( Guest writer: gk and LTC CV)
Dear gentle readers -
If you want to read encouraging words out of Iraq - take the time to read this email.
As many of you know, in the past, whenever I get a "first hand" encouraging letter from soldiers who are fighting on the front - I try to forward them, as I believe them to be more accurate then what we are reading in the Main Stream Media. Of course, there is no way to check out these personal letter's accuracy - but whatever, there is no way to check out the MSM's reports either, except to compare each to the other. I prefer to believe the first hand soldier's reports. And by far, even during the worst days of fighting, it seems that the vast majority of these reports were able to see the positive side of the Iraqi situation (ordinary Iraqi's being friendly to our troops/hospitals & schools being rebuilt/opened again, etc.) as opposed to the MSM reports which seem to focus almost exclusively on the negative side (Iraqi's and American Soldiers being killed by roadside bombs, etc). The attached soldier's personal letter also shows this trend.
In any case, mostly, our troop's personal reports are positive, all the MSM reports from the beginning of the Iraqi conflict are negative because the liberal supporting reporters want Pres. Bush and the Iraq/Afghanistan wars to fail. So these kinds of positive personal reports from those that are actually putting their lives on the line, somewhat offset the constant stream of negative news we get out of Iraq/Afghanistan out of the MSM and give some amount of balance.
It is my understanding that for the most part, except a brave few, the MSM reporters are holed up in hotels within the Baghdad "Green Zone" walls - (which is a heavily guarded area containing the American Embassy and the Iraqi Govt) and because of the previous violence prevalent throughout some of the Iraqi Provinces. These American reporters are/have been dependent on Iraqi reporters (stringers who are paid by the article - who as natives - actually go outside the Green Area and return and try to feed the American Reporters what they want to hear - i.e. deaths,failures and bombings, not successes in peace and rebuilding and cooperation). I don't know if the American reporters are now getting out into the field and getting first hand news themselves or not? I doubt it. I can't really blame the American reporters for not risking their skins outside the "Green Zone" because the last I heard, something like 80 some of them from all countries had been killed in the fighting - and that's obviously not what they signed on for! So until it becomes common for our American reporters to actually get out in the country-side and see first hand - the progress, I would suppose we can expect to hear failure, doom & gloom, etc. Sells news papers and provide headlines when people die.
But whatever, this soldier's personal letter is forwarded for whatever it is worth -
I am encouraged also by the fact that about 10 days, one of the top three overall al Qaeda leaders/commander leading the fighting was killed by a predator drone missile along with about a dozen other leaders. The death of Abu Laith al-Libi was reported 1 Feb. on Islamic extremist Web sites and confirmed by an American official, who said the veteran Al Qaeda leader died when a missile from a U.S. Predator drone struck a compound in Pakistan's North Waziristan region late Monday. The U.S. says al-Libi — whose name means "the Libyan" in Arabic — was likely behind a February 2007 bombing at the U.S. base at Bagram in Afghanistan during a visit by Vice President Dick Cheney. The attack killed 23 people but Cheney was deep inside the sprawling base and was not hurt. Al-Libi was among the most high-profile figures in Al Qaeda after its leader, Osama bin Laden, and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahri.
This is the third? report of the supposed top al Qaeda leader(s) in Iraq/Afghanistan being killed in some way - but it is a hopeful sign (not for the al Qaeda leader(s) of course) when we keep picking off the long time top al Qaeda guy(s), and as new ones come forward. We also have many drones flying over wherever Osama and his henchmen are holed up in caves in the Afghan/Pakistani border area - 24/7 - and sooner or later, these leaders are going to stick their noses out of their caves and get them blown off by a missile too. Course I have been predicting this event now - since summer/fall of 2004, but sooner or later, the very top al Qaeda will be captured/killed too. (Assuming it happens before 20 Jan 2009 or whomever is the next president doesn't cut & run, withdraw from the Iraq/Afghanistan fight)
In other emails, I have said in order for any insurgency to be successful, 3 things are needed.
1. An outside national power(s) funding/supplying/arming the insurgents (In this case the outside parties being Iran/Syria/Russia? etc.)
2. Safe Sanctuaries for the insurgents to hide in between battles.
3. A willing local populous that supports/protects them either willingly or under coercion.
In this letter, the letter writer describe how two of the three above needed conditions being taken away from the al Qaeda insurgents - there are no safe sanctuaries for the insurgents to retreat to and/or hide, they are being targeted and captured and/or killed. And the local populous has become convinced that they can - with immunity - turn in the al Qaeda in their neighborhoods without they themselves being targeted and killed by other uncaptured al Qaeda's. The local's have become convinced that we (Americans) are not going to abandon them and let the al Qaeda come back and kill them for collaborating with the American/Iraqi military.
Although this letter doesn't so state, I read elsewhere - that how we are finding and killing/capturing the al Qaeda/insurgents rooted among the populous in the Baghdad area is that we have directly hired 22,000 Iraqi Militia who we directly pay ourselves. (This has been a problem with earlier efforts where the Iraqi National Forces were hired by the Iraqi Central Govt - we trained them but they didn't get paid - so they would quit after 6 months of no pay and go back home). Anyway, we have hired out own Iraqi Militia - and these militia live and watch their own neighborhoods, man check points and are the "eyes and ears" for our own military. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of checkpoints with these "private" militia working directly for us, and either they - themselves capture the insurgents or let us know where they are, and they are then being captured by either our's or the Iraqi regular military. We also now have American Military and (newly trained) Iraqi National Forces Military working side-by-side and they are now becoming more and more effective in what they do. In fact, I have read that the Iraqi Military have now been given & taken charge of almost all the areas of the country of Iraq in providing security, except in a few remaining hot spots. (17 of 19 provinces?)
I have heard that it is estimated that there only remain 3500 hard core al Qaeda operating in Iraq- I don't know how that figure was arrived at or how good it is? and there are hardly any new foreign fighters/al Qaeda being imported into Iraq as in previous years. Perhaps we have hardened the borders and also, have somehow gotten to these supporting countries, Saudi Arabia, Iran & Syria diplomatically so those importing insurgents are slowing them down? So it seems, what was previously thought to be an endless supply of new insurgent fighters coming into Iraq seems to be abating somewhat. So this goes to the other (third) insurgent requirement, that they be supplied by an outside force, with money/munitions/weapons and fighters. This outside power(s) support seems to be slowing if not stopped too.
And finally, the Iraqi/American's have figured out a way to let those insurgents who formerly were actively fighting the central Iraqi authority & American forces, to turn themselves in and surrender their arms - with some amount of amnesty. And that seems to be working too. In fact, I have heard that former Sunni/Shiite enemies are even being reconciled and even incorporated into the Iraqi National Forces and if they are truly loyal to the National Govt - they probably know exactly who they are and where their former fellow insurgents are holed up, and can find them!
Read the letter, and coupled with my info above, you can interpret what is being said by this soldier/writer. gk
(Here are a few added comments - marked in blue - to clarify the writers cryptic comments and place the names/places mentioned into context.)
(Added. gk - "Summit" refers to this writer's Iraqi area of operations, apparently within the city of Hawijah/surrounds)
(Note Added - gk - Hawijah is an agricultural town of about 50,000, is located 30 miles in the southwest of Kirkuk in Northern Iraq, is considered an old bastion of the Sunni Iraqi resistance. Because the Baghdad area "surge" is killing/capturing many of the Baghdad insurgents - others are fleeing to Hawijah)
(Note: gk - I'm assuming "Cobra" refers to the U.S. Forces which this letter writer commands/is a part of)
(Added: -gk- I'm assuming these "6,000 Iraqi Partners" referred to above are similar to the 22.000 civilian/militia "eyes & ears" types being used to man check points in the Baghdad area - mentioned in my previous comments. Use of these kinds of embedded local militia types denies the al Qaeda being able to blend within the populous because these locally hired Iraqi's know their neighborhoods and who is who and who supports who.)
==================
From LTC Christopher Vanek,
Battalion Commander February 1st, 2008
Dear Summit Friends and Families,
Well folks, we've completed another month in Operation Iraqi Freedom and I can fortunately provide you nothing but incredible news from the front on the accomplishments of your Summit Warriors. We are witnessing historical changes within our district that truly amaze us, while also challenging us to keep up with them.
Our targeting of the terrorist network has down right ripped the guts out of Al Qaeda in Hawijah. - In the past 4 weeks, we've detained or killed 5 of the top 10 Brigade High Value Targets. Additionally we have captured hundreds of terrorist fighters and in just the past 2 weeks, we've achieved an 85% target capture rate when going after a specific individual. I would challenge anyone in history to compete with this.
More importantly, the enemy has taken notice and we continue to see them either attempt to surrender in our reconciliation effort, or flee our district.
Violence in January dropped 80% or more in our district. We go weeks at a time now without a violent attack against our Soldiers. This is significant because as you might recall, it was just a couple of months ago when our Blacksheep would sustain multiple attacks every night in Hawijah, and anytime the Cobra's entered in Abassi, they were attacked with grenades and IED's. In fact, it was suicidal in October to drive thru Hawijah during daylight, now we walk the streets freely greeting our neighbors with smiles and handshakes.
Today we conducted our second Reconciliation Gathering and this was even more successful than the initial one with 42 terrorists coming forward to lay their arms down and join the peace process. We expect this number to continue to grow exponentially as the Government of Iraq informally approves of this path to peace. We will continue to pursue every avenue possible through lethal actions against our enemies or by making offerings for amnesty to those deserving.
Many of you are probably either not believing what we are achieving or are in disbelief because of what the media reports. I cannot tell you the media misleads anyone because we have less of a perspective of the comprehensive situation in Iraq than you probably do. But we can speak for the Area of Operations Summit in which we are responsible.
There are three primary reasons for the success we've achieved. First, our lethal targeting has evolved to PhD level effectiveness. Our Soldiers are capturing their intended targets every single day with a level of success no one could have asked for. Secondly, the formation of the Awakening or Concerned Local Citizens within AO Summit has emplaced over 6,000 Iraqi partners in our AO. This required tremendous effort and hard work from your loved ones. But it's paid off in lives saved, terrorists captured, IED's discovered and caches turned in on a daily basis. There is literally no where for the enemy to hide right now.
Finally, and most importantly, the daily discipline and honor that your Soldier's display cannot be measured in effectiveness, yet the results are indisputable. As I told you earlier this month, every local I encounter makes it a point to tell me how much they appreciate the kindness, yet firmness our Soldiers display to the people of Iraq. Our Soldiers have or are winning the hearts and minds every single day.
Obviously not everything is positive. All of us miss our loved ones and desire to return to you as quickly as possible. But we remain resolute in seeing our mission completed. And having been involved in this fight for almost 7 years now, I've never been part of a team that was winning as much as this team is, and the sense of optimism is rapidly growing.
We couldn't do this without your support. Whether it is our spouses sending the Iraqi children toys, or the Allen family visiting our hero SPC Camacho in the hospital in Richmond, the acts of kindness and generosity remain truly inspirational.
The winds of success could rapidly shift from our favor, but we currently enjoy a sail full of momentum and look forward to our continued successes on the battlefield.
To The Top!
Chris
===============================
For those interested, here is another story penned by LTC Vanek:
http://www.army.mil/-news/2008/01/11/6969-commentary-american-soldier-remains-nations-ultimate-weapon/
Lt Col Christopher Vanek commands the 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Battalion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Battalion,_87th_Infantry_Battalion_(United_States)
===================================
(Please pray for our Patriot Armed Forces standing in harm’s way around the world, and for their families— Of all the gifts you can give them, PRAYER is the best!) gk
Dear gentle readers -
If you want to read encouraging words out of Iraq - take the time to read this email.
As many of you know, in the past, whenever I get a "first hand" encouraging letter from soldiers who are fighting on the front - I try to forward them, as I believe them to be more accurate then what we are reading in the Main Stream Media. Of course, there is no way to check out these personal letter's accuracy - but whatever, there is no way to check out the MSM's reports either, except to compare each to the other. I prefer to believe the first hand soldier's reports. And by far, even during the worst days of fighting, it seems that the vast majority of these reports were able to see the positive side of the Iraqi situation (ordinary Iraqi's being friendly to our troops/hospitals & schools being rebuilt/opened again, etc.) as opposed to the MSM reports which seem to focus almost exclusively on the negative side (Iraqi's and American Soldiers being killed by roadside bombs, etc). The attached soldier's personal letter also shows this trend.
In any case, mostly, our troop's personal reports are positive, all the MSM reports from the beginning of the Iraqi conflict are negative because the liberal supporting reporters want Pres. Bush and the Iraq/Afghanistan wars to fail. So these kinds of positive personal reports from those that are actually putting their lives on the line, somewhat offset the constant stream of negative news we get out of Iraq/Afghanistan out of the MSM and give some amount of balance.
It is my understanding that for the most part, except a brave few, the MSM reporters are holed up in hotels within the Baghdad "Green Zone" walls - (which is a heavily guarded area containing the American Embassy and the Iraqi Govt) and because of the previous violence prevalent throughout some of the Iraqi Provinces. These American reporters are/have been dependent on Iraqi reporters (stringers who are paid by the article - who as natives - actually go outside the Green Area and return and try to feed the American Reporters what they want to hear - i.e. deaths,failures and bombings, not successes in peace and rebuilding and cooperation). I don't know if the American reporters are now getting out into the field and getting first hand news themselves or not? I doubt it. I can't really blame the American reporters for not risking their skins outside the "Green Zone" because the last I heard, something like 80 some of them from all countries had been killed in the fighting - and that's obviously not what they signed on for! So until it becomes common for our American reporters to actually get out in the country-side and see first hand - the progress, I would suppose we can expect to hear failure, doom & gloom, etc. Sells news papers and provide headlines when people die.
But whatever, this soldier's personal letter is forwarded for whatever it is worth -
I am encouraged also by the fact that about 10 days, one of the top three overall al Qaeda leaders/commander leading the fighting was killed by a predator drone missile along with about a dozen other leaders. The death of Abu Laith al-Libi was reported 1 Feb. on Islamic extremist Web sites and confirmed by an American official, who said the veteran Al Qaeda leader died when a missile from a U.S. Predator drone struck a compound in Pakistan's North Waziristan region late Monday. The U.S. says al-Libi — whose name means "the Libyan" in Arabic — was likely behind a February 2007 bombing at the U.S. base at Bagram in Afghanistan during a visit by Vice President Dick Cheney. The attack killed 23 people but Cheney was deep inside the sprawling base and was not hurt. Al-Libi was among the most high-profile figures in Al Qaeda after its leader, Osama bin Laden, and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahri.
This is the third? report of the supposed top al Qaeda leader(s) in Iraq/Afghanistan being killed in some way - but it is a hopeful sign (not for the al Qaeda leader(s) of course) when we keep picking off the long time top al Qaeda guy(s), and as new ones come forward. We also have many drones flying over wherever Osama and his henchmen are holed up in caves in the Afghan/Pakistani border area - 24/7 - and sooner or later, these leaders are going to stick their noses out of their caves and get them blown off by a missile too. Course I have been predicting this event now - since summer/fall of 2004, but sooner or later, the very top al Qaeda will be captured/killed too. (Assuming it happens before 20 Jan 2009 or whomever is the next president doesn't cut & run, withdraw from the Iraq/Afghanistan fight)
In other emails, I have said in order for any insurgency to be successful, 3 things are needed.
1. An outside national power(s) funding/supplying/arming the insurgents (In this case the outside parties being Iran/Syria/Russia? etc.)
2. Safe Sanctuaries for the insurgents to hide in between battles.
3. A willing local populous that supports/protects them either willingly or under coercion.
In this letter, the letter writer describe how two of the three above needed conditions being taken away from the al Qaeda insurgents - there are no safe sanctuaries for the insurgents to retreat to and/or hide, they are being targeted and captured and/or killed. And the local populous has become convinced that they can - with immunity - turn in the al Qaeda in their neighborhoods without they themselves being targeted and killed by other uncaptured al Qaeda's. The local's have become convinced that we (Americans) are not going to abandon them and let the al Qaeda come back and kill them for collaborating with the American/Iraqi military.
Although this letter doesn't so state, I read elsewhere - that how we are finding and killing/capturing the al Qaeda/insurgents rooted among the populous in the Baghdad area is that we have directly hired 22,000 Iraqi Militia who we directly pay ourselves. (This has been a problem with earlier efforts where the Iraqi National Forces were hired by the Iraqi Central Govt - we trained them but they didn't get paid - so they would quit after 6 months of no pay and go back home). Anyway, we have hired out own Iraqi Militia - and these militia live and watch their own neighborhoods, man check points and are the "eyes and ears" for our own military. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of checkpoints with these "private" militia working directly for us, and either they - themselves capture the insurgents or let us know where they are, and they are then being captured by either our's or the Iraqi regular military. We also now have American Military and (newly trained) Iraqi National Forces Military working side-by-side and they are now becoming more and more effective in what they do. In fact, I have read that the Iraqi Military have now been given & taken charge of almost all the areas of the country of Iraq in providing security, except in a few remaining hot spots. (17 of 19 provinces?)
I have heard that it is estimated that there only remain 3500 hard core al Qaeda operating in Iraq- I don't know how that figure was arrived at or how good it is? and there are hardly any new foreign fighters/al Qaeda being imported into Iraq as in previous years. Perhaps we have hardened the borders and also, have somehow gotten to these supporting countries, Saudi Arabia, Iran & Syria diplomatically so those importing insurgents are slowing them down? So it seems, what was previously thought to be an endless supply of new insurgent fighters coming into Iraq seems to be abating somewhat. So this goes to the other (third) insurgent requirement, that they be supplied by an outside force, with money/munitions/weapons and fighters. This outside power(s) support seems to be slowing if not stopped too.
And finally, the Iraqi/American's have figured out a way to let those insurgents who formerly were actively fighting the central Iraqi authority & American forces, to turn themselves in and surrender their arms - with some amount of amnesty. And that seems to be working too. In fact, I have heard that former Sunni/Shiite enemies are even being reconciled and even incorporated into the Iraqi National Forces and if they are truly loyal to the National Govt - they probably know exactly who they are and where their former fellow insurgents are holed up, and can find them!
Read the letter, and coupled with my info above, you can interpret what is being said by this soldier/writer. gk
(Here are a few added comments - marked in blue - to clarify the writers cryptic comments and place the names/places mentioned into context.)
(Added. gk - "Summit" refers to this writer's Iraqi area of operations, apparently within the city of Hawijah/surrounds)
(Note Added - gk - Hawijah is an agricultural town of about 50,000, is located 30 miles in the southwest of Kirkuk in Northern Iraq, is considered an old bastion of the Sunni Iraqi resistance. Because the Baghdad area "surge" is killing/capturing many of the Baghdad insurgents - others are fleeing to Hawijah)
(Note: gk - I'm assuming "Cobra" refers to the U.S. Forces which this letter writer commands/is a part of)
(Added: -gk- I'm assuming these "6,000 Iraqi Partners" referred to above are similar to the 22.000 civilian/militia "eyes & ears" types being used to man check points in the Baghdad area - mentioned in my previous comments. Use of these kinds of embedded local militia types denies the al Qaeda being able to blend within the populous because these locally hired Iraqi's know their neighborhoods and who is who and who supports who.)
==================
From LTC Christopher Vanek,
Battalion Commander February 1st, 2008
Dear Summit Friends and Families,
Well folks, we've completed another month in Operation Iraqi Freedom and I can fortunately provide you nothing but incredible news from the front on the accomplishments of your Summit Warriors. We are witnessing historical changes within our district that truly amaze us, while also challenging us to keep up with them.
Our targeting of the terrorist network has down right ripped the guts out of Al Qaeda in Hawijah. - In the past 4 weeks, we've detained or killed 5 of the top 10 Brigade High Value Targets. Additionally we have captured hundreds of terrorist fighters and in just the past 2 weeks, we've achieved an 85% target capture rate when going after a specific individual. I would challenge anyone in history to compete with this.
More importantly, the enemy has taken notice and we continue to see them either attempt to surrender in our reconciliation effort, or flee our district.
Violence in January dropped 80% or more in our district. We go weeks at a time now without a violent attack against our Soldiers. This is significant because as you might recall, it was just a couple of months ago when our Blacksheep would sustain multiple attacks every night in Hawijah, and anytime the Cobra's entered in Abassi, they were attacked with grenades and IED's. In fact, it was suicidal in October to drive thru Hawijah during daylight, now we walk the streets freely greeting our neighbors with smiles and handshakes.
Today we conducted our second Reconciliation Gathering and this was even more successful than the initial one with 42 terrorists coming forward to lay their arms down and join the peace process. We expect this number to continue to grow exponentially as the Government of Iraq informally approves of this path to peace. We will continue to pursue every avenue possible through lethal actions against our enemies or by making offerings for amnesty to those deserving.
Many of you are probably either not believing what we are achieving or are in disbelief because of what the media reports. I cannot tell you the media misleads anyone because we have less of a perspective of the comprehensive situation in Iraq than you probably do. But we can speak for the Area of Operations Summit in which we are responsible.
There are three primary reasons for the success we've achieved. First, our lethal targeting has evolved to PhD level effectiveness. Our Soldiers are capturing their intended targets every single day with a level of success no one could have asked for. Secondly, the formation of the Awakening or Concerned Local Citizens within AO Summit has emplaced over 6,000 Iraqi partners in our AO. This required tremendous effort and hard work from your loved ones. But it's paid off in lives saved, terrorists captured, IED's discovered and caches turned in on a daily basis. There is literally no where for the enemy to hide right now.
Finally, and most importantly, the daily discipline and honor that your Soldier's display cannot be measured in effectiveness, yet the results are indisputable. As I told you earlier this month, every local I encounter makes it a point to tell me how much they appreciate the kindness, yet firmness our Soldiers display to the people of Iraq. Our Soldiers have or are winning the hearts and minds every single day.
Obviously not everything is positive. All of us miss our loved ones and desire to return to you as quickly as possible. But we remain resolute in seeing our mission completed. And having been involved in this fight for almost 7 years now, I've never been part of a team that was winning as much as this team is, and the sense of optimism is rapidly growing.
We couldn't do this without your support. Whether it is our spouses sending the Iraqi children toys, or the Allen family visiting our hero SPC Camacho in the hospital in Richmond, the acts of kindness and generosity remain truly inspirational.
The winds of success could rapidly shift from our favor, but we currently enjoy a sail full of momentum and look forward to our continued successes on the battlefield.
To The Top!
Chris
===============================
For those interested, here is another story penned by LTC Vanek:
http://www.army.mil/-news/2008/01/11/6969-commentary-american-soldier-remains-nations-ultimate-weapon/
Lt Col Christopher Vanek commands the 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Battalion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Battalion,_87th_Infantry_Battalion_(United_States)
===================================
(Please pray for our Patriot Armed Forces standing in harm’s way around the world, and for their families— Of all the gifts you can give them, PRAYER is the best!) gk
