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

The New Job -- [Major K - in Iraq]
As I mentioned earlier, I am now on a MiTT (Military Transition Team) training the Iraqi 6th Infantry Division. It is a whole new set of challenges. Dealing with the tribal/familial entanglements, the cultural differences and the language barrier are just a few. The Iraqi supply and logistics chain is even worse than ours. We are trying to stand up a Division Headquarters that will eventually control five Brigades in Baghdad. Right now, only two ...

Number five, and maybe number six -- [Phil and Becky - Phil's in Iraq]
Ever since a reader commented a while back asking whether insurgent Darwin awards were becoming an increasing pattern, I have kept my ears open for reports of bad guys blowing themselves up while attempting to engage in tomfoolery. Partly because it is funny and partly to see if the data confirms or denies the hypothesis that our catching bad guys will lead to in an increase in Darwin Award episodes as the AIF hastily recruit incompetent buffoons to fill their losses.

Michael Yon Interview -- [Stryker Brigade]
Michael Yon, who is currently embedded with Deuce Four in Mosul, will be a guest on the WRKO Pundit Review radio program this Sunday. Details: ...

?More are on the way? -- [The Fourth Rail - Bill Roggio]
The question of the readiness of the Iraqi Army to take a major role in fighting the insurgency is often asked, and reports from the media have been less than helpful in answering this question. As we have seen, the mantra from the professional media has been that ?few Iraqi Army units are fully operational? and therefore the Iraqi Army is not engaged in the fight against the insurgency. The number often given is 3 battalions that are ?fully operational?; leading the reader to believe the Iraqi Army is nowhere near ready with entering the fight.

Wednesday, August 10, 2005 -- [New MilBlogger - devildoc8406 - in Iraq]
...On to other things. It seems just like yesterday that we were sending the main body of the last squadron home. Now here we are with advanced party of the next squadron getting ready to arriev. I Just keep thinking I should be home very, very soon!!! Since the Advanced party will be arriving shortly this means more time to skate off and do... That's right there's nothing to do out here!!! Even though they just built this brand new MWR center down by the coffee shop. It was open for the one night which was supposed tobe the grand opening, but when I went to return the next day the doors were locked and the lights are off. They had brand new pool tables, ping pong, poker, and foosball in one room. They had a library and internet cafe thing in another room. Last but not least they had the game center for PS2 and Xbox stuff. This place would have been so much more bearable if they had this open 6 months ago. Since they ...

THE SLEEP CANS LOST ELECTRICITY -- [Kevin Kelley - Dixie Sappers - in Iraq]
The big generator that runs all the electricity for HHC and Co. A blew an engine, so there was no power anywhere in the block. No one could go to sleep that had night shift or anything else. It picked a fine day to get hot again. There were a couple that came to the TOC to hang out, some to the MWR, some to the chow tent and some the weight room. People were looking for anywhere they could to get out of the heat. They told us that it would probably be tomorrow before they got the power back up so it looks like a lot will be sleeping on cots under the open desert sky tonight. Hopefully it will get up and running tomorrow.

Life is better at Camp Taji -- [The 48th goes to war-The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - in Iraq]
The Black Hawk chopper skimmed over Baghdad, firing off flares to deter heat-seeking missiles. Below, groves of date palms along the Tigris River offered a welcome sight for eyes sore from the desert drab and dust of Camp Striker, located at the southern end of the Baghdad airport.

Follow the Money -- [Stategy Page]
The Sunni Arab terrorists are now facing their ultimate disaster. Shia Arabs are beginning to agree with the Kurds, and demanding a federal form of government. This would divide Iraq into three regions; Kurds in the north, Sunni Arabs in the center, and Shia Arabs in the south. This is bad for the Sunni Arabs because there is no oil in the center. There is Baghdad, there is a lot of fertile land, and much howling desert in the west. But no oil. Ever since oil was discovered in Iraq, 80 years ago, Sunni Arabs have controlled, and spent, the money. If the Kurds and Shia Arabs controlled the oil, they would spend the money on Kurds and Shia Arabs.

MSM REPORTS ON IRAQ

Theater of War -- (Washington Post)...Richard Leiby
An Ex-Marine Brings Iraq Stateside at MetroStage
It's been a very bad week for the Marines in Iraq, and playwright Sean Huze is taking it personally. "Twenty-one Marines killed in the past 48 hours," he says, his voice rising in anger. "I wonder when we've had enough -- when we as a society will hold this administration accountable for getting us into a war unnecessarily."

Iraqi oil output hits a record 1.6m bpd in July -- (Tehran Times)
| BAGHDAD (MENAFN) ? Iraq's Oil Minister said that his country posted the highest level of crude sales in the country's petroleum history last July, KUNA reported. | Returns of the July oil sales were...

Reformer Without Results -- (New York Times)...MAUREEN DOWD
President Bush has done so much for women. Not at home, of course.
Women in jeans in America may have their rights eroded by an administration where faith trumps science, but women in burkas? The president can't talk enough about how important their rights are.

War Messages That Don't Quite Match -- (LA Times)...Ronald Brownstein and Mark Mazzetti
The president and top Defense officials have given conflicting statements on bringing troops home from Iraq. Some see a policy split.

G.I.'s Deployed in Iraq Desert With Lots of American Stuff -- (New Yorl Times)...KIRK SEMPLE
Soldiers in Iraq have taken the quest for the succor of the familiar to astonishing levels, accumulating all the accouterments of home.

AFGHANISTAN

A Three-Legged Goat Should Never Stand Outside In The Winter -- [Just the Facts - in Afghanistan]
KABUL, Afghanistan, Friday, August 12, 2005 -- Here we are in the midst of a good old-fashioned Kabul summer. You know the kind, where the aroma of rotting sheep fat wafts delicately out from some of the City?s best butcher stalls. Or where the pungent odor of a six-camel caravan softly drifts across the night making us gasp for a breath of the searing hot Kabul air.

MSM REPORTS ON AFGHANISTAN

Canada, U.S. teams differ on Afghanistan approach -- (Globe and Mail)...TERRY PEDWELL
As Canada road tests its plan to bring order to Afghanistan's dangerous Kandahar province, major differences are emerging between the Canadian approach to the region and how the United States has tried to rebuild the volatile district

IRAN

Bush: Iran Leader Likely Will Come to N.Y.
We need to remind our government officials of Ahmadinejad's long terrorist history and press to deny him entry into the U.S.

Demanding action against any nuclear adventures led by the mullahs in Iran and to FREE Iran and its people from this nightmare and tyranny -- [Regime Change Iran]
New PETITION: Demanding action against any nuclear adventures led by the
mullahs in Iran and to FREE Iran and its people from this nightmare and
tyranny

MSM REPORTS ON IRAN

Bush raises option of using force against Iran -- (MSNBC)...Reuters
President Bush said on Israeli television he could consider using force as a last resort to press Iran to give up its nuclear program.

?All options are on the table,? Bush, speaking at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, said in the interview broadcast on Saturday.

DOD

Marines and ISF patrol Hit, Iraq, to disrupt insurgency -- {Marine Corps News}

UAV Videos Insurgents -- {DIVID Video}
Aerial Imagery of insurgents detonating a car bomb. Video from Multi-National Corps-Iraq Public Affairs.

Road Clearing -- {DIVID Video}
B-Roll of National Guard Soldiers, 103rd Engineer Company clearing roads of possible improvised explosive devices or mines in Tikrit. Scenes include Soldiers searching vehicles and locals along the road, and securing the area from the air. Video from 1st Brigade Combat Team 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs.

VFW Greeting from SSgt Lightner {DVIDS Video}
Staff Sergeant Matt Lightner of Combat Logistics Regiment 25, sends a greeting from camp Taqaddam, Iraq to the Veterans of Foreign Wars organization.

SHIPMAIN Keeping the Fleet ?Fit to Fight? Better Than Ever -- {Navy Newstand}
Pearl Harbor-homeported surface ships are in better material condition than in the past, due in large part to Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard's (PHNSY) recent advancement of SHIPMAIN tools and philosophies.

Najaf Water Projects Focus On Supplying More Potable Water {Centcom}
Estimates put the shortage of potable water in the area surrounding Najaf and Kufa at about 40 percent, with existing plants being old or deteriorated because of neglect or lack of maintenance.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region South District (GRS) has quality assurance responsibilities on 14 water treatment units and three water pipeline projects that will increase that drinkable water flow within the Najaf area.

MILITARY LIFE

Friday Musings -- [Neptunus Lex]
You were aware, perhaps, that the Yellow Fever vaccine contained an actual live virus?
No? So then you didn't know that, when checking into a shore command for the first time in seven years, and turning in your medical record to a young, fuzz-cheeked corpsman that was never even a glimmer in his own father's eye when you were a full-bird by God lieutenant bringing the heat at 1.2 in max grunt on the tip of the spear, that all Yellow Fever vaccinations occurred only on Wednesdays between 1300 and 1430?

Hard to Be a Soldier's Mom -- [Soldier's Mom]
As I flew home yesterday from Colorado, I found myself thinking about my Guys... Hadn't yet heard from any of them since late last week, so I was approaching the border between worry and WORRY (which is right before really worried and then there's the REALLY worried). I know the area where our Guys are is really busy right now -- it's all over what little news there is on MSM television. But I had my "Damn Proud Soldier's Mom" t-shirt on (the TSA guys don't hassle me at all when I wear it) and a much older man sitting across the aisle from me asked where my son was stationed and when I told him where his base is in Iraq, he said, "It must really be hard to be a Soldier's Mom right now."

The Military Wife -- [ The Hooker and his Girl - Hooker's in Afghanistan]
The good Lord was creating a model for military wives and was into his sixth day of overtime when an angel appeared. She said," Lord, you seem to be having a lot of trouble with this one. What's wrong with the standard model?"
The Lord replied," Have you seen the specs on this order? She has to be completely independent, possess the qualities of both mother and father, be a perfect hostess for four to 40 with an hour notice, run on black coffee, handle every emergency imaginable without a manual, be able to carry on cheerfully, even if she is pregnant and has the flu, and she must have six pair of hands."

"OVER THERE" III REVIEW

I've Been Over There and "Over There" It Ain't -- [Tech Central]
...If "Over There" has a true military advisor, he deserves the firing squad. In the first episode a squad is pinned down while besieging a terrorist-filled mosque. The unit remains for about 36 hours with no air support, because "Air is dedicated to another area." Never mind that air cover from jets or helicopters is always available within minutes. They also request artillery, again to no avail. There's no armor. Until near the end of the siege the only guys with a mortar are the enemy...

Over There Review: Episode III The One Eared Pirate -- [The Middle Ground]
...Once our erstwhile squad secures the prisoner with zip ties, they load him up in a HUMMV to take him back to the FOB for interrogation. Mysteriously, another HUMMV appears out of nowhere to accompany the first. They abandon their checkpoint without relief, don't call in the MPs or MI to pick up the prisoner. They just bundle him up and leave.

"Over There" [New MilBlogger! - Partamian Report]
I was flipping through the channels just now and came across that new TV show "Over There". It only took about 45 seconds for me to realize that it was just as bad as I thought it would be. What a complete load of crap.

MSM REVIEWS "OVER THERE"

Audience for 'Over There' declines (Indy Star online)
...Or did the drop -- from 4.1 million viewers for the July 27 premiere to 2.6 million last week -- result from more common reasons: lack of interest in the subject and characters, or erratic summer viewing patterns?

After just two episodes, it's far too early to determine why the audience declined or whether that will reflect future viewing patterns, FX's John Solberg says.

Steven Bochco's Over There can't see the quagmire for the trees. -- (Slate)
Bochco has reiterated in interview after interview that he's not interested in making a political statement about the war, pointing out that "a young man being shot at in a firefight has absolutely no interest in politics." That's an unimpeachably true statement, but it's also a disingenuous one. Of course combat feels apolitical to those engaged in it, because what's at stake for them is not the outcome of some ideological struggle, but ...

TERRORISM

FBI warning rescinded
Seems the warning posted yesterday about fuel trucks as IEDs is getting pulled by the FBI. According to the Associated Press,
The FBI is backing away from an advisory sent out earlier this week warning police that al-Qaida cells may use car and truck bombs in southern California, Chicago and New York.
The AP is reporting that the source -- which was a single source -- is no longer standing by his story....

On condemning terrorism -- [A Collection of Thoughts]
Jeff Jacoby wrote, "When Muslim extremists murder innocents in cold blood, there is often a politically-correct reluctance to call the killers terrorists, or to denounce them unequivocally."

Commission Admission -- [BaldiLocks]
The Able Danger team identified five al Qaeda cells around the world in 2000; in the United States, Kenya, Tanzania, Yemen and Germany. As we know now, the German cell moved to the US and, of course, those members perpetrated the 9/11 attacks. But the 9/11 Commission didn?t see fit to put the fruit of AD's labor in its final report and now admits that it didn?t. Mind-boggling

Walid Phares: War of Ideas on al Jazeera -- Counterterrorism Blog]
In a forum along with two Islamist intellectuals on al Jazeera, I told the audience that Thawahiri's tape in reaction to Dr Rice's speech at the American University in Cairo shows that al Qaida is afraid from the spread of Democracy among the youth in the region. The Jihadists resent the doctrines that oppose their ideology, regardless of liking or disliking America.

MSM REPORTS ON TERROISM

Report on terrorism must be heard -- (Timesunion online)...KATHRYN JEAN LOPEZ
A recently released Amnesty International report highlights the cold-blooded attacks, assassinations, suicide bombings, and civilian and aid worker killings carried out by terrorists in Iraq.

It may seem pointless that Amnesty has to explain that "international humanitarian law strictly prohibits the intentional killing of people who are not taking an active part in the hostilities. It also prohibits torture or any form of inhuman treatment."

POLITICS

Tales from the Left - We Can't Make This Stuff Up -- [GM's Corner]
Thanks to liberals, we don't have to make up anything crazy to report on them. They give us more material than we can use. Look at these samples:

The Winner of the Distinguished Guardian of the Year for 2005 is... (envelope please) ...Michael Schiavo!

Cindy Sheehan 2
My problem is with the media vultures who descend on her like a cash cow from heaven. They give her all the credibility in the world (despite some serious credibility issues) and make her the face of the "mourning mother" in America. But why does she get all the attention? Why not give some equal press to the mothers who still support the cause that their son or daughter died for? Clearly the family members who support the war make up the vast majority of those who have fallen loved ones. Just look at Casey Sheehan's other family members.

An Open Letter to Cindy Sheehan -- [MajorDad -Cursed By a Classical Education]
Cindy,

We've heard your voice, your message, and know that the odds of you meeting with President Bush again are quite the longshot.

Your family (as reported through the media today) is telling you that it's time to pack it in and head home. I tend to agree with them.

Having served in harm's way before...I would recommend that...

MSM REPORTS ON POLITICS

Bush gets first look at anti-war protest near ranch (Reuter)
President George W. Bush got his first look at an anti-war vigil near his ranch on Friday as his motorcade took him by the protest site lined with small white crosses representing fallen American soldiers in Iraq

Cindy Sheehan's Pitched Battle -- (Washington Post)...Michael A. Fletcher
...But what began as a solitary campaign to force a meeting with President Bush by setting up camp along the road to his ranch has quickly taken on the full trappings of a political campaign. Sheehan is working with a political consultant and a team of public relations professionals, and now she is featured in a television ad.

PROTEST

Immigration Meeting -- [Primary Main Objective]
....What the San Diego Union Tribune doesn't explicitly tell you is that the pro-illegal immigration protesters were outnumbered 650 to 150 (400 inside the auditorium, 250 outside). If you take the 150 police and 150 protester numbers, each pro-illegal immigration protester had his own police officer.

I worked both sides of the crowd and felt safe the entire time. I was even handed a Worker's World flyer. (pic, pic, pic, pic, pic, pic, pic, pic)

BLOGGING

And Internet Bloggers Possess Wit, Charm, and Good Looks. -- [Assumption of Command - in Iraq]
I always knew this blog had an ineffable something going for it; now I know what it is!
Internet Blogs Attract Young, Wealthy Readers...

CONGRATS

Jawa Report: Over 2 Million Served (LINK THIS POST, BIYATCHES!) -- [Jawa Report]
Celebrate with us for a moment. You can help us celebrate our ginormous flow of traffic by linking to this post and sending a trackback, thus increasing our traffic even more! In return, we'll issue a fatwa against your infidel butt, you'll get a link in return, and maybe you'll get a hit or two of your own.

HUMOR

2 terrorists
Two Al Qaeda terrorists met in a busy restaurant after they had successfully slipped into the U.S.

The first terrorist starts speaking in Arabic. The second terrorist shushes him quickly and whispers: ...

al-Faw Entertainment -- [Miserable Donuts]
Al-Faw must be some place to be stationed...

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