Major TomBryant, a spokesman for the 101st Airborne Division's 3rd Brigade in nearby Tikrit, says the informants said as many as 100 insurgents, at least some of them foreign fighters, were operating in the region.
Major TOMBRYANT (Spokesman, 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division): About a month ago, we started receiving intelligence from our Iraqi partners, reports that indicated a number of insurgents operating in this area northeast of Samarra, a very isolated, rural area, a lot of farms, a couple of small villages, but kind of a no man's land.
Instead of allowing his undying allegiance to Red Sox Nation cloud his judgment, Burns relied on the commentaries provided by Tom Verducci and Howard Bryant to support his claim.