Showing posts with label Iraq. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iraq. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Statement by the President on Iraq

Official photographic portrait of US President...
Official photographic portrait of US President Barack Obama (born 4 August 1961; assumed office 20 January 2009) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
5:08 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon, everybody.  I wanted to provide an update on recent developments in Iraq, including some important steps forward as Iraqis form a new government.
Over the past few days, American forces have successfully conducted targeted airstrikes to prevent terrorist forces from advancing on the city of Erbil, and to protect American civilians there.  Kurdish forces on the ground continue to defend their city, and we’ve stepped up military advice and assistance to Iraqi and Kurdish forces as they wage the fight against ISIL. 
At the same time, we’ve continued our daily humanitarian efforts to provide life-saving assistance to the men, women and children stranded on Mount Sinjar, and deployed a USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team to help.  Some have begun to escape their perch on that mountain, and we’re working with international partners to develop options to bring them to safety.  I want to thank in particular the United Kingdom, France, and other countries working with us to provide much needed assistance to the Iraqi people.  And, meanwhile, our aircraft remain positioned to strike any terrorist forces around the mountain who threaten the safety of these families.
This advances the limited military objectives we’ve outlined in Iraq:  protecting American citizens, providing advice and assistance to Iraqi forces as they battle these terrorists, and joining with international partners to provide humanitarian aid.  But as I said when I authorized these operations, there is no American military solution to the larger crisis in Iraq.  The only lasting solution is for Iraqis to come together and form an inclusive government -- one that represents the legitimate interests of all Iraqis, and one that can unify the country’s fight against ISIL. 
Today, Iraq took a promising step forward in this critical effort.   Last month, the Iraqi people named a new President.  Today, President Masum named a new Prime Minister designate, Dr. Haider al-Abadi.  Under the Iraqi constitution, this is an important step towards forming a new government that can unite Iraq’s different communities. 
Earlier today, Vice President Biden and I called Dr. Abadi to congratulate him and to urge him to form a new cabinet as quickly as possible -- one that’s inclusive of all Iraqis, and one that represents all Iraqis.  I pledged our support to him, as well as to President Masum and Speaker Jabouri, as they work together to form this government.  Meanwhile, I urge all Iraqi political leaders to work peacefully through the political process in the days ahead.
This new Iraqi leadership has a difficult task.  It has to regain the confidence of its citizens by governing inclusively and by taking steps to demonstrate its resolve.  The United States stands ready to support a government that addresses the needs and grievances of all Iraqi people.  We are also ready to work with other countries in the region to deal with the humanitarian crisis and counterterrorism challenge in Iraq.  Mobilizing that support will be easier once this new government is in place.
These have been difficult days in Iraq -- a country that has faced so many challenges in its recent history.  And I’m sure that there will be difficult days ahead.  But just as the United States will remain vigilant against the threat posed to our people by ISIL, we stand ready to partner with Iraq in its fight against these terrorist forces.  Without question, that effort will be advanced if Iraqis continue to build on today’s progress, and come together to support a new and inclusive government.
Thanks, everybody.
END
5:12 P.M. EDT


Friday, June 27, 2014

Letter from the President -- War Powers Resolution Letter regarding Iraq

iraq
iraq (Photo credit: The U.S. Army)
TEXT OF A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
AND THE PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE OF THE SENATE
June 26, 2014
Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)
As I reported on June 16, 2014, U.S. Armed Forces personnel have deployed to Iraq to provide support and security for U.S. personnel and the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
I have since ordered further measures in response to the situation in Iraq. Specifically, as I announced publicly on June 19, I have ordered increased intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance that is focused on the threat posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). I also ordered up to approximately 300 additional U.S. Armed Forces personnel in Iraq to assess how we can best train, advise, and support Iraqi security forces and to establish joint operations centers with Iraqi security forces to share intelligence and coordinate planning to confront the threat posed by ISIL. Some of these personnel were already in Iraq as part of the U.S. Embassy's Office of Security Cooperation, and others began deploying into Iraq on June 24. These forces will remain in Iraq until the security situation becomes such that they are no longer needed.
This action is being undertaken in coordination with the Government of Iraq and has been directed consistent with my responsibility to protect U.S. citizens both at home and abroad, and in furtherance of U.S. national security and foreign policy interests, pursuant to my constitutional authority to conduct U.S. foreign relations and as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive.
I am providing this report as part of my efforts to keep the Congress fully informed, consistent with the War Powers Resolution (Public Law 93-148). I appreciate the support of the Congress in these actions.
Sincerely,

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Syria News 2/1/2014, Turkey: Truck loaded with weapons confiscated

A 120 mm High Explosive mortar shell (inert) f...
A 120 mm High Explosive mortar shell (inert) fitted with M734 fuze (Photo credit: Wikipedia)



- Dozens of terrorists killed in military operations in Homs
- Three citizens injured in mortar shell fell behind al-Mouasat Hospital in #Damascus
- Iraq, source in Anbar Operations Command western Iraq: security forces control Khalidiya east of Ramadi
- Palestine: One citizen died of suffocation after inhaling poisonous gases launched by Israeli soldiers

Our Notes:  Just bringing in news from around the world.  This is Syria's perspective on their local events.  We are just showing you their side of what they are dealing with.
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Tuesday, August 21, 2012

GVLN - An Army psychiatrist says Facebook hurts our troops

Image representing Facebook as depicted in Cru...
Image via CrunchBase

Last Updated: 10:24 AM, August 19, 2012
Posted: 10:20 PM, August 18, 2012

Our soldiers are being devastated on an unexpected front: Facebook.
Troops who have survived shellings and shootings can find themselves emotionally wounded by online photos of spouses partying with strangers and innuendo-laden updates that betray a very different “status” than that of a devoted girlfriend back home.
Access to social media has created famous problems for the military — from pictures of soldiers acting disrespectfully, to troops inadvertently releasing the names of American dead before families were notified.
But just as problematic is the damage social media is causing soldiers’ psyches. Military psychiatrists have reported that Facebook on the front lines has played a part in a host of problems, including depression and suicide in active-duty military personnel.

“About 80% of all of our intake had some Facebook flavor,” said psychiatrist Dr. Valeh Karimkhani, an Army reserve major who has served two tours of duty in Iraq.
Karimkhani, who served in 2008 and again in 2010, said the damage was apparent when she watched troops using Skype and Facebook at the Al Asad Airbase.
“When you’re on the other side of the world and you see all these pictures of your wife or husband with a new group of people, new friends, it becomes really concerning,” Karimkhani said. “They would become depressed and paranoid and end up in psychiatry, saying, ‘I’m going to kill myself.’ ”
Military psychiatrists are now able restrict troops’ access to social media, change a soldier’s password — even force a mediated phone call with a warring spouse.
“Sometimes after contacting the spouse, they could see it was innocent,” she said.
Of course, there are times when suspicions are accurate. One soldier received a Facebook message from her husband on their anniversary, telling her he’d fallen in love with another woman and wanted a divorce.

“That was particularly cold,” said Karimkhani, chief of psychiatry liaison services at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, Calif.
The risks are even higher if it’s the soldier who is bragging about exploits online: Adultery by military personnel can be punishable by jail time.
“I am always amazed at the things people would put on Facebook, thinking it wasn’t a public forum,” Karimkhani said. “People would put some sort of back-and-forth innuendo with a new girlfriend on their wall and then be surprised that people would find out. I always want to say, ‘Hey, buddy, this isn’t your journal.’ You’re basically taking a bullhorn to say, ‘Hey everybody this is what’s happening in my life!’ ”

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