This if from Charles Erickson on Friday who is serving our country in Iraq. We want to express our thanks and admiration to Charles and all of our service men and women serving every day in the Global War on Terror. Please keep all of them in your thoughts and prayers.
Message from Major Charles Erickson.
Dear Minnesota Young Republicans:
I am currently stationed at Camp Victory in Baghdad, working on
issues affecting the Iraqi people and their governemt. Here is an
update for you from the front lines of the War on Terror:
DEFEATING THE TERRORISTS
As the news media will tell you, terrorist attacks continue in Iraq.
What they won't tell you is that a significant number of attacks on
our Coalition forces are being prevented due to tips from Iraqi
people.
Last week, a phone tip from a young Iraqi girl, southeast of Baghdad,
resulted in the disarming of a roadside bomb and the capture of five
terrorists.
The same day, a joint patrol by U.S. Marines and Iraqi Army soldiers
in the "Sunni triangle" of western Iraq, uncovered a large weapons
cache, consisting of artillery and mortar rounds, rockets, and
ammunition.
Over 4000 pounds of high explosives were destroyed, just one example
of the operations we are conducting here every day.
There are indications that the Al Qaeda terrorist organization in
Iraq is being seriously disrupted, for several reasons. First,
operations by U.S., Iraqi, and other Coalition forces (there are 27
countries with troops in Iraq) have killed or captured much of the
terrorist leadership.
Second, their targeting of innocent civilians has turned the Iraqi
people strongly against them. Finally, Al Qaeda's strongest base of
support has been among Sunnis who feared being excluded from the
political process. The latest election results have given them an
alternative to supporting murder and mayhem.
ELECTION RESULTS
In the past year, the Iraqis have made great accomplishments on their
road to freedom. There were elections for the Transitional
Parliament last January 30, the writing of a constitution, a popular
referendum on that constitution on October 15, and elections for a
new parliament on December 15. That's three successful national
elections in one year, in a country which had known only tyranny for
the past 40 years.
On Friday, January 20, the Independent Elections Commission of Iraq
released the preliminary results of the December 15 elections for the
Council of Representatives (COR), which is the Iraqi parliament. The
Unified Iraqi Coalition, a political group dominated by Shia Muslims,
won 128 seats (out of 275 total), short of the 138 needed for a
majority. Kurdistani Gathering, the primary coalition of the
(generally pro-American) Kurds, won 53 seats, while the Sunni-
dominated Tawafoq Iraqi Front took 44 seats. Other contenders
include the secular National Iraqi List (25 seats), and the Hewar
National Iraqi Front (11 seats), a coalition which includes the Iraqi
Christian Democratic Party among others. (Details at
www.ieciraq.org/English/)
The result is, the Shia will not be able to run the government
alone. In the past year, they joined with the Kurds to establish a
coalition government, but even that will not give them the 2/3 needed
to elect a President in the first round of balloting. It is expected
that they will bring in the Sunni coalition as well. A joint
Shia/Kurd/Sunni government will be a major setback for the
terrorists, reducing their support in the "Sunni triangle".
America's goal in Iraq should not be withdrawal, or a reduction in
troop numbers. Our goal must be VICTORY. Any news showing further
setbacks to Al Qaeda, or Iraqi success in setting up their
government, will indicate that we are on the road to victory.
More news later...
Major Charles Erickson
Former MNYR Chairman
Camp Victory
Baghdad, Iraq
the real story in Iraq
There is 1 reply to this message
