Word: cols
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Wars are these extended periods of nothingness punctuated by periods of chaos,” said Lt. Col. Darry C. Johnson, a 27-year army veteran who is now a national security fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. “The tension is palpable, the danger is palpable…You’re very much on edge—it’s very difficult to relax...
...Col. Michael Bills, the commander for U.S. forces in Mosul, has ruled out using so-called Concerned Local Citizens (CLC), bands of irregulars working alongside American and Iraqi troops in parts of Baghdad, Anbar Province and other areas of Iraq. "You got such a melting pot it's difficult to even fathom trying to do a CLC up here," Bills said of the Mosul area, where the population is complex mix of Iraq's ethnic and sectarian groups. The territory around Mosul has long been home to Kurds, Sunnis, Christians, Shi'ites, Yazidis and Turkmens. Bills fears any efforts...
...across Iraq is a knowledge of who exactly the insurgents in their areas were. U.S. military officials estimate that roughly 300 hard-core fighters operate in Mosul, chiefly on the predominately Sunnni west side of the city. Attacks there are 50% higher than elsewhere in Mosul, according to Lt. Col. Michael Simmering, a commander at the main U.S. outpost in Mosul, Forward Operating Base Marez. But so far U.S. and Iraqi forces have failed to rein in the fighters, who stage daily attacks around the city. "The insurgents do have the ability to move around the city freely," said Simmering...
...rambling and hyperbolic Lt. Col. Mohammad doesn't hold back. The chief of the Iraqi Police in Saha says that CLC members beat, arrested and killed a group of men last month. "We know that some of the CLC guys were criminals. But now we will include them in the Iraqi security forces." As much as he complains about the CLC, Mohammad reserves his biggest criticisms for the National Police (not to be confused with Saha's own Iraqi police), with their paramilitary ethos and long history of pulling Sunni families from their cars or homes and shooting them execution...
...patrol and checkpoint contracts. The CERP budget for fiscal year 2007 was $750 million and while no cutbacks are expected for 2008 the money hasn't been authorized yet by Congress, which means the army's top brass is playing it safe and tightening its belt. According to Lt. Col. Gerry Messmer, A U.S. civil military operations officer in Baghdad, there is no problem with funding. "We are reviewing all requests for funds and asking the important question of how can we help [Iraqis] help themselves...