DoD Identifies Army Casualty

No. 997-09 December 22, 2009
DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Sgt. Albert D. Ware, 27, of Chicago, Ill., died December 18th in Arghandab River Valley, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 782nd Combat Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
For more information the media may contact the 82nd Airborne Division public affairs office at 910-432-0661 or 910-432-0662.

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U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)

DoD Identifies Marine Casualty

No. 996-09 December 22, 2009
DoD Identifies Marine Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Pfc. Serge Kropov, 21, of Hawley, Pa., died December 20th as a result of a non-hostile incident in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif. This incident is under investigation.
For additional background information on this Marine, news media representatives may contact the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing Public Affairs Office at 858-577-6000.

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U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)

Photo for the Day - December 22, 2009

* Photo for the Day *

Army Sgt. 1st Class John Bushnell, deployed to Camp Ramadi, Iraq, represents the third generation of his family to serve in combat with the 82nd Airborne Division.
Read the story behind the photo at link below...
Face of Defense: Third-generation Paratrooper Deploys
U.S. Army photo by Spc. Michael J. MacLeod

Christmas Music Video: ‘You're A Mean One Mr. Grinch’

You're A Mean One Mr. Grinch
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This video posted on YouTube by cAsSiEiSwHoIaM

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I've had this song stuck in my head all day!!!

AubreyJ.........

Funny Animated Videos: ‘Fishin Ain't So Bad’

Sure do miss that GUN!!!
This video posted on YouTube by Baitchucker
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This has to be one of my favorite short animated videos!
AubreyJ.........

Iraq: On Ground Updates - December 20, 2009

Iraq: On Ground Updates
- IRAN IN IRAQ -
Today’s post is a continuation of updates on the latest Iran/Iraq conflict
Sunday, December 20, 2009
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The Iraqi government has asked for all the Iranian troops to leave the area and in return... the Iranian troops have lowered the Iranian flag and pulled out of the area...though not completely out of the country. As reported in my last post on all this Iran/Iraq mess, it’s still being reported today that a joint Iraq-Iran committee will begin to look at demarcation of the border.
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With that said... let’s check out a few of the reports posted up today about the Iran/Iraq conflict by the MSM...
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* The New York Times reports...
Iraq said Sunday that Iranian soldiers who had been occupying part of a disputed Iraqi oil field had withdrawn, ending a three-day standoff that has strained relations between the countries... But Labeed Abawi, Iraq’s deputy foreign affairs minister, said some Iranian troops remained inside Iraq late Sunday. “They withdrew from the field, but they are not completely out of Iraqi territory,” he said... Mr. Abawi said representatives of the two countries planned to meet soon to try to agree on the precise border in the vicinity of Fakka field in Maysan province in southeastern Iraq...
Read the full report at link below...
Iraq Says Iranian Troops Left Oil Well
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* Bloomberg has this up on their website today...
Iranian troops withdrew from a disputed Iraqi oil well in East Maysan after an armed confrontation at the deposit, Iraqi government officials said... The Iranian forces left the al-Fakah well last night, Iraq’s deputy minister of oil Abdul Kareem Al-Luaibi told reporters in Baghdad today. Iranian control of the well was “a violation of the Iraqi border,” Al-Luaibi said. “The issue at the al-Fakah well was resolved diplomatically.”...
Read the rest at link below...
Iranian Troops Leave Disputed Iraqi Oil Field After ‘Violation’
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* AP reports it this way...
A standoff between Iraq and Iran over a remote oil well ended peacefully Sunday as Iranian forces pulled back from the disputed site. In Baghdad, officials approved a preliminary deal with an international group to develop one of Iraq's most prized oil fields... Together, the events highlighted the economic and diplomatic challenges facing Iraq as it tries to expand its reach in the global oil market... In Iraq's southern Maysan province, soldiers escorted about a dozen oil workers back to well No. 4 on the al-Fakkah oil field after Iranian forces withdrew overnight. Iraqi soldiers planted the Iraqi flag on the well where Iran's flag had flown during the dispute that began last Thursday... "The problem is solved now," Abdul-Karim Elaibi, Iraq's senior deputy oil minister, told The Associated Press. Diplomatic talks over the disputed border were continuing, he said...
Read this report in full at link below...
Iraq says Iranian troops left disputed oil well
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Can’t wait to see how all this mess ends up. And come to think of it... I still haven’t heard a word from our fearless leader, Obama!
AubreyJ.........

#26- AubreyJ’s Energy Update Report - December 20, 2009

AubreyJ’s Latest Energy Update Report
World has Oil-Supply Threats in Iraq and Nigeria yet Oil Price Increases Kept to a Minimum
Sunday, December 20, 2009
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File photo by DoE
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* The Wall Street Journal brings us the following energy report that starts off like this... Oil-supply threats in two of the global oil industry's traditional trouble spots, Iraq and Nigeria, bubbled again over the weekend... But they came as the sector's capacity to pump is growing sharply, providing the industry an unusual ability to make up for any lost oil and keep price increases to a minimum...
Read the full report at link below...
Oil Sector Adapts to Supply Threats
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AubreyJ.........

WHAT!!!? America really didn’t attack Iraq for its OIL!!!?

Time.com brings us the following report and it starts off like this... Those who claim that the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003 to get control of the country's giant oil reserves will be left scratching their heads by the results of last weekend's auction of Iraqi oil contracts: Not a single U.S. company secured a deal in the auction of contracts that will shape the Iraqi oil industry for the next couple of decades.
Read the full report at link below...
U.S. Companies Shut Out as Iraq Auctions Its Oil Fields
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AubreyJ.........