Dawn Patrol (the Late Edition)

Sorry, mom job comes first.

Iraq

Lightening update. [Iraq the Model - Iraqi blog]
Following are some updates about the security operations in Baghdad and some other cities in Iraq in the last 24 hours:

Iraqi security forces arrested former general Abid Dawood Sulaimanwhich Zarqawi's military affairs aide and one of the founders of "the army of Mohammed" one of the terror groups that mainly formed from members of Saddam's army and was one of the groups that fought in Fallujah.

The day we left Caldwell [Jag-ged Edge - in Iraq]
The day we left Caldwell was hot?with a capital H. We were headed to an even more remote spot called FOB Bernstein. The only reliable way to reach it is by convoy, and we had managed to get on a convoy headed in there via FOB Cobra. CPL Ellis and I load up our things, put on IBA and helmet, and headed to the rally point at about 1400. The heat was incredible that day. I heard that it was at 115?and it was accompanied by this constant hot wind. It?s like when you open the oven and that blast of hot air hits you in the face, but it?s constant.

Never Forget [Dadmanly]
They held a memorial service today for the two officers lost tragically last week.
There were memorial tributes to the two men, some reflections on their military careers, what they accomplished, what kind of men they were, sympathy for the families they leave behind.

Firm grasp of the obvious department [Counter Column]
Knight Ridder's Tom Lasseter files this breathless report from the front:

A growing number of senior American military officers in Iraq have concluded that there is no long-term military solution to an insurgency that has killed thousands of Iraqis and more than 1,300 U.S. troops during the past two years.
Instead, officers say, the only way to end the guerilla war is through Iraqi politics
What's that "growing number?" From 97 percent to 99 percent? I don't get it. I've never met

Letter to the Editor [SMASH]
These counter-recruiters often protest that they're just telling the students "the other side of the story." But in practice, they're actively campaigning to keep military recruiters away from potential recruits, by restricting their access to campus, and distributing literature designed to scare students away from considering military service. Here's a sample...

Coming home: Vietnam (and other) vets [neo-neocon]
"Coming Home"--it was the title of a 1978 movie about returning Vietnam vets, starring (of all people, adding insult to injury) Jane Fonda. I saw it and don't remember it very well, but I thought of it when I heard of the following event: Operation Homecoming, a large celebration in honor of Vietnam vets that will be happening this week in Branson, Missouri

I wish I could find out more on the USS Neosho (AO23)
The comment is buried back in a post I did a while back titled "Survivors of the Battle of Coral Sea - USS NEOSHO.", Jayna left her comment for information on her Grandfather.

Here's her comment/request...

The Media

Not My Son... [From My Position - in Iraq]
The Boston Globe is at it again. This piece describes a mother's fear and discouragement of her son joining the military.

I don't want to be here. Duty is why I am here. I know that is a foreign concept to some people. You support your nation. Especially in times like these.
<...>
?Daddy has to go to a place called Iraq. It is very far away. There are bad people there. Daddy is going to kill them, and they are trying to kill me. Daddy is one of the good guys, and the good guys fight the bad guys. Sometimes the good guys win, and sometimes the good guys get killed. But daddy doesn't want the bad guys to come here and hurt you and mommy and Adelle. I love you too much to let that happen. Even if it means that I may die.?

Setting the Record Straight: Kathleen Whitney and CNN [Grunt Doc]
I am acquainted with an excellent ER nurse, who was recently made mildly famous in a CNN profile for being recalled to active duty. However, while she knew she was being interviewed for an article about the difficulties of family separation, she expressed to me that the article was edited in a way that made her sound less than committed ('sandbagged by the editor' is how it was put to me), and wants to set the record straight.

The Numbers Game in War. [Rightwingsparkle]
The latest homicide bomber kills at least 24 including children. This was not collateral damage. No smart bombs are used here. These monsters target their own women and children. They have no sense of conscience.

It's really important that we understand that.

The Big Iraqi Picture [Froggy Ruminations]
I heard the following Rumsfeld clip while listening to the Hugh Hewitt show today. The old pro lays it straight out; this is mandatory listening. The text is available too at Radioblogger.

The MSM Reprts

Bin Laden, Taliban Chief Said To Be Alive And Well (Washington Post)
Osama bin Laden and the fugitive Taliban chief Mohammad Omar are alive and well, a purported Taliban commander said in a television interview broadcast Wednesday, adding that he still receives orders from Omar.

Uncle Sam Really Wants You (New York Times)...Bob Herbert
With the situation in Iraq deteriorating and the willingness of Americans to serve in the armed forces declining, a little-known Army publication called the "School Recruiting Program Handbook" is becoming increasingly important, and controversial.

Two Armies, Two Reporters, Too Much Trouble in Iraq (Editor and Publisher)
Just back, absurdly well-fed, from E&P's interactive media conference in New Orleans, I was about to write an entertaining little column on bloggers, journalists and their different notions of "accuracy," when I came across a Friday piece in the Washington Post by two brave and widely honored foreign correspondents, Anthony Shadid and Steve Fainaru. The bloggers-vs.-journos column will have to wait.

Standing In The Way Of Chaos (Dallas Morning News)... Greg Mitchell
Americans are telling pollsters they want U.S. troops out of Iraq, and even some of President Bush's Republican allies have begun to push for withdrawal, but foreign policy experts warn of nasty consequences if Mr. Bush heeds their wishes.

Calls For Iraq Withdrawal Dogging Bush (Dallas Morning News)...David Jackson
Though still a military challenge, Iraq is also a growing political problem for President Bush.

U.S. Raids Test Iraqis' Patience (Chicago Tribune)...Kirsten Scharnberg
In the uncertainty created by Iraq's insurgency, anyone might be the enemy. So with weapons drawn, a dozen U.S. soldiers charged down the ramps of their armored Stryker vehicles, roughly yanked three Iraqi students out of a car by their necks and shoved their faces into a nearby wall.

Food Shortages Gnaw At Iraqis' Stomachs, Morale (Los Angeles Times)...Louise Roug
After his American employers left, and monthly food rations began to shrink, Hussein Hadi started selling his furniture. His bed was the last thing to go.

Blogging

Welcome to the new Truth Laid Bear
Folks:

Does something look.... different?
No, I haven't changed my hair, but thanks for asking.

Yes, at long last, the new release of TTLB is here. As I hope will be apparent, a great deal of thought and effort has gone into this new release, which essentially amounts to a top-to-bottom redesign of the site, including oodles of new features. Things are still a bit rough around the edges, and I'm still polishing, polishing, polishing: but the fundamentals work, and it's time to let this baby leave the nest.

Here's a quick summary of some of the goodies you'll find...

Getting Famous [From My Position - in Iraq]
I received an e-mail today from a reporter at the Boston Herald. He is doing a piece on Milblogs, and liked my work and wanted to quote me. This is what he wrote:
....If you have a second to email me about why you blog? Who you are writing for (your audience)? What do other soldiers thing about it? Anything that comes to mind, I'd appreciate it.
<...>
Why do you blog? I blog because I needed a hobby. Something to do in my down time, especially the time after mission and before bed, when the adrenaline is pumping and there's no possibility of sleeping until it goes away. I wanted to keep a journal of some of the things I did here, and why. I wanted something to show the boy when he's old enough. I am (relatively) computer savvy, and had read other blogs and thought it'd be worth a shot.

Legal Tips for Bloggers [Bill Hobbs]
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has released a legal guide for blogger-journalists covering such topics as legal liability, defamation law, use of confidential sources, intellectual property law, media access, privacy and more.

Humor

Humor [From the Inside looking Out in Iraq]

U.S. Marine Corps rules for gunfighting:

Tribute

Flag Day [Danz Family]
In recognition of Flag Day, I am starting the Flag Project wherein I will post a collection of pictures of the American Flag flying at people's homes. I am not interested in any flag other than Old Glory. I am also not interested in American flags flying just anywhere. I want a picture of your flag, flying in front of where you live.

Sports

Standing on the Mound: The Virtues of Baseball
...The essential dynamic of the game, after all, is that for nine innings, 18 men are engaged in a contest in which, ultimately, each and every player finds himself utterly alone?one man taking on a whole world that wants him to fail.
Perhaps nowhere was that dynamic, and the distinctly American character that embraces it, more perfectly demonstrated than at Yankee Stadium on two separate occasions during the 2001 World Championship games between the Bronx Bombers and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Only weeks earlier, New York had lost 3,000 of its citizens, police, and firefighters in the deadliest attack made on American soil. The rubble in Manhattan was still smoldering, and the nation was still on its knees?uncertain, unsure, and afraid.
People went to Yankee Stadium wondering if they were safe. They worried that the same group that had flown airplanes into two office buildings, in the hope of killing thousands, might be tempted by another target. And yet, for all of their fears, the fans came.

As President Bush moves to the pitcher?s mound, the Yankee shortstop delays him, calling out, ?Mr. President, are you going to throw from the mound or from in front of it?? Bush replies, ?I hadn?t thought about it.?

?Mr. President, this is New York,? Jeter says. ?In New York, you throw from the mound!?
<..>
A perfect strike! Yankee Stadium erupts. People from every political and economic persuasion?Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Rosie O? Donnell?are jumping and screaming. The people in the stands are weeping, in sorrow and in hope.

It is only a strike, but it?s a perfect strike. And at that moment, it means everything.

In Memory

Hate shows up at a Soldiers funeral: Updated [Gryphmon]
Phelps was apparently such a tiny little speck in a vast sea of people that most couldn't even see him.