER EFP CACHE, TIP LEADS TO SECOND EFP CACHE SITE
BAGHDAD - Coalition Forces found two explosively-formed projectile improvised explosive device cache sites in a northwestern Baghdad neighborhood May 15.
Soldiers from Company A, 1st Battalion, 325th Air Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, found one cache site which had a completely assembled EFP, a Dragonov rifle with scope and a Kevlar helmet. While investigating the site, a tip from an Iraqi citizen led the Coalition Forces to a second cache site.
At the second site, Soldiers discovered nine copper plates with tubes, a key component of the EFP, with rolls of wire, cells phones and other miscellaneous improvised explosive device-making materials.
Also at the second location were 150 rocket-propelled grenade propellants, several homemade explosives, three anti-tank mines, two flash initiators, an anti-personnel mine, a sub-machine gun, rifle scope and a gas mask.
IRAQI ARMY, EOD PREVENT CAR BOMB TRAGEDY IN BAYAA
BAGHDAD - Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division, and an Iraqi Army explosive ordnance disposal team stopped extremists from detonating a car bomb in the southern Baghdad neighborhood of Bayaa May 16.
Acting on a report about a suspicious vehicle, Iraqi troops cordoned off the area and took precautions to secure residents before calling in EOD for support.
Working alongside Multi-National Division - Baghdad troops from 1st "Black Lions" Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, the Iraqis identified the explosive and diffused the bomb before it could be used in an attack.
SIX SECRET CELL TERRORISTS DETAINED
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition Forces detained six suspected terrorists Friday morning during raids in northeast Baghdad.
The individuals targeted during the raids are suspected members of a secret cell terrorist network known for facilitating the transport of weapons and explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, from Iran to Iraq, as well as bringing militants from Iraq to Iran for terrorist training.
Coalition Forces found improvised explosive device materials and detained six individuals, including two who tested positive for explosives residue. Another two of the six suspects are believed to be key leaders in the secret cell terrorist network.
Intelligence reports indicate one suspected secret cell key leader is responsible for the planning and coordinating of numerous murders, kidnappings, assassinations and attacks on Iraqi civilians and Coalition Forces as well as involvement in IED attacks on Coalition Forces. The other suspected leader is an explosives expert and weapons dealer.
TRIBAL ELDERS SURROUND INSURGENTS
Afghanistan— The set up of an illegal check point and the subsequent assault of a Jingle truck driver and destruction of a Jingle truck prompted local Tribal leaders to surround the insurgents responsible in a nearby house in Chapakoh village, Nuristan province May 17.
Coalition forces conducted a Shura where the tribal elders informed the Coalition that they had surrounded the insurgents, responsible for the attacks, in a nearby house.
Villagers requested the Afghan National Police arrest the insurgents. Coalition forces provided additional security outside the village while the ANP searched the home. The insurgents fled the village before the ANP or Coalition forces could make an arrest.
HELMAND OPERATION TARGETS TALIBAN
KABUL , Afghanistan – Afghan and Coalition forces detained two militants in an operation early Wednesday against Taliban forces in the Kajaki district of Helmand Province.
Militants fired on the combined forces as they approached one of the buildings. Coalition forces responded with small arms fire and followed up with an air strike that destroyed the militants’ firing position.
Credible intelligence led the forces to the compound suspected of housing Taliban militants.
ANP, COALITION FORCES FEND OFF ENEMY ATTACK NEAR SARKONI
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - Afghan National Police and Coalition forces, patrolling near Sarkoni in Korengal Valley, received rocket propelled grenade and machine-gun fire from an unknown-size element of Taliban fighters May 16.
The ANP and Coalition forces returned fire and began to engage the enemy with mortars.
Enemy fighters quickly retreated as friendly forces began to fight back.
RASHID CLEARING CONTINUES: COMBINED FORCE SEIZES CACHES, DETAINS INSURGENTS
BAGHDAD - Iraqi Security Forces, along with Coalition Soldiers from Multi-National Division - Baghdad continued clearing operations in southwestern Baghdad neighborhoods May 14 and 15, detaining two suspects believed to be involved in anti-coalition activities and seizing seven caches containing explosively-formed projectiles, artillery and mortar shells, weapons and other bomb-making materials.
Soldiers from the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division and the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, along with national police and Iraqi Army troops, continued Operation Dragon Fire/Arrowhead Strike 10 to rid the Rashid District of southwestern Baghdad of terrorists and criminals and protect the population.
Iraqi Army troops from the 2nd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division and Company A, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment
"Black Lions" found six EFP arrays, as well as multiple caches of weapons and munitions in two houses located in the Amel neighborhood. In addition to the EFPs, 82mm mortar rounds, rockets, rocket-propelled grenade warheads and an anti-tank missile were found and disposed of by explosive ordnance disposal teams.
Stryker troops arrested two individuals at the residence where one cache was found, and turned them over to Iraqi National Police for questioning. The cache included 75 57mm anti-aircraft rounds and more than 50 pounds of explosives. The munitions and explosives were confiscated and disposed of by EOD.
Five other caches consisted of numerous AK-47 assault rifles, several machine guns and sniper rifles, small arms ammunition, assorted artillery and mortar shells and other bomb-making materials.
The two days of operations included approximately 250 Iraqi Army and Iraqi National Police working with more than 800 U.S. Army Soldiers to keep pressure on against the extremist elements.
FOUR TERRORISTS KILLED, 30 SUSPECTS DETAINED IN OVERNIGHT RAIDS
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Coalition Forces killed four terrorists and detained 30 suspected terrorists during operations May 15 and 16 targeting the al-Qaeda in Iraq leadership network.
Late Tuesday night, Coalition Forces raided three buildings north of Karmah associated with an individual known to facilitate financial deals for al-Qaeda senior leaders. While
Coalition Forces searched the buildings, a truck with its lights off approached the cordon around the targeted building. After issuing multiple visual warnings, Coalition Forces fired warning shots, but the vehicle continued to approach the checkpoint.
Coalition Forces engaged the truck with disabling shots, stopping it. One individual got out of the truck and moved to retrieve items from the back of the vehicle, and Coalition Forces took appropriate self-defensive measures in response to the hostile threat, engaging the vehicle and killing four men. Meanwhile, Coalition Forces in the buildings detained 17 suspected terrorists.
An operation in Anbar province targeted individuals allegedly tied to an al-Qaeda senior leader responsible for vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attacks and attacks on Iraqi infrastructure. Coalition Forces detained seven suspected terrorists in two connected raids there Wednesday morning.
During overnight operations in Mosul, Coalition Forces detained one individual suspected of associating with a known anti-Iraqi forces facilitator with ties to al-Qaeda, and three suspected terrorists tied to al-Qaeda in Iraq senior leadership. Enemy forces left on the scene fired on Coalition Forces as they departed the objective.
Coalition Forces detained two suspected terrorists Wednesday morning in a raid along the Tigris River near Tarmiyah targeting individuals with ties to a known al-Qaeda leader.
IRAQ SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES DETAIN SIXTEEN SUSPECTS IN SEARCH FOR MISSING SOLDIERS
BALAD - Acting on tips received from the local population, Iraqi Special Operations Forces along with Coalition Forces May 16 detained 16 individuals during a search for three U.S. Soldiers missing since May 13.
The ISOF detained the 16 during search operations south of Baghdad.
The three soldiers have been missing since the attack on the Soldiers' convoy May 13 in Mahmoudiya. The attack left five U.S. and Iraqi Soldiers dead.
Iraqi Forces conducted the search with Coalition Forces acting as advisors. No Iraqi or Coalition Forces were injured during this operation.
APACHE CREW DESTROYS INSURGENT TARGETS
BAGHDAD - Multi-National Division - Baghdad attack helicopters destroyed two insurgent vehicles May 15.
An AH-64D Apache helicopter crew from the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division destroyed two insurgent vehicles with weapon mounts while they were concealed in an orchard, possibly destroying a cache of weapons as well.
The Apache was conducting a reconnaissance mission supporting the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, when the crew spotted the trucks and potential cache.
The crew positively identified the targets and received clearance to engage the three targets. All three targets were destroyed.
IRAQI SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES DETAIN SUSPECTED TERRORIST LEADER IN BASRAH MULTI-NATIONAL CORPS
BAGHDAD - Iraqi Special Operations Forces detained the suspected leader of an alleged terrorist cell during an early morning raid May 13 in Basrah. The targeted individual is alleged to be the leader of a rogue element of the Jaysh al-Mahdi (JAM) which is involved in extensive improvised explosive device (IED) attacks in the Basrah area. ISOF also detained five other suspicious individuals in the area during the raid.
ISOF raided a second location and seized a large cache of weapons and other materials including:
* Two SVD-7.62mm sniper rifles with two scopes and magazines
* One RPG and 23 RPG round
* 23 RPG boosters
* 2 RPG sights
* 7 C-4 explosive blocks
* Four IEDs
* Numerous IED components, including command detonation wires
* EFP (explosively formed penetrators) components
* Propaganda materials
* ID cards and photos
* One cell phoneOne Iraqi Soldier suffered non-life threatening injuries. No Coalition Forces were injured during the operation. Coalition Forces served as advisors during this operation.
A Palestinian from the Gaza Strip who works for the humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders has been arrested for allegedly plotting to assassinate Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) revealed Thursday.
Mazab Bashir, 25, from Deir el-Balah began working with Doctors Without Borders five years ago.
On April 19, he confessed during a Shin Bet interrogation that for months, he had been collecting intelligence on senior Israeli officials - including Olmert and a number of Knesset members.
WASHINGTON, May 14 (AP) — Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, said Monday that there was a good chance he would enter the race for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, but that he would not decide until after September.
“I think right now that it is a great possibility,” Mr. Gingrich said, adding, “I want to focus on what we have to do to make America successful.”
Mr. Gingrich said on “Good Morning America” on ABC-TV that he planned to hold a workshop in September on solutions for the country’s problems, after which he would decide whether to seek the presidency.
Mr. Gingrich, of Georgia, left Congress after Republicans lost seats in the 1998 midterm elections after a campaign that highlighted President Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica S. Lewinsky.
Asked about Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s prospects for the White House, Mr. Gingrich said: “I think she has a very good chance of winning the presidency. I think unless Republicans are as committed to very fundamental change in Washington that they will almost certainly lose the election.”
As much as Republican voters are clamoring for a Conservative candidate, I don't think Gingrich is the answer. I think his "bi-partisan" work with Hillary Clinton on a universal healthcare program will come back to haunt him.
He may have been Speaker of the House, but he wasn't the Conservative everyone makes him out to be. I have read several instances where House members had to force him to be more Conservative.
I think the job best suited for him is something like head of the Republican National Committee, an advisory role, or Secretary of State.
First off, the specifics from the DoD.
WASHINGTON, May 12, 2007 – Five soldiers were killed in Iraq today and three others are currently missing following an attack near Mahmudiyah, a senior U.S. military officer reported.
“This morning at 4:44 a.m. in Iraq, a coalition force team of eight soldiers (seven Americans and an Iraqi Army interpreter), were attacked 12 miles west of Mahmudiyah,” Army Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell, Multinational Force Iraq spokesman, said in a written statement. “As a result of this attack, five soldiers were killed in action and three are currently missing.”
A nearby coalition unit heard explosions during the attack and unsuccessfully attempted to establish communications. Coalition forces arrived within an hour, secured the site, and immediately initiated a search, Caldwell said.The general said coalition forces are currently using every means at their disposal to find the missing soldiers, and will continue these efforts until all are accounted for.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those killed in this attack and for the missing soldiers and their loved ones back home,” Caldwell said.
The names of the soldiers are being withheld pending final identification and notification of next of kin.
The specifics are as follows:
- Coalition forces heard an explosion at 4:44 a.m. this morning about 12 miles west of Mahmudiyah;
After an unmanned aerial vehicle observed two burning vehicles, a quick reaction force was dispatched, arriving on scene at 5:40 a.m.;
- The quick reaction force reported finding five members of the team killed in action and three others whose duty status and whereabouts are unknown;
Helicopter, unmanned aerial vehicle, and fixed wing assets are being used to search in the vicinity;
- Checkpoints have been established throughout the area in a concerted effort to focus the search and prevent potential movement of missing soldiers out of the area;
Coalition forces have engaged with local leaders to enlist their support in providing any information they can, and these engagements continue.
From The Washington Times
BAGHDAD (AP) -- An al-Qaida front group announced Sunday it had captured American soldiers in a deadly attack the day before, as thousands of U.S. troops searched insurgent areas south of Baghdad for their three missing comrades.
The statement came on one of the deadliest days in the country in recent weeks, with at least 124 people killed or found dead. A suicide truck bomb tore through the offices of a Kurdish political party in northern Iraq, killing 50 people, and a car bombing in a crowded Baghdad market killed another 17.
Troops surrounded the town of Youssifiyah and told residents over loudspeakers to stay inside, residents said. They then methodically searched the houses, focusing on possible secret chambers under the floors where the soldiers might be hidden, residents said. The soldiers marked each searched house with a white piece of cloth.
Soldiers also searched cars entering and leaving the town, writing "searched" on the side of each vehicle they had inspected. Several people were arrested, witnesses said.
The Islamic State in Iraq offered no proof for its claim that it was behind the attack Saturday in Mahmoudiya that also killed four U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi translator. But the Sunni area known as the "triangle of death" is a longtime al-Qaida stronghold.
If the claim proves true, it would mark one of the most brazen attacks by the umbrella Sunni insurgent group against U.S. forces here.
Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, spokesman for the U.S. military, said 4,000 U.S. troops backed by aircraft and intelligence units were scouring the farming area as the military made "every effort available to find our missing soldiers."
First thought: A trail of destruction would guarantee this wouldn't happen again. They don't fear us, so there is nothing keeping them from doing it.
Second thought: In no way am I even suggesting I knew what was going through the minds of these soldiers during this attack. However; I would rather take my own life than be shown on video having my head cut off.
KABUL, May 13 (Reuters) - The Taliban's top operational commander, Mullah Dadullah, has been killed in Afghanistan, security officials said on Sunday.
The officials did not have details of where and when Dadullah was killed.
"Mullah Dadullah has been killed and his body is in Kandahar," one official told Reuters.
The only good terrorist...is a dead terrorist. I hope he enjoys his 72 virgins.
This was breaking news early this morning, so there wasn't much info available. Here's more.
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — The Taliban's most prominent military commander, a one-legged fighter who orchestrated an ethnic massacre and a rash of beheadings, was killed in a U.S.-led military operation in southern Afghanistan, officials said Sunday.
Mullah Dadullah, a top lieutenant of Taliban leader Mullah Omar, was killed Saturday in the southern province of Helmand, said Said Ansari, the spokesman for Afghanistan's intelligence service. NATO confirmed his death, calling it "a serious blow" to the insurgency.
Dadullah is one of the highest-ranking Taliban leaders killed since the fall of the hard-line regime following the U.S.-led invasion in 2001. His death represents a major victory for the Afghan government and the international coalition that has struggled to contain a Taliban-led insurgency wracking the south and east of the country.
"Mullah Dadullah was the backbone of the Taliban," said Asadullah Khalid, governor of the former Taliban stronghold of Kandahar. "He was a brutal and cruel commander who killed and beheaded Afghan civilians."
Iraqi Army soldiers lead operations, detain 21
TIKRIT, Iraq – Twenty one suspected terrorists were detained near Muqdadiya, Iraq during a joint Iraqi army and Coalition operation Wednesday.
Soldiers from the 3rd Brigade, 5th Iraqi army, led the operation, supported by Soldiers from 6-9 Armored Reconnaissance Squadron, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, to provide a safe and secure environment for the people throughout the Muqdadiya Qadah.
“With the Iraqi army in the lead, this operation allowed the soldiers to gain confidence in their abilities as the true defenders of their nation,” said Lt. Col. Keith Gogas, 6-9 ARS commander. “They were able to successfully plan and conduct operations independent of Coalition Forces, which is a vital step toward their transfer of authority.”
The 21 detainees were from the Muqdad and Al-Ahmer districts of Muqdadiya, and were transferred to an IA detention facility for further questioning.
Rashid clearing continues: MND-B forces maintain momentum in Rashid
BAGHDAD — Iraqi Security Forces, along with Soldiers from Multi-National Division – Baghdad continued clearing operations in southwestern Baghdad neighborhoods May 10 and 11, seizing numerous caches and taking a sizeable amount of weapons and munitions off the streets of the Iraqi capital.
Soldiers from the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division and the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, along with national police and Iraqi Army troops, continued the eighth and ninth days of Operation Dragon Fire/Arrowhead Strike 10 to rid the Rashid District of southwestern Baghdad of terrorists and criminals and protect the population.
The Soldiers confiscated a complete roadside bomb, assembled from a 57mm projectile packed with TNT and detonation cord attached. Also found in clearing operations and raids were AK-47 assault rifles, SKS carbine rifles, several 9mm pistols, hand grenades, rocket-propelled grenade rounds and several hundred rounds of 7.62mm ammunition.
Since the clearing operation began May 2, more than 100 weapons of various types and caliber have been seized. Approximately 250 large-caliber mortar and artillery rounds, as well as more than 5,000 rounds of small caliber ammunition and hundreds of bomb-making materials and components have been removed from circulation.
The operations conducted over the past two days included approximately 500 Iraqi Army and national policemen and more than 1,000 U.S Army Soldiers working together to keep pressure on those conducting activities against the Iraqi government, Iraqi Security Forces and Coalition Forces here.
VBIED DESTROYED, THREE DETAINED IN SADR CITY
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Three suspected terrorists were detained and a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device was destroyed during a Coalition Forces operation Saturday morning in Sadr City.
Coalition Forces raided a building in the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad while targeting an IED network specializing in the use of explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs. At the site, Coalition Forces witnessed a man placing suspicious items in the trunk of a vehicle. Upon inspection, ground forces saw wires and other indicators the vehicle was equipped as a VBIED. They destroyed the vehicle on site and detained the man who had loaded the vehicle.
When Coalition Forces entered the targeted building, they found various IED-making materials and detained two more suspected terrorists on the scene. The individuals have suspected ties to a secret cell network in the area known for facilitating the transport of weapons and EFPs from Iran to Iraq, as well as bringing militants from Iraq to Iran for terrorist training.
