The reader will kindly forgive any tendency to rough language or behavior on the part of the site owner...
TMGlogo2006-2007archives-phs-copy.jpg
"Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
PDA
Advertise Here
Contact
Shop
MilBlog Headquarters
Join MilBlogs
Someone You Should Know
Hero
SPONSORS

LATEST POSTS
wake.jpg


Latest Posts From Mudville

bigcupof milblogs Dogtulosba.jpg
Latest Posts From MilBlogs

The_American_Way1.jpg
BARGAIN ADS

ARCHIVES

livamercasm.jpg

TMG MONTHLY ARCHIVES
[-]

BOOKS BY MILBLOGGERS

knowsm.jpg

yonbook.jpg blogofwar.jpg

More Books Here

gngrey120x60.gif
MUSIC BY MILITARY

Greyhawk Live

b.holbrook.jpg

homephoto2.jpg

iraqcdcover.jpg

3dbdowncd.bmp

ROLL CALL

freespeech.jpg

Friends of Mudville
Random 20 Blogroll
[−]
MilBlog Ring Members
Random 20 Blogroll
[−]
Angels / Supporting
our Troops
Random 20 Blogroll
[−]
Friends of MilBlogs
Random 20 Blogroll
[−]
JOIN

joinsm.jpg

advactsm.jpg

army.jpg

subservsm.jpg

navy_logo.jpg

airsm.jpg

logo.jpg

usmcfrncsm.jpg

marines.jpg

USCG.jpg

primary_uscg.jpg

freefearsm.jpg

A MILBLOG
mudminilogo1.jpg
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.

VALOUR-IT

milblogsa1.jpg
Prev | List | Random | Next
Join
Powered by RingSurf!
MBC2008sidebanner1z.png

BlogWorldSpeaker08_160pix.gif

MORALE FUNDS

FEEDS

 

add.gif addtomyyahoo4.gif ngsub1.gif sub_modern5.gif add2netvibes.gif Add to Plusmo subscribe2.gif myaol_cta1.gif

xml.gif rdf.png atom feed.jpg

digg.jpg

Find the best blogs at Blogs.com.

GROUND SUPPORT

aaf3sm.jpg

SoA_proudsupporter.gif

soldiersangels.jpg

AnySoldierLogo.jpg

topmain.jpg

books_for_soldiers.gif

foundation_heroesfund02.jpg

fallen pats.jpg

fisherhouse.jpg

hopevil.jpg

opac.jpg

Adopt a platoon.jpg

Homes for our troops.jpg

WWproject.jpg

heromiles200.jpg

operation morale.jpg

cbrdg.jpg

op-give.jpg

mamo.jpg

The Fine Print
Blah Blah Blah
me220.JPG

The Mudville Gazette is written and produced by Greyhawk, the call sign of a real military guy currently serving somewhere in Iraq. Unless otherwise credited, the opinions expressed are those of the author, and nothing here is to be taken as representing the official position of or endorsement by the United States Department of Defense or any of its subordinate components. Furthermore, I will occasionally use satire or parody herein. The bottom line: it's my house.

I like having visitors to my house. I hope you are entertained. I fight for your right to free speech, and am thrilled when you exercise said rights here. Comments and e-mails are welcome, but all such communication is to be assumed to be 1)the original work of any who initiate said communication and 2)the property of the Mudville Gazette, with free use granted thereto for publication in electronic or written form. If you do NOT wish to have your message posted, write "CONFIDENTIAL" in the subject line of your email.

Original content copyright © 2003 - 2009 by Greyhawk. Fair, not-for-profit use of said material by others is encouraged, as long as acknowledgement and credit is given, to include the url of the original source post. Other arrangements can be made as needed.

Contact: greyhawk at mudvillegazette dot com

andsm.jpg
« March 2004 | Main | May 2004 »

April 30, 2004

Uncommon Valor

[Greyhawk]

A must read article from The Washington Post:

The day before Sgt. Maj. Michael B. Stack left for Iraq, he talked to his brother, Cecil, about death.

The men, both career soldiers, knew risk well. Cecil had been stationed in Panama, Haiti and Grenada. Michael was a Green Beret, a member of the Army's elite Special Forces, and had served in the Persian Gulf War during his 28 years in the military.

But Cecil Stack, now a retired Army sergeant major living in Alexandria, saw Iraq "turning nasty" and knew that his brother, at 48, was within two years of retirement and had six children back home at Fort Campbell, Ky.

"I said, 'Mike, be careful, because this war takes sergeants major,' " Cecil Stack recalled. "It's a mobile job. You don't stay locked behind doors; you're not at a desk."

Michael Stack responded: "I need to go and do this. I need to take my unit over and bring my unit home."

On Easter Sunday, the war took Mike Stack. He was killed during an ambush by small arms fire while manning a .50-caliber machine gun on a Humvee patrol near Baghdad. In the last e-mail Cecil Stack received from his brother -- within two weeks of his death -- his brother said that things were going pretty well and that he would explain it all over a good glass of red wine when he got home.

Yesterday, under a blue sky striated by the white contrails of jets, Stack was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery.

Read the whole thing at the link above. Sergeant Major is the highest enlisted rank in the Army, a rank held by 1% of the enlisted force at any given time. Generally speaking "gunner" is no longer in the official job description.

But Sar' Majors get to write their own job descriptions.


Posted at 2238Z

Ted Koppel Appreciation Day

[Greyhawk]

As a public service to insomniacs without internet connections Nightline will intone the names of the American military members killed during Operation Iraqi Freedom. What a great way to kick off the media celebration of Sweeps Week National Military Appreciation month.

One of the quarter-million or so US military survivors has written Ted Koppel's name (and some related thoughts) on his blog. You can read that here. Out loud, if you'd like.


Posted at 1336Z

Military Appreciation Month

[Greyhawk]

May is National Military Appreciation Month.

ww2.jpg
This looks awesome. What an amazing event for Memorial Day weekend. If you're lucky enough to live in America, take the time to teach your children the age old lessons that are true to this day; America is the last hope for freedom in a world where slavery and servitude are still the norms.

For that, rough men stand watch in the night.


Posted at 1222Z

30 April 04 Morning Briefing

[Greyhawk]
ww2memorial.jpg

TOP STORIES

1. Marines Plan Handoff To Militia In Fallujah
(Washington Post)...Rajiv Chandrasekaran
U.S. Marines will withdraw from this violence-wracked city and hand over responsibility for pursuing insurgents to a new militia headed by former Iraqi army officers under a deal brokered by the top Marine general in Iraq, military officials here said Thursday. In Washington, senior Pentagon officials insisted a final agreement had not yet been reached, but Marine commanders here said they had received orders to prepare for a pullout that would begin Friday.

2. Fallouja Pullout May Be In Works
(Los Angeles Times)...Tony Perry, Jeffrey Fleishman and Patrick J. McDonnell
...The accord — which would bring an end to the Marines' nearly monthlong siege of this restive town — came as the Iraqi people and U.S. officials braced for a military offensive against as many as 2,000 insurgents in house-to-house combat.

3. Iraq's Deadliest Month
(USA Today)...Gregg Zoroya
By mid-April, it was already the deadliest month for U.S. troops in Iraq. By Thursday, the month's death toll had climbed to 134, more than the number of troops killed in the war's opening stages, from the invasion to the toppling of Saddam Hussein's statue in Baghdad.

4. Rebuilding Aid Unspent, Tapped To Pay Expenses
(Washington Post)...Jonathan Weisman and Ariana Eunjung Cha
Seven months after Congress approved the largest foreign aid package in history to rebuild Iraq, less than 5 percent of the $18.4 billion has been spent and occupation officials have begun shifting more than $300 million earmarked for reconstruction projects to administrative and security expenses.

5. Britain Seeks Legal Resolution For Deployment After June 30
(Washington Times)...Paul Martin
Britain warned yesterday that it will need a firm legal framework based on a U.N. resolution or a deal with the new Iraq government in order to keep its troops operating in the country after a June 30 transfer of sovereignty.

6. Bush And Cheney Tell 9/11 Panel Of '01 Warnings
(New York Times)...Philip Shenon and David E. Sanger
President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney were questioned in the Oval Office for more than three hours on Thursday by the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks. They said intelligence warnings they received throughout 2001 suggested that Al Qaeda was poised to strike overseas, not on American soil, according to accounts of commission and administration officials.


Posted at 1148Z

April 29, 2004

Corporal Tillman

[Greyhawk]

Army Ranger Pat Tillman, the former Arizona Cardinal safety who was killed in combat last Thursday in Afghanistan, has been posthumously promoted to the rank of corporal and awarded the Purple Heart and Meritorious Service Medal.

Overlooked in the accounts of Tillman's amazing life is the fact that as a college graduate (summa cum laude in 3 ½ years with a 3.84 grade point average) and as the type of man he so obviously was he was qualified to seek a commission, to serve as an officer. He had to have been offered such an option - any senior leader worth his salt would have ID'd Tillman's potential right away.

Could it be that with the serious business at hand he didn't want to spend another 14 weeks in training?

He had to have been given the option. He must have respectfully declined. The press corps, who can't really come to grips with a man like Corporal Tillman anyway, hasn't even caught the angle. He didn't just "go Army" - he enlisted.

Not satisfied with "regular Army", he joined the Rangers.

Is anyone fit to speak of this man? Perhaps those with whom he served. So now I must stop before this becomes a eulogy. It's not, it's merely a salute. Just one of many to a man who chose not to receive them in life.


Posted at 1528Z

29 April 04 Morning Briefing

[Greyhawk]

TOP STORIES

1. Hussein's Agents Are Behind Attacks In Iraq, Pentagon Finds
(New York Times)...Thom Shanker
A Pentagon intelligence report has concluded that many bombings against Americans and their allies in Iraq, and the more sophisticated of the guerrilla attacks in Falluja, are organized and often carried out by members of Saddam Hussein's secret service, who planned for the insurgency even before the fall of Baghdad.

2. Warplanes Pound Sections Of Fallujah
(Washington Post)...Rajiv Chandrasekaran and Sewell Chan
U.S. warplanes on Wednesday dropped 500-pound laser-guided bombs and fired powerful howitzers at what military officials said were Sunni Muslim insurgents who had fired on Marines ringing this city.

3. Battle For Fallouja Seen As Inevitable
(Los Angeles Times)...John Hendren and Tony Perry
The plans have been laid, the troops are positioned, and all is ready for a massive Marine assault on Fallouja — and with it the long-dreaded prospect of major urban warfare in Iraq.

4. In Two Sieges, U.S. Finds Itself Shut Out
(Washington Post)...Rajiv Chandrasekaran and Robin Wright
...But neither here, nor in the Baghdad palace that serves as the headquarters of the U.S. occupation administration, nor in the corridors of official Washington, is the solution to the Fallujah problem clear. Although American officials and Iraq's U.S.-backed leaders agree that the insurgents should be captured or killed, preferably before the Americans hand over limited sovereignty on June 30, no good options exist to accomplish that goal, according to U.S. officials familiar with the issue.

5. Poll: Iraqis Out Of Patience
(USA Today)...Cesar G. Soriano and Steven Komarow
Only a third of the Iraqi people now believe that the American-led occupation of their country is doing more good than harm, and a solid majority support an immediate military pullout even though they fear that could put them in greater danger, according to a new USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll.

6. Support For War Is Down Sharply, Poll Concludes
(New York Times)...Richard W. Stevenson and Janet Elder
Support for the war in Iraq has eroded substantially over the past several months, and Americans are increasingly critical of the way President Bush is handling the conflict, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll.


Posted at 1205Z

April 28, 2004

SOA Auction

[Greyhawk]

An auction for "air time" with Hugh Hewitt - to discuss any topic you'd like. Bidding at Smash's place, the comments section of this linked post.

I can neither confirm nor deny that the current leader is Lileks, who's offering 5 bucks to discuss collecting Hummel figurines.

I can say that the winning bid goes to SOA via the Fighting Fusileers.

Those who can't outbid Lilek's Hummel driven lust are encouraged to donate here.


Posted at 1926Z

Flag Draped Caskets?

[Greyhawk]

Blackfive has a post detailing the return of a fallen hero. This is the story that every photo of a flag draped coffin should tell to any who would look upon it.

Chance Phelp's father is a sculpter, and amazingly, used his son as the model for a WWII monument he's preparing. You can see the work in progress (and donate to the effort) at his website here.


Posted at 1602Z

Mail Call

[Greyhawk]

I've been meaning to add "Mail Call" as a regular feature here for some time. Today I'm getting into a big backlog of e-mail and responding. Here's one:

...Just quickly, I am an Iraqi war vet that just started a new blog, which isn't specifically war related but on which I wind up posting politics most of the time anyway. I would like you to come have a look when you have the chance, geekempire.blogspot.com

Yes, I'd be proud to stop by an Iraq war vet's website. I'm honored you asked. Mind if I bring some friends? (Note to readers: this is your hint to click the link above.)

I think starting a blog is something I'd like to see every returning Iraq war vet do. The more of them speaking up out there the harder it will be for certain factions of the population to ignore them, or even worse, to pretend to speak for them.

"Geek": Sign up to join MilBlogs here. (Scroll to the online entry form.)

Also, I can forgive you for failing to vote in the PA elections, but I gotta think about this Liberty Alliance thing... ;)


Posted at 1521Z

28 April 04 Morning Briefing

[Greyhawk]

TOP STORIES

1. U.N. Envoy Seeks New Iraq Council By Close Of May
(New York Times)...Warren Hoge
The special United Nations envoy for Iraq, offering a speeded-up timetable for the selection of a caretaker government in Baghdad, said Tuesday that the new government should be chosen a full month before sovereignty is transferred on June 30 to give it time to define its authority.

NA
2. U.S. To Keep Military Control Of Iraq, Nominee Says
(USA Today)...Bill Nichols and Barbara Slavin
Even after it turns over political control to Iraqis on June 30, the United States will retain military control in Iraq, maintaining the right to send U.S. troops anywhere whether or not the new government approves, the Bush administration's nominee to be ambassador to Iraq said Tuesday.

3. 64 Iraqis Killed In Clashes
(Washington Post)...Sewell Chan and Rajiv Chandrasekaran
The U.S. military announced Tuesday that 64 Iraqis were killed on Monday during two clashes near the holy city of Najaf, one of the deadliest encounters of a three-week-old uprising in southern Iraq by Shiite Muslims loyal to the militant cleric Moqtada Sadr.

NA
4. Built for Speed, Halliburton Unit Runs Into Big Obstacles in Iraq
(Wall Street Journal)...Russell Gold
...KBR's contract with the military contains big incentives to deliver goods and services in a hurry to keep Army brass happy -- with little attention to the cost or efficiency of the solution. The intense conditions of wartime, where last-minute orders are a matter of course, only increase the pressure to pay whatever is necessary to complete a job fast. At the same time, KBR has been surprised by how quickly its responsibilities expanded as the occupation of Iraq progressed.

5. N. Korea Nuclear Estimate To Rise
(Washington Post)...Glenn Kessler
The United States is preparing to significantly raise its estimate of the number of nuclear weapons held by North Korea, from "possibly two" to at least eight, according to U.S. officials involved in the preparation of the report.

6. How Pair's Finding On Terror Led To Clash On Shaping Intelligence
(New York Times)...James Risen
...The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is investigating whether the unit — named the Counter Terrorism Evaluation Group by its creator, Douglas J. Feith, the under secretary of defense for policy — exaggerated the threat posed by Iraq to justify the war.


Posted at 1207Z

April 27, 2004

Somebody's Hero

[Greyhawk]

Scott Ritter's name is beginning to surface in the UN Oil for Food scandal. Though apparently an indirect beneficiary, indications are that Ritter received $400,000 in Oil for Food money from a Detroit businessman and Iraqi immigrant to finance his film Shifting Sands, the 2001 documentary proclaiming the innocence of Saddam Hussein's regime regarding charges of pursuing weapons of mass destruction.

There's always the claim to be made that Ritter was simply a dupe of the regime, but that doesn't explain this infamous quote from Time Magazine, from September 2002:

You've spoke about having seen the children's prisons in Iraq. Can you describe what you saw there?

The prison in question is at the General Security Services headquarters, which was inspected by my team in Jan. 1998. It appeared to be a prison for children — toddlers up to pre-adolescents — whose only crime was to be the offspring of those who have spoken out politically against the regime of Saddam Hussein. It was a horrific scene. Actually I'm not going to describe what I saw there because what I saw was so horrible that it can be used by those who would want to promote war with Iraq, and right now I'm waging peace.

At quite a good wage, as it turns out.

(Note: A previous Mudville entry on this and other Ritter atrocities here. The latest reporting on Iraq's WMD programs can be found here.)


Posted at 2306Z

Preparing to Dance

[Greyhawk]

Don't miss this brief and worthy read.

There are many reasons to pray for our Marines in Fallujah.

Much noise continues to be made by those whose fondest desire is for Iraq to be "another Vietnam". It's not, but that comparison grows more apt if the Marines are used as pawns in a diplomatic game - shooting gallery targets in a literal "Arab street" so as not to offend the residents of the figurative one we've heard so much of this past year.

The one that was going to go off like a powder keg if America invaded Iraq.

Meanwhile, to the south, the Arab street may actually be on the rise:

In another development the Americans were watching, reports from inside Najaf said the growing anger of residents there against Mr. Sadr and his men, who have sown a pattern of lawlessness since their uprising in the city began this month, had taken a startling new turn, with a shadowy group killing at least five militiamen on Sunday and Monday.

Those reports, from residents who reached relatives in Baghdad by telephone, said the killers called themselves the Thulfiqar Army, after a two-bladed sword that Shiite tradition says was used by the patron saint of Shia, Imam Ali, the martyred son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad. The group distributed leaflets in Najaf threatening to kill members of Mr. Sadr's Mahdi Army unless they fled Najaf immediately, according to accounts.

One Najaf resident said some of Mr. Sadr's militiamen were shedding the black clothing that has been their signature. The same resident said that he knew of two killings of Mahdi Army members on Sunday and that three others had been killed later on Sunday or Monday.

The above account from the NY Times was sandwiched between reports of gloom from Fallujah and Baghdad, all beneath a headline proclaiming that "Fierce Battles in Najaf and Falluja Dim Hopes for Accord"

Hey, while you sit at your computer trembling in fear of the Arab street, see if you can see the difference in these two photos from Fallujah:

mosque.jpg

Did you say missing sniper platform?

You're right.


Posted at 2211Z

Spirit of America

[Greyhawk]

From John of Argghhh, the latest incentives for you to donate to SOA.

(For those so inclined, direct contributions can be made here)

Sondra is offering up a genuine Baath Party Notecard

The Ghost of a Flea offers up fancy cologne!

e-Claire has those exquisite photos on the top of her site!

Aaron has patriotic stuff on offer!

At Cool Blue - the X-Files!

Misty has collectable books available!

Tritcale offers The Honorverse! Sci-Fi fans of Dame Harrington, take note! (Yes, it's legal)

She Who Will Be Obeyed has another airline ticket available! (Does she travel too much, or what?)

Joanie is still offering genuine Da Goddess lingerie!

And this guy will donate just for trackbacks to his post.


Posted at 2004Z

27 Apr 04 Morning Briefing

[Greyhawk]
bigshot.jpg

springshot.jpg

News flash: Winter becomes spring. In spite of numerous pronouncements by naysayers expecting an alternative result, spring appears to be advancing across the northern hemisphere.

"Yes" cautioned an observer, "but let's not forget for a moment those poor souls in the southern half of the globe, who have nothing but winter to look forward to, assuming they live that long."

TOP STORIES

1. Intense Fighting Erupts In Two Cities
(Washington Post)...Rajiv Chandrasekaran and Karl Vick
Intense firefights erupted Monday between U.S. forces and insurgents here and in Najaf, two cities surrounded by thousands of troops.

2. Mosque Targeted In Fallouja Fighting
(Los Angeles Times)...Tony Perry and Rick Loomis
...In Baghdad, two U.S. troops were killed and five were wounded by a powerful explosion that ripped through an industrial building they were searching for suspicious chemicals. In Fallouja, a U.S.-set deadline for Iraqis to hand in heavy weapons is due to expire today. In recent days, as negotiators have declared short-term cease-fires, the Marines here have been engaged in almost daily skirmishes with insurgents. So many Marines have been wounded that there is a backlog awaiting Purple Hearts.

(Ed note: Online version of the following story now has a slightly different headline)
3. Fierce Battle At Falluja Mosque Further Dims Hopes For Accord
(New York Times)...John F. Burns
A protracted firefight between marines and insurgents in a Falluja suburb on Monday culminated in American helicopter gunships and tanks firing at a mosque and toppling its minaret, further dimming hopes for a peaceful resolution to the three-week-old siege.

4. The Lasting Wounds Of War
(Washington Post)...Karl Vick
...While attention remains riveted on the rising count of Americans killed in action -- more than 100 so far in April -- doctors at the main combat support hospital in Iraq are reeling from a stream of young soldiers with wounds so devastating that they probably would have been fatal in any previous war.

5. Ex-Baathists Offer U.S. Advice, Await Call To Arms
(Los Angeles Times)...Jeffrey Fleishman
The phone is dusty, the fan is weak, and the banished soldiers — a bit paunchier and a step slower these days — wait for a call to join the new Iraqi army. They drink strong coffee from the same cup and talk about withered pride and wonder why no one's swooning anymore over their medals and ribbons.

NA
6. As Boeing Tries to Put Scandals To Rest, Prosecutors Widen Probe
(Wall Street Journal)...Andy Pasztor and Jonathan Karp
Boeing Co., which had begun putting the fallout from its ethical lapses behind it, faces a federal criminal investigation that has expanded into whether it used a rival company's documents to compete for NASA contracts, according to government and industry officials close to the probe.

7a. Kerry to Reenact Medal Tossing Protest
Democrat presidential hopeful John Forbes Kerry today announced he would reenact for TV cameras the historic moment when he tossed his own Vietnam war medals over the White House fence.


Posted at 1715Z

April 26, 2004

More Retention, Please

[Greyhawk]

Meet Army Staff Sergeant William Pinkley

There were no signs of the shrapnel wounds from a roadside bomb in Iraq as Staff Sergeant William Pinkley raised his right hand and swore once more to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

Despite his wounds -- and despite the rising death toll of US troops in Iraq -- he and other soldiers are signing up for another tour of duty, reenlisting at rates that exceed the retention goals set by the Pentagon.

Pinkley reenlisted for three years, citing the camaraderie and the challenge of a new assignment.

''To come out and work with you guys every day, it's a good feeling," Pinkley, 26, told his 101st Airborne Division buddies during the ceremony earlier this month. His wife, Kimberly, watched with a smile, their toddler in her arms.

Pinkley was riding in a Humvee the day after Thanksgiving when it was rocked by a bomb. He suffered internal injuries and his shrapnel wounds are still healing. He said he and his wife discussed for more than a year whether he should reenlist.

In the end, despite his pain and his wife's fear for his life, they decided it was best for both of them, she said. His next position will be as a drill sergeant at Fort Benning, Ga.

''I'm excited about it," his wife said. ''It's something he wanted to do. We told him we'd be supportive of him, whatever he wanted." As for the possibility of her husband being sent off to a combat zone again, she said, ''We would definitely do it again if we had to."

And SSG Pinkley's attitude is fairly typical of that of the members of the all volunteer Army, the finest military force in the history of the world.

As of March 31 -- halfway through the Army's fiscal year -- 28,406 soldiers had reenlisted, topping the six-month goal of 28,377. The Army's goal is to reenlist 56,100 soldiers by the end of September.

<...>

The Marines, which along with the Army have borne the brunt of the combat in Iraq, said they have already fulfilled 90 percent of their retention goal for the fiscal year for getting Marines to re-up after their initial commitment. The Air Force and the Navy said they, too, are exceeding goals for getting airmen and sailors to reenlist.

In fact the Air Force has slashed re-enlistment bonuses, eliminating most completely, and faces the possibility of forced troop reductions if too many elect to remain in the service this year.

Of course, the usual caveats are attached to this story - could get worse, Guard and Reserve troops won't re-up, etc., etc., etc.

And some good soldiers are separating - and deserve the thanks of a grateful nation for their contribution.

Staff Sergeant Bobby Miller, 31, has spent more than 10 years in the Army. He said he is getting out when his term ends in less than a year. The 101st soldier has served in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq and said he has barely seen his wife and two children in the past few years.

But 100% retention was never part of the equation.

All in all, many in Washington would do well to take note of the reality, and check the facts about the all-volunteer military before making cries for the return of the draft. Likewise those hand wringers in the media who proclaim a mass exodus from the services as a result of Iraq could also stand to learn from the facts.

But they won't. Grandstanders in Washington will make speeches they think will net them votes in their home districts, knowing their colleagues will never pass their platitudes into law. Media sorts will always take the angle that sells newspapers or promotes their editor's political beliefs.

Leaving Americans, as always, to weigh the facts and make up their own fine minds, and sort truth from fiction. Fortunately, most are fully capable of seeing through the smokescreen and deciding for themselves.

As SSG and Mrs Pinkley did, to the benefit of us all.


Posted at 1245Z

26 April 04 Morning Briefing

[Greyhawk]

soa.jpg
The return of the daily cartoon, this one from Cox and Forkum, the blogosphere's first editorial cartoonists. The picture is a link to the post on their site where they're auctioning the original art to raise funds for Spirit of America.

Even if you're not interested in the bidding you should be familiar with Cox and Forkum. Visit their site here.

TOP STORIES

1. U.S. Opts To Delay Fallujah Offensive
(Washington Post)...Rajiv Chandrasekaran and Karl Vick
U.S. Marines have postponed plans to mount an attack against insurgents holed up here and instead will attempt to regain control of this violence-wracked city without a full-scale offensive, military commanders said Sunday. Concerned about the repercussions an attack could generate across Iraq and the Arab world, senior U.S. military and civilian officials said they had decided to try to confront a band of hard-core Sunni Muslim insurgents, who have effectively taken over Fallujah, by having Marines conduct patrols in the city alongside Iraqi security forces.

2. Insurgents Fortify Positions In Najaf
(Los Angeles Times)...Edmund Sanders
As U.S. troops await orders to enter this Islamic holy city, militant Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr and his militia are strengthening their control here, stockpiling weapons, seizing key religious sites and arresting or detaining those who challenge him.

NA
3. Army Seeks Ways To Bolster Force In Iraq
(Wall Street Journal)...Greg Jaffe
With security in Iraq deteriorating, the U.S. military is laying plans to increase by about 10% the number of National Guard forces moving into Iraq this fall as part of the next rotation of troops at the same time it retrains more than 100,000 soldiers so it doesn't run out of troops in more than a half-dozen critical specialties.

4. U.N. Iraq Resolution A Tough Sell
(Washington Post)...Robin Wright and Colum Lynch
The Bush administration is preparing a broad U.N. resolution to endorse its plan to transfer power in Iraq, but it may face a tough sell on proposals guaranteeing legal protection for foreign troops and letting Washington make the final judgments on Saddam Hussein's weapons programs, according to U.S. and U.N. officials.

5. Chinese Diplomats Rush Past Lab Guards
(Washington Times)...Bill Gertz
Two Chinese diplomats, away from their Los Angeles consulate improperly, recently sped their vehicle past a Los Alamos National Laboratory guard post near classified facilities in what U.S. officials think was an intelligence mission, The Washington Times has learned.

6. Militants In Europe Openly Call For Jihad And The Rule Of Islam
(New York Times)...Patrick E. Tyler and Don Van Natta Jr.
The call to jihad is rising in the streets of Europe, and is being answered, counterterrorism officials say.


Posted at 1049Z

April 23, 2004

Back Later

[Greyhawk]
bback.jpg

In the meantime, I've posted a lengthy update to this post from yesterday. I'd value your opinion on the matter.

And if you're in a commenting mood, this contest continues, with proceeds donated by me in the name of the winner to the Spirit of America charity.

Speaking of which, check in at Castle Argghhh routinely for updates. Smash has been hosting some great auctions, and others are getting involved in similar ways.


Posted at 1357Z

23 April 04 Morning Briefing

[Greyhawk]

TOP STORIES

1. Rumsfeld Rejects Idea Of Returning To The Draft
(Washington Times)...Guy Taylor
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld yesterday dismissed the notion of reinstating the military draft, saying that the Pentagon, if needed, can dig deeper into Reserve and National Guard forces to relieve troops deployed in the war on terrorism.

2. Marines Warn Of Battle In Fallouja
(Los Angeles Times)...Tony Perry and Patrick J. McDonnell
U.S. Marines encircling this volatile city west of Baghdad plan to storm into town within days if insurgents do not comply with a cease-fire agreement and relinquish their heavy arms, the top Marine general in Iraq warned Thursday.

3. U.S. Plans Elite Iraqi Force For Security
(USA Today)...Jim Michaels
The U.S.-led coalition is recruiting Iraqis for an elite volunteer unit that would fight fellow Iraqis resisting the occupation of the country.

4. White House Says Iraq Sovereignty Could Be Limited
(New York Times)...Steven R. Weisman
The Bush administration's plans for a new caretaker government in Iraq would place severe limits on its sovereignty, including only partial command over its armed forces and no authority to enact new laws, administration officials said Thursday.

5. Photos Of Coffins Draw U.S. Crackdown
(Los Angeles Times)...Monte Morin
A website dedicated to publishing censored pictures and documents released dozens of photographs of coffins containing American war dead, which caused the Pentagon on Thursday to renew its ban on releasing such images to the media.

6. Terror Case Cleared For Trial
(Washington Post)...Jerry Markon
A federal appeals court yesterday cleared the way for Zacarias Moussaoui to be tried in a criminal court, ruling that he cannot interview key al Qaeda detainees and that he can be put to death for his alleged role in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.


Posted at 1104Z

April 22, 2004

Welcome Home

[Greyhawk]

With the announcement of 20,000 troops being retained in Iraq I was concerned that the vast majority who are returning home would do so without recognition, since it doesn't fit the current big story line.

Fortunately, that isn't the case at Ft Hood Texas.

I hope it's not the case anywhere else. Anyone that wants to spread the word about a homecoming event in your area feel free to contact me via e-mail or comment.

Update here.


Posted at 2108Z

My Big Backyard - a Walk in the Spring

[Greyhawk]
sw1.jpg

Observant readers will recognize the above picture as another version of the shot currently serving as backdrop for the site logo. The logo version is from fall, and this one from spring.

Shorts and sandals weather arrived today. The Birks came out of the closet, and I toured der Grauerhawkwald and surrounding lands with digital camera in hand. Those with high bandwidth connections are encouraged to join me...


Posted at 2050Z

Voices of the Dead

[Greyhawk]

An interesting bit of news from Seattle

A military contractor has fired Tami Silicio, a Kuwait-based cargo worker whose photograph of flag-draped coffins of fallen U.S. soldiers was published in Sunday's edition of The Seattle Times.

Silicio was let go yesterday for violating U.S. government and company regulations, said William Silva, president of Maytag Aircraft, the contractor that employed Silicio at Kuwait International Airport.

"I feel like I was hit in the chest with a steel bar and got my wind knocked out. I have to admit I liked my job, and I liked what I did," Silicio said.

The photo accompanies the story, of course.

For my part, I can't comprehend the left's ghoulish fascination with photos of coffins. Since the military is certainly not keeping secret the number of casualties of war, another motive seems likely.

The left is desperate for someone fighting the War on Terror to turn and join their cause. As reported here earlier, lacking a wounded GI to do this they are currently fabricating them in comic strips.

The dead offer them an easier target. Like Dennis Kucinich's reprehensible abuse of America's fallen some months ago, an imaginary message from the dead to the living can be implied.

This is yet another right/wrong issue twisted into a right/left issue.

In the early part of the last century, many referred hopefully to World War One (back when it wasn't necessary to clarify it with "One") as the "War to end all Wars". George Santayana responded famously that "Only the dead have seen the end of war."

Perhaps some day that statement will be true.

Update: Looks like 100s of photos are now available online. (See here and here.)

I truly don't see the attraction, but I note at least one commenter below (see "enditem") confirms the whole "putting lies in the mouths of the dead" theory.
Update 2: The New York Times editors must read Mudville. Here's their April 23rd editorial on this issue (a day after the original here):

Fans of the cartoon strip "Doonesbury" have been following the travails of B. D., the football-helmeted Vietnam vet who somehow wound up back under fire in Iraq. In a series of strips that one Colorado paper decried as unnecessarily "graphic violent battlefield depictions," B. D. was wounded and lost his lower leg. Most of the response has apparently been far more positive than the Colorado newspaper's, but the strip's creator, Garry Trudeau, is lucky that he works with ink rather than film. In the real Middle East, an American worker in Kuwait was fired this week when a newspaper printed a photo she had taken of a cargo plane full of coffins draped in American flags.

They came oh so close to a moment of lucidity, then veered sharply away just short of acknowledging the imaginary status of their heroes. They conclude by playing both sides of the fence:

Since 1991, the Defense Department has prohibited taking photographs of the coffins of members of the armed services while they are being transported back to the United States. The reverent portrait Ms. Silicio produced demonstrates how irrational that policy is. The theory seems to be that the pictures are intrusive, or possibly hurtful, to bereaved families. But it seems far more likely that the Pentagon is concerned about the impact that photos of large numbers of flag-draped coffins may have on the American public's attitude toward the war.

That certainly underestimates the fortitude of average citizens, who are able to accept the cost of war whenever they are confident that the cause is right. American men and women are currently suffering danger, death and injury every day in Iraq. The least those of us back home can do is to bear witness to the sacrifice of the real soldiers as well as the fictional.

Do you want to bear witness? If you seek the dead I say do so here. Then go here or here.


Posted at 1659Z

Pentagon Memorial

[Greyhawk]

Fund raising for the Pentagon Memorial project gets underway today. Among other efforts, a website has been launched, and apparently with input from someone who should have some name recognition among bloggers.

The Pentagon Memorial Fund will kick off a national fundraising drive today with the announcement of its first major corporate donation and the establishment of a Web site created by the designer of former presidential candidate Howard Dean's successful Internet fundraising campaign.

"I am excited and really proud of what we have accomplished in a short amount of time," said James Laychak, president of the Pentagon Memorial Fund. Laychak lost his brother in the attack on Sept. 11, 2001.

At a news conference at the U.S. Capitol this morning, Laychak said, he will announce a $1 million donation from Anheuser-Busch. Laychak said the goal is to raise $30 million. About $17.5 million would go toward construction, and the rest would be used to create a permanent endowment for maintenance.

A great and worthy cause, to be sure. But on a minor note, the WaPo coverage offers no additional insight on just who is the individual credited with internet fundraising for the Dean campaign.

And if its Joe Trippi, there's no mention of it here

Trippi, who lives in Maryland, has been busy since the Dean campaign imploded.

He's writing a book, launching a new progressive advocacy group called ``Change for America,'' and regularly appears as a political analyst and commentator on Fox News and MSNBC. His wife, Kathy Lamb, said three former Dean staffers still live with them at their house in the Chesapeake Bay town of St. Michael's.


In fact it's Convio, an Austin, Texas-based internet software and services company aimed at assisting nonprofit organizations in fundraising and constituent relationships that developed web-based efforts for Dean and the Pentagon project.

Though I'm not sure why they're touting the Dean connection, I am sure we can assume that

a) The money will not be spent quickly and without accountability

and

b) The theme of the memorial will not be "Bush Knew"

Kidding aside, this looks like a worthy project. The designers' model can be seen here, and an artist's rendition here

The (very well designed) web site is here.


Posted at 1335Z

UN Death Watch: Day 5

[Greyhawk]

Last week a shootout erupted between American contractors and Jordanian UN troops in Kosovo, leaving two American women and their killer dead.

This week, as the oil for food scandal (for the latest see here and here) makes it's way to the front pages of America's major dailies, Islamic states announce they could support a UN-led peace effort in Iraq.

Islamic countries are urging the United Nations to take the lead in Iraq when U.S. administrators give up power, and Pakistan and Malaysia said yesterday that they might send troops to protect U.N. personnel if the world body returned to the country.

The comments were made as the United States warms to a U.N. proposal to install a caretaker government to replace the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council on June 30, and as U.S. military planners try to find ways to bolster their forces amid rising violence and the planned withdrawal of some allied troops.

<...>

Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri confirmed yesterday that his country had been asked to contribute to a U.N. protection force in Iraq. "At the moment we are considering that," he said in an interview. "Of course, we will see the ground situation also, and public opinion in Pakistan."

Kasuri was speaking ahead of an emergency meeting of the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference to discuss violence in Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Meanwhile, although not yet an Islamic nation, here's something to watch: can Spain flee Iraq faster than the UN did?


Posted at 1217Z

Marines in Fallujah

[Greyhawk]

Blackfive and Smash have already noted this account of heroism on the part of Marines in Fallujah. But here's a very revealing paragraph detailing what they're up against as they seek out the perpetrators of the atrocities in that town:

In the midst of the firefight, with the armoured vehicle’s munitions blowing up, an ambulance pulled up. The Marines thought they were being rescued. Instead, 15 men with RPGs jumped out and started firing.

Meanwhile, in yesterday's fighting

Marines backed by helicopter gunships and F-16 jets fought a fierce five-hour battle in this city Wednesday with scores of insurgents armed with grenades, machine guns and mortar shells.

The early morning fighting, which came less than 48 hours after U.S. and Iraqi representatives agreed on a preliminary plan for a full cease-fire in Fallouja, left three Marines wounded, one critically. Officials said that at least nine insurgents were killed and an unknown number injured.

Marines said the fighting began after insurgents attacked U.S. troops as they patrolled the deserted, bullet-riddled Jolan neighborhood in the northwestern corner of the city.

Marines said that upward of 100 insurgents were involved and that many seemed to rush toward U.S. positions in what 1st Sgt. James Madden called "almost a suicide-like attack."

Even the presence of tanks did not deter the fighters, Marines said. The insurgents attacked the tanks with rocket-propelled grenades, but the weapons either missed their targets or bounced off the armored vehicles, which responded with massive firepower. Cobra and Huey helicopters raked buildings with gunfire, and the bombs dropped by the F-16s flattened several structures.

Insurgents used grenades, machine guns and mortar shells in continuous volleys. Marine snipers said they hit several attackers.

The insurgents used neighborhood mosques as gathering spots, and one house of worship blared out martial music from its minaret, then issued a call for residents to "rise up in a jihad against the Americans."

Marines said they chose not to target the mosque and used a public address system to answer back in Arabic. Their message: The insurgents were violating the peaceful tenets of the Koran and were a threat to Islam. The mosque switched to its morning call to prayers.

"You have to look at the risk versus the gain: the destruction of the enemy versus the loss of goodwill from the people," said 1st Lt. Ben Deda, who helped direct the Marine counteroffensive.

These are Marines operating under strict limitations. Do the "insurgents" realize what's going to happen to them when this 'cease fire' ceases?

The top Marine Corps general in Iraq said Wednesday that an American attack against insurgents in Falluja was "inevitable" within days unless the militants there immediately surrendered their heavy weapons and ammunition, as called for in a peace deal.

<...>

The disarmament "hasn't happened yet, and I'm starting to get a little bit concerned that it might not, certainly in the volume that we want to see," General Conway said in an interview here at the headquarters of his First Marine Expeditionary Force, five miles east of Falluja, the embattled Sunni Muslim city that is the heart of the insurgency.

"There are X number of days left," said General Conway, avoiding an exact deadline. "In that period of time, we need to see some distinctive cooperation on the part of the Iraqis inside the city to disarm. If that doesn't happen, it's inevitable that we'll go in and attack those people."

Of course, "X" is the number of days if the Marines get to make the decision. Should the insurgents decide "X" is too large a number, expect rapid development of a situation the Marines are well preparred for.

Even as negotiators, including General Conway, sought a lasting deal, the marines stepped up battle preparations. Commanders have pulled in reinforcements from the western desert to build a force of more than 3,500. Marines are conducting raids in the suburbs of Falluja to kill or capture fighters, find weapons and dry up support for militants, one officer said. The units are restocking several days' worth of food, fuel, water and ammunition.

Serious business. And here's a hint the people of Fallujah would do well to take seriously:

In an all-out offensive, Marine officers say, they would attempt to target fighters precisely, whether with snipers or with 500-pound laser-guided bombs. They say they desperately want to avoid a bloody urban siege; before any major attack, officials said, the marines would warn noncombatants to leave.

Emphasis added. Again, that's the plan if the US Marines launch the attack. If our enemy capitulates, there will be no attack. But the third possibility is an "insurgent" launched attack. And I expect our ambulance driving, Mosque abusing, corpse mutilating enemy considers that attack to be in full force right now. It's likely they will continue to battle Marines to the last moment short of all out response, then declare victory, and melt into the scenery, to fight another day


Posted at 1112Z

22 Apr 04 Morning Briefing

[Greyhawk]

No comic strips, no photos, no birdsong, just this reminder to those who'd like to help Spirit of America help the US Marines.

donate.jpg
Click this image and give!

And kudos to Castle Argghhh for leading the charge!

TOP STORIES

1. Blasts At Iraqi Police Facilities Kill 68
(Washington Post)...Pamela Constable and Khalid Saffar
Five suicide car bombs exploded nearly simultaneously outside four police facilities in the southern city of Basra on Wednesday, killing 68 people, including children being driven to school, and wounding at least 200, authorities said.

2. Attacks On Basra Extend Violence To A Calm Region
(New York Times)...Ian Fisher
The suicide attacks in Basra on Wednesday shattered a week of relative calm in Iraq, bringing anger, mourning and upheaval to a mostly Shiite southern city that has been spared the worst of the violence in the yearlong American occupation.

3. U.S. Moves To Rehire Some From Baath Party, Military
(Washington Post)...Robin Wright
The United States is moving to rehire former members of Iraq's ruling Baath Party and senior Iraqi military officers fired after the ouster of Saddam Hussein, in an effort to undo the damage of its two most controversial policies in Iraq, according to U.S. officials.

4. U.S. Occupation Of Iraq Running Over Budget
(Los Angeles Times)...Esther Schrader and Janet Hook
With bills piling up from the conflict in Iraq, pressure is mounting on war planners in Washington to come up with additional money to fund U.S. efforts there. Republicans in Congress complained Wednesday that the Bush administration's plan to put off a request for more money until early next year was unrealistic. And the nation's top military official, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Richard B. Myers, said the growing violence was pushing the cost of the U.S.-led occupation far over budget, threatening a $4-billion shortfall by late summer.

5. Four Killed And 148 Wounded In A Suicide Bombing In Riyadh
(New York Times)...Neil MacFarquhar
A suicide bomber detonated a Chevrolet Blazer loaded with explosives in central Riyadh on Wednesday, shattering the facade of a police building, killing at least four people and wounding 148.

6. Bush Asks For Patience In Terror War
(USA Today)...Richard Benedetto
President Bush said Wednesday that the war on terror "is going to take a while" and pleaded for patience and resolve.


Posted at 1103Z

April 21, 2004

Kerry's Military Records

[Greyhawk]

John Kerry has posted some of his military records on his web site. Noticeably missing (dare we say 'AWOL'?) are any medical records - specifically those supporting award of his purple hearts. I ran a separate search for "medical records" and got a link to U.S. sent medically unfit soldiers to Iraq and Affordable Health Care for All Americans but nothing on the sucking scratch wound that helped our boy get home in record time.

There is a copy of the message requesting Kerry be reassigned to a rather cush, high profile stateside billet as an aide, stating a preference for some locale on the Washington-Boston axis. The message appears to be from HQ and states that Kerry is requesting the action. If that's true then he's the only American officer to ever willingly abandon his command in time of war. If his boss "volunteered him" then he's just another guy being relieved for cause, albeit with a bit of lubricant in the form of a high visibility, highly promotable follow on.

Lt Kerry wasn't planning on a Navy career though, so that promotable billet was a waste.

Or a favor to someone.

Comments are open.


Posted at 2136Z

That's the Spirit!

[Greyhawk]

Okay, there's no paypal button on this blog, and no advertising. (If it keeps growing I may have to add one. Don't let that stop you from telling your friends to stop by and visit.)

There are links to military related charities. And this week most of the military bloggers are joined in support of Spirit of America.

If you need background info on this worthy cause read here.

And give a couple bucks, if you can, to the cause linked via the image below.

For my part, I'll make a donation via any of the 3 participating teams in the name of the winner of this contest.

donate.jpg Click this image and give!

And kudos to Castle Argghhh for leading the charge!


The Fighting Fusileers for Freedom:

The Imperial Armorer
She Who Will Be Obeyed
The Imperial Animatrix
Right Wingin-it!
Loyal Reader Calliope!
Un-named Left-of-Center Blogger Not Appearing in this blogroll*
Triticale
Darthvob
A Soldiers Blog
Practical Penumbra
Road Warrior Rules for Survival
Brain Shavings
The Bejus Pundit!
Blackfive - The Paratrooper of Love!
Technicalities
The Anti-Idotarian Rottweiler
Democrats Give Conservatives Indigestion
Bloodletting
The Politburo Diktat
The Mudville Gazette
Geeklog
The Common Virtue
The Ghost of a Flea
Grim's Hall
Feste, A Foolsblog!
LC Glen, Imperial Longbowman
Dawn L, the Non-Commenting Commenter!
Loyal Reader "Brass"
Loyal Reader "Bill" (Constructive credit for already donating)
Marine Corps Moms!
Colorado Psycho
Wasted Electrons
Citizen Smash!
A Special Kind of Stupid
Aaron's Rantblog
Da Goddess
Uruloki's Lair
The Cool Blue Blog
e-Claire



Posted at 2023Z

My Big Backyard

[Greyhawk]
Posted at 1528Z

UN Death Watch: Day 4

[Greyhawk]

Can the UN be saved from itself? As I said yesterday, Roger L. Simon has been on this story, and he's still on it today.

Related, here's a blogger from Southern Illinois, the part of the world two of the victims of the Kosovo attack called home. (via Instapundit)

Watch this space for updates on these stories today.


Posted at 1338Z

Not George

[Greyhawk]

This guy seems awfully familiar. Some of you might recognize him.

Here's another interesting read. You know, in a world where John Kerry's blog talks of "Axis of Asses" and the Democratic Party's blog is called "Kicking Ass", you'd think political candidates could blog without fear. Guess not.

Farewell Tiger. Oh well, I guess I've got room for notGeorge on the blogroll.

Update: Tiger and I go back to the second ever New Weblog Showcase at TTLB. Ever since that project ended I've been trying to come up with a way to shine a light on promising new blogs like Read my Lips. More to come on that.


Posted at 1158Z

21 Apr 04 Morning Briefing

[Greyhawk]
Posted at 1114Z

April 20, 2004

More From the Front

[Greyhawk]

The Reverend Sensing has an amazing e-mail from a Chaplain in Iraq. Too good to excerpt. Must read the whole thing.

And compare the tone to that of "religious leaders" who compel 'armies' into combat. The differences are not subtle.

Bob Kerrey used the spotlight from the 911 commission to make comments about a "predominantly Christian Army" invading Iraq. Bob Woodward's new book apparently is leading some to trot out the "Bush thinks he's on a mission from God" line again. While most in the media could be forgiven their ignorance, Kerrey's a veteran, and he knows what the truth is, and his comments were potentially incendiary.

There are no atheists in foxholes - its an old line and true, with exceptions that prove the rule. But that's a far cry from jihad or crusade or any other religion-driven war of conquest.

No one believes Jesus is leading the charge into Fallujah.

And as always, also in the loop for emails from the front are the MilBlog Marines; Grim, GruntDoc and Doc Russia. Visit all of them frequently so you won't miss things like this.


Posted at 2239Z

Rooney's Heroes: Commander Wanted

[Greyhawk]

Tick tick tick tick tick...


Posted at 2104Z

Another of Rooney's Heroes

[Greyhawk]

Unable (as yet) to find a wounded Iraq war veteran to speak out against his comrades in arms, the left is fabricating them. I'll withhold condemnation of this until I see the finished product, but I note that Gary Trudeau has no credibility in this area.

I've seen this phenomenon in comments on this blog, now it looks like national newspapers will be carrying the banner. It's beyond low. Watch this closely, be prepared to act. Don't let these people disparage or discourage the new generation of American heroes.

You can listen to some real heroes. Hit the link and launch the slide show called "Wounded in the line of Duty".

More to come...


Posted at 2048Z

Hero? Victim? Or Something Else...

[Greyhawk]

More than a few good blogs rallied to the cause of Dana Beaudine, the Oregon Guardsman who returned from Operation Iraqi Freedom to discover his services were no longer required by his former employer:

Dana Beaudine was wounded in a mortar attack near the town of Basra in Iraq. But after he came home a decorated war veteran, he found himself facing a fight of another kind.

For the past six months, Beaudine has been trying to get his job back with Securitas Security Services USA, the nation's largest private security firm, which counts among its clients the federal government.

Beaudine, 34, worked as a guard at the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building in downtown Seattle before he was called up, serving in Iraq as a corporal in an Oregon National Guard infantry unit.

...

Wounded in action, Beaudine also was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, an ailment that alarmed Securitas but which Army psychiatrists said does not prevent him from returning to work.

Today, Beaudine finds himself in the company of thousands of other citizen soldiers who — despite federal law — are struggling to get back or keep the jobs they left behind.

A complicated story, but according to the report Securitas wanted more information on the nature of the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder before allowing Beaudine to return to his job.

The company asked him for a list of all his medications, a signed release so it could review his medical records and a letter from Army psychiatrists saying he was fit to work.

Beaudine said it took time working through Army channels, but he met the company's requests. In a November document to Securitas, the chief of psychiatry at Madigan Army Medical Center at Fort Lewis and a second Army psychiatrist found Beaudine "mentally competent" to do his job.

Securitas then requested he undergo a "fitness-for-duty exam" with a psychiatrist of its choosing. At that point, Beaudine balked, saying the Labor Department had advised him such a screening was unnecessary.

"They just kept raising the bar on me," said Beaudine, a father of three from Spanaway.

Securitas declined to be interviewed for this story. A spokesman said the company did not want to talk about employment practices nor its dealings with Beaudine, describing that as a pending personnel dispute.

In a Jan. 26 letter to the company, the Labor Department stated that after reviewing information from Securitas and Beaudine, it concluded the company was in violation of the Uniformed Service Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, a 1994 law that stiffened job-protection guarantees for returning soldiers.

And now comes this update from the Seattle Times

In verifying the story, Beaudine showed The Times documents that noted several awards from the Oregon National Guard and a recommendation for a Purple Heart put in by the Army.

The Purple Heart award was being processed as the story was published, the Army confirmed.

In submitting him for the award, the recommending officer wrote: "On 23 April 2003 CPL Beaudine sustained lower back injuries and nerve damage in his left leg when his team started receiving hostile fire north of Basrah (Basra). "

Beaudine said that as his team came under fire, an explosion knocked him unconscious as he ducked for cover. When he awoke, he said, he was being treated at Camp Wolf in Kuwait. He said he was evacuated to Germany and then sent to Fort Lewis to complete his recovery.

His medical records show nerve damage in his left leg and a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder.

But his company commander, the unit's top enlisted soldier and a senior sergeant who flew to the Middle East with Beaudine all say Beaudine reported to sick call shortly after arriving in Kuwait, complaining of leg and back pain.

They said they were stunned when military doctors sent Beaudine home.

In fact, no one from his unit contacted by The Times could corroborate Beaudine's story.

"You have been fooled," Command Sgt. Maj. Gerald Schleining Jr. wrote in an e-mail to The Times from Kuwait after the story was published. "Beaudine was never injured in armed conflict. He has never been to Basrah or Iraq for that matter."

Capt. John Robinson, who said he was Beaudine's commander in C Company of the 1st Battalion, 162nd Infantry Regiment, also disputed Beaudine's account.

"This is a disgrace to all those who have legitimately received injuries or died in the combat actions since the first day of the war," Robinson said.

Beaudine, who was honorably discharged in February, insists his story is true.

Beaudine said unit leaders in the 1-162nd were so mixed up upon arriving at Camp Wolf, they didn't know where their soldiers were.

"I was in Iraq," Beaudine said, "and they're not going to come out and say this because I was so far out in front. Nobody knew where anyone was."

Other soldiers in the unit also have complained that they arrived in Kuwait amid confusion and without a clear set of orders or mission. Oregon National Guard officials acknowledge some chaos early on.

"The unit was broken into separate companies. They were all over the map," said Maj. Arnold Strong, spokesman for the Oregon National Guard.

But Strong and other officials added that the unit did not begin missions into Iraq until late May at the earliest, more than a month after Beaudine had been sent home.

The 1-162nd was deployed to Kuwait in late April 2003. Beaudine was part of an advance party that arrived a few days early.

Beaudine initially was unable to provide names of soldiers who could verify his account or who had accompanied him on his mission into Iraq. He didn't know them, he said, because the mission had been hastily arranged, and he was added to a team of soldiers he had never met.

Later, however, he said a Master Sgt. Stanger, who was the sergeant in charge of the advance team, accompanied him into Iraq and was with him when the team came under fire.

Kevin B. Stanger, who has since been promoted to sergeant major, disputes Beaudine's account. So does Capt. Mark Chatterji, who was the officer in charge of the advance team. Both said Beaudine reported to sick call within days of arriving at Camp Wolf.

"He's making stories up on you," Stanger said.

Beaudine's medical records included a document noting his "injuries resulted from duty and operations in Iraq." The document is signed by Army Reserve Capt. Shelby T. Edwards, commander of the Fort Lewis medical hold company where Beaudine was sent to convalesce.

Edwards subsequently submitted Beaudine for the Purple Heart.

Edwards, through a Fort Lewis spokeswoman, declined interview requests. The spokeswoman added that Edwards could not disclose what information she relied upon in making the recommendation because of privacy concerns.

Beaudine said that he never asked to be put in for the award and that the Army did so after reviewing his records.

After The Times inquiry, which included a Freedom of Information Act request for all records verifying Beaudine's account, the Army reviewed and withdrew the Purple Heart recommendation.

"His injuries were noncombat related," said Fort Lewis spokesman Maj. Tom Davis. "He should not have been put in for one."

Curiouser and curiouser! Denied employment due to post-traumatic stress disorder caused by...? I'll leave the legalities to the experts, but in my mind the preponderance of evidence at this point leaves me little doubt what I would do if I were called upon to resolve this case.

Of course, that's what I thought when I read the first story, too.

Beaudine's lawyer, Charles Meyer, said he is waiting for a response from the company on a settlement offer before deciding whether to file a federal lawsuit.

Meyer said he believed his client's account but said the issue of whether he was wounded in Iraq or submitted for a Purple Heart was irrelevant to his job claim.

"He never said he got a Purple Heart, and that has nothing to do with this case," Meyer said. "All he's trying to do is get his job back."

I'm not nominating anyone for membership, but the idea of "Rooney's Heroes" just popped into my head...

Update: When I said "more than a few good blogs" and "I'll leave legalities to the experts" I was thinking of Phil Carter, whose entry on this topic should be read here.

A great opportunity for legal vs moral debate. Would you give the guy his job back? Would you refuse on moral grounds and take the legal punishment that might follow?

Would you use him as an armed guard? In a postion of trust?

Update 2: Smash, who contacted his Congressional Representative over this issue, checks in. The idea of sticter penalties is still a good one, and shouldn't suffer for this.


Posted at 1819Z

More UN News

[Greyhawk]

Names of the victims of the UN attacks in Kosovo have been released, but few additional details have followed.

Long Island Newsday:

Lynn Williams, a former Rikers Island guard from Elmont, was identified Monday as one of the two U.S. correction officers shot to death in Kosovo on Saturday.

Williams' mother said Monday night that she had been happy in her new job working in eastern Europe for a United Nations contractor, and had been there for only two weeks.

Williams, 48, retired last year after 20 years as a New York City correction officer. Her new employer was Dyncorp, a subsidiary of Computer Sciences Corp., which trains police, correction and judicial personnel for overseas duty.

"I heard from her last Monday. She called and told me, 'It's strange over here. The people don't know what to make of me.' They'd never seen her color," said her mother, Hazel Moultrie. Williams was black.

"She said she was a celebrity over there. She said, 'I'm happy and I'm all right.' And that was Monday," her mother said.

Five days later, Moultrie learned her daughter was dead.


Posted at 1551Z

Operation Homecoming

[Greyhawk]

Those who blogged (or are blogging) the war from at or near the front will likely be interested in this project, perhaps coming soon to a military installation near you. Those who would have written if they could have would doubtless appreciate this opportunity too.

With satellite phones, endless cable television coverage and a small army of embedded reporters, journalists have gotten as close to this war as any in history. But no matter how many risks they take, journalists cannot go into the minds of the men and women who are fighting the battles and who have no choice but to risk their lives and kill people. That mental intensity is perhaps the most difficult thing to document in war, and it remains mostly unknown territory to the majority of Americans.

The National Endowment for the Arts will announce a program today to change that, to encourage troops returning from Iraq (and Afghanistan as well) to write about their experiences in wartime. "Operation Homecoming," which will be unveiled at a news conference at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial in Arlington, will make some of this country's most prominent authors available to servicemen and -women, for workshops and lectures intended to help them express and record what they have seen and felt in combat. The program is part oral history project, part literary talent search, and part a writing-as-therapy program for troops, particularly those in Iraq, who have been under extraordinary stress in America's first protracted and messy war since Vietnam.

The 16 writers who have agreed to participate by visiting military bases include Tobias Wolff, Tom Clancy, Victor Davis Hanson and McKay Jenkins. In addition, 10 other writers, including Shelby Foote and Richard Wilbur, have contributed reminiscences and readings to a compact disc and Web site the Endowment has produced.

Read the whole thing. Thus far the linked story is the only information (other than a brief mention on the NEA website) available on line. Sounds like a project with tremendous potential. Additional details to follow.


Posted at 1453Z

20 Apr 04 Morning Briefing

[Greyhawk]
Posted at 1357Z

April 19, 2004

Speaking of Spain...

[Greyhawk]
MADRID, Spain The body of a Spanish police officer who was killed in a raid on suspected Islamic terrorists was removed from its tomb Sunday night, dragged across a cemetery, doused with gasoline and burned, a Spanish police official told CNN.

Police do not know who committed the crime, and an investigation is under way.

More here.


Posted at 1649Z

The UnStories

[Greyhawk]

Its vanished. Like a nonperson, a nonevent, an "un-story", search for it and you'll find few responses, and strangely fewer from US sources. Interesting, in that two American women are dead - that's twice as many as in most sensational murder stories.

So it seems the clampdown is in place, and there are no questions answered (nor, apparently, asked). Here's some coverage from Agence France Presse via Australia though.

Initial reports Saturday said the clash was sparked off by a quarrel over the conflict in Iraq, UN sources requesting anonymity said.

But the mystery deepened Sunday when UN authorities refused to give any information on what might have provoked the gunfight.

"We cannot offer conclusions on the reason for the shooting," Feller said. Police had no information of prior discussions between Jordanian and American officers, he said.

However, the same day's Sunday Times reports

An officer, a US citizen, described the incident in the Serbian province as a clash over the US role in Iraq.

Two Americans and a Jordanian were killed and 11 other officers wounded in the incident, which took place in the northern town of Kosovska Mitrovica.

"Everything started when the Middle Eastern guys told the American police officers that the US has occupied Iraq like every other country. The Americans were p***** off by these accusations," the UN policeman said.

UN police sources said four Jordanian police officers had been arrested in connection with the shooting.

Move on, please, move on, there's a good boy, nothing more to see here...

The UN may be delaying release of details pending notification of next of kin, but an organization of any efficiency whatsoever would certainly have achieved that by now. However, recent events indicate the UN's efficiency is in obscuring issues, not clarifying them. And the public affairs office at the world's premier international peace organization is becoming rather busy these days, as William Safire details in the NY Times:

Obstruction of justice has never had it so good. Last month, after some badgering in this space and elsewhere, the House International Relations Committee announced it would look into the $5 billion kickback scandal in the United Nations' six-year Iraqi oil-for-food program, the largest humanitarian aid effort ever undertaken.

Our State Department, eager for U.N. help in Iraq, wants no revelations of U.N. ineptitude and corruption. It waltzed the committee staff around.

Senate Foreign Relations, however, not wanting to be upstaged by its House counterpart, called instant publicity hearings to blow off steam. Chairman Dick Lugar asked if some countries turned a blind eye to the rampant theft of aid that should have gone to hungry Iraqis because they "saw a money-making opportunity."

Senator Joe Biden chimed in, demanding that our ambassador to the U.N., John Negroponte, release the names of the U.S. companies that State has known for years have been part of the kickback scheme. Negroponte, soon to be our man in Baghdad working with the U.N., said that no such list had been compiled.

Meanwhile, because U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan's son was on the payroll of the Swiss company hired to monitor the imports, and because Kofi's right-hand man had been in charge of the program rife with 10 percent kickbacks, the world's foremost diplomat announced he would appoint an independent panel to investigate.

He chose men of integrity: Paul Volcker, former U.S. Fed chairman; Judge Richard Goldstone, the first Balkans war crimes prosecutor; and Mark Pieth, a Swiss lawyer said to be an expert on money laundering.

End of cover-up, right? Wrong. Volcker properly required a Security Council resolution, which would presumably empower his panel to take sworn testimony and gain access to the U.N.'s corrupt contracts that enabled Saddam to build palaces instead of providing food to his people.

But such a U.N. resolution would reveal dealings with companies in Russia, France and China ? all Security Council permanent members whose nationals had their hands in the till. As Senator Lugar suggested, some nations had secret profiteering reasons to keep Saddam in power.

To nobody's surprise, Vladimir Putin's government was the first to say nothing doing. Russia's U.N. spokesman said, "We understand the reputation of the secretariat is in question, but we do not think it is possible to adopt a resolution on the basis of mass media reports."

Read the whole thing, of course. Google around a bit and learn all you can. (And Credit Roger L. Simon for shining as much a light on this issue as anyone these past few months.) But back on our topic of the Shootout at the Kosovo Corral, it's unlikely the UN will be able to spin this as paranoid right wing conspiracy, but time will tell.

But this is the organization that John Kerry will beg to return to Iraq.

MR. RUSSERT: If you were elected one year from now, will there be 100,000 American troops in Iraq?

SEN. KERRY: It depends on what the situation is you find on the ground on January 20th of 2005. I will tell you this, Tim. I will immediately reach out to other nations in a very different way from this administration. Within weeks of being inaugurated, I will return to the U.N. and I will literally, formally rejoin the community of nations and turn over a proud new chapter in America's relationship with the world, which will do a number of things. Number one, change how we're approaching North Korea. Number two, change how we're dealing with AIDS globally. Number three, change how we're doing with proliferation with Russia and other countries. Number four, change our approach to global warming and the effort of 160 nations. And that will take some of the poison out of the well that this administration has put there.

He'll return? We've never left the UN. But the U.N. did leave Iraq, rather abruptly. Of course, a careful read will reveal that while the question was about Iraq, the answer was not. It was, however, a rather loud and clear declaration of priorities, more insight into the early days of the reign of Kerry.

His "attack on Iraq" is a bell rung loudly, if still not altogether clearly, in his radio address to America (another unstory):

We can do that by creating an international mission authorized by the United Nations. That mission should become the main civilian partner in helping the Iraqi people hold elections, restore government services and rebuild their economy. This would make it possible to attract needed financial help from other nations, and show that Iraqi extremists are opposing not just the United States, but also the will of the nations of the world. Removing that "Made in America" label can send a message to Iraqi military and police that its time to do their jobs not because America is telling them to, but because the world stands ready to help them secure a stable Iraq.

"Removing that made in America label" - an odd choice of phrase for the self-proclaimed opponent of "Benedict Arnold" companies. Are we to assume that freedom and liberty are products he thinks America is unfit or incapable to export?

We are approaching the fifth anniversary of the arrival of the UN peacekeeping force in Kosovo, and the situation can certainly not be called "improving" - unless the push to make this past weekend's deaths an unstory succeeds.

Kerry's comments were timed for maximum effectiveness to coincide with Spain's announcement that they were abandoning Iraq. Now these inconvenient deaths render those comments ill-timed; it's to his benefit if the news is suppressed. Still it was Spain's pull out that reminded me why I'd had that feeling of deja-vu over this whole episode:

Asked about the nations that are already on the ground in Iraq after the ouster of Saddam Hussein 11 months ago, Kerry said, "Well, the fact is that those countries are really window dressing to the greatest degree".

John Kerry, after super Tuesday, quoted by Agence Fance Presse in Australian media again. Another quote AWOL from American sources. Italy, Spain, England, Australia, all... "window dressing"

Disappearing comments, disappearing stories, revealing the subtle, nuanced, dichotomy of John Kerry.

We'll await the revelations of the names of the deceased in Kosovo. We'll mark their passing as heroes. We'll await official word, but I expect these are two more fallen in the Global War on Terror.

For now they remain unstories. Shoved off the front page by media celebrations of the 700th American death in Iraq. Ignored in favor of horrific murders of college coeds, and pregnant women, and new books that detail that Bush planned on invading Iraq two months before the troops crossed the berm. Or was it that he didn't have a plan at all? I forget which story it is today...


Update: Details, including names, have been released. More here.


Posted at 1518Z

If The Spirit Moves You

[Greyhawk]

dbdair.jpg

Do you get it? It's no joke. Read this:

U.S. officials in Iraq expect a pro-Arab slant from Al-Jazeera, the Qatar-based satellite television network that is beamed to about 40 million Arab viewers.

But as fighting has intensified in Fallujah, officials at the Coalition Provisional Authority charge that Al-Jazeera's reporting has become particularly biased and inflammatory — or flatly wrong — and that it is endangering American lives.

"If somebody sees it a different way than we do, that's OK. If somebody's got a different editorial view, that's OK. But when they start telling intentional lies, that goes beyond the pale," says Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, the authority's military spokesman in Baghdad.

On Thursday, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called reports by Al-Jazeera that U.S. troops were terrorizing Iraqi civilians "vicious, inaccurate and inexcusable. They are simply lying."

In recent weeks, officials have begun to strictly monitor, then check, all of the reporting of Al-Jazeera; they're going public with errors in hopes of putting pressure on the network.

This is not the first time the Bush administration has quarreled with Al-Jazeera, which it has at times branded as Osama bin Laden's "mouthpiece." But it is the most public stance yet against the network's reporting.

A provisional authority report shows 34 instances from April 8 to 13 in which officials said Al-Jazeera hyped, misreported or distorted events in Iraq. Those ranged from reports of a U.S. F-16 and a Chinook helicopter being shot down to U.S. soldiers killing and mutilating civilians, using cluster bombs and firing at Al-Jazeera reporters.

None of those reports was true, Kimmitt says, but the fallout can be deadly for U.S. forces.

"Much of what we are doing over here depends on the consent and trust of the Iraqi people. When an organization intentionally tries to break that trust and confidence, that puts us in a more precarious position," including Iraqis avenging killings "that we did not do."

A spokesman for Al-Jazeera, Jihad Ballout, says "it is news to me" that the authority had begun a list of what it says are Al-Jazeera's journalistic offenses, but he has heard Rumsfeld's charge.

"I think the harsh criticism is unwarranted," Ballout says. "We are merely a news organization that tries to do its job as professionally as possible, that reports what's on the ground and tries to be as comprehensive as possible. We have never shied away from inviting comments and responses from American authorities."

Kimmitt and others say U.S. authorities have repeatedly complained to Al-Jazeera about its reports. As for Ballout's comment, Kimmitt says, "I fear he protests a bit too much."

Want to do something about it? Want to help strike back?

Start here.


Posted at 1127Z

19 April 04 Morning Briefing

[Greyhawk]
Posted at 1037Z

April 18, 2004

UN In Action

[Greyhawk]

The New York Times reports a fierce gunbattle between members of the multinational UN peacekeeping forces in Kosovo has resulted in the deaths of at least two American women and one Jordanian man who opened fire on them:

LJUBJLANA, Slovenia, April 17— Two American women working as prison guards with the United Nations in Kosovo were killed Saturday and 10 other Americans and an Austrian working as prison officers were wounded when a Jordanian, also with the United Nations, opened fire on them, officials said. The attacker was shot and killed.

...

Jordan has a company of around 120 antiriot officers in the region. Their duties including guarding the exterior of the prison; they did not serve as guards inside. The United States has had a lead role in prison administration and staffing in the province.

...

It is not the first time a Jordanian policeman has opened fire on fellow officers. Early last year in Pristina, a Jordanian officer opened fire with a semiautomatic rifle after an argument, killing another officer and then shooting himself.

Tension between the various members of the UN Peacekeeping force is not the only source of violence in the region, but such friction could help explain the failures of the mission:

It was another blow for the ethnically divided city, which is still recovering from a recent wave of ethnic unrest in which 19 people were killed and more than 800 injured.

The violence began in Mitrovica and spread across the region as ethnic Albanian mobs attacked the province's minority Serb community. More than 4,000 people were displaced from their homes as a result, and more than 500 homes destroyed or damaged, according to United Nations figures.

UN officials have been quick to respond to the eruption of violence that threatens to destroy the organization's multilateral mission from within, expressing shock and wishing a speedy recovery for the injured:

Harri Holkeri, the top official with the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, or Unmik, expressed shock over the shooting.

"I am deeply shocked and dismayed at the unfortunate death of dedicated professionals who have come such a great distance to help Kosovo on its road to the future," Mr. Holkeri said in a statement released by the United Nations officials. "I convey my heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased, to their Unmik police contingents, and their home countries' government. I wish speedy recovery to the injured officers."

There are conflicting details, however. The NY Times' report claims that the fighting took place in a prison, and that there was no prior contact between the combatants:

The attack took place in a prison in the city of Mitrovica, in the north of the province. United Nations officials said the motive for the shooting was not immediately clear.

...

"They were leaving the detention center in three vehicles after a routine training day, when they came under fire," said Neeraj Singh, a spokesman for the United Nations police service in Kosovo.

...

"There was no communication between the two groups before the shooting started," Mr. Singh said, dismissing suggestions in the local news media that fighting had erupted as the result of an argument.

While Voice Of America reports that the battle erupted over Iraq:

News reports have quoted unnamed sources who say that the gunfire began after a quarrel between U.N. personnel over the United States' role in Iraq.

A claim also repeated by Reuters, whose report adds a detail regarding the possible number of attackers the women battled and also calls into dispute the location of the combat:

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, Serbia and Montenegro, April 17 (Reuters) - Two Americans and a Jordanian have been shot dead in Kosovo after emotions over Iraq apparently boiled over into a gunbattle between members of the U.N. law enforcement mission.

U.N. police spokesman Neeraj Singh said two U.S. police officers and a Jordanian were killed and 10 Americans and one Austrian wounded in the shooting on Saturday.

The lethal firefight between fellow members of the U.N. force was unprecedented in five years of peacekeeping in Kosovo, where police of some 30 nations make up the international force of around 3,500.

The 10-minute shootout took place in the U.N. compound in ethnically divided Mitrovica -- a city that is more commonly the scene of clashes between Serbs and Albanians, in which U.N. police and NATO troops intervene to keep the peace.

Initial reports that the shooting centred on a detention centre in the compound were inaccurate. But the U.N. said the dead and wounded included both police and prison staff.

The deputy head of the Serb hospital in Mitrovica, Milan Ivanovic, said one of the dead was an American woman, who was hit along with four female U.S. police colleagues.

U.N. police sources said four Jordanian police officers had been arrested in connection with the shooting, but could give no further details on the cause.

A police source said it began with a row over Iraq. Singh said the U.N. was still investigating the possible motive.

The multinational U.N. police force is backed by the NATO-led KFOR military mission numbering about 20,000 troops.

Additional details will surely be forthcoming.

In a related story, Reuters also reports that John Kerry yesterday called for "a new mission authorized by the United Nations to help rebuild Iraq, with a NATO security force under U.S. command keeping order." He made his demand during a radio address to America (full transcript here):

MIAMI (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry on Saturday called for a new mission authorized by the United Nations to help rebuild Iraq, with a NATO security force under U.S. command keeping order.

Kerry said President Bush had failed to lay out a strategy for winning the peace in Iraq and said U.S. troops in Iraq "are paying the price for a flawed policy."

"The president may not want to admit mistakes, but his choices in Iraq have so far produced a tragedy of errors," Kerry said in the weekly Democratic radio address. "Staying the course does not mean stubbornly holding to the wrong course."

Kerry touted a four-step plan for peace in Iraq that included more U.S. troops combined with a U.N. mission to help rebuild Iraq and restore a democratic government.

He also called for a NATO security force under an American commander to transform the military force in Iraq.

...

"The failure of the administration to internationalize the conflict has lost us time, momentum and credibility -- and made America less safe," he said in the address, taped in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Friday.

"Our stubborn unilateral policy in Iraq has steadily drifted from tragedy to tragedy. Our troops deserve better."

It is not known whether Mr. Kerry was aware of events in Kosovo at the time he recorded his demands. He may choose today to change his position or apologize and admit that his ideas on UN involvement in Iraq were mistaken.

Update: There's nothing to update. This story has disappeared off the face of the earth (or at least the media world). None the less, more here.


Posted at 0909Z

April 17, 2004

Saturday is...

[Greyhawk]

Meaningless. Well, not really but my job is 24/7/366.

And I'm tired. More later if I wake up early enough before duty calls again tonight.

Enter the contest. (See next entry. Read the one after too, you'll understand.) It's the only chance you'll ever have to help the US Marines, the people of Iraq, and John Kerry all at the same time, and with minimal effort.

If you're really bored count the number of typos and errors in my sleep-deprived posts of the last couple days.

I've got some things to talk about but I must sleep...

And after you enter the contest go read this from Hook, if you haven't already. You'll be glad you did. Andy Rooney has forgotten the troops in Afghanistan you know. But Hook keeps his sense of humor, so Hook wins.

Ahhh, sleep zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz


Posted at 1222Z

Kewler Snappy Comebacks for Kerry's College Crowd Kontest

[Greyhawk]

You ever have one of those painful moments where you realize a few minutes too late what you could have said, instead of the really stupid comment you actually made?

It happens to everyone. And it just happened to John Kerry:

Kerry’s 25 minute speech was interrupted briefly by a small group of protesters who put “flip-flop” sandals on their hands and clapped and chanted that Kerry “flop-flops” on issues.

“I’ll make a deal with you,” Kerry responded. “I’ll send people to George Bush’s rallies and they can clap their unemployment checks together.”

Ouch.

Okay, to be fair, Kerry also said “I feel like I’m back in college living on beer and pizza — and whatever.”

So maybe if it hadn't been for - whatever he would have thought of something better. As I said, doubtless he did, a few minutes later.

How about this: "I’ll send people to George Bush’s rallies and they can clap their silver spoons together.”

Yea, it's a cliche, but it would have brought down the house. They want to cheer this man, he's notBush!

So here's the deal, in the comments you craft your "better response" for John Kerry when he's heckled like that again (and you can bet it will happen) and maybe, just maybe, you'll get the satisfaction of hearing him actually use it.

What, you don't think I get Kerry supporters here?

I've had 86 visitors from France this month alone.

Go ahead, we'll call it a contest.

The "Kewler Snappy Comebacks for Kerry's College Crowd Kontest"

Update: Judges? We've got judges.

Michele from A Small Victory

Frank J from IMAO

Scott Ott from ScrappleFace

And Allah from Allah is in the House

And as if that weren't inspiration enough, here's a picture of JFK from the big event where he launched that stinker of a comment.

jfka.jpg
Help him, oh blogosphere, to deliver a line worthy of this fine platform!

Another Update: Prize number one: A donation to a military charity in the name of the winner. Pledge is currently at 10 cents per entry, meaning 10 entries equals one dollar donated. One hundred entries is 10 dollars, etc. Meaning the blogosphere has to come through on this. To clarify: this costs you nothing. A donation is made in your name.

Legitimate entries only. Troll posts and off-topic garbage don't count.

Void where prohibited. Additional details to follow.


Posted at 1210Z

April 16, 2004

Spirit of America

[Greyhawk]

Found this article in the Morning Briefing. Careful readers will note that along with Spirit of America a trio of fine bloggers gets a mention. So as Secretary Rumsfeld chugged coffee from the commuter mug and read the scathing coverage of his press conference yesterday, he on some level or another became aquainted with blogs.

Here's A Way You Can Help The Cause In Iraq

By Daniel Henninger

...Over the past year, a successful technology entrepreneur named Jim Hake has been working with the Marine Corps to help their reconstruction projects in Iraq. The Marines identify local equipment needs, and Mr. Hake's organization, Spirit of America, after raising the money, acquires the stuff, typically for schools and medical clinics. It flies directly out of Camp Pendleton in California. Jim Hake and the Marines are a coalition of the can-do, bypassing the slow U.S. procurement bureaucracy. More on that effort in a moment. Here's where you come in:

The First Marine Expeditionary Force and U.S. Army in Iraq want to equip and upgrade seven defunct, Iraqi-owned TV stations in Al Anbar province -- west of Baghdad -- so that average Iraqis have better televised information than the propaganda they get from the notorious Al-Jazeera. If Jim Hake can raise $100,000, his Spirit of America will buy the equipment in the U.S., ship it to the Marines in Iraq and get Iraqi-run TV on the air before the June 30 handover.

Now we are getting somewhere. Since day one, the Coalition Provisional Authority's weakest suit has been the war of ideas, images and public relations. Into this use-it-or-lose-it void stepped Al-Jazeera, the Qatar-based TV operation that somehow has wires running to every camcorder in the Arab terrorist world. Punch in english.aljazeera.net for a look at "news" from Iraq spun tirelessly against the coalition. Its photos of "Falluja after the siege" are preposterous, depicting nothing but "destroyed homes" and ominous GIs. The text: "As we drive through the back roads on the way to Falluja, U.S. jets are pounding the area around the tiny village of Garma."

If this hooey is what they feed to the English-language audience, imagine the daily TV diet Al-Jazeera trowels on for Iraqis.

<...>

Jim Hake's organizational insight is to deploy the best practices of the modern U.S. economy -- efficiency and speed -- around the margins of the Iraqi war effort. The Amazons, Best Buys, FedExes and DHLs can get anything anywhere -- fast. Why not use the same all-American skill at procurement efficiency and quick distribution to get the soldiers in Iraq (and Afghanistan) the stuff that government red tape will never provide in time?

His operation, in Los Angeles, is wholly New Economy. For past projects he's gotten the word out via Web bloggers such as Glenn Reynolds's InstaPundit.com, windsofchange.net and hughhewitt.com. Mr. Hake finds low-cost suppliers on the Internet and negotiates prices. His donor network also suggests suppliers.

<...>

Want a piece of the action? Spirit of America's project with the 1st Marine Division, and how to donate, is at Spirit of America, or directly here or 800-691-2209. It's brand extension of the Marines' now-famous saying: "No better friend, no worse enemy."

Update: Some may recall Spirit of America as the organization Smash and a group of several other bloggers assisted with loading tous and other items destined for the kids of Iraq. That was obviously a worthy effort.

A confession: My first thought on hearing all this was "Well, this video thing is probably a very worthwhile, but I can't imagine the the people of Iraq not previously so inclined will suddenly embrace America once they see cool digital movies of Marines building schools.

But then I'm usually a cynic. But oddly, perhaps, I'm also an optimist. And that side of me says this is a great idea. Anyone remember this?


Posted at 1508Z

Lies

[Greyhawk]

NPR "Pentagon correspondent" Eric Westervelt reporting on Morning Edition, announces that although many spouses said they were proud of what their husbands were doing you could tell they didn't really mean it. I'm not directly quoting. I'm close though.


Posted at 1452Z

Mmmmmm... Donuts....

[Greyhawk]
Posted at 1214Z

April 15, 2004

Taps

[Greyhawk]

Food for thought for those who think American military might is nearly expended.

CHICAGO — Fred Olivi, a Chicago native who co-piloted the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki that helped bring World War II to an end, has died. He was 82.

Olivi, who joined the Army Air Forces after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, died Thursday at a rehabilitation center in the southwest suburb of Lemont. He had lived there since he suffered a stroke last August.

Olivi’s most famous mission was in a B-29, called Bocks Car, that dropped the second atomic bomb on Aug. 9, 1945, three days after the Enola Gay dropped the first bomb on Hiroshima. Japan surrendered six days after the Nagasaki bombing.

“While thousands died, I feel sure the bomb had to be dropped because if the Americans had been forced to invade Japan, it would have been a bloodbath,” he told the Chicago Sun-Times in a 1995 interview. “We would have lost a million people — both Allied forces and Japanese.”

On the day of Olivi’s mission, the crew had to overcome a number of problems, including electrical shorts, a fuel pump failure that cost the plane 600 gallons of fuel and cloud cover over the primary target, Kokura.

“We calculated our supplies and discovered we had enough for one bomb run on Nagasaki and an emergency landing on Okinawa,” said Olivi, who was a second lieutenant in 1945.

Nagasaki was also covered by clouds, until an opening suddenly appeared.

“The doors popped open, and the bomb dropped out,” he said. “We made a 60-degree bank to the left to get away and headed in the opposite direction . . . About 45 seconds later there was a flash, and it was 10 times brighter out.”

About 70,000 people died in the explosion. The plane shuddered with shock waves from the blast.

When the crew looked back at Nagasaki, “the entire city was covered with smoke and fire. Flames were shooting up in every direction,” Olivi said. He said that he thought the atomic mushroom cloud that was rising might engulf the plane before the pilot, Maj. Charles Sweeney, quickly flew out of the area.

Born in Chicago, Olivi attended Pullman Tech High School and then went to work at the Pullman railcar works. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, he immediately enlisted with the Army Air Forces.

“He always wanted to fly,” said his older brother, Emil Olivi. “The Air Corps gave him a chance, and he took it.”

After the war, Olivi served in the Air Force Reserve until 1971. He flew with a troop transport squadron based at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport until 1971, ending his service as a lieutenant colonel. He also worked full-time as a manager of bridge operations and maintenance for the City of Chicago, until he retired in 1988.

In the mid-1960s, he married Carole McVey, whom he had known since they both attended the same high school. She died in 1998.

Until his stroke, he traveled around the country touring air shows, giving speeches, visiting museums and selling his self-published book, “Decision at Nagasaki.”

He was one of many veterans who expressed anger about the exhibit the Smithsonian Institution mounted for the 50th anniversary of the bombings, saying it was too apologetic.

“It’s slanted more in sympathy to the Japanese than it is to us,” he said in a 1994 interview. “They say nothing about the Bataan Death March, China and Singapore.”

In addition to his brother, survivors include six nieces and nephews.

Could America drop a nuclear weapon, if it would actually save lives, today?


Posted at 1943Z

Just Before the Dawn

[Greyhawk]

How about some uptempo news?

Here's one:

BAGHDAD — Wedged between the reports of murder and mayhem, the headline in the local paper was eye-catching: "Should you change your wallpaper for lighter tones?" it asked. "Do it once and you'll see the results."

Although there are no lifestyle magazines yet, no Baghdad style mavens and little cause for celebration until some basic security is in place, people are starting to improve a part of life they can control — the world behind their high walls and locked front doors.

And as if it's not enough to have nice curtains over the bullet holes there's always this, via Allah.


Posted at 1511Z

Developing

[Greyhawk]

File this one under "not good"

A senior Iranian diplomat has been shot dead in the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

First secretary Khalil Naimi was reportedly attacked while driving. A Reuters correspondent saw a bullet-marked car with a body inside.

At this stage it is not clear who carried out the attack or whether the diplomat was specifically targeted.

An Iranian foreign ministry delegation had arrived in Baghdad on Wednesday to assist in the crisis over the rebel leadership of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.


Posted at 1406Z

'Osama' Offers Europe Terms of Surrender

[Greyhawk]

Looks like Kerry's got competition for hearts and minds in the "old countries".Bin Laden offers Europe a truce?

I wonder if he's trying to get this nuclear material:

UNITED NATIONS, April 14 -- Large amounts of nuclear-related equipment, some of it contaminated, and a small number of missile engines have been smuggled out of Iraq for recycling in European scrap yards, according to the head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog and other U.N. diplomats.

Mohammed ElBaradei, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, warned the U.N. Security Council in a letter that U.N. satellite photos have detected "the extensive removal of equipment and, in some instances, removal of entire buildings" from sites that had been subject to U.N. monitoring before the U.S.-led war against Iraq.

ElBaradei said an IAEA investigation "indicates that large quantities of scrap, some of it contaminated, have been transferred out of Iraq, from sites monitored by the IAEA." He said that he has informed the United States about the discovery and is awaiting "clarification."

It's likely that both stories might be the "non-story of the day", but we shall see...

Update: As long as you're already worrying

Imagine this scenario: Computer hackers working for Al Qaeda break into Russia's nuclear weapons network, and "spoof" the system into believing it is under attack, setting off a chain reaction, and a real nuclear counterattack. Another doomsday possibility made headlines when Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's No. 2, was quoted last month boasting that Al Qaeda had already acquired "some suitcase bombs" - radioactive material packed with conventional explosives. Mr. Zawahiri said that anything was available for $30 million on the Central Asian black market or from disgruntled Soviet scientists. Russia immediately rejected the claim.

Posted at 1219Z

15 Apr 04 Morning Briefing

[Greyhawk]
Posted at 1155Z

The "Kewler Snappy Comebacks for Kerry's College Crowd Kontest"

[Greyhawk]

This is an update post - full details of the contest are here.

I'm just using this post to announce the following bloggers have agreed to judge the contest:

Frank J from IMAO

Scott Ott from ScrappleFace

And Allah from Allah is in the House

Thanks to 'em all, and if you need a laugh just click em and scroll!

(Prizes are under consideration...)

Update: The panel is now prestigious, as Michele from A Small Victory has joined. (I've linked a specific post at her blog. Check it out. It might be about jello wrestling or bikinis.)

American Idols's got nothing on this group.


Posted at 0254Z

Is This Andy Rooney's Hero?

[Greyhawk]

Questions over the character of John Kerry's Vietnam service are nothing new to readers of this web site. We've run lively debates on both candidates' military careers here and will continue to do so whenever questions arise.

Oddly, although many mainstream media outlets covered the story of "Was Bush AWOL?" very few chose to look beyond the DNC press releases regarding their candidate's heroics.

Signs of change, from Insight Magazine:

Kerry, who piloted Patrol Crafts Fast (PCFs) as a young Lt.(jg) in the Vietnam War, has always made much of those Purple Hearts. An award often pinned on the pillow of a combat warrior so badly wounded that he cannot sit up to receive it, the Purple Heart recognizes the sacrifices of combat when a soldier or officer has sustained a wound "from an outside force or agent" and received treatment from a medical officer. The records for such treatment "must have been made a matter of official record," according to the military definition of the award.

According to Kerry's own description in Douglas Brinkley's Tour of Duty, the Dec. 2, 1968, mission behind what he has claimed to be his first Purple Heart was "a half-assed action that hardly qualified as combat." Indeed. Kerry was stationed with Coastal Division 14 at Cam Ranh Bay. At that time he piloted a small foam-filled boat, known as a Boston Whaler, with two enlisted men in the darkness of early morning. The intent, apparently, was to patrol an area that was known for contraband trafficking, but it was an undocumented mission. Upon approaching the objective point, the crew noticed a sampan crossing the river. As it pulled to shore, Kerry and his little team opened fire, destroying the boat and whatever its cargo might have been.

In the confusion, Kerry claims to have received a "stinging piece of heat" in the arm, the result of a tiny piece of shrapnel. He was not incapacitated and continued with regular swiftboat-patrol duty. William Shachte, who oversaw this ad hoc mission, was quoted by the Boston Globe as saying Kerry's injury, from whatever source, "was not a serious wound at all."

But Kerry met with his immediate superior officer, Lt.Cmdr. Grant Hibbard, the next morning and requested a Purple Heart for his wound. Hibbard recalls that Kerry had a "minor scratch" on his arm and was holding in his hand what appeared to be a fragment of a U.S. M-79 grenade, the shrapnel that had caused the wound. "They didn't receive enemy fire," Hibbard tells Insight. Since this was an essential requirement for the award, the commander rejected Kerry's request. Hibbard does not remember that Kerry received medical attention of any kind and confirms that no one else on the mission suffered any injuries.


Posted at 0159Z

April 14, 2004

A Date For Infamy

[Greyhawk]

Blackfive marks a somber anniversary. I'll note an anniversary too.

April 15th 1986 I was in line for lunch at a McDonalds in Denver Colorado, in uniform. A guy in line behind me strikes up conversation.

"Good work yesterday." He says, or something to that effect. "About time you guys let him have it."

The individual he was referencing was Muammar Qaddafi. The event was the bombing of Tripoli - 18 years ago today.

On April 5th of that year terrorists bombed a club in West Berlin. One GI and one civilian were killed and more than 200 people were injured, including 50 other U.S. servicemen. This was the straw that broke the camels back in a long series of Libyan-sponsored terrorist attacks.

Navy and Air Force aircraft hit Tripoli in a mission dubbed Operation El Dorado Canyon. The USAF birds launched from England. France refused to allow the F-111s to fly over French territory, which added 2,600 miles to the journey from England and back. One of the F-111's was lost during the raid, and much speculation has since risen over whether fatigue could have played a part in that loss. Likewise many believe the added stress may have contributed to the accidental bombing of the French embassy during the attack.

President Reagan: "When our citizens are abused or attacked anywhere in the world we will respond in self-defense. Today we have done what we had to do. If necessary, we shall do it again."

So the next day I found myself representing the US military to a guy in a lunchtime crowd in McDonalds, accepting his thanks, though I had done absolutely nothing in support of that mission. He'd caught me off guard at first; it took a second to realize why this guy was thanking me. Early in my career this was one of those moments where it started to sink in that I represented something to some people, for good or bad.

It may have been a bit of a turning point in public opinion too. Vietnam was still fresh, the military humiliations of the Carter years even more so. The invasion of Grenada was unimpressive to many, the abandonment of Beirut an embarrassment. But by the mid 80s the military was beginning to climb out of a public opinion hole, dug for us by an agenda-driven media. A few years later and we'd win more American hearts and minds (in spite of the media's best efforts) in the sands of Kuwait. Perhaps to be expected, as the public opinion of the military rose their esteem for the media fell.

I've long ago forgotten the source, or the exact quote for that matter, but someone somewhere said once that you don't win Pulitzers for reporting good things about the US Military.

But that long ago day in '86 I thanked the man who had thanked me, and said something to the effect of "Hopefully he'll get the message and maybe we won't have to do anything like that again." He agreed. Neither of us was confident. I paid for my lunch and left. It was payday, so I could afford it.

Other things that happened on this day in history:

Lincoln was shot.

The Titanic hit an Iceberg.

American aircraft engaged in air-to-air combat for the first time, dogfighting the Germans in WWI.

The Soviet Union agreed to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan.

Draw your own conclusions. I hope your day is uneventful.

By the way, should you run into a young American GI at a lunch counter somewhere tomorrow don't just thank him or her. Buy their lunch.


Posted at 2243Z

Swift Boat Commander?

[Greyhawk]

I don't know. But Dodd Harris, Navy veteran and blogger, has joined the MilBlogs ring. Welcome aboard!


Posted at 2023Z

The Work of the Fallen

[Greyhawk]

Kos:

I was angry that five soldiers -- the real heroes in my mind -- were killed the same day and got far lower billing in the newscasts. I was angry that 51 American soldiers paid the ultimate price for Bush's folly in Iraq in March alone. I was angry that these mercenaries make more in a day than our brave men and women in uniform make in an entire month. I was angry that the US is funding private armies, paying them $30,000 per soldier, per month, while the Bush administration tries to cut our soldiers' hazard pay. I was angry that these mercenaries would leave their wives and children behind to enter a war zone on their own violition.

So I struck back.

And shouldn't it be the media we are angry at for that, rather than the victims? I guess he's over his anger and grief though, as he's not followed up on these fine Americans.

Troops in Iraq die more anonymously now, noted in hometown newspapers, memorialized on military bases, mourned in private. The deaths are eclipsed by the general mayhem; sometimes, they are even eclipsed by other deaths.

So it was when five soldiers from the 1st Engineer Battalion were killed early in the morning on the last day of March in Habbaniyah, a town in the Sunni Triangle west of Baghdad. Their M-113 armored personnel carrier ran over a bomb, possibly detonated by remote control. No one in the vehicle survived.

It was the same day that a mob in Fallujah killed four American contractors in an ambush and abused their corpses. That gruesome incident monopolized the national media, overshadowing the deaths of the five soldiers in their APC.

Now the five are home, where they were buried and eulogized as heroes. The oldest, Lt. Doyle Hufstedler, 25, knew practically from his boyhood that he wanted to be a soldier; the two youngest -- Pfc. Cleston Raney and Pvt. Brandon Davis -- were 20, good-natured young men who drifted through small-town boyhoods until they enlisted in the Army and found a sense of purpose. Sgt. Sean Mitchell, 24, physically imposing, was serving his second tour in Iraq, and Spec. Michael Karr, 23, was a top-flight high school student who became an army medic nicknamed "Doc."

They were laid to rest and remembered last week amid patriotic symbols and songs. Speakers lauded their sense of duty and their sacrifice; grieving relatives and friends groped for some sense and solace in their deaths.

Heroes all, Mr Rooney. Heroes all, Kos.

Read the whole thing. Some among us will never forget.

This weekend, at a Fort Hood hospital, I presented a Purple Heart to some of our wounded; had the honor of thanking them on behalf of all Americans. Other men and women have paid an even greater cost. Our nation honors the memory of those who have been killed, and we pray that their families will find God's comfort in the midst of their grief. As I have said to those who have lost loved ones, we will finish the work of the fallen.

We'll return to our business, but never 'move on'.

Sound Taps.


Posted at 1532Z

14 Apr 04 Morning Briefing

[Greyhawk]

Tax time, and I hope you get a return. If you haven't filed yet, thanks for choosing The Mudville Gazette as your distraction from the task at hand.

I mentioned Pogo yesterday, knowing many readers would be a bit too young to recall the group of small furry animals whose wry comments on events of the day preceded Doonesbury and its many clones. Pogo was from an earlier time, though, when political discourse and disagreement were more civil, and comics were expected to provide at least a chuckle, if not a laugh. Paging Mr. Trudeau...

pogo1.jpg

Of course, we've got Day by Day to carry on the tradition though, don't we?

For those new to this feature, the Morning Briefing is the same roundup of news stories prepared for the top Pentagon leadership and made available to all DoD members worldwide.

Since we do not select the stories we offer this disclaimer: we are not endorsing the opinions or making any claim to the verity of any of the stories presented herein. Hard working midshift toilers at the Pentagon prepare this, but provide this disclaimer: Use of these articles does not reflect official endorsement.

Normally provided without comment, I've decided to add brief notes on headlines today. Many bloggers shy away from headlining their stories, it's not an easy thing to do. To use a baseball metaphor, you can't expect to knock one out of the park every time at bat.

In honor of baseball season then...

TOP STORIES

Base hit:
1. Bush Acknowledges 'Tough' Weeks, Signals Intent To Bolster Iraq Force
(Washington Post)...Dana Milbank and Mike Allen
President Bush signaled last night that he expects to increase the number of U.S. troops in Iraq and vowed that insurgents leading a violent uprising against the American occupation will not "run us out of Iraq."

And another:
2. Bush Asserts 'We Must Not Waver' On Terror Or Iraq
(New York Times)...Richard W. Stevenson and Douglas Jehl
President Bush vowed on Tuesday night that the United States would not bow to the surge of violence in Iraq, saying that to change course in the face of mounting attacks would betray the Iraqi people and embolden America's enemies around the world.

Girds? hmmm... ball one! - just a bit outside...
3. Army Girds To Confront Radical Cleric
(Washington Post)...Sewell Chan and Thomas E. Ricks
A force of 2,500 troops from three U.S. Army divisions massed Tuesday on the northern outskirts of the Iraqi holy city of Najaf and readied for a confrontation with Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada Sadr, who defiantly declared that he was prepared to die for his cause.

Another single!
4. U.S. Troops Poised To Seize Al-Sadr In Najaf Suburb
(Washington Times)...Willis Witter
...In the Sunni city of Fallujah, rebels brought down a U.S. helicopter and opened fire on Marines, killing one as they rescued the craft's injured crew. Also, more foreigners were kidnapped, including a French journalist, bringing the total to more than 40 this month. Meanwhile, a U.S. State Department official said yesterday that four bodies have been found in Iraq. The bodies might be those of private contractors missing since an assault on their convoy outside Baghdad amid a wave of kidnappings of foreigners.

Sophistication? Like at Washington teas? Foul!
5. Insurgents Display New Sophistication
(Washington Post)...Thomas E. Ricks
Insurgents fighting the U.S.-led occupation force have sharply increased the sophistication, coordination and aggressiveness of their tactics over the past week, Army officers and soldiers involved in combat here said.

Oooo... Swing and a miss! That pitch was in the catchers glove before the bat was off his shoulder. Back to the minors...
6. Is Iraq Becoming Another Vietnam?
(USA Today)...Susan Page
...But a year after the fall of Baghdad, some analysts see growing parallels. They say U.S. policymakers are repeating mistakes of the Vietnam era, among them relying on military might to achieve political ends and delivering unrealistically rosy predictions of how long the war will last and how much it will cost.


Posted at 1124Z

April 13, 2004

Kum Ba Ya

[Greyhawk]

Kennedy says it's Vietnam.

Byrd says we've got to run away, fast.

Bob Kerrey practically calls for a jihad.

John Kerry says he has a strategy for Iraq: In the past week the situation in Iraq has taken a dramatic turn for the worse. While we may have differed on how we went to war, Americans of all political persuasions are united in our determination to succeed. The extremists attacking our forces should know they will not succeed in dividing America, or in sapping American resolve, or in forcing the premature withdrawal of U.S. troops. Our country is committed to help the Iraqis build a stable, peaceful and pluralistic society. No matter who is elected president in November, we will persevere in that mission.

Choreographed? Likely.

Goal: Kerrey's solid on national security, even it means disagreeing with his buds!

Credibility: Zero.

Update: Was over at Kos' looking for something (more on that later) and found this instead (Note, I don't link Kos' posts as he tends to change, move, or hide them anyway.):

Why is Kerry running? by kos Mon Apr 12th, 2004 at 01:25:26 EDT

I was asked last week, in all earnestness, "Why is Kerry running for president?"
Interesting question. I knew why Edwards was running -- to rectify the inequalities of the "two Americas". Gephardt was the champion of the working class. Dean wanted nothing less than reform of the Democratic party establishment.

I know why I will vote for Kerry -- because he's not Bush. And this upcoming presidential election is literally a matter of life and death.

But why is Kerry running for president?

I've got nothing.

Update 2: Did you know that Americans were more miserable under Reagan than Carter? It's true. Of course, Clinton blew them all away.

Prove it you say? Well, take a look at this graph:

c1.jpg

Posted at 1643Z

When will the Troops Come Home?

[Greyhawk]

"Exit Strategy" - whenever I hear it I mark the speaker as one of those people who doesn't know much but hopes to sound like they do. It's a buzzword, a catchphrase, and I simultaneously wince and stiffle laughter whenever I hear it. Not so much at the concept as at the word. And I never heard it before this past year - it has no history.

But as far as concept, when will the troops come home?

If you consider this... or this... or this... or this... or this... or this... or this...

The answer might be... "never."

The only major conflict we've ever 'come home' from in the last 60 years is Vietnam. So if we do come home from Iraq Ted Kennedy will get his fondest desire, for in that regard it will be like Vietnam.

Funny thing is, I don't think that's what he wants is it?

In the meantime, for insight on the human side of all this, visit Cpt Patti, still in Baghdad with a husband still waiting... here in Germany. Start at the top, and just keep scrolling. (You won't need an "exit strategy")


Posted at 1522Z

Quick, Call the RIAA!

[Greyhawk]

Send in the FBI! From the NY Times, this entertainment news from Iraq:

But when the troops peel off their flak jackets, they largely tune into their own play lists. While musical tastes among the troops are as varied as they are in civilian life, in the land of the Tigris and Euphrates let it be recorded: Soldiers assigned to civilization's cradle will rock.

At the Kirkush Military Training Base in the eastern Iraqi desert less than 15 miles from the frontier with Iran, an hour's wait for a helicopter was spent listening to Marilyn Manson, Eminem and Shania Twain before the Black Hawk fired up its turbines and somebody back in the barracks, as if on cue and with a dark sense of irony, cranked up Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven."

The songs came from a European satellite music channel and a communal computer where 12.8 gigabites of tunes had been downloaded for sharing on MP3's. The rule was simple: Take some music, add some music.

"Any time anybody on the team gets a new CD, they load it in, so we stay pretty current," said Sgt. Thomas R. Mena.

Houston, we've got a file sharing problem...


Posted at 1255Z

Our Soldiers In Iraq Aren't Heroes?

[Greyhawk]

Read, then feel free to respond to Andy in the comments. Get a good discussion going and maybe we'll invite him over by email.

Our Soldiers in Iraq Aren't Heroes

4/12/2004

By ANDY ROONEY

Most of the reporting from Iraq is about death and destruction. We don't learn much about what our soldiers in Iraq are thinking or doing. There's no Ernie Pyle to tell us, and, if there were, the military would make it difficult or impossible for him to let us know.

It would be interesting to have a reporter ask a group of our soldiers in Iraq to answer five questions and see the results:

1. Do you think your country did the right thing sending you into Iraq?

2. Are you doing what America set out to do to make Iraq a democracy, or have we failed so badly that we should pack up and get out before more of you are killed?

3. Do the orders you get handed down from one headquarters to another, all far removed from the fighting, seem sensible, or do you think our highest command is out of touch with the reality of your situation?

4. If you could have a medal or a trip home, which would you take?

5. Are you encouraged by all the talk back home about how brave you are and how everyone supports you?

Treating soldiers fighting their war as brave heroes is an old civilian trick designed to keep the soldiers at it. But you can be sure our soldiers in Iraq are not all brave heroes gladly risking their lives for us sitting comfortably back here at home.

Our soldiers in Iraq are people, young men and women, and they behave like people - sometimes good and sometimes bad, sometimes brave, sometimes fearful. It's disingenuous of the rest of us to encourage them to fight this war by idolizing them.

We pin medals on their chests to keep them going. We speak of them as if they volunteered to risk their lives to save ours, but there isn't much voluntary about what most of them have done. A relatively small number are professional soldiers. During the last few years, when millions of jobs disappeared, many young people, desperate for some income, enlisted in the Army. About 40 percent of our soldiers in Iraq enlisted in the National Guard or the Army Reserve to pick up some extra money and never thought they'd be called on to fight. They want to come home.

One indication that not all soldiers in Iraq are happy warriors is the report recently released by the Army showing that 23 of them committed suicide there last year. This is a dismaying figure. If 22 young men and one woman killed themselves because they couldn't take it, think how many more are desperately unhappy but unwilling to die.

We must support our soldiers in Iraq because it's our fault they're risking their lives there. However, we should not bestow the mantle of heroism on all of them for simply being where we sent them. Most are victims, not heroes.

America's intentions are honorable. I believe that, and we must find a way of making the rest of the world believe it. We want to do the right thing. We care about the rest of the world. President Bush's intentions were honorable when he took us into Iraq. They were not well thought out but honorable.

Bush's determination to make the evidence fit the action he took, which it does not, has made things look worse. We pay lip service to the virtues of openness and honesty, but for some reason, we too often act as though there was a better way of handling a bad situation than by being absolutely open and honest.

I know, the author's intention is to provoke strong reaction but there's more to it, and it sounds too much like a trial balloon to me.

There's an unpleasant shift occurring in this country, it was evidenced by Kos' comments and more and more often by the tone of a few increasingly high profile pundits. "We support the troops but..." and the "but" part is becoming more outrageous every day. The "support the troops" part, meanwhile, is increasingly blurred.

To be honest I'm convinced a seething dislike of all things military is just below the skin of a lot of people in America, I think it dates back to certain Vietnam-era congressional hearings and similar events, and I think we may see it surface more and more often in the near future.

I hope I'm wrong. Let's talk about it.

All who want to link, trackback, comment, discuss, or amplify this discussion please join in.

Comments are open, and you can respond to Andy.

Updates: Blackfive weighs in.

Serenity has some thoughts on topic, and a year in review.

Bull recalls times gone by too.

Andrew Olmstead checks in. Balanced, as always.

Still little response to my thesis: Some Americans are a) turning against the military or b) always were and are getting tired of pretending otherwise.

Or c) I'm wrong. I can accept that. I'd prefer it even.


Posted at 1102Z

13 April 04 Morning Briefing

[Greyhawk]

"Friday the 13th falls on a Tuesday this month!" As Pogo used to say.

(He also said, "We have met the enemy, and he is us!")

TOP STORIES

1. General Requests Additional Troops
(Los Angeles Times)...John Hendren
As his troops regrouped after the deadliest week since the fall of Baghdad, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq acknowledged Monday what many critics had been saying for months: The American-led force needs more troops.

2. Militia Withdraws At Key Iraqi Sites
(Washington Post)...Rajiv Chandrasekaran and Sewell Chan
A week after seizing control of Najaf, Iraq's holiest city, members of a militia loyal to radical Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada Sadr relinquished their hold on police stations and government buildings Monday as hundreds of U.S. soldiers mobilized in preparation for an assault on the city.

3. Leading Shiites And Rebel Meet On Iraq Standoff
(New York Times)...John F. Burns
A powerful delegation of Shiite clerics met with Moktada al-Sadr in Najaf on Monday, beginning negotiations that appeared to offer the best hope yet of resolving the standoff between the American military and Mr. Sadr, the cleric whose followers threw much of central and southern Iraq into anarchy over the last week.

4. Troops In Iraq Strain To Hold Lines Of Supply
(New York Times)...Eric Schmitt
American troops in Iraq are battling insurgents to keep open vital military supply lines in and out of Baghdad. The attacks on the supply lines are posing new hazards to civilian contractors who operate many of the convoys and siphoning short-handed combat forces away from the main fight against militants, senior commanders said Monday.

NA
5. Family Loses 1 Of 3 Sisters Serving In Iraq
(USA Today)...Tom Vanden Brook and Steven Komarow
Rachel and Charity Witmer brought their sister's body back from a combat zone Monday. If their father has anything to say about it, they won't be returning.

6. Bush Sees Need For Reorganizing U.S. Intelligence
(New York Times)...David Johnston
President Bush said Monday that "now may be a time to revamp and reform our intelligence services," opening the way for consideration of changes at the C.I.A., the F.B.I. and other agencies.