Obama Stops In Kuwait-- Meets Minority Troops

Barack Obama and the two fellow antiwar senators he is traveling with touched down in Kuwait yesterday on their way to Afghanistan, a country Obama is visiting for the first time.

DVIDS has a report on his stop in Kuwait where he spoke briefly to the troops. He boldly insisted that he he supported their efforts even though he has consistently voted against their efforts. Obama is a leading antiwar democrat. But, he does support a civilian national security force.
(You certainly won't hear that in the slobbering reports from the mainstream media.)

DVIDS also has video of his talk in Kuwait.

It's pretty obvious that Obama left his campaign staffers at home.
Where's all the white people?

Sen. Barack Obama speaks to servicemembers at the Zone 1 gym, Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, July 18. (DVIDS)


Sen. Barack Obama hangs out with servicemembers at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, July 18. (DVIDS)

All Girls High School Opens New Sports Facilities In Baghdad

More good news for the young women of Iraq...
With the victory of the Bush surge, several projects are now being completed for the Iraqis.
Nice pants...

An Iraqi girl serves a volleyball at an exhibition game during a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Al-Manhel High School for Girls, July 16, in the Rashid District of southern Baghdad. (DVIDS)

The high school girls in Rashid will have new sports facilities this school year.
MNF-Iraq reported:

An all-girls high school celebrated the opening of several sports facilities and a new generator July 16 during a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the Rashid district of southern Baghdad.

The renovation effort stemmed from a partnership with the Rashid District Council, the Ministry of Education and Coalition forces.

Capt. Thao Reed, a 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division company commander encouraged the Karkh II Sports Director of the Education District, Ahmed Abdullah, to establish a girls’ sports program across Rashid, and advised the school board to renovate the school.

“I am very happy today,” said Maida Ismail Majwed, the principal of the school. “This event means a lot for the girls, and I believe it made them happy. Also, this is an important event for all the women of Iraq.”

The ceremony showcased a new indoor volleyball court, outdoor basketball and volleyball court, and a generator to provide electricity.

A team of young Iraqi girls prepare for a serve during an exhibition game, July 16, at the Al-Manhel High School for Girls in the Rashid district of southern Baghdad. (DVIDS)


Before the start of a ceremony, a young Iraqi girl practices her basketball shot while her team watches from behind her, July 16, in the Rashid District of southern Baghdad. During the ceremony, the Al-Manhel High School for Girls marked three new additions to their campus; an indoor volleyball court, a generator to supply power for the school, and outdoor basketball and volleyball court. (DVIDS)

Finally... Obama Makes It to Afghanistan For 1st Time ...Updated With Video

Barack Obama finally made it to Afghanistan for the first time today.
That about says it all.
We've had troops fighting there since 2001.

Hopefully he was able to snag a couple of Arabic speakers from Iraq to help him out while he is there since he doesn't speak a foreign language.
Do you think he's embarrassed?

Look for Obama to declare quagmire or defeat or cut and run... or something along that line.

UPDATE: Obama and Chuck Hagel meet with Afghans... Chuck Hagel?
The two Iraq War losers landed in Afghanistan earlier today:

Barack Obama brought to Afghanistan the one Republican who agreed with him that defeat in Iraq was a good thing.
Figures.
Having Chuck Hagel sitting by his side does not necessarily portray an image of strength, even though he is a Republican-- Since they were both wrong on Iraq.

Race War: AP Announces "Whites Are Aligned With McCain"

Do you think that the Obama Campaign will agree with this?

From the AP on Friday July 18, 2008:

Barack Obama supporter John Douglas poses in the living room of his Villa Rica, Ga., home, Thursday, July 17, 2008. While overall interest in the presidential campaign has swelled since last fall, backers of Barack Obama are more fired up and express more loyalty to their candidate than McCain's do, a poll by The Associated Press and Yahoo News showed Friday.

In addition, individual groups backing Obama — African-Americans, Democrats and liberals — are more enthusiastic than whites, Republicans and conservatives, who are more aligned with McCain, the GOP senator from Arizona.
(AP Photo)

Won't that make it a bit difficult for Obama to win in November--
If whites are aligned with McCain?

Finger Licking Victory-- KFC Opens In Fallujah (Video)

THIS WAR IS OVER.
Do you remember Fallujah? Yeah, KFC just opened shop there--
Face it, Democrats, this war is won.

Employees at a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant prepare chicken for Marines who stopped by to order food July 16. Increased security in the Hey Al Dubat area of Fallujah, Iraq, has allowed this restaurant and others to become popular eateries with local citizens. (DVIDS)

"Regular or Extra Crispy?"

Big Hat Tip Joshua

Let's face it...
The Iraq War is won.

Joshua adds this:

Whenever I traveled into places like Belarus or Russia into remote areas and small towns in the 90's to 2005 it was always interesting to find out how far the market had been penetrated by American franchises like McDonalds or KFC. It is an indication of a certain level of safety, cultural openess, and a legitimate government regulation, plus a population on the move.

Finger Licking Victory!

Local teenagers from the Hey Al Dubat area of Fallujah, Iraq, hang out during the afternoon near a Kentucky Fried Chicken July 16. Since the opening nearly seven months ago, the business has flourished and attracts many customers in the nearby area. (DVIDS)

Iraqi PM Backs Obama's Plan... Except He Wants to Win

In Barack Obama's most important foreign policy decision in his brief career as a US Senator he was wrong.

If Barack Obama would have had his way Iraq would be lost to Al-Qaeda and Iran and the Middle East would be in complete turmoil. As Peter Wehner put it:

"Obama, was not only wrong about the surge; he was spectacularly wrong.

Instead, the War in Iraq is won and the US surge troops are returning home in victory.

So, what is the media supposed to do with their favorite son who shrugged at genocide in Iraq?
They're going to play it off like Obama was right...
Reuters today announced that PM Maliki backs Obama troop exit plan.

Of course, the Prime Minister has that option today because the Bush Surge worked and the war is won.

** Here's the correct translation for all of the libs out there.
Maliki says a withdrawal of troops in 16 months is possible if all continues to go well there.
He did not mention retreat.

If Bush would have listened to Obama Iraq would be a failure.
But, George Bush is not Barack Obama-- George Bush is a winner.
Reuters can slap lipstick on that Obama pig all they want and they still have the same candidate-
A willing war loser.

LawHawk has more on the timetables.

Libs Are SHOCKED To Hear There Are Muslims Who Want Us Dead

The absolute horror!

Democrats are wetting all over themselves because a McCain surrogate, Colonel Bud Day- America's most highly decorated veteran and a former POW with John McCain -said this during a conference call today:

""The Muslims have said either we kneel or they're going to kill us. I don't intend to kneel and I don't advocate to anybody that we kneel, and John doesn't advocate to anybody that we kneel."

Horror of all horrors!
This statement absolutely freaked out the libs.

How dare he have connect Islam with our terrorist enemies!
How dare he declare that there are Muslims who want us dead!
How dare he play on our fears!
What nerve!

**Snark Off**

This posting in the Miami Herald blog and response by Democrats once again proves:

1.) It's been nearly 7 years since 9-11 and Democrats still have no idea who we are fighting in the War on Terror.
2.) Democrats continue to believe church-going, patriotic Republicans and conservatives are the real enemy.

The Democratic Party is a political party you just can't take seriously--
Not if you want to survive.

McCAIN CLAIMS VICTORY IN IRAQ-- Let the Gnashing of Teeth Begin

My, what a difference 2 years and a successful surge make in a political landscape.

Two years ago Republicans cringed when Iraq was discussed.
...Not any more.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democrats could not surrender in time for defeat in Iraq.

It's about time that Republicans start to hammer the Defeat-ocrats for their dangerous plans for Iraq and the Middle East!
The Democrats would have left Iraq in ruins. And, not even the talk of genocide would change their minds.
Good for President Bush, Republicans and John McCain for implementing a plan for success.

And, good for John McCain for finally claiming Victory in Iraq:

Republicans ought to follow John McCain's lead on this.
It's time to hammer the party that would bring shame and defeat on this great nation.

As Peter Wehner said, "Obama, was not only wrong about the surge; he was spectacularly wrong.

The US has suffered fewer fatalities this month than any other month since the war began back in 2003.

Related... Leslie Carbone has more on Obama's flips and flops on Iraq.

AP Shocker: Iraqis Think Obama's Plans Stink

Iraqis know first hand that the Bush surge is working.
They fear Barack Obama will undercut the tremendous security gains.

Iraqi children gather around U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Haggard for a group photo during Youth Outreach Day on Contingency Operating Base Speicher, Tikrit, Iraq, July 12, 2008. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Micky M. Bazaldua.)

Every once in a while the AP releases a flicker of truth in its antiwar propaganda pieces.
Today the AP bravely reports that a Barack Obama presidency scares the crap out of Iraqis:

Like many Iraqis, Sami and his family are impatient for some direct benefits to come their way.

Sami's family, too, represents the questions many Iraqis have about Obama's views.

The family strongly backed last year's U.S. troop "surge" that is now credited with halting much of the insurgency attacks and sectarian killings in and around the capital.

Obama, who criticized the reinforcements at the time, has lauded the military successes, but argues that sending 30,000 additional soldiers to Iraq pulled away focus from the widening battles against the Taliban and al-Qaida in Afghanistan and border regions of Pakistan.

Sami also supports the idea of a slow pullback by U.S. forces — not the rapid withdrawal that Obama has suggested...

But few Iraqis appear to support a full-scale American withdrawal under current conditions. Many fear that could undercut recent security gains and open the door to greater influence by Iran with Shiite militias — a charge that Tehran denies.

"A pullout would create a vacuum that could be used by many sides," said Salah al-Rubaie, a Shiite vegetable vendor in Kut, about 90 miles southeast of Baghdad. "Sectarian and militia killings would return as well as looting and robbing. Public life could come to a halt again. That would be a catastrophe."

Hamid Alwan Jassim finds ample evidence against a U.S. withdraw in his home city of Baqouba, the hub of Diyala province where Sunni insurgents are trying to regroup. On Tuesday, double suicide bombings killed at least 28 army recruits.

"Iraq should be stable first, because any early pullout would allow extremists to emerge again and more fiercely," he said.

Let's hope the AP writers do not find their private property torched because of this report.

Poor Ohio Family Forced to Scrimp On Food

You just can't make this stuff up...
Poor Ohio Family Forced to Scrimp on Food

And?

Angelica Hernandez (left) and her mother, Gloria Nunez, struggle to make ends meet on a very limited budget. (NPR)

NPR aired a sad piece on the Nunez family in Ohio who can no longer afford meat.
It's a good thing they're a radio channel.

Gloria Nunez has never worked. She says that since her car broke down (imagine that?) her daughter can't look for a job either.
And, they're scrimping on food:

The rising cost of food means their money gets them about a third fewer bags of groceries — $100 used to buy about 12 bags of groceries, but now it's more like seven or eight.

They could probably do just fine with a few bags less of groceries, but that's just me.
A little walking probably wouldn't hurt either.

Moonbattery has more on the starving poor.

Race Hustle Tussle-- Sharpton Throws Jesse Under the Bus

Race hustler Al Sharpton, fresh off of his "Kill the Police" rally, attacked Jesse Jackson for using the n-word yesterday.

Poor Jesse gets out hustled.

Al Sharpton threw Jesse Jackson under the bus.
Al insisted, "This is not the Jesse Jackson we all know."
WCBS and Power Line Forum reported:

Rev. Al Sharpton spoke out Thursday against Rev. Jesse Jackson's use of the N-word that was caught on tape while preparing for an interview for Fox News.

Sharpton, who has joined Jackson in opposition of the word, said on CBS News' The Early Show on Thursday that he was "very disappointed" by this latest revelation.

"I think this certainly does not reflect the Reverend Jackson that we all know and love," Sharpton said. "I think that we have to be consistent. We have denounced the N-word at National Action Network and other groups. Those of us and many of us who have used it privately said we must refrain from it if we're going to challenge people using it publicly."

Sharpton agreed that public figures especially need to be role models for others in expunging the word from today's culture.

IRAQ WAR DESERTERS Deported From Canada & Jailed

Welcome Home Boys!
Deserters deserted and jailed in the US.

Deserter Robin Long said he had been trying to gain refugee status in Canada because he believed he would suffer harm if he were to be sent back to the U.S.
Canada disagreed and deported him this week. Robin was welcomed to his new home in a Washington jail this week. (CBC)

One US Iraq War deserter was deported and jailed this week.
Another US Iraq War deserter was jailed for 9 months and stripped of his benefits.
The Star reported:

An American army deserter who took refuge in Canada before returning to the U.S. voluntarily was given a dishonourable discharge yesterday and sentenced to nine months in jail, a close supporter said.

James Burmeister, 22, (on left) was sentenced by a military judge in Fort Knox, Ky., after a four-hour court martial hearing, said Carol Rawert-Trainer, of the American non-profit group Vietnam Veterans Against the War.

"It's quite a shock to everybody," said Rawert-Trainer from Louisville, Ky. "We all thought they were going to take it easy on him because he turned himself in, but it doesn't look that way."

Originally from Eugene, Ore., Burmeister went to Ottawa in May 2007 after he was injured in Iraq when he was thrown from his military vehicle by the force of a roadside bomb earlier that year.

...Yesterday's ruling will likely stand up as a felony conviction, meaning Burmeister won't be allowed back into Canada, and will likely lose his right to veterans' benefits, Zaslofsky told the Star last night.

"In that case, his post-traumatic stress disorder and some of the other problems that he has won't be dealt with properly," he noted. "I just hope this isn't an ill omen for some of the other (resisters)."

One of those other resisters is 25-year-old Robin Long.

Long became the first American war resister deported from Canada Tuesday, and could also potentially face a court martial.

Yesterday, Long was transferred from Whatcom County Jail in Bellingham, Wash., to the nearby Fort Lewis military base.

Previously:
Welcome Home!... US War Deserter Kick-Canned From Canada

UPDATE: Burmeister was not only antiwar- He was giving interviews to Arab language news organizations.
The News-Enterprise has more:

Burmeister fled to Canada in May 2007, while on leave from Iraq, and turned himself in at Fort Knox in March. During his absence from his unit, the soldier was interviewed by PBS and other media outlets in the United States and Canada. His statements also appeared in an Arabic language newspaper and on an anti-war Web site that prosecutors said advocates soldiers to go AWOL.

Burmeister spoke against the use of “bait-and-kill” teams. Such teams placed objects, such as bomb components, onto the ground and then shot Iraqis who sought to recover them. Critics have said the tactic could constitute a war crime.

“This is a case of doing the wrong thing for the right reason,” argued Burmeister’s military-appointed defense attorney Capt. Tyson McDonald. “Iraq is difficult (for soldiers)… it’s worse when you see things as legally and morally wrong.”

One of Burmeister’s commanders testified on behalf of the government, saying Burmeister’s platoon did not focus on such missions.

Al-Qaeda Cell Busted in Israel-- 6 Arab Men Arrested

Israel arrested 6 Arabs on Friday accused of trying to set up an al Qaeda cell. One of the young men arrested had proposed attacking helicopters used during a visit by President George W. Bush.
YNET News reported:

The Shin Bet and the police have arrested six Israeli Arabs, four of them residents of east Jerusalem, on suspicion of planning to operate an al-Qaeda cell in Israel.

Among the suspects are students at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

The six suspects were identified as: Ibrahim Nashef, 22, of Tayibe, a physics and computer sciences student at the Hebrew University; Muhammas Najem, 24, of Nazareth, a chemistry student at the Hebrew University; Yusef Sumarin, 21, of the Jerusalem village of Beit Hanina; Anas Shawiki, 21, of the Jerusalem town of Jabel Mukaber; Kamal Abu Kwaider, 22, of Jerusalem's Old City; and Ahmed Shawiki, 21, of the Jerusalem town of Shuafat.

All the suspects were charged with membership in a terror organization. Some of them will be tried for aiding the enemy at a time of war, possessing propaganda material in favor of a terror organization, soliciting and attempting to solicit others to join a terror organization.

According to the indictments filed against them Friday, the six used to meet at the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. They surfed al-Qaeda websites containing radical Islam content, where they also found instructions for the production of explosive devices.

Soft Porn Goes Primetime-- New CBS Series Glorifies Swingers

Soft Porn Goes Primetime

You can thank liberals for this filth.

CBS just launched a raunchy new show "Swingtown."
The series glorifies extra-marital partner-swapping, orgies and drugs.

ParentsTV.org released a statement on this disgusting new low from network television:

Swingtown undermines the institutions of marriage and family. This show is not suitable for children. Swingtown is one of the most sexually indulgent programs we’ve seen on broadcast television in a long time, but is par for the course in CBS’ race to the bottom of vile and violent television programming. This show should not be on broadcast television – period.

Before the debut, CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler said, “I hope there are concerns about it, I really do. We’re going to push the envelope with that show.” Indeed they did. The first episode, which aired as early as 9:00 p.m. in the Central/Mountain time zones, featured:

** The episode opens with a visual gag suggestive of a flight attendant performing oral sex on a pilot

** A man shown in bed with his wife and another woman

** An orgy involving multiple couples

** A teenaged girl removing her top and pants and diving into the ocean wearing only her panties

** Two teens smoking a marijuana joint

** A woman cutting cocaine on a table top and rubbing the drug into her gums

** A woman offering another woman a Quaalude at a party

In addition, the “swinging” lifestyle is not only presented as normative, it is endorsed in the episode as building intimacy in the marriage.

Because Swingtown airs as early as 9:00 pm, CBS has ensured that more children will have access to this content.

CNN ran a segment on the raunch:


Parents TV.org added this:
In a desperate move to lure viewers, CBS has upped the ante by making this drug- and sex-fueled series even more shocking. On the July 10th episode, Trina Decker is reunited with her high-school sweetheart, Luke, and engages in a threesome with her husband and Luke.

You can sign an official FCC indecency complaint against CBS by going HERE.

It Has Begun... Obama Supporters Torch Clinton Backer's Property

OBAMA OR DIE...

(Flickr)

Hillary Is My Girl '08 is the latest Clinton supporter to step from the shadows and condemn the death threats from the Obama Camp:

On June 3, 2008 I put a PUMA sign up on my front door. I also put an nobama sign up. The entire neighborhood knew I was not going to vote for Obama {Most told me I would be stupid to vote for the man who spent weeks trying to terrorize me.}.

Two weeks later as PUMA began to gain attention the Campaign began bothering me again. I received an email and then the phone calls started.

One evening I received a phone call another death threat and then shortly after my son came in and yelled fire. Someone set my tree on fire. The fire department said the fire was arson.

In related news... The website for the petition calling for Obama to provide a certified birth certificate has been taken down because of threats against the host and their family.

PUMA PAC is keeping a list of the Clinton supporters given death threats.

Doug Ross is following this tragic news.

Perfect... Gore Takes Fleet of Gas Guzzlers to Global Warming Sermon

Saint Al spaketh-- The final days are upon us.
The Goracle told fellow GW religionists that the US is doomed and that we must eliminate carbon-based energy sources.
The end is near.
...We are a planet doomed by carbon abuse.

It's too bad the Goracle's actions don't match his sermons.
Americans for Prosperity have today's Gore hypocrisy video of the day, via Michelle Malkin:

Americans for Prosperity reported that Gore brought a fleet of two Lincoln Town Cars and a Chevy Suburban SUV! Even worse, the driver of the Town Car that eventually whisked away Gore's wife and daughter left the engine idling and the AC cranking for 20 minutes before they finally left!

Sacrifice for thee but not for me!

To the Gore's sacrifice is only intended for the little people.
You just can't make this stuff up.

Bad News for the Goracle... The American Physical Society, an organization representing nearly 50,000 physicists, has reversed its stance on climate change.

Bob McCarty notes how TIME is sucking up to Gore.

Surprise!... AP Carries Water For Fire-Breathing Speaker

Speaker Pelosi came unglued today.
She viciously lashed out at President Bush.
The AP said this was unusual for the Speaker.
I call bull****.

Today, Speaker Pelosi viciously lashed out at President Bush on the economy, the war, energy on CNN:

So, what set off this episode?
President Bush criticized Congress for not passing a spending bill. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino added that this is the longest a Congress has gone in 20 years without passing a single spending bill
In response Pelosi came unglued and once again blasted him with a list of attacks.
Can you feel the projection?

CNN has this horrible irate response from the Speaker on the president's request for a spending bill.

Later, the Associated Press insisted that Pelosi shot back in unusually personal terms.

They must be speaking about a different Nancy Pelosi...
Speaker Pelosi is one of the nastiest politicians in Washington.
This response to the president is nothing new. In fact before she became Speaker "60 Minutes" aired a few of her insulting remarks in a segment Pelosi in October 2006:

Pelosi has called her Republican colleagues “immoral" and "corrupt,” and has said they're running a criminal enterprise.

"I mean, you're one of the reasons we have to restore civility in the first place," Stahl remarks.

"Well actually, when I called them those names, I was being gentle," Pelosi says. "There are much worse things I could've said about them."

That doesn't include the nasty remarks she had for President Bush.
To say that today's outburst was a departure from Pelosi's typical behavior is not accurate.

TigerHawk thinks Pelosi ought to be quiet-- she's only drawing attention to herself.

McCain Uses Barack Obama to Slam Barack Obama On Iraq

In Barack Obama's most important foreign policy decision as a US Senator he was wrong.
Obama voted against the Bush Surge.

OBAMA WAS WRONG.

Since the surge began... Iraq has achieved 15 of 18 benchmarks and violent attacks are down by 90% over last year. Al Qaeda in Iraq has been decimated. US fatalities continue to decline. Iraq is looking to have security control of all of its 18 provinces by the end of this year.

In the words of John McCain this week:

"Today we know Senator Obama was wrong. The surge has succeeded and because of its success, the next President will inherit a situation in Iraq in which America's enemies are on the run... Senator Obama will tell you we can't win in Afghanistan without losing in Iraq."

Today the McCain Camp slammed Barack Obama by using his several positions in Iraq against him:


You'd think Barack Obama would learn.
But, just this week Obama called to flee Iraq to win Iraq(?)

It Has Begun... NAACP Speaker Insists-- If You Do Not Vote For Obama You Are a Racist

It has begun...

New York accidental governor David Paterson used his absolute moral authority card to condemn those who do not vote for the Far Left, grandiose, inexperienced, weak on defense, anti-gun, flip-flopping, Democratic candidate as racists.
The New York Sun reported:

"Can America reject the crucible of race that has dictated and pervaded all of our history to embrace an African American man who has the right polices for the next decade in this country? Can America overlook its past practices that were so grave that in1820 the great Scottish Whig, Sydney Smith, writing in the Edinburgh Review, said of America: 'How can they protest the tyrannies of Europe when they torture and brutalize one-sixth of its population?' How can America get past this and elect an African-American president of the United States?" Mr. Paterson said.

He continued: "Can America go past the crippling way that we've shot ourselves in the foot over and over, denying opportunity to people who are bright, to people who are qualified, to people who are able because they didn't look like us, or they didn't come from where we came from, or they are from a different gender, or they are from the African continent? Can America push that away and find new leadership? We'll find out in the next few months what America can do."

Mr. Paterson, who is New York's first black governor, also turned the focus on himself, strongly suggesting that people have belittled his governorship not because of the unusual way in which he took office but because of his race.

Of course, the same attendees at the NAACP convention admit that an Obama win would not bring an end to racism in this country, either.

This strategy may work with some voters...

But, thankfully not every American is blinded by liberal quilt.

More Good News... Diwaniya Province Is Turned Over to Iraqi Forces

If the media was pro-American and wanted to see the US win the Iraq War this news would make the headlines:

Diwaniya became the 10th Iraqi province out of 18 to take over security operations from the multi-national forces in Iraq.

Policemen hold Iraqi national flags as they march during a handover ceremony where U.S.-led troops transferred security responsibilities to Iraqi forces in Diwaniya, 150 km (95 miles) south of Baghdad July 16, 2008. Iraq hopes to have security control of all its provinces by the year-end, the national security adviser said on Wednesday, underscoring the government's growing confidence in its own forces. (REUTERS/Ali Abu Shish)

Iraqi News Agency Aswat Al-Iraq reported:

Baghdad-based newspaper on Thursday welcomed the security handover of Diwaniya province, describing the transfer as a "blessed step" to restore security and stability to Iraqi cities.

Badr, the daily mouthpiece of Badr Organization, one of the main components of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC) led by Abdel Aziz al-Hakeem said in article entitled, 'Diwaniya…self-security,' by Kareem al-Nouri, that the handover has proven the province's ability to assume security responsibilities.

On Wednesday morning, Diwaniya received its security file from the Multi-National Force (MNF) during a ceremony attended by National Security Adviser Muwafaq al-Rubaei and Diwaniya Governor Hamed al-Khudari.

Bad weather conditions and logistic miscommunication problems between the central Iraqi government and the MNF delayed a power handover of the province, which was scheduled to take place in last June.

Diwaniya, 180 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, became the 10th Iraqi province to receive the security file from the coalition forces.

In 2002, the population of Diwaniya was estimated at 420,000. The area around the province, which is well irrigated from the nearby Euphrates River, is often considered to be one of the most fertile parts of Iraq, and is heavily cultivated. The town is located on the main rail transport corridor between Baghdad and Basra. For birdwatchers, Diwaniya is a city with a rich bird list, as it has a wide range of biodiversity.

Policemen salute atop their vehicles during a handover ceremony where U.S.-led troops transferred security responsibilities to the to Iraqi forces in Diwaniya, 150 km (95 miles) south of Baghdad July 16, 2008. (Reuters)

The good news keeps coming... Iraq has achieved 15 of 18 benchmarks and violent attacks are down by 90% over last year. Al Qaeda in Iraq has been defeated.

The Democratic government of Iraq will take over responsibility of al-Anbar, a province once reported as lost, in the coming days. Severe sandstorms prevented the transfer late last month of Qadisiya (Diwaniya) Province.
Gulf 2000 Map

More... Armed and Curious attended the graduation ceremony yesterday at the Iraqi Military Academy in Rustimiyah and includes photos, via Instapundit.