European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 6, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday april 62007 stars and stripes Page Pace nato begins Spring phase of afghan offensive by Lisa Burgess stars and stripes Arlington a natos Spring offensive against the Tali ban in Afghanistan codenamed Achilles has entered a new phase Marine Gen Peter Pace chairman of the joint chief of staff said thursday yes nato operations have begun Pace told Pentagon re porters during a round table with defense Secretary Robert Gates Pace later explained that the operation he was referring to is a new part of natos operation Achilles which he said started probably two or three weeks ago and will continue for several months at various Levels of intensity As various pockets of the enemy Are identified and taken under action Pace declined to offer details of the new fight against insurgents however he said the operations in Afghanistan will unfold very clearly Here in the next Cou ple of Days i dont think this is sort of a critical moment Gates said of natos Spring offensive instead Gates said i think that this is part of a longer term Effort not just to defeat renewed Taliban attempts to stake out a position in Southern and Eastern Afghanistan in particular but to help the afghan government strengthen its capacity to help the afghan people for economic development for better Gover Nance to get control of the narcotics problem Gates said that one of Bis con Cerns when he took the Post of de sense Secretary was that the level of violence in Afghanistan during the springtime had in creased fairly steadily during the past two or three years despite the ongoing us Mili tary focus on Iraq Gates said he wants to make sure that the us military does not take its Eye off the Ball in Afghanistan either Gates added that he and nation Al Security adviser condole Ezza ice Rice met with nato Secre  de hoop chef Fer on wednesday to discuss principally Afghanistan and the need for additional troops and resources for that Mission there i think weve made Strong Progress Gates said of Afghani Stan we want to make sure the Progress that been made is pre served and that we move fur ther mean while Gates said that the us military May need to continue extending troop deploy ments in Iraq and Afghanistan and sending units Back to the theater before they have been Home for a known As violating dwell up to two More years in january Gates announced changes to mobilization policies that he said were designed to ease the deployment Burden on troops with a stated goal of allowing a Tiv duty service members to spend one year deployed and two years at their Home station and one year deployed for every five years at Home for Reserve components but on thursday Gates said i think we always anticipated and talked pretty clearly about the fact that there would be a transition time when there would be both extensions and violations of the dwell policy because of the magnitude of the commitments we have asked whether that period could last a year or two Gates re plied that s very possible on monday the Pentagon announced that two army units will be returning to Iraq later this summer before having spent a full year at Home Between combat rotations email Lisa Burgess at where is Iraq billion nations watchdog says corruption waste caused major loss of government Money Over past 3 years by Bassem Mroue and Qassim Abdulzahra the associated press Baghdad Iraq top corruption fighter said wednesday that billion in government Money was wasted or stolen Over the past three years and claimed he was threatened with death after opening an investigation into scores of Oil ministry employees in the chaos and lawlessness of Iraq such threats Are not taken lightly Radi Alramhi who runs the Public integrity commission leads one of the More dangerous missions in the country he said in an interview that 20 members of the organization have been murdered since it began its work in perhaps the most publicized recent Case an estimated Bil lion disappeared from funds to re build the electricity infrastructure former electricity minister Ayham als Maraie who holds both us and iraqi citizenship was convicted in that Case and sentenced to two years in prison he escaped from an iraqi Rutt jail in the Green zone on dec 17 and turned up in Chicago on Jan 15 als Maraie has said the americans helped him escape Alramhi said the commission has investigated about 2600 corruption cases since it was established in March 2004 a few months before the United states returned sovereignty to Iraq he estimated billion has vanished or been misappropriated corruption in the country while traditionally rampant is encouraged by constitutional clause 136 b Alramhi said it gives Cabi net ministers the Power to Block his investigations so far he said ministers have blocked probes into the theft or miss pending of an estimated additional million in Public funds two years ago he asked the constitutional court to strike the clause but the panel has never is sued a ruling on wednesday he took the mat Ter to parliament speaker Man Moud Almash Hadani who prom ised to Back his efforts before the court Alramhi said Almash a Danes office confirmed that they met and said the parliament speaker promised to support the ant corruption move senior government officials and Cabinet ministers Are accused of a variety of schemes in february for example us and iraqi forces seized Deputy health minister Hamm Alza Mili a supporter of Radical shiite cleric Muntada a Sadr he reportedly orchestrated Kickback schemes related to inflated con tracts for equipment and services with millions of dollars allegedly funnelled to Alsa drs Mahdi army militia Alza Mili was suspected of employing militiamen who used health ministry facilities and services for sectarian kidnapping and murder the us military has said Alramhi said that after Start ing an investigation of 180 Oil ministry employees in the South Ern province of Basra he and an other colleague received death threats i and Haidar Ashour our representative in Southern Iraq have received threats by Telephone accusing us of being former regime elements supporters of the late Saddam said Alramhi he was a judge during the former leaders Rule a Job that required Alramhi to join Saddam baath party if you dont Stop the investigation you will be killed Alramhi quoted the caller As saying the threat was issued in the name of the Little known Southern Region movement commission records show arrest warrants have been issued for about 90 former iraqi officials including 15 ministers on charges of corruption most have fled the country iraqi police arrest 2 in Tal afar bombings stars and stripes iraqi police have arrested two suspects in the Tal afar bomb attacks that last week that killed More than 150 people us military officials said thursday the two unnamed men were arrested on april 3 in Ninevah province officials said us advisers were present during the raid that led to the arrests officials said but iraqi troops took the Lead in the operation the raid took place Northwest of Tal afar officials said at least 19 other people described in a news release As suspicious individuals were arrested in the same raid the two main targets of the raid also were alleged to have taken part in other attacks on us and iraqi forces the truck bombing in a shiite neighbourhood was attributed to Al Aida in Iraq and seen As an Effort to stir sectarian conflict in the Days after the bombing shiite police and militiamen carried out reprisal attacks at least 16 police were arrested by iraqi officials for those killings kaisers Autem 0631351870 Ansbach 09862952991 Bamberg Grafen Ofshe m18i9064742 Heidelberg 06221432157 06134287955 May Priheim 062i72j5ga 96371 598860 Spang Dahlem 06565958610 Vilseck Lakenheath us 0044 53 1888 0039 001 Vicenza Italy i i 11 i i invoiced based pricing us specs stateside european delivery financing arranged 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