Dawn Patrol

Welcome to the Dawn Patrol, our daily roundup of information on the War on Terror and other topics - from the MilBlogs, other blogs, and the mainstream media. 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. (We have a daily "Open Post" too, if you have something on another topic you can link there.)

IRAQ

A different find of sorts -- [Phil and Becky - Phil's in Iraq]
Early last week, one of our companies received information about a possible munitions cache in our area of operations. The initial spot report was that it could be rather sizeable, although we have had our share of bad spot reports from local nationals. True to form, there was not a large weapons cache. But we didn't come away empty handed.
<...>
There is a general rule that innocent people do not run away from us. Every now and then a skittish civilian who is guilty of no wrongdoing will bring suspicion upon himself by running away from us, but that is generally not the case. In the same sense, innocent people do not bury themselves in hay and animal feces in order to avoid detection. Something was definitely fishy.

Protests and clashes in Samawa. -- [ Iraq the Model - an Iraqi in Iraq]
This morning Samawa city witnessed widespread clashes between the residents of the city and the police forces after the people answered the call of the "independent people's parliament" to shut down streets and stores and protest an front of the town hall of the city until their demands are answered.

These demands were announced in a document distributed by the "independent people's parliament" and they included:...

Dispatches from Iraq -- [Dave's World]
I am training Iraqi soldiers at the compound again.

When my unit arrived in Northern Iraq, the Iraqi troops were referred to by their original name, the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps, or ICDC. Shortly after we arrived, they were re-established as the Iraqi National Guard, or ING. Since the elections, they have transitioned from ING to Iraqi Army, or IA. The IA, combined with the IP and the FPS, make up the ISF. And I'm not even going to tell you what those mean. I love acronyms.

Training the IA is the single most productive thing I?ve done in Iraq. The difference that we have made with these soldiers over our short time with them is truly incredible, and it gives me hope that my friends won?t have to do another tour in this country.

Iraq Stock Exchange - [Mad Canuck]
With all the violence that has been going on in Iraq, there are a few positive developments that have gone on behind the scenes and have not been widely reported. One of these is the Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX), which has been open for just over a year now, and currently trades shares in over seventy publicly traded Iraqi companies: hotels, construction companies, banks, soft drink bottlers, textiles, pharmaceuticals, transportation, insurance, and real estate companies among others.

Soldiers manage to soak up some relief [48th Goes to War - ajc.com - in Iraq]
Camp Striker, Iraq - Like every other soldier here, Spc. Steve Listwan, a high school history teacher from Addison, Ill., asked his family to send him creature comforts from home.

?I told [my dad] we?re desperate; that we needed some recreation,? Listwan said.

His father went to a garage sale to pick up a few things and when Listwan opened his package from home a few days ago, out came a $2 swimming pool...

Backtracking... -- [Major K - in Iraq]
Today was another hot, windy, dusty day. The same as many other days, with the exception of it being punctuated by a couple of mortar rounds landing on the FOB where I now reside. They shook the building that I was in, but the one that landed somewhat close, about 1 km away was a dud. The one that shook the building landed and detonated about twice as far away. Luckily no one was hurt.

understanding the unknown -- [Boots in Baghdad - in Iraq]
The most eloquent series of words couldn?t ever accurately describe the feeling you have when you hear a falling mortar just seconds after one has impacted less than thirty meters away. No matter how hard anyone tries to explain it, you?ll never know what it is like to hurriedly scramble to the base of a palm tree, put your arms over your head and wait for that falling round to hit. Some experiences, no matter how hard you attempt to grasp and understand, cannot be fully comprehended until you experience them yourself.

Dreams and Musings [Hurls Blog - in Iraq]
For the past week or so I have not had any desire for blogging. I have been in much thought about so many things happening in the world at this time, not the least of which were the deaths of 21 of my fellow brothers-in-arms last week. To say I've been upset and depressed about it would be an understatement. Terrible events like this always flush up past memories of friends who have died. Suddenly each one of them is fresh and raw again.

A Tribute to Doc and Mike -- [Ghraib Danger - in Iraq]
Hands down the best aspect of the FOB is the sense of camaraderie among everyone, troops and civilians alike. Difficult conditions and the daunting environment have a way of molding people together, rather quickly. We all know we're all in this together, and knowing that we do what we can for each other. It's a great feeling. My point is Norman Rockwell would be proud to know that the sense of small towness and teamwork he created so well in his paintings is alive and well on the FOB. Our office is a microcosm of that attitude. I've only known the people in this office for a little over two months, but already I feel like I've known them for years. You get to quickly know about their families, their pasts, and their ideas for the future when you spend every waking moment among them. Today our small town got a little smaller when two of our three interpreters were moved without warning or notice to the Embassy in the International Zone....

Profiles: The Motor Sergeant -- [Dadmanly - in Iraq]
"What the f*** are you doing in my Motor Pool?!"
.I've seen Mac lift and swing his M4 countless times and mock a homerun swing at the nearest tree or pole. He won't follow through, of course. He loves that M4 and refuses to put a sling on it. One, that's partly from his early days -- Mac's the latter half of 50 -- and the other is that he knows well the training that told us that slings can get in your way and kill you. So as he moves about on convoys, he cradles his weapon in the low ready, but somehow with a deep affection, he might as well be carrying one of his grandkids.

Shamal Season is here! -- [Those Wacky Iraqis - in Iraq] (pics)
There are times when it only seems like we are in barren areas and then there are times when we are reminded that we are in the middle of the desert. We have had a few sand storms but this was a true "Shamal" which came in. They are called Scirrocco in Northern Africa but it is the same thing. Hot, dry winds carrying lots and lots of sand and fine dust. The dust just gets everywhere and it even come through the air conditioning filters. It clogs up all your pores and makes some monster "Boogie Nose".

Iraqi Pictures - Monday, August 08, 2005 - [Iraqi Pictures]
U.S. Army soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 70th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division secure the second floor of a suspected terrorist's home during a raid in Tarmiyah

R+R -- [Stardotstar - in Iraq]
...I wasn?t going to write about my last flight before coming home. However, Mel insisted that she wanted to hear any ?scary? stories I might have. Plus I had a few beers, so ended up telling her, so now I can tell you that my last flight before R+R was definitely the most scared I?ve been so far in Iraq. It was just a little incident that lasted maybe 2 minutes. We had the misfortune of flying directly over an insurgent firing position. They waited for us to be nearly overhead and opened fire. I saw some flashing from below us and looked down with my goggles (night vision goggles) to see that there were bullets flying all around the helicopter. We performed the 5 D?s Dodge, duck, dip, dive, and ? dodge, along with returning a hail of gunfire. At our next stop, we shutdown the helicopter to inspect it and were lucky to find none. The vision of all of those bullets has returned to me several times and I still find it incredible that none hit us.

A VISIT WITH MY BROTHER -- [Kevin Kelley - Dixie Sappers - in Iraq]
...We were on our way back to Dogwood when someone came over the radio and said they thought they saw an artillery round lying on the side of the road. By the time we were able to stop the convoy, we had moved about 2 kilometers. The decision was made to send some guys on foot back toward the area to search to make sure. We walked well off the road at a safe distance. We walked a good 1.5 miles back and didn?t see anything. We called one vehicle back with the guy and he took us about ? mile down the road and we saw what he was talking about. It looked to be an old rocket that had been badly damaged. I was really impressed how this guy from C Co. had seen it. It was ...

Shifting Sand -- [365 and a Wake Up - in Iraq]
...There are many, many types of sand here in Baghdad, and to warehouse them all under one generic word does little to explain the misery they inflict on men and equipment. In some areas the sand has congealed into vast beds of sandstone, the surface marred by deep cracks whose depths seem to swallow all light. In other areas the sand shares an uneasy coexistence with fertile soil, evidenced by stunted copses of ragged weeds. Then there is the course, tumbled, thick grained sand that would be immediately recognizable to anyone who has walked a coastline. This is the hateful grit that in a true sandstorm lashes the earth like a cracking, hissing whip.

'There's Something Happening Here . . .' -- The Adventures of Chester]
Operation Quick Strike: Neither Quick, Nor a just a Strike

Things are about to change dramatically in Anbar province.

As both Wretchard (here, here, and here) and Bill Roggio have noted, Operation Quick Strike has begun.

The question is, ...

MSM REPORTS ON IRAQ

Fallouja May Be In Rebel Sights -- (Los Angeles Times)...John Hendren
Nine months after U.S. and Iraqi troops killed an estimated 1,000 insurgents here in a battle that also cost more than 70 American lives, intelligence suggests that rebels are trying to filter back into the former capital of Iraq's guerrilla movement.

Few Signs Of Enemy Turn Up In Search -- (Miami Herald)...Tom Lasseter, Knight Ridder News Service
...With most of the fighting over after a large-scale invasion of the western Iraq town Friday, the troops in Haqlaniyah spent hours Sunday under a fiery sun looking for an adversary that often shoots and vanishes without a trace.

Marines and Iraqi Forces Repel Insurgent Attacks (AP)...QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA
The fighting began about 8 p.m. Friday when insurgents attacked an Iraqi army position with mortar rounds and small-arms fire, the command said. U.S. attack helicopters engaged the insurgents with rockets and gunfire.

At nearly the same time, a suicide attacker drove a truck loaded with explosives into a nearby Iraqi army checkpoint, killing an Iraqi soldier.

A suicide car bomber tried to attack another Iraqi position in the area, but a U.S. tank fired and hit the car, killing the driver and causing the car bomb to explode prematurely, the U.S. command said. Iraqi police said three bystanders were wounded.

Minutes later, ...

Corruption Pervades Government In Basra -- (Boston Globe)...Thanassis Cambanis
The insurgency roiling much of Iraq has not taken hold in this southern metropolis, where Shi'ite Arabs hold sway and religious law is firmly ensconced. Basra is facing a different threat: pervasive, murderous, gangland-style corruption..

Iraqis Step Up Effort To Finish Constitution -- (Washington Post)...Ellen Knickmeyer
Greeting each other with handshakes and embraces, some of Iraq's most powerful Shiite and Kurdish leaders gathered Sunday at a private resident in Baghdad in an effort to hammer out disputes that threaten to block completion of a national constitution by the Aug. 15 deadline.

Good News & Bad News From Condi -- (New York Post)...Dan Mangan
American forces are incapable of completely wiping out the insurgency on the battlefield in Iraq, but the United States is beating the terrorists in the equally important "political" war over the country's stability, says Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Stay The Course, Mr. President -- (Los Angeles Times)...Frederick W. Kagan
Despite what you may have read, the military situation in Iraq today is positive ? far better than it ever was when we were fighting guerrillas in Vietnam, or when the Soviets were fighting the Afghan mujahedin, or in almost any other major insurgency of the 20th century.

AFGHANISTAN

LOST DOG!!! -- [Fire Power Forward - in Afghanistan] EDITORS NOTE: There is a trick to reading this post, I'm not sure if this is done on purpose, so if so I'll let you figure out the trick.
3 legs, Brown with some patches of fur missing, tail cut short from lawn mower accident, blind in one eye. Answers to the name of "Lucky"

So this might be a bit of gallows humor, but "Lucky's" human counterpart showed up at a US Installation the other day.

Chapman PRT in the Khowst area reported the other day that a man with one arm and one eye showed up at the front gate allegedly seeking medical attention when he produced a grenade, pulled the pin and held it waiting to see 80 virgins promised to all suicide bombers. He's still waiting.

Gratuitous Afghanistan Photo of the Weekend -- [Miserable Donuts - back from Afghanistan]
This is "Rambo". He is a local from the north-east of Kabul - found at the front gate of Camp Phoenix. Camp Phoenix is one of the prime locations for training the Afghan National Army. At Camp Phoenix, soldiers like the Signaleer are turning tough Afghan fighters into tough, professional, Afghan soldiers.

Building roads means freedom -- [Disgruntled Grunt]
...With elections on the horizon, extending transportation routes into more rural areas of Afghanistan will play an essential role in encouraging the democratic process. Election dates have been pushed back twice due at least in part to the logistical difficulties of coordinating between provinces. Success in road construction here means not only making day to day life easier for the citizens; it facilitates the success of the first democratically elected government in Afghanistan.

MSM REPORTS ON AFGHANISTAN

Troops Target Most-Wanted Warlord -- (New York Daily News)...James Gordon Meek
U.S. commanders are stepping up the hunt for the obscure warlord whose thugs gunned down a team of Navy SEALs and downed their rescuers' Chinook helicopter, killing all aboard.

Looking For A Bomb Or A Smile -- (San Francisco Chronicle)...Phil Sands
In the searing heat of summer, First Platoon of 82nd Airborne's 1-325 Bravo Company got an ice-cold reception as it rolled through the picturesque Afghan village of Hasan Khil.

Exclusive: CIA Commander: We Let bin Laden Slip Away -- (Newsweek)...Michael Hirsh
...But in a forthcoming book, the CIA field commander for the agency's Jawbreaker team at Tora Bora, Gary Berntsen, says he and other U.S. commanders did know that bin Laden was among the hundreds of fleeing Qaeda and Taliban members. Berntsen says he had definitive intelligence that bin Laden was holed up at Tora Bora?intelligence operatives had tracked him?and could have been caught. "He was there," Berntsen tells NEWSWEEK.

OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Super Scorpio And The Lucky Seven -- [Florida Cracker]
What a relief that there was a happy ending to the Russian sub story. It's good to see that their last submarine disaster taught them the wisdom of asking for help when they're in a complete jam.

The cloud of gloom that hovers over Putin like Pigpen's dirt is going to be even darker than usual. He's not going to be calling for three cheers for the Anglosphere.

Iran And Syria Talk About Need For Unity -- (New York Times)...Associated Press
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, played host to President Bashar al-Assad of Syria on Sunday and reiterated that the two countries should build stronger ties to protect their region from "threats."

MSM REPORTS ON OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Detainees under Harry Potter's spell -- (Washington Times)...Rowan Scarborough
Harry Potter's worldwide popularity is so broad-based that it has become favorite reading for Islamic terror suspects at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay.

U.S. And North Korea Blame Each Other For Stalemate In Talks -- (New York Times)...Jim Yardley
North Korea and the United States on Sunday each blamed the other after nearly two weeks of six-nation negotiations deadlocked over the issue of "peaceful use" nuclear programs.

MILITARY

Open Letter To Cindy Sheehan
Dear Mrs. Cindy Sheehan,
I read with interest your story as told by CNN. Losing a child is a very difficult event to have to deal with. While I have never lost a child, I know what it?s like to lose a friend in combat. I am a soldier who served in Iraq and was fortunate enough to make it home. It was because of the sacrifice of people like your son that I did so. I sympathize with your loss and pray that our Heavenly Father can soothe your soul and open your heart to the plan He has laid out for Casey at His right hand.

Blackhawk Down?the Video Game -- [Froggy Ruminations]]
Uh, excuse me, but I?m pretty sure that this is not something that Delta guys and Rangers are going to be thrilled to hear about. Let me count the ways that this is totally inappropriate and disrespectful. Initially, it seems to me that making a video game about one of the most significant combat losses in the history of Army SOF is at a minimum distasteful.

SUPPORT THE TROOPS

Warning Order -- [Argghhh!]
ALCON,
In accordance with Commander's Directive of 07 AUG 05, the undersigned assumes BlogControl.

Hang on--it may be a bumpy ride...

Bill
Now, about that Warning Order:

1. SITUATION.

a. Denizenne Fuzzybear Lioness entered on a quest last week to provide computer accessibility to veterans with injuries that temporarily or permanently prevent them from using a conventionally-equipped computer. Her latest update references the need for a name for the project -- Admiral of the Moat Fleet Boquisucio has contributed The SFC Charles V. Ziegenfuss Heroes? Electronically-Assisted Reach to Text Project (The SFC Ziegenfuss HEART Project); other candidates include Getting Injured Veterans Electronically-connected (Project GIVE) and a variation, Getting Injured Veterans Electronically Reconnected (Project GIVER).

TIPS FOR DEPLOYMENT

Tips for Soldiers Preparing to Deploy -- [Assuption of command - in Iraq]
COL (Ret) Austin Bay made a visit to Iraq recently (as a civilian) and was asked by an NCO what kind of stuff to bring.

Advice For A Troop Deploying To Iraq

He has some good advice let's go through them Point by Point and at the end I will add a few things of my own.

BLOGGING

OpSec and idiots -- Six More Months - in Iraq]
You may have noticed the disclaimer at the bottom of the page that states ?In accordance with Multi National Corps-Iraq policy, this website has been registered with my command.? The requirement for this registration is a little controversial among Milbloggers in Iraq, because lets face it, on occasion we dis on our commanders, and we would rather they didn?t read our words. I admit that knowing the boss might be reading does cause me to hold my tongue a little, or at least choose my words wisely. I understand the reasons for the requirement, and as long as it is not used as a tool to censor viewpoints and opinions, I have no problem with it.

Keep an Iraqi-American on TV! -- [The Truth Laid Bear]
Did you know that there's a national, network television show with an Iraqi-American central character?

It's true: the CBS reality show Big Brother, a guilty pleasure of mine, has as a contestant Kaysar, an Iraqi-American graphics designer from Irvine, CA. He's proven to be a formidable competitor in the game during the first few weeks, and seems like a genuinely intelligent and decent fellow.

PODCASTING

The Carnival of Podcasts will be HERE Tomorrow!! [A Soldiers' angel - Holly Aho]
Just a reminder that the new Carnival of Podcasts is officially starting tomorrow with the first carnival here! The blog IMAO.us will be entering a podcast (they are great at it...go visit their site to hear their archived podcasts), and may also host a carnival in the future. We have several entries so far which is pretty good considering not many people do them yet and I'm not Instapundit for getting the word out about the new carnival (hint, hint).

THE MEDIA

On Misbehavior...
I would like to show more people the beheading videos that I have seen. Not the one or two that have slipped out onto the internet. Rather, I would like to show judgemental journalists, politicians and lawyers the dozens of them that I have watched, one right after another. The sequence of events is almost always the same. The hostage pleads hysterically for their life, begs their government to withdraw it's troops (if the hostage is not Iraqi), and screams that he doesn't want to die. Then the masked murderers behind him, read a prepared islamo-fascist diatribe, grab the victim by the hair and saw his head off with a large knife. We found these videos in houses we have raided.

One note on Scott Gold, the reporter who has been following our Battalion an airing our dirty laundry since we went through our pre-deployment training in Texas: He only writes about us if the news is negative....

HUMOR

The Beverly Kennedys -- [The Gunn Nutt]
Let me tell you a little story 'bout a man named Ted
A rich northern Yank drank so much his nose was red
And then one day he was barking at the Senate
When up popped a voice said "man, you just don't get it"

Gitmo, that is
terrorists
bad guys (pics)

CONGRATS

InstaPundit's fourth bloggiversary
TOMORROW will be InstaPundit's fourth bloggiversary. (Click here to see what I was writing about back when it started).
How has the blog changed? You may have a clearer sense of that than I do. I think it's become a bit less opinionated -- the older entries were mostly opinion; now I'm more likely to link to somone's actual reporting, or to an item of news without commenting on it much. I tend to express my longer opinion-oriented takes elsewhere, at TechCentralStation or GlennReynolds.com, rather than here at the blog.

IN MEMORY OF ...

Peter Jennings Dies at 67 -- (ABC News)
..."Peter died with his family around him, without pain and in peace. He knew he'd lived a good life," his wife and children said in a statement.
In announcing Jennings' death to his ABC colleagues, News President David Westin wrote:

"For four decades, Peter has been our colleague, our friend, and our leader in so many ways. None of us will be the same without him.

"As you all know, Peter learned only this spring that the health problem he'd been struggling with was lung cancer. With Kayce, he moved straight into an aggressive chemotherapy treatment. He knew that it was an uphill struggle. But he faced it with realism, courage, and a firm hope that he would be one of the fortunate ones. In the end, he was not.

(Need more? The previous Dawn Patrol is here.)