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

If I Got My News From the Newspapers I'd be Pretty Depressed As Well" [Media Blog - NRO] (VIDEO)
Mark Finkelstein over at Newsbusters reported this morning that Matt Lauer got a surprise answer from a soldier on a recent trip to Iraq. After asking about morale, a few soldiers told him that morale was good. Like any good morning TV show journalist, Lauer was skeptical:...

SIMPLE WORDS AND POWER -- [Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum - in Iraq]
...Yesterday I finally came face to face with an IED. The soldiers?no men of Delta Company 1-184, and Rogue platoon recognized the threat. As we passed by the device, the driver became hyper aware, he saw what most of us did not, a glint of metal amongst the trash strewn road. As we passed by it, it lay there barely visible, yet it was the only thing I could see, it became what could have been our end. Life does not flash before your eyes when you come face to face with mortality, but a resignation that this could be the last moment, then sadness. Yet oddly, it didn?t take us. We cordoned off the area and kept the civilians away, spectators began to gather, and the danger became ...

Duke in Iraq - August 18 -- [Broken Masterpieces - Duke in Iraq]
Being Short:
There is a military term when someone in a combat environment is close to going home. It is called ?being short?. There is an interesting dynamic that many face when they are ?short? and I have felt its effects. The risky mission one may have never given a second thought about in the past now becomes a real issue. People may become hyper vigilant or may just become an ineffective member of the team as they seek to protect themselves from any or all perceived threats. We have all seen something similar in sports when someone is ahead in a close match and as they near victory they stop doing what had brought them that far and start to play it safe; they often lose when they get so nervous about losing that they forget to win.

ANOTHER CIVIL MILITARY OPERATION -- [Kevin Kelly - Dixie Sappers - in Iraq]
This morning started out early so that we could get to the place where we had planned to set up a CMO mission. We picked different places throughout the villages so we never go to the same place twice. The families never have any idea we are coming until we show up that morning. When we stop the vehicles and get out, everyone just looks at us with curiosity of what we are doing. When they see us start unloading stuff, they will come a little closer. Most of the time you will have to call the first person to the truck to give them the items. Once you do that, the flood gates are open. They push each other to try to get in the front of the line and if you aren't careful, ...

Iraqis Help Soldiers Find Bombs -- [Lance in Iraq]
This is one of those metrics by which you can truly judge how well you are doing. The populace helps us more everyday so you won't see it reported anywhere...

Warriors prepare for transition back to the states -- [Live in Iraq]
HADITHA, Iraq (Aug. 17, 2005) -- Insurgents in the Haditha region of the Al Anbar province were met by a group of unfamiliar faces Aug. 5 when the Marines of 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment arrived in support of Operation Quick Strike.

Monday, August 15, 2005 -- [NVG-Man Home - in Iraq]
...Many things have happened since I made my last entry. One of which was the convoy I volunteered for. When my platoon sergeant had all of C&E in the morning meeting, after making sure our vehicles were PMCS?ed, he announced that they were looking for volunteers for a convoy. Immediately we all broke out in laughter. When I looked at his face and saw that he was actually serious, I reconsidered for a second. I thought about how Becky goes outside the gate on a regular basis, along with others in my company. What kind of a soldier would I be if I acted like it was no big thing for her and her squad going out there on rescue missions, and then turn around and not be willing to go outside the gate myself? Besides, as the one in C&E with the biggest list of vehicles to drive on his license, I would be the most qualified out of those in our platoon ?um, even though it was a 5-ton that I drove, and everyone has at least a 5-ton license. As a side note,...

Meltdown -- [365 and a Wake up - in Iraq]
We are all in thrall to the fulgid patriarch that boils the summer sky. In Baghdad the sun claims dominion over all, there is no sector of the city that doesn?t bow before its scathing wrath. The sun is utterly pitiless; those foolish enough to shed tears in the blistering onslaught would find the drops evaporating before they hit the ground.

World domination and multiculturalism -- [Winds of Change - Donald Sensing]
Steve at Word Unheard summarizes an interview that al Qaeda's chief in Iraq, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, gave to Jordanian journalist Fouad Hussein. Zarqawi "revealed what al Qaeda believes to be seven steps to achieving not only a caliphate, but total Muslim world domination." (Interview link here.)

Coming Soon! -- [Assumption of Command - in Iraq]
My time here in Iraq is, depending on how I am feeling at the time, slowly and quickly coming to an end. Right now we are using terms like Advanced party, Relief in Place (RIP), Transfer of Authority (TOA), Left Seat Ride, Right Seat Ride. We are packing foot lockers and connexes, coordinating customs inspections. We are getting ready to move out of the Containerized Housing Units (CHU) to move to a temporary location so our replacements can move right into their new home. These are all

On Constitutions, as in The Land, Law of, Basic, 1 ea. -- [Argghhh!]
Pardon me if I have trouble understanding the current angst over the difficulties the Iraqis are having in establishing a satisfactory Constitution to govern the basic operational principles of the nation.

Hmmmm. They've just been through a period of despotic tyranny, which ended by war.

They struggled through getting an interim government established, to handle basic needs, while they set to the task of designing a more permanent, and hopefully durable system of government that takes into account the needs of a disparate population, while emphasizing certain common cultural elements.

Hopefully this will result in a less abusive and corrupt, if in comparison inherently 'less stable' government than that extant prior to the war.

Where have we seen something similar?

MSM REPORTS ON IRAQ

The Empire?s New Clothes -- (Newsweek)...Christopher Dickey
The cost of the war in Iraq is almost beyond imagining. But as it comes into focus, it?s no wonder that the public is turning against it.

4 U.S. Soldiers Killed as the Violence Continues in Iraq -- (New York Times)...EDWARD WONG
The soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb exploded in the northern city of Samarra this morning. No other details were made available.

In Iraq, Carnage, Anger and Grief -- (Washington Post)...Ellen Knickmeyer and Khalid Saffar
After Bombs Kill 43 in Baghdad, Broadcasters Air Citizens' Frustration
BAGHDAD, Aug. 17 -- In the hours after a triple car bombing in the Iraqi capital Wednesday, state television broadcast a montage of faces of random children -- some appearing solemn, some smiling, some slyly glancing up at the camera. In the background, mournful music swelled, and the faces gave way to the bright flash of a car bomb, shown in slow motion.

Blood Runs Red, Not Blue -- (New York Times)...BOB HERBERT
You have to wonder whether reality ever comes knocking on George W. Bush's door. If it did, would the president with the unsettling demeanor of a boy king even bother to answer? Mr. Bush is the commander in chief who launched a savage war in Iraq and now spends his days happily riding his bicycle in Texas.

700 more troops ordered to Iraq for prison duty -- (Pittsburg Tribune ...The Washington Post)
WASHINGTON -- Responding to an appeal for more forces in Iraq to help manage a rising number of detainees, the Pentagon is dispatching an additional 700 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division, defense officials said Wednesday.

US soldier chronicles Iraq abuse-- (The Australian...From correspondents in Los Angeles
THE torture and humiliation of Iraqi prisoners by US troops was widespread and not limited to the high-profile cases at Abu Ghraib prison, according to a former soldier who participated in an interrogation that she said "crossed a line".

Amid blasts, Iraq glass salesmen smile -- (Al Jazeera)
| Amid the destruction wrought by car bombs over the past two years in Iraq, there are some merchants who, by dint of their trade, have done well out of the mayhem, and ...

AFGHANISTAN

Learning to go 'sans' -- [Life in the X Minor - in Afghanistan]
...That was the roughest. When was the last time you 'scraped' dirt off your skin? Babywipes help alot, but still, they can only cover so much. I mean they start off white and end up black. You learn to adapt though. You become one with the dirt. It becomes a part of you. Everyone else adapts as well. Your sense of smell loses its 'Funk' detector. Around the clean and polished you might reek, yet among your soiled peers, you are brothers in funk.

Rate Mikes Landing:) (video)
Rate Mikes landing in the comments below I think he did a great job. His first to such a high LZ.

In Cure International Hospital -- [Afghan LORD - Afghani in Afghanistan]
After three weeks hesitation about my patient, today I went to American hospital ? Cure International? for treatment. I have pain on one of my spinal column band. I do not know really what the cause was and when it started. Pain is not very strong but it increased my concern. Usually

Life is struggle -- [Afghan LORD - Afghani in Afghanistan]
This part of Kabul called Bahaaristan In Karte parwan district. In this distrect there is no power and water. People bringing their water from the hill slope using donkey those who have enough money for providing foods for this kind animal ?donkey? (:

This was the way I was crossing this hill morning and evening. ...

Gratuitous Afghanistan Photo of the Day (60) -- [Miserable Donuts - back from Afghanistan]
Hell's Angels, Afghanistan Branch? Nah. But motorcycles were popular, and with good reason. The roads were appalling...

MSM REPORTS ON AFGHANISTAN

Afghan blast kills 2 GIs, wounds 2 others -- (MSNBC)...Reuters
KABUL, Afghanistan - Two U.S. soldiers were killed and two wounded in Afghanistan?s restive southern province of Kandahar on Thursday when a roadside bomb hit their armored vehicle, the U.S. military said.

Kidnapped Lebanese safe in Afghan custody -- (Reuters)
KABUL (Reuters) - A Lebanese engineer kidnapped by the Taliban last week was released on Thursday after his company agreed to stop operations in Afghanistan, a spokesman for the hardline Islamic group said.

AUSTRALIA TO SEND MORE TROOPS IN RUN-UP TO ELECTIONS -- (Adnkronos international)
Canberra, 18 August (AKI) - Australia has pledged to send an additional 40 soldiers to Afghanistan "within weeks" in order to help the country prepare for the parliamentary and provincial elections scheduled for 18 September. The soldiers will join the 150 troops that were deployed following an announcement from the Australian government last month.

TERRORISM

The Logic Of The Religion Of Peace -- [Alenda Lux]
Several hundred crude bombs went off across Bangladesh this morning. Reports vary with some saying as few as 111 and some saying as many as 500. The Christian Science Monitor says 300, so I'll go with that. Two people were killed...

9/11 Commission: Able Danger Data ?Not Shared In A Reliable Form? -- [Austin Bay]
9/11 Commission chairman Tom Kean now wants a ?quick assessment? of the Able Danger military intelligence organization?s records. Kean also said the commision?s report may have to be revised, based on the new evaluation.

Acting Instead of Fronting* -- [Baldilocks]
Here's confirmation by the State Department, no less, that what many conservatives have been saying is true: the Clinton Administration let Osama bin Laden slip through its proverbial fingers; not once, but many times.

Is Terrorist TV Free Speech? -- [Blackfive]
Of course not.
The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD) has a new post about Terrorist TV. Hezbollah's Al Manar TV broadcasts programming which claims that Jews kill children because they need their blood for Matzah

MSM REPORTS ON TERRORISM

Saudi forces kill Qaeda leader in Medina clash -- (Reuters)
RIYADH, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Saudi security forces killed the leader of the kingdom's al Qaeda group in a clash in the holy city of Medina on Thursday, a security source said.

MILITARY

Good To Know -- [Balloon Juice]
It appears there was no basis to the widely reported charges that a California National Guard unit was spying/collecting information on citizens:...

POLITICS

Dear Mom, -- [Uncle Jimbo - Madison.com]
It's time to go home. It tears me up to see you like this and you have done what you can, now it's time to heal yourself.
I was 24 years old the day I died Mom and although that is way too short a life it still felt like a lot to me and much of that is because of you. You raised me right Mom, all the nice things people are saying about me, you know Eagle Scout all that, well that's because of you.

I volunteered to go on the mission where I died, I did it because it was my buddies out there...

Monday, August 15, 2005 - Soldiers Against Cindy Sheehan
...Some of us are in Iraq and wondering what country the media is covering. Yes, there are casualties. Yes, there are setbacks. However, there are a great deal many more successes uncovered by the media. There are plenty of soldiers who have a variety of complaints about the way the war is prosecuted, whether we should be here, and the quality of food. Yet, for a majority, we understand that we are fighting what have become mostly foreign forces seeking to prevent a people from ruling themselves. It?s hard enough on those of us who are deployed without the likes of the fringe anti-war movement making the job that much harder.

MSM REPORTS ON POLITICS

She Does Not Speak for Me -- (Opinion Journal)...RONALD R. GRIFFIN
lost a son in Iraq and Cindy Sheehan does not speak for me.

I grieve with Mrs. Sheehan, for all too well I know the full measure of the agony she is forever going to endure. I honor her son for his service and sacrifice. However, I abhor all that she represents and those who would cast her as the symbol for parents of our fallen soldiers.

When the War Won't Stay at Bay -- (Washington Post)...Peter Beinart
With Bush and the public insulated from Iraq, Cindy Sheehan has moral authority.
Why has Cindy Sheehan -- the bereaved mother camped outside President Bush's Crawford ranch -- transfixed the nation?

Partly because she captures something profound about the war in Iraq. Vietnam was a mass-participation war: Nearly 3 million Americans fought; more than 58,000 died. And it provoked a mass antiwar movement: Year after year in the late 1960s, hundreds of thousands of Americans traveled to Washington to protest.

Deploying Cindy's Antiwar Army (Washington Post)...Dana Milbank
It was to have been a silent vigil outside the White House last night in solidarity with Cindy Sheehan, the Gold Star Mother-turned-antiwar activist. But the 500 demonstrators were not the sort to be silenced.

Ex-Senate leader blames downfall on Frist -- (MSNBC)...AP
Lott calls successor?s actions a ?personal betrayal? in new book
Former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott blames his fall from power in 2002 on a ?personal betrayal? by an ambitious Sen. Bill Frist, his successor, adding in a new book that President Bush, Colin Powell and other GOP associates played a role.

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS

Texas Board Puts Money Above Principle -- [Go Jack Army]
Texas Marine Told He's No Resident, Must Pay Higher Tuition
A decorated Marine enrolling in college was shocked to learn his Texas driver's license, car registration and bank records weren't enough to get the lower resident tuition rates.

THE MEDIA

America - The American Dream -- [USS Neverdock]
Or, as the BBC puts it, "Stark reality of the American dream".
With that headline Humphrey Hawksley sets you up for the "two Americas" argument that John Kerry and John Edwards used in their failed bid for the White House. That argument says that there are two Americas - the have and have nots. The problem with the argument is that John Edwards was walking proof the argument is bogus. Edwards rose from humble beginnings to rich lawyer, proving the American dream is there for all - who work for it.

So, where does Hawksley go in search of the American dream?

MILBLOGGING/BLOGGING

Bloggers Fill the Void on Air America Scandal -- [Media Blog - NRO]
Because the MSM has paid little to no attention to the unfolding scandals surrounding the liberal Air America radio network, bloggers Michelle Malkin and Brian Maloney have done their own investigation. They found that the scandal goes deeper than previously understood:

Left and Right Bloggers Military Service Survey -- [Jawa Report]
An oft heard accusation is that of chickenhawk being levelled at supporters of the Iraq War who have no prior military service. Bloggers with no prior military service are called members of the 101st Fighting Keyboardists on almost a daily basis by Markos Mulitsas' Daily Kos, himself a veteran of the U.S. Army. The phrase is used to shorten discussion about the war by making a personal attack and delegitimizing the person's credibility. It is easy for you to be for the war when you are not fighting it, is the crux of the chickenhawk argument.

MSM REPORTS ON BLOGGING

A 'blogswarm' stings old media into action -- (Philadelphia Inquirer)...Beth Gillin
They're called "blogswarms" and you never know when they'll attack. Bloggers start taunting and disparaging the mainstream media - or MSM - for not paying attention to a story they deem worthy.

CONGRATS

We're Married!! -- [Big Al's Army Life - home from Iraq on R&R]
...Al got home on Thursday August 4th - and we were married on August 5, 2005 at about 1:15 p.m. - it was everything that you would imagine a 'war wedding' to be . . . handsome groom, blushing bride, etc. He is still home right now and I won't say when he is leaving for security reasons ;o) other than to say that it will be 'soon'. (pics)

HUMOR

Sheehan Gets Surprise Visit from Woodstock Artists -- [ScrappleFace]
Just a mile from President George Bush's Texas ranch, America's favorite protest-mom, Cindy Sheehan, today got a surprise visit from Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Country Joe McDonald and several members of Sly and the Family Stone.

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