Dawn Patrol

IRAQ*

Prelude -- [Michael Yon - in Iraq]
Mosul
Success or failure for the emerging Iraqi Government will depend on Iraqi Security Forces. The ISF must establish and maintain order along and within the borders of this country. By extension, the outcome of this war will rest on the ISF. Other crucial regional governments are subject to the hurricane force political winds blowing from Iraq. The global implications are potentially enormous. Even with these heavy words, there is danger of understatement: Success in Iraq is critical.

I'll Take Some of That Pork!--or--How I Need to Raise Money For The Documentary -- [Faces From the Front]
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SGT. Matthew Willis
LCPL Ian Hobbs
LCPL Kyle Case

Desert Creatures -- [365 and a Wake up - in Iraq]
The sun has been pitiless these last few days, doubling and redoubling its radiant energy until everything stationary shimmers in its own invisible pyre. The sputtering coughs of wind that limp across the cracked soil lack any real force; it?s as if the temperatures have cowed the air into refusing to stir. In these temperatures nothing moves without purpose. The troops that have to move back and forth across the FOB move along deliberate paths, their heads slightly bowed in unconscious deference to the flashbulb brilliance

Random shots -- [Lance in Iraq - in Iraq]
I meant to post this one with the Typical American behavior set. After we checked on the little girl, we left them some Flintstones chewables.

It?s all Arabic to themBlogged in Military Perspective -- [A Soldiers Perspective]
FALLUJAH, Iraq-An interesting experiment is going on in the northeast corner of this city. Members of the Iraqi Army and the U.S. Marine Corps are sharing living quarters on a small base. The intent of the experiment is to help the Iraqi soldiers learn more. But it has had an unanticipated side effect: Some marines are picking up new skills. Pfc. Mark Britton has learned Arabic.

The Ratline Manual -- [Bill Roggio - The Fourth Rail]
As infiltration from the Syrian Ratline into Iraq continues, another jihadi's guide to entering Iraq from Syria has surfaced. Evan Kohlmann provides a translation of The New Road to Mesopotamia, which was purportedly written by a jihadi named Al-Muhajir Al-Islami.
The guide is an interesting window into the operations of the enemy. Al-Islami covers many aspects of the passage to Iraq. The main points discussed are the entry points into Iraq, why these entry points are conducive to successful infiltration, the actions of the Syrian government, the finances of the jihadis and the sophistication of their operations.

The Road Through Syria to Jihad in Iraq -- [The Counterterrorism Blog]
In a new guide published on the Internet, an alleged former resident of the Iraqi-Syrian border region has explained in detail for potential foreign fighter recruits how they can enter Iraq and join in the jihad by traveling through neighboring Syria. According to "Al-Muhajir al-Islami", foreign jihadists should travel to the eastern Syrian city of Dayr al-Zawr: "it is recommended to enter the city using a car and do not carry large sums of money. If anyone asks, say you are here on a vacation and have come to go fishing in the Euphrates?

Its a sign! -- [Iraq the Model - an Iraqi in Iraq]
The leader of freedom and democracy and the defender of human rights in the Middle East the elected President his Excellency Bashar Assad met the man of humanity and peace, the pioneer human rights ranger and the Ghandi of the 21st century British MP George Gallawi.
The meeting took place recently in Damascus and the two great men discussed the situations of the Middle East and Iraq and they emphasized the need to have a plan to control the spread of terrorism after identifying its reasons and motives in order to replace the existing wrongful policies adopted by some countries which are a waste of time and focus on delusional terms that add nothing to the efforts needed to fight terrorism.
From AlSharq Al-Awsat (Arabic).

Alone Time -- [ Ghraib Danger - in Iraq]
...It's still hot and remains hot for most of the night, until probably around 3:00 am. But the stars out in full force, and I'm happy to report the big dipper looks the same from Iraq as it does from Kansas and Montana. But I had a point, which was the mornings and evenings are enjoyable for their quiet and solitude as well as for their natural environment. As you can imagine, around here resources are scarce. Office space and residences are at a premium, and if they're not super small, they're double-booked. Everyone is on top of everyone else, and the small reprieves that accompany the early morning and late night are welcome. However, they also open the door for thought, and when your mind turns to that, thoughts of home are not far behind.

8 gone from one platoon -- [48th goes to War - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - in Iraq]
Camp Striker, Iraq ? All week long, the soldiers of Alpha Company had gone out on patrols with great trepidation.
A July 24 bomb attack on a Baghdad road killed four of their buddies. One moment they were in their Humvee. The next, they were gone.
Emotions were still raw. They had just bidden their fallen friends goodbye in a Thursday service.

Then, on Saturday, it happened again.

MSM REPORTS ON IRAQ

Bodies Of 22 Slaying Victims Reportedly Found In Baghdad -- (Los Angeles Times)...Times Staff Writer
Twenty-two bodies were discovered Monday in the southeast Baghdad neighborhood of Um Maalif, including one identified as that of a police colonel from the southern city of Karbala, a hospital official said. All had been shot and most were believed to be Shiite Muslims. Two were beheaded.

U.S. Troops In Iraq Got Steroids, Italian Says -- (Los Angeles Times)...Associated Press
Italian police seized 215,000 doses of prohibited substances as they broke up a ring that supplied steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs to customers around the world, including American soldiers in Iraq, a police official said Monday.

Controversy Surrounds California Guard Officer -- (Los Angeles Times)...Rone Tempest and Scott Gold
He is chivalrous ? he once interceded when a father was threatening to hit a student ? and he is romantic, penning poetry for a school literary magazine.
"He's loved by everyone," says fellow teacher Shane McDonough.
But under the relentless sun of Iraq, where he commands a California Army National Guard battalion of 800 men, some see Lt. Col. Patrick Frey in a very different light.
There, some of his soldiers call Frey an erratic egomaniac who rules through intimidation, preaching abstinence to soldiers who are going on leave, comparing his troops to his special-education students and brandishing a small hatchet that he uses to "knight" soldiers he is promoting.

I've Got Saddam's Benz - G.I. -- (New York Daily News)...Associated Press
1st Sgt. Willian Von Zehle came home from Iraq with an expensive souvenir - an armored Mercedes Benz he suspects belonged to Saddam Hussein.

Pentagon Rejects Use Of Anonymous Quotes -- (Washington Post)...Associated Press
The recent use of quotes from an anonymous Iraqi in two military press releases was an "egregious error," the Pentagon's top spokesman said in a memo aimed at preventing it from happening again.

Quagmire For Al-Qaida -- (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)...Jack Kelly
...Iraq has indeed proven to be a quagmire. But not for us.

The Iraq infection -- (MSNBC)...Matthew Herper
How at least 250 soldiers became infected with bacteria that are immune to most antibiotics.

AFGHANISTAN

Second list (see below for first one) -- [Martin In Afghanistan - in Afghanistan]
What we accomplished here:
We made it!
Quality of life distribution in Musayi. (clothes and toys)
Quality of life distribution in PD 4. (clothing mostly)
Quality of life distribution in PD 7. (clothing mostly)
Quality of life distribution in PD 4. (clothing mostly)
Quality of life distribution at Allahuddin Orphanage. (clothes and toys)
School supply and desk distribution. ...

I'm going to stop telling people...

...I went to Afghanistan. -- [Paravonia - a comic just returning from the stan]
Or at least, I'm going to stop telling drunk and/or stupid people I went to Afghanistan.
Last night at the local bar someone told a woman I recently returned from the 'stan and she started asking questions which at first were normal, but slowly started to focus on the morale of the troops. She didn't seem to accept the fact that I perceived morale to be pretty good among the people I interacted with. She went on to posit that it must be difficult for morale over there when they hear about people over here disagreeing with the war.

Angels Unaware -- [Florida Cracker] (pics)
There's a book coming out next month about Zubaida Hasan, a little Afghan girl horribly burned and disfigured in a cooking accident. It took a long chain of people to get Zubaida the help she needed, but I'll always wonder about the anonymous Green Beret who first saw her on the street and decided to take her to the base for medical treatment. He wasn't...

MSM REPORTS ON AFGHANISTAN

US general warns of 'ruthless' Taliban attacks -- (ABC News Online)
Afghanistan's Taliban have become more ruthless and more willing to use suicide bombers and child soldiers in attacks, a US general has said, vowing that polls next month would go ahead regardless.

AFGHANISTAN: SIXTY EU OBSERVERS ARRIVE AHEAD OF ELECTIONS -- (adkninternational)
Kabul, 2 August (AKI) - Sixty long-term observers from the European Union's Electoral Mission arrived in the Afghan capital Kabul on Tuesday. The observers, from 18 different countries, will work on monitoring the process leading up to the parliamentary and provincial elections set for September 18. The team has already met the head of the mission, Radical European parliamentarian and former European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid Emma Bonino, and 12 experts from the core team, who travelled to Afghanistan in mid-July.

OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Pugnacious Stupidity: Brit Police Edition... -- [Argghhh!!!]
Brit police, in an astoundingly dense rule laid down to show respect for Muslims whilst (heh) breaking in and searching their homes...

...will now do it in [drumroll, please] ...stockinged feet.

Korean Media Speaking Out on MacArthur Controversy -- [GI Korea Blog]
The Korean media is slowly but surely starting to speak out against removing the General MacArthur statue in Incheon. Here is the latest editorial from the Korea Herald that condemns the removal of the statue...

You Have To Read This To Believe It -- [Balloon Juice]
Berlin politicians bulldozed 1000 crosses at Checkpoint Charlie memorializing victims slaughtered trying to escape the Iron Curtain, and now they want to reassemble a statue of Lenin.

MSM REPORTS ON OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Iran Is Judged 10 Years From Nuclear Bomb -- (Washington Post)...Dafna Linzer
A major U.S. intelligence review has projected that Iran is about a decade away from manufacturing the key ingredient for a nuclear weapon, roughly doubling the previous estimate of five years, according to government sources with firsthand knowledge of the new analysis.

COMING HOME

I LOVE TEXAS -- [RaMrOd's Blog - on R&R from Iraq/Kuwait]
...or at least the group of people that were at the Dallas-Ft. Worth Airport. These poeple were awesome. We got off the plane at about 11:30 pm, and we told that we're gonna be spending the night at a hotel. Most of our flights were the next morning because of 3 flight delays from Kuwait. When we left the baggage claim area to main area to go outside there were people waiting for us cheering and clapping for us, shaking our hands, giving us hugs. I mean, you gotta realize that this is around midnight and there's kids and old folks there. I know that Texas is a state that loves their military religiously, but I mean...I dunno..all I say is...Damn. Good folks.

Achtung Deutchland! -- [NEW MILBLOGGER! -Sisyphus Today... - just back from Iraq]
Surprise!! After a few days of transport, I arrived back home in Germany. It was s surprise to my wife and kids because I was unable to reveal the day I would return. So I sauntered in around 4 am, terribly weary from the trip.

The Journey -- [Who's your Baghdaddy? -- on R&R from Iraq]
There was also a parade of people as we came off the plane that were there for no other reason than to cheer us on, shake our hands, and offer a snack as a show of support and appreciation. A small boy stopped me, gave me some home made cookies and said, "Thank you, sir." I thanked him back and then quickly moved through the crowd for fear that if I stopped for too long I would break down emotionally. I only wish that somehow I could let all of those people know how much I appreciate their support.

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS TROOPS SUPPORTING...

National Guard woman donates $20,000 to help football club -- [GX: The Nat'l Guard]
8/1/05, BRADFORD, VT ? The fledgling Oxbow Union High School football club has found an angel in the guise of a Vermont Army National Guard soldier.

TERRORISM

What IS A Name? GWOT to GSAVE -- [Zaphriel's Birth of a Neocon]
I ask this question, not having very many answers to it. What is behind the retooling of the name of our current conflict?
Previously it was called the "Global War On Terror" or as we in the military call it the GWOT. We like to use acronyms, their fun, and an easy way to look smart and confuse people at the same time. This new name that is floating around has some of this same quality, the "Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism" or GSAVE. Nice rework, on the surface it does one thing, it changes the tone of the operation.

P.C. = B.S. -- [Beast7's How it Ought to Be]
We?ll start with a little mental exercise.
Take a look at the faces of the men in the above composite photo. Take your time and think about who they might be. What do you think these men might have in common?

MSM REPORTS ON TERRORISM

MILITARY

Some Updates -- [The Jump Blog]
Spent most of the day doing some computer coding, a little recording, and snapping some pictures at an airshow. The coding was for Operation Flashpoint, the most realistic military simulator ever made. I was working on re-coding parts of the C-130 aircraft when it is used for airborne operations, to include HALO operations. There were a slough of problems related to realism, not the least of which were troops exiting the wrong jump doors, actions in the aircraft non-existant, missing jump commands, and no HALO option.

Join the Service and Become a Citizen -- [Starboard!!!]
For months now, we have seen article after article stating the recruiting woes of the U.S Armed Forces. But there is a twist ? join the U.S. Military and become a U.S. citizen. Simple? The folks at AsiaTimesOnline dot com sure think so in their latest report...
...If there are people willing to risk their lives in the GWOT in order to become a citizen, then this truly is one hell of a country.

Protecting your children from the big bad boogey man? -- [NEW MILBLOGGER! - Disgrunteled Grunt]
The problem here is that to many laws allow one entity to give out the information while others require notification or even the ability to opt out. There does not seem to be one specific law or set of rules that govern this type of situation. Until there is it is going to be a thorn in the side.
Personally I don't believe opting out is going to protect your child from having the recruiter contact you. All it takes is for them to find that one kid who is willing to give them the names of their friends and kids they go to school with. From there it is a trip to the yellow pages, switchboard or another similar site.
If you do not want your child to enlist then don't sign the papers for them.

MSM REPORTS ON MILITARY

Army Battling Steep Decline In Black Recruits -- (Dallas Morning News)...Richard Whittle
The Iraq war is drying up at least part of a pool of recruits the Army has relied upon for decades: black Americans.

POLITICS

Withdrawing support of Paul Hackett -- [CounterColumn]
I was prepared to support Democratic candidate Paul Hackett, a major and Marine Corps reservist who is running for Congress in Ohio, and was planning a post to that effect this week.
I think in a lot of ways it was refreshing to hear a guy who calls it like it is. I thought he held a lot of promise as a new Democrat, a guy who would help bring my former party back to its roots in, well, America. A guy who could be a critic of Iraq policy, but this man, a commissioned officer, who is wrapping himself in the mantle of his Iraq service, referred to the commander-in-chief as "that son-of-a-bitch who lives in the White House."
And that, friends, is conduct unbecoming an officer.

THE MEDIA

HELL NO, WE DON'T PRINT NO STINKING RETRACTIONS. -- [ORACULATIONS]
especially retractions about our criminal Military who are always guilty, as everybody knows. Besides, if lawyers start nosing around we do "refinement" stories.
The temps in LA push at 95 degrees but it hovers near 73 in the air conditioned offices where the reporters for the LA Times have to slave away. But for this story they assign two gunslingers from out of town to combine on it. One gunman in an air conditioned office in Houston, the other in Portland. This could be big for both of them. It may be the time, the time all Lefty reporters dream of, the time when they make their bones. They have the facts---well some of them anyway---but you don?t need all the facts when your job is to get the fascists in Iraq who are doing the bidding of the big oil companies and that prick Bush. Two brave reporters will sit in air conditioned comfort and write the piece of pieces about 1st Infantry Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division; the same National Guard assholes that raised hell before going to Iraq about bad training, bad equipment, no night goggles and a bad deal. Everybody will go for the story. The Left will be made happy as they sip their morning latte's at Starbucks in Brentwood because they get to hate the Military even more, and the Right because the 184th wasn?t very manly way back when. A target of opportunity. The DNC will love the this story. Barbara Boxer might even send them tickets to Hillary Clinton's inaugural ball.

Dad's Ivory Tower myopia -- [CDR Salamander]
Interesting piece in the Washington Post today from Princeton professor of Economics and Public affairs, Uwe Reinhardt.
First thing that came to mind after reading it was, "Dad, why is your isolated, insulated, Ivory Tower ideology more important than understanding and supporting your son's desire to preserve the freedom you enjoy?"

MILBLOGGING / BLOGGING

Interview request -- [Phil and Becky - Phil's in Iraq]
I received an email yesterday from a reporter named Kelley Vlahos who works for Foxnews asking me to comment on a few things for a story that she was writing. Her article covers a military investigation of a deployed soldier for some of his blog writings. This might be old news, but I'm a little behind the times. :)

Last thoughts -- [Quonset]
Vacation time gave me the opportunity to mull over my weblog here and though I think I?ve put together a pretty nice little spot here many don?t agree. I?m closing shop and shutting down this site. Just too much work for too little readership. I never dreamed I?d ever get a big following but I didn?t think it would be this small either. Guess you either have it or you don?t.

Echo Chamber Project's Vlog -- [Sisyphean Musings]
If you're not familiar with the incredible work Kent Bye is doing at the Echo Chamber Project, I strongly suggest you stop by and watch his first vlog episode.
Kent is testing the potential of "new media" and succeeding. It is both impressive and inspiring.

State of the Blogosphere, August 2005, Part 1: Blog Growth -- [Dave Sifry - Technorati News]
Well, it is that time again! It has been almost 6 months since the last State of the Blogosphere, and so the team at Technorati and I have put together some high level information on what we've been tracking. Today I'll focus on the macro growth of the blogosphere, both in the number of bloggers out there, as well as in the growth of new blogs per day. You can compare the chart below to the charts from October 2004 and March 2005.

MSM REPORTS OR MILBLOGGING / BLOGGING

Soldiers: War on 'Milblogs' -- (Newsweek)...Martha Brant
...But OPSEC has "a totally amorphous definition," argues New York Army National Guardsman Jason Hartley, who last year became the only other soldier demoted for his blog. "My commander just didn't like my tone," says Hartley, whose missives on justanothersoldier.com will be published by HarperCollins this fall.

One blog created 'every second'
The blogosphere is varied and growing at a steady rate
The blogosphere is continuing to grow, with a weblog created every second, according to blog trackers Technorati.
In its latest State of the Blogosphere report, it said the number of blogs it was tracking now stood at more than 14.2m blogs, up from 7.8m in March.

MORE ON "OVER THERE"

I Finally Watched "Over There" -- [Erics Grumbles before the Grave]
Well, TiVo is still absolutely the way to go for TV watching. I TiVo'ed the re-run of the "Over There" pilot to watch, like I planned on. I have to say, it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. That's not to say that the show was good, because it wasn't. What bothered me?
The portrayal of the soldiers themselves
The horribly bad "tactics" that are in the show
The military looks damn incompetent
Here's why it's bothering me.

HUMOR

What have they done for us? -- [Smash - Indepundit]
A cave, somewhere deep in the Hindu Kush?
ANAS: They?ll go in to the subway system here, get on separate trains going in different directions, then detonate their nail bombs simultaneously at 9am. Once they have killed and maimed dozens of innocent people, we issue our demands. Any questions?