Articles 2.16.2005

A Department of Defense news article discusses the rotation of U.S. forces in Operation Iraqi Freedom III, which will affect the 2nd BCT: "In the west, the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, normally based at Camp Pendleton, Calif., is due to turn over command to the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. The MEF is responsible for Anbar province, which includes Fallujah, Ramadi and all the way to the Syrian and Jordanian borders. The Army's 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, will serve under the MEF commander." According to globalsecurity.org, "OIF-3 plans call for troops numbers to be reduced from 140,000 to roughly 130,000. The rotation was slated to take place until March 2005." The 2/5 Marines are also scheduled to return home in March, and there are no reports on whether another Marine Battalion will replace the 2/5 Marine's role in the 2nd BCT.
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An AP article briefly mentions clashes in Ramadi: "Elsewhere, U.S. forces clashed with insurgents in the cities of Ramadi and Samarra, and militants attacked U.S. convoys with bombs in the northern city of Mosul."
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The Stars & Stripes has an article reporting that "U.S. military personnel were accused of roughly a third fewer serious crimes last year than a year earlier" in S. Korea. This occured during a year in which the number of U.S. troops on the peninsula decreased by 10% when the 2nd BCT redeployed to Iraq. The article does not imply a direct connection or causation between the two statistics.
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Other articles from the region:
- Reuters: Shi'ite Jaafari Is Front-Runner to Become Iraqi PM
- Associated Press: Likely Iraq PM Promises Moderation
- Boston Globe: US hints at a lesser role as Iraq ponders leaders
- NY Times (reg req'd): Race for Top Iraq Post Narrows to 2 Shiites