WEBVTT

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Hello from Baghdad . I'm Brigadier

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General John Campbell , the deputy

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commanding general maneuver from multi

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national division Baghdad . If you're

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watching me on video in our attempt to

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hold a live town hall meeting didn't

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work this month , but we'll get it

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fixed and insurance are good to go next

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time . I first want to say how much we

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appreciate the continued support we

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received from all of you back home .

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The special Hello to our long life

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families at Fort Bliss . Thanks for

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joining us . Your commitment and

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sacrifice has allowed us to remain

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focused on our mission here for that .

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I thank all of you . I'd like to start

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by giving you a quick update on our

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operations here in Baghdad . We now

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have all of our surge forces in place

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and are really taking the fight to the

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enemy . Her focus has been most

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importantly on al Qaeda and al Qaeda

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affiliates . We're taking away their

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ability to safely operate and maneuver

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throughout the city and the ability to

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brutalize the local population . It

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will . Working alongside our Iraqi

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security force counterparts were making

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steady progress in providing safety and

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security many of the neighborhoods in

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Baghdad as our influence has grown . So

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has the numbers of local volunteers who

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have stepped up to the fight to fight

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extremism in Iraq . During a recent

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Iraqi security force recruiting drive

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in one neighborhood , More than 6000

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Iraqi signed up to fill the new 1900

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Iraqi police positions created there .

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The local population is tired of the

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violence brought on by Al Qaeda and

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similar groups and is starting to fight

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back , The enemy is still providing

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tough resistance to our coalition

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forces while they continue to commit

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violence against innocence and their

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attempt to undermine the efforts of the

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coalition and the Iraqi government .

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But their attempts to topple the

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government here are certain to fail and

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our troopers will continue to hunt them

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down until there's no place left for

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them to hide . We're moving forward in

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the development of infrastructure and

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essential services as well . Improving

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the quality of life for ordinary Iraqis

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is a key step to building trust and

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confidence among the local population .

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We're also working to revitalize local

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economies to get people back to work

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and provide them a safe place to

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purchase what they need through it all ,

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your first team troopers have conducted

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themselves with courage , honor and

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compassion . I'm continually impressed

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by their unwavering professionalism and

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sense of purpose . They are truly

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making a difference . They can see it

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in the smiling faces of the Children

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who fall them through the city streets

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and they can see it through the eyes of

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Iraqi counterparts as we go more

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capable and confident . Every day . As

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I close , I want to say thanks again

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for your continued commitment to our

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soldiers . We were all instrumental in

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our success through your support for

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soldiers and families in the rear . As

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a reminder , you can stay up to date on

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all of our first team's activities by

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visiting the division website at www

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dot cab country dot net . Hopefully

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next month , I'll be here in first to

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answer some questions from all of us

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here in Baghdad . Thank you again for

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all you do for our first team .

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Soldiers and families . First Team .