Articles 2.5.2005

The Lowell Sun, MA, has an article on a 2nd BCT soldier home on leave. Bobby Coutu (rank wasn't given), of the 2-17th Field Artillery, returned home to be at the side of his father, who is extremely ill. A fellow soldier traded R&R spots so that he could visit his father and see his wife. Couto joined the Army in 2002, following a desire to serve that he had held ever since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Couto said his Humvee was hit by an I.E.D. in Sept 2004. The explosion was strong enough to blow out the windshiled, but nobody in the vehicle was killed. Couto injured tendons in his shoulder. During his R&R leave, 60 family and friends attended a party to welcome him home. Couto has since returned to Iraq.
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The Traverse City, MI, Record-Eagle has a follow-up article on wounded 2nd BCT soldier Pfc. Derrick Harden. Pfc. Harden, of the 1-503rd, was wounded in Ramadi on 1.17.2005 when and I.E.D. struck his Humvee. He surfered severe shrapnel wounds to the face and side, several broken bones, and had his right leg amputated below the knee. He remains in critical condition at Walter Reed Hospital, where he "undergoes surgery every several days." A family spokesman said he is "now speaking coherently when awake." A candlelight vigil was held at his families church over the weekend, and more than $6,000 was raised by the community to cover all expenses for his family to be at his side.
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A Department of Defense news briefing mentions the situation in the Anbar Province. When asked about the state of the Iraqi forces, Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, commander of Multinational Security Transition Command-Iraq, mentioned: "there are seven of these battalions deployed in Mosul; two police commando units and five Intervention Force Battalions. There are nine battalions deployed into the Fallujah and Ramadi area. There are roughly eight in Baghdad. And these are always in addition to the Iraqi National Guard units that are based there and, of course, to the local police."
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Other articles from the region:
- Washington Post (via MSNBC): Fearing civil war, Iraq's Sunnis rethink strategy
- Washington Post (reg req'd): Shiite Coalition Holds Its Lead as Vote Count Continues
- BBC: Iraq army 'intimidated by rebels'
- LA Times (reg req'd): After Boycott, Sunnis Knock on Back Door
- Associated Press: General: Training of Iraqis Paramount