A screen capture from the Washington Post:

Classy, huh? I'm not a Sarah Palin voter - but unlike most journalists in the world I don't feel threatened by her either.

The Washington Post just succeeded in making the Huffington Post seem reasonable by comparison.

Update: just following orders?

(Video here.)

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"What once was a hunt for lessons to be learned has turned into a search for scapegoats."

Because unlike most human endeavors, scapegoat hunts never fail.

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One reason I can't possibly be the grandfather of milbogs: she's still too young to be a grandma*.

However, she's spending her birthday working on yet another project to expand the ever-growing milblog world, which you can join. (She'd consider that a nice birthday present, in fact.)

*And no, she won't be releasing her birth certificate to "prove it." ;)

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...but it's too late. Uncovering the birther movement's birth certificate: "The far right and the far left can be equally insane, and the extremes end up echoing each other."

I suppose the realization that Democrats founded the birther movement could surprise some of the newer advocates - but it's more a reminder than a shocking revelation. Most people have probably forgotten there were birther-type charges floating around against McCain, too. Here's one version in the New York Times from February, 2008 - pre-dating the "early summer of '08" launch of the Obama Birther movement among Clinton supporters. At issue was McCain's birth (as a military dependent) in Panama. (More correctly, the issue was whether any military dependent born overseas had citizenship rights.) By July 2008 Snopes declared his legitimacy "undetermined."

And in case I wasn't clear, it's the birther movement that should have been aborted. I've noted before that the Dems should fund the birther movement - it's Barack Obama's best (maybe only) chance for 2012. Given the parentage, maybe they can deduct any donations from taxes as "child support."

Added thought: on a more personal note, besides the birthers efforts to undermine the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan linked above, (yes, I know they wouldn't characterize their actions in that way) over the years I served with many Americans (men and women) who married foreign nationals - and had children with them while serving stateside and overseas - the attacks on Obama and McCain all rolled into one. I'd like to see the birthers try and explain to these folks why they consider their children to be second-class citizens unworthy of full rights and privileges granted by the US Constitution.

(Hat tip: Instapundit.)

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Well if nothing was illegal we wouldn't need lawyers: Stolen Valor Act facing legal challenges.

I would say this is timely in light of the McManus story, but there's always someone trying to pass themselves off as a "decorated veteran."

For example, our old pal Rick Strandlof makes an appearance in the story.

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...suffers an ironic fate. A team from SOUTHCOM went to Haiti for a disaster relief conference - and one member was killed in his hotel when the earthquake struck that day:

A search team on Sunday found the body of the Air Force major killed in Haiti after his hotel collapsed during the 7.0 magnitude earthquake, his family said.

Maj. Ken Bourland had not been heard from since the Jan. 12 earthquake after he sent an e-mail to his wife from his hotel room minutes before it hit. He and six other members of U.S. Southern Command had flown to Haiti on the day of the earthquake to attend a disaster relief conference.

Our thoughts and prayers to the family.

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He is now, as I was just told via email, what President Obama would call an "ex-Marine Corpse."

His final appearances at Mudville as a living person will be his role as "guy who threatened to cut military funding unless they'd give Nancy Pelosi a plane". Prior to that, his efforts last fall to raise taxes. ("The tax should be paid by all taxpayers, with rates ranging from 1 percent for lower wage earners to 5 percent for the wealthy.") But whether you think you pay too many taxes or too few, Jack Murtha got more of your tax dollars than anyone else. (At that time he was also being investigated for "ethics violations.")

Now he's dead. So this quote on Afghanistan might be his last on the topic of war: "I'm not sure there's a threat to our national security." Maybe he thought his gallbladder was nothing serious, either.

The Washington Post: "He was revered among Democrats."

Critics dubbed Rep. Murtha, the chairman of the powerful subcommittee that controls Pentagon spending, the "King of Pork" for the volume of taxpayer money he could direct to the area around his home town of Johnstown. Most of the largesse came in defense and military research contracts he steered to companies based in his district or with small offices there.

I will pause now to say something nice about him: he was never convicted.

"Murtha was beloved by his constituents for tapping billions of dollars in federal funds to seed new industries there," reports the Post. That might be true - he could call them "racists and rednecks" and still be re-elected. I don't know if any of them actually voted for him - but he was always reelected.

In the 2008 election, Democrats had to burn a last-minute half million dollars in response to a strong campaign from Murtha's opponent, in what they thought was an easily held district - despite Murtha's "best efforts" on the "campaign trail":

Rep. John Murtha's opponent in the 2008 election claims the Pennsylvania congressman's chief of staff has threatened to have him recalled to active duty and court-martialed for campaigning while in the military, which is in violation of military code.

Bill Russell, an Iraq war veteran who served with the Army, told FOXNews.com that Murtha's chief of staff, John Hugya, made the threat on two occasions -- first to his former commanding officer and then to his face in March.

Russell has now issued a statement requesting prayers for Murtha's family.

The Post story neglects to mention that Murtha called several Marines killers, that they were absolved, and that they in turn sued him for libel - along with various other reasons that most veterans consider him "the second ex-Marine."

But who cares - he's dead.

A blast from Mudville' past - back in 2006, Congressman Jim Moran had arranged a "Town Hall" meeting in his Virginia district just outside of D.C. One invited guest was Jack Murtha - other invited guests were Iraq Veterans Against War members who were brought in to appear as local veterans there to say wonderful things about Murtha and Moran's anti war stands.

Most of Murtha and Moran's talking points from this event are from 2003-2004 - not enough armor, Abu Ghraib was a result of poor training, troops aren't getting medical care, only poor people join the army - we've debunked them all here over the past several months. As the Post noted, MoveOn.org sent e-mails to opponents of the war urging the faithful to attend. And although several Iraq war veterans turned activist made the long trek to cheer him on, an actual "local vet" also made an appearance...

Surprise!

And just before the end of the meeting, Vietnam veteran General (retired) Louis C. Wagner approached the mic.

Enough of the past - on to the future:

According to state law, the governor has ten days once the vacancy is officially declared to decide on the date for the special election, which can come no sooner than 60 days following that proclamation.
<...>
Prior to Murtha's passing, there were two Republicans in the race: 2008 nominee Bill Russell and businessman Tim Burns. It remains to be seen whether either or both men run in the special election although, regardless, it is a certainty the field will grow as ambitious Republicans (and Democrats) see the chance to get to Congress in an abbreviated campaign.

The story also notes that "Murtha's passing comes at a tenuous time for House Democrats as they seek to convince some of their older members to re-up for another term in the face of what looks to be a difficult national political environment for the party."

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or "how America's news is made".

Chapter one: the locals

Our story begins with the sort of tragic child abuse story that appears in local papers all too often. This one was from the Nisqually Valley (Washington) News - a report of an arrest made on January 31.

Man suspected of beating 4-year-old
By Megan Hansen

A Yelm man was arrested Sunday [January 31] for allegedly beating and torturing his daughter. Police said they found the child covered with bruises.

Officers were dispatched around 2 a.m. to Umptanum Road behind Safeway for a report of a disturbance.

Joshua R. Tabor, 27, was allegedly walking up and down the street with a helmet, saying he was going to bust windows, said Yelm Police Chief Todd Stancil.

He appeared to be intoxicated.

When police arrived they discovered Tabor's 4-year-old daughter had locked herself in a bathroom.

Tabor's girlfriend allegedly told police that Tabor has an anger problem and beats his daughter, Stancil said.

The child was interviewed and photographs were taken of the bruises that covered her body.

During the investigation it was also discovered Tabor may have held the girl's head, backward, in a sink of water because she wouldn't say her ABCs, Stancil said.

The Seattle-Tacoma News Tribune added additional details, including that the suspect was "a Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier."

Anger over alphabet ends in arrest
Charged: Man accused of dunking 4-year-old

According to court records:

Tabor's girlfriend told Yelm police that Tabor beats his 4-year-old daughter and that the child's back was covered in bruises. The girlfriend reported that the 4-year-old had locked herself in a closet because she was afraid of her father.

The girlfriend also reported that when the child wets herself, Tabor "makes her sit in the urine-soaked clothes" until he gives her permission to change.
<...>
Tabor spoke to a Yelm police officer and said that he and his girlfriend had "held her down on the counter and submerged her head into the water three or four times until the water came around her forehead and jawline." He said that she was face-up when her head was in the water. He added that they gave this punishment for the 4-year-old "refusing to say her letters."

Tabor was released Monday from the Thurston County Jail after posting $10,000 bail. He is restricted to base at Lewis-McChord as a condition of his release.

The "dunking" was an important point because - as the Nisqually Valley News had reported - "Tabor was arrested for third-degree assault of a child, but police are requesting charges be increased to second-degree assault of a child because of the alleged water incidents." And "they are also asking the prosecutor to charge Tabor's girlfriend, who he said helped hold the girl down in the water." And according to the News Tribune: The Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney's Office filed a charge of second-degree assault of a child against Joshua Ryan Tabor, 27, on Tuesday.

As to why he chose dunking her in the sink "until the water came around her forehead and jawline" - "Tabor allegedly admitted to police that he did it because he knew she was terrified of water."

And there you have it. Tabor's arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 16. Until then he is confined to post. It's a tragic story, and it happens all too often. As a parent, it's horrifying and unforgivable and a reminder that ability to have children and ability to raise children are two different things - and that some thankfully small percentage of people just barely qualify as "people". There are some in your neighborhood and mine. That's one of the reasons when it happens in your neighborhood, it isn't news in mine.

Chapter two: Tabloid data (in which our story sets out for Britain to seek it's fortune)

Somehow the British tabloid Daily Mail heard the child abuse story, and one week after the arrest they found a way to make news from Nisqually Valley an international sensation: add "waterboarding" and CIA" to the mix.

U.S. soldier 'waterboarded his own daughter, 4, because she couldn't recite alphabet'

A soldier waterboarded his four-year-old daughter because she was unable to recite her alphabet.

Joshua Tabor admitted to police he had used the CIA torture technique because he was so angry.

"The practice of waterboarding was used by the CIA to break Al Qaeda suspects at Guantanamo Bay," the Daily Mail helpfully adds. "Detainees had water poured over their face until they feared they would drown. President Barack Obama has since outlawed the practice."

But they also include a description of what allegedly did to his daughter. The story even includes a photo captioned "Human rights activists demonstrate waterboarding in front of the Justice Department. A soldier father stands accused of waterboarding his daughter because she couldn't recite the alphabet" - even though the photo itself is proof that what Tabor is accused of isn't waterboarding.

But that's what tabloids do. Here's the front page of the Daily Mail's web site, here's a list of libel suits that have been filed against them in the recent past - that has no bearing on this particular story, just an indication of how they do business. This is no secret - "Brangelina's Secret UFO Sex Diet" sells - especially with added Beckham quotes. "Man beats kid near Seattle" doesn't draw the average housewife's attention away from the Snickers bars in the checkout lanes - unless he used secret CIA waterboarding techniques.

Fortunately, no one's really that gullible. (/kidding)

Chapter 3: Back in the USA (In which our week-old story makes it's way back across the Atlantic to it's home country, reborn.)

"Money see, monkey do. And the chimp in chief made it a household word," explains the American web site Political Carnival in their endorsement of the Daily Mail story. Fortunately no one reads... wait - "Joshua Tabor admitted to police that he used a CIA torture technique on his 4-year-old daughter because he was angry she couldn't recite the alphabet. (h/t The Political Carnival)" reports Alan Colmes (fomerly of Fox News). So now we have a man admitting he used a CIA technique? Astoundingly, Colmes uses the Daily Mail photo, too - but doesn't quote the portion of the story that reveals this isn't what the father is accused of doing.

The Daily Beast web site links the Daily Mail story too, and adds another twist: "He chose waterboarding--the CIA torture technique that simulates drowning and has been banned by the Obama administration--because he knew the girl was terrified of water."

AOL News Filter ("With so many news aggregators out there, who can keep up? AOL News filters the filters to steer you to the headlines that really matter" reads their banner) announces "The Daily Beast picks up a story from Britain's Daily Mail, reporting on a U.S. soldier who allegedly waterboarded his 4-year-old daughter." The AOL roundup includes several stories - but the overall headline is "The Filter: Soldier Accused of Waterboarding Daughter".

One of the people who writes at The Atlantic using the name Andrew Sullivan writes "A US Soldier Waterboards His Own Child." He (I believe all the "Andrew Sullivans" are he) calls the Daily Mail a "populist paper" (the original Andrew Sullivan is British - so he should know) but is mostly concerned that Marc Thiessen might claim "she wasn't really "waterboarded" as the professionals do it." I have no idea who Mark Theissen is, but if he does make that claim it's because it's true, and apparently at least one of the "Andrew Sullivans" knows this. (Does his willingness to acknowledge up front that he's wrong somehow increase the truthiness of what he writes?)

But more hilariously, "Andrew Sullivan" further notes that "No US paper has yet to report the story. Why am I not surprised?" Except that US papers broke the story a week ago - a British paper twisted it into a form suitable for international news of the tabloid variety, and not only are lefty bloggers and web sites falling for it, but the New York Daily News, Fox News, and ABC all have the "waterboarding" headlines now, too. (ABC News adds that the suspect served in Iraq!!!!)

With at least three "Andrew Sullivans" you'd think at least one of them could have checked that.

But there you have it - that's how "news" is made in America today.

And if you ever doubted that leftists are convinced that American soldiers are "monkeys" who would torture their own children because of Bush, now you know a little more about that, too.

Oh, and free advice to any potential lawyer in this case: ignore the people quoted above, don't try to blame Bush.

Story tip: Miss Ladybug.

(Instant update: Fox has re-written their story to eliminate the false "waterboarding" claim. You can see their original headline here)

Elsewhere:

Villainous Company

Confederate Yankee

And update: this is Mark Thiessen. Now I know.

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Retired Navy Commander Kirk S. Lippold, who has an extensive background in the military including a major run-in with al-Qaida, is pondering a run for U.S. Senate in Nevada, two sources said Thursday.

Why, that's Harry ("the war is lost") Reid's seat. (Or the people's, depending on your point of view.) I can think of no other I'd more enjoy seeing defeated by a veteran.

"At this point I would just say, stay tuned," Lippold said in a brief interview. "Nevada clearly needs more experienced leadership than candidates who are in the race right now are capable of providing."

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We met (or re-met, if you grew up in Indiana like me - though I hadn't heard of him in years) Edgar Whitcomb at Castle Argghhh last week.

As related in that story at Argghhh (with more promised to follow), before he became Governor of Indiana Whitcomb served in the Pacific during WWII.

He enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps in 1940 and was deployed to the Pacific Theater. He was commissioned as a Lieutenant in 1941 and made an aerial navigator. He served two tours of duty in the Philippines and was promoted to Second Lieutenant. During the Battle of the Philippines, Whitcomb's base was overrun; he was captured by the Japanese and was beaten and tortured by his captors, but was able to escape. Recaptured a few days later, he escaped a second time and was hunted for several more days but was able to evade his pursuers. He escaped by swimming all night through shark infested waters to an island unoccupied by the Japanese army. He made contact with the Filipino resistance and fought with them for two years, loosing his vision in one eye, severe hearing loss, and injuring his back in the progress. He was eventually able to secure passage to China under an assumed name where he made contact with the United States Army and was repatriated in December 1943. He wrote a book about his experience entitled Escape from Corregidor, published in 1958.[2][3] He was discharged from active duty in 1946, though he remained in the reserve military forces until 1977 holding the rank of colonel.

That Wikipedia bio also explains why I hadn't heard of him in years - his life after the Governor's office was almost as interesting as his life before. But the happy discovery he was alive and kicking set me searching the internet, wondering if his book was still available.

The bad news - it's out of print.

The good news - it's available online in its entirety for free. Click here to read & enjoy. (Or here for a pdf version.)

"This ability of our American youth to adjust from the quiet American home to the hardships and grimness of the battlefield is a quality that I have often marveled at and long admired," wrote Marine Lt. General Field Harris in the 1958 introduction. "He has been described in some quarters as soft and not able to take it. However, it has been my observation that, given the proper tools and training, he is the equal, perhaps the superior, of any fighting man in the world. Maybe it is our competitive sports and competitive way of life that develop this quality, but whatever it is, the American serviceman is tops in my book."

Aside from the very interesting reading offered by this book, I feel that it cannot help stirring up a quiet pride in the breast of every American parent whose boy has participated in our wars. These boys asked for so little and gave so much.

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Here in Mudville we believe everyone deserves a chance to chuckle:

...even the elitist snobs who didn't laugh until they saw the third one (which is what makes the third one actually funny - but they won't get that joke, either).

So what's the next topic to laugh at her about? She vacuums her own floors?


Update: Palin laughs. And more funny stuff here.

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U.S. soldiers are dying in Afghanistan. One died just Monday in southern Afghanistan, blown up by an improvised bomb. And I'm supposed to sit here in my cozy media work room in Miami and demand to know why Kyle Eckel is playing football for the Saints while some of his classmates are tiptoeing around IED's in Kabul? Sorry. Can't do it.

Another reason to cheer for the Colts - they hold their players to higher standards than the Naval Academy.

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Old Blue just returned to Afghanistan from leave, which means Afghan Quest is "back in business" after a brief (and deserved) pause.

Which is good news for those interested in news from Afghanistan. I linked his latest entry in the previous post, but it deserves more attention.

We have a little phenomenon in the Army called, "Badge-hunting." Although mid-grade officers, very senior NCO's and fobbits are most often accused of it, everyone wants their "stinking badges." It affects how those who haven't yet "gotten some" go about their business. They are looking for the fight that will earn them their combat badge, either the CIB (Combat Infantry Badge) or CAB (Combat Action Badge). Medics are less likely to go way out of their way to get their CMB (Combat Medical Badge), but if they earn it, they want it.

You have a tendency to find what you are looking for. Sometimes, it gets extreme.

An example follows - read the whole thing.

(As usual, via the Mrs, who's always first.)

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It seems you can't read (or watch) a news report on Afghanistan lately without encountering something new and different - radical, even - about our approach to war.

Like this unusual example of advertising in the Washington Post:

NATO ministers, commanders advertise planned offensive in southern Afghanistan

ISTANBUL -- For the upcoming Battle of Marja, the element of surprise has already gone by the wayside.

Although Rasmussen said he could not go into details "for security reasons," other NATO officials said an allied force, led by U.S. Marines, was preparing for an assault on the town of Marja, a Taliban stronghold in Helmand province. Senior military officials began touting the offensive, the first operation since a U.S. troop increase in Afghanistan, even before President Obama announced in early December that he would be sending more forces to the country.

Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top U.S. and allied commander in Afghanistan, said the offensive would start "relatively soon." When asked why he and other commanders were being so open about their plans, he said it was partly to try to persuade as many Afghans as possible in Marja to throw down their arms and side against the Taliban.

"If they want to fight, then obviously that will have to be an outcome. But if they don't want to fight, that's fine, too," he told reporters Thursday. "We'd much rather have them see the inevitability that things are changing and just accept that. And we think we can give them that opportunity. And that's why it is a little unconventional to do it this way."

The plan has indeed been advertised. Admiral Mullen mentioned Marja during a pre-Christmas visit to Afghanistan,

Marja - a region west of Kandahar - remains a Taliban hotbed. "It's been very clear for weeks now for the need to clear out Marja, and that's going to happen," Mullen said. "It's going to happen at a time and place of our choosing, but it's going to happen."

...and multiple news articles on the pending offensive have appeared since.

Some may question the wisdom of the approach, but certainly announcing our intent is not a radical new concept. The November 2004 attack on Fallujah was undoubtedly the most widely telegraphed punch ever thrown in the history of warfare - at least since the first battle for Fallujah - even though no one expected the enemy would choose peace there.

But as for the wish that a potential enemy will "see the inevitability" rather than choose to fight - as much as some might be disappointed in that outcome it's something we should all want. Similar sentiments were expressed in a less newspaper-friendly way by Marine General James Mattis in Iraq in 2003:

After the invasion he sent home his tanks and artillery pieces and went to Iraqi military leaders in each area his troops were in."I come in peace," Mattis recalled telling them. "I didn't bring artillery. But I'm pleading with you, with tears in my eyes: If you fuck with me, I'll kill you all."

In fact, little has changed from our approach to the battlefields of Iraq to the battlefields of Afghanistan. Follow the Fallujah link above and you'll find this post-battle quote from 2005:

"We're mostly known for killing the bad guys" says Lt. Col. Harvey Williams, a reserve officer with the Marine 5th Civil Affairs Group. But killing alone can't defeat the insurgency. Win over the populace or lose the war.

And explanations of exactly that approach were appearing in newspapers as early as 2003 - where they were dismissed as an illegal Bush administration propaganda effort directed at the American public.

What has changed - and clearly - is the tone of newspaper coverage. And the certain knowledge in the minds of those who would potentially lead or encourage a bloody opposition to US and Afghan forces in Marja or elsewhere that General Mattis wasn't bluffing.

In that regards, it's a damn good thing, one might correctly conclude, that we didn't abandon Iraq.

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Jim Hanson on the Battle of Wanat: "I happen to know a number of folks who were there - who survived that," Jim says, "I've had the time to hear their stories about that first hand, and I'm not convinced that what I'm reading in the media these days matches up with what I was told by these folks."

Audio at the link.

Update: a missive on accountability from the Sniper here.

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Michael Patrick McManus was arrested tonight by the Houston FBI. Charge is Stolen Valor.

"The blog reads like an old time wanted poster: Wanted for stolen valor. Do you know this man? Reward"

"He also said the chin whiskers are a dead giveaway. He says no true serviceman would dishonor the uniform by appearing in public with facial hair."

Cdr Salamander: "This was a Joint operation between milbloggers, the traditional media, POWNet, the FBI, and mostly you - the readers of milblogs."

More from KTRK Houston:

The man, who the FBI says is nothing but a fraud, even showed up in a military uniform at Houston Mayor Annise Parker's inauguration. The problem is that he didn't earn any of the medals he was wearing.

Michael Patrick McManus was arrested Friday night after a federal judge signed a warrant for his arrest. The FBI says he was arrested without incident.
<...>
The picture of McManus was taken at Mayor Parker's victory party in December. The man who shot it is retired military. He sent six pictures to us though he didn't want to be identified. He spoke with us by phone about why he was so suspicious seeing all the awards on this man's uniform.

The pictures ignited a flurry of bloggers attempting to figure out who was parading around town as this highly-decorated war hero. They pushed to expose what they see as improper and illegal, saying "the violations of uniform regs are legion" and "This is illegal as per the Stolen Valor Act and this guy needs to go to jail. This has been a cancer for a long time, but with the internet we can do what other generations could not."
<...>
The man who took these pictures wanted to expose him to protect the legitimate honors earned by so many.

"Don't steal somebody else's honor and valor and service to their country by wearing something you're not supposed to be wearing or that you haven't earned in the first place," he said.
<...>
We should note that we contacted Mayor Parker's office to see if anyone there knew of this person. Parker's spokesperson says they don't know him and that her victory party was open to the public.

Good advice from Chuck Z: "Don't ask, Don't tell, and don't wear medals you didn't earn."

More here and here and here and here...

For the real deal, read about Capt. Joshua Glover

Previously: CSI Milbloggers

Michael Patrick McManus Chan, aka General Ballduster McSoulpatch

Meet Michael Patrick McManus aka General Douchey McChinpubes

Pitchfork Brigade, Stolen Valor Imposter Wanted

Launch the ready pitchfork

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Like William Jacobson, I had to wonder why so many left wing blogs spontaneously demonstrated concern over the "Shelby hold" story today. It's just not that big a problem - as he notes,

Just as there are rules to place a "hold" on nominees, there are rules to remove that hold. The Democrats just don't want to follow those rules.

Which is correct- but not entirely. In fact, on further review:

Holds can be overcome, but it takes 60 votes in the 100-member Senate. While tradition-bound senators are typically reluctant to take that step, they did so Thursday in voting to confirm nominees to the Labor Department and the General Services Administration.

So not only can they do it, they did it this week. They unblocked the ones they wanted, and sent out a memo on the rest. (Seventy? Really?)

Anyhow, finally found the answer:

Also Thursday, Vice President Biden said he was so frustrated by Republican foot-dragging that he was considering whether Senate rules should be changed.

"There's a little disappointment in that it seems like the only way to do business up here anymore is with a supermajority on almost everything," Biden said moments after swearing in Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., who gives Republicans 41 votes, enough to filibuster on any issue.

"What I have been doing is spending a lot of time having my staff go back and scrub this, you know, the use of the filibuster and how it's worked," Biden said. "This is not a constitutional requirement."

Now that at least makes sense - if they wanted to confirm the President's nominees they'd confirm them; if they wanted to change the Senate rules now that they no longer have a "supermajority" they'd send a memo and get a dutifully outraged response.

I doubt they really want to change the rules though - more likely they just want to remind voters that they just can't get anything done because of those damn Republicans! (Pay no attention to those two behind the curtain, or this demonstration that the House can do anything it wants as fast as it wants, too...)

I'm still left with questions - like "is that a backlog, or did the President just nominate 70 new government employees?" Or "are they newly-created positions, or are these replacements for people who recently quit?" Or (on another tangential issue), "do we need a counter-IED Center at Redstone? It sounds more important than anything Jack Murtha ever earmarked, but is it?" And "can the USAF Tanker issue ever be resolved?" (I think that last one's a "no" - too many congress types in too many States and too many companies making parts and sub-parts...)

But the President does have one answer - and it explains why they thought going this route was a good idea: Americans are too stupid to "get it."

Attempt to get a direct response from the White House late Thursday afternoon were unsuccessful.

A spokeswoman instead pointed to Obama's comments earlier this week decrying Senate delays on "well qualified" nominees "because of some completely unrelated piece of business."

"That's an example of the kind of stuff that Americans just don't understand," Obama said.

At least he didn't call us "retarded".

Update: another odd aspect of this story is the misuse and abuse of the terms "pork" and "earmark" - errors addressed here. It's amazing how many people apparently misunderstand the terms (see links at first two links in this post). One might be tempted to claim that vindicates Obama's "American's just don't understand" statement, but I think the majority of those who've made the "error" do so under the (White House-approved) assumption that their readers are stupid ( nothing new). As to motive, the desire for hypocrisy charges against Tea Party folks (should they choose not to condemn the Senator from Alabama) is probably more than enough.

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...but they'll be the wrong ones.

"U.S. commanders in Afghanistan face tougher discipline for battlefield failures" reads the headline in the Washington Post. Hard to quibble about that.

I mean, I suppose one could argue that the words are vague and undefined, but since we're now officially committed to "success" in Afghanistan, failure is clearly the exact opposite of that.

The military does not release figures on disciplinary actions taken against field commanders. But officials familiar with recent investigations said letters of reprimand or other disciplinary action have been recommended for officers involved in three ambushes in which U.S. troops battled Taliban forces in remote villages in 2008 and 2009.

And certainly we all agree that failure shouldn't be rewarded, that nobody's perfect, and that many successful people are those who learned from failure and became better for it - though sometimes not in the military. "Such administrative actions can scuttle chances for promotion and end a career if they are made part of an officer's permanent personnel file," - but that still beats death, another punishment for battlefield failure often meted out during the battle by those who didn't. Such are the fortunes of war.

The story also mentions the surviving family members of those who fell at Keating - fell most likely due to the failures of others. They are part of the source of pressure as used in this quote: "The reprimands come amid growing political pressure from lawmakers who have pushed the military to assign greater accountability for incidents in which large numbers of U.S. troops are killed or wounded." And they absolutely have a right to expect answers.

The question - as it always is - is who screwed up? Here's one example of a government answer:

On Wednesday, the families of the soldiers killed at Kamdesh received a call from an Army casualty assistance officer. The officer read from a prepared script informing them that the investigation was completed and that members of Congress would be briefed on its findings as early as Thursday.

The script praised the bravery of the troops at the Kamdesh outpost, which was briefly overrun by the enemy. It also suggested that commanders should have focused more attention on improving the base's defenses and on analyzing intelligence reports that the enemy was planning a large-scale assault.

The final investigation recommended that the squadron commander overseeing the outpost receive a letter of reprimand. The brigade commander was given a less-severe letter of admonishment, said military officials.

But that's followed immediately with "the squadron and brigade commanders overseeing the Kamdesh outpost had been pressing to close it for months after they determined that it made no sense to keep troops in the area."

So here's the answer they should get, but won't - in as simple terms as possible.

• Keating should have been abandoned or reinforced.
• The decision to do one or the other was on hold while the President of the United States reviewed the Afghanistan strategy.
• The enemy got tired of waiting.

That answer doesn't appear in the newspaper coverage. It isn't news - it's just the truth.

But all that's in the past. So let's keep moving forward, with all eyes focused on our clear path to success.

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I'm not going to bash anyone for mispronouncing an unfamiliar term - all of us have done it at one time or another, especially if trying to speak a foreign language or just discussing areas in which we have little experience or expertise. Since I've always seen one purpose of this site as familiarizing those not familiar I sure don't want to humiliate anyone who's trying to learn.

And I also try to ask the questions others fear to ask - like when you think about it, shouldn't it be corpsperson?

Back to the educatin': for those who aren't familiar with their mission, among other things they're the front line guys in charge of doctrine. (Click that link or audio player below for correct pronunciation.)

Whenever someone gets hurt, they immediately start doctrine, and hopefully their patient gets better. (A more graphic explanation here.)

And once again...

...but this time to give credit for at least not pronouncing it "Multi-National Corpse-Iraq."

Now, for serious education: for those actually interested in what Navy Corpsmen are all about, Doc in the Box is the place to go. Besides operating one of the longest-running milblogs around, Sean Dustman is a veteran of multiple combat tours in which he had more important things to worry about than the King's English. (In addition to all that, I've met him and he's a great guy.)

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Welcome to the Dawn Patrol, our daily roundup of information on the War on Terror and other topics - from the MilBlogs and various sources around the world. If you're a blogger, you can join the conversation. If you link to any of these stories, add a link to the Dawn Patrol too and your trackback will be added to the list. Hat Tips to the Dawn Patrol are greatly appreciated.Refresh for updates.

Updating...

AFGHANISTAN

Taliban Prepares for Major NATO Offensive -- [Voice of America]
In southern Afghanistan, Taliban militants are digging in for a fight against NATO forces preparing a massive assault on a key insurgent stronghold.
Witnesses say Taliban fighters are bringing in weapons supplies and digging in around Marjah in Helmand province, home to an estimated 80,000 people and center of opium trafficking. NATO commanders say thousands of coalition and Afghan troops are preparing to take back Marjah in one of the biggest offensives of the eight-year-old Afghan war.

Special Forces Assassins Infiltrate Taliban Stronghold in Afghanistan -- [Times Online]
American and British forces poised to assault the Taliban stronghold of Marjah, in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province, have begun targeting insurgent leaders for assassination, The Sunday Times reported...

Dear Moderate Taliban -- [David Bellavia site - Semperpapa]
The Sunday edition of UK Times Online has a report from Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, titled "Special Forces Assassins Infiltrate Taliban Stronghold in Afghanistan" in which the tale is told of Coalition Special Operations Units having begun going around the Taliban held city of Marjah looking to find and kill Taliban leadership in advance of a major offensive that will possibly start very soon.
...Call me picky, but I have a little bit of a problem with the whole thing, in my humble opinion.
Far from advancing any criticism of the Military tactics, I am very concerned with the approach taken with this operation, which is called Moshtarak or "Together".
Mainly, my question is why are we telephoning the enemy the impending attack? And now we are telling our enemy that Special Ops teams are already in the city?

British sniper avenges his friend by killing Taliban -- [Telegraph]
Fusilier Martin Williams described shooting the insurgents as a "vendetta" against those who killed his friend Robert Hunt, who was the 200th soldier to die in Afghanistan.
His skills were put to the test when his patrol came under fire after it moved into a compound in an area north of Lashkar Gah in central Helmand last Monday. He took up his position and waited patiently for enemy troops to appear. His victims included two Taliban shot in a ditch at a distance of about 800 yards, including one who was hit in the throat.
"He put his hand out as if asking someone to help but not one came," the Welshman said. "There was definitely less movement after I dropped them.
"The Taliban are used to machine guns but as soon as you get a sniper on the ground, it puts the fear of God into them."

Taliban defiant as Afghans flee ahead of assault -- [AFP]
NATO commanders called on the Taliban to surrender as troops dug in Monday for a major assault on one of the last insurgent strongholds in southern Afghanistan, sending thousands of residents fleeing.

Afghanistan's NATO head: Military push needs gov't -- [Herald-Standard]
The success of a planned major U.S.-Afghan offensive in the south depends on how quickly troops and civilian development workers can get public services up and running once the Taliban have been driven away, the top U.S. and NATO commander said Sunday.

An Epic Tragedy -- [Afghanistan My Last Tour - in Afghanistan]
In the past 9 months, I have met some colorful people in Afghanistan. They have appreciated my interest in their culture, history, and philosophy. As such, they provide me insights and stories you don't read about in a book or newspapers. Over numerous cups of tea I find out some interesting stories or a sneak peak about their personal lives. These personal details are cultivated by developing a relationship and gaining trust of the individual you mentor and many cups of green tea.

Love, No War -- [Afghanistan My Last Tour - in Afghanistan]
...In the pictures are a new fleet of ANA pickup trucks, 7-tons, and up-armored Humvees, compliments of our US taxpayer dollars. As the size of the ANA forces expands, so does their requirement to have more vehicles to transport the troops and logistics. While outside the camp today, I spotted a truck that caught my attention.

First MEDEVAC for Joint U.S., Afghan Crew -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany]
U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Richard Kramer and Afghan Sgt. 1st Class Ghulam Sakhi, flight medics with the 438th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group/Combined Air Power Transition Force, discuss with an Afghan soldier through Shakira Azzizi, an Afghan translator, what is going to happen on a rotary wing medical evacuation from Bagram Airfield

Amnesty International is 'damaged' by Taliban link -- [Times Online]
A SENIOR official at Amnesty International has accused the charity of putting the human rights of Al-Qaeda terror suspects above those of their victims.
Gita Sahgal, head of the gender unit at Amnesty's international secretariat, believes that collaborating with Moazzam Begg, a former British inmate at Guantanamo Bay, "fundamentally damages" the organisation's reputation.
In an email sent to Amnesty's top bosses, she suggests the charity has mistakenly allied itself with Begg and his "jihadi" group, Cageprisoners, out of fear of being branded racist and Islamophobic.

IRAQ

Officials Confirm Kidnapping of U.S. Contractor in Iraq -- [Washington Post]
An American contractor working for the U.S. military in Baghdad has been kidnapped by a Shiite militant group, U.S. officials said this weekend in response to a statement and video issued by the group.

Iraq Militant Video Shows Abducted American -- [Voice of America]
A Shi'ite militant group in Iraq has released a video of a man it apparently kidnapped, and who appears to be a U.S. contractor who disappeared last month.
The video posted on the Internet shows a man wearing a U.S. military uniform. He is sitting in front of a flag inscribed with the name of the militant group - League of the Righteous.
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Defense said a 60-year-old American contractor Issa T. Salomi had disappeared on January 23, and that search efforts were under way.

Iraq vote row to be resolved before campaign starts -- [AFP]
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Monday he has received assurances that judges will resolve a simmering row over who can stand in Iraq's general election before official campaigning starts on February 12.
Around 100 lawmakers had gathered earlier at parliament for an emergency session to debate a contentious decision to allow hundreds of candidates allegedly linked to executed dictator Saddam Hussein's Baath party to stand in the vote.

Former Iraqi premier slams de-Baathification -- [The Peninsula]
BAGHDAD: Iraq's pro-Western former prime minister Iyad Allawi has denounced a commission that barred candidates allegedly linked to Saddam Hussein from elections before their disputed reinstatement on appeal.

U.S. AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

African Taliban Appoint Special Envoy to US -- [Jawa Report]
His name is Abukar Abdou Arman and he's a long time resident of the United States and a "well-known community activist." So well-known, in fact, that I've never heard of him. Any one have any info on Arman?
How screwed up is Somalia? The African Taliban in Somalia -- who Arman represents -- are now our allies. These would be the same people that we helped oust from power through our support of the Ethiopian invasion only to find that the alternative in the al Qaeda aligned Shabaab were worse.

Ahmadinejad Orders Production of Higher-enriched Uranium -- [Washington Post]
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday ordered the production of higher-enriched uranium -- significantly beyond the levels of its regular nuclear fuel -- prompting the United States to renew threats of carefully targeted sanctions.

Gates: Tough Sanctions Could Still Work -- [Defense Link]
There is still time to toughen sanctions to pressure Iran into complying with international demands that it halt its nuclear program that many believe is geared toward developing a nuclear weapon, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today.
"If the international community will stand together and bring pressure to bear on the Iranian government, I believe there is still time for sanctions and pressure to work," Gates said at a press event alongside Italy's minister of defense Ignazio La Russa.
"But we must all work together," he added.

WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

Obama Challenges Terrorism Critics -- [New York Times]
The White House pushed back Sunday against Republican criticism of its approach to terrorism, calling it "not anchored in reality" as a national security debate that was largely muted in recent years roared back to center stage with an angry intensity.

Obama official accuses GOP of using terrorism as 'political football' -- [Los Angeles Times]
Reporting from Washington - President Obama's deputy national security advisor accused Republicans on Sunday of using national security as a "political football" and of being disingenuous in criticizing the treatment of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the suspect in the Christmas Day airliner attack.

Clinton Sees Islamist Terror as No. 1 Threat -- [Washington Times]
...While one of the White House's top national security advisers criticized lawmakers for politicizing national security threats, including the Christmas Day attack over Detroit, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said even a nuclear-armed North Korea or Iran isn't as great a threat to the U.S. as al Qaeda and allied jihad groups.
"The biggest nightmare that any of us have is that one of these terrorist member organizations within this syndicate of terror will get their hands on a weapon of mass destruction," she said in a Sunday appearance on CNN. "So that's really the most threatening prospect we see."

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS...OR NOT

Special Delivery -- [Michael Yon]
American troops are spread widely across Afghanistan. Some are remote and accessibility is difficult. In 2008, I was with six soldiers in Zabul Province who didn't even get mail for three months. They had no email. They were on the moon. Six courageous men, in the middle of nowhere, and their nearest backup was a small Special Forces team about five hours away. Resupply to these small outposts is crucial, difficult, and would require major effort by ground. Enter the United States Air Force....

German-born US Soldier headed for OCS two years after being seriously wounded in Iraq -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany]
...You may also remember the extraordinary circumstances surrounding Spc. Jamaleldine's CASEVAC.
Upon landing, the co-pilot/gunner helped load the injured Soldier into the front seat without further injury. Despite the heavy small arms fire and surface-to-air fire events in the area, the co-pilot/gunner strapped himself onto the left side of the aircraft and hunkered down on the wing. The pilot flew to Camp Ar Ramadi medical pad, where emergency medical personnel provided treatment.
And now, over two years later, Jamaleldine is slated to attend Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning.

MILITARY

Stolen Honor as A Pick-Up Line? -- [Maggie's Farm]
Is wearing fraudulent medals of valor just a harmless pick-up line?
Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington University's law school who is not involved in the two cases, said the Stolen Valor Act raises constitutional questions because it bans bragging or exaggerating about yourself."Half the pickup lines in bars across the country could be criminalized under that concept," he said.
The AP reports that defense attorneys in two Stolen Valor prosecutions are challenging the constitutionality of the Stolen Valor Act, passed unanimously in the US Senate and by acclamation in the House in late 2006. They say, the AP reports, "the First Amendment protects almost all speech that doesn't hurt someone else. ...

Absurd Stolen Valor case moves to the judicial phase -- [BurnPit - MOTHAX]
The Milblogs joined together to take this guy down, and all that remains now is the courtroom drama. You might recall from my earlier post that the ACLU and others are arguing that the Stolen Valor law is unconstitutional.

Guess what I have in my hot little hands? -- [This Ain't Hell...]
This will come out in sections. I have not been authorized to release it, but the email attached claimed it had already been "filed."
MCMANUS was previously convicted in U.S. Federal Court in California in 2002, arising out of federal criminal charges originating in Louisiana, for impersonating a U.S. "Air Marshal" and also impersonating a U.S. Army Major, both in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 912, He received a sentence of two years probation, which was later revoked for violations.

Another Update on Stolen Valor Imposter; what his real rank was -- [Bouhammer]
Below is a great article from the Houston Chronicle about McManus whom I have blogged about HERE and HERE. They highlight what his real rank was....he was a Private First Class. Yep, he never even breached the NCO corps.

WELCOME HOME

GIs back from Iraq get 'rock star' welcome -- [Waukegan News Sun]
and "Welcome home!" An upstairs banquet room at the hall was decorated with balloons, welcome signs and tables decorated with stars and colorful cloths.

Ashwaubenon students welcome home Iraq veteran Steve Nolan with hugs -- [Green Bay Press Gazette]
He was stationed north of Baghdad, and said the number of troops will continue to decline. "Iraq is closing down," he said. "Things are getting better.

THE MEDIA/SOCIAL MEDIA

Child Abuse: Because of Bush! -- [Greyhawk]
or "how America's news is made".
...Tabloid data (in which our story sets out for Britain to seek it's fortune)
Somehow the British tabloid Daily Mail heard the child abuse story, and one week after the arrest they found a way to make news from Nisqually Valley an international sensation: add "waterboarding" and CIA" to the mix.

A Well-Written War, Told in the First Person -- [NY Times]
Soldier-writers have long produced American literature, from Ulysses S. Grant's memoirs about the Civil War to Norman Mailer's World War II novel, "The Naked and the Dead," to Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried," about Vietnam.
The current group is different. As part of a modern all-volunteer force, they explore the timeless theme of the futility of war -- but wars that they for the most part support. The books, many written as rites of passage by members of a highly educated young officer corps, are filled with gore, inept commanders and anguish over men lost in combat, but not questions about the conflicts themselves.
...The writers say one goal is to explain the complexities of the wars -- Afghan and Iraqi politics, technology, the counterinsurgency doctrine of protecting local populations rather than just killing bad guys -- to a wider audience. Their efforts, embraced by top commanders, have even bled into military reports that stand out for their accessible prose.
"The importance of good official writing is so critical in reaching a broader audience to get people to understand what we're trying to do,"

To be fair, "fog of war" was suggested by the editors... -- [Abu Muqawama]
Elizabeth Bumiller, you are in the penalty box of the English language. Describing the many great memoirs that have been written about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, she writes these books "explore the timeless theme of the futility of war."* If that hackneyed phrase was even accurate to describe the books she profiles, we would forgive her, but since almost all of the books she describes deal with war at its tactical levels divorced from the question of whether or not the violence is realizing political objectives, it makes no sense. Here's a question: whatever happened to the authors of The Unforgiving Minute and One Bullet Away? Because it seems to me the career choices they made after writing their books endorse the utility of war.

On military blogs and social media. -- [Castra Praetoria - in Bahrain]
What is the impact of social media? Do military blogs shape how we view our military and current conflicts we are engaged in? Does it affect the way we communicate? How about the way we write?

White House press corps feels bypassed by Obama in favor of TV shows, YouTube -- [Washington Post]
Six months ago, network executives were complaining that the White House was costing them tens of millions of dollars by pressing them to carry presidential news conferences in prime time.

POLITICS

Rep. John Murtha dead at 77 -- [Washington Post]
Critics dubbed Rep. Murtha, the chairman of the powerful subcommittee that controls Pentagon spending, the "King of Pork" for the volume of taxpayer money he could direct to the area around his home town of Johnstown. Most of the largesse came in defense and military research contracts he steered to companies based in his district or with small offices there.

John-Jack Murtha is Dead -- [Greyhawk]
...I will pause now to say something nice about him: he was never convicted.
The Post story neglects to mention how he called several Marines killers, that they were absolved, and that they in turn sued him for libel - along with various other reasons that most veterans consider him "the second ex-Marine."

HUMOR / SATIRE

Day By Day

(Need more? Dawn Patrols Archives are here.)

Iraq, Afghanistan, War, Terrorism, Military, Politics, Media, MilBlogs, Dawn Patrol, Mudville

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