U.S. turns control of International Zone over to Iraq

The United States formally transferred the Republican Palace back to the Iraqi government today, a concrete symbol of the continuing improvement in the country.

CENTCOM reports.

Officials said that American troops are still on duty at some of the checkpoints in Green Zone, but they are there to train their Iraqi counterparts rather than with operational control. “When you come up to a checkpoint, the Iraqis will check your identification. They will make the decision if you come in or go out, ” said Army Maj. Gen. Dave Perkins, U.S. spokesman in Iraq. As a colonel, Perkins led the 2nd Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division that conducted the "Thunder Run" in April 2003 that first entered Baghdad.

"We will continue to be there to provide some technical capacity, to provide some mentoring, but you will see less and less American forces and more and more Iraqi forces – and they will have the majority of the responsibility for making those key decisions which determine the security of the capital,” Perkins said.

Once again, another momentous story ignored by the MSM.

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Military Meets, Exceeds Recruiting Goals

Once again, another item for the MSM didn't tell me this file. Well, at least not in the main news section. AP via Yahoo reports.

WASHINGTON - Though Americans are increasingly pessimistic about the war in SEARCH

Iraq, the Pentagon said Tuesday it is having success enlisting new troops. The Navy and Air Force met their recruiting goals last month while the Army and Marine Corps exceeded theirs, the Defense Department announced. The Army, which is bearing the brunt of the work in Iraq, did the best. It signed up 6,485 new recruits in November compared with its target of 6,150 — meaning 105 percent of its goal.

All the services turned in similar performances in October as well, meaning they so far are meeting their goals for the 2007 budget year that began Oct. 1.

"The services are starting off well," said Maj. Stewart Upton, a Pentagon spokesman.

The progress in recruiting comes as U.S. pessimism over the Iraq campaign mounts, according to a recent AP-Ipsos poll. Some 63 percent of Americans said they don't expect a stable, democratic government to be established in Iraq, up from 54 percent who felt that way in June.

Despite what the MSM tells us, there are still scores of brave young men and women willing to stand tall and answer their Nation's call.I salute each and every one of them.

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