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"I found out just yesterday that I will actually be there to cover this hearing," sez American Legion blogger Mark Seavey.
Thieves Hit Soldier's Angels Support Center:
Nunn said the facility's glass entrance was violently shattered before and an assortment of large, flat-screen TVs were ripped out in its exhibit hall, along with a huge interactive screen.
He said a half-dozen laptop computers were stolen which contained invaluable messages to the fallen and their families.
The worst part, Nunn said, was that before leaving, fire extinguisher foam was sprayed and smeared throughout the exhibit hall.
Soldiers' Angels web page is here.
That's a quote from this month's Rolling Stone interview with the President, likely a return favor for their earlier efforts on his behalf.
Here's more:
Let's talk about the war in Afghanistan. Where were you when you first heard about the comments made by Gen. Stanley McChrystal and his staff, and how did you feel as you read them for yourself?
I was in my office in the residence, in the Treaty Room. Joe Biden called me -- he was the first one who heard about it. I think it was Sunday night, and I had one of the staff here send me up a copy, and I read through the article...
Which really isn't talking about Afghanistan so much at all. But this is:
What we've had to do after an extensive review that I engaged in was to say to our commanders on the ground, "You guys have to have a strategy in which we are training Afghan security forces, we're going to break the Taliban momentum, but I am going to establish a date at which we start transitioning down and we start turning these security functions over to a newly trained Afghan security force." That is what we're in the process of doing.
So I told 'em, I said - you people go do your Army stuff or whatever, but I'm putting a stop to it as soon as I can. (High five.)
And there's that message to the base, one of those messages directed at some that may undercut the messages sent to others that are the hallmark of "strategy" in Obama's war. (There's this assurance, too: "The fact of the matter is, when we came in, what we learned was that the neglect of Afghanistan had been more profound than we expected." So blame Bush apparently still works in some quarters.)
Let's leave the Lady GaGa Fan Club Newsletter (or the big-time magazine that "got" McChrystal, if you prefer) for a moment. Bob Woodward appeared on ABC's Good Morning America today (video) to discuss Obama's Wars
"He wants out of Afghanistan," Woodward explained, adding "the thing you never see in all of these discussions is the president stepping up like he did in his political campaign in 2008 and say 'yes we can.'"
Turning back to the Rolling Stone, as evidenced by the tone of the article (and sheesh - we know fellating the president is the cost of access - but Wenner must have popped his whole damn stash of Women Extenze before he cleared security...) Obama could have found no friendlier environment in which to rally the support of that base - and on every other issue he availed himself of that opportunity. Witness the intense passion displayed in the surprise encore with which our story concludes.
[Signaled by his aides, the president brings the interview to a close and leaves the Oval Office. A moment later, however, he returns to the office and says that he has one more thing to add. He speaks with intensity and passion, repeatedly stabbing the air with his finger.]
One closing remark that I want to make: It is inexcusable for any Democrat or progressive right now to stand on the sidelines in this midterm election... right now, we've got a choice between a Republican Party that has moved to the right of George Bush and is looking to lock in the same policies that got us into these disasters in the first place, versus an administration that, with some admitted warts, has been the most successful administration in a generation in moving progressive agendas forward...
Everybody out there has to be thinking about what's at stake in this election and if they want to move forward over the next two years or six years or 10 years on key issues like climate change, key issues like how we restore a sense of equity and optimism to middle-class families who have seen their incomes decline by five percent over the last decade. If we want the kind of country that respects civil rights and civil liberties, we'd better fight in this election...
Then he grabbed a Stratocaster from Rahm Emanuel, lit it on fire, and like totally smashed it through a Marshall Stack... Seriously though, it's not hard to imagine Jann Wenner and Company, Bic lighters held high, chanting "yes we can, yes we can" after Obama first left the Oval Office, then cheering lustily on his return.
Without noticing that the Afghanistan song and dance number didn't make the cut for that medley of greatest hits.
That story brings to mind the sad death of Jim Fixx, author of The Complete Book of Running, who died of a heart attack while running...
But back to Jimi Heselden - if you've ever deployed, you know what a Hesco is. (In fact, if you've ever deployed, you probably said, "damn, I'd like to be the guy that invented those..."):
Here's one of the ways he did that:Mr Heselden was worth £166million and ranked 395th on the Sunday Times Rich List - above X Factor boss Simon Cowell - thanks to his defence company Hesco Bastion...
...Mr Heselden grew up in the deprived Leeds suburb of Halton Moor and, after leaving school at 15, worked at Temple Newsam and Lofthouse pits before setting up his own company.
His life changed in 1990 when he produced a new concertina-style design for wire cage walls, called the Concertainer, which were initially meant to help prevent land erosion. However, they were co-opted for military use and and his business grew rapidly.
...He said: 'There are people out there who are making money and when times are good I honestly believe people have a moral obligation to use their wealth to help others.
Many of his donations relate to the military and Mr Heselden, who was awarded an OBE in 2006, gave £1.5million to the Help For Heroes fund in 2008 when he won a charity auction bid for nine people to fly with the Red Arrows.
His company also sponsored a recent armed forces charity concert at Twickenham.
Of his military donations he said; added: 'We often get thank-you letters from troops, saying how one of our walls saved their lives when a bomb went off and this is our way of showing them how much we appreciate what they do.'
The Help For Heroes ("It's about the blokes...") web page is here. Their statement:
Everyone at Help for Heroes (H4H) is deeply saddened to hear of the tragic death of our greatest benefactor. Jimi has been supporting H4H since September 2008 and was personally committed to giving the best support to 'the blokes', the men and women of the Armed Forces.
His support was unassuming but very effective and he shared in many of our projects and fundraising events, most recently the Heroes Concert. His contribution to Headley Court in particular will stand as a lasting legacy to his memory and we will continue to work to achieve the best for our 'blokes' in his memory.
...this is just one of them.
Step one - explain the fundamentals of your plan:
...we've got to get the job done [in Afghanistan], and that requires us to have enough troops so that we're not just air-raiding villages and killing civilians, which is causing enormous pressure over there. It means that we have enough civilian support, agricultural specialists, people who are engineers, people who are building schools and so forth...
Step two - get elected President of the United States*.
Step three - get lots of expert advice and formalize your plan:
Step four - send a general off to figure out how to execute your plan:SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS FOR AFGHANISTAN AND PAKISTAN
The following steps must be done in concert to produce the desired end state: the removal of al-Qaeda's sanctuary, effective democratic government control in Pakistan, and a self-reliant Afghanistan that will enable a withdrawal of combat forces while sustaining our commitment to political and economic development.
- Executing and resourcing an integrated civilian-military counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan...
Afghan Strategy Requires 'Holistic' Approach, General Tells Senate
WASHINGTON, June 2, 2009 - Despite impressive progress in many areas, the situation in Afghanistan remains serious, the nominee to become the next commander of both the International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces Afghanistan said during his Senate confirmation testimony today.
"Afghans face a combination of challenges - a resilient Taliban insurgency, increasing levels of violence, [a] lack of governance capability, persistent corruption, lack of development in key areas, illicit narcotics and malign influences from other countries," said Army Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal. "There is no simple answer. We must conduct a holistic counterinsurgency campaign and we must do it well."
A key component to a holistic campaign is people, McChrystal said. More than 21,000 additional U.S. military personnel will deploy to Afghanistan by October. McChrystal admitted he didn't know if that would be enough and might not for some time.
<...>
Counterinsurgency is difficult and demands resources, courage and commitment over time, as each step of the "shape, clear, hold, build, process presents challenges," McChrystal said.
Make sure he doesn't come back with answers too quickly, because that's crucial to...
Step five - pretend that was never your plan, and that the military was trying to ram it down your throat, but you were too smart for 'em*.
Military thwarted president seeking choice in Afghanistan
...The military's plan "compromises our ability to do anything else. We have things we want to do domestically. We have things we want to do internationally." Obama turned to Gates. "You have essentially given me one option," he said."It's unacceptable."
<...>
Two weeks later, on the day before Thanksgiving, the president and Emanuel met in the Oval Office with Donilon and his boss, retired Gen. James L. Jones, the national security adviser. No Pentagon officials were there.
<...>
Obama described how he wanted to explain his strategy to the American people in a speech scheduled for Dec. 1 at West Point."This needs to be a plan about how we're going to hand it off and get out of Afghanistan," he said. "Everything that we're doing has to be focused on how we're going to get to the point where we can reduce our footprint."
He said he didn't want to use the word "counterinsurgency."
<...>
There was some subdued laughter.The military did not understand, he said. "It'd be a lot easier for me to go out and give a speech saying, 'You know what? The American people are sick of this war, and we're going to put in 10,000 trainers because that's how we're going to get out of there.' "
It was apparent that a part of Obama wanted to give precisely that speech...
Later that same day, Obama held his regular weekly meeting with Gates in the Oval Office... Under the redefined mission, Obama told Gates, the best I can do is 30,000. "This is what I'm willing to take on, politically," the president said.
Another Mudville eighth anniversary special - this one from September 26, just last year. "The whole thing's a story I was going to stay out of," I'd written previously. "But I got an email from a friend in Afghanistan..."
Excerpt:
Burning the Koran is going to fuck us all up over here. REALLY bad idea. Unless what you're trying to do is cause a mess. Be prepared for some serious shit that we over here seriously don't need. Not kidding.
And yes, the Afghans are aware and waiting to see what happens. No, they are not happy. Yes, it does matter. No, I'm not kidding and I've not gone native.
At that time, Terry Jones, the "pastor" of an obscure Gainesville, Florida "church" had become an international media sensation. "But how," I wondered, "does the leader of an obscure "church" with around two dozen members (mostly his kinfolk) - a guy who couldn't even stop voters in his own town from electing a gay mayor, a guy virtually no one ever heard of previously, pull off something like that?"
"Easy - he decides to burn a Koran," you might answer. "So if you or I did that," I'd ask back, "we'd get the same result?"
Of course not. What follows is part one of the answer to my first question. I'd finished up part two, also - the part that tracked this obscure character's weeks-long rise from local paper funny pages (as seen below) to the most important global security figure of the year - but never published it. Terry Jones didn't burn his Koran ("We will definitely not burn the Quran," the Rev. Terry Jones told NBC's "Today" on Saturday "Not today, not ever"), and faded back into obscurity without Afghanistan erupting in flames. In my mind it seemed best to let the story fade away.
Of course, the Westboro "Baptist" crowd burned a Koran anyway - but it didn't seem to leave much of a mark on history; see my second question above.
Enough preamble. Jones is back in the news - bigger than ever, but the remainder of this post was (and is as) originally published on 26 September, 2010. Though I hope you read (or re-read) it anyway, I'll give away the ending: "To be continued."
Terry Jones, Superstar
In which we ask the question: How does the pastor of an obscure Florida church become a major player on the global scene?
To me it was a surprise headline: Petraeus Condemns U.S. Church's Plan to Burn Qurans. I'd never heard of Terry Jones or his Outreach Center, but somehow hundreds of Afghans in Kabul were familiar with a story taking place not far from my home:
Hundreds of Afghans attended a demonstration in Kabul on Monday to protest the plans of Florida pastor Terry Jones, who has said he will burn copies of Islam's holy book to mark the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
As for how that information had gotten from Gainesville, Florida, to hundreds of Afghans to the Commander of ISAF troops in Afghanistan to the Wall Street Journal, the September 6 story offered only one clue:
Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, who oversees the effort to train Afghan security forces said he was informed of the planned Florida protests several days ago by a senior minister in the Afghan government.
Following that report, and seemingly from out of nowhere, Pastor Terry Jones and his Dove World Outreach Center were a global sensation - the President of the United States even addressed the issue on national TV. (Side note: interesting typo in that ABC url...) Not since CBS News' Mary Mapes and Dan Rather had introduced Lynddie England to the world in 2004 had such an otherwise obscure and unlikely candidate become such a major player on the international scene.
Here's how that came to be.
"You don't always wear a cowboy hat," said Mrs G.
She's right. Always.
You ever tell a joke you thought was funny, but everyone in the room just stared at you without even smiling? Yeah, that's probably because the joke was actually not funny.
Two things I think I know about Stephen Colbert: he's funny, and supports the troops.
But I doubt he makes his own Facebook posts. That's no excuse. And now I'm reminded that the guy on TV is the fictional end result of several writer's efforts... see second line above.
Will the real Colbert please stand up?
Update: "That's not the real Colbert page, or even the real event page...it's a fan page about the event." - says NS Webster in comment below. I appreciate Stephen Colbert - though I know his TV persona is fiction, and I think his congressional appearance was a mistake (one that reflects more on the US Senate than on him). I'm relieved to know my initial "wow, that's out of character" thought was in the right direction.
His name is Sean Bielat and he's a Marine who builds robots. That's right - he kills terrorists and he builds robots! That's exactly the sort of people who as a child I would have thought we'd have running for office in 2010.
(Click here.)
Back in the old days you had to write on paper, and publish later.
Sometimes a lot later.
A fresh insight into life in the trenches in World War One has been discovered in a series of amazing sketches and drawings found in a soldier's diary hidden away for 90 years.
Lieutenant Kenneth Wootton's 120-page journal vividly brings to life the horror of major WWI battles, and even includes detailed ink drawings of tanks and battle movements.
Lt Wootton, who was awarded the MC for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty, kept a diary from 1915 until 1917, when he was sent home to England after being injured in an explosion.
Now the diary and Wootton's incredible pictures have been found by his great granddaughter, who inherited a mass of old books and papers and discovered the diary lying inside.
More here. I'm no art expert, but seems to me Lt Wootton had some serious talent.
"Dynamite in the hands of a child is not more dangerous than a strong policy weakly carried out."
That's a quote from Winston Churchill - a man more quotable than most. You may have an image in mind of Britain's prime minister during the Second World War, a man whose long life in the political arena well-prepared him for his role. And yes, the quote is from that Winston Churchill - but then again, it isn't... that was 23-year-old Winston Churchill, opining specifically on his nation's policy on Afghanistan in 1897, but doing so with a truth on broad terms.
Maybe that's an obvious truth to twenty-somethings of any generation; then again maybe it's something some people go through life without fully grasping. Here's another example of something blindingly obvious being put into words.
"...we've got to get the job done [in Afghanistan], and that requires us to have enough troops so that we're not just air-raiding villages and killing civilians, which is causing enormous pressure over there."
That one's from 46-year-old Senator Barack Obama, opining on his country's Afghanistan policy in 2007. I concur with that - I'm fairly certain most people would. I've no doubt General Stan McChrystal did, and others I could name. Hey, while blindingly obvious, it implies a strong policy.
As for carrying it out - here's a more recent example from the same guy:
Privately, he told Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to push his alternative strategy opposing a big troop buildup in meetings, and while Mr. Obama ultimately rejected it, he set a withdrawal timetable because, "I can't lose the whole Democratic Party."
And even there you have to consider the definition of "rejected" - as it also appears here:
Obama rejected the military's request for 40,000 troops as part of an expansive mission that had no foreseeable end...
But obviously Barack Obama has learned from history - his immediate predecessor lost all but the most steadfast of his own party on Iraq. (And Obama himself had handily defeated a guy who'd often said "I'd rather lose an election than a war".)
More knowledge of history on display:
The war in Iraq draws no attention in the book, except as a reference point for considering and developing a new Afghanistan strategy. The book's title, "Obama's Wars," appears to refer to the conflict in Afghanistan and the conflicts among the president's national security team.
An older war - the Vietnam conflict - does figure prominently in the minds of Obama and his advisers. When Vice President Biden rushed to the White House on a Sunday morning to make one last appeal for a narrowly defined mission, he warned Obama that a major escalation would mean "we're locked into Vietnam."
I'm old enough to remember Vietnam as TV news myself - but it may come as a surprise to some that history was ongoing even before we were born...
"When the true history of the Expedition, especially the diplomatic side of it, is written, it will not be a very inspiring chapter for school children, or even grownups to contemplate. Having dashed into Mexico with the intention of eating the Mexicans raw, we turn back at the very first repulse and are now sneaking home under cover like a whipped cur with his tail between his legs."
That's General Pershing's private correspondence to his father in law, regarding the Punitive Expedition to Mexico in 1916, (Winston Churchill was busy with World War One at the time...) a retaliatory effort launched after Pancho Villa crossed into the US and attacked the town of Columbus, New Mexico.
Regardless of his level of personal disgust with the "diplomatic side of it", in his official report Pershing concluded:
"The splendid services that the regular troops comprising this expedition have performed under most adverse conditions again proves that for natural ability, physical endurance, unflinching persistence, general efficiency, and unquestioned loyalty and devotion to duty the well trained officers and men of the regular army are unexcelled by the troops of any other nation."
Left unsaid is that responsibility for any perceived failure lies elsewhere. General Pershing, being no twenty-something, felt no need to state the obvious.
But even passing familiarity with American (or Mexican) history is not required to be the President (or Vice President) of the United States - who must always look to the future instead.
Obama rejected the military's request for 40,000 troops as part of an expansive mission that had no foreseeable end. "I'm not doing 10 years," he told Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at a meeting on Oct. 26, 2009. "I'm not doing long-term nation-building. I am not spending a trillion dollars."
That's a longer version of a previous quote - as is this:
...we've got to get the job done [in Afghanistan], and that requires us to have enough troops so that we're not just air-raiding villages and killing civilians, which is causing enormous pressure over there. It means that we have enough civilian support, agricultural specialists, people who are engineers, people who are building schools and so forth...
But enough of that. Politics is no place for a milblogger, some might say. And I'm no economist either, so I'll keep to the boring old history here.
Like this closing thought, from young Lt Churchill on the Afghan frontier:
It was only natural that the Viceroy, himself, should view with abhorrence the prospect of military operations on a large scale, which must inevitably lead to closer and more involved relations with the tribes of the Afghan border. He belonged to that party in the State which has clung passionately, vainly, and often unwisely to a policy of peace and retrenchment. He was supported in his reluctance to embark on warlike enterprises by the whole force of the economic situation. No moment could have been less fitting: no man more disinclined...
*****
Elsewhere:
Outside the Beltway (and again)
*****
Next: There are many ways to lose a war...
Nope, not seeing it.
For full understanding, click the picture. Actually, don't. Some things defy all understanding...
Added: more recent picture of me. (Because my mom reads this site, and the beard was one of those immediate - yet brief - post-retirement things...)
It's been a while since we've hosted a full-length movie here, so let's roll one, shall we?
The (1953) movie is set in India's (now Pakistan) Northwest Frontier, near the Khyber pass (linking to Afghanistan), where British soldiers are confronted with rebellious Pashtun tribesmen. Our hero, newly-arrived Captain Alan King, faces some initial difficulties mixing in with his fellow officers when one learns (gasp) his mother was a Muslim!
(Being in Cinemascope, I recommend the full screen option available after pushing play.)
And here's the original book version at Gutenberg.
"Anything can set them off," Mario Gonzalez said. He owns a business near Fort Bliss. "If they have access to weapons, personal weapons, then you are going to find incidents like this happening more and more often." (Link)
VIDEO: The Military's Social Media Expert on Reddit's "Ask Me Anything"
Some interesting questions about secrecy and transparency, but my favorite was "How is the DoD [Department of Defense] working to reach out to the under-18 crowd to ensure the long-term ability of the United States to operate without being seen as a 'bully' or 'threat' to others?"
His answer begins: "We don't have specific programs that target one demographic group vs another in any of the outreach programs I'm familiar with. The State Department does, they've done a lot of good work here."
He should familiarize himself a bit more with the DoD, where very few Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen or Marines are former Google execs appointed to their position by the president. In fact they even have a program called "recruiting" that actually targets people of that very demographic.
It's not even classified.
No "My Pet Goat" here:
"I know a lot of you are also feeling the strain of some difficult times. You know what's going on in the news and you also know what's going on in some of your own families. You've read about the war in Afghanistan. You hear about the recession that we've been through..." (link)
1. I'm glad we're through that recession thing.
2. The war in Iraq has been disappeared, too. (That could be puzzling to kids in my area, where every school's student body includes several of the sons and daughters of many of the 50,000 troops serving there now.)
Just saw that Richard S. Lowry's New Dawn: The Battles for Fallujah
Perhaps you've noticed the long silence from our correspondent Lt Churchill. When last we saw the young subaltern in late July...
Churchill was standing on the lawn at the Goodwood races, enjoying balmy weather and winning money, when the report of this decision buzzed through the crowd. He was electrified. On meeting Sir Bindon at Deepdene the year before, he had extracted a promise that, should the general take the field again, Winston would join him. Churchill had three weeks of leave left, but he instantly wired Blood, reminding him of his pledge, and caught the next boat to India, the S.S. Rome, leaving behind, in his haste, a batch of new books, his polo sticks, his pet dog Peas, a Primrose League badge old Mr Skrine had lent him in Bath, and, of course, a sheaf of bills.
He spent most of the next several weeks traveling, but at last reached his destination - the front lines. "Having realised that if a British cavalry officer waits till he is ordered on active service, he is likely to wait a considerable time," he reports, "I obtained six weeks' leave of absence from my regiment, and on the 2nd of September arrived at Malakand as press correspondent of the PIONEER and DAILY TELEGRAPH, and in the hope of being sooner or later attached to the force in a military capacity."
The army lieutenant hiring on as a newspaper war correspondent was a bit novel - but not necessarily frowned upon. As William Manchester explains it
A few more details on his summer travels from Britain to India, from Churchill
It was the hottest season of the year, and the Red Sea was stifling. The hand-pulled punkahs, for in those days there were no electric fans, flapped vigorously to and fro in the crowded dining-saloon and agitated the hot food-smelling air. But these physical discomforts were nothing beside my mental anxieties. I was giving up a whole fortnight's leave. At Brindisi no answer had come from Sir Bindon Blood. It was sure to come at Aden. There I danced about from one foot to the other till the steward had distributed the last of the telegrams and left me forlorn. However, at Bombay was good news. The General's message was "Very difficult; no vacancies; come as correspondent; will try to fit you in. B.B."
<...>
I sped to the Bangalore railway station and bought a ticket for Nowshera... I had the curiosity to ask how far it was. The polite Indian consulted a railway time table and impassively answered 2,028 miles. Quite a big place, India! This meant five days' journey in the worst of heat... early on the sixth morning after I had left Bangalore I stood on the platform of Nowshera, the railhead of the Malakand Field Force.
September had come. As for establishing himself as a war correspondent
"Herewith two letters for the D.T. (Daily Telegraph), I do not know what terms you have made with them - but should certainly not be less than £10 per letter. Having read please forward - and decide whether they should be signed or not. I am myself very much in favor of signing - as otherwise I get no credit for the letters..."
It was perhaps unwise of Churchill to leave the financial arrangements to Lady Randolf - never one to treat money with any high seriousness except when it was short - for she secured only £5 per letter. ("Haggling about the price," she observed, "would not have done.") To add insult to injury, she opted for anonymity as well. Churchill was incensed.
"I will not accept less than £10 a letter and I shall return any cheque for less sum. I particularly asked for that amount au moins and when I think of the circumstances under wh those letters were written, on the ground in a tent temperatures 115° or after a long days action or a by a light which it was dangerous to use lest it draw fire - when I was tired and hustled and amid other circumstances - I think they are cheap at the price..."
"As Dr Johnson says," he added, "'no one but a blockhead ever wrote except for money.'" In the end, however, he had no choice but to accept the price.
For "They were paid almost nothing," William Manchester writes
Having at last arrived at Nowshera, our correspondent discovered that General Blood had departed on an expedition against the Bunerwals - though his absence ended just five days after Churchill's arrival. "But," Churchill reports
I had to buy two good horses, engage a military syce (groom), and complete my martial wardrobe in many particulars. Unluckily for them, but very conveniently for me, several officers had been killed in the preceding week, and their effects, including what they had stood up in, were, in accordance with Anglo-Indian campaigning custom, sold by auction as soon as the funeral (if any) was over. In this way I soon acquired a complete outfit. It struck me as rather grim to see the intimate belongings of one's comrade of the day before - his coat, his shirt, his boots, his water-bottle, his revolver, his blanket, his cooking-pot - thus unceremoniously distributed among strangers. But after all it was quite logical and in accordance with the highest principles of economics. Here was much the best market. All transport charges were already defrayed. The dead man disposed of his assets on what were virtual monopoly terms. The camp auctioneer realised far better prices than any widow or mother could have done for the worldly effects of Lieut. A.B. or Capt. X.Y. And as it was with the officers, so also was it much more frequently with the private soldier. Still I must admit that I felt a pang when a few days later I first slung round my shoulder the lanyard of a gallant friend I had seen killed the day before.
And now the conclusion of Lt Churchill's account of General Blood's confrontation with the Bunerwals:
Having trouble getting moving today? Here's a bit of inspiration from Gunny Duck.
(For a version with the original audio, click here.)
(Bumped from 9 Sep...)
WASHINGTON -- Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta, a soldier who risked his life to stop Taliban fighters from kidnapping a fallen comrade, will be the first living U.S. servicemember from either Iraq or Afghanistan to receive the Medal of Honor, White House officials announced Friday.
President Barack Obama spoke with Giunta on Thursday to inform him of the award and thank him for "his service and extraordinary bravery in battle."
In an interview with Stars and Stripes on Friday, Giunta said he was humbled by the honor and will use his status to push for wider recognition of all troops' sacrifices.
"I wasn't the only one there that night," he said. "They were all doing their jobs. As we're talking right now, there are people deployed, fighting for their nation."
He also added that he does not expect to be the only living Medal of Honor recipient from the current wars for long.
"I think there will be more now very soon," he said. "There's got to be."
Giunta, whose story was featured in the recently published Sebastian Junger book "War," joined the Army after hearing a radio commercial while working at a Subway sandwich shop in his hometown, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
He has served two tours in Afghanistan, and was serving as a rifle team leader with a company from the Vicenza, Italy-based 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team during combat operations in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley.
(From Doug Stanton's Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of US Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan
No armor and no armored vehicles - in fact, no vehicles.
But their journey in was on a different sort of horse, and you can ride along with the first Special Forces team to enter Afghanistan in November, 2001. The words are Stanton's, the voice and formatting are mine - the pictures and video were found all over the web and in most cases serve only as a reasonable facsimile, and not images of the actual individuals involved. Hopefully altogether they convey some of the sense of what it's like to fly a few hundred feet above the ground in a combat zone.
Jut push play...
That's the headline I've been wanting to write.
Via email:
THE WHITE HOUSEFor a more detailed account (I've mentioned this one previously) Elizabeth Rubin's story of events in the Korengal in the fall of 2007 is a must-read, one of the finest examples of long-form frontline journalism I've ever seen.Office of the Press Secretary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 10, 2010
Readout of the President's call with Specialist Salvatore Giunta
Yesterday, President Obama spoke with Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta to inform him that he will be awarded the Medal of Honor for acts of gallantry at the risk of his life that went above and beyond the call of duty. Sergeant Giunta will be the first living service member to be awarded the Medal of Honor for service in Iraq or Afghanistan. The President thanked Sergeant Giunta for his service and extraordinary bravery in battle.
Further information about the date and time of the ceremony will be released at a later date.
ACTION FROM WHICH THE MEDAL OF HONOR WAS EARNED:
Then-Specialist Salvatore A. Giunta distinguished himself by acts of gallantry at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a rifle team leader with Company B, 2d Battalion (Airborne), 503d Infantry Regiment during combat operations against an armed enemy in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan on October 25, 2007.
When an insurgent force ambush split Specialist Giunta's squad into two groups, he exposed himself to enemy fire to pull a comrade back to cover. Later, while engaging the enemy and attempting to link up with the rest of his squad, Specialist Giunta noticed two insurgents carrying away a fellow soldier. He immediately engaged the enemy, killing one and wounding the other, and provided medical aid to his wounded comrade while the rest of his squad caught up and provided security. His courage and leadership while under extreme enemy fire were integral to his platoon's ability defeat an enemy ambush and recover a fellow American paratrooper from enemy hands.
Around midnight, 1st Platoon filed into the KOP, eyes bulging, drenched in sweat, river water and blood. They were hauling the belongings of Mohammad Tali, a high-value target. Specialist Sal Giunta had killed him.
The next day I climbed up to the KOP and found Specialist Giunta, a quiet Iowan lofted into a heroism he didn't want. His officers were putting him up for a medal of honor. Giunta told me the story of that night, how they'd barely moved 300 yards before they were blasted. Giunta was fourth in the file when it happened, and he jumped into a ditch. He couldn't figure out why they were getting hit from where Joshua Brennan and baby-faced Franklin Eckrode should have been leading up ahead. He knew it must be bad, but as he leapt up to check he got whacked with a bullet in his armored chest plate. It threw him down. They were taking fire from three sides. He grabbed some grenades: "I couldn't throw as far as Sergeant Gallardo. We were looking like retards and I decided to run out in front of the grenades." He found Eckrode with gunshot wounds. "He was down but moving and trying to fix his SAW" -- a heavy machine gun -- "so I just kept on running up the trail. It was cloudy. I was running and saw dudes. Plural."
He couldn't figure out who they were. Then he realized they were hauling Brennan off through the forest...
So, maybe they won't burn a Koran. Or maybe they will. Or maybe Fred Phelps will.
The whole thing's a story I was going to stay out of. But I got an email from a friend in Afghanistan who's a long way down the totem pole from General Petraeus, and thought I'd share.
Burning the Koran is going to fuck us all up over here. REALLY bad idea. Unless what you're trying to do is cause a mess. Be prepared for some serious shit that we over here seriously don't need. Not kidding.
And yes, the Afghans are aware and waiting to see what happens. No, they are not happy. Yes, it does matter. No, I'm not kidding and I've not gone native. All humor aside, it is important and not a single person is going to do anything to stop them from costing lives. My honest appraisal is that it will cost lives and turn people who take this very seriously against us. Needlessly.
So, there you have the thoughts of a guy who's actually engaged in defending freedom from extremists - at risk of life and limb. Personally I consider that at least as worthwhile as the opinions of those who enjoy the fruits of his labors, or are hypothetically willing to join the fight as demonstrated by their courageous typings on the innernets.
Meanwhile...
Daily brief: Quran burning protests sweep Afghanistan
Thousands of enraged Afghans and Pakistanis protested a small evangelical church's plans, currently on hold, to burn Qurans on September 11 by burning American flags and chanting "Death to Christians" (BBC, Pajhwok, AP, AFP, Post). Insurgents have reportedly handed out pamphlets in some areas of Afghanistan comparing the Quran burning to Draw Muhammad Day earlier this year, and a Pakistani Taliban commander in South Waziristan said his group is telling people the planned Quran burning is on par with drone strikes (ABC, Newsweek). Thousands of Afghans hurled rocks at a small NATO base in the northeastern province of Badakhshan in protest, and according to the head of UNAMA Staffan de Mistura the country-wide protests could delay Afghan parliamentary elections, scheduled for September 18 (AFP, AP, Reuters, Tolo).
Waiting at home for me (along with the wife and kids and dogs...) when I got back from my trip: This Time We Win: Revisiting the Tet Offensive
This endorsement got my attention:
"For over forty years the American experience in the Tet Offensive has been used and abused by those who try to apply the analogy of Tet to contemporary policy. This Time We Win corrects simplistic interpretations of Tet that are often used to create the impression of inevitable defeat in Vietnam and other conflicts. This book deserves a wide readership."
But this one (from Bui Diem, South Vietnamese Ambassador to the United States) has a well-deserved place on the front cover: "History is written by the victors, but eventually the truth comes out."
President Barack Obama will posthumously honor Army Staff Sgt. Robert Miller with the Medal of Honor in a White House ceremony next month, making him the third servicemember to receive the award for actions in Afghanistan.
Miller, a weapons sergeant assigned to Company A, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group Airborne, was killed by small-arms fire on Jan. 25, 2008. White House officials said Miller sacrificed his life to protect the lives of his teammates and 15 Afghan soldiers.
SSG Miller's MoH is undoubtedly deserved, though the news leads many of us to wonder what happened here...
Added: A February, '08 post from Blackfive: Staff Sergeant Robert Miller - Someone You Should Have Known
Update - ah, here's what happened: Specialist Sal Giunta: Medal of Honor. Great news.
General Odierno enjoying good times on the Colbert Report:
Seems pretty clear on the "won" issue. But the absolute lack of hesitation before answering the question "are they getting combat pay?" got the biggest laugh from me.
Full episode here - some of the best TV ever, sez I. (Even Biden didn't completely kill the fun.)
- and not playing games.
Your local Base/Post Exchange won't be stocking EA's upcoming "Medal of Honor" game:
Military bases across the U.S. have banned the sale of a new video game that lets a player pretend to be a Taliban fighter and "shoot" U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
"Medal of Honor" by Electronic Arts, a major game developer based in Redwood City, Calif., hits stores Oct. 12. Gamers are scoffing at the decision, saying that advanced technology has made it commonplace in the gaming world to let players switch sides and play the bad guy.
After public protests, including by British Defense Secretary Liam Fox, U.S. military officials decided not to stock the game in any of the nearly 300 base exchange shops.
The game also won't be sold at any of the 49 GameStop stores located on various military bases. Troops will be allowed to own copies, but they would have to buy them off-base.
But it's not just the Army and Air Force who aren't playing along. "Kathleen Martin, a spokeswoman for the Navy Exchange Service Command, said the game won't be sold at any of the Navy's 104 exchange shops 'out of respect for the men and women serving and their families.'"
Here's a video of the gameplay in the "Taliban" mode:
That story has prompted this message from our friend Robert Stokely. Over to you, sir!
Yea, that is right, folks sucking off the good ole' American Freedom straw want to show Taliban killing our military personnel who are actually dying in real time while this video game is being produced and promoted. Wow, that builds support for the home team by marginalizing the lives of our beloved military personnel who are serving in a real war and dying real deaths, coming home really maimed, and that leaves lives really altered for all time to come, whether emotionally or financially or both. Wow, what patriotism these video artists show.... (sick).
Now contrast that with this rendition of the National Anthem, which by the way, I happen to have had a non-singing part along with my son Wes and 20 plus other family members of Georgia Fallen Soldiers as we held a 50 x 80 foot American Flag. Pay attention to the respect for America given the Star Spangled Banner; how it is passionately sung, watch the reverence of 93,000 plus fans, and look at the drivers, crews and their family as they show respect, especially those who held their hands over their heart. And hey, who can discount a couple fighter jets overhead.... I have watched over and over and I can't say what is my favorite part, but if I had to make a call, then the scene where the wife / mom holding her little blond child next to her husband / Matt Kenseth NASCAR driver track side speaks volumes to me. It reminds me of those many times I held Mike and a moment in time shortly after he died when I sat in a parking lot and began to cry as I watched a parent walk by holding the hand of their small child. As I cried I asked myself how did I go from a car seat to a casket in 20 short years... and I was again reminded how much I had lost. But the scene I just described brings joy to my heart, for a new day emerges for a new young family to look hopefully to the future with freedom abundant. So, take a few minutes to watch this live moment in time from the other night at Atlanta Motor Speedway Sprint Cup NASCAR Race, as captured on YouTube.
You know, a bomb exploding and sending shrapnel flying through the air killed my boy. Many others in the War on Terror have died in a similar fashion. When the Star Spangled Banner is played, I stand at Attention, place my right hand clutching my boy's Dog Tag over my heart, and even though my singing is horrible, I at least mouth the words to my best ability. And when it gets to the part "bombs bursting in air" I can't help but sob as I lower my head and shut my eyes in reverence and envision my boy going down for Freedom that early morning near Yusufiyah.
There is a right way and a wrong way to do something. But those with their video game killing American Soldiers are fortunate they don't have to worry about it. You see, they don't operate under Taliban or Al-Qaeda rule. The video game promoters are free to produce and sell this "game" because of the sacrifice of the very soldiers they want to mock through an exercise of free speech / expression, even as they disrespect those who paid a high cost for such freedom. Even as they disregard the feelings of the family of the Fallen.
When people ask me what can they can do to make it better for me and my family, I tell them nothing can really make it better unless we get Mike back. But I also tell them they can come close by Making it Matter what Mike and so many others like him have given. To Make it Matter all one has to do is Remember with Honor.
Atlanta Motor Speedway, Ernie Haas Signature Sound and those in attendance who showed respect the other night, and especially that Mrs. Kennseth holding her small child and obviously showing such respect while enjoying the moment, Made it Matter and Remembered with Honor what those who die on the field of battle and their families have paid toward the high cost of freedom, a price that is too dear to quantify in dollars.
A Lifetime of Love.
Robert Stokely
proud dad SGT Mike Stokely, Bronze Star and Purple Heart
KIA 16 AUG 05 near Yusufiyah Iraq
USA E 108 CAV 48th BCT GAARNG
Over at the Castle, a post on Afghanistan by Dr. Sean Maloney - as the Armorer describes him: "an official Canadian military historian just back from his latest trip data-collecting on Canadian Forces activities." But he's got much to say on U.S., NATO, and NGO (that last example is especially interesting...) activities, too.
It's a brief (as in to-the-point) but broad review, but John says this is the money graf:
I am extremely concerned that the counterinsurgency effort may be being artificially jammed into an American domestic political time-frame. I do not think success can be forced in this environment. In my view, the US needs to beware of trying to 'Iraqize' southern Afghanistan. Pashtuns are not Arabs. Kandahar is not Baghdad. The threat is different. Applying an Iraq model unthinkingly will generate multiple layers of bureaucracy which will slow reconstruction, development, and governance to a crawl. It will also generate enemies where don't need them.
...to which I could add nothing other than read the whole thing.
A brief review from part one:
Here's a graph from an earlier post, with a couple of additions. This depicts American combat deaths in Iraq from late 2006 to now, as recorded and reported by icasualties.org. For a full explanation of what you're seeing, click here.
The vertical dashed line is at January, 2009 - when Barack Obama became President of the United States. By that point the worst of the Iraq war (barring some future re-ignition - always a concern) was a thing of the past. While the effect was to be determined, the November, 2008 SOFA had already established a 1 July, 2009 pull-out of US combat forces from Iraqi cities. As is now obvious, that date marked the next noticeable downturn in combat deaths. Likewise other future dates, including a December, 2011 deadline for withdraw of all troops, were set. The bottom line - the trajectory of events in Iraq was established, and there was little the newly-elected American president could do to "improve" the situation. (Conversely there was much he could have done to derail the process, to his credit he did not.)
As noted then, the purpose of this series is to examine why the American public's perception of Iraq was so far divorced from the reality on the ground. In part two we looked at the media's own characterization of their coverage through the period of the rapid decline in American combat deaths (and other indicators of violence in Iraq) - the "red section" of the chart above - from the initial announcement of the surge in early 2007...
...I think one thing the press has done is they've learned many lessons during this war. You've had a lot of people on the ground in Iraq. You have people who understand this war at a very basic level. And I think the American public understands this war. And when you have the president coming out and saying things that the public may feel they've heard before and that the press can fact check -- I mean, I remember -- I watched that speech and thought, wait a minute, I remember this happened the first time, or, wait a minute, that happened the second time......to the October, 2007 coverage of the results of successful operations throughout the summer and early fall of that year:
CHARLES GIBSON, ABC ANCHOR: The U.S. military reports the fourth straight month of decline in troop deaths, 66 American troops died in September, each a terrible tragedy for a family, but the number far less than those who died in August. And the Iraqi government says civilian deaths across Iraq fell by half last month.
KURTZ: Joining us now to put this into perspective, Robin Wright, who covers national security for The Washington Post. And CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.
Robin Wright, should that decline in Iraq casualties have gotten more media attention?
ROBIN WRIGHT, THE WASHINGTON POST: Not necessarily. The fact is we're at the beginning of a trend -- and it's not even sure that it is a trend yet. There is also an enormous dispute over how to count the numbers. There are different kinds of deaths in Iraq.
<...>
KURTZ: Barbara Starr, CNN did mostly quick reads by anchors of these numbers. There was a taped report on "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT." Do you think this story deserved more attention? We don't know whether it is a trend or not but those are intriguing numbers.BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: But that's the problem, we don't know whether it is a trend about specifically the decline in the number of U.S. troops being killed in Iraq. This is not enduring progress.
<...>
KURTZ: But let's say that the figures had shown that casualties were going up for U.S. soldiers and going up for Iraqi civilians. I think that would have made some front pages.STARR: Oh, I think inevitably it would have. I mean, that's certainly -- that, by any definition, is news.
But not only was that enduring progress, the same trends were indeed specifically reflected in declining numbers other than US troop deaths:
Still, as noted previously, 60% of Americans believed the war in Iraq was going poorly - a measure of the power of media coverage to influence perceptions in America. But (as depicted in the graphs at left) the lines were converging.
For consistency it would be correct to continue our examination of this topic using the media's own analysis of their coverage of Iraq, but a funny thing happened as we moved forward into that orange section on the charts above and violence levels didn't return to high levels - media coverage of Iraq disappeared.
Currently, just 16% of Americans name the Iraq war as the news story that first comes to mind when asked what has been in the news lately. In December and January, a period when U.S. policy toward Iraq and President Bush's troop surge drew extensive news coverage, far greater numbers named the Iraq war as the first story that came to mind.As to whether the press was driving the public interest or vice-versa,
<...>
In January, roughly a quarter of the overall newshole (26%) in newspapers, TV newscasts, websites and radio was devoted to news about Iraq. In October, the war received only half as much coverage on average (13%), according to data compiled by the Project for Excellence in Journalism's News Coverage Index.
Guess the AP meant it when they said they aren't playing along with the fraud:
Days after the U.S. officially ended combat operations and touted Iraq's ability to defend itself, American troops found themselves battling heavily armed militants assaulting an Iraqi military headquarters in the center of Baghdad on Sunday.
Not sure what the seven "militants" hoped to achieve. They're all dead and they "made the papers" - if that was their goal they succeeded.
But they wouldn't have without a White House announcement last week.
Baghdad has been on high alert since President Barack Obama declared the official end to U.S. combat operations on Wednesday, setting up more checkpoints, intensifying searches of people and vehicles and handing out more guns and bullets to troops guarding the capital.
Since the goal of that ill-conceived and fraudulent announcement was to inspire American voters, the Iraqis - and the American troops in combat alongside them - have a right to be pissed.
Above: My buddy Chuck Ziegenfuss, in People Magazine. (Page 120 of the latest issue, not available online.) A great bit of well-deserved publicity for the Soldiers' Angels Valour-IT program, too. Chuck, we learn, lives in Hawaii and is planning to redeploy later this year.
He's been posting some photos from his new home over at his place for his expected company from the magazine world. (Along with an introductory message for potential guests. You can't be too careful these days...)
Actually, we haven't been speaking of Afghanistan lately - a measure of the success of White House's emphasis on Iraq.
But here's the full text of Secretary Gates' speech to the American Legion - one I was privileged to view in person. A quick excerpt:
"...beginning a responsible transition to Afghan control next summer is so important. That being said, as the President has frequently noted, we are not turning off the lights next July. As in Iraq, our drawdown will be gradual and conditions-based, accompanied by a build-up of military assistance and civilian development efforts. If the Taliban really believe that America is heading for the exits next summer in large numbers, they will be deeply disappointed and surprised to find us very much in the fight."
As I noted while live-blogging, the clear use of the phrase "conditions-based" in regards to any drawdown in Afghanistan is notable, though Gates has been making the point since last December. There's a difference in these more recent examples, however. Where previously members of the White House team were quick to follow any DoD statements with their own reassurances to American voters (or at least the members of their own party) that the July deadline was "etched in stone" (here's Joe Biden in December, and most recently Rahm Emanuel in June), these more recent statements from Secretary Gates, General Petraeus, and others have elicited no White House response.
Even this one from (soon to be retired USMC Commandant) General Conway...
"We know the president was talking to several audiences at the same time when he made his comments on July 2011," Gen. James Conway told reporters on Tuesday. "In some ways, we think right now it's probably giving our enemy sustenance....In fact, we've intercepted communications that say, 'Hey, you know, we only have to hold out for so long.'"
...got a "declined to comment" response from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Not quite the same thing as "enthusiasm," of course (enthusiasm* being something those who remember candidate Obama could perhaps recall...) but perhaps it's the best we can expect (at least for a couple more years).
*Enthusiasm: er, maybe there's a better word for whatever those pre-election Obama statements were...
An Iraqi reality television program broadcast during Ramadan has been planting fake bombs in celebrities' cars, having an Iraqi army checkpoint find them and terrifying the celebrities into thinking that they are headed for maximum security prison.
The show "Put Him in [Camp] Bucca" has drawn numerous protests but has stayed on air throughout the fasting month, broadcasting its "stings" on well-known Iraqi personalities.
<...>
The unwitting celebrities are then secretly filmed, Candid-Camera-style, as they reacted with shock, disbelief and anger as fake checkpoint guards shout abuse at them: "Why do you want to blow us up?" "You are a terrorist." "How much did they pay you to do it? You will be executed."
More here.
Added: do you know the difference between badass and dumbass? This guy doesn't...
Saw these figures reported on TV the other day...
The few jobs being created in a stagnant economy do not seem to be going to veterans, as the unemployment rate for former service members rose in July to 8.4 percent overall and to 11.8 percent for Iraq and Afghanistan-era veterans.
<...>
The national unemployment rate for July, however, remained steady, at 9.5 percent. Most of the job losses were the result of elimination of temporary government jobs.
At a glance that seems to be a problem - and overall unemployment certainly is. But is the 11.8% (veterans) to 9.5% percent (general population) comparison valid?
This could be an unpopular answer: no. The reason for that is simple, if not immediately obvious. An unemployed veteran is someone who left their job. The vast majority do so willingly. In fact, all joined for a specified period of service, and many intended on doing one term and punching out. (One could even make the case they had - at least from their own point-of-view and personal decisions - "temporary government jobs.") The bottom line, the largest contributing factor to "veteran unemployment" is built-in to the system.
So in other words, unemployment is higher among one subset of those who recently quit their jobs than among the population as a whole. Unemployment is a problem - but that particular statistic is hardly shocking. How could it be otherwise? And how can any amount of federal dollars "fix" that?
Memo to colleagues from AP standard's editor:
To begin with, combat in Iraq is not over, and we should not uncritically repeat suggestions that it is, even if they come from senior officials. The situation on the ground in Iraq is no different today than it has been for some months. Iraqi security forces are still fighting Sunni and al-Qaida insurgents. Many Iraqis remain very concerned for their country's future despite a dramatic improvement in security, the economy and living conditions in many areas.
As for U.S. involvement, it also goes too far to say that the U.S. part in the conflict in Iraq is over. President Obama said Monday night that "the American combat mission in Iraq has ended. Operation Iraqi Freedom is over, and the Iraqi people now have lead responsibility for the security of their country."
However, 50,000 American troops remain in country. Our own reporting on the ground confirms that some of these troops, especially some 4,500 special operations forces, continue to be directly engaged in military operations. These troops are accompanying Iraqi soldiers into battle with militant groups and may well fire and be fired on.
From where I sit this is welcome, the media buy-in on this particular narrative has been disturbing, and raises broader concerns. As previously noted here, one can make the case that the war is ongoing (as the AP apparently will) or that it ended a couple years ago ("We can also say the United States has ended its major combat role in Iraq..." the memo explains - though exactly when that happened isn't specified), but any case for "change" occurring this month is purely Orwellian.
Continuing a discussion begun here.
Here's our combined Iraq "violence chart" from the previous entry (click the graphic for a larger version):
Two points can't be denied:
Rather than characterize how this period of rapid decline in violence was described to the American public via the media, I'll let them speak for themselves. First, a roundtable discussion from the beginning of the surge:
Or "how I spent my summer vacation." A full re-cap of the American Legion National Convention at Burn Pit. It was a pleasure to be the Legion's guest at Milwaukee - this is a group truly plugged in to veterans' and national security issues. Stand by for more announcements on projects I've got in the works with these fine folks...
But I've moved slightly southward from Wisconsin, for THE event of the weekend. Remember this story?
When Caro and I finally kissed that night, I made that promise. I knew I wanted to be with her for the rest of my life. But, at some point it takes more of a promise than a mere kiss, and that time has come. So, this weekend I will be flying down to Dallas to ask her to marry me.
Actually, I already flew down. And as you are reading this, so is she, as she sits in the USO center with her friends and me standing awkwardly behind her. So, Caro, if you think you'd like to take this idiot guy who loves you with all his heart, now would be a good time to turn around and tell me so.
She said yes - and the wedding is this weekend. (But the groom has moved from that mushy stuff above to the stark realization that there will be "no more crazy all night parties with midget trannies and loud ukulele music." Ahhh, the things we do for those we love...)
Jonn Lilyea: "Yeah, I talked with the Discovery Channel gunman." Apparently James Lee turned up at Code Pink/Iraq Veterans Against War rallies, so Al Gore environmentalism wasn't his only passion. Video interviews at the link.
You may have heard that combat in Iraq ended this month. You may even believe it. If so, the following could explain why.
Here's a graph from an earlier post, with a couple of additions. This depicts American combat deaths in Iraq from late 2006 to now, as recorded and reported by icasualties.org. For a full explanation of what you're seeing, click here.
The vertical dashed line is at January, 2009 - when Barack Obama became President of the United States. By that point the worst of the Iraq war (barring some future re-ignition - always a concern) was a thing of the past. While the effect was to be determined, the November, 2008 SOFA had already established a 1 July, 2009 pull-out of US combat forces from Iraqi cities. As is now obvious, that date marked the next noticeable downturn in combat deaths. Likewise other future dates, including a December, 2011 deadline for withdraw of all troops, were set. The bottom line - the trajectory of events in Iraq was established, and there was little the newly-elected American president could do to "improve" the situation. (Conversely there was much he could have done to derail the process, to his credit he did not.)
Then again, there was little he could do at that point to take credit for that particular course of events, either. Even acknowledging the January, 2009 situation as favorable would be difficult for the new president, who had not only campaigned on an "anti-Iraq war" foundation, but had opposed both factors that had most influenced those positive developments - the surge and (less publicly) the SOFA.
Time, fortunately, was an ally. So were Newsweek and a host of other print and broadcast media outlets. The president's dilemma was certainly eased by the fact that thanks in large part to their efforts, few Americans were even aware just how favorable that situation actually was.
We'll demonstrate that shortly; first, a look at some other metrics to reinforce the point. First, from the DoD, a chart depicting security incidents through the period (click the following for larger versions).
And from Brookings, Iraq civilian casualty figures.
And here they are combined with the American combat death tolls:
It would take much more than a simple blog post to examine exactly what was going on through this period, and nothing will likely end the eternal debate on causes and effects. We can set that aside for a future effort, here we examine why the American public's perception of Iraq at this point was so far divorced from the reality on the ground (and that in fact it was).
