Petraeus Gets His Groove On

Everybody loves a winner.

In this image released by the US Army, the top U.S. commander in Iraq Gen. David Petraeus meets with Oscar winning actress and a U.N. goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie, right, and Paula Dobriansky, the U.S. under secretary of state for global affairs, in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Feb. 7, 2008, The three discussed issues related to displaced people and humanitarian relief in Iraq.
(AP Photo/Staff Sgt. Lorie Jewell US Army)

Over 46,000 Iraqis Returned to Baghdad in Last Two Months
Iraqi-American Haider Ajina passed on this good news from Iraq for your Friday:

MP Brigade’s Systems Approach Focuses Iraqi Police on Sustainment
Thursday, 07 February 2008
By Sgt. Daniel D. Blottenberger
Multi-National Corps – Iraq PAO

BAGHDAD — In the past six months, Iraqi Police expansion in Baghdad has reached an all time high with new recruits filling the rank and file around Baghdad provinces; Iraqi Police forces are improving by the day.

As the 18th Military Police Brigade Police Transition Teams assess improvements with the numbers of IPs and rule of law operations at the station level, the 18th Military Police Brigade begins a transition into a systems approach, while moving the Iraqi Police Headquarters to the next level of performance in order for them to secure the future of the Iraqi people...

“Iraqi police have grown in numbers, now their systems need to grow to match their numbers,” said native of Delmar, N.Y., 1st Lt. David Delong, a communications officer who visited the IP station higher echelons in Baghdad recently to examine the IP communication systems...

“The Iraqi Police were very happy to have someone who knows communications to come talk to them and lend some advice,” said Delong.

Delong said he was impressed with the knowledge of their communications systems, and they knew where they wanted to go with their systems.

Internet communications is important and vital for the passing of information between the IP stations between headquarters in Baghdad, Delong said.

Residents welcome their relatives who have just returned from Syria after arriving in Baghdad in this November 21, 2007 file photo. Encouraged by the lull in the bloodletting in their homeland, Iraqis are beginning to trickle home, desperate to escape the financial hardships that exile has imposed on them. (REUTERS/Mahmoud Raouf Mahmoud)

Haider Ajina comments:

The calm in Baghdad has invited over 46,000 Iraqis to return to Baghdad over the last two months. Almost 90% of them have returned to their old homes and over half have received Government help for repatriation. Most returning are families with children.

The rebuilding of the Asqariah Shrine in Samara has started. The bombing of this shrine over two years ago ignited much of the sectarian violence, which has calmed down now, thanks to ‘The Surge ’ and Sunni Iraqis rejection of Alqaida, most of is due to the hard work of our men and women serving in Iraq.

Regards,
Haider Ajina

Related... Alan Fraser asks about the media at The American Thinker, "Who's Side Are They On?"