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

Breaking News. -- [Iraq the Model - an Iraq in Iraq]
I was just about to go to bed when I saw the breaking news on Al-Iraqia TV announcing that an agreement has finally been reached on the draft of the constitution.

Update:...

Iraq - Red Cross chief reveals they hid and medically treated 4 terrorists in order to free two kidnapped Italian women. -- [NEW MILBLOGGER! - Foreign Object Damage]
Link"> jueves 25 de agosto de 2005
In an interiview in the Italian daily "La Stampa" Maurizio Scelli disclosed that in order to secure the release of two Italian hostages, Simona Torretta i Simona Pari in September 2004, they secretly treated four terrorists who had been wounded in combat with US troops. Scelli also stated that the Italian civil, military, and intelligence authorities were aware of the operation.

From the ruin, an Iraqi Army is fabricated - Part V -- [Live in Iraq]
Day 5: 'It all comes together'

It was a long week for the Iraqi soldiers and instructors alike and both groups looked forward to the completion of the class today. Only one final hurdle remained to be jumped.

LCpl. Tim delivered a final class on setting up personnel and vehicle check points before the we gave the soldiers the rest of the morning off to prepare for a final field training exercise.

"The last day of training is the best time to see everything we've taught them.

Modern medicine -- [MREater - in Iraq]
Today a couple of soldiers told me about one of their many visits to the hospital in Kirkuk. They didn?t exactly describe things as I am here, and they saw this stuff over several visits, but for the ease of telling I?m going to write it as one visit. All the facts and info came from the soldiers. I just added the narrative.

Wake up call -- [Who's your Baghdaddy? - in Iraq]
My alarm clock went off this morning, and as usual I habitually hit the snooze button. About three minutes later we all woke to the sound of mortar rounds impacting. Needless to say I got up without hitting the snooze button anymore and headed straight for the bunker. Looks like there were a few injuries, but nothing serious. Everyone is okay.

IEDs down 20 percent?!? -- [Counter Column]
General Rodriguez lays it out.
Q General, Sandra Erwin with National Defense. Can you tell us what kind of IED -- what is the level of IED attacks that you see in your area? We heard from General LaFontaine last week that the attacks have doubled. Can you give us a sense of what kinds of threats do you see now in your area from the IEDs?

On the blink.. -- [Major K - in Iraq]
My Toshiba laptop is in the process of dying on me at the ripe old age of 10 months. The motherboard is failing to recognize the keyboard. So, I just wanted to drop a quick line from the internet cafe here to say Salaam Alikumm. I will type more later.

MSM REPORTS ON IRAQ

Familiarity Leads To War Support -- (Miami Herald)...Will Lester, Associated Press
People with friends or relatives serving in Iraq are more likely than others to have a positive view of a generally unpopular war, an AP-Ipsos poll found.

?Gap? in Iraq views alarms Myers -- (Dawn.com)
| WASHINGTON, Aug 26: Gen Richard Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, expressed concern on Friday about a ?growing gap? between the US public?s perception of the war on Iraq and that of ... (photo: US DoD

Rallying The Troops And Avoiding Reality -- (Washington Post)...Colbert I. King
...What's the value of Americans giving their lives so that cleric-dominated Shiites and northern Kurds can get their hands on political power and oil revenue? Why are American women and men sacrificing lives and limbs in a country where women may have to settle for less? Stay the course. What course? So religious-based militia can divvy up the northern and southern portions of the country? So Islam can be enshrined as a principal source of new Iraqi legislation?

Pro-Saddam march -- (Dawn.com)...Reuters
| BAGHDAD, Aug 26: Thousands marched in adoring praise of Iraq?s deposed leader Saddam Hussein on Friday, offering a stark display of the loss of power and leadership felt by some of Iraq?s Sunnis

Breakthrough for Iraqi constitution -- (NY Post)...
Prodded by President Bush, Iraqi leaders have reached a "deal in principle" on a draft constitution, the speaker of parliament said yesterday.

Shiites And Kurds Halt Charter Talks With Sunnis -- (New York Times)...Dexter Filkins and James Glanz
Shiite and Kurdish leaders drafting a new Iraqi constitution abandoned negotiations with a group of Sunni representatives on Friday, deciding to take the disputed charter directly to the Iraqi people.

Iraqi Shiites Vow To Submit Charter -- (Washington Post)...Jonathan Finer and
...Also Friday, the U.S. military said it launched multiple strikes with F-18 fighter jets against a house in the western town of Husaybah that local informants said was sheltering about 50 suspected insurgents from the group al Qaeda in Iraq. The military said the number of casualties had not been determined.

U.S. military releases 1,000 prisoners in Iraq -- (SwissInfo)...Reuters
BAGHDAD - The U.S. military said on Saturday it had freed 1,000 detainees from Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison at the Baghdad government's request, the largest release to date.

AFGHANISTAN

18 Taliban killed -- [Afghan Lord - Afghani in Afghanistan]
The Defence Ministry Friday claimed the Afghan and US-led coalition forces had killed 18 militants in the southern Kandahar and Uruzgan provinces.
The ministry's spokesman Zahir Azimi told Pajhwok Afghan News 10 militants were gunned down following joint operations by the Afghan National Army and the coalition forces in the Ghorak and Khakrez districts of the Kandahar province.

MSM REPORTS ON AFGHANISTAN

Top U.S. officer faults leaders on terrorism war stakes -- (Reuters) ...Jim Wolf
WASHINGTON - The top U.S. military officer faulted U.S. political leaders on Friday for failing to get across what he portrayed as the huge stakes in Iraq and elsewhere in the ...

Two Japanese teachers missing in Afghanistan -- (The News International)
TOKYO: Two Japanese teachers have been missing in Pakistan and Afghanistan since arriving there on holidays three weeks ago, authorities said on Friday. The man and a woman arrived in Karachi on Aug...

India renews historic Afghan ties -- [BBC News...Sanjoy Majumder]
When Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh steps off his aircraft in Afghanistan on Sunday, he will be hoping to strengthen his country's historic ties with that country. | It is the first visit to the...

OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Ingushetia Prime Minister Survives Assassination Attempt -- [Foreign Object Damage]
An assassination attempt was made against the Prime Minister of Ingushetia, Ibrahim Malsagov on Thursday beside a railroad station in Nazran. His bodyguard was killed, and the head of the government and two other bodyguards were seriously wounded and taken to hosptals. They are expected to survive.
There were two explosive devices placed 10-15 meters apart, one went off when Malsagov?s car came out of his drive onto the road.
This is the third terrorist attack in Ingushetia in the last week.

TERRORISM

Suspect in London Attacks Arrested in Thailand -- [Counterterrorism Blog]
Thai immigration authorities announced today that they have apprehended an Algerian wanted by British authorities in conjunction with the 7/7 attacks. A report in Thailand?s English-language daily, The Nation, states that Atamnia Yachine (33) was arrested in Thailand after a tip off regarding fake travel documents. He was

MSM REPORTS ON TERRORISM

BOSNIA: INTERVIEW: AL-QAEDA NOW SEEKING YOUNG HEARTS AND MINDS -- (AKI)
Belgrade, 26 August - The al-Qaeda terror network is active in Bosnia and the wider Balkans region, but is changing tactics and primarily fighting for the hearts and minds of the local Muslim population, according to a leading Serbian terrorism expert, Darko Trifunovic, a professor at Belgrade University's civil defence faculty. Training is now being conducted in small groups in elementary schools and sports halls, in the guise of social and sports activities,...

With Only Reputations At Stake, Talk On C.I.A. Report Turns To How Much To Publish
(New York Times)...Scott Shane
With a report this week apportioning blame at the C.I.A. for intelligence failures before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the fight over who did what before the hijackers struck is increasingly about history.

Military 'Spied' On Rice -- (New York Post)...Niles Lathem
Cyber-sleuths working for a Pentagon intelligence unit that reportedly identified some of the 9/11 hijackers before the attack were fired by military officials, after they mistakenly pinpointed Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other prominent Americans as potential security risks, The Post has learned.

An Outsider's Quick Rise To Bush Terror Adviser -- (Washington Post)...Susan B. Glasser and Peter Baker
...From the low-ceilinged, windowless confines of a basement office in the West Wing, Townsend runs President Bush's far-flung campaign against terrorism. Her two predecessors were four-star generals who brought decades of experience to the fight. Townsend, 43, a former mob prosecutor, has a different credential -- the president's ear.

9/11 Seen As Sparking Arab Economic Boom -- (Washington Times)...Jim Krane, Associated Press
The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks are increasingly viewed in the oil-rich Arab countries of the Persian Gulf as the catalyst for an economic boom when Arabs divested from America and reinvested at home.

HOME FOR R&R AND BACK AGAIN

The Eagle Has Landed -- [Waynes World 2005]
About 1:20 this morning, 400 soldiers landed at DFW Airport to begin their 15 days of rest and recuperation.

?I bet I didn?t sleep one hour during the entire 12-hour flight from Frankfort,? Wayne said when we talked to him at sun-up this morning. ?After we landed, it seemed like it took forever to get through customs until I could go see my sweetie. As soon as I rounded the corner, Lauren was the first person I saw. I dropped everything, ran to meet her and lifted her off the ground. Everybody else started clapping, cheering and whistling. It was great.?

SELF PORTRAIT FRIDAY -- [Keep My Soldier Safe]
THIS RIDE WAS FOR YOU NOAH
Our Soldier's R&R was wonderful he says...I sure hated to see him go back. I was getting use to him being around again, and it sure was nice. (Even the washing your clothes Michael)

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS OR NOT

DC Freeps Take Back Walter Reed -- [The Gunn Nitt](pics)(pics)(pics)
Tonight I attended my very first "protest rally", or rather an "anti-protest, Support the Troops Rally" with the DC FreeRepublic people at Walter Reed Army Medial Center in NW Washington. These guys and gals rule! We had a great time and the commie-pinko-America hating-tards were total losers.

I can feel the support from here -- [A Strom in Afghanistan - in Afghanistan]
There's a blogger out there, Mr. Andrew Sullivan, who's trying to get bumper sticker suggestions.

One of his that he's posted is: One of his that he's posted is: How Many Soldiers-per-Gallon Does Your SUV Get?...

Part II... -- [NVG-Man Home-thejman021 - in Iraq]
...In my last post, I started off by talking about someone who gave off the appearance of supporting the troops, but really did not care one bit. In this post, I will start off by talking about two people who have permanent yellow ribbons imprinted on their hearts.
Jacki Preissler and Vicki Grochowski out of Illinois have sent care package after care package to soldiers fighting overseas. Vicki was in a rush for about a week or so back in June in order to get special care packages sent to my platoon by the fourth of July. In them contained a chillow. If you?re not familiar with a chillow, it?s like a thin insert that you put in between your pillow and pillow cover that keeps your head cool when you lay down. You fill it with water and it stays cool for months. Believe me. Out here, after working out in the sun, or doing some good quality PT with SFC Kohutka, you can?t wait to go back to the barracks and lay down and cool off. Jacki and I first started corresponding shortly after I returned to Iraq from leave. I still had felt pretty disheartened by that manager at Shopper?s, but Jacki?s care package was like a breath of fresh air.

This explains a lot. -- [Assumption of Command - in Iraq]
There are a few people, groups and organizations in the country that I do not want supporting me. For example: ...

One Radio Show Down...One To Go! (and something funny about Air America) -- [Soldiers' Angel - Holly Aho]
I just wanted to share my first experience on the radio. It was really great. The radio show was broadcast live from the Minnesota State Fair, and people could sit and watch from the benches out front. After the show was over people came up to me asking how to get involved in personally supporting our troops. They wanted more information and it was GREAT! It was not scary at all like I feared and I don't think I sounded like a big dork (I hope).

America - Toasting the Troops -- [USS Neverdock]
As I recently reported all accross America, Americans show their appreciation for our troops by picking up the tab at bars and dinners.

An Enjoyable Evening with Supporters of Our Troops -- [Andi's World]
...It was a great evening, though I hope there's not a need to go back, I would love to see CODEPINK stand down and let our troops heal in peace. I'll just say that a little bit of media exposure went a long way as the pro-troops crowd was very large tonight.

Hating Our Troops American Style --[Froggy Ruminations]
Well I think we can pretty much dispense with the whole ?Support the Troops but not the War? load of crap. What must it be like to look in the mirror after spending a long day outside Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington DC mocking and tormenting wounded soldiers? This is d骠 vu all over again when the parents of these contemptible slime were calling the parents of fallen soldiers in Vietnam and telling them how glad they were that their ?baby killer? son had died.

MSM REPORTS ON SUPPORTING TROOPS

Girl Scouts To Ship Cookies To Soldiers -- (Honolulu Advertiser)...Suzanne Roig
Thousands of citizen-soldiers serving with the Hawai'i Army National Guard in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan will receive a sweet reminder of home next month when 3,000 boxes of donated Girl Scout cookies arrive in the mail.

MSM REPORTS ON MILITARY

Committee Spares Air Force Base In South Dakota -- (New York Times)...David S. Cloud
...Although much of the Defense Department's plan for closing or shrinking hundreds of bases emerged from the review intact, the panel, the Base Closure and Realignment Commission, overturned several of the plan's largest pieces, preventing the Pentagon from moving dozens of submarines, hundreds of aircraft and thousands of military personnel to new locations around the country in coming years.

S.D., N.M. Air Force Bases Get Reprieve -- (Washington Post)...Bradley Graham
The independent base-closing commission overruled Pentagon plans yesterday to shut two major Air Force bases in South Dakota and New Mexico, setting back Air Force efforts to consolidate its B-1 bomber fleet but preserving thousands of jobs in the states involved.

In Final Slap To Pentagon, Bases Are Spared In S. Dakota, New Mexico -- (Los Angeles Times)...John Hendren
Continuing to defy Pentagon proposals, the military base closure commission Friday spared South Dakota's B-1 bomber base and rejected the proposed shutdown of a major Air Force base in New Mexico.

Panel Votes To Make Pope An Army Air Field -- (Fayetteville (NC) Observer)...Henry Cuningham
The Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission unanimously accepted an alternate proposal on Friday afternoon to turn Pope Air Force Base over to the Army with an Air Force presence that is smaller than what the base has now and larger than what the Pentagon recommended.

Air Guard Won't Get F-15s From 3 States -- (Philadelphia Inquirer)...Donna De La Cruz, Associated Press
A federal panel yesterday rejected a Pentagon plan to send 24 F-15s from other parts of the country to the New Jersey Air National Guard 177th Fighter Wing outside Atlantic City.

Connecticut Governor Vows Court Fight Over Planned Transfer Of Jets From Base -- (New York Times)...William Yardley
Gov. M. Jodi Rell said Friday that she would go to court to oppose the planned transfer of fighter jets from the Bradley Air National Guard base, saying that the 15 A-10 Warthogs affected were crucial to the state's homeland defense and that federal law required her permission to make the transfer.

BRAC OKs Changes For Guam Bases -- (Pacific Daily News (Guam))...Steve Limtiaco
The military's plans for Guam's Air Force and Navy bases were approved by the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission yesterday without changes.

Okinawa Leaders Blast Report Calling For Current Levels Of U.S. Troops -- (Pacific Stars and Stripes)...David Allen and Chiyomi Sumida
While some U.S. communities are adjusting to base closures being announced by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission in Washington this week, Okinawa officials are upset about another committee?s report that recommends maintaining current force levels on Okinawa.

THE MEDIA

What A Fool Believes -- [Florida Cracker]
For two years a newspaper in Carbondale, Illinois ran the sad letters of a little girl named Kodee Kennings to her father in Iraq. She begs him not to die. He does. Sometimes she also wrote letters to President Bush:
"I'm rily mad at you and you make my hart hurt,"' she purportedly wrote in one published letter to the president. "I don't think your doing a very good job. You keep sending soldiers to Iraq and it's not fair. Do you have a soldier of your own in Irak?"

It was all a hoax.

With Cheese has the story.

Back to Haditha -- [The Fourth Rail - Bill Roggio]
It is time to revisit the Guardian?s claim that Haditha is a jihadi ?citadel? along the lines of Fallujah of old. Soldier?s Dad points us the recent issue of This Week in Iraq, a newsletter published by Multinational Forces Iraq, which helps refute two of the claims in the article: Haditha is not being patrolled, and the insurgents control the output from the Haditha Dam

Jennifer Loven Strikes Again -- [2Slick's Forum]
I've written about her before.

Google her name and you'll find a long list of indictments that leave no doubt- this woman is nothing more than a card-carrying Bush-basher who (poorly) disguises herself as a legitimate "news person."

POLITICS

Life imitates art -- [Veterans Support Our Troops]
From Cox and Forkum on August 14: (pic)
From Free Republic ten days later: (pic)

Bush's war -- [Cadillac Tight]
KOS:
Know how conservatives love to use those maps showing areas that voted Republicans, and those that voted Democrats?
What would they say about this map? (pic of map)
Well, what I'd say is that higher densities of population in the areas Kos is trying to designate as "Blue" states naturally leads to more enlistments, and thus a higher percentage of casualties from those areas.

What Kos wants to push here though is the old tired meme of ...

War Supporters are. . . Morons??!!: Fisking Robert Crook -- [Reasoned Audacity]
His name is Robert Crook. And, if you support the President, and the war in Iraq, he says you are a "moron."

MSM REPORTS ON POLITICS

Iraq war protester says to shift focus to Congress (Reuter)...Jeremy Pelofsky
CRAWFORD, Texas - Iraq war protester Cindy Sheehan, whose vigil near President George W. Bush's Texas ranch has become a symbol for the anti-war movement, said on Friday she plans to focus on Congress, starting with House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a Bush ally and fellow Texan

MILBLOGGING/BLOGGING

Good idea, Boq! -- [Argghhh!]
And, a WARNO (warning order) for milbloggers who still hold clearances.

There was a new "CSA Sends" that went out two days ago if you want to go find it in your AO. Alternatively, log in to AKO, do a search on "CSA and VCSA OPSEC Guidance " and it will pop right up.

Can't post it because it has an FOUO marking on it.

Bottom line is - the Army in general (and the Chief specifically addresses blogs, too) are blowing OPSEC in postings and on the UNCLAS networks. An example we unwittingly abetted here at the Castle is the TF160 email I posted. Unknown to me, the email contained a Code Word reference (elided when it was pointed out to me by someone who *did* know) - but things like that, and more, is what General Schoomaker is talking about - building on the M1 Tank photos debacle of a couple of years ago. Those I did sit on (getting scooped by Matt at Blackfive because of it, waaaaah!) because I couldn't believe they weren't at *least* FOUO. Turned out they should have been, but once they hit the Internet the Army had no choice but to let that one roll over.

Blogging and OPSEC -- [Dadmanly - in Iraq]
Operations Security (OPSEC) is a critical concept in warfare, and vital in our efforts against a well organized, patient, and secret enemy that can take maximum advantage of our transparency and press freedoms while easily denying us an equivalent advantage against them.

I have just received through multiple official channels a warning from the highest military officials, which should have received the widest dissemination possible. I would be virtually certain that any active duty, reserve or guard military member in a leadership position has received it as well.

More OPSEC Guidance -- [Blackfive]
The Chief of Staff of the Army has sent out new guidance regarding Military blogs and Operational Security (OPSEC). Below is the message from General Peter Schoomaker as it was sent to me. The message below that one is from February:...

Gen Schoomaker Warns on Photo's -- [ROFASix]
The Chief of Staff ot the Army Gen Schoomaker has issued new operational security guidance or repeated some old guidance depending on your point of view. MilBloggers especially need to pay attention. It appears the CSA and the Vice have in essence declared war on photos coming out of the battlefield.

The complete message can be found here.

Managing Trolls In The Blogosphere -- [GM's Corner]
What to do with TROLLS? That is a question plaguing bloggers from day one, handling those people who do not contribute to the conversation, rather hurl invective, make ad hominem attacks, challenge rather than discuss and otherwise make a nuisance of themselves. Some bloggers, like LaShawn Barber have decided to cut out comments entirely, and she had plenty of justification for doing so. She was called so many vile names by trolls that any self respecting sailor would blush and disown the language that made the clich頦amous.

CONGRATS

250,000th R&R Soldier -- [NEW MILBLOGGER! - The Fast Squirrel]
The Digital Video and Imagery Distribution System has the following about the 250,000th R&R Soldier.
Corporal James Holcombe, the 250,000th R&R Soldier, arrives at the Atlanta-Hartsfield International Airport from Iraq for his two weeks of rest and relaxation. Scenes include Soldiers leaving to go overseas, CPL Holcombe arriving, taking pictures with volunteers from the USO, shaking hands and talking to volunteers and VIPs in the conference room, a ...

The video of him is here. Lucky S.O.B.!

Congratulations BOLC II Grads -- [NEW MILBLOGGER! -The MI Guy]
Congrats to the BOLC II 2005 pilot graduates on completing a course that demanded our flexibility and adapability all the way to the end. On the second to last day of the course we had our dining in. There was an incredibly alcoholic grog (16 kinds of alcoholic beverages in one bowl), entertaining skits that pulled no punches imitating the course and cadre, and a dance-off to decide which platoon had the best skit. No kidding. A dance-off.

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