Operation New Dawn

[Snaquebite]

Iraq war to be rebranded 'Operation New Dawn'
(AFP) – 7 hours ago

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's administration plans to rebrand its military operation in Iraq "Operation New Dawn," beginning September 1, a Pentagon memorandum shows.

The memo, signed by US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, shows the Pentagon approving a request to switch the name of the US military effort in Iraq from its current designation -- "Operation Iraqi Freedom."

"The request... is approved to take effect 1 September 2010, coinciding with the change of mission for US forces in Iraq.

"Aligning the name change with the change of mission sends a strong signal that Operation Iraqi Freedom has ended and our forces are operating under a new mission," Gates wrote in the memo, first reported by ABC News.

The document, which is addressed to General David Petraeus, the head of US Central Command, adds the rebranding "presents opportunities to synchronize strategic communication initiatives... and recognize our evolving relationship with the government of Iraq."

The move quickly drew criticism from Military Families United, a national security pressure group.

"You cannot end a war simply by changing its name," Brian Wise, the group's executive director, said in a statement.

"Despite the administration's efforts to spin realities on the ground, their efforts do not change the situation at hand in Iraq.

"Operational military decisions should not be made for purposes of public relations but should be made in the best interests of our nation, the troops on the ground and their families back home."

Obama ran for office in 2008 on a platform that emphasized a pledge to withdraw US troops from Iraq and focus on the war in Afghanistan.

There are now some 97,000 US troops stationed in Iraq, the first time the number has fallen below 100,000 since the US-led invasion of the country in 2003, according to the Pentagon.

That figure is scheduled to fall to around 50,000 by the end of August, with those troops left behind functioning in advisory and training roles solely.

All US troops are scheduled to withdraw from Iraq by the end of 2011.

Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g1Bg95t6yV42auorK9zui8XPe6Pg

[Dozer523]

What will the ribbon look like? This is great because oak leaves and numerals are for chumps. Rack and stack, baby, please pass the salad!!!

[Richard]

New Dawn - sounds like dishwashing deterrgent - we must be preparing to wash our hands of the whole affair. :rolleyes:

And so it goes...

Richard's $.02 :munchin

[Snaquebite]

Dozier, I had the same thought. The then I remembered the 2nd Battle of Fallujah "Operation Al Fajr" or Operation Dawn....Maybe beginning Sept 1 ......
Naw....Never happen.

[Dozer523]

Maybe we could call it "Red Dawn 2010"
http://reddawnmovietrailer.blogspot.com/

[greenberetTFS]

Maybe we could call it "Red Dawn 2010"
http://reddawnmovietrailer.blogspot.com/

I don't know......... :rolleyes: I'd rather see a new version of The Russians are Coming,The Russians are Coming with the China twist to it!!!!! ;)

Big Teddy :munchin

[Utah Bob]

I'm waiting for Operation Warm and Fuzzy.
And in the future....
Operation We are the World
Operation We Apologize
etc etc etc.....

[wch84]

So, the history books will now say that the greatest achievement of Obama's presidency was Operation New Dawn?

[The Reaper]

So, the history books will now say that the greatest achievement of Obama's presidency was Operation New Dawn?

Not unless we let Joe Biden write them.

TR

[Go Devil]

What will the ribbon look like?

14729


This Great O is not hard to read; he views himself as the "New Dawn".

[DevilSide]

Sounds like a good movie actually, we could call it Red Dawn.

That figure is scheduled to fall to around 50,000 by the end of August, with those troops left behind functioning in advisory and training roles solely.
All US troops are scheduled to withdraw from Iraq by the end of 2011.

Is that too fast or would you guys say thats good?

[Dozer523]

Sounds like a good movie actually, we could call it Red Dawn.



Is that too fast or would you guys say thats good? Try to keep up

Maybe we could call it "Red Dawn 2010"
http://reddawnmovietrailer.blogspot.com/

[incarcerated]

That’s an interesting choice of words. Whose dawn is it, and why?
For whom is it dawn when the Americans leave?

[kgoerz]

That figure is scheduled to fall to around 50,000 by the end of August, with those troops left behind functioning in advisory and training roles solely.
All US troops are scheduled to withdraw from Iraq by the end of 2011.


I like how they make it sound like this is all they are doing. Nothing about security, defense or leading raids. They make it sound like the troops are running a community college over there.

[Peregrino]

I like how they make it sound like this is all they are doing. Nothing about security, defense or leading raids. They make it sound like the troops are running a community college over there.

Uhmmmmmm? That's pretty much the intent. At least in the long term. Anybody remember Saigon, 1975? Same party making the policy. :(

[Utah Bob]

One man's dawn is another man's sunset.

[alright4u]

14729


This Great O is not hard to read; he views himself as the "New Dawn".

I understand he serves as CIC for some here.

Ask the CIC how great he is. He loves that subject.

[plato]

Michelle Obama........ The Crack of Dawn.

Forgive me, typical FOG loss of mental control :D

[incarcerated]

Forgive me, typical FOG loss of mental control :D

Very good! :D

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::
http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=57985

Iran Continues to Subvert Iraq, Officials Say

By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Feb. 17, 2010 – As national elections in Iraq loom on the horizon, Iran continues to subvert its western neighbor’s security and political infrastructure, top American military officials said.

Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the top American commander in Iraq, said Iran aims to foment violence in Iraq and to play diplomatic and other nonmilitary roles that call into question Iran’s respect for Iraqi sovereignty.

“Iran clearly has a strategy that goes across lethal aims, diplomatic aims and then soft-power aims -- i.e., influencing people through investment in the economy -- and into some other practices inside of Iraq,” the general said yesterday at the Army and Navy Club here.

Despite success in recent years against Iranian-backed militias operating in Iraq, several new groups have formed that are receiving support from within Iran, Odierno told audience members at the event sponsored by the Institute for the Study of War.

Though down from peak levels, Iranian-backed violence is being generated in part by two groups -- Kataib Hezbollah and the Promised Day Brigade -- that gain funding and military expertise inside Iran before exporting their operations across its western border, the general said.

“We still have EFPs explode just about every day in Iraq,” said Odierno, referring to what the military calls “explosively formed penetrators,” an especially deadly type of roadside bomb that’s designed to pierce armor and is believed to have Iranian origins. “We still uncover Iranian rockets and other goods that are made, and individuals that are trained, in Iran to conduct attacks against both U.S. and Iraqi security forces.”

Asked whether Iran respects Iraqi sovereignty, Odierno replied, “I would say, since they conduct and support lethal actions inside of Iraq, it's clear that they don't.”

As the March 7 Iraqi national election date nears, concerns have mounted that Iran, a Shiite Muslim country, has influenced a decision by Iraqi lawmakers to bar several hundred politicians from the ballots on the grounds that they are linked to Saddam Hussein’s Baath party. The decision primarily disqualified Sunni politicians seeking office.

Two Iraqis involved in blocking the candidates have ties to the Iranian government in Tehran and are attempting to influence the outcome of the Iraqi election, Odierno said. The two men had several meetings in Iran, he said, including one with an Iranian whom the United States placed on the terrorist watch list for a bombing in Kuwait in the 1980s.

One is Ahmed Chalabi, who reportedly is perceived as having supplied faulty intelligence in 2003 before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. The other is Ali Faisal al-Lami, who was arrested and subsequently freed after being suspected of masterminding a bomb attack on American and Iraqi officials.

“[Lami] and Chalabi clearly are influenced by Iran. We have direct intelligence that tells us that,” Odierno said. “We believe they're absolutely involved in influencing the outcome of the election, and it's concerning that they've been able to do that over time.”

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in recent days expressed concern about the increased levels of violence in Iraq as the election date nears, and he also has denounced Iran’s reach into areas throughout the Middle East, including Iraq.

Speaking to reporters in Cairo after Iran recently announced it would increase its levels of uranium enrichment, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen -- the top U.S. military officer -- characterized Tehran as “hard to predict.”

“I remain extremely concerned about them as a country -- not their people, but their leadership,” Mullen said in Feb. 15 remarks, “and the recent rhetoric concerning the increased enhancement in terms of nuclear fuel, their reach to Hezbollah, their reach to Hamas, their reach into Yemen, their reach into even Afghanistan, as well as Iraq.”

[incarcerated]

At this moment, I can find nothing else about this in the Western press:
http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/20100220_iraq_iranian_forces_transgress_munzrya_bo rder

Iraq: Iranian Forces Transgress Munzrya Border

February 20, 2010 | 2006 GMT
Kurdish news website Hawlati and Iraqi news site Aswat al Iraq reported Feb. 20, citing a security source, that Iranian forces have made an incursion in Iraq’s Diyala province north of Baghdad. The alleged incursion reportedly occurred near the Munzrya border crossing. According to the report, Iranian forces were seen removing concrete barriers that mark the border demarcation between the two countries. Iraqi border security officials have reportedly sent a memorandum to their superiors in Baghdad explaining the incident and are awaiting their response. STRATFOR is working to verify this report. The last major Iranian provocation in Iraq occurred in late Dec. 2009 when Iranian forces briefly occupied an oil well in Iraq’s southern Missan province. These moves are designed to signal Iran’s dominance over Baghdad and warn the United States of the consequences of carrying out military strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. As tensions escalate over the Iranian nuclear program, such provocations will likely become more frequent, particularly in the lead-up to contentious parliamentary elections in Iraq on March 7. Iran has already demonstrated through its Shiite political allies in Baghdad that it has the upper hand in this election, as well as the means to destabilize Iraq and ensure that Iraq’s Sunni faction remains sidelined.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

From The Tehran Times:
http://www.tehrantimes.com/Index_view.asp?code=214541

Iran-Iraq committee on border demarcation meets today

February 21, 2010
Tehran Times Political Desk
TEHRAN – The Iran-Iraq workshop committee on demarcating borders will meet today in the border city of Qasr-e Shirin, Kermanshah Province, Iran’s ambassador to Baghdad said on Saturday.

The two countries will also establish a joint workshop committee for handling issues related to border rivers as officials from the two countries will meet in southern city of Khoramshahr in next few days, Ambassador Hassan Kazemi Qomi told the Mehr News Agency.

The ambassador also said that Tehran will host a conference on the two countries’ joint oil reservoirs in the next few days, which will be attended by the oil experts from both sides.

The conference will discuss ways to excavate the oil fields, he added.

[incarcerated]

www.stratfor.com

Iraq: Sources Say Al-Maliki's Operation Result Of Assassination Attempt

March 13, 2010 | 2253 GMT
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was slightly injured in an assassination attempt in Baghdad on March 11, Payamner News Agency reported March 13, citing the Saudi Wattan newspaper. Sources also said that Maliki was rushed to Baghdad’s Madeena Toob Hospital after he was shot in the leg, and that he had a surgical operation there. The premier’s office issued a statement denying the report of the assassination attempt, adding that his surgery was successful.

[monsterhunter]

Not a surprising turn of events at all. It's been my opinion for a very long time that the most left of liberals don't really have a platform made from any real planning or common sense. What they do focus on, and quite well, is appealing to the emotions of the foolish. Perhaps he will pass his health care initiative by renaming it the Warm Fuzzy Kitten Plan.

[greenberetTFS]

New Dawn - sounds like dishwashing deterrgent - we must be preparing to wash our hands of the whole affair. :rolleyes:

And so it goes...

Richard's $.02 :munchin

Very good Richard,you should be doing 1 liners for Jay Leno.............;)

Big Teddy :munchin

[ksboi]

Leaders,
New Dawn in my opinion is a bit of a circus. They have withdrawn most the troops and company sized elements are doing jobs of battalion and so forth. The money I hoping is going to good cause in Afghan to keep the troops alive and well. We are doing our job with little to no resources, but atleast we are very lucky because of some of the outsites do not have a thing except for a small chow hall and a make shift gym. I feel spoiled being out here when a buddy of mine is in a house surrounded by hesco with his communication equipment.

[Ret10Echo]

I don't know......... :rolleyes: I'd rather see a new version of The Russians are Coming,The Russians are Coming with the China twist to it!!!!! ;)

Big Teddy :munchin


Teddy, I think we already have that...take a look in the WalMart aisles..

In 1985, amid anxiety about trade deficits and the loss of American manufacturing jobs, Walton launched a "Made in America" campaign that committed Wal-Mart to buying American-made products if suppliers could get within 5 percent of the price of a foreign competitor.

So much for that idea...

Very clever little boy. Very, very clever, to see that my friend and I are foreigners here, but of course not Russian, naturally. What would the Russians be doing on United States of America island, with so many animosities and hatreds between these two countries? It is too funny an idea, is it not? No, we, we are of course... Norveegans.