By Kayleigh Harvey – Talk Radio News Service
Former Secretary of Defense, Rt. Hon Des Browne MP, talked about “Transatlantic Security Post-Bush,” at the Center for American Progress today. He talked specifically about troops in Afghanistan and Iraq and the popularity of President Barack Obama in Europe.
Stuart W. Bowen is put in the hot seat at the wartime contracting hearing. He says that we need to have better quality assurance to keep track of how money is being spent and that a good quality assurance program (the government) is key to assure good contracting programs.
By Kayleigh Harvey – Talk Radio News Service
Congressman Jim McGovern, Steve Cobble, Donna Smith and John Nichols talk to Talk Radio News Service at their Progressive Democrats of America Inaugural Reception about their “Healthcare Not Warfare” Campaign.
When asked what he would not miss about being President, Bush replied that he would not miss “the politics of personal destruction”, and stated that while he intended to change the tone of Washington, he was unsuccessful (0:45).
Author Peter Andreas sees the root of new Bosnian corruption in the little known role of a criminal economy in the Siege of Sarajevo. (0:45)
Dan Patterson interviews Iraq Veterans Against the War backstarge at Rage Against the Machine’s Denver concert.
Ashley Tellis, Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, says that China’s military strategy identifies US dependence on space for intelligence as a potential weakness that the People’s Republic could exploit for its own gains on the battlefield should a conflict arise. (1:00)
“We have to be incredibly lucky to avoid a major race in space in the years to come”, stated Ashley Tellis, Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Tellis spoke at a discussion hosted by The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on whether we can keep space from becoming the next ’shooting gallery’. (more…)
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama discusses the many consequences of war in Iraq during foreign policy and national security speech. Obama mentions how he wants “America once again to lead.” (1:36)
From the beginning, we have been a team, and our mission is to get rid of all the militias and all insurgents in Iraq, Major General Ali Salih Farhood Oothman, Commander of the 8th Iraqi Army Division, said through an interpreter during a live-via-satellite Pentagon press briefing from Camp Victory in Baghdad. Oothman, head of a division that covers 24% of Iraq consisting of five Iraqi provinces including the Iranian border and Saudi Arabian border, said that his responsibilities in the area are complex because of al-Qaida. However, al-Qaida is not his greatest threat.
The greatest threat according to Oothman is the special militias. In his area of operation, he has both al-Qaida and special militias. In the capital cities of the provinces, he says, there are the militias. The reason for the higher threat level, is that the special groups are trained and equipped by the Iranians. Those groups don’t face you, he said, they use IEDs (improvised explosive devices), or they “stab us in the back” with their politicians. Because the militias are not able to face the Iraqi Army directly, they go to Iran, where they are trained, equipped, and then sent back in to assassinate leaders.
Present as well was Army Major General Michael Oates, Commander of the Multi-National Division Center and the 10th Mountain Division. He agreed with Oothman’s assessment of the Iraq Army’s capabilities, stating that the Army, although much improved and better off than in 2006, demonstrates that there is a need to raise the comparable level of operations that they are responsible for. Four things, Oates said, are needed: we need to work on improving their [Iraqi Army] forces, civics courses need to be given to learn how to assess Iraq’s civilian needs, we need to go after AQI (al-Qaida in Iraq), and we need to reduce the Iranian influence within Iraq.
The topic brought up most frequently during the brief was the inadequate training and supplies. Oates pointed out that the Iraqi Army has been fighting “right out of the box” since the beginning, and was never able to be properly trained. Watching their [Iraqi] army operate, Oates said, he sees that they are very capable and they are seeking initiative in performing their own operations, but we [United States] still are providing valuable assistance. The Iraqi Army is “coming along” but they are not sophisticated with reconnaissance and surveillance. Professionalism is what is missing; the army went into combat with no training, they’ve been in constant combat since 2003, and it’s been tough for them to learn logistics.
Oothman said that since the beginning, they had to work to train their officers. They conducted several training services for their officers, and they send medics to learn some training and they are more professional than they used to be. But to be independent in this battle, Oothman said, we have to not only learn administrative and logistical duties, but we need something else: medical facilities and garages to maintain our vehicles. 80% of these needs are met by coalition forces, and there is currently no plan to build a hospital or a garage.
The Iraqi Army is showing initiative, Oates said, I’m proud to serve with them and I’m here to provide whatever assistance I can. They are making huge strides. We [the United States] should be proud of our soldiers, and they are performing magnificently.
