For demonstrating inspirational service and citizenship in founding Soldiers' Angels, Patti Patton-Bader received the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) 2008 James E. Van Zandt Citizenship Award last week at the VFW 109th National Convention in Orlando, Florida.
Through Soldiers’ Angels, Patton-Bader has inspired hundreds of thousands of volunteers to display their citizenship by actively support American military personnel in this time of war. With over twenty different teams and programs addressing a variety of needs, the organization’s 200,000 members assist the deployed, families on the homefront, the wounded, and families of the fallen.
Patton-Bader sees the award as a testimony to the efforts and effectiveness of the volunteers she leads. “I am so appreciative that the VFW honored Soldiers’ Angels with this wonderful award, she said. “Each of our volunteers create ripples of kindness that add up to an ocean of greatness in support of our heroes, and it fills my heart that veterans know they are loved and appreciated.”
The Van Zandt Citizenship Award is given in recognition of selfless service and dedication that inspire Americans to better citizenship. The citation reads
"Awarded to Patti Patton-Bader in esteemed recognition and utmost appreciation of her selfless contributions and steadfast efforts in providing support for members of the United States military and their families.
As founder of Soldiers’ Angels, her extreme generosity, benevolent care and ardent concern for America’s troops, along with her tenacious dedication, have truly made her an inspiration for countless others, thus in keeping with the highest standards of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States."
A short time later, the Secret Service opened the door and President Bush walked in. I thought we might get to shake his hand as he went through. But instead, he walked up to my wife with his arms wide, pulled her in for a hug and a kiss, and said, "I wish I could heal the hole in your heart." He then grabbed me for a hug, as well as each of our sons. Then he turned and said, "Everybody out."
A few seconds later, the four of us were completely alone behind closed doors with the President of the United States and not a Secret Service agent in sight.
He said, "Come on, let's sit down and talk." He pulled up a chair at the side of the room, and we sat down next to him. He looked a little tired from his trip, and he noticed that his shoes were scuffed up from leaning over concrete barriers to shake hands and pose for photos. He slumped down the chair, completely relaxed, smiled, and suddenly was no longer the President - he was just a guy with a job, sitting around talking with us like a family member at a barbeque.
One of the somber moments was when he thanked us for the opportunity to meet, because he feels a heavy responsibility knowing that our son died because of a decision he made. He was incredibly humble, full of warmth, and completely without pretense. We were seeing the man his family sees.
We couldn't believe how long he was talking to us, but he seemed to be in no hurry whatsoever. In the end, he thanked us again for the visit and for the opportunity to get off his feet for a few minutes. He then said, "Let's get some pictures." The doors flew open, Secret Service and the White House photographer came in, and suddenly he was the President again. We posed for individual pictures as he gave each of us one of his coins, and then he posed for family pictures. A few more thank yous, a few more hugs, and he was gone.
The remarkable thing about the whole event was that he didn't have to see us at all. If he wanted to do more, he could've just given a quick handshake and said, "Thanks for your sacrifice." But he didn't - he put everything and everyone in his life on hold to meet privately with the family of a Private First Class who gave his life in the service of his country
Godspeed Spc. Shawn Murphy. Shawn 24, of Fort Bragg, N.C., was killed by a roadside bomb Dec. 10 in Baghdad.
Thoughts and prayers go out to all the families who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
My sincere condolences to those who wanted to use McCain's age as justification to vote for Obama, and likewise to those supporting McCain based on Obama's inexperience. I hereby invite you all to base your votes this November on how the candidates stand on the issues instead.
And my sincere thanks to both candidates for making that a bit more likely.
Update:The official Obama response: "Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency"
Every border Alaska has is an international border. Palin has had to do more than just pontificate with foreigners ... she's had to actually work cooperatively with them, including he Russians ... and maintain an AK National Guard that would be the first responders to any border incursion, IMO.
Greyhawk, I have to respectfully disagree with you on the inexperience argument ... Palin's experience, as short a resume as it is, still leaves The Top of The Other Ticket in the dust.
And anyone with the testicular fortitude to stand up to the senior senator, from her state, AND her party, and cancel his pet project out of a sense of fiscal responsibility, is some "change" we can believe in.
...John Kerry was wrong when claiming (in an effort to undermine homefront morale in another war) that no one wants to be the last man to die for a mistake. In fact, al Qaeda will always have someone eager to prove him wrong.
Under interrogation in a police station later, she said an older woman had strapped the vest to her and told her to go near the entrance of a local school and await instructions from someone who would meet her there, police said.
The AP story adds this bit of intel on the almost-"suicide" bomber:
Police in Baqouba, where the girl was caught Sunday, said she told them she was fitted with the explosives by female relatives of her husband, whom she married five months ago.
If you're still reading this - congratulations. Whether she's a brainwashed "willing" participant or a completely witless victim, the people who did this to her didn't want to kill her or her other potential victims as much as they wanted to make you run away. They lost twice - this time.
But this isn't a first - there have been other times children have been used in this manner (UN report from 2007), and there have been other "suicide bombers" who've survived. This is what we (and by "we" I mean Iraqis and Americans in Iraq) have been fighting since 2003. While the war is won, it clearly isn't over. In part that's because for every man in Iraq who's willing to strap bombs on his 13 year old 'bride' (and there they are a distinct minority) there are still thousands of Americans ready to call him a "freedom fighter". That's been the topic of our ongoing series here.
Here's another book I think I'm fortunate to own: Winter in Moscow, by Malcolm Muggeridge. I say fortunate because Like Steven Vincent's Red Zone, the book is increasingly difficult to find - but they share other commonalities. Both tell the story of one man standing against the accepted narrative to reveal the true brutality of reality that others would prefer remain hidden - even though most would rather not see it anyway.
As to the unquestionably repressive nature of the regime, Mrs Eardley-Wheatsheaf thought that visitors from more civilized countries ought to keep their heads and to see things in proportion. It was true, as she explained at many subsequent lectures, pursing her lips tightly, perhaps a little venomously, that Soviet officials sometimes disappeared (she accentuated the word "disappeared" to give it its full significance); and naturally she deplored such goings-on, just as she deplored the press censorship and the suppression of all opposition opinion. A the same time she had to admit that, given the peculiar conditions prevailing in Russia, administrative disappearances carried with them certain advantages which she for one was not going to overlook. - Malcolm Muggeridge, Winter in Moscow, 1934
If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face--for ever. - George Orwell 1984 (1948)
We might reasonably have expected that with the demise of the U.S.S.R. the Useful Idiots would have shut down their operations, even if they could not bring themselves to actually apologize for having shilled for the most monstrous tyrannies in human history. Not a bit of it. <...> With the centenary of Lenin’s revolution looming on the far horizon, and after all the horrors of our age—mountains of corpses, oceans of lies—these fools are still with us. Wherever there is a jackboot stomping on a human face there will be a well-heeled Western liberal to explain that the face does, after all, enjoy free health care and 100 percent literacy. - John Derbyshire, May, 2000
Let’s go back to the Iraq before we invaded, there was a good education and health care system, food for everyone. That system didn’t belong to Saddam it belonged to the Iraqi, it belonged to years of creating what a civilization needed. If your parents didn’t send you to school they could be put in jail. - Code Pink founder Jodie Evans - August, 2006
*****
An amazing statement, given that a mere three years previously even the "liberal media" acknowledged the nature of the free education provided in Saddam Hussein's Iraq.
Reared on paeans to Saddam Hussein and forced to chant "Long live Saddam" whenever a teacher strode into the room, Iraq's kids will never learn quite the same way again. The Coalition Provisional Authority governing Iraq has ordered that the country's textbooks be stripped of pro-Saddam propaganda. Iraqi Education Ministry officials can't rewrite everything before school starts in September, but they're fixing what they can. Some items slated for pruning:
<...>
--Questions like this, from a second-grade textbook: "Who leads our great revolution?" Answer: "The person we are ready to sacrifice our lives for: Saddam Hussein, may God protect Him."
<...>
--Geography books that say, "Before the Baath Revolution landowners were dictators controlling the land and the people, and that's why we produced so little. After the revolution, everything went perfectly."
<...>
--Maps depicting Kuwait as a territory of Iraq.
''We had to include him in every lesson plan or we'd be in trouble with the Baath Party,'' said Nada alJalili, an elementaryschool teacher at the Tigris School for Girls in Baghdad. ''When we taught about bacteria in biology class, we explained that Saddam brought antibacterial soap and drugs into Iraq. Whenever his name was mentioned, it had be followed with 'God protect him and keep him our president.' ''
Whenever an adult entered the classroom, the students would stand up and recite in unison, ''Long live the leader Saddam Hussein.'' Then they would sit down while reciting, ''Long live the heroic Baath Party.''
<...>
In music classes, they learned new lyrics for traditional melodies. The beginning of one popular children's song was changed from ''The daughter of the merchant has almond eyes'' to ''We are the Baathists. We have heavy weapons.''
During a flag-raising ceremony every Thursday morning, students would chant ''Saddam Hussein!'', ''One Arab nation with an eternal message!'' and ''Unity! Freedom! Socialism!'' Then a teacher or an older student would fire a round of blanks from an AK-47 rifle.
But three years later, the statement "If your parents didn’t send you to school they could be put in jail" (or perhaps just "disappeared") would be used as a defense of Saddam Hussein's Iraq.
Were we as anti-war activists in the US really resisting? And if not, what would have to change?
<...>
We must begin by really standing with the Iraqi people and defending their right to resist. I can remain myself against all forms of violence, and yet I cannot judge what someone has to do when pushed to the wall to protect all they love.
These days Jodie Evans has taken a break from defending the boot eternally smashing the human face and encouraging terrorists to slaughter women and children and has turned her energies to fundraising for Barak Obama (an effort at which she has enjoyed significant success). But as he explained in his book, in 2003 Steven Vincent met her at a party in Iraq.
what I really loved was the line about some idiot proclaiming 100% literacy (rightttt) and free healthcare as good exchanges for being "disappeared". I was thinking about Michael Moore and a few others talking about Cuba.
This is great stuff. And indeed, once a useful idiot, always a useful idiot. The only constant being a hatred for anything American or that tends to true liberty.
Long time milblogger Baldilocks, gives an interview regarding Obama and a small school in Kenya named after him.
She has a lot in common with Obama - who might be the next president. Both were born to Kenyan fathers of the same tribe (the Luo) from the same province (Nyanza), who as boys came to America aboard the same airplane.
Corrections appended: fixed the confusing verbiage in the original post, deleted the three repeats from commenter DAve and removed the fifth comment wherein he berated himself for same.
This post is about 2008. More importantly it's also about 2009 and all the years thereafter. But we're going to drop back in time just a bit first - please bear with me.
We're heading for Baghdad, late 2003 and early 2004. Steven Vincent is our tour guide - there is no better. He is dead, of course, but because of that he's frozen in time via his writing. Our vehicle for this trip is In The Red Zone: A Journey Into The Soul Of Iraq, his chronicle of his journeys in Iraq in 2003 and 2004. To read it now is to be reminded of things forgotten - or nearly so.
He titled chapter two "An image of Hadeel" - after a picture of an Iraqi girl he had seen on a wall in Baghdad...
The photo - actually a color Xerox - showed a pretty, rather plump , reddish-haired Iraqi woman smiling at the camera, a Santa Claus cap perched on her head. Her name, according to an inscription printed beneath her image, was Hadeel...
"At the time of the photograph" our tour guide informs us, "the 29 year old had just gotten engaged, the nuptials set for mid-February."
The cautious reader will have a sense of foreboding at this point, a nagging urge to click away, go no further, advance no more...
Caught in an unguarded moment of laughter, hair mussed, eyes gleaming, the silly mirth of an office Christmas party behind her, Hadeel seemed like any young woman the world over who was anticipating marriage, children, and a happy future growing old with her husband.
But Hadeel was dead.
She was killed by a suicide bomber driving "a flatbed truck carrying a thousand pounds of plastic explosives and several 155mm artillery shells... It seemed the shaheed had intended to ram his truck into the CPA compound, but had prematurely detonated the device in rush hour traffic."
Trapped inside the car as she waited to enter for work, Hadeel burned to death.
*****
The people who killed her have supporters in the United States:
Were we as anti-war activists in the US really resisting? And if not, what would have to change?
<...>
We must begin by really standing with the Iraqi people and defending their right to resist. I can remain myself against all forms of violence, and yet I cannot judge what someone has to do when pushed to the wall to protect all they love.
We'll get around to sourcing that quote later - for now I'll only hint that the author has something in common with Hadeel, though she herself was never burned to death in a car on her way to work by people with a "right to resist".
*****
That last quote was from 2005, by the way. Terrorist apologists were fairly common in that year, four years after 9/11, two years into Iraq. It was a year in which three elections were held in Iraq, a year in which Steven Vincent was killed in Basra, and a year I documented a number of atrocities committed by the "resistance":
The suicide attack that was performed on an election center in one of Baghdad's districts (Baghdad Al-Jadeedah) last Sunday was performed using a kidnapped "Down Syndrome" patient.
Eye witnesses said (and I'm quoting one of my colleagues; a dentist who lives there) "the poor victim was so scared when ordered to walk to the searching point and began to walk back to the terrorists. In response the criminals pressed the button and blew up the poor victim almost half way between their position and the voting center's entrance".
A Shia Muslim from the Sadr City slums of Baghdad, Ahmed had joined the new Iraqi National Guard, only to be killed in his patrol car when a bomb planted by insurgents exploded.
The next day, as his family took his coffin for burial in the holy Shia city of Najaf, 100 miles south of Baghdad, they were stopped at what purported to be a police checkpoint near the town of Iskandaria and ordered out of their minibus.
Insurgents wearing fake police uniforms shot and beheaded six of the mourners, including Ahmed's mother. Then they ripped Ahmed's body out of the coffin and decapitated him too.
BAGHDAD -- A suicide bomber in an explosives-laden SUV killed at least 27, including an American soldier, late this morning in the deadliest insurgent attack in more than two months.
<...>
Many, if not most of the dead were children loitering and playing near U.S. soldiers at an impromptu checkpoint in Baghdad al-Jadida, a lower-middle class residential district populated by Shiites, Sunnis and Christians.
At the nearby Kindi hospital, hundreds of distraught parents mingled in blood-soaked hallways shouting and screaming as they looked for their children, many of whom were badly mutilated.
"If we are fighting a war against terrorism, terrorism impacts innocent people, so we want to show them that we're against that, and that's why we need to help these families that are so desperate."
Marla's campaign led her to Afghanistan and Iraq, while bullets were still flying and explosions were part of the daily routine. A terrorist killed her last Saturday as she and Faiz, CIVIC's Iraq Country Director, traveled to visit an Iraqi child injured by a bomb. She was 28.
The group said in a statement posted on the Internet that it had killed the envoy, Ihab al-Sherif, but it did not say when or how. The group said "that the verdict of God has been implemented against the ambassador of the infidels, the ambassador of Egypt, thank God."
"Egypt is one of those at the forefront of the war on Islam and Muslims," the statement said. "Its jails are full of mujahedeen." It showed a video of the blindfolded diplomat identifying himself but, unlike in other kidnappings, it did not show the killing itself, according to the Associated Press.
Iraq's most feared terror group warned foreign diplomats yesterday to flee the country after announcing it will put to death two kidnapped Moroccan Embassy employees.
<...>
The warning came in a statement posted on an Islamist Web site in the name of al Qaeda in Iraq, which also claimed responsibility for the July kidnap-slaying of two envoys from Algeria and one from Egypt as well as the abduction and beheading of many other foreigners.
To win the war against the US military and Badr, Colonel Jassam advises the Omariyun to follow two short-term goals - to cement mujahideen control over the Ramadi area, and to stage operations that will increase pressure on US opinion to withdraw troops.
<...>
To achieve their second goal, turning Americans against the war, the mujahideen need to shape their operations "to support anti- war sentiment in the west", he says.
And I watched a car bomb burn at a police check point in Tall 'Afar, the explosion killing no one but the people inside the car -- a man, a woman and two young children.
A suicide attacker steered a car packed with explosives toward U.S. soldiers giving away toys to children outside a hospital in central Iraq on Thursday, killing at least 31 people. Almost all of the victims were women and children, police said.
<...>
"It was an explosion at the gate of the hospital," a woman who had wounds on her face and legs told the AP. "My children are gone. My brother is gone."
With no room left at the hospital, emergency workers rushed victims to hospitals in Baghdad, about 15 miles to the north. And when the hospital morgue was full, the workers were forced to place the dead in the hospital garden so family members could find them.
But Shaya said he was injured even before he went on the mission when insurgents detonated a truck bomb he was supposed to leave at a target site.
<...>
"They asked me to take the truck near a concrete block barrier before turning to the right and leaving it there," he says. "There, somebody will pick up the truck from you," they told him.
"But they blew me up in the truck," he says.
<...>
Ahmed's truck bomb killed nine people, including a family of seven in their house nearby.
"Terrorism was in London. Terrorism was in Spain. Terrorism was, obviously, in the United States.
"That's completely separate from what's going on in Iraq. Iraq is an insurgency.
<...>
"Very small proportion of the people that are involved in the insurgency are terrorists or how I would interpret them as terrorists."
- John Murtha
*****
Were we as anti-war activists in the US really resisting? And if not, what would have to change?
<...>
We must begin by really standing with the Iraqi people and defending their right to resist. I can remain myself against all forms of violence, and yet I cannot judge what someone has to do when pushed to the wall to protect all they love.
All from 2005. And 2006 saw even more death and destruction. But the irony within that final quote is that 2006 is also the year that the Iraqi people did find their backs to the wall and increasingly exercised their right to resist - against the people who actually were slaughtering them in the streets. It was the year of the Samarra bombing and the year of "civil war in Iraq" headlines, but it was also the year of Anbar Awakening, and the year America figured things out. It was the year we almost lost, but almost doesn't count. And it was the year I began with a review of 2005 that ended like this:
And now 2006 has begun. As noted here early last year (and repeated)
If you've been reading Mudville for any time at all you must have gotten the message: the insurgents are on the ropes. Make no mistake about it - they are capable of killing people in large numbers, but their political effectiveness is virtually nil.
"Capable of killing people in large numbers" - proven.
"...but their political effectiveness is virtually nil". - Three successful elections in Iraq support the accuracy of the claim. But an unexpected element has boosted the political effectiveness of the killers of children, aid workers, diplomats, and anyone else finding themselves at the wrong place at the wrong time. No matter how high the body count or how heinous their crimes, terrorists now believe they have allies who won't abandon their cause - and that faint glimmer of hope seems to be all they need.
*****
To win the war against the US military and Badr, Colonel Jassam advises the Omariyun to follow two short-term goals - to cement mujahideen control over the Ramadi area, and to stage operations that will increase pressure on US opinion to withdraw troops.
<...>
To achieve their second goal, turning Americans against the war, the mujahideen need to shape their operations "to support anti- war sentiment in the west", he says.
Reid, the Senate's top Democrat, described part of a meeting with Bush at the White House on Wednesday -- the same day bombs killed almost 200 people in Baghdad in the worst day of violence since a U.S.-backed security crackdown was launched there earlier this year.
"This is the message I took to the president," Reid said at a news conference.
"Now I believe myself ... that this war is lost, and that the surge is not accomplishing anything, as indicated by the extreme violence in Iraq yesterday," said Reid, of Nevada.
But 2007 was the year we won the war. We poured in troops and got things done and while strident voices on the home front demanded we abandon Iraq (and some would maintain the 2006 fiction that we were "caught in the crossfire of a civil war") none would dare argue the 2005 point that we were fighting against a righteous and noble "resistance".
What if we had chosen another course? What if we had pulled back instead of pushing forward? One possible answer can be gleaned from the British experience of the last three years - an experience I documented here. In compiling that I realized that in hindsight - even more so than when new - Steven Vincent's posts from Basra were amazing. They filled a huge gap in the narrative of Southern Iraq, and revealed a population begging the British to remain in force or for the more "aggressive" Americans to replace them - even as our allies acted on the theory that their presence was only making things worse, that only if left to themselves would the Iraqis work things out. The failure of that theory is evident now - in hindsight - but the warning signs were glaringly obvious if one reads the first-hand accounts of Basra in 2005 that cost Steven Vincent his life.
Greyhawk,
As usual a great look back. Concise, accurate and leaves wanting "the rest of the story". '05-'06...my time in the sand on loan to the Army as well. Damn sure glad the headlines are different today than back then!
Press on to victory! Never forget.
DS
Posted by Desert Sailor at August 21, 2008 02:38 PM
Rohullah Nikpai defeated world champion Juan Antonio Ramos of Spain on Wednesday to earn the bronze medal in the men's under 58-kilogram taekwondo competition, sparking applause, wide smiles and laughter in homes, restaurants and ice cream parlors around the country.
What a wonderful story! I've not seen this reported anywhere else. It's fantastic that Afghans finally have something to rally around.
I saw photos a relative took during an Afghanistan deployment. It looked like the people have literally nothing but the dirt under their feet. I hope they can hold onto this win to rouse feelings of nationalism and unity among their people.
Posted by jordan at August 21, 2008 01:05 AM
My husband and I taught English as a foreign language with USAID in Kabul in the early sixties, and were very impressed with the hospitality, the vigor, and the spirit of the Afghan people. Our students were highly motivated to learn, eager, and high spirited. The Afghan people need and appreciate all the help and support we can give them, and we are delighted Rohullah Nikpai won an Olympic Medal in TKD for Afghanistan.We studied TKD in the U.S. We are very happy to know of this news.
Posted by Jean Chisholm at August 21, 2008 02:21 AM
Welcome to the Dawn Patrol, our daily roundup of information on the War on Terror and other topics - from the MilBlogs and other sources around the world. If you're a blogger, you can join the conversation. If you link to any of these stories, add a link to the Dawn Patrol too and your trackback will be added to the list. Hat Tips to the Dawn Patrol are greatly appreciated.
US forces to hand over Anbar control to Iraqis -- [Middle East Online]
US forces will hand over control of Anbar province to Iraqi troops in the coming days, military officials said Wednesday, touting improved security in the region.
Eat ‘em and Smile -- [The War on Big Tobacco - in Iraq]
So are you sure, are you damn sure, that you want her on the gun?"
"I believe she can do the job," Specialist Fishbowl says.
"I do too," Applesauce's team leader says.
I’m reluctant to concede to this. The last truck in the convoy has the important job of warning off oncoming vehicles and acting as the liaison truck with other convoys at the halt. A reliable, experienced person has to be on that gun. But my platoon is fresh out of experienced people and we have to settle for just reliable, or even unreliable and only marginally motivated.
"All right,” I say. “I respect your decision. I don’t want to do this, but I’m fresh out of options. I guess we're done."
Later that day, I see Private Applesauce as I walk back from the dining facility. I stop her.
"You know you got the gun on Vic Six for the next convoy, roger?"
"I know, sarn't."
I want to give her some encouraging words, something that she would remember years from now as words that changed her life.
"Well, don't fuck it up," I say.
"I'll do my best sarn't."
"No, don't do your best. I'm not going to write your husband and tell him you did your best. Just watch your lane and don't fuck it up. Your squad leader must really believe in you."
"Roger sergeant, I won’t fuck it up."
The Littlest Indicator -- [Zen Traveler - in Iraq]
I was answering a question for a friend last night on identifiable progress in Iraq, and I began thinking about the definition of "progress". In graduate school thirteen years ago the political science buzzword for progress was "development", and of course that meant various things to various people depending on what their viewpoint was. Some, including myself, approached development from an economic standpoint, others looked at social or political conditions, still more were concerned with infrastructure. All of these are good indicators to consider when determining the development or progress that is taking place in Iraq.
While there is not a catch-all indicator of development, there is one that is pretty close,
Suicide attack foiled in Talafar-- [Voices of Iraq]
NINEWA, Aug. 29 – Policemen in Talafar on Friday thwarted a suicide attack with an explosive belt that targeted a mosque in the district, the Talafar mayor said.
Iraqi forces take control of Diala’s disputed town-military -- [Voices of Iraq]
DIALA, Aug. 28 (VOI) –Iraqi army commander on Thursday said central government troops are wrestling control of most of Diala’s disputed town of Khanaqin from Kurdish peshmerga forces.
"Iraqi soldiers are totally controlling the areas of Qara-Tapa, Jalawlaa, and al-Saadiya of Khanaqin suburb (155 km northeastern Diala province)," Brigadier Muneim Ali, commander of the Iraqi army 5th division 4th brigade, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).
"Senior figures of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK – President Jalal Talabani's party) in those areas received the Iraqi army troops with flowers," he said.
Kurdish forces refused Iraqi defence ministry orders to pull out of Kurdish-populated areas of ethnically divided Diala province where they have been deployed for the past two years.But then conceded Iraqi army deployment in some areas of the disputed town of Khanaqeen.
The deployment of Iraqi troops in Khanaqeen unleashed strong protest of Kurdish official, considering the measures as provocative and a political tool to influence Kurd’s stances in conroversial provincial polls law
Sting of Emeralds -- [Matel - in Iraq]
Plans to set up a string of oases were put on hold by the many conflicts Iraq suffered and provoked over the last generation. The old man I talked to got his agricultural education in Belgium a long time ago. He lamented the lost time and the encroaching desert, but what he felt most acutely was the isolation. Iraqi scientists lost contact with the rest of the world, during the Saddam tyranny and sanctions. They were unable to properly contribute to and benefit from the advance of knowledge in preserving arid lands, so their level of expertise is more than twenty years old. A lot has happened since then.
Contact-- [...feeling of absurdity... - in Iraq]
The vehicle in front of you is now replaced with a 100 meter dust cloud and your ears feel like they were just slapped all at the same time. What do you do?
Again with Anah -- [Matel - in Iraq]
Several members of the ePRT and representative of the RCT made a follow up visit to Anah, since I promised the mayor that I would come back with some experts to address particular things we had discussed. It is a follow up. Some of this entry will be similar to my entry re a couple weeks ago. Bear with me.
...After Al Qaim, Anah is the best run city in our AO. Some of the reasons are clear. Anah's mayor is someone who is competent, honest and who loves his city. The people of Anah mostly have come from someplace else, if for no other reason than that Anah physically moved around twenty years ago when the waters of Lake Qadisiya inundated the old city site. They are less tied to tribal loyalties and tradition than the inhabitants of most other areas in Anbar.
Grumpy Recommends: Hatch Gloves -- [Sgt Grumpy]
Before I deployed to Iraq, I looked at every tactical glove out on the market, but couldn't find what I was looking for. I needed a durable, functional glove, that would provide protection and comfort. We were often scrambling in and out of vehicles, and buildings, and even back in training my hands were getting hammered. But breathablity and comfort was as much of an issue - most gloves I tried made my hands sweat too much.
...If you have a Soldier or Marine going downrange who will be outside the wire, these make an excellent gift.
AFGHANISTAN / PAKISTAN
Hurricane Afghanistan -- [Michael Yon - in Afghanistan]
...Arriving at the Serena Hotel, my driver stopped at the front gate just as two armored vehicles with Turkish markings rolled up behind us. A hotel security guard came out excitedly, asking why we stopped. Meanwhile, heavily armed Turkish soldiers were piling out of their vehicles, guarding the armored car of a hotel visitor. The Turkish soldiers wore patches that say “ISAF,” or International Security Assistance Force. The soldiers were on high alert, and I wanted to be away from them in case of any drama, and so I unloaded the gear and headed to the front gate of the Serena Hotel. Earlier this year, according to an eyewitness who works as a waiter at a restaurant inside the hotel, two suicide bombers detonated themselves at the gate, killing four guards. The restaurant was a nearly perfect vantage point from which to see the attack unfold. The waiter told me that after the suicide bombers detonated at the gate, two men wearing police uniforms shot their way into the hotel, killing two people in the lobby, and then over to the health club where they killed two more before disappearing without a trace.
A Soldiers Story - Argylls in Afghanistan part 3
NEFA Foundation: Interview with Sirajuddin Haqqani, Latest Zawahiri Audio Transcript, Written Responses from KSM/Khallad, Taliban Biography of the Late Mullah Dadullah -- [Counterterrorism Blog]
The NEFA Foundation has published several new items on its website which will be of interest to counterterrorism researchers. First, the NEFA Foundation has obtained video of a conversation with Taliban Deputy Commander Sirajuddin Haqqani, the son of the infamous Afghan mujahideen leader Jalaluddin Haqqani. Though only in his early thirties, Haqqani is considered one of the most powerful Taliban military commanders in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and has been rumored as a possible internal political rival to the current Taliban administration of Mullah Mohammed Omar. Haqqani has freely acknowledged his role in organizing recent terrorist attacks in the Afghan capital Kabul, and his partnership with foreign fighters arriving from elsewhere in the Muslim world.
Too close for comfort.... -- [Two Brothers, Two Countries, One Army]
First and most important: please say a special prayer for the Soldiers and their families of those over here. I can't say why, but there are people in special need tonight. Thank you.
We are about to enter a "bad" time of the year. Forgive me if I spell this wrong....but Ramidad is about to start. It's a month long religious fasting period that means a lot to them...Forgive me, I'm a Southern Baptist/Contemporary Christian so I'm not too up on that particular religion. All I know is that it raises issues with the safety of our Soldiers over here. It's pretty dangerous time of the year from what I understand. So please keep us in your prayers.
Report From a Forgotten War (4th in a Series) -- [TownHall - Oliver North]
HERAT, Afghanistan -- A Taliban sentry fired the first shots shortly after 2:30 a.m. as Afghan commandos and U.S. Special Operations Command troops surrounded the compound at Aziz Abad. Though the Marine Special Operations Team had employed a daring deception to achieve surprise, they were engaged heavily by gunfire from AK-47s and machine guns almost immediately after deploying at the objective.
Another Mission -- [The Left Captain - in Afghanistan]
I rode in the relatively bombproof confines of an RG31 MRAP, second truck in a four vehicle convoy.
...On the way back I had a perspective shifting conversation with an interpreter who was riding in the MRAP with me. I asked him about himself and he shared that he had a wife and two small sons in another city. He had worked for NATO forces for seven years and before that lived in Pakistan, having fled the country during the Soviet occupation. He talked about growing up during the Soviet-Afghan war and how he wants his sons to grow up in peace. “I don’t care about my life, I do everything for my sons.”
Maybe I’ll post more on that later, but it put a human face on the war for me. Sometimes I feel myself slipping into an uncaring place, just wanting to get the hell out of here and leave this place behind. Listening to people’s stories gives color and meaning to the mission again.
Special visit -- [Staying in Touch - in Afghanistan]
The chief of the National Guard Bureau came to see his troops serving in Afghanistan during a very special visit on 26 and 27 August.
Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum was accompanied by National Guard Bureau Command Sgt. Major David Ray Hudson to see members of the New York National Guard’s 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and soldiers from other states serving in Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix VII.
Fighting intensifies in Pakistan's Northwest-- [LWJ - Bill Roggio]
Nine killed in IED strike in Bannu; 50 Taliban reported killed in Bajaur; Taliban and military take additional casualties in South Waziristan.
Walking the walk in Georgia, part II -- [Castle Argghhh!] Castle Argghhh! has a correspondent (literally, someone who emails, vice someone I sent over for the purpose) on the ground in Georgia providing humanitarian assistance and a little eye on the ground.
The second report from Dr. Trish Blair, who is providing on-the-ground humanitarian assistance in the Republic of Georgia
Joint Task Force - East prepares for continual presence in Romania, Bulgaria -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany]
Some of you know my fellow SA Germany volunteer Jessica (seen, for example, in the top photo here). That's her husband Mike towards the back of this photo on the right. He's the only one awake and reading ;-)
Joint training exercises have been carried out in Romania and Bulgaria since the fall of the Soviet Union. But ten-year agreements signed in 2005 and 2006 allow for larger-scale deployments and a continual presence in both countries.
The agreements also permit ...
Russia 'could destroy NATO ships in Black Sea within 20 minutes' -- [RIA Novosti]
Russia's Black Sea Fleet is capable of destroying NATO's naval strike group currently deployed in the sea within 20 minutes, a former fleet commander said on Friday.
Russia's General Staff said on Tuesday there were 10 NATO ships in the Black Sea - three U.S. warships, the Polish frigate General Pulaski, the German frigate FGS Lubeck, and the Spanish guided missile frigate Admiral Juan de Borbon, as well as four Turkish vessels. Eight more warships are expected to join the group.
"Despite the apparent strength, the NATO naval group in the Black Sea is not battle-worthy," Admiral Eduard Baltin said. "If necessary, a single missile salvo from the Moskva missile cruiser and two or three missile boats would be enough to annihilate the entire group."
Russia, Iran to discuss Bushehr NPP completion on Sept. 1 -- [RIA Novosti]
A delegation from a Russian nuclear power construction company Atomstroyexport will discuss the completion of the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran on September 1, a company spokesman said on Friday.
Putin Accuses U.S. Pushing Georgia Conflict to Influence Elections Back Home -- [FOX News]
The White House is rejecting Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's claim that the United States pushed Georgia to war, calling the allegation "patently false."
Putin had suggested that U.S. involvement was intended to affect its own domestic politics.
...Putin Accuses US Pushing Georgia Conflict to Influence Elections Back Home
SUPPORTING THE TROOPS...OR NOT
The Reason To Delay Air Force One... -- [BlackFive]
True story, via Seamus, about President Bush on his way to "Asia" (read Olympics):
I learned a big lesson on service Aug. 4, 2008, when Eielson had the rare honor of hosting President Bush on a refueling stop as he traveled to Asia .
An incredible amount of effort goes into presidential travel because of all of the logistics, security, protocol, etc ... so it was remarkable to see Air Force One land at Eielson on time at precisely 4:30 p.m.--however, when he left less than two hours later, the President was 15 minutes behind schedule.
That's a big slip for something so tightly choreographed, but very few people know why it happened. Here's why....
We need your help to continue supporting the medics and patients-- [Soldier's Angels - Medical Support]
It's night time, this injured soldier just arrived at the E/R after an medevac flight on a helicopter, where the dedicated medics will do their best for him. After that, he'll be transferred to a larger hospital, then probably evac'd to Germany and eventually back home. His recovery may be quick, or might take a life-time. And at every step, Soldiers Angels will be there to assist.
We support front-line medics, Combat Support Hospitals in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Qatar and Krzygstan. Soldiers Angels members volunteer at all the major US military hospitals, and we have extended our assistance to VA hospitals and Fisher Houses all over the US.
We need your help to continue our mission:
SA and Bikin on the Block -- [Soldiers’ Angels Louisiana]
I wanted to let everyone know what Acadiana SA’s have been doing. Every month we have a table setup at Cajun Harley Davidson in Scott. We do this to have cards made and signed for the troops. This month it is the 105th Birthday of Harley Davidson.
Road 2 Recovery -- [Thunder Run]
Road 2 Recovery is a program designed to help make a difference in the lives of vets by assisting with their mental and physical rehabilitation programs.
Longtime frined of this Blog Danjel Bout award winning author of the blog 365 Days and a Wake that cronicled his time in Iraq send this personal message about the validity of this program along with a plea for help.
28 August 2008 - David Hardt -- [Blog-ah]
...I often receive e-mails from soldiers struggling with PTSD. Many of the stories they share with me are similar to the one above. One young man, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is still in his unit and is scared his chain of command will see him as weak, said, “I just got back from deployment, and I feel like I don’t belong here. People don’t understand me, and when I act out they think I am being disrespectful. That’s not the case. I just can’t get these emotions under control. I hate how I am; I just can’t turn off that switch.”
The Switch
Some of you may be wondering what that switch is while others, namely combat troopers, know that terminology rather well. For some,...
My PTSD Catharsis Channel -- [A Soldier's Perspective - Roman General]
My writing here triggers me on a continuous basis with the issues of combat and war. I have had therapy for years to move beyond all of my core issues except my war experiences. It took me "growing" up through the cognitive-behavioral restructuring of my childhood to adulthood within the safe place of therapy. When I started writing within this blog I began the "therapy" and reintegration of my combat and wartime issues.
Order your Holiday Freedom Cake -- [Soldiers Angels Network]
Modeled on their successful and ongoing Freedom Calk effort that has sent 5,000 cakes to deployed troops, Bake Me a Wish and Soldiers' Angels are now offering the Holiday Freedom Cake. This is an opportunity to send a gourmet cake to family members, friends or clients while showing a service member that he or she is in also in our thoughts during the Holiday Season.
MILITARY
You Served - Military Blog and Podcast -- [Blogtalk Radio]
You Served is a popular military blog brought to you by VA MortgageCenter.com. Visit us for great posts from CJ Grisham, updates on your VA Benefits, and more! BTR is where we host our brand new podcast, hosted by CJ himself.
Federal jury acquits ex-Marine in Iraqis' deaths -- [MNBC]
Verdict is the first time a civilian jury has weighed in on the law of war
A former Marine accused of killing unarmed Iraqi detainees was acquitted of voluntary manslaughter Thursday in a first-of-its-kind federal trial.
The jury took six hours to find Jose Luis Nazario Jr. not guilty of charges that he killed or caused others to kill four unarmed detainees on Nov. 9, 2004, in Fallujah, Iraq, during some of the fiercest fighting of the war.
WELCOME HOME
Fort Lewis love fest: 4-6 Air Cav regiment comes home -- [The News Tribune]
Almost the entire Stilwell family showed up to welcome home Capt. Jacqueline Stilwell. A 2004 West Point graduate, she was the fourth consecutive generation ...
City hosts its biggest 'welcome home' yet -- [Naperville Sun]
The troops were primarily from the 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines Reserve Unit made up of servicemen from Milwaukee and Chicago
THE MEDIA
CNN: How Can Sarah Palin Care for Her Chidren if She's Vice President? (Media Reax Thread)-- [Ace of Spades]
Women can do anything. Except if they're Republican women. In which case, how can they be so selfish as to put themselves in front of their children?
Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC... is decidedly funereal. Not feeling the excitement of this particular first.
NYT Buries Stadium-Filling Soccer Match in Iraq Inside Unrelated Bombing Story -- [NewsBusters]
What do you do if you're the New York Times and you're faced with having to report on an incident-free soccer match in Iraq that had 40,000 in attendance?
Why, you bury it in a totally unrelated story about a bombing, omit any mention of it in the headline, and hope against hope that only a few readers bother to reach the seventh paragraph.
Old Media Misses Rising Support for War in Iraq -- [NewsBusters]
Some how, the Old Media has missed the good news on Iraq. On August 27, the Rasmussen polling organization published a poll that showed American confidence is at its highest level ever in support of the War on Terror since they've begun tracking in January of 2004. This poll got little notice by the Old Media, of course
Matthews Insults Rice & Powell as 'Showcase Appointments' -- [NewsBusters]
Contrasting how Barack Obama won the nomination of the Democratic Party to how Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell achieved their successes, Chris Matthews insulted the aforementioned as "showcase appointments."
POLITICS
Happy Birthday Senator McCain -- [Redstate]
Happy Birthday to Senator McCain! Consider this your place to speculate wildly on VPs. Most recent updates: 1) Pawlenty is not going to be in Dayton; 2) Romney and Palin are; 3) No word on Cantor, Lieberman and other possibilities. ...
Charlie Wilson's Peace -- [WaPo - Charles Wilson]
...In a scene near the end of the movie "Charlie Wilson's War," after the mujaheddin victory over the invading Soviet military, congressional appropriators turn down my request for funds to rebuild Afghanistan's schools, roads and economy. If we had done the right thing in Afghanistan then -- following up our military support with the necessary investments in diplomacy and development assistance -- we would have better secured our own country's future, as well as peace and stability in the region.
In reality, this decision played out over several years and involved many people, but the scene makes clear what a mistake we made. Sure, the problems facing Afghanistan and the region were tough -- feuding warlords, the opium crop and the shift in our attention to the Persian Gulf War. But the Afghans, with our weapons, had done nothing less than help precipitate the collapse of the Soviet Union. And instead of intensifying our diplomatic and humanitarian efforts to help the Afghans meet their postwar challenges, we simply walked away -- leaving a destroyed country that lacked roads, schools, and any plan or hope for rebuilding.
Into this void marched the Taliban and al-Qaeda, and we all know what happened after that. Today, fledgling democracies -- be it Afghanistan or Georgia -- face similar danger. We simply cannot make the same mistake.
The lesson here is about more than the good manners of reciprocating a favor. It takes much more to make America safe than winning on the battlefield. Had we remained engaged in Afghanistan, investing in education, health and economic development, the world would be a very different place today.
Obama's Night -- [Real Clear Politics]
It was a remarkable scene last night. The mood of the crowd, the stagecraft, the pageantry and the sheer enormity of the stadium made the evening feel like a cross between Lollapalooza, The Oscars, and the closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics.
Obama's speech was brilliant: ...He made one mistake, though
McCain Responds
King Georgia -- [Weekly Standard]
"You can't truly stand up for Georgia," Obama said tonight, "when you've strained our oldest alliances."
It's worth unpacking this statement. First, it's a clear indication that, despite what some bloggers say, Russia's invasion of Georgia truly is, yes, a world-historical event that has wormed its way into the presidential campaign and seriously troubles foreign-policy thinkers on both sides of the aisle.
Second, Obama makes no sense. The implication is twofold: that McCain, who speaks with Mikheil Saakashvili daily, has not "truly" stood "up for Georgia." Please. McCain has so stolidly backed our democratic ally during this crisis that some of Obama's cohorts accuse him of warmongering. How has Obama stood up for Georgia?
Their Brass Band -- [NRO - Jay Nordlinger]
At the Democratic convention in 2004 — Boston — the party stuffed the stage with every senior military person who supported Kerry. They no doubt rounded up every last one of them. And they all stood on the stage, saluting. Remember Adm. Stansfield Turner and that bunch? I think they were all there, except maybe Gene LaRoque.
Anyway, I said that if the Republicans pulled the same act — paraded all the military people who supported them — they would need a bigger room than Madison Square Garden.
Well, the same thing happened this year.
Do You know Enough to Elect Barrak Obama?
Virtual Patriotism -- [Vets for Freedom]
Denver — Having the opportunity to sit courtside at the Democratic National Convention the past few days has afforded me many opportunities to examine what is wrong with our national dialogue over the war.
...The complete disconnect to why we serve and why we volunteer to do what we do devastates me. I see the anger over the war in these delegates. I have tried desperately — and in vain, thus far — to connect with these angry protesters who, in the guise of passion for American greatness, violate the sanctity of those who have fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan.
If it were not for this political season, 80 days from a presidential election, would any of this be on display? This is a party whose leadership, for the first time in American history, is unified to stop a war in the midst of the fight. They have tried to defund, derail, and dissuade the American military from the strategy of the surge that has undeniably won the war in Iraq.
The Mudville Gazette is the on-line voice of an American warrior and his wife who stands by him. They prefer to see peaceful change render force of arms unnecessary. Until that day they stand fast with those who struggle for freedom, strike for reason, and pray for a better tomorrow.
, by Malcolm Muggeridge. I say fortunate because Like Steven Vincent's 
, his chronicle of his journeys in Iraq in 2003 and 2004. To read it now is to be reminded of things forgotten - or nearly so.